by Alexie Aaron
Ted made sure Cid and Burt were comfortable with the console and the adjustments he had made to it before heading for the truck. He saw Mia talking animatedly to Murphy. The ghost kept shaking his head. He arrived to hear Mia apologize.
“I didn’t think it was you. You’re not a gin type of guy,” she explained. “But I had to ask. Are we alright?”
Murphy put his finger to his lips looking this way and that. He winked at Ted.
“Come on, Murph, you’re not making this easy.”
He nodded and said, “We’re good.”
Ted didn’t need to hear him to know what he said. The farmer’s body movements were very clear to Ted. The longer he knew the ghost, the clearer his features were. It was almost as if a spectral bond had occurred. It was unusual, considering both of them were vying for Mia at the same time. Ted won and worried that the ghost would take offense. He didn’t seem to. Their friendship continued, although there were a few awkward times when Ted wasn’t that sure of their friendship. He assumed that, perhaps, Murphy felt the same way about him.
“What a day,” Mia said, putting her head against Ted’s shoulder once she got in the truck. Murphy sat on the outside with Maggie, she in her cage behind the seat.
“It’s hard being the boss,” Ted said, starting the truck. “Is Burt giving you the stink eye?”
“No, he’s the least of my problems. Bev and Glenda are difficult at the best of times. Audrey’s fallen in lust with the doctor in 1303, so her attention is divided. You, Murph and Cid are the only ones I can count on.”
There was a whine from behind them.
“You too, Maggie Mae. You’ve been such a good girl,” Mia said, ignoring the roll of Murphy’s eyes.
Maggie answered with a happy thump of her tail.
“What’s got me knackered is, I had a visit from Judge Roumain.”
Ted put on his turn signal and pulled off the road. “When?”
“Around the time when the RV arrived. No, after,” Mia said, squinching up her face.
Ted loved that face. He could see the forever-child in his wife when she did that. “I can’t say that this doesn’t bother me. Why would he come here? Are we in trouble? Is it Bev? Has she sold you to pirates or…”
“Whirling dervishes,” Murph chimed in.
“Ah no, Bev has been, well, Bev, but I don’t think she plans on repeating her role as villainess anytime soon. I hope,” Mia added lamely. “Roumain came to ask me about Inky.”
“Really. Why?” Ted said, returning the truck to the road.
“It’s Angelo.”
Ted pulled back off the road again. This time, he slammed the shifter into park and turned off the truck. “Care to explain?”
“Angelo thinks that Father Santos is trapped in the lost plane.”
“Isn’t that where the deer-woman sent Mrs. Blackwell and her followers?” Ted asked.
“No, but I fear that’s where he may have ended up. The lost plane of existence is where Angelo hopes to find Santos. He can retrieve his soul from there. If it’s there,” she said. “The lost plane is a dimension that falls in between the ghostly realm and the dark world. Angelo thinks that Ira was trapped there and escaped into the one we found him in. It kind of explains why he was immobile for so long.”
“Why did Roumain want to know about Ira?”
“I think so he could counsel Angelo better in his next course of action. I really think he wants to help him.”
How can the judge help with the lost plane?”
“He can’t. It’s a plane of existence not a dominion. I suspect that Angelo wants to talk to the judge for another reason. If I were Angelo, I’d want to know if it’s possible to break into the dark world and snatch Santos out of it.”
“Is it?”
“To my knowledge, it’s never been done. Doesn’t mean it can’t be done,” Mia said thoughtfully.
“You’re not,” Ted said and stopped. “Please don’t.”
Mia looked at Ted and turned and looked at Murphy who shared his expression and concern. “I’m not going anywhere, guys. But if you don’t start driving, I’m going to have to use that field over there for a bathroom.”
Ted started the truck. Murphy put on Patsy Cline, and Maggie thumped her tail to the music. Mia pushed herself closer to Ted to feel the warmth of his body. She had felt chilled ever since she looked into Roumain’s eyes.
~
Komal took time to perfect his persona before leaving the cave of power. He wasn’t a vain individual but a respectful one. Judge Roumain was an entity that had earned the respect of the world of spirits and superhumans. Angelo, too, was on his way to becoming a legend in the annals of the evil fighters. He had a long way to go. He still, according to Judy, wasn’t able to see the big picture, and although a master at his craft, he needed to understand humanity and why you didn’t use them as pawns. Komal chose the vibrant orange robes of his former colleagues. He willed sandals on his feet and, for the first time in years, allowed his human form to flesh out with the kiss of life. Dark eyes, olive skin and a sheen of sweat would complete his persona.
The castle was a different place since Angelo and his team had taken the island and liberated the people held in slavery by Sire, whose bones lay bleaching on the dunes. It was lonely until Refugia and He-who-walks-through-time arrived. They could see him without Komal making the effort. He shared his space and his counsel with the superhumans, who struggled with a world they had not been raised in. Taking on the names of Judy and Ed wasn’t all there was to living amongst the populace of the Midwestern United States. They needed to learn about technology, culture and control. Judy wanted to run around and heal everyone. Ed wanted to physically fight in battles where diplomacy should come first. They were coming along, slowly.
The walls were stripped of the stolen collections. Each had found its way back to the owners or their heirs, courtesy of Gerald Shem. In their place were photographs of Sabine, Brian and their three daughters, PEEPs, and images of the world as Judy and Ed discovered it. The castle would never lose the coldness of the stone walls, but it did feel homey.
He could hear his old friend Roumain pontificating in the library. Komal smiled. He stopped a moment to compose himself before he entered the room.
“There you are,” Judy said getting up. “I’ve been entertaining your guests.” She turned back to Roumain and Angelo and asked, “Before I leave you to your business, can I bring you a fresh pot of coffee?”
“I am fine. Thank you for your hospitality,” Angelo said.
“You have sated me with your presence, my dear,” Roumain teased. “Go on and get outside and enjoy the sunshine.”
Judy left the room, giving Komal an approving nod as she passed. This pleased the spirit. It was nice having family; it didn’t matter where they came from or who their mothers were. Judy was his daughter and Ed his son, just as dear to him as Sabine had become.
“I’m sorry for my tardiness,” Komal explained as he moved into the room. “I see Judy has taken good care of you.”
“You’re a lucky man to have such an attentive daughter,” Roumain said.
Komal had forgotten how easily the judge could not only read minds but memories, both physical and emotional. “Yes, I am a lucky man… Can I say, man?”
“That is a discussion worthy of another time, my friend. Right now, we have Angelo here seeking our advice,” Roumain reminded the spirit.
Komal nodded and moved to stand beside Roumain, so Angelo would not have to twist and turn to look at them both. “Now, Angelo, you have our full attention. Please give us your memories of the events preceding the tragedy. Open up your mind to us. Let Roumain and I walk amongst the participants, and let us see.”
Angelo did as Komal requested.
“Honor Blackwell,” Tonia called. “I’m charging you with the crimes of murder, dabbling in the black arts, confining a demon without its permission, and kidnapping. Come along willingly, and face the council to be judged.
” Tonia, still keeping her seat on Airgead, moved towards her from the opposite side. “Put down the box and come with me or face the deer-woman alone.”
“Gods have no one to judge them. I have committed no crimes. My will be done.”
There was a shout of outrage from behind Mia. Komal and Roumain witnessed Father Santos stride forward, holding out his cross. Father Alessandro tried to stop the priest, but he was too weak to hold him.
“How dare you!” he shouted. “There is only one God, and you are not Him!”
The skin-walker grew in size as she contemplated the circumstances, before she reached out and grabbed Father Santos with her free hand and tossed him at the deer-woman, impaling him on her horns.
Angelo ran to assist. He gently lifted his friend off of the deer-woman’s antlers, freeing both of them.
Komal froze the memory and turned to Roumain and asked, “Do you see the tendrils? Something just happened too fast for this spirit to see,” he explained.
“I will slow it down,” Roumain said. He flexed his fingers and tossed a particle of sand into the memory and waited for it to take effect. “Now, watch.”
Roumain and Komal walked into the scene and watched as Father Santos’s soul moved away from his body. The elegant hand, of what they assumed to be a reaper, shot out of the ether. The light of the spiritual plane glinted off of a ring that rested on the middle finger. The hand grabbed Santos, pulling him towards the nothingness. Santos, seeing darkness and not the light he expected, fought hard to be released. The fight moved over the heads of the PEEPs and drifted towards the graveyard where Santos, for a brief moment, pulled away from the hand. The ring flew off the reaper’s finger in the struggle and fell soundlessly to the mossy ground beside a grave. Another hand formed and caught Santos before he could find purchase in his dying body. Santos fought hard, but the second hand joined the other, and together they pulled the priest into the nothingness.
“I’m sorry, Angelo,” Komal said. “Santos was pulled into the dark world by a reaper. But perhaps the reaper came too soon,” Komal pointed out, looking at Roumain for confirmation.
Roumain laughed. “Reapers are an impatient lot. Yes, Komal, my old friend, you are right. Angelo, Santos was harvested too soon. Your instinct that he isn’t dead is correct.”
“How do we right this wrong?” Angelo asked, hope filling him with courage.
“If he is in the dark world, then his soul is lost. You will have to let his body die,” Komal said. “It disturbs me, but Santos will face eternity in a situation similar to mine. I, the lucky one, have this plane to exist in. He has the darkness.”
Angelo felt his heart squeeze, and try as he might, he could not ignore the pain of realization.
“Wait!” Roumain said excitedly. “Komal, did you see the ring fall?”
“Yes, but…” The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. “Oh, a reaper’s ring…”
“I don’t understand. What’s so special about a reaper’s ring?” Angelo asked.
“A reaper’s ring allows entry to whatever world the reaper last visited. Whoever touches the ring first has the power to enter that world safely.”
“But can they return?”
“It’s been done before,” Roumain said, putting a finger to his chest.
“You?” Angelo asked.
“Well, don’t look so surprised. It’s not like I didn’t have a life before purgatory. I was a knight in one of my lives. I never navigated the depths of the dark world, but I did sneak into the periphery ring, pulled the soul of a child out and returned it before its body died. This child grew into a wonderful caring soul. It had been kissed by death but lived a full life of sharing its grace and light.” Roumain sighed.
Komal and Angelo waited for him to reveal the child’s name, but the judge just shook his head. “It doesn’t matter who; what matters is that with that ring, it’s possible to enter the world Santos is imprisoned in.”
“I will go and take the ring and search for Paolo,” Angelo said, standing up.
“Wait, there is a problem. The ring has already been touched. See what happened after you left, Angelo,” Roumain insisted.
They watched the crossing over of Alice May Blackwell. They saw Mia converse with Father Alessandro briefly as Ted moved amongst the graves. He stopped and stooped down as something shiny caught his eye. He found resting on top of the moss-covered ground a gold ring with a strange symbol on it. He stood up and held it to the light to examine it better.
“Ted, put that down, you don’t know where it’s been,” Father Alessandro scolded.
Ted set it down.
Angelo flexed his fingers, anger surging through him. “You mean to tell me that the fate of Paolo is in the hands of… of…”
“Ted,” Roumain confirmed. “He needs to put the ring on the middle finger of his left… No, he can’t. He has a ring there.”
“Can’t he simply take the ring off?” Komal asked.
Roumain looked at Angelo and frowned. “The ring he wears is more than a symbol between him and Mia. It is a covenant. It is the only thing that keeps this one,” he indicated Angelo, “from being able to possess Mia.”
“She is married. I have accepted that,” Angelo said, his voice on edge. “Do you think that I would prey upon the man’s household while he is trying to save Paolo? What kind of person do you take me for? When did I get saddled with the colors of the villain!” Angelo shouted. “By all that I hold holy, I am fighting a battle to keep evil at bay. I am not some power-hungry entity so full of himself that I can’t see that Mia Cooper chose a life with Theodore Martin instead of a life as a warrior for the Brotherhood of the Wing.”
Roumain smiled.
Komal looked first at Angelo and weighed his words then back at the judge who was nodding his head.
“It seems I have misjudged you. Me, the judge, have misjudged. I am going to take you at your word, Birdman. Go to Ted. Have him find the ring and explain to him what he needs to do. He may take two flesh-and-blood people with him. Mia will want to go. She’ll not let him venture into the abyss without her. You will suggest he chooses you, and if he agrees, then you must leave your ego on this plane. You must follow Ted. If he chooses someone else, you must allow him to do so.”
Angelo nodded. He turned to go.
“Don’t be hasty. You will need provisions. The collection of materials that you will need may prove difficult and dangerous. If you want Ted to return with Paolo Santos’s soul, then we have to give them a fighting chance. They will need the Light of Everest, the Water of Mu and… Damn, I’ve forgotten. Komal?”
“Don’t ask me, I’ve never been to… Yes, you will need rosemary. Father Santos will not remember Ted, Mia or even you. Bring four wreaths of rosemary.”
“Wreaths of rosemary, I can do. How am I going to get the water from a place that does not exist anymore?”
“Oh, it exists, but not in this time,” Roumain corrected.
“Still?”
“I can help you,” Ed said from the doorway of the chamber. “I will take you to the time in which Mu did exist.”
Komal looked at Roumain, as if Roumain had all the answers. Roumain nodded slowly. “I can’t say I’m comfortable with two adversaries going on this quest, but if you can control your tempers, gentlemen…”
“For Paolo I can do anything,” Angelo stated firmly.
“I cannot guarantee you that I won’t think about plucking his feathers, but I will bring him back whole,” He-who-walks-through-time promised.
“Go then, prepare yourselves for the journey. The procuring of the Light of Everest is another problem that we will talk about upon your return, Angelo,” Roumain said.
He- who-walks-through-time left the room first, followed by Angelo. Komal waited until they had left before asking, “What are the chances Santos can be saved?”
“A microbe this side of nil. But we will worry about that later. The odds of those two giants walking through time together a
nd strolling onto the shores of Mu aren’t much greater. When all has been prepared, and our unknowing knight has been informed, then we will worry. Until then, let’s enjoy a game of chess.”
“Isn’t that what you are playing now,” Komal said sagely.
The entity lifted an eyebrow but kept his answer to himself. He did not like the idea of Mia entering even the fringes of the dark world. Perhaps he could do something to stop her from going. He took his Queen and moved her into the path of Komal’s knight.
Chapter Eleven
After Maggie was fed and Murphy left to check on his trees, Mia and Ted climbed the stairs hand in hand. When they had reached the landing, Ted whisked Mia off of her feet and kissed her long and hard. Mia returned his kiss with a fervor that surprised both of them. Ted, who had his back to the wall, slid downwards to the floor. Mia was tearing at his clothes as if they were on fire. Ted let himself become caught up in the passion, and soon both of them were naked on the hall floor, kissing, touching, and tasting each other.
Mia demanded Ted to take her hard, and with only a modicum of restraint, he did so. Mia twisted and cried out as she climaxed and pulled at Ted’s back with her nails, driving him to take her harder. Ted let himself go, and when he too had been sated, he fell on top of her drenched with the sweat that passion brought. He quickly raised himself off of her, fearing his weight would crush her. He pulled her into his arms, curling his body around hers.
Mia felt his heartbeat through her back, and for a brief moment, she felt the beat of another heart too. It could have been hers, but it was faster. She filed the incident away and sighed. She was happy and sated in the arms of her lover, who was conveniently her husband too. Life was good.
She remembered Ted lifting her up and carrying her to bed, returning to lie beside her. Sleep came quickly and, with it, dreams.
