“Glad you could finally join us,” Len said without looking around.
Rob and I both turned our heads toward her and I gasped. She was dressed in a short, tight fitting red dress with matching high heeled shoes and a ribbon in her hair. She looked stunning. I instantly felt underdressed. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I could hardly breathe, let alone speak.
Rob stood up and walked up to her. “Sorry I was so sharp with you earlier,” he said as he handed her a drink. He showed no reaction to how she was dressed at all. Was the man blind? “I am just anxious to get to Tammara,” he continued.
“I know,” she assured him, giving his hand a friendly squeeze as she took the glass. “It’s alright.”
She took a seat beside Len, who complemented her on how good she looked. “Thank you,” she said, reddening slightly at his comment. “Who picked the dress?”
“I think I chose well,” he told her. “Don’t you agree Kris?” Len winked at me and smirked. I was still too overcome to do anything but stare at her. I’m surprised I wasn’t drooling.
Dinner was eaten outside. It was a quick, simple affair and once it was over Len told me to leave.
“But−” I started to protest, but Len cut me off.
“Now,” he ordered. “I cannot trust that you will not aid with the puzzles so please leave us alone.”
I looked at Rachel, started to say something, then changed my mind and left. I headed to the library, chose a book at random and tried to read it. After I had read the same sentence three times without knowing what it actually said, I gave up and threw the book on a table.
“Damn it,” I said to myself in frustration. I was angry at my uncle and at myself for how I had reacted in front of Rachel. I was having enough trouble keeping my mind off her as it was. Why had Len dressed her up like that? Didn’t he realise it was almost like torture seeing her but not being able to touch her?
Unable to contain my emotions, I began pacing the room. I longed to go back outside and assist with whatever puzzles Len was throwing at Rob and Rachel, but I couldn’t. In the end I had to get out of there and went in search of Ankou.
“Problems?” Death asked when I materialised in front of him. He instantly took in my agitated state and was concerned. I am usually calm and in control of myself.
“Not really. They are with Len at the moment and I have been sent away.”
“A sensible precaution,” Death said, smiling at me. “Is that what has got you so worked up?”
“Yes. No. Not exactly.” I was babbling, but I was unable to stop myself. Death raised a questioning eyebrow. “I don’t want to talk about it. Is Ankou around?”
“Somewhere,” he replied. “Try the cinema.”
I nodded and left the room, walking through the castle until I got to the room I was looking for. I entered without knocking. The room is laid out like any normal cinema up on Earth except the chairs are larger and more comfortable. Ankou had his reclined back and didn’t look up when I entered. I took the seat next to him and looked at the screen. It was some sort of sci-fi film and it took me a few minutes to work out which one.
“This hasn’t been released yet, you know.”
He paused the film and grinned at me. “What is the point of being a demi-god if I have to wait to see a film the same as if I was a human?”
I just shook my head. “You look like you need a drink,” Ankou continued and produced a wine glass. He looked closer at me before handing it over and made it vanish, replacing it with a tumbler filled with whiskey.
“Thanks.”
“Want to talk about it?” he asked.
“Not with you.” It was not meant as an insult and Ankou didn’t take it as one. “I just want to take my mind off something for a while.”
“I can think of plenty of ways to do that.”
“Do any not involve women?” I know how my cousin’s mind works and could almost predict what he was thinking.
“Well, no,” he said. “Should they?”
“Just start the film again.” I was not in the mood for having the same conversation with Ankou that I seemed to be having most of the time recently.
Ankou did as instructed and I passed the next hour or so losing myself in the senseless plot. The film was not really worth watching, but it did take my mind off Rachel for a while.
Once the film was finished I went back to Pestilence’s place and was concerned to see that Len was still with Rob and Rachel; they had yet to solve a puzzle. Instead of returning to the library, I went into a nearby sitting room. I could not hear the conversation from where I was, but would know as soon as anyone entered the house.
A short while later I heard Rachel shouting and went to investigate what was going on.
“No,” Rachel almost screamed at Len. “Now. I will not wait till the morning.”
“I am afraid you have no choice,” Len said and without another word he stood up and walked into the house.
Rachel kicked a chair in frustration.
“Is everything alright?” I asked as I walked across the deck toward her.
“No, everything is not alright,” she snapped. “That son of a bitch is cheating.” She gestured toward the open door through which Pestilence had entered the house.
“I think you will find he is the son of a god, not a bitch.” I tried unsuccessfully to keep the grin from my face. She was even more attractive when she was riled up. “Unless, of course, you think Persephone is a female dog.”
Rachel didn’t react very well to my attempt at being light hearted. “I hate this place,” she yelled. “I hate everything about it. And I hate him. And I hate you.” Her words stung more than I cared to admit.
“Rachel, calm down. This is not Kris’s fault,” Rob said, but Rachel was too angry to listen.
“Hell is nothing like I imagined. But I can tell you one thing. After what I have seen so far, I think I would have preferred the fire and brimstone version.”
She stormed into the house, stomped in the direction of her bedroom and the sound of a slamming door echoed around the house.
“What was all that about?” I asked, doing my best to hide how much her words had hurt me. Her anger was not directed at me and she was probably already feeling guilty for taking her mood out on me, but what she had said was still painful to hear.
“Sit down,” Rob said, gesturing toward an empty seat. “This may take a while.”
I did as instructed. “What exactly has Len done?”
“Before I start, I don’t suppose you know where he keeps his alcohol do you? A vodka and coke would go down really well right now.”
I smiled. “I’ll be right back.”
As soon as I was out of sight I created the glass and filled it with the required beverage. I even added in ice.
“Thanks,” Rob said as the glass was handed to him.
“So what have I missed?”
“It started off quite simple. All we had to do was solve a puzzle, only the puzzles that Pestilence set were not what we were expecting. The first was about a police car stopped at a red traffic light. A truck driver went through but the police didn’t give chase. Why not?”
“The truck driver was not in a truck.”
“You’ve heard it before.”
“No. But I know how Len’s mind works.”
“Well at the time we didn’t and couldn’t figure it out. Len took great delight in us giving up.”
“I’m sure he did. So what happened next?”
“The next one was something about two girls cleaning an attic or something. The one with the dirty face didn’t wash but the one with the clean face did. At least I think that’s what he said.”
“Now that one I have heard before. No mirrors.”
“Correct,” Rob said. “By this point we realised that we needed to start thinking differently.”
“I’m beginning to realise why I was sent away. So what was next and why is Rachel so upset.”
“I’ll get to
that. I may be wrong, but I think the next one was about a bomber and a bomb not dropping.”
“Plane flying upside down?”
“Carry on like that and Rachel won’t be the only one who hates you,” Rob said. He had a smile on his face when he spoke, but I did not see the funny side and looked at him darkly. “Sorry,” Rob continued. “I didn’t mean that the way it came out.”
“Continue,” I said coldly.
“The next one came from left field. It was a business question. I can’t remember the details but it turned out that we should somehow have miraculously guessed that the client’s wife was also a client.”
“So that’s why Rachel is so angry. Len was posing unsolvable puzzles.”
“No. It gets worse than that,” Rob said. “She did tell him that he was being unfair, but he ignored her. The way she was clenching her fists I thought she was going to hit him.”
“Now that I would like to have seen.”
“Then he asked one about mice and if I bought one and they have X number of babies every 2 months, after Y months, how many will I have. Rachel was great, asking for pen and paper and doing all of the calculations. She was about to tell Len the answer when I realised that we had missed the obvious. We started with only 1 mouse so it couldn’t reproduce. The answer was 1.”
“So you got it right. Well done. So what’s the problem?”
“I got it right. Len was actually quite pleased. Then he announced that I was free to leave. Rachel wasn’t. I was given the choice of leaving without her or waiting till she managed to solve a puzzle.”
“And what was your decision?”
Rob stared at me. “I can’t believe you asked that.”
“Sorry. It was a stupid question. So when are we leaving? Now or in the morning?”
Rob glared at me. “I am not going without Rachel,” he said slowly, carefully pronouncing each individual word.
“I know. I just wanted to see how you would react.”
“She told me to go,” Rob said, calming down slightly. “But there is no way I am leaving without her.”
I nodded my head. “I can understand why Rachel is angry. I will have a word with Len. I doubt that I will be able to change his mind, but I will try.”
“She doesn’t mean what she said, you know.”
I sighed. “I know. Don’t worry about it. Try to get some sleep. I will see you in the morning.”
I walked back into the house, leaving Rob staring out into the night. Pestilence was in his office, so I went straight there.
“What are you playing at?” I asked as I walked in without knocking. “You are supposed to test Rob, not Rachel.”
“I’ve been expecting you,” Len said. “Sit down and let’s talk about this reasonably.”
I obeyed, but didn’t speak, waiting instead for my uncle to explain himself.
“They pissed me off,” he said as though this was a reasonable excuse. “They argued that my answers were unfair and I took exception to that.”
“But they were unfair.”
“Only from a certain point of view.”
Arguing with Len would be pointless. “What do I need to do to get you to change your mind?”
“I won’t. But I will make a compromise. I will let Rob help her. You will not. How does that sound?”
“Not good enough.”
“Tough. It’s the best I have to offer.”
I stood up. “I’m off to see your brother. I promised to keep him informed.”
Pestilence watched me walk toward the door, calling to me just before I exited. “You haven’t thanked me yet.”
I stopped and slowly turned around. “For what?”
“The dress. You appreciated it as much as I did and you know it.”
I shook my head, knowing it was better to keep my mouth shut. I walked out, slamming the door behind me. I could hear Len laughing as I vanished.
“Len is cheating,” I said as soon as I saw Death.
“How so?” he asked.
“Rob has passed his test, but now he is insisting that Rachel does as well. Can’t you do something?”
Death shook his head. “Sorry, but I can’t. I gave you free rein to do what you wanted as long as you got them here and didn’t break the rules. I did the same for my siblings. I never set a rule forbidding them making Rachel take part, so Len is free to do so.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that. I guess I’d better let aunt Fam know that there may be a delay.”
Death nodded his approval and I disappeared once more.
It was a few hours later when I made it back to Len’s house. Fam had insisted that I stay for a while and I have never been able to say no to my aunt. Talking with her usually makes me feel better, but I couldn’t bring up my concern over my feelings for Rachel. Fam knew something was bothering me, but didn’t press me for an explanation; I would talk about it when I was ready.
I was tired when I eventually made it back to Pestilence’s place, but I would not be able to sleep. Instead I went to the hot tub, hoping the warm water would sooth away my concerns. I closed my eyes and relaxed. A few moments later I opened them again, hearing movement behind me. I saw Rachel walking toward me wearing just a towel.
Without acknowledging my presence she walked around the tub to the other side. I couldn’t believe my eyes when she dropped the towel and slowly eased herself into the water. She was completely naked. Our eyes locked as she moved toward me and I found that I could not look away. It was like she had me under some sort of spell.
Without saying a word she gently pushed her body against mine, wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and jerked awake.
“It’s not a good idea to go to sleep in there,” Len said.
“I guess I was more tired than I thought.”
“Then go to bed.”
Without arguing I did as I was told. I was soon asleep and dreaming of Rachel once more.
Desert
The next morning, thinking I was the first one up, I went straight to the pool, but was surprised to find Rachel there. She was putting a lot of effort into her strokes, almost as though she was taking her frustrations out on the water. I watched her for a while, not letting her know I was there.
She climbed out of the pool without looking over to where I was and did not hear me approach as she leaned over a chair to retrieve her towel. I created one and placed it around her, making her whirl around in surprise. I had to step back to avoid her out-flung arm. Maybe I should have warned her of my presence. “Feeling any better?” I asked as I adjusted the towel so it was across her shoulders once more.
“A little,” she replied. “Thanks.” She suddenly looked self-conscious. “Look, about what I said last night.”
Before she could continue, I held up my hand. “It’s alright. I understand why you were angry and that your anger was not really directed at me. Rob told me what Len said. He’s changing the rules. I have tried speaking to him, but he is insisting that you must solve a puzzle if you wish to continue. He has relented somewhat though. Rob will be allowed to assist you. I will not.”
“Thank you,” she said sincerely. “For understanding, as well as for trying to help.”
Nothing more needed to be said, so she retreated to her room to get dried and dressed. I watched her leave. She looked almost as good in a swimming costume as she had in the dress last night and I found myself wishing that Len had provided a bikini instead.
Len arrived a short time later, closely followed by Rob.
“I wonder how long we will have to wait for Rachel,” Rob said as he dropped into a seat.
“She’s already up. She should not be too long.”
“Breakfast?” Len asked, but Rob shook his head.
“Can Rachel solve her puzzle first?”
“Of course,” Len replied. “And you will be pleased to hear that Kris has persuaded me to allow you to help her.”
Rob nodded his head to me, but refused to thank Pestilence.
Len tried to make small talk while we waited for Rachel, but neither of us were in the mood, so he soon gave up and silence descended.
We did not have to wait too long and Rachel seemed almost cheerful when she walked out onto the decking.
“Rob has requested that we start the puzzles before breakfast and I have reluctantly agreed,” Len said. I’m sure I was not the only one to pick up on the plural. Len obviously had no faith that she would do better today than she did yesterday.
“Hit me,” she said, sounding confident, but the look on her face betrayed her.
“A farmer has to cross a river with−” Len started to say, but Rob interrupted before he could finish.
“I know. A fox, a chicken and some corn. This one is easy,” he announced, then whispered the answer in Rachel’s ear.
“Is he always like this?” Len asked me and I nodded my head.
“Rash, arrogant, full of himself? From what I have seen, yes.”
“I understand why you have hated your journey so far,” Len said to me. Then he winked at Rachel before saying, “And why you have enjoyed it so much.” I felt like killing him and had to force myself not to react.
Len turned his attention back to Rachel and continued with the puzzle.
“As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted, a farmer has to cross a river with 3 foxes and 3 chickens. The boat can only hold two animals and there must always be one in the boat, until all have crossed. At no point can there be more foxes than chickens on either side of the river.”
“Okay, we can work this out,” Rob said with enthusiasm. They were provided with pen and paper and began their deliberations. Rob started by taking two foxes across, but Rachel immediately pointed out that there would be more foxes than chickens on the other side so that could not be how to start it. “Well take 2 chickens then,” he said.
She then had to point out that that would leave more foxes than chickens on the original side of the river. Conclusion – the first trip across had to be one fox and one chicken. Rob was not thinking things through before speaking, but Rachel obviously was. Soon they had found a way to get most of the animals across.
Kris's Story Page 8
