William sprawled out on the ground, holding his feet close to the dancing flames. The woman walked away before he could say anything, moving to the rear of the cave where he saw a pool of water sparkling in the firelight. She bent down and dipped a clay jar into the pool. William gritted his teeth as his feet started to thaw out, tingling painfully, as she crossed the cave with the pitcher to a deep niche in the wall a meter above the floor. She set the jar down within the niche and reached deeper.
“By the way,” William said, “my name is William. What’s yours?”
The woman paused and turned to look at him. “William… I like that. My name is Madeleine.” She turned back to the niche and brought out a silver tray balancing the jar, two cups, a bag brimming over with leaves and few biscuits.
William felt like the core of his being had been filled at last and his heart vibrated madly. Madeleine. Her name sounds so familiar, like it has been lodged in my soul all along. She came to the fire and set the tray down near him and bent her legs to the side as she sat down next to it. She smoothed her dress over her lap and grabbed a handful of leaves from the bag, dropping them into the jar and pushing it closer to the fire so flames licked its side.
A vision of another world passed through William’s mind: a vast Temple towered over a desert landscape, a throng of people seeking entrance. A woman in a hooded robe emerged from the Temple and pushed her way through the crowd. As she fled across the desert, a trumpet sounded and the Temple crumbled to the ground. The vision faded away and William saw Madeleine glowing like an angel, a halo around her head.
Madeleine started humming as she watched the jar, and when steam started rising from it, she pulled it back from the flames and poured tea into the two cups. She handed one to William and when he took it their fingers brushed, a spark thrilling through his skin. She lifted the other cup to her lips and took a sip, steam billowing in front of her eyes as she gazed at him. He blushed, his heart fluttering in his chest. She nodded at the cup in his hand. “Drink up, before it gets cold!”
William raised the cup to his mouth, a soothing aroma drifting up with the steam. The tea scorched his tongue but the heat spread into the pit of his stomach, so he gulped it down. He crossed his legs under him as he lowered the cup.
Madeleine giggled. “You like it?”
“It’s fantastic,” William said.
Madeleine pushed the tray closer to him. “Try a biscuit.”
William picked one up and took a bite, crumbs falling onto his shirt as he chewed. “Where did you get all of this?”
“My Mother provided everything I need. She understands how awful it feels to be trapped up here, no way for me to leave. I really hate it, you know. Thirty paces back and forth, back and forth. She wants me to be comfortable, but I want to be free!”
“Who is your Mother?”
“You don’t know?”
“Should I?”
“Of course! Sophia gave birth to the Galaxy.”
William sipped what was left of his tea, trying to wrap his mind around this new information. “I thought my Father created the Galaxy.”
Madeleine sipped her tea and stared into the flames. “William…”
“Why didn’t He mention your Mother?”
“I could feel you coming. I wanted to go out to search for you. Do you understand how it feels to be trapped?”
“It was a kindness, Madeleine—”
“No! It was torture.”
“I’ve seen things…” William shuddered. “Terrible things. Do you know what’s happened to the Galaxy?”
“Women are Creators.” Madeleine looked at him. “We are! If we hadn’t been oppressed like this, we could have preserved the Galaxy against all the destruction you men wrought.”
Tears came to William’s eyes, trickling down his cheeks. “I… I’m sorry. It’s not my fault.”
Madeleine reached out a hand and brushed away the tears. “I know, I know.”
“I have killed… I had no choice! But those men… such terrible weapons…”
“You aren’t like them, William.” Madeleine grasped his hand and laced her fingers between his. “I’m sorry.”
William looked up at Madeleine. “My Father taught me how violence arose as a protest against the Order He created. By rejecting the Divine they became beasts.”
“They needed their Mother to comfort them, but She…” Madeleine let go of William’s hand and looked him in the eye. “She was angry with your Father, too.”
“Why?”
“All He did was create the model of the Galaxy. My Mother made it real, but He got all the credit.”
“That’s not His fault!”
“My Mother cared for Life, but when She saw how humans were intent on destroying themselves, how they ignored all of Her pleas, She removed herself.” Madeleine wiped tears away from her eyes. “Why didn’t your Father tell them to listen to my Mother?”
William started reaching to Madeleine, but he withdrew his hand, setting it on his lap. “He made a mistake. He realizes that now. He created me to establish a new Order for the Galaxy.”
“Will you listen to my Mother’s wisdom?”
“I will. What would She have me do now?”
Madeleine grinned at William. “Have another biscuit!”
William laughed and grabbed another from the tray, eating it in a few bites and draining his cup to the tea leaves. “Say, how long have you been stuck in this cave?”
Madeleine put down the biscuit she had been nibbling on and stood up to cross the cave. “It feels like such a long time, but with nothing to do Time moves so slowly.” She came to the opposite wall and ran her hand across the stone. “Each morning when I wake up I mark the wall. The tally is at six.”
William stood up and walked to Madeleine’s side, rubbing his hand over the indentations. Now that I think about it… His heart beat faster. “I think your Mother must have reconciled with my Father.”
Madeleine cocked her head to the side, looking at William. “How would you know that?”
“This is my sixth day, too.”
A glow suffused Madeleine’s face. “That means…” She fell silent and her gaze withdrew. “Yes. Do you know what you are meant to do?”
“I thought I would figure that out, but I still don’t know. How am I supposed to redeem the world from the perversity of Darkness?”
“Maybe I can help.” Madeleine leaned towards William and kissed him on the lips.
A spark shot through William and he stumbled backwards, touching his lips. When he looked back at Madeleine, she giggled and fluttered her eyelashes then pranced across the cave, back to the fire. It had started to sputter, the flames shrinking down to the ashes, so she went to a stack of logs by the mouth of the cave and started loading her arms by the time William regained his composure. “What was that about?”
Madeleine dropped a log on the fire and sparks circled up through the air. “Come here and I’ll tell you!”
William walked to her side and raised his eyebrows. “Well?”
Madeleine laid two more logs on the fire, flames licking up their sides, and she glanced at William. “Sit.”
William sighed but followed the order, and Madeleine sat down next to him, wrapping her arms around his and leaning her head against his shoulder. “Have you ever wondered how normal people might live?”
The fire flickered before William’s eyes and he thought he saw two people dancing with each other in the flames, but when he blinked they were gone. “You mean when they aren’t killing each other?”
“Imagine there are no wars. Just two people living in peace. What do you think they’d do?”
William shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“I have an idea. Let’s pretend that we’re normal people!”
“I guess we could… but how?”
“How should I know? Let’s forget everything we have been through. Okay? You can be a man who has come home after a long trip, and I will be your wife.” Madeleine smiled and put a hand on William’s chest to feel his heart hammering. “Are you nervous?”
William extracted his arm from Madeleine’s grasp and she sat up straight, glancing down at the tray of tea and biscuits. She glanced back at him with a glint of mirth in her eyes. “See? I already made us tea. I think that’s normal. So, what next?”
William felt paralyzed with all the emotions swirling through him. His heart glowed, his stomach bubbled and his mind spun in circles. How can she act so freely? Madeleine’s spirit felt as light as a feather and he felt like she wanted him to join her as she soared through the thermals, but he felt chained to the ground. How am I supposed to shed all the weight I carry?
“William, are you with me?”
William swallowed. “I…” He nodded. What would a normal man do upon coming home? Home… The thought struck him in the pit of his stomach. Is this what I have been seeking all along: a place where I belong, where I am welcomed with open arms? He felt a sluggishness take over his body and his mind ceased its churning.
“Well, I am tired,” William said. “It’s been a stressful day. Maybe we can figure out how to be normal tomorrow.”
“Is it bedtime already?” Madeleine looked to the mouth of the cave, where it yawned into darkness. “How long have we been talking?”
William shrugged. “Where do you sleep?”
Madeleine patted the ground. “I’m sorry I don’t have anything comfortable.”
“That’s all right. I’m used to sleeping on the ground.”
“Can you help me stoke the fire first? Don’t want it to go out while we sleep.”
William stood and went to the pile of logs, Madeleine right behind him. He gathered as many between his arms as he could carry and dropped them on the ground by the fire. Madeleine set her load down more gently and started sticking logs into the fire while William gathered another load.
“That should be enough to last through the night,” Madeleine said as William unloaded his arms. The fire blazed high enough to lick the wall where it curved into the ceiling. “I usually wake up when it starts getting cold. If you wake up, just throw a couple more logs on, okay?”
“No problem.”
William yawned and settled down on a smoothed patch of dirt, stretching out and resting his head on his arm. Madeleine settled down next to him and, as she lay down, he put an arm around her body and drew her closer. The smiles on their faces were radiant.
TWENTY-TWO
William dreamt he was sprinting across the grey wasteland. He looked over his shoulder and saw nothing in the expanse, but he knew he was being pursued by some loathsome beast. Before him a storm had massed on the horizon, roiling across the sky. Lightning crackled within the clouds and the wind howled past his ears as he ran faster than his legs could carry him.
William came across a shack as rickety as Tim’s. When he knocked on the door, it was opened by Death. He heard a chorus of howls behind him and cringed when a thunderclap rattled the shack. Death fixed its glowing eyes on him and said, “Peace comes at the end.”
“I am the beginning,” William replied.
The air around him went dark as the storm opened and rain poured from the sky, and William heard a savage roar. That is not thunder. He pushed past Death, entering the shack, and the door was closed behind him. The deluge pounded on the leaky roof, but he could hear a pandemonium of howls and snarls over the drumming. Something thudded against the door and he heard claws scraping against it.
William turned around and saw Madeleine standing beside Death. She smiled at him and held out her hand, which he grasped. “What are you doing here?”
Madeleine squeezed his hand and pulled him closer. “The sequence recurs in many ways.”
A bolt of lightning struck the shack with a resounding boom, and electricity buzzed through the air. William glanced at his hand intertwined with Madeleine’s and saw their skin was glowing a bright shade of blue. When the shack stopped rattling, he found that Death had disappeared. The beasts had fled and the storm had abated, but the shack’s roof danced with flames. Smoke suffuse the air as the flames spread. William looked at Madeleine and she nodded. They ran out the door into the sunlight.
William awoke and felt warmth glowing from the fire. With his eyes closed, he saw Madeleine’s profile imprinted on his eyelids like the remembrance of a blinding light. His heart relaxed into a peaceful lull. All that matters is that we escaped. He knew the nightmares would start to fade from his memory now that his future had arrived.
William realized his arms were empty and opened his eyes to an empty patch of dirt. He sniffed a delicate aroma in the air and saw the fire had flattened into a glowing bed of coals on which a pan sizzled. He turned over to see Madeleine scurrying around the opposite side of the cave. She turned and walked towards William, smiling when she saw he was awake. “Good morning, sleepy head! Don’t move, I’ll have breakfast ready in a moment.”
“This is the first good morning of my life,” William commented.
Madeleine bent down and grabbed the pan by its rubber-coated handle. William’s eyes strayed to the curve of her buttocks under her dress. She stood up and carried the pan across the cave, steam rising into the smoky air. He watched her a moment longer then picked himself up, excusing himself as he walked outside.
Snow drifts had spilled down into the cave’s mouth, and the cold shocked him to awareness, burning his feet with each step. The storm continued to swirl all around the peak, making him feel like he had been separated from the old world and transported into a new one where his spirit had finally become flesh. I thought I was trapped in that world… Madeleine couldn’t even see it. Would she have wanted to if she knew what lay beyond the storm?
William pissed into the wind and scampered back inside the cave. The fire had been stoked and fresh flames coughed smoke into the air, dark clouds billowing towards the cave’s mouth. Madeleine stood over the rock altar at the center of the cave, which had been set with the pan and two steaming cups, and she shifted on her feet as William walked past to warm his feet by the fire. He sighed as his body temperature restored.
Madeleine put her hands on her hips. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“I shouldn’t have thrown away my boots,” William said.
“The eggs are getting cold. Get them quick!”
“Eggs?” He stepped towards Madeleine.
She gestured at the pan, lumped with scrambled eggs. “I know it’s bland, but my pantry is running low.”
“Do you always cook your own meals? When I was hungry…”
“What choices are there?”
“My Father provided food when I needed it. Would your Mother conjure a plate of bacon for us if you asked?”
Madeleine closed her eyes for a moment and her expression softened into a frown. “She said we should be happy with what we have. And the eggs are getting cold.”
Madeleine knelt down before the stone altar and grabbed a wooden ladle that leaned over the pan’s rim. She scooped a spoonful of eggs into her mouth and William knelt down opposite her. She looked up from chewing and offered the ladle to him. “Still warm.”
“How did you sleep last night?” she asked as William took a bite.
He swallowed as fast as he could and handed the ladle back to Madeleine. “I’ve never slept so well. Down on the plain, swarms of flies came out every night and you could feel them creeping all over you. When I was able to find shelter, I could still hear the buzzing of their wings and that’s enough to drive you mad.”
Madeleine passed the ladle back to William and took a sip of her tea. “Sounds like a nightmare.”
“The nightmares came later.”
Madeleine’s eyes spar
kled with tears. “Why would your Father do that to you?”
William took a sip of his tea. “Now, that is the question. How was your night?”
“I had this dream…” Madeleine trailed off and her eyes lost their focus. “I was locked in a cell in the depths of a black-iron prison. Everything was dark except for a shaft of light that spilled through a small grate in the door. I pressed my face against the grate and could see a guard standing out there. I begged and pleaded, but he wouldn’t even look at me.
“I started shouting at him, ‘They’ve buried me alive, can’t you see?’ He never moved. I didn’t even know if he was alive…
“I’ve had that dream before, but this time it was different. As I shouted, a flash of light consumed my vision. The walls and ceiling started rumbling and I could feel the prison crumbling in on itself. The door to my cell swung open and there stood a robed monk, a sword in his hand. He dropped it to the ground and threw his hood back.”
Madeleine lowered her eyes. “William, do you know who it was?”
“Who?”
Madeleine’s face was shining when she looked into William’s eyes. “It was you!”
William’s heart thudded against his chest. Her dream… a reflection of mine. He could not tear his eyes from Madeleine’s gaze, and when she smiled, he felt his heart project an electromagnetic tendril from his chest to grasp for hers. His spirit broke free from his body and soared out of the cave, spreading his light across the plain. He felt small, skimming the surface of a vast reservoir of emotion.
William looked away from Madeleine and felt himself rushing back into the cave, into his body. “You were in my dream too.”
Madeleine flushed. “I suppose it’s logical we would dream of each other since we don’t know anyone else.”
“I knew a wolf. We traveled together.”
“Did you part on good terms?”
“I gave him a worthy grave.”
Madeleine pouted. “What happened to him?”
“He thought he could protect me.”
“That’s sweet… sad, but sweet.”
“In my dream I couldn’t tell if you were Death’s captive, but we were both freed by a flash of lightning.”
Fate’s Peak Page 14
