Discussing what they might have in common, Lukas had a very strange but plausible observation: they were the ones in the most picturesque spots. The most beautiful trees in the prettiest spots were indeed the ones affected, as if someone were jealous of their beauty, spoiling it out of envy. I didn't dare to
'feel' the trees after using so much magic for the pipes, so we just noted their sites.
After this, I fetched the latest drawings and measurements to check at home, and we left. On the way back we took a closer look at each of the trees we had singled out for a return visit, and we found one more that looked affected.
Lukas observed: 'I find it hard to believe that this would be coincidence, look at the beauty of this place. I'd like to paint you in this precise spot, too bad I have no talent.' I instantly saw myself posing there in a dress, draped over some branch, and laughed at the image of myself I had created. But then I thought of something and told Lukas: 'You no longer need talent to take a likeness of someone, have you ever heard of photographs?'
He hadn't, so I promised him to show him some in a shop in our part of town.
We picked up some fresh fruit on our way home, and arrived with a healthy appetite.
As we came in, the sound of a ringing hammer was music to my ears, I had hoped Paul would be at home. Since he was not doing something that required intense concentration, he immediately spotted us coming in, and the hammering sound stopped the same moment.
He looked at me that way again, and I stopped breathing for a moment, until my body decided it didn't need me to breathe, and went on all by itself.
I heard the clunk of a hammer being laid down, and Paul came towards me as if he was in a trance. We embraced, then kissed as if we hadn't seen each other in weeks instead of hours. He said: 'When I woke up, you were gone.'
I touched his cheeks, and replied: 'I tried to say goodbye, but you kept falling asleep.' He told me: 'I was sorry to have missed you, I suppose I was very tired, I woke really late, too late to visit Sir Nomes and be back in time for lunch. I thought maybe we could all go this afternoon.' Here, Lukas spoke up:
'We have a working theory, it will be interesting to see if it fits his grounds too.'
Now Paul greeted him too, with a tight hug and an intense kiss. Lukas was beaming, he really did love Paul a lot, I could easily see that. Paul said: 'Let's
have lunch, so we'll be at Sir Nomes' at a decent time.
At the table, the guys mainly talked shop, how large a boiler one would need to heat a glass building the size of my project to tropical temperatures, and how much fuel it would need to stay hot enough night and day. And whether it would be affordable to make it out of copper, how great the risk of overheating would be, and so forth and so on.
I thought it was all very interesting, and I was impressed how much knowledge Lukas already had gained in his few months here. 'Would one need a reserve boiler in case the first one breaks down? Tropical plants will die if they get too cold,' he wondered. 'I guess they could just stoke a big fire in case of a dire emergency,' I put in my two cents.
'That is true,' he mused, 'but wouldn't the fumes hurt the plants?' We could keep this up for hours, but there was still the matter of the trees, so I put Lukas' theory to Paul: 'Lukas thinks the affected trees may have been targeted by someone jealous of their beauty, all the ailing ones are the most beautiful groups of trees set in the prettiest spots. He even wanted to paint me in one, except he says he has no talent for drawing.'
Did I see Paul suppress a flicker of jealousy here? I went on: 'I promised to show him a photograph soon, he's never seen one.' Oh well, I supposed that couldn't be helped, I would also feel its sting again, I was sure of that. We had a last cup of tea, then cleared off the table. Lukas proved to be a very subtle fellow in his own right, asking: 'Can we take an hour longer before we go? I missed my morning run and I'd like to take one now.'
If this wasn't an excuse to leave us by ourselves for an hour, I couldn't have guessed what it was. We'd been walking the whole morning, and we'd be walking the whole afternoon.
Chapter 18
But Paul took the offer gratefully and said: 'I guess we can. If you go immediately, we'll wash up.' And Lukas was off. We did the washing up, and then Paul seemed struck by shyness all of a sudden, which I found very enticing, he was usually so bossy and in control that it made him more human somehow.
Of course I had a plan all ready. 'If we're going to someone of a high class, I'd rather dress up a little. Or a lot. I'd feel less uncomfortable. You know more about what is suitable, will you come with me to help find a proper dress?'
'Sir Nomes is not the kind for formalities,' Paul said, 'but if you feel better dressed up, I'll come with you, I love seeing you in a dress. And between dresses.' I thought: you'll love me even better in the shower, for that was of course my plan. Not suspecting a thing, Paul followed me upstairs and into my apartment.
We went into my bedroom, where I unpinned my hair, letting it fall to its full length and glory. I enjoyed his reaction, and silently thanked Lukas for his attentiveness in making it possible. My jacket and blouse were next, I hung them on a peg neatly. Then I took off my skirts, accidentally removing my underwear as well. I was now naked, and invited Paul in my arms.
He came of course, how could he refuse, he was a man and he was desperately in love with me. I embraced him and kissed him, really passionately now. Then I started to unbutton his shirt, and he didn't protest. I kissed his neck and chest, and sucked his nipples gently. He shivered, and started to return my caresses slowly, intently.
After his shirt, I started on his pants, which were of course removed in a second. I took his penis in my mouth, which gave him an immense shock, I'd never done that before now, and the intensity of his response surprised me.
Of course I was used to Lukas, who'd done it all before a zillion times.
Now, I moved towards the shower, inviting Paul to follow me, which he did.
I turned the taps on and waited until the water was just right, then I moved us both under the lovely warm flow. I kneeled down and continued where I had
left off.
But all too soon he removed himself from my mouth, too excited I guess. He wanted to do the same for me, so I lay down on the shower floor, water still raining down on us both. With tongue and fingers he soon had me gasping for air, and he penetrated me still within that high, dripping with water, curls plastered to his ecstatic face. He was clearly learning to let himself go, which pleased me a lot. He could use some loosening up.
Soon I could not longer think, my passion taking over, and I moved along with him on the wet floor, relishing this intense moment with the man who could stop my heart just by looking at me in a certain way. I felt a climax coming rapidly, and I welcomed it, groaning with pleasure, writhing under my muscled inventor.
Curiously, he wasn't at his high yet, had he already learned to control it?
Somehow I hoped not. But when he detached himself I knew what he wanted, and when he stood again I kneeled in front of him, and still under the shower I mouthed his penis again, moving it over my tongue rhythmically until I felt him reaching his climax with a cry of release.
That was a very hot flow coming out of him, too much of it to my taste, so I let it dribble out of my mouth and took a large gulp of shower water to get rid of the intense taste. He looked very satisfied, but a bit quizzed at my reaction.
'I'd never tasted it before, it's really hot and salty, not very nice, 'I said.
He said: 'I'm sorry.' But how could he have known? I hadn't, and I told him so. We were both still learning. I suspect Lukas did know, he never let it get this far, though I supposed he also loved thrusting too much.
We stayed under the shower long enough to rinse the sweat off, then we switched off the tap and dried each other
And after that, I really did show him my dresses and tried on the ones he liked best. We decided I would wear a dark blue dress, a bit more modest that the one from l
ast night, but still ravishing. I wondered if he would want to have another go, seeing his expression when he looked at me, but he never asked or started.
So I let him tie the front of the dress, and he even braided my hair in a style that looked decidedly pagan. But since we were going to visit one of his allies, I supposed it was decent enough, and it certainly presented my hair at its very best. There were clearly advantages to dating an artist.
He asked shyly: 'Will you wear my horses again?' which was the sweetest
thing. I couldn't say a word, but I looked my answer, and that made him very happy.
We were so cute and shy together, it almost made me cry. Going back downstairs, Paul fetched the horses and fastened them around my white throat. He kissed me as he always did when I was wearing a dress, almost worshipful. Then Lukas came in, and his entrance did not break the mood, it rather enhanced it. He looked at us in admiration, and clearly enjoyed seeing our love. How did he do it, enjoy what would make anyone else jealous?
Maybe it was to him what reading a love-scene was to me, that nice shivery feeling one got when Mr Darcy and Elisabeth finally understood each other.
Paul asked Lukas if he would want to keep the necklace he borrowed last night, and Lukas' face clearly showed that he would. Paul fetched it as well, and fastened it on his neck, kissing him intimately afterwards.
He did that magnificently, and I enjoyed the sight as well. Then Paul sniffed our marathon runner and said: 'Too bad we just more or less emptied the boiler, you'll have to take a tepid shower.' Lukas took the hint and replied:
'You better take that necklace off me again then, and I'll run upstairs really quickly. Which he did.
Soon we set off for Sir Nomes' manor, in a direction I didn't go very often, because it went straight through one of the lesser neighbourhoods, then to an industrial area near the river. Both places were very depressing, the first with poverty, tattered children, dirty streets, not a safe place to be for a girl like me, the second even filthier and totally desolate. I couldn't actually think of a single reason to go there.
Thinking of the search, I asked Paul: 'Is the industrial site ahead the one you saw in the search?' Paul nodded, clearly not looking forward to what we might see when we passed through there. 'Is it still within your quarter?' I went on.
This time, he spoke: 'It is, though only just. When we are there I'll show you the boundary. It is one of the least pleasant places within my quarter, and I've wished I could do something about it since I became guardian here, but I haven't had the responsibility for this quarter very long yet, I have no idea how to do such a thing.
The owner of the site has it protected from my sight somehow, I'm still thinking on a solution. And now the dryads are caught there, within my quarter, but in a part of it where I don't have any real influence yet.' That
explained his strong reaction to the search yesterday, it was born in frustration. I took his hand and squeezed it a little, to let him know I was with him on this.
We were in the poor quarter now, and we all kept a close watch on what was going on around us. I wasn't afraid, but I didn't feel comfortable either, in my dress that yelled 'rich' even though I'd earned every penny it had cost myself.
But I believed my men looked strong enough to deter any attacks, and I supposed Paul must have some allies here. When I got a sense of something following us, I kept an eye on it for a while, to see if my feeling was real, and when it did follow us turn by turn, always at a safe distance, I looked at Paul worriedly and said: 'We are being followed.'
Lukas apparently had noticed too, and nodded at my mentioning it. Now Paul looked a lot older and wiser again, as he calmly told us: 'I know, I asked some of my friends to keep an eye out. I'm not going to walk through this area with you dressed up like a lady and only two unarmed skinny men to protect you.
I've some pretty awesome allies here, they'll escort us to the industrial area, then go home until we return.' I felt kind of relieved, though I did not expect the three of us to be helpless. Still there was the large, desolated industrial are to cross: 'Aren't you afraid we'll be set upon there?'
He replied: 'Somehow, the people from this neighbourhood don't go there, they say it has bad mojo, bad magic. I haven't been able to pinpoint any active magic, I could see it if someone was using power from the ley-lines or nodes in my own quarter, and even outside it.
So any magic anyone could use without my noticing would have to be personal power, but no-one has much of that. Of course, my not being able to use my sight there is a kind of clue that something is afoot, but I've not been able to find out what.'
Here Lukas had something to say: 'I'll help. I can nearly disappear if I want to, I'm invisible yet to magical sight, and I have it myself. I'm not as helpless as I look either, even without sharp horns.'
This had us both staring at him, and he repeated: 'I'm serious, I can help find out things. They'll see you coming from miles away, you shine like beacons to magic sight. I'm used to being sneaky and I'm really good at it. I know how to fight with a knife and wrestle and my head is so hard I can butt nearly anyone unconscious, and though these stumps can't gore anyone like my
horns could, they can't get stuck in things either, that's a big risk for horn users.'
Seeing that he was totally serious, and not afraid at all, Paul told him: 'I'll remember that when I need someone to sneak in somewhere. That may be the answer here, subterfuge instead of magic. Thank you.'
We were now approaching the desolate industrial site, and I planned to keep a really sharp eye out, and not just eyes, but all my senses, including my new magical sense if needed. Our escort stayed behind, their presence disappearing from my senses.
There were still houses here and there, but they were in ruins, their empty window sills staring at us reproachfully. This was really the other side of town, remembering the park where we were just that morning, and the enormous glass building I was helping to build. What a total waste of time and money, to spend so much resources on a few families, and let the rest live in squalor. We saw no children, Paul said they'd hide if someone came close.
I am not ashamed to say I was nearly in tears, crossing that woeful place. The road was covered in filth, there was garbage everywhere, and not just garbage, but also broken down stuff that was still recognizable, anything people didn't want anymore. The place was a horror, my worst nightmare had been a walk in the park compared to where we were walking now.
I sent out my feeling to see if I picked something up, and I saw several living things in a heap in one of the derelict buildings. Those children, probably.
That should not be happening in Paul's quarter, that should not happen anywhere.
I felt really guilty, having had such a safe and happy life. Feeling ahead, I found smaller sources of life as well, though I sadly couldn't see the difference between a small animal, say a rat or a stray dog, and a faerie.
What was the use for the owner to keep such a dump near his factory? He could house his workers there, real estate was expensive in a big city like this, even though the air was clearly bad. There must be something else going on, something other people shouldn't see, something shady. We were now approaching the factory building, the only building on this piece of land that was in perfect repair, and Paul wanted to show me the boundary before the building filled our view. He pointed to spot near the river, and I felt at it, which was my way to describe magic sight. It was difficult to project it so far ahead, but I managed, and I did indeed see a shimmering line right across the
landscape, following the course of the river.
Near the river itself, I spotted a weird phenomenon, it seemed like a lake of phosphorescence, spilling over into the river. The phosphorescence pulsated, as if it were alive. I was by now getting used to interpreting my sight, or feeling, as I called it. Metals were made up out of a clear grid emanating a tone. This stuff had no grid, and no emanations. It looked most like the flow in Lukas' horns or in the trees,
except there was no movement in it.
I tried to memorise the look and feel of it, wanting to go nearer but at the same time glad I couldn't. By now I was convinced that this was the thing the owner of the factory was hiding, the reason why he allowed this filthy depressing plain of human waste to exist.
I came back to the now, and my knees buckled. Paul caught me, kept me upright, with a worried look and he asked: 'Are you all right, was it so hard for you to look for the boundary?' I replied: 'No, I found that straight away.
But I saw something by the river's edge that is not as it should be. Please hold me up so I can look at it with normal sight.'
But with normal sight, there was nothing different from the rest of the dismal place. I pointed the spot out to Lukas and Paul, however, they didn't see anything amiss from this distance. We decided to walk on, it was already very unusual for people to cross this site, and we didn't want the owner to become suspicious.
For Lukas was right, anyone with magic sight could see Paul and me light up with it, and to me especially, that could be really dangerous. I needed Paul's arm to lean on, but of course he didn't mind that at all. I was surprised it took so much out of me, but I supposed feeling that far might be harder, and of course I had already used a lot of magic on site. Still, I was determined to feel the building as well, until Paul said: 'Please don't use sight on that building, Melissa, you're tired and if someone in there has your signature from just now he could attack you when you're defenceless
I don't know if I could help you. You can try on the way back, if you feel stronger, or another time. I don't want to risk you, I like you much better with a brain.' I shivered and did not feel the building, really uncomfortable now.
The building was huge, it was a hall filled with machines that could spin and weave wool much faster than a person. People worked in it all day and part of the evening, keeping the machines going was important, for a machine that was standing still was not making the owner any money. Most of the raw
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