Digging Deeper

by Bellora Quinn

  “Very tasty,” he observed. “Could this be the same shy boy that could hardly meet my eyes the first time we ran past each other in the park? Much as I’d love to fuck you right here, I have an important appointment this morning. Can I come over later?”

  “I was just about to ask if you wanted to have dinner after work.” He leaned in closer to Mari’s ear and whispered, “I’ll make you something yummy, then fuck you until you beg for mercy. Sound good?”

  “My stars, Chivis! I swear you have the best ideas. I have to go or I will do something that might well get us arrested again. And I promise I won’t be sorry, either.”

  His grin would have put the Cheshire Cat to shame.

  Jake kissed him once more because he couldn’t resist that delighted expression. “Have a good day, babe. I’ll see you tonight.”

  Chapter Six

  Mama’s new consultant was called Solana Stellara, and as if that was not enough to make Mari hate her at first sight, her ‘practice’ was based in a community residential block near Camden Lock Market that had been designed to resemble a basket full of flowers. He thought it was more like a cage and muttered darkly about council planning departments with more money than sense until Mama told him to be quiet or go home.

  When he pressed the buzzer on her intercom, a surprisingly deep and musical voice invited them up to a spacious apartment on the third floor, far enough above the bustling high street that the sounds of people going about their daily lives was muted and somehow distant. There he got his second surprise of the day.

  Solana greeted them at the door—which had a rainbow plaque with the words ‘Enter Your Happy Space’ written on it in sparkly letters. He’d been geared up—rather uncharitably, he had to admit—for a tiny, middle-aged lady, shaped like a dumpling, perhaps, with purple hair and lots of cats. Solana, however, was almost as tall as he was, and probably not much older. She was dressed in faded-denim-effect leggings under a long, dark-green shift dress with flowing skirts that split at the sides. A tumble of thick, dark, copper-colored hair fell almost to her waist and was pulled back in a tail with a bright aquamarine scarf. The facial features it framed were strong-boned and—well—rather handsome, even tempered with a shimmer of silvery eyeshadow and a slick of light pink gloss. Eyes that were the color of brushed pewter twinkled back at him with something that was almost recognition. A firm, warm hand suddenly enfolded his in a brief and professional shake. Turning, Solana took his mother’s smaller hand in both of her own.

  “Dr. Gale,” that rich, melodious voice intoned, and a broad smile pulled at the healer’s lips. “Welcome to my Retreat. I hope that you will feel comfortable here, and together we can banish the darkness that troubles you.”

  Mama glanced at him and Mari was conscious of the fact that he’d not uttered a word since the door opened. He opened his mouth. Then he closed it again.

  She looked annoyingly pleased.

  Solana chimed softly as she walked. There were tiny bells on the bracelets she wore and on the loose ties at the neckline of her dress. Her feet were bare, the toenails painted, like her fingers, in alternating purple, green and white. He took all of this in as they followed her down a short hallway festooned with colorful modern-art prints and posters advertising painting workshops and jewelry-making courses, toward the spacious living and working area that she invited them into.

  A large sliding window took up most of one wall, with a long, shallow balcony beyond it, packed with plants. There was greenery, or books, on most of the shelves in the apartment, too. Another wall was floor-to-ceiling shelving with a small stepladder beside it, indicating that nothing here went unused. Colored glass spheres hung in the window, catching the light as they turned lazily in the soft drafts of the air conditioning. In one corner stood a carved desk in some dark, polished wood, with a stylish high-backed, leather office chair in front of it. That and the long chaise, draped in silver lamé, with two round-topped side tables positioned at either end, were the only conspicuous furnishings.

  It was a beautiful space. Mari just wished he could make his heart stop racing and appreciate it.

  “Please, take a seat,” Solana said, gesturing to the chaise. “Would either of you like a drink before we begin? Coffee? Or tea, perhaps? I have a selection of fruit teas if you would prefer.”

  Mari mutely shook his head. Annabel thanked her and negotiated a raspberry and rosehip infusion and Solana disappeared into an adjoining room to prepare her drink. When she had been gone for around ten seconds, he leaned toward his mother and whispered, “Mama, she’s a—”

  “Hush, Ilmari,” she whispered before he could finish.

  “But—” He stared at the doorway through which their host had just disappeared, unable to get a handle on the fear that was making him tremble with the urge to flee. “I think we should go.”

  “Ilmarinen, you are welcome to leave if you wish,” his mama said rather more sternly. “I want to hear what she has to say.”

  He stared at her. “Mama, this is not going to work. I mean, look at her. She’s a faith healer. You don’t have a cold or a sprained ankle that she can sprinkle herbs on and it will go away on its own. You have cancer!”

  “I am aware of that, Ilmarinen,” she retorted testily. “I have seen some of the best and the most expensive oncologists that money can buy. They have failed to heal me. So, I’m prepared to look outside the box. She is an Elemental, Ilmari.”

  “I don’t care. There are cheaper faith healers out there,” he said, furrowing his brow. “This is just extortion.”

  “You said you would support me,” she reminded him, her voice quiet and controlled.

  “I will. I do. But this… I have a bad feeling about…” Mari closed his mouth at the look on his mother’s face.

  “I expected better, Ilmarinen. From you, of all people,” she said in a low, warning tone.

  For a moment, he was silent, aware that she was backing him into a metaphorical corner. Frustratingly, he could not even argue without making himself look hypocritical. After the shock and discomfort of facing Tomas, this was almost the last straw. At last he uttered a huff of exasperation. “Okay…have it your way. We will listen to whatever this person has to say but, Mama…please don’t give her money.”

  He looked up at the suggestion of movement in the kitchen doorway.

  Solana emerged, carrying a delicate teacup and saucer, which she placed on the table beside Anni. If she had overheard what Mari said, she was choosing to ignore it, as she neither defended herself nor chastised him for his opinion of her abilities.

  What she said to him instead was, “You are an Air Elemental, are you not?”

  Mari blinked at the statuesque healer. For a moment, he was blindsided by the question.

  “Who told you that?” he asked at last, keeping his tone polite in deference to his mother, but a sudden chill in his blood raised every hair on his body. He eyed Mama inquiringly but she just shook her head.

  “No one told me,” Solana said in her soothing, lilting voice. “I can see the shimmer of Elemental energy in your aura. The yellow and gold is what tells me the element is air. Quite pretty.”

  Mari struggled hard not to roll his eyes. He wondered how difficult it would be to put two and two together and link him to his mother in order to research them both. Being a logical thinker, he found this explanation easier to accept than aura reading. Her comment reminded him of the last police case that he and Jake had assisted on, though. One of the murderers had professed to be able to see his aura. The memory made him shiver.

  “What do you know about Elementals?” he asked, skimming over the ‘pretty’ comment for the time being. It was not the first time someone had told him he was pretty. Once, in another lifetime, he might have been flattered. Now, he found it irritating but had no desire to let Solana discover that. Not on a first meeting anyway.

  “I’ve been one my whole life, so…quite a bit,” Solana said. “A Water Elemental, to be precise. I unde
rstand your skepticism, Dr. Gale, but I assure you my gifts are as valid as your own. How far are you able to project?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have presumed. The yellow and gold parts of your aura are so vibrant I thought you would have one of the stronger gifts of Air. Astral projection—being able to leave the body for a short distance—is the most common manifestation.”

  He was impressed in spite of his determination not to be. Of course, anyone could have found out he was an Air Elemental with a bit of research. It didn’t prove Solana wasn’t a fake. However, if this healer was a genuine Water Elemental, it raised the bar on her potential abilities. One of Mama’s not-too-distant ancestors had been one. Though he’d still never met a Water Elemental that could cure cancer.

  “That’s not exactly what I do, no,” he said, conscious of Mama’s eyes on him. He would be polite, for her sake, but he wasn’t giving this stranger his life story. “My gift is more…technical than that. How long have you been”—dressing like a teenage girl on a hippy trip? his mind supplied, as he was searching for the right words. He bit down on that because he thought Mama would probably kill him, and settled for—“practicing?”

  Solana looked thoughtful. “I have been reading auras for as long as I can remember. My other abilities developed later.”

  The answer seemed frank enough, but Mari didn’t miss the fact that actually she hadn’t told him much.

  “So you have a number of skills? That must be useful.”

  “Do you possess more than one gift, Dr. Gale? It’s quite rare, I’m told. In fact, I’ve never met another Elemental who did.” She beamed at him and Mari frowned irritably. He answered a question with another question often enough that he recognized the evasion when he saw it.

  He had no desire to get sucked into a conversation with Solana—if that was even her real name, which he doubted—but he’d met precious few people in his life that even understood what he was and what he could potentially do. The chance to talk properly about his gift was a rare one. Even so, he kept his answer curt.

  “Just the one, I’m afraid, though it is quite specialized. Aren’t you supposed to be talking to my mother? Remember? The one who’s sick?” he reminded her helpfully.

  Mama nudged him with her foot and gave him one of her sharp, narrow-eyed ‘looks’. He feigned an innocent expression and beamed at her the way Solana did.

  “Annabel is not the one who’s anxious. She has already told me of your natural skepticism. I only wanted to put your mind at ease. Nothing I do will hurt her. The way I work is completely non-invasive. It will, however, take time.”

  And time is money, of course. Mari thought it but he didn’t say it aloud.

  “I’m not anxious. I’m just concerned about her”—mental state—“well-being,” Mari said levelly, instead.

  “Perfectly understandable. I am concerned for her well-being, too. I intend to make sure that her sessions here are comfortable and stress-free. Stress can create setbacks and delays in the healing process. Perhaps you would like a session yourself, as a demonstration?”

  That was definitely a dig.

  “I’m not the one who is sick. I would settle for an explanation of how you intend to banish my mother’s incurable cancer, though.” He leaned against the raised back of the chaise and folded his arms.

  “I suppose you won’t take ‘magic’ for an answer,” Solana said, with a hint of teasing. She must have read the look on his face well enough because she held up her hands to placate him. “It’s not an easy process to explain, Dr. Gale. I don’t perform surgery or prescribe medicine. I don’t sacrifice animals to appease deities or pray for their mercy. I don’t manipulate the body or provide herbal remedies. All of these forms of healing can help or hinder what I do, but I won’t know which until I start. I work directly with the energy centers of the body. Sometimes energy flows too strongly and sometimes it’s mired and stagnant. I gradually adjust these flows until they are in balance. Once balance is achieved, healing is the result.”

  “I can see how that might take a while,” Mari said, glancing at Mama for her take on this. She was watching Solana intently, though, and did not spare him a glance this time. He heaved a sigh. “Is this a kind of reiki that you do, then? Is there any…physical contact involved?”

  Solana nodded once. “Indeed. Reiki is a form of energy work. Although it can’t be proven, I believe Usui Sensei was probably a Water Elemental. Although what I do is not exactly the same. Touch may be involved to some extent, depending on what is needed, but mostly I will work without physical contact. I assure you, however, that I am very professional, and a licensed massage therapist.” She softened her expression. “You know, massage might help relieve some of the tension you hold in your spine and shoulders.”

  That suggestive mirth was tugging at the corners of Solana’s glossy lips again. Mama hid a smirk behind her hand as his gaze darted from hers to the supposed Healer’s. She was absolutely making fun of him. Sudden anger welled up in Mari’s breast and he sat down on it hard because it was unproductive. He had no desire to provoke an argument.

  “I am not your patient, Miz Stellara,” he said in a very pointed tone. “I have absolutely no intention of allowing you to touch me.”

  Solana gave him a curious look but only said, “Interesting. Well, if you change your mind, I’d be happy to schedule an appointment for you or recommend someone else if you would prefer it. Tension is never good to carry around, Dr. Gale.” She turned to his mother before he could even open his mouth to argue. “Before we begin your treatment, Annabel, do you have any further questions?”

  “How many sessions do you think I will need before the cancer responds?” Mama asked her. “I have no problems with repeated sessions, but I’d like some kind of timetable so that I have an idea of what to look out for as the healing progresses.”

  “It’s difficult to say how long. A lot depends on how easily your energies can be balanced. I’ve never treated anyone with multiple myeloma before. I don’t know if it will be more or less difficult than someone with leukemia or ovarian cancer. If you respond well and the disease reacts similarly to leukemia, it might take six months, perhaps a year. As the cancer can lie dormant naturally for a time, we may also need to make follow-up appointments to be sure.”

  Mama looked disappointed but managed a nod. Mari was less contained.

  “A year? At your rates?” he huffed. “You do realize that will bankrupt us!”

  “And a specialist in oncology would cost you less and be more successful, naturally,” Solana said, and this time she was definitely sarcastic. “Dr. Gale, you have come to me because the other options did not work. Don’t think that I do not see this pattern regularly. The treatment will take as long as it takes. I will not lie to you. What you are paying me for is an experiment. It may or may not work. But if we don’t try at all, it certainly won’t.”

  “That was my thinking, too.” Mama sighed and nodded.

  Mari opened his mouth then closed it again because basically he couldn’t disagree with what she said, much as he might want to. That irked him more than anything right at that moment. Addressing Mama, he said, “You want to do this. I can tell.”

  “You know that we have to try,” she responded with her infuriating logic. “I’m running out of options, Ilmari. Another cycle of chemo could wipe me out.”

  He nodded, recognizing when he was beaten. Mama’s last session of chemotherapy had been over a year and a half ago but she was still weaker than she ought to be. Every session seemed to diminish her brightness a bit more, and he could not stand to watch it happen again.

  “Okay, you have my blessing. We will do this.” He chewed on his lips, frustrated but unable to deny Mama anything that her heart was set on, especially not where her health was concerned. He pointed one finger at Solana in warning, though. “If this makes her worse, I will make you sorry.”

  Mama did not speak to him again for t
he rest of the morning.

  Chapter Seven

  “And then, she says this whole sham could take up to a year! I’m telling you, this Solana person has no shame.”

  “Mm-hm.”

  “I mean, it’s one thing to fleece desperate people out of a few hundred, or even a few thousand, but this person basically wants us to pay her Camden rent for twelve months while she waves her hands around and fondles crystals.”

  “Mm-hm.”

  “Did I tell you she had the nerve to say I looked tense? Of course I’m tense! My mother is buying snake oil from a charlatan that brazenly admits she’s going to bilk us for the better part of a year.”

  Jake switched off the flame under the wok he’d been stir-frying their dinner in and transferred the contents to plates. He set one in front of Mari and the other across from him on the tiny folding kitchen table before sitting down.

  Mari picked up his chopsticks, using them to stab viciously at a peapod. “Are you even listening to me at all, Chivis?”

  “Of course I am. She’s supposedly either a crossdressing, or transgender, Water Elemental, who claims to be able to cure cancer in a about a year by waving crystals around and probably playing annoying New Age music. I’ve heard every word, sweetheart. Eat.”

  “I can’t eat. This whole thing is making me sick,” Mari railed and scowled down at the plate Jake had fixed for him.

  “Eat, Mari. Starving yourself isn’t going to help.”

  Mari picked random pieces of chicken out of the tangle of noodles and greens and shoved them into his mouth like they’d done him a personal injustice.

  “I wouldn’t mind,” he said, with his mouth still half-full, “but this Solana person behaves like she’s doing us both a personal favor. Mama can’t talk about anything else, though. She’s besotted. It’s ridiculous.”