Triple Booked

by Mardi Ballou

  Alex figured they’d all be better off if Jade did the actual interruption. Once again, she was on his wavelength without him having to use words. She bent so her mouth was near Gabe’s ear.

  When Gabe first looked up, his facial expression showed him to be perfectly receptive and open. This was the attitude Alex had been hoping for. But when Gabe realized he was there, his face tightened into a glower. “I really do not want to give up any more of our work time today because of you, Rapsos.”

  Alex, not exactly the patient type either, forced himself to step back. “I can appreciate that, and I understand you want to get on with your work.”

  “Good. Then leave Jade and me alone.” Gabe’s eyes glittered with challenge.

  Without being able to reveal himself, Alex felt like he was fighting with one hand tied behind his back. “Gabe, Jade, I’m asking for trust and goodwill here. What I offer is worth far more than it will cost you in lost writing time. Infinitely more, actually.”

  “I feel like I’m trapped in that movie where the guy keeps having to relive the same day,” Gabe muttered. “Rapsos, I’ve been giving you attention all day, and, so far, nothing you’ve said or done has been worth a second of my wasted time.”

  “I disagree,” Jade said. Alex wanted to hug her, which, he knew, would back Gabe even farther into a corner.

  He turned to Jade. “If you insist, I’ll listen, on one condition. Rapsos gets one more chance to provide what he’s been dangling in front of us all day. He says his spiel, we listen and then he’s out of here.”

  “I insist. Gabe, my sixth sense tells me something special is going on here.”

  He rolled his eyes. “What about your other senses and that old biggie, common sense?”

  “Geez, Gabe, if I’d listened to common sense, I’d be married to a professional and live upstate.”

  Gabe’s cheeks reddened. “Jade, you’ve got to stop quoting your mother to me. It’s not productive.”

  “Agreed. Let’s listen to what Alex has to say. I promise to work extra hard to make up the time we’ve lost if we both agree, later, that whatever Alex had to say wasn’t worth listening to.”

  “All right,” Gabe grumped.

  If only he could tell them the whole truth. Especially now that he was off the island, he felt convinced the Dionysian Oracle Mages should revisit their firm resolve to maintain secrecy. Maybe the world was ready to know about them, to learn about the Isle of Manikis and beings with magical powers who believed in the primacy of pleasure.

  Right now he had to make his mission sound plausible without revealing the group’s existence. “Greece, like Rome, has a very special connection with the past,” he began.

  “Just what I’m in the mood for, another lecture on the greatness of Greece.” Gabe didn’t bother to stifle his yawn.

  Much as he hated to admit it, Gabe had a point.

  “Gabe, I want to show the fluidity of time in these societies. Both Greece and Rome. The truth is, for many in these societies, mythology and the deities continue to exist.”

  Gabe snorted. “We don’t need to go to Greece or Rome to find delusional people who are mentally stuck at some time in the past. There are tons of them right here in New York, only they usually hide behind a bottle or abuse some drug. Rapsos, as far as I’m concerned, you’re just another nut. Better dressed, seemingly more sober, but just as delusional. Only you’re more dangerous because you somehow manage to convince other people they’re part of the delusion with you.”

  Everything Gabe said was plausible and understandable. Of course he was completely wrong, but it was easy to see where his errors came from.

  Alex turned to gauge Jade’s reactions. Her eyes shone with something that looked a whole lot like belief, and he permitted himself a smile. Divide and conquer. Once he got Jade really on his side, she’d be his ally in moving Gabe along.

  Jade felt like she was walking around with the female equivalent of a permanent hard-on. She balanced constantly on an edge, floating on an adrenaline high, super-aware of herself as a sexy woman with two gorgeous males in her thrall. Her breasts yearned to be touched, caressed and suckled. Desire sat low in her belly, warming her, keeping her pussy creamy and her clit engorged. Even walking, the rubbing together of her thighs as she moved, became a sensuous act.

  Pheromones filled the air, and all her senses expanded. Though Alex appeared to relish all the sensuality he sparked, Gabe, her Gabe, looked like he was lost at sea. She wanted to tell him to relax, that everything was okay. His being intimate with Alex took nothing away from what they had together. In fact, being with them in all possible combinations turned her on.

  Strange, despite being a writer, she couldn’t find the words to express any of these new feelings. But it was rapidly becoming urgent to soothe Gabe, who was putting far too much energy into fighting the wrong battle. “Alex, perhaps if you would explain your ideas more concretely, Gabe and I would be able to give you a definitive answer.”

  Alex nodded. “Put simply, will you let me to transport you to a very special, very magical place?”

  Gabe rolled his eyes. “What are you proposing now,? You going to slip LSD into our water?”

  Alex shook his head. “No. I’m proposing a real trip. But both of you have to be prepared to experience something unique and to follow my directions completely.”

  Jade shivered at his words. Though she continued to be on his side, even she had to admit being with Alex was becoming increasingly bizarre. But even stronger than the weirdness was the fascination. She also sensed an urgency in Alex’s demands. “I’m prepared,” she said softly. “But I will back out the moment anything you ask or tell me to do strikes me as wrong.” She hoped Alex wouldn’t give her any reason to regret her agreement.

  Gabe looked like he’d swallowed sour wine. “Jade, is that you, agreeing like that? Or has Rapsos replaced you with some alien robot?”

  “Let us all join hands.” Alex held out his huge hands to Gabe and her. She took both men’s hands and a surge of warmth nearly knocked her off her feet. Gabe accepted Alex’s hand with great reluctance.

  “What now, Rapsos? A séance?” Gabe glowered.

  “Please, Jade, Gabe, close your eyes.”

  Gabe rolled his eyes before closing them. When he had, Jade closed hers.

  “Now I want you to keep the circle intact until I tell you otherwise.” Alex’s voice sounded very calm and steady.

  “Rapsos, do you have anything planned aside from the circle of hand-holding?” Gabe asked. Jade sensed Gabe was moments away from breaking their small circle.

  “Yes. I’m going to take you home with me.”

  Jade felt confused. Why the high drama if all he meant was for them to go back to his apartment?

  Gabe put words to Jade’s question.

  “To my real home.” Alex’s voice sounded hushed, almost reverential.

  To his real home?

  Before she could ask another question, Jade got caught up in a whirlwind that forced her to grip Gabe’s and Alex’s hands for dear life.

  * * * * *

  In moments, the benevolent wind brought Alex and his companions to the Isle of Manikis. At first sight of his home, Alex felt a rush of joy. Having Gabe and Jade joined with him in a flying triad, Alex experienced a sense of rightness. For the first time since he’d left, he felt confident he would accomplish his mission.

  Alerted to their arrival by Ioannis, the other mages would don cloaks of invisibility so Alex wouldn’t have to worry about any unplanned encounters. They landed smoothly in the meadow near the olive grove, and the sweet scent of flowering jasmine filled the air with irresistible perfume.

  “Where the fuck are we?” Evidently the brief trip did nothing to improve Gabe’s disposition.

  “It’s lovely here, Alex. You said this is your home?” Jade appeared enraptured with the sight and sensuality of the lush green meadow.

  Not for the first time since he met them, Alex wondered how in the
world the two of them were compatible. Evidently a true case of opposites attracting. “Yes, this is my spiritual home and the place where I come as often as my wanderings permit.”

  “That doesn’t explain anything.” Gabe looked at Alex suspiciously. “Are we still in America?”

  At least he hadn’t asked about Kansas. “No. We are in Greece.”

  Jade gasped. “Greece?” She looked around her as if struggling to get her bearings. “Alex, how in the world did you get us to Greece?”

  Gabe snorted. “Shit, Jade. This is just another of his delusions, his cons. Rapsos, I have no idea how or why you do any of it, and I don’t care. But stop with the bullshit. Are we in your apartment or ours?”

  Gabe was such a cynic. Alex took maybe a bit too much pleasure in bursting his bubble. “We are really in Greece, the country in Europe.”

  Gabe started to protest some more, but Jade put a restraining hand on his wrist. “Alex, I have to agree with Gabe that what you’re saying is hard to believe. An isolated earthquake in Greenwich Village strains credulity. But how could you possibly have transported the three of us to Greece in a matter of moments? It’s not like we all climbed onto a magic carpet or anything.”

  This was where it got complicated. “I need you to suspend disbelief for now,” Alex said. “You are in Greece, and this is not an illusion. I had to bring you here so you might understand. About the writing, about my particular mission. About how to proceed to fulfill the prophecy of the Tarot.”

  “The Tarot? What—” Jade put a hand over her mouth. “You mean that card I drew at Maura Fox’s party?”

  “Bloody hell. Is this what all this shit is about? The freakin’ Tarot card. Is that why we’re here, Rapsos, you fraud?” Gabe’s anger flared like a hideous beacon in the midst of the peaceful green meadow.

  “The Tarot is an indicator and a guide,” Alex said. “The card is not the reason for your being here. Rather, the card helped bring us together. The card can point to the future, but it is no guarantee of that future unless the people follow the necessary steps. Success is in your stars, but that doesn’t mean you can avoid working for it.”

  “We know all about hard work,” Gabe sneered. “What we don’t know is why you had to take us to freakin’ Greece, if that’s what you’ve really done.”

  “Oh, this is Greece. Here you will be able to open yourselves to the future that awaits you if you continue on the path.”

  Gabe shook his head. “I want to go home. I’m not buying, Rapsos. Get us home, and then don’t let the door slam your ass on your way out of our lives. We can manage to follow our path and all that shit very well without you.”

  Even Jade gazed at him with confusion. “I can’t completely accept that we’re in Greece, Alex, though I’d like to. But assuming it is true, where in Greece are we?”

  How much he’d enjoy showing her around the country. Nothing like seeing it through the eyes of a newcomer, and Alex imagined Jade would delight in each new sight, each new monument, each statue and ruin. Hell, he’d love to take both of them on a grand tour—later. For now, he’d have to bring them along more slowly, give them time to assimilate all the newness. Of course, he also had a deadline.

  Which he’d never meet if he moved so fast he lost them.

  “We are on the Isle of Manikis,” he announced, welcoming them here with open arms.

  “More like the Isle of Manhattan,” Gabe muttered.

  “Hardly. My friends, allow me to extend the hospitality of the island. We have a local wine that has been called the ‘nectar of the gods’. Why don’t the two of you sit under this lemon tree, and I will arrange a snack for you after your travels.”

  Jade laughed. “Hardly arduous. But I’d love to taste the wine.” She took Gabe by the hand and dragged him over to the tree. When they’d both sat down, Alex walked away until he was out of easy view. Then with a nod of his head, he conjured up a serving cart with a large earthenware pitcher of red wine and a tray of pastries, including his favorite cakes studded with pistachios. Though he could nod his head again and transport the cart over to his guests, he decided the two had enough to try to grapple with, so he wheeled it over to them.

  He drew a cloth, napkins, plates and cups from the shelves of the cart. Jade sprang up to help him with the picnic arrangements, but Alex motioned for her to sit back down. Gabe, slightly reclining with his hands splayed behind him, watched everything with a sullen, suspicious expression. After Alex had given them each plates and glasses and poured the wine, Gabe said, “Maybe we should get a taster to sample this first.”

  Jade shook her head. “What, you think Alex has poisoned the wine?”

  “I wouldn’t put it past him to drug it.”

  Alex proposed a toast. “To the successful outcome of our missions, and to joy!” He clinked glasses with Jade and a less than enthusiastic Gabe, then raised his and drank. The vintage was exceptionally fine, and he allowed himself to savor the perfection of the wine. Even Gabe wouldn’t be able to grouse about this delicious drink.

  Jade quickly followed suit and was ebullient in her praise. “You really should taste this, Gabe.”

  As neither he nor Jade had fallen over in a stupor or begun babbling incoherently, Gabe seemed sufficiently confident to take a sip. “It’s okay.” Alex supposed he couldn’t expect much more than the grudging praise, so he nodded.

  For several minutes, the three sat silently on the blanket, indulging in the delicious pastries and the wine.

  “How big is this island?” Jade asked.

  “It’s about ten miles across at its widest point.” Alex braced himself for the questions to follow, which he knew would be more complex to answer.

  “How many people live here, Rapsos?” Gabe flicked a pastry crumb from the side of his mouth.

  An easy question that would be difficult to answer. “Actually, very few people live here. This island is more a destination for short visits than home to most of the people who come.”

  “Yet you live here?” Gabe looked suspicious again.

  “I have a small home here. Though I don’t come as often as I’d like, I consider the Isle of Manikis my home base. Perhaps more spiritual than actual, but it is the name that comes first to my lips when anyone asks where my home is.”

  “Why have you brought us here?” Gabe’s voice had lost its edge, but Alex stayed on guard. “Assuming, again, that through some sleight of hand you have actually brought us anywhere.”

  The moment of as much truth as possible had come. “In your writing, you have tapped into some universal themes in a most promising way.”

  “Promising?” Both Jade and Gabe echoed his word at the same time.

  “Yes, promising. Which means you have made a great start, but you can go far deeper.”

  “Deeper into what?” Jade asked.

  “Into the substance of mythology, the fundamental bedrock on which the stories of the gods and goddesses, of their feats of magic lie.” Alex looked at both his guests to see if they understood where he was going. Neither appeared to.

  Gabe sat up and gestured around him. “I’ll grant you this place looks and feels like what we’d expect to find on a Greek island. Other than being a site where mythological beings might come, what in bloody hell does any of this have to do with us or our writing?”

  “From the beginning,” Alex intoned, “there have been two fundamental principles that govern the world and animate the deities—love and anti-love, or what you might call hate. The world remains in a precarious balance between these two forces. In your writing, you have already taken the side of love against anti-love. What I have come to tell you is that you must be more purposeful in spreading this message. We must find the way to write these stories to promote the primacy of love because, you see, the forces of anti-love threaten us always.”

  There. He’d said his piece.

  “That’s beautiful.” Jade’s eyes glittered with the force of her own abundant love, and Alex’s heart re
sponded.

  Gabe, however, appeared underwhelmed. “That’s it? You sound like an old Beatles song.”

  “Simple, but profound,” Alex agreed.

  Gabe pursed his mouth in apparent disgust. “Rapsos, you disappoint me. I figured you’d come up with something better than some old clichés about love making the world go ‘round. Well, rest assured. We already imbue our stories with love. Speaking of which, Jade, let’s get out of here so we can salvage something from the vast wasteland today has turned into.” He reached down to help her up.

  Jade held up a hand in the classic gesture for “stop”.

  Gabe recoiled. “You’re not taking this clown seriously. He’s not telling us anything new or helpful, just mouthing a bunch of tired platitudes. I can’t believe you want to hear any more of his bullshit.”

  “It’s not just Alex’s words, Gabe.”

  Alex wasn’t sure he liked hearing her dismiss what he said so easily, but he figured he should keep his mouth shut now and give her a chance to say more.

  “I can’t believe this,” Gabe groaned.

  “Don’t you feel it? This place is magical, Gabe.” Without taking Gabe’s hand, Jade rose gracefully and looked around. “This place is like love transformed into a landscape, complete with all the sensory stimuli.” She began to walk and indicated the wonders she found in the meadow Alex also adored.

  “Smell this place. Feel how the air glides along your skin. Taste the air. Listen to the hum of the bees, the song of the birds. If I ever tried to have an image of what a poem would look like, or a love song, this would be the place I’d come up with.”

  Alex’s heart swelled as he heard Jade express his own feelings. But it wasn’t just his heart swelling. He couldn’t be in this place for long without being inspired to make love. Despite the sour look on Gabe’s face, he sported an erection that proved he wasn’t immune to the meadow’s charms either. As to Jade, her words and the blush on her cheeks told him she was keeping perfect pace with her companions as far as desire went.