Marije reached forward and took Parvarti’s hand. “I understand now. I can imagine that Sipheria does a lot of charity work. I also came from a small, not very wealthy family. You seem wonderful. You’re very pretty. Never let anything as superficial as wealth and fame overshadow your self-worth.”
Collin started to choke. He looked up from his granola in time to see Parvarti’s jaw drop.
“See, Parvarti,” Collin said. “I told you they’re good listeners.”
“So, do you have a room assignment yet?” Parvarti asked enthusiastically.
Marije shook her head no.
“Then come and stay with me at the Institute. Do you have a suitcase or a bag?”
Marije shook her head no.
“Weapons?” Parvarti asked, then quickly added. “Sure, I get it. All buried somewhere, right?” Parvarti grabbed the books, stacked them under her arm, grabbed Marije’s hand, and headed toward the door.
“Forgetting something sweetheart?” Collin called over.
“Oh, yes,” Marije said. “Happy to meet you. Thank you for your hospitality.”
Collin nodded. “You’re welcome.” But he kept his expectant expression. “Goodbye kiss?”
Parvarti looked embarrassed for a second, but only for a second. By the time she reached Collin, she was grinning. He stood and wrapped his massive arms around her and whispered into her ear. “This morning was great,” he said. Then they shared a long soft kiss.
As Parvarti bounced toward the door, Marije took note of Collin’s deeply worried face.
Chapter 56
Chaniel Talks to Animals
Doesn’t everyone?
—Chaniel
Oceania
In His arms we rest.
In His mind we give thanks.
In His heart we dwell.
Who but that One?
That One who stands alone above all else?
Who but He could bring us such joys?
The song was not particularly melodious — the singer randomly paused between and within phrases — repeating some but not others — it sounded more like wandering through a song rather than singing it.
The author was clearly a young female Angel. She sounded absentminded, as if the song were an afterthought.
And it annoyed Karolita.
At every moment throughout the rainy night, she was certain if she closed her eyes, the horrible guard dogs would attack. The only good part about the night was that Guard2 discovered the pond was fed by two sources. One source was a cold water stream, the other a hot water spring. By moving to a point between the two, Karolita could regulate the temperature to whatever her desire was at the moment. Although grateful for the heat, Karolita’s comfort was somewhat ruined because Guard2 had waved her over like a servant when she found the hot spring.
At first, because they were all chilled, they stood near the hot source. Only a few minutes later the chill was gone and Karolita moved to a spot that gave her the optimal comfort. The others ensured they did not interfere with the flows that brought that optimal temperature to their Goddess.
At some point Karolita fell asleep. She awoke with a start when she urinated in her clothes. She looked around to see if the dogs were still there. She saw the white surrounding their black, calculating eyes. She fell asleep again and did not stir until hearing the cacophonic song.
With the moon well above the horizon, the first thing she saw were two rabbits chasing each other, occasionally leaping into the air before disappearing. Then Karolita saw the Angel. A third rabbit joined the others when they reappeared, sprinted around the Angel's legs for a few revolutions, and then raced away.
“Hello,” the Angel said, speaking in the direction of a tree, reaching out and resting her palm upon it. “Is the water nice?”
Is she talking to me? Karolita wondered.
“I’ve never been in this pond before. I actually prefer the ocean. But I guess ponds can be nice, too.” The Angel turned her attention from the tree and casually looked at the group in the pond — some standing up to their chest in the case of Karolita, or up to their neck in the case of Eros.
“Your skin looks like it’s wrinkling. Have you been there long?”
The Angel was wearing a simple pink dress with oversized orange flowers. She wore a quizzical expression but did not seem eager or impatient for an answer.
“We have been here all night,” Karolita replied, using her most polite voice.
“Yes, it was a beautiful rain storm. I like the rain. Oceania is nice but far too dry for me. I was out a lot last night in the rain, too. But then, I got tired and went to bed. You look tired, too.”
“Yes, we are exhausted,” Karolita replied, continuing to hold back her annoyance as best she could. This Angel appeared very distracted, seemingly unable to maintain any eye contact. She kept looking around, as if trying to see something not there.
“Then why don’t you come out of the water and go to bed? I find it very hard to sleep in water, don’t you?”
Karolita reached for her purse. She desperately wanted something she could use to kill this stupid cretin. Then Karolita remembered the horrible canines had taken her purse. The terrible creatures were still there, crouching in the bushes, their black eyes glaring. Karolita shut her eyes and made herself breathe.
“It’s because we’re surrounded by all these dogs,” Guard1 said. “They chased us here last night. We don’t know why.” Normally, Karolita would have been infuriated to hear Guard1 answer for her. Right now, she was glad.
“Oh, that’s terrible,” the Angel said with the same dreamy voice. The words ‘terrible’ or ‘wonderful’ or any other word seemed to have exactly the same absence of emotion.
The Angel looked around the perimeter of the pond. Karolita assumed she was scanning the dogs; however, she did not seem to be focused on anything. “Oh, there you are Brutus. I thought it might be you. Go on now and take your friends with you,” she said giving her hand a small dismissive wave.
One of the guard dogs stood. His body was massive; his legs thick and large like an elephant. He stared at the Angel. He looked defiant, even aggressive except that his hair was lying down, and he was not growling or showing his teeth.
How stupid can this pigeon be? Karolita thought. She thinks she can just talk to these monsters and wave her hand and they’ll obey. Maybe I’ll get lucky and Brutus will just kill her.
“It’s time for you to do something else,” the Angel said calmly in exactly the same tone of voice, giving the same dismissive wave, now looking at Eros with her head tilted to the side, her face a bit more confused than normal.
Brutus stared at her another moment. He looked disappointed, but did not hang his head or give any sign of submission. He barked softly, and then trotted away. All the other dogs stood and followed.
Karolita’s mouth fell open.
“They can get very aggressive,” the Angel said absentmindedly, now wading into the water and walking towards Eros. “Sometimes the smallest thing can set them off. It’s their noses, you know. Scent goes right to the brain and makes them stop thinking. Were you running when they started chasing you?” The Angel was now in front of Eros.
“We got lost and the dogs startled us,” Guard1 said quickly. “Then Eros started running and we followed.”
Guard1 briefly jerked her head toward Karolita, worried about using the name ‘Eros’.
“That’s an interesting name.” She studied Eros’ face for a moment. “Namgda, why are you bothering him?” she asked, mistaking Eros for a male.
Karolita and the two guards had forgotten a massive snake had coiled around Eros’ body during the night. Eros had screamed in terror when the snake raised its head out of the water and looked Eros in the eye.
The Angel appeared to be listening. “Namgda says you killed one of her children last night. Did you?” Eros opened her mouth to lie but the snake turned and glared at her. Namgda’s mouth opened, showing the many tiny teeth lining
her jaw.
“Now’s the time for honesty,” the Angel said, again no change in the pitch of her voice. “Serpents can become very angry when lied to. And Namgda is particularly sensitive to lies.”
Eros fought hard to suppress the words that came to her mind. If she lied, she worried Namgda would crush and consume her. “Uh, yes, uh, I did,” Eros sputtered. “I was very frightened by the dogs chasing us. When we ran into this pond, a snake was looking at me, and I smashed it before I could think.”
The Angel said nothing, just tilted her head, waiting. Namgda tightened her grip. Eros gasped for air.
“Maybe Namgda would like an apology,” Karolita said, well knowing that Eros never apologized for anything. Within Eros’ limited repertoire, the concept of apology did not exist.
“Oh, of course. I’m sorry. I’m still very afraid. I’m not thinking very clearly.” Eros was shaking. “I’m sorry, uh, Namgda. What I did was a cruel, senseless crime.” The snake tightened some more. Eros’ mind raced as she tried to recollect some of the apologies she had heard from others but had never personally used. “I took your child from you. A terrible loss. I regret my actions, but I lost control of my senses. Please forgive me.”
Namgda kept her grip tight, but the Angel gave Namgda a couple little taps on the head. “He has apologized in the best way he knows how. Now off you get. I’ll come to your nest later so we can mourn together.” The snake slowly, begrudgingly uncoiled herself, rested her head on the Angel’s shoulder for a moment while the Angel stroked her, then rippled to the other side of the pond and slithered onto the shore.
Upon seeing the flexing muscles in a body that was almost as big around as Eros’ waist and was at least seven meters in length, Eros decided she had gotten off easy. Eros noticed the Angel was studying her again. Eros opened her mouth to say something sarcastic but then heard Karolita clear her throat.
“Uh, thank you. I’m not accustomed to Oceania and am not feeling well. I’m very tired. I apologize for my bad behavior.” Eros kicked her mind into full gear, searching her memory. “My name is Eros. May I ask yours?”
“Oh yes,” the Angel reached down and took Eros’ hand and began to lead her to the shore. “My name is Chaniel. I come to Oceania all the time. I feel very lucky that it rained last night. It brings out so many wonderful creatures.”
Karolita and the others followed Chaniel to the shore. “Did you hear the tree frogs singing?” Chaniel asked.
Karolita closed her eyes and shook her head. She wanted to scream something like, ‘Are you stupid? We could have heard the freaking tree frogs even if we were deaf.’ But instead, she calmly said, “Oh yes, Chaniel. We did. We were here in the forest when the downpour hit and they started singing. It was amazing, wasn’t it?”
“They’re a bit loud for me, but still quite lovely if you aren’t too near.” Chaniel was still holding Eros hand and it was clearly irritating Eros. Karolita came up on the other side and grasped Eros’ other hand. She tapped out a little code on Eros’ palm. ‘It seems we might still get out of this. So just you screw up. Endless torture. You’ll beg for death.’
Eros smiled. “Chaniel, do you have a favorite…” Eros dug deep, “…uh, archetype?”
“Oh, I am very fond of the bunnies. Ereumpatat is my best friend. And that’s why Namgda and I sometimes fight.”
“I understand,” Eros said, wondering who Ereumpatat was. “That must be very unpleasant for you.” What she really wanted to say was, ‘If you like, we can come back with a legion of Pharisee warriors and wipe out every accursed serpent on this entire miserable island.’ But she did not.
“Are you going back to your rooms now?” Chaniel asked as they reached shore.
“Uh, no we can’t,” Karolita said, then struggled to think of a good reason. She dare not say they lost their papers. Then she thought of a nice stupid reason. “I, uh, we, are a bit modest. We were already deep in the forest when the rains started and now we appear… uh, so we need to figure out how to get dried off first.”
“Yes, I understand. Lots of Angels don’t seem to mind. But I am quite modest, too.”
Now that they were out of the water, Chaniel scanned Eros. Chaniel had been referring to Eros as a ‘he’. The large breasts did not fit but as she scanned Eros’ body, other parts did. “It seems that you are a bit confused,” she said to Eros, then continued to lead her by the hand.
As they walked in silence for a moment, a blur of motion came streaking toward them. “Hello little bunnies. I am very happy to see you again.” Instantly the blur stopped. Five rabbits were in front of her, sitting up on their hind legs, cheerfully pawing the air.
Chaniel let go of Eros hand, knelt down on both knees, and then leaned back. Instantly, all five were on her lap, either rolling on their back, wanting a tummy rub, pawing the air, or wanting their necks scratched. “This is Eros,” she gestured to Eros. All five sets of eyes looked at Eros. “And this is…”
“Karolita.” Karolita stepped forward and forced herself to smile and bow.
“Guard1”
“Guard2”
They felt stupid as they stepped forward and gave polite bows to the rabbits. The absurdity of the situation precluded them from thinking twice about introducing themselves as guards.
“This is my friend Ereumpatat and his children, Weebot and Weebee, Yuptal and Yuntee,” Chaniel said.
Eros thought how much she would like to find a stick and play ball with their heads. All five sets of bunny eyes locked onto her. Suddenly, they did not look so cute, fuzzy, and helpless. Eros was sure their eyes had changed color. The creatures seemed blurry, as if she had lost her ability to focus on them. She thought they were baring their teeth. Are they becoming larger?
“Serpents are very sensitive to lies,” Chaniel addressed Eros. “And bunnies are very sensitive to bad thoughts. I’ve seen Ereumpatat get quite angry when someone has bad thoughts, especially against his children.”
Karolita gave Eros a nudge to the shoulder, but Eros could not break her gaze with the rabbits.
“I think we should go now,” Chaniel said. “Run along little friends. I’ll come back. We can play later.” All five looked at Chaniel, their cute fuzziness returning. They leapt off her lap and flew out of sight in a blur.
Chaniel took Eros’ hand again as they walked in silence toward the beach. Eros heard the name ‘Ereumpatat’ run through her mind and turned around. Again, she had trouble focusing her eyes. She could have sworn that off in the distant forest, she saw a rabbit, a rabbit about five meters high, staring at her viciously, teeth as long as silver swords, death in his red eyes.
Chaniel dropped Eros’ hand and pointed. “There are some nice showers over there. You can hang out your clothes to dry. I’ll get you some towels.”
Karolita was furious as she led the others toward the mall area. Her confidence had returned now that they were no longer wet and covered with mud. Luckily, it was easy to get lost in the crowds.
Karolita’s problems were now amplified. She had lost her purse with all their travel documents. There was little doubt that the dog who had taken her purse had brought it back to its master, which meant by now, the Valkyrie had most assuredly put five names and faces together with Celestial Weapons of Pharisee design, not to mention a lot of stolen jewelry and all of Karolita’s money.
The only chance she had was to have Guard2 pilfer documents from some unsuspecting pigeons. Then they would have Marije, who was a good artist, alter the facial drawings, which hopefully would be good enough to get them off this horrible island and to Carolina Isle where they could make their way back to Glamoria. Once there, Marije would pay dearly for her blatant disloyalty in the midst of danger.
For an hour, they feasted off the free food samples at the docks. Guard2 stole two sets of useful papers, with of course, the primary requirement being that the documents matched most of the vital statistics of height, weight, and skin color. Having a picture that appeared altered would be sus
picious enough, but to alter the vital statistics would be foolish.
Convinced everyone was looking at her, Karolita sent Guard1 to check the entrances to the underground mall area. Guard1 returned with the good news that no one was checking bags or papers — not a single Valkyrie was in sight. Karolita quickly led the others back to her room.
When she opened the door, Marije was waiting.
“Let the punishment begin,” Eros hissed.
Marije jumped to her feet. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick about you.”
“We spent the night in the woods. In a pond up to our necks. With a dozen guard dogs all around us,” Karolita hissed, surprised to see sincerity and worry on Marije’s face.
“What? Are you injured? How did you get away? How…”
“Enough of this, you liar,” Eros frothed. “You betrayed us. Why should we believe anything you say?”
“Oh. I see,” Marije said. “You think I’m lying so I have to prove my loyalty all over again. Is that it?”
“Yes you do,” Eros gloated.
“Then let’s get it over with,” Marije said with a sigh. “Want me to kiss your ass?” She looked at Karolita. “Will that prove it yet again?”
Karolita nodded with a nasty grin.
“Okay, fine.” Marije stepped toward Eros and prepared to literally kiss her bum. Instead, Marije’s foot flew like a ballplayer kicking a goal. She soundly connected with Eros’ testicles, lifting her off the floor. Marije could feel the tissues crumble.
“AHHHHHHHHHH,” Eros screamed as she landed on the floor.
Everyone stood back as Eros continued screaming, rolling on her back, grasping her genitalia.
Marije cocked her right arm, her knuckles cracking as she doubled up her fist. She went down on one knee and let her fist fly, smashing through Eros’ hands, the bones snapping, the powerful punch penetrating, crushing her penis.
Eros’ body shook; her mouth gaped open with an agony so intense she could not make a noise.
Lilith: Eden's Planetary Princess (The Michael Archives Book 1) Page 44