Past Lives

by Kirsten Bij't Vuur

  And the other leaping one, the vertical shape, is leaping just for the fun of it, straight in the air, I have heard some of them can leap as high as ten feet that way.'

  That was very useful information, and Paul thanked Hermes for it, asking where had seen dolphins, his fingers shaping the wax whilst he was listening to a tale of intrigue, in which his companion told him how he had seduced a maiden to a beach, taking her on a boating trip, and being followed by dolphins, spying on them at the orders of his half-sister Aphrodite, with whom he had been in an affair at that moment.

  If the activity of his hands had not kept him totally relaxed, he would have fled the scene, his ears burning with the embarrassment a Victorian upbringing was bound to install in a young man. His own sister!

  Ten minutes later, one of the dolphins was done, and he handed it to Hermes for inspection, feeling a certain satisfaction when the god's jaw dropped.

  He didn't stop, he was starting to get into it now, and the next dolphin was fast taking shape, leaping for joy, this one was for the sides of the necklace, the high leap, he'd make several slightly different ones if he managed to do it with magic.

  The front of the necklace would consist of alternating speeding and horizontally leaping creatures, as if they were really jumping in and out of the water.

  'Do they fall back after a jump, tail first? Or do they turn in the air and land head first?'

  Concentrating deeply to check out the first dolphin and finding it totally accurate, Hermes realized he didn't know, and he blurted out: 'I guess they land on their tails with a big splash, if they jump straight up, but I'm not sure.

  I saw them only once, and I was distracted.'

  Still using tiny implements to remove tiny bits of wax, Paul observed:

  'Well, I've just spent half an hour in your mind, and you remember absolutely everything. Just find the memory and you'll know. It is important for the continuity of the movement, if they are to really look to be moving, they need to be realistic. Look under: exciting affairs with obsessive goddesses.'

  Hermes did what he was told to, and blanked out for a few moments, and just then, Melissa and Lukas returned, looking calm and hungry. Melissa came towards him, but Lukas just waved and attacked the food.

  Paul put the little dolphin down, got up and wrapped his arms around his beloved. She smelled of woman, and of salt, and of sex of course. That didn't bother him, it excited him. A lot. He felt his ardour rise in a flash, and he kissed her passionately.

  She answered his kiss, of course, but it was clear she was very hungry and not in the mood for more loving, so he sat down again and picked up the dolphin once more. He was very relieved to notice that his heat waned as he concentrated on his work, his time would surely come, and once he got used to the heat he would find control again.

  'What's up with my father?' Lukas asked between two bites, 'he all right?'

  'He's fine, he's dredging up a memory of seeing a dolphin jump, I want to know if they land on their tails or turn in the air,' Paul replied. 'It's an old memory, and associated with a fling, and he has thousands of those, unsorted, he'll have to look at all of them. He's probably fast, being a god and all but still, it takes time.'

  'Are you really going to make him a necklace?' Another question between two bites.

  'I am, it's a real challenge and I find I can't do nothing with my hands.

  Keeps down the heat too, I'm still excited all the time, it bothers me, for it is sure to come between us.'

  Lukas stopped eating for a minute: 'Tonight we'll be among people again, you need to share a little, that would relieve the heat, and it will be expected of you. All of us, actually.'

  Melissa was surprised at Paul's answer: 'I'll try, but I cannot guarantee anything. I've never felt anything for another woman in my life. And besides, what would you think, Melissa?'

  She answered truthfully: 'You've been sharing me all the time we are together, I've shared Lukas with people I've never even met. I suppose I can share you, as long as you promise faithfully to come back to me always.'

  Well, it was easy to promise her that, Paul still didn't think he'd ever be interested in another woman.

  She said: 'But I don't want to share love with a man I don't know. No-one can force me to, can they Lukas?'

  'If you don't feel attracted, you don't share. Love is never forced here.'

  'Hermes said I would be attracting a lot of attention here, do you think he is right?'

  That was something he needed to think about, and he took his time before he said: 'I don't know. Men who like their women exotic and very smart are usually the elite, not common folk. So I guess you're safer than you might think. And we could arrange it so that one of us is with you at all times, would that be acceptable?'

  That would make her feel better, and she told them so, and then she fell on the food as well.

  With Hermes' help, Paul finished the three miniatures in one go, then started to think of how to cast them with the help of magic. But first, Lukas wanted them to think of a solution for Melissa's sensitive skin, they couldn't let her be burned every day.

  And with Ophius' help this time, he had a relative with a totally white skin who burned in the blink of an eye, they found a magic sun-block that Melissa could apply to herself each morning, a simple spell that would reflect the rays of the sun from her skin.

  She could dismiss it at night, or once she meant to stay inside, then renew it the next morning. Paul learned the spell by heart too, he had been feeling the sun yesterday, and until he browned to adjust to it, he'd better protect himself too.

  They were going to translocate after lunch, so Paul hardened the wax and protected it against heat with a spell he modified himself from the one that kept his cellar cold. It felt good to practice magic openly, and he was going to spend the evening thinking of ways to shape the little dolphins out of gold without using a very hot fire and moulds.

  Having packed their backpacks, and secured the tools and the gold, they sat on the terrace once more, chatting, trying to stay as quiet as possible in the growing heat. Paul was feeling heated in more than one way, trying to ignore it but not succeeding.

  He sat next to Melissa and couldn't keep his gaze and his hands off her.

  She allowed his attentions absently, until she looked at him and asked: 'Do you want us to take one last swim here, Paul, by ourselves, before we will be among people all the time?' He didn't want to beg, so he just nodded, and when she took his hand and led him towards the cliff-face, he felt almost ashamed of his lack of control.

  As soon as they were out of sight, Melissa wrapped him in his arms, saying: 'Humility doesn't suit you, beloved. Head up, back straight, you've lost ten years to look at, and gained urges to match your age.' And she was right, there was nothing to be ashamed of, they loved each other, and she wanted him.

  They went back into the water, Paul determined to do right by Melissa first, which he did, passionately, no longer paining himself with any comparisons with Lukas. They shared their minds and confirmed their love for one another, having been warned by Jakob against drifting apart they promised the other solemnly they would keep talking no matter what happened.

  And when they came back up, Lukas, Hermes and Ophius were talking animatedly, a light lunch waiting, their backpacks in a heap on the terrace.

  After lunch they went to the cellar, where Lukas said an emotional goodbye to Ophius: 'I think we'll see one another again before I go back to London, but then we'll just have a reason to greet again.'

  They all stood in the pattern in a circle, touching, Hermes spoke a different formula, and the ground dropped again, though much less profoundly than the first time. The trip ended in a space similar to that of the villa, empty, rather dark, and with a beautiful mosaic floor.

  They were expected, for there was another horned servant waiting for them, who greeted Hermes with something like humility, but caught Lukas with a broad smile, and an informal: 'Lykos, you're back! We've
all missed you!'

  'You haven't aged a day, Kadmus, so glad to see you. These are my dear friends, Paul Kenwick and Melissa Kenwick.' Handshakes were not common here, but they both got a bow from Kadmus, which they returned.

  They were led up a simple marble stairs, through a short hall, into a beautiful large room with painted walls and a wood floor. There were long pleated curtains to the side of the large windows, and stuffed and embroidered pillows everywhere. The general colours were very warm and welcoming, without making the room stuffy or too hot in this sweltering climate.

  A woman got up from a luxuriant sofa as soon as they came in, she was clearly past middle age, around sixty probably, still beautiful with a trim figure and a lovely flowing dress, again in a warm coloured fabric.

  She seemed torn whom to greet first, and with a look of intense love she embraced Hermes, an embrace he answered not as the son that he looked like, but as the husband he really was. He whispered in her ear, and she was clearly affected very much.

  Nonetheless she controlled her emotions and turned to Lukas, who stood gazing at her with a very strange expression on his cute face. Of course, this was the woman he had loved for years, from the moment he had met her when he was around twenty, until the moment he was abducted, some thirty years later. She didn't return his love, she loved his father, she had made love to Lukas only once, and it had been a mistake to her, though it had given her a daughter they had raised together.

  Ophelie held out her hands to Lukas, and when he took them in his she wrapped him in her arms and cried.

  'Lykos, you're still alive! I thought you must be dead, I never believed those rumours, but when we didn't hear from you for so long I knew something must be terribly wrong. I mourned for you, and Katarina lost all her heart and hope.'

  She really couldn't believe her eyes, she had to touch him to believe, she stroked his face, squeezed his hands, ruffled his hair. 'Where are your beautiful horns? You haven't been branded, have you? No, you don't look shamed, you look strong, healthy, and dear Lykos, you look happy! You'll tell me what happened, will you? And you'll seek out Katarina? I'm so worried.'

  Lukas still held her and said soothingly: 'I will tell you everything, and I have come here expressly to find Katarina and talk to her. But first I want you to meet my friends, Melissa Kenwick and Paul Kenwick. They are from the place where I fled after being abducted from my father's house, they saved my life and helped me cope with my Gift.'

  'And you finally found your love with them, I can see that clearly. So you have a Gift now, I'm happy for you, but I'm much happier to see you finally at peace with yourself. Please sit down, Melissa and Paul, and have a nice cool drink, and we'll talk. Will you sit with me, Hermes? I've missed you.

  You look different too.'

  And Hermes did look different, even to Melissa, something had happened to him in this very house. He sat very close to Ophelie, still a weird sight, with him looking young enough to be her son, and he took her hand in both his, holding it against his chest. Her expression clearly showed he did not

  usually treat her this intimately, but she controlled her surprise and just enjoyed the attention from an unexpected quarter.

  She was small, slim without being skinny, and it was clear she had once been a fabulous beauty. Her hair had grey in it now, but must once have been black as night. She had huge brown eyes, with long lashes, and a very attractive full mouth. Her cheekbones were high, her face delicately carved, still a very beautiful woman, and animated now.

  As Lukas told his story, her expressions showed her feelings quite clearly.

  She felt his fear and his pain at being held captive, the despair at being alone and unloved, the appearance of the portal and his desperate decision to go through. She looked at Melissa with love and appreciation at Lukas' account of his reception in her home and in her arms. The awakening of his Gift, the crafting, the healing of the rejected children, his developing love for Paul, his fear of Hermes and the happenings on the wedding.

  Ophelie experienced everything with him, and she looked at Hermes in wonder as he related his downfall himself, and the things he had learned. The telling of the tale took more than an hour, and when Ophelie realized that her step-son was now a god in his own right, a god with healing powers, she nearly wept with joy.

  'Now I know everything will be all right, you were always the only one who had any influence on Katarina, and whatever is the matter, you will make it right.'

  As they received another round of fruit juice, Paul was very sorry they hadn't thought of bringing some coffee with them. He should have realized it wasn't available yet in this time, on this world it might never be discovered, people did everything with magic, so why would they bother to invent anything to improve their lives? They just made up a new spell and prayed for the power. Ah well, that was just what he was planning to do here, improve his magic.

  He was not planning to pray for power, though, and certainly not to Hermes, that was demeaning. He'd make do with his personal power, and if he got into serious trouble he could always ask Lukas for some, he guessed his friend would not expect him to beg for it.

  Looking around, he saw little staff, but of course they might be elsewhere in the house. 'Do you live all by yourself?' he asked his hostess. She smiled and replied: 'I used to live with Katarina, but when she moved out with

  Galan, I asked one of Katarina's friends, Damara, to come and live here with me. I will introduce her to you later. First let me tell all of you how Katarina changed, that may help you to find out what is wrong with her.'

  Apparently, Katarina had fallen in love with Galan at an early age, and though Galan had sometimes shared love, Katarina never did, never seemed to want to. How Ophelie could find that strange and even unhealthy was a total riddle to Paul, for she had loved Hermes exclusively for more than forty years herself, but it was very clear that she did.

  Galan and Katarina had lived with Ophelie for more than ten years, dedicated to one another, yet they had never had a child nor tried to get one by sharing love. Then suddenly they had moved out, into the surrounding country, taking their own house in the middle of a relatively densely populated area within Hermes' realm.

  The people there were all like Lukas, satyrs, horned and goat-hoofed, and they were generally very sweet-natured and inclined to share their love. Yet around half a year ago, these started to form exclusive pairs, first the young crowd, then spreading to the older generations. Soon, it had become noticeable, as some of these new converts began to spread their way of life more diligently, trying to stop the sharing of love altogether, installing local laws forbidding free love.

  First to find out was Aphrodite, any reduction in the amount of love going around was her business, and she alerted her father and Hermes, which resulted in Hermes being told to mind his affairs and bring his people back to heel.

  Hermes tried talking to Katarina, telling her to mind her father, but she merely laughed at that. She had told him this was the first time she had seen him ever, and her twenty-eight years old. Then he had threatened her, but that didn't make an impression either. She had just disappeared, hiding in the woods around her village until he had to go back to his own house.

  He was sorry to never have gotten to know her, and somehow he felt bad about just having her removed and suppressing the unrest around her. So he thought of Lykos.

  And after his return from his successful but unfortunate quest, he had been threatened again by his sibling and his father, if he didn't quell this unrest, they would.

  Starting to feel restless, and yes, heated, Paul decided he needed to stop

  talking, and start working. He asked for a secluded corner where he could practice some magic in quiet, and safety, for hot molten gold might become airborne in his experiments, and Kadmus took him to a place that looked surprisingly like a workshop.

  It had rows of tools arranged neatly on the walls, there was a sturdy workbench over the whole width of the room, and not
hing flammable in sight. A large furnace looked tempting to Paul, but it would take a day to heat up properly, and he was planning to use magic.

  'Galan liked to work here, ' Kadmus said, 'he is a crafter, he owns a real smithy now.'

  And indeed, on second glance the place looked dusty, out of use. But that didn't matter to Paul, as soon as he had laid hands on the roll with materials and tools, inspiration took hold of him and he couldn't wait to start working.

  He sat at the workbench on a little stool, and unrolled the fabric. The carefully wrapped figurines were still perfectly sound, though too large to use for the necklace directly. His hands started to shape smaller copies, in exactly the right size, and then three more with subtle differences that made their movement fitting between the existing three. He also shaped a dolphin plunging back into the water very elegantly, nose down.

  He would never have done this if he were planning to cast the figurines, a wax shape would have been useless since the wax mould needed to be the inverse of the figurine. But he was going to try to cut out the figurine in gold as he had it in front of him in wax, something he had never tried, but thought must be possible.

  Putting the bar of gold down in front of him, he pictured the image of one of the waxen dolphin shapes straight on top of it, detail and concentration enhanced with a spell he knew well from his studies. He concentrated his power and directed it at the image on the gold. The power melted away the surplus gold, freeing the figurine from the solid bar. The little head, the front of the body with its fins, the......

  His power dried up suddenly. Looking at the shape, the half he had managed to free was perfect, no marring had occurred even when his power ran out on him.

  He sat up in mixed elation and frustration and only then did he really feel the drain. The room spun, and he had to hold on to the bench to prevent from falling. He could seriously not remember when he had been drained this far, melting gold must be very hard to do to demand such power that a piece the

  size of a hazelnut could totally drain him.