Past Lives

by Kirsten Bij't Vuur

  Excepting maybe one, whom I have reproached that he forced me to marry him, to prove he could get the most beautiful woman in the world despite being crippled. But maybe I gave him little chance to prove his love for me, maybe he didn't just marry me out of spite.

  I think that when you are gone back, I will pay a visit to my husband, see

  how he is doing. I always kind of liked the smell of smoke and sweat on a man, and despite being crippled, he is not uncomely.'

  'You do that trick on him, beloved, and he is your slave forever,' Lukas observed, 'all the smiths I know are hard-working, honest men, so maybe you will get to like him after all.

  Will you promise me one thing, love?'

  'I will promise you anything, dear Lykos,' Aphrodite breathed in his ear.

  'Will you see to it that my old friend is not killed or maimed too badly?'

  'Except that, my love, I'm sorry,' she replied, 'he broke our most sacred law in the most atrocious way, you suffered so much yourself from his unthinking, selfish misdeeds. How can you plead for him?'

  'He cannot help being selfish, can he? He was born that way, made even worse by his divine powers and privileges. Had he suffered in his youth, he would have been a better person, like my father suffered when he ended up powerless and penniless on our world. Maybe you can make sure he is punished in a way that may improve him, instead of killing or maiming him?

  Please? I told him I didn't love him anymore, but I do. He wasn't wicked, just weak.'

  'How can you know that, Lykos, how can you be sure that he is not playing a game even now, betting he will fool all of us into mercy and letting him off the hook. He needs to pay for what he has done!'

  Aphrodite clearly thought Lukas was way too lenient on the man who had tried to sell him into slavery to a cruel, debased goddess, who in her turn tried to replace Aphrodite herself in the Greek pantheon.

  Seeing his beloved face as he pleaded for the life of his former friend, who had indeed been a jolly companion to the other gods most of the time, despite his tendency to get bored and play pranks on everyone around him, Aphrodite felt herself soften, and she kissed him on his irresistible mouth and promised: 'I will see what I can do, it is not my decision, and I still think he deserves a severe punishment. But maybe it can be chosen to teach him as well as extract retribution for his crimes. But only because I love you so much, my own inclination is to just have him burned out or killed. Or castrated.'

  Just then, Hermes and his father walked on to the terrace, probably from the cellar. They all sat down for lunch, and the two gods were proud to tell them they had met with success.

  'The portal is now hidden in the cellar of this villa, we got it removed

  from the demon world quite easily, but it was difficult to teleport with it, we had to graft it onto something tangible first. Remembering the paper-maché mirror? We used a large wooden shield, and it worked!

  I tried it to make sure it exited in the right place, and it did. I stuck my head in and found myself in your basement, I suppose they took the mirror there to make sure you would return to a place you knew.

  But be careful when you go through, it is very, very cold. Like the top of Olympus.'

  Then Zeus took his leave, saying: 'You will want to be together to take leave, don't weep overmuch, you will meet again, be it here, or in your cold land. Farewell!'

  And he embraced all three of them, then walked towards the main part of the villa, clearly in an excellent humour.

  Chapter 21

  They took their backpacks to the cellar, and then the time had come to say goodbye to the people that would miss them most, and that they had come to love themselves.

  Hermes embraced Paul, lighting up a little as he touched the latter, dismissing the link to his power. 'I'm glad we got to know one another better, Paul, I'll miss your solid presence in my life. But I'm glad my son will have your love and your support. Once I've implemented your ideas I will visit, say in a few months.'

  Aphrodite hugged Melissa, not saying much, just holding her tightly.

  'Take good care of our beloved, Melissa, he loves you so much.' She replied:

  'I will, Aphrodite, I love him as much, and I will always be there for him.'

  'Lykos, I am so grateful you found it in you to help your daughter and me,' Hermes said to his son, 'I don't want to think what would have happened without you. I love you, my boy, and that is why I want you to go where you belong, with your beloved friends. We will meet again, expect to see me in a few months. Will you keep the portal in your basement? I promise I will protect it well from my side.

  See you soon, my son!'

  And he kissed Lukas and held him for a few more moments.

  Then he fell into Melissa's arms and clung to her, as if parting with her pained him more than anything. Melissa ignored his pathos and kissed him heartily, though not chastely. She said soothingly: 'We'll meet again soon enough, Hermes, don't upset yourself. You take good care of your realm and your lovely wife and granddaughter, and please give my love to Ophius.'

  She hugged him tightly one more time, then gave him a few moments to lift his link off her, which he did with obvious reluctance.

  Paul had said an intimate goodbye to Aphrodite, and was now ready to leave, looking around to find the new portal.

  And as Aphrodite kissed Lukas and tried to let go of him, Hermes walked towards the farthest wall and touched it. A sizeable wooden shield became

  visible, round, with a gaping hole in the middle. The portal.

  He lifted it off the wall, and said: 'It may be best if you take some warmer clothes out of your backpack, Lykos, for you have never felt cold like that before. It is safe, though, the basement was empty this morning.'

  Lukas took his advice and pulled a pair of pants and a woollen tunic and shirt out of the backpack, which he both put on, one over the other. He was smothering, that much was clear.

  Paul and Melissa decided to put on some extra layers as well, and then the moment of departure had come.

  'Shall I go first once again?' Lukas asked, and the others nodded.

  He stuck his head in fearlessly, and within moments he was totally gone from view. Paul pushed his backpack through, and then helped Melissa into the portal. Then he pushed the other two backpacks in, feeling them being pulled through from the other side.

  He called out: 'Be well, see you soon!' then stuck his head in and looked around.

  It was indeed his own cellar, and Melissa was already helping him slide down the portal. It had been put against the wall to allow an easy exit, and he was soon standing, feeling the cold, but not as badly as he had expected..

  One look at Lukas convinced him he'd better fire up the boiler immediately, for the poor guy was stunned by the cold, teeth chattering, despite double wooden layers. Melissa was not impressed, an extra layer of wool was apparently enough to keep her warm in English fall temperatures, even after Greek summer.

  Better to fire up the boiler anyway, to get rid of the dampness, and keep Lukas in London. It would probably be best if Lukas went somewhere warm, so he advised: ' Lukas, you better run for the bed, I'm going to fire up the boiler first and then renew the spells on it. You don't seem all that cold, Melissa?'

  She replied: 'I seem to handle cold much better than heat, I'm fine. Lukas, you do as Paul says, I'll stay with him to help. We'll be with you before you know it. We'll get you used to the cold gradually.'

  Lukas ran up the stairs, as Paul opened the chute and loaded the boiler with coal. He got it burning merrily with profuse use of magic, then put the usual spell on the boiler itself, keeping the heat inside it, venting excess heat to the workshop, but only if the pressure mounted dangerously high.

  He left the kitchen boiler and the piping unspelled, so they would heat the house quickly. Tomorrow he would adjust the spells to suit the weather more exactly, but now they wanted Lukas to stay warm and get used to the cold gradually.

  Time must really flow faster her
e, for how could it be so cold already if it was the beginning of September? They had left halfway through August, and the weather had been balmy. It must have changed suddenly, though it probably seemed much colder than it actually was because they had been in such a hot climate.

  But Paul's handiwork did its job really well, and pretty fast, and soon he dared leave it to its own devices. He put in an extra shovel of coal, put the portal away in the cupboard, then kissed his wife in the little cellar where he had proposed to her.

  'I'm glad to be back,' she said, shivering a little in remembrance of the danger he had been in on what was supposed to have been a holiday.

  Knowing what they did now, they would never have seen it as one, but at least they had had some nice sunny days of beach and fun at the end. Besides, it was safe now, if Lukas got sick of the cold they could always take few weeks off again.

  'Let's hit the bed,' Paul said, 'I want to feel both of you against me.

  She gave him her hand, and they went upstairs, crossed the living-room, up one more stairs, then undressed and joined Lukas in their lovely, huge, warm bed.

  Poor Lukas was still chattering, so they flanked him and covered him with their own bodies. Melissa was very warm, and against her soft flesh Lukas finally started to feel warm again. He whispered: 'How could the weather change so much in two weeks?'

  Paul replied: 'I suspect time moves differently here, Lukas, we will soon find out how many days have passed. I hope we haven't missed your birthday, Melissa, coming of age is not something to let pass by unnoticed.'

  'If we did, don't worry love, I'm just glad we are all fine. We can celebrate after the fact. Lukas, I think it is also the difference between Greece and here that makes you feel the cold. It is not that much colder than it was when we left. The house is just moist, it has probably rained a lot, and you are used to intense heat. You'll feel better in a few days.

  And you may always warm yourself against me, I'm so glad to have you with us again, I've missed you.'

  It was getting quite warm under the duvet, and very cosy. Lukas felt his body relax, and he realized it had been days since he felt this comfortable and safe. He was not sorry at all to have left Aphrodite behind, she had started to claim him way too much, she loved him so much more than he loved her.

  'Can we just lie here, safe and warm, together again, forever?' Lukas didn't want this to end, he felt free, and eager to continue his life as a normal man.

  'You can,' Paul replied, 'but I'm looking forward to doing things, starting on the greenhouses, taking new commissions, prototyping my new inventions, and I promised Melissa a necklace with frisky horses. Gold or copper, love?'

  'Copper, definitely Or I'd keep wearing the older one, I love copper most of all.'

  Paul wanted to lie next to her, to feel her body against his, and he lifted Lukas on top of both of them, so they could all touch.

  'May I check you with sight, Lukas?' Melissa asked, 'I wonder if you're still a god.'

  Lukas didn't say anything for a few heartbeats, probably checking himself, then said: 'Sure, be my guest. I can't feel any difference myself, but there must be one, for I don't have any worshippers here. I wonder if I'll have any power left.'

  How sight also worked in virtual darkness was a mystery to Melissa, but it did, so she stayed under the blankets to keep Lukas warm.

  His power store was huge, larger than Paul's, and filled with personal power and a lot of love. He had some of the ley-line energy diffusing into him, and no red from worshippers. He was indeed still a god, but the power had changed as he changed worlds. Incredible! He would never lack power again, on neither world, but his use of magic would change each time. She dared predict that just willing things to happen wouldn't work here.

  Melissa looked for a ley-line, and found one where it should be. She could touch it, use it. Paul would be happy to have unlimited power again.

  Reminded of magic, Lukas insisted on checking them for the ill effects of the portal, and though he didn't see any difference in Paul's control, he did adjust it a tiny bit towards the Victorian side of the scale, not enough to make him older than his age, but enough to not join the girls in the bushes, so to speak.

  He could not see any effect in Melissa either, she was her usual steady self, though her emotions seemed a little more pronounced. That was not the portal's doing, though, for she had been crying more than usual the last week, small wonder with everything that had happened to shake her feelings. She would soon return to her usual steady self.

  It was not possible to check himself, but he did not feel any urge to jump Melissa though he was snuggled against her with not a stitch between them, so he guessed he was fine. If he found himself losing control, Paul could do it.

  After the first shock of the cold had passed, and the boiler had heated the house reasonably well, they dressed warmly and first checked the whole house from top to bottom. Everything seemed fine, it was good to be back home, and Paul decided to wait with renewing the spells on the piping until the evening, giving the house some time to really warm up and to get rid of the moist atmosphere that three weeks of rain had given it.

  They guessed it must be late in the afternoon, from the light and the traffic outside, and they decided to get some groceries and find out what the date was. Lukas hoped that the fur-trimmed parka that he had ordered made at his friends' advice would be finished already, but Paul said: 'It will become a lot colder yet than this, Lukas, better use your current coat with a woollen shirt and get used to the temperatures, or you'll be freezing all winter.'

  Within an hour they had everything they needed, groceries and parka, and a few woollen jumpers that Lukas insisted on buying, despite Melissa's assurances that he was just feeling the difference between Greece and England, that he would adapt quickly. Still, if the winter got really cold he would need them, and he looked very cute in a jumper.

  They also found out they had indeed missed Melissa's twenty-first birthday by a week, but Melissa didn't seem to care very much. 'We can have a party anyway, can't we? Have our friends over?'

  Having bought a fresh batch of coffee they were looking forward to their first cup in weeks, and Paul set to work to brew it immediately after they got back. There were some chocolates to go with it, a treat they had also missed very much, and when everything was ready, they took their first sip almost reverently. Paul and Lukas sighed in total satisfaction, this totally made up for the cold outside.

  But Melissa did not share their bliss, the coffee tasted awful, sour, and bitter, and she could not understand why the guys loved it so much. Paul

  must have done something horribly wrong in the brewing. Seeing her face they demanded an explanation, and when she told Paul he had botched the brewing, they denied that with energy. The coffee was just fine, she must have gotten used to the sweetness of fruit-juices and Ophius' bland tea-surrogate whilst in Greece.

  Fortunately the chocolate did taste as it should, and she allowed herself an extra piece to make up for the coffee. It was good to be back!

  They spent that day putting things in order, unpacking, arranging the laundry service, renewing the spells on the piping to fit the outside temperature, baking, and just being together. They had been in constant company, and they had missed their time alone very much.

  Paul was already making plans for work, he suggested they work in the mornings and socialise in the afternoons for a week or so, until they were up to date with all their family and friends, then go back to their old habits the second week.

  It was so good to see their friends again. Jonathan was fine, he felt like one of the family at the Nomes'. Marcus and himself were the best of friends, he even liked playing with Bertha and Lucy, and he had learned how to ride and shoot, and fence.

  George and Tristan had seen to his studies, and George had hosted a meeting with Jakob's circle, in which they had all gotten one of those shields that prevented prying eyes from seeing their talent. Jonathan knew now that practising magi
c was all he wanted from life, and he asked to be allowed to stay with the family.

  Frances and George had offered Jonathan a permanent home, seeing how well he fit into their family, and realizing that living with a newly married couple might make him feel left out, especially since they were such a close-knit little group with Lukas added, and their mutual business of crafting kept them occupied at least half the day.

  With no interest in metal-work at all, Jonathan would be better off living with a family with adult children, who were all practising magic in one way or the other.

  Though a little bit disappointed, Melissa understood immediately that Frances and George were right, it was better for a young man to live with other young people with the same interests. If Jonathan had been a crafter it would have been different, but as it was, there was more for Jonathan at the manor, he could practice in private, noise and the occasional flash of magic

  were no problem on the large estate.

  And if he had questions or problems, there was always someone around to help him, George, or Frances or one of the children, and usually Tristan as well. Jonathan showed a distinct preference for the powerful, highly ritual Magick that Tristan practised, though he had an aptitude for nearly every kind of magic, even witchcraft.

  Tristan was always at the manor if he didn't have his duties to fulfil, he loved being with the family and of course with Ilsa.

  Ilsa had accepted their relationship as more or less permanent, happy to have found a really good man even though she was not exactly looking for a lasting bond already. There was even talk of a marriage, which surprised Melissa tremendously, for Ilsa had seemed really averse to the idea of being bound to someone.

  But it was a really good match for both of them, and she was certain they would both have every chance of being happy together.

  Melissa learned the entire truth of the matter on her own birthday party, given a week after their return from Greece. Ilsa looked Melissa up and sat beside her on the sofa, talking about their adventures in Greece first, and then telling her: 'I'm marrying Tristan because I'm with child, Melissa. I love him, and he loves me, but I would have happily stayed free if this hadn't happened.'