Adison noted the coolness of the room, and Paul admitted to using magic to keep the heat in the boiler. She asked: 'But isn't that dangerous, couldn't it get too hot and explode?'
Impressed by her insight, he explained the safety mechanism, which she understood immediately, again impressing Paul, not many did. Not many
wanted to know in the first place. Melissa of course, but she was an engineer, she understood physics better than Paul did.
They proceeded to the kitchen, with the beautifully ornamented boiler with the tap for hot water, then to the bathroom. That got a few gasps at its opulence, and Paul demonstrated the taps. Next was their bedroom, heated by the pipes running through it, and Paul explained that in summer he put a spell on them to keep the heat in and save fuel. Last stop was the apartment with its shower.
Their guests really saw the advantages of the system, despite the initial cost of the whole thing. Adison clearly wanted one of those taps in her practice, and not stoking furnaces all day would be such a bonus, too.
Then they went outside, and Melissa and Lukas demonstrated the bicycles, after which they all tried one. Bruce and Vincent were natural athletes and just cycled off, and Adison wasn't clumsy, but just a bit too small for this size bicycle. Still she managed to cycle enough to see the advantage of the vehicle.
'It has given me total freedom, I ride it all over town to inspection sites, even totally by myself,' Melissa said.
'Aren't you afraid to be waylaid?' Vincent asked, observing her very feminine figure on the bicycle, 'there are a lot of neighbourhoods where a lady on her own would be harassed even on foot.'
'I may not be a sword-fighter like you two, but I can defend myself quite readily,' Melissa simply answered.
'Let me guess,' Vincent said mildly, 'you use magic. Am I right?'
She nodded, and said: 'I could stun even you in an instant, and without sight you wouldn't see it coming.'
'But Adison would?'
Melissa nodded, and added: 'You have talent, though your body is taking all the power, but you may have sight as well. You can test it out of view, we'll show you some magic. But not out in the open.
There is much to tell you, if you want to be safe from magic-users, maybe too much, seeing how busy you are already.'
Melissa thought of the hours she had spent reading and practising, but of course one didn't become a doctor out of the blue either, and actors must do a lot of reading and memorizing too.
They put away the bicycles and went back into the workshop through the
back door. Once there, Melissa shaped the fireball again, and Vincent did see her do it.
'Now look at one another,' Lukas advised, and they did, nodding as they saw the other's talent for all their enemies to see.
They went back to the living-room and talked about magic for almost an hour, enjoying a cup of coffee or tea and some chocolates along with it.
After that hour they had arranged to exchange lessons, magic for fencing, and Paul had measured Vincent to make the new sword exactly the right size.
After that their visitors harnessed the mule, and they took leave in great spirits, having had a taste of the future.
Paul was delighted as well, having sold three swords to the best swordsmen imaginable, a fact which seemed to amuse Lukas to no end:
'Don't expect them to make good advertising for your swords, Paul.'
Absently, Paul replied: 'How so, Lukas, good swordsmen are the best possible promotion, aren't they?'
'Of course not, my dearest, everyone foolish enough to face them wielding those swords will be dead seconds later.'
Paul cuffed him playfully, something Lukas could now see for what it was, and said: 'Better think of a way to melt that monster to a decent size.
Think of the trouble we'd have had trying to move that ourselves.'
'Speak for yourself, Paul, I can lift that easily,' Lukas said. And to prove it he lifted the beast, lighting up at the same time of course, but he did make his point.
Paul said regretfully: 'Not even two months back from Greece, and I've already forgotten that one can use magic for the most trivial purposes.
Though not so trivial, for in the future you will undoubtedly save us a world of trouble by remembering.'
'Still, we'd better melt it to bars, like the pig-iron, that'll be easy to store,'
Lukas said, 'maybe we can even make bar-sized moulds to make them a certain weight.'
'You may be the best healer ever, Lukas,' Paul observed proudly, 'you're no mean craftsman either.'
The following months went by even quicker, for they were incredibly busy. Hermes had gone back to his own world, after a two weeks' stay, and neither he nor George were inconsolable this time, for they knew they could see each other any time they wanted to. A weekend together at the villa was not impossible at all.
Besides teaching Jonathan, Paul now had up to five extra magic-students, for Bruce would often join the doctor's party, and a set of fencing-lessons afterwards. Lukas and Melissa did their share of teaching and joined him in the fencing of course, and Jonathan sometimes accompanied them, for both magic and fencing.
Bruce sat in on the lessons to show Master Man this new approach to an old art. He often taught as well, unarmed combat, but also fencing, for his agility was second to none, and especially Lukas showed a lot of aptitude in that direction. With his springy legs he soon mastered some of the impressive jumps, and he was becoming difficult to hit.
Of course that meant he could not hide his differences, which he did not feel the need to, for he never met a collection of weirder individuals than was gathered in that one middle-class house in London. He showed little Catherine as well, and like most children she took everything in stride.
One evening, they dressed up and visited the show that Vincent and Bruce played in. They went with a large group, the entire Nomes-family, Jonathan, Tristan, Sofia, and they went in two carriages, saving themselves a long ride on the bicycles.
They had a great time, enjoying the play to no end, even Paul had never seen anything like it, the show was one big, bloody drama, and in the end everybody died, except the lead couple, Vincent and a pretty young actress.
After the show they praised their new friends for their superb performance, then resisted the temptation to go to a dance afterwards, but Bertha was really too young to be exposed to such licentiousness. They'd go some other time, and take Sofia with them.
And business was still thriving, the taps had been installed in the doctor's house, and the cold weather stimulated other people to do the same. Bicycles were in great demand, the doctor had ordered two, not even blanching at the price, he really had rich customers. And Adison had ordered a normal size and a smaller one, which they didn't charge her extra for, despite having to make new moulds for some parts.
But Paul expected to have more demand for smaller bicycles, so he just saw the extra time spent as an investment in the future, and he turned out to be right.
The greenhouses were taking shape, and Melissa was very busy keeping a close eye on her own design. She was growing steadily, and with her busy
schedule she could occasionally be over-tired and waspish, snapping at the guys, and crying for no reason at all.
But all in all she was rather happy, blooming instead of wilting under the changes in her body. She liked to practice fencing, and a more quiet martial arts that Bruce called Tai-Chi, which could soothe her instantly. Of course she had never been fast, and she never would be, but the practice kept her in shape and she did not get as fat nor as lazy as she had feared.
The responsibilities of her work kept her on her toes mentally, and the steady support of her men, her family and especially Ilsa's happy-go-lucky attitude towards her own pregnancy kept Melissa positive. Ilsa was now married and living with Tristan in his town-house, but she was at her parents'
house as often as Tristan used to be.
Lukas regularly went out to heal and support the less fortu
nate. George most often accompanied him, but Jonathan, Paul and Melissa also took their turns. Tristan went a few times, but he had to be really careful not to be recognized, which he was becoming quite adept in.
Winter progressed, and this developed into a really cold one, with snow covering the streets most of the time, and freezing temperatures making life hell for those in the streets.
With his well-prepared clothing, Lukas weathered the cold better than expected, and Melissa suspected that being physically active in the company of men who could seriously challenge even his speed, had helped him a great deal.
Any time Lukas came back home from one of his healing expeditions a little depressed, he used to sit in one of their laps with his head on their chest, but nowadays he'd find Melissa's lap filled up with her belly, and his mood would change instantly as he'd sit or lie next to her and feel her belly for signs of life.
Her occasional waspish moods hit him hard, though she tried to always be patient with him when he was agonized by the suffering he felt all around him. Paul just ignored her moods, soothing her into better spirits by cuddling her or by just leaving her alone when she needed that.
But Lukas always needed her confirmation that she still loved him, and sometimes that was hard to give when her own moods oppressed her. Usually Paul was present to help Lukas accept that she was not as stable as usual, to just to let her be for half an hour, and find the affection and the support he needed with his bossy lover, and though it was still hard for him, Lukas
accepted that.
The constant healings did take their toll, for they never got to see the older Lukas anymore, he was always the slightly needy youth around them.
Then one day it went totally wrong. Paul was out, and Melissa was feeling irritated, she slept badly because she had to go to the privy all the time, and both men were getting way too careful around her when making love.
She felt like she had been pregnant for an eternity, and she knew there was still an eternity to go, and it would not be getting any easier. She felt like breaking something, and when Lukas came home after an especially difficult afternoon of witnessing several children in the last stages of a wasting flu, she was not up to soothing him.
He wanted to cuddle her, be held, but his touch irritated her, and his submissive reaction to her peevishness provoked her even more. She was sorry even as she felt herself react, but she couldn't stop lashing out with words, also pushing him away physically.
'Not now, Lukas, don't touch me.'
She saw him stagger as if she had hit him, but she was helpless to do anything about it, she could not find the mental strength in herself to go after him as he ran upstairs. The only thing to do was to sit on the sofa and cry her eyes out, hoping Paul would come back and sort things out.
But Paul didn't come, and she got so tired, and worried about Lukas. Still, something in her remained stubborn and irritable, and provoked by his meekness.
Upstairs, Lukas had buried himself under the blankets, and he was also crying his eyes out, feeling rejected, as if the love of his live had hit him in the face and told him to get out of her life.
When after fifteen minutes she had not come after him, he felt his spirits sink even lower. She really didn't care, had probably never even cared.
She would kick him out, and hate his baby for not being Paul's.
And when his unstable mind had brought him as low as it could, he started to think. He could match Dionysus with his pathos, he might ask for a job at that theatre with his melodramatic abilities, he had promised Melissa to support her in a pregnancy she hadn't asked for, had promised not to let the suffering of others get to him.
And he had let her down, for weeks he had not supported her, but had let
her support him. He was supposed to detach himself from the misery he witnessed, and instead, he had let it take him over completely, burdening a pregnant woman with his grief.
As Paul had once said when Melissa broke down because they had both overburdened her with their own troubles, no more. This time he would rise to the challenge and do what he had promised.
It was the work of an instant to detach himself from the scene that had upset him today, and whilst he was at it, he detached himself from weeks of similar experiences, taking another few instants.
Then he went downstairs, not hesitantly, but with decision, and got a glass of water from the kitchen.
Melissa was lying on the sofa, totally worn out, seemingly asleep, dark rings under her eyes, her beautiful copper hair mussed up, her big belly making her seem even more vulnerable. Lukas did not let his remorse and shock at the state of her overcome him, he did what he had to do.
She did not react as he sat next to her, and for a moment he felt real fear of having driven her over some edge of reason.
But as he touched her, she opened her eyes, red with crying, and looked at him. She did not really see him, but when he offered her the water she took it and drank eagerly.
She looked at him again, and this time she really saw him, and a great relief brought tears to her eyes again, but this time happy tears. He took the glass and put it on the table, then took her in his arms really tenderly, and whispered: 'I'm so incredibly sorry, my love, can you forgive me?'
'Just hold me, Lukas, please. I'm so sorry too, I just cracked I guess.'
She was so incredibly relieved to see this Lukas, the quiet, older man, who had given her the belief she could do this, carry his child and be a mother to it. She needed him so much, needed his faith in her, his arms around her.
'Please lower your shield, love, so we can talk without speaking. I'm too worn out to say anything.'
He did, and she started to cry again, quietly, her feelings overflowing, needing the release of a good cry in the arms of a strong partner, nothing more.
They sat together forever, and finally Paul came home and all was well again.
From that moment on, Lukas took great care to not take his grief over the
things he witnessed in the poor quarter home with him. He had been given the detachment to make his Gift bearable, and he used it every time before he went home.
But Melissa was still a strong woman, and she even accompanied him on his quest once a week, without having the ability to detach herself. She took the things she saw in stride, and if they hurt her she let him take them away, for neither of them would be able to last long if he didn't.
All in all the months went by really satisfactorily. Christmas came and went, with a fabulous party at the manor, of course, and the days got longer, making Lukas feel more awake somehow, though the cold intensified.
At the manor they usually played in the snow with Lucy and Bertha and the two headed dog, now a rather fearsome looking adult but still as meek as a lamb. Lucy had named him Percy, and somehow that ludicrous name fitted him like a snug leather glove.
As long as the snow was packed tight on the roads they found the bicycles still very useful, though both men now started to worry about letting Melissa cycle on such a slippery surface with her large belly, the risk of falling too large in their opinion. But neither of them was going to try to forbid her anything, that would be the end of the peace in their household, for her temper ran very short when feeling cosseted or patronized.
George and Frances had taken to having them fetched by carriage when there was something to do at the manor, but they still kept up their fencing and magic lessons at the doctor's place, and that was half an hour's ride.
But they were practising by themselves mostly, only taking a lesson once every two weeks, same thing with the magic, reading and practising had taken over from constant instruction, and Adison had suggested alternating their meeting place, hiring a cab once every month being very affordable as long as the snow lasted.
One evening as they were sitting together quietly, talking a little and touching a little, Melissa felt the first flutter of movement from their baby. It was too small to let the guys feel it from the outside, but with
their mutual abilities she could let them feel it as she felt it.
It was a very special moment, and it brought them close together, they were in each others presence most of the time, but they were usually very busy, not really spending time on each other consciously. It was such a special feeling that they took care to repeat it often, taking a few moments of
quiet every night to offset their busy lives.
January passed, as did February, and spring became a thing to look forward to instead of a memory of a time long past, when Melissa had visited a flea-market and bought a paper-maché piece of folk-art, walking beside her landlord, wishing him to finally start seeing her as a woman.
Even Paul swallowed a few tears as Melissa pictured that memory, of the day that both Melissa and Paul admitted to being physically attracted to the other, and Lukas came into their lives with a crash, and not a stitch on him.
Being very busy did not mean they did not take the time to make love often and intensely, for Melissa's fear of turning into a sexless creature had proved totally unfounded. Her appetite had not diminished a bit, and they spent a lot of long, dark hours exploring the pleasures of the flesh.
In the evening, Melissa often found herself drowsing and feeling the movement of their baby, but as soon as she was touched with the slightest heat, hers rose to match.
Chapter 25
March was upon them, with the promise of spring, but Lukas did not find the need for his abilities diminished in any way. Out on his own one afternoon, he found himself in that awful neighbourhood close to the doctor's house.
Having thought their own adjoining neighbourhood rather run-down, Lukas had been forced to review that opinion when he had crossed this one with Paul and Melissa that day they installed the boiler at the doctor's practice.
As they returned on their bicycles they had gotten lost and ended up here, and Paul had convinced him to pay some attention to the situation for future visits. Lukas had taken his advice more seriously than Paul knew, for Lukas had often returned on his morning runs to bring some food and blankets to the homeless children there, and he had told Tristan about whole families living under the bridge, hoping Tristan would use his influence on the council or his personal affluence to improve their lot.
Past Lives Page 41