Woman of Silk and Stone

by Mattie Dunman

  "Really?" I asked, relieved at the thought of so easily contacting a familiar, non-threatening ally.

  Khenti laughed. "No, Honey. You're not a goddess, remember?"

  I rolled my eyes and grinned. "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

  Khenti just shrugged and curled his lips. "If you need Temuk or myself, just tell one of the city guards and they will get a message to us. Be well, Honey." With one last encouraging glance, he turned his sisu and headed back down the hill, leaving me alone with only Sandu for a familiar face.

  Stepping away from Sandu, I glanced down at my right arm, relieved to see there was still no trace of the wood appendage that had made such an unpleasant appearance before, and I fervently hoped it stayed that way. I had enough to deal with.

  "Can you walk, Honey Sullivan?" Sandu asked, his face creased in concern.

  "Yes, thanks, I think so. Where are we?"

  Sandu smiled and gestured at the pale pink building in front of us. The walls gleamed like mother of pearl, iridescent and supremely feminine. "This is an Eresh, a House of Rest, for bathing and relaxation."

  A spa. Bless this crazy world and the wackos in it; they brought me to a spa.

  I smiled genuinely, looking fondly at my new best friend. "Wonderful," I purred. "Lead on."

  The guard's face flushed before he bounded up the short staircase and knocked three times on the blush-tinged door. After a pause the door opened and a short, plump woman with immaculately curled hair the color of a blue-jay's feathers and flawless olive-toned skin emerged, taking in my disreputable appearance in with a sniff.

  "Nergal Sandu, what have you brought me?" she asked the guard, her high-pitched voice stiff with disapproval. Now I really didn't want to know what I looked like.

  "Mistress Damki," he answered. "This is Honey Sullivan, a newly recovered Halqu. She wishes to freshen up before being presented at court."

  Immediately the woman's demeanor did an about-face, her gleaming, ceramic-smooth cheeks perking as she smiled warmly at me, a frown of concern striving to mar the smooth perfection of her brow. I'd never seen anyone frown without creases before, and I realized she must use this world's version of Botox to get such an unruffled look. I smiled in return, biting my tongue to keep the inappropriate laughter from bubbling up again.

  Mistress Damki the Botox Queen. Shoot me now.

  "Welcome, Honey Sullivan. Please come in; I will see to your comfort personally," she promised, her expression telling me I was in for a treat.

  Sandu settled on one of the puffy couches in the foyer, clearly not permitted to enter the inner sanctum. Nervously, I shuffled behind the perfectly round figure of Mistress Damki, barely listening to her cheerful diatribe about my poor bedraggled hair and skin. The sense of being watched again was so overwhelming I kept looking back over my shoulder, certain that there was someone walking directly behind me. Subduing a growing sense of unease, I shifted my attention back to my guide.

  As soon as Damki opened the doors to the main area of the spa, it felt as though someone shoved my nose into a bouquet of pollen-heavy roses. Every sense was assaulted by pungent potpourri, worse than the garden of the most persnickety old lady in the neighborhood. I could practically hear the flowers blooming and coughing up their not-so-delicate aromas.

  Swallowing thickly and trying to discretely breathe through my mouth, I followed the oblivious Damki down a corridor of white doors with different shades of pastel trim. She explained that each color denoted the treatment specialized inside, indicating that each door led to yet another system of rooms dedicated to the treatments. Baffled at the scope of this enterprise, I just smiled and nodded, ready to weep if someone didn't show me a toilet, stat.

  "Uh, Mistress Damki? Is there somewhere I can, uh, relieve myself?" I asked, embarrassed at having to speak plainly. She looked at me in confusion and then took in my 'gotta-pee' dance before comprehension cleared her features.

  "You mean no one has let you...oh for the Ensi's sake," she swore, rolling her eyes and making a detour down a nearby hall. "Men. Doesn't matter their race or station, they're all idiots."

  I laughed out loud, deciding that the overgrown Pink Lady wasn't so bad. She rushed me into a room with a door the shade of periwinkle and gestured at the facilities. I nearly groaned out loud as I spotted something that resembled an old-fashioned toilet. It reminded me of one of the water-closets I had used in an old inn while touring England my senior year of high school. The basin was clearly recognizable, but there was a long chain hanging from the ceiling that Damki demonstrated as being the flushing mechanism.

  Restraining myself from kissing her painted cheeks, I nodded my thanks and hurried across the room, exhaling in relief when the door closed behind her and I was left alone.

  After taking care of business, I shambled back to the door only to catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror. Damki burst through the door at the sound of my blood-curdling shriek.

  "What is it? Are you injured?" she demanded, her heavy bosom heaving with exertion.

  "Guh!" I said, pointing at my reflection, lacking the words to describe how appalling I found its contents. I began to understand that the Easter Island brothers had been calling me 'beautiful goddess' as some kind of ironic perversion of the truth. There was nothing beautiful or goddess-like about the creature staring back at me.

  Covered in blood, grime, and dirt, streaks of blue paint adding a macabre sort of decoration, I looked like the creature from the black lagoon. My normally shiny red-gold locks were tangled and frizzed like a Jersey Shore reject after a night of binging; my eyes were red and puffy, hollowed with dark circles. Every inch of my skin that wasn't covered in filth was mottled with bruises, making me wonder how I was even managing to stand at all.

  "Yes dear, I have heard the transition from the beyond is very difficult on the body. Let us get you cleansed and you will soon feel better," Damki said soothingly, drawing me away from the horrible apparition in the mirror. Numbly I followed, becoming more and more befuddled with every step.

  How was I even alive?

  Chapter V

  Mo' Money, Mo' Problems

  I have always been a fan of hot baths.

  There is something so energizing about descending into pool of hot water, sloughing off the dead skin and aches from the day and letting the body just float, suspended in a kind of spiritual haze meant to refresh and rejuvenate. I had all sorts of bath products in my apartment at home, every inch of the miniscule counter space taken up by bath-bombs, salts, and powders to indulge my little habit. I loved nothing better than a chilled glass of Pinot and a bubble bath, and never got out until I pruned beyond recognition. I would even go so far as to call myself a connoisseur of baths.

  I never knew what a bath was until Damki showed me.

  Damki first stripped me of the remaining shreds of my clothes, the pants stiff enough with sweat and dirt to walk away on their own. Naked and shivering, I took stock of my blue and purple body, wondering if Damki thought that was my actual skin color and the brief flashes of creamy skin were the bruises.

  Clucking over me, she pushed me into a glass walled room and muttered as she pushed vigorously on the lever of a hand pump, smiling with satisfaction when hot water began to descend on me from the low ceiling. It reminded me of a less-sophisticated waterfall shower, and it was the best thing I'd ever felt up until that point.

  When I was reasonably free of dirt and the worrisome sight of blood, for which I still hadn't discovered an explanation, Damki wrapped me in the softest, fluffiest towel imaginable and ushered me into the next chamber, highlighted by a pale green door.

  Damki pointed to the center of the room, where a sunken pool the size and shape of a deluxe hot-tub awaited, steam rising in heavy, fragrant clouds to tickle the inside of my nose. A brazier of glowing coals surrounded the pool on one side, the only light in the room.

  Although the scent was a bit too flowery for my taste, the bath smelled a damn sight better than
I did, even after the shower, and I sank into the scalding depths gratefully, allowing the slightly over-heated water to burn away the last vestiges of my grubbiness and draw me deep into a trance of relaxation.

  I'm not sure how long I spent in there, certainly long enough to turn into a prune, but I could have remained forever. Damki bustled quietly around me, drizzling various unguents and oils into the water, and even kneeling down to knead my neck and shoulders until they melted. I was practically asleep by the time she stepped out, and I closed my eyes and gave a deep sigh, letting all my anxiety fade for moment.

  I think I dozed for a bit, but the cooling water shifted me from my stupor. Just as I was about to step out and call for Damki, the smoke from the brazier grew dense and heavy, darker somehow. Fingers of smoke trailed down the side of the soaking pool and appeared to enter the water, stretching out toward me slowly, almost cautiously. Within seconds, the water heated again, just the right temperature to tempt me into remaining longer. Something about the smoke seemed strange to me, the way it now hovered just above the water, but the new warmth soaked into my bones and I relaxed, telling myself I was just hallucinating out of exhaustion.

  Closing my eyes, I leaned my head back and slipped under the surface, wetting my hair and face before resting my head against the smooth wall of the pool. As I lay there, floating, the warm embrace of the water gradually evolved from being comforting to arousing. Each lap of the water against my skin felt like the gentle glide of a tongue, the steam rising from the pool stroking my face and neck like a warm breath, a drop of water trickling down my collarbone and winding its way into the valley of my breasts becoming a fiery caress. And again, that sense of another presence drifted over me, as though all I had to do was reach out and grasp the hand of a lover.

  I opened my eyes lazily, even as my mind screamed at me that something was weird here; after everything I'd been through, getting turned on by a nice bath was not really a normal response.

  Dark smoke hovered all around me like a blanket, pressing against my skin in an almost tangible way. Alarm crept up my spine, but almost immediately the smoke became less dense, and I could have sworn I heard a voice whisper in my head, "Peace, ti summu. No fear."

  The door swung open and the smoke dissipated, leaving only the aromatic steam of the water and the dying embers in the brazier.

  The water was cold.

  "How do you feel now, Honey Sullivan?" Mistress Damki asked, smiling knowingly as she helped me from the pool and draped me in a silky, sleeveless robe not unlike a toga.

  Shaking off the peculiar end to my bath, I gave her arm an affectionate squeeze. "Call me Honey. I feel wonderful, Mistress Damki, thank you."

  Grinning widely at me with her strangely unlined face, she led me out of the room and down the never ending hall of pastel doors. "Good. Now we will treat your injuries and find you some suitable clothing for meeting with the Royal Council," she said, showing me through a baby-pink door and urging me to lie down on a padded table. Three other women, all round and olive-skinned like Damki, entered the room, carrying bowls of odd smelling pastes. They smiled at me, but didn't speak when I greeted them, only clucked disapprovingly over my still heavily bruised skin before conferring with each other over which paste to use.

  "Mistress Damki, can you tell me what to expect? I mean, I'm a little lost here..." I pleaded nervously, wondering what she meant by Royal Council. Visions of the Red Queen chasing me down with an axe danced through my head.

  "Poor child! Of course you're afraid."

  Damki patted my arm gently and gestured for the other women to begin ministering to my poor, abused body. They removed the gown, and I panicked as it finally dawned on me that I was naked in a room of strangers. It faded after a while, the women's impersonal demeanor assuring me they were completely professional. By the time I began to enjoy all the gentle attention, I was smeared with some kind of pea-green muck and wrapped snugly in heated towels. Damki rubbed warm, peppermint-scented oil on my temples, keeping her voice low and soft as she spoke.

  "You are in the Golden City of Solis, the Royal city, the greatest civilization in all of Edin."

  By now I no longer doubted I was in another world, but somehow hearing this plump little strawberry of a woman say it so plainly made the unreality fade and the bleakness of my situation sink in.

  "Edin...is that the name of your planet, your world?" I asked hesitantly, feeling like it was time I got a few things straight. Damki nodded and continued to dig her talented fingers into my skull.

  "So, Solis is the name of your country, right?" Another helpful nod.

  Now for the important question.

  "Can I get back home?" I asked, not holding out any real hope.

  Damki's fingers paused in their massage and she sighed as she reached down to give my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I have never heard of a Halqu returning to their home world. I am sorry, Honey." She squeezed my shoulder again and continued rubbing the sweet-scented oil into my temples, politely ignoring the tears silently spilling over onto my cheeks.

  Despite everything that had happened, somehow I had still been holding out a tentative thread of hope that my visit to another dimension was somehow temporary, that I could still find my way back home. But the genuine regret in Damki's voice snapped that fragile strand and left me dangling, unanchored; lost in a free fall all too similar to the one that brought me here. For a few moments, I struggled to catch my breath, the overwhelming sense of loss threatening to choke me.

  It wasn't that I had such a great life. I was living alone, working a job I hated and technically no longer had; I didn't have a husband, or kids, or even a boyfriend, and I hadn't really made many friends since moving to D.C. My parents and I weren't close, hadn't been in years. I didn't even have a pet to worry about, since my crappy tin box of an apartment was a pet-free zone.

  But it was still my life, and I was so young. I hadn't really gotten the chance to make much of it.

  A sudden stabbing pain speared through my lungs as I sucked in a too-huge breath.

  "Oh, dear. Please don't cry, Honey. Everything will be well, you'll see. Edin is a magnificent world, and you are destined for great things here. Otherwise you would not have been called. It is as it is meant to be. As they say in the old tongue, 'Ana harrani sa alaktasa la tarat'—the road does not turn back." Damki gently brushed the tears from my cheeks before continuing in her task.

  I just nodded and drifted in my own misery for a while, acknowledging the sad fact that my voicemail was probably sitting empty, and with my recent job loss, I wouldn't be reported missing anytime soon. I couldn't even guess at the length of time I spent trapped in the limbo space, and had no real understanding of how much time had passed since I arrived in Edin. Maybe I had even been missing from my world for weeks or months. Not that it would make much of a difference.

  As the women began peeling the now tepid towels from me and urged me toward what looked like a fairly traditional shower stall lined with more pastel-colored tiles, I forced myself to stop obsessing. I would grieve for the life I lost, for the parents with whom I never reconciled, later. If I was going to survive on Edin, I needed to get more information about my new world, and more particularly, this royal city everyone seemed so psyched about.

  I got control of myself while rinsing the dried mud mask from my skin and the oils from my hair. By the time I stepped out and was wrapped in a fluffy robe made from something that felt a lot like cashmere, I had dried my tears and metaphorically girded my loins.

  "Thank you, Mistress Damki. I feel much better," I assured her as I emerged to rejoin the powder-puff brigade. There was a loud gasp and then the women flocked to me, exclaiming unintelligibly and stroking curious fingers over my arms and hair. Surprised, I glanced around to catch Damki's eye with a questioning look.

  She was staring at me with a glint of wonder in her eyes, shaking her head slightly. Confused, I looked down at myself and sucked in air like it was going out of style
.

  All of my bruises, the scrapes and cuts, every injury I had acquired since dropping through the void had disappeared, as though someone had taken a great big eraser and just rubbed them all out in one great swoop.

  "How...how?" I stuttered, now frantically surveying my legs and arms, which were as pale and perfect as the day I was born. As I peered closer, I was stunned to realize that even my freckles had disappeared, along with the faded scars I had acquired over an adventurous adolesence. The porcelain texture of my skin unnerved me, making me feel as though I had lost something precious, something so intrinsic that I would walk with a limp for the rest of my life.

  "All impurities have been removed, Honey. We did a full body scrub," Damki announced shakily, her cheeks dark with emotion. "Although, I've never seen it work quite this well," she muttered under her breath.

  I nodded numbly, submerged in the sense of unreality that had plagued my every step in this new land. Strangely enough, it was the loss of my scars that hit me hardest.

  "Your skin is...I have never seen skin that color, like the petal of the melammu flower. And your hair..." she broke off self-consciously, sensing my discomfort. She shook herself and refocused, returning to her earlier brisk manner.

  "I will find you something to wear, something appropriate for attending the Royal Chamber. Then I imagine Sandu will escort you to the palace, where you will be greeted by some of the Council members and brought to the king. After that, I do not know what will become of you, but it can only be good, Honey. No one will harm you here. Halqu are treated like visiting royalty," Damki assured me, her expression sincere.

  "So no one's going to dump me in a dungeon somewhere?" I asked, only half kidding.

  Damki gave me an appalled look before she relaxed and emitted a reluctant chuckle. "No, Honey. No dungeons. The worst thing you'll have to experience, I imagine, will be the tedium of greeting every aristocrat who believes you have been sent here just for their benefit. It has been a decade since the last Halqu came to Solis, and he was taken across the sea to the kingdom of Shuru, and the one before died nearly twenty years ago. And you're a female! And so...unique! Quite the novelty, my dear. I doubt you'll get many moments alone."