The Crimson Z

by Robert Cloud, Lee Rush, Richard Savage

  Zachariah looked at her. Heal her how? He knew that there were times that Lilith had acted like things were wrong. Maybe the magic would simply be to help restore her full memory and if it would help his wife he would do anything. He smiled at the woman he loved and said, “It is a small price to pay but an odd request. It will be done though."

  Lilith threw her arms around him and hugged him tight, “Thank you, my husband, but did you hear what I said, Zachariah? The prophetess said she can heal me."

  He looked at her and smiled, “Sweetheart, I did not know that you were hurt."

  "It is something about my past. She said she can fix it. She said in two months that I am to come for her and she will come here and stay here for one month. When she leaves she will leave with us the means for me to be cured.” Lilith smiled at him, “In a little over three months I can truly be the wife you deserve."

  Zachariah smiled and laughed, as he tried to hide his confusion. Lilith was the wife he wanted, what could possibly change? But if this would make her that much happier and lift this cloud that seemed to be over her then he would do all he could. He kissed her lips lightly and said, “Well then it will be about time because in just a little over three months we will have been married for one year and I think it is about time I have my wife.” Then he rolled Lilith onto her back and began kissing her deeply, his hand sliding along her thigh and pushing her dress away from her.

  "Zachariah, we have not even eaten."

  "I am hungry for something else, my wife.” He smiled at her and she returned his grin.

  "Then that makes two of us,” she added as her arms wrapped behind his head and pulled him into an even deeper kiss.

  Chapter Twelve

  Though Zachariah had guessed it would only take a week to cut through the stone it took one month to the day to complete the first cut. He set the saw immediately to begin the second cut and it dawned on him that the piece would be finished almost at the exact time that the prophetess arrived. It was like she knew that if she had come any earlier the stone would not be ready for her.

  Three weeks later, Zakarias, Rachel and Lilith climbed onto a wagon that had three oxen harnessed to it. Zachariah had another one of his ideas and he had taken long pieces of metal and fastened them to the wagon and then had fastened hides to the metal. It formed a shelter from the weather for the women and a place for them to sleep at night. He had even added a board in the wagon making a separate place for Rachel and Zakarias to sleep so all could sleep inside and safe. The last thing he did was tie bells around the outside rings of the steel so that when the flaps were closed if anyone moved the flaps the bells would ring. It would warn his parents and Lilith if someone tried to enter the wagon while they were asleep.

  Once again Zakarias was amazed at the mind of his son and said he ought to take his idea to the blacksmith, but Zachariah did not think anyone else would appreciate it. They were set in their ways of doing things and few wanted to change to new ways. Before they left Lilith leaned out and kissed Zachariah and whispered to him.

  "Husband, remember the rings you gave to the men for helping you? So many have come asking about the maker that marked his rings with the ‘Z', I was thinking, maybe you should create a fancy ‘Z’ and put it on the back of all the jewelry you make. Not where it is easily visible, but where when people see a piece and are examining it they can see the maker's mark on the inside and say, ‘Whose mark is this?’ Maybe it would bring my husband even more business."

  Zachariah smiled at her and kissed her cheek, “And my father thought I was the one with a mind for business, my wife. That is an excellent idea. While you are away, I will try to think of a design for that mark.” Then he kissed her fully on the lips and reluctantly let her go as his father took the reins and got the oxen moving. Watching them leave he waved to Lilith and his mother.

  He did not know exactly how long they would be gone. The prophetess had said to come and get her in two months, but did that mean she wanted them to arrive at her place in two months or she wanted to arrive at Zachariah's place in two months? The family had discussed it and decided it would be best to plan on the latter but expect the prior. So they would go there with one extra day to spare in case of bad weather. That way they could arrive back in exactly two months. Then if the prophetess did not want to leave yet, they took enough food to wait an additional three days for her.

  To Zachariah it did not matter. It was still the loneliest time of his life. From the moment he had been born he had always had his parents and then Lilith around. He had never had a day when someone was not there to talk to and as they pulled away he could already feel the silence enveloping him and he did not like it one iota.

  Quickly he entered his house and sat down with some vellum and began tracing various designs for the symbol that Lilith had suggested. However in no time he had gone through his supply of vellum and had to go into the village to see if he could find some more. As it turned out vellum and parchment were items that were in rare supply because few people had any use for them. He began to head back home without any but as he passed the potter's hut he got another idea. He walked in and asked the potter for a pail of raw clay and a rectangular form.

  The potter had no problem giving them to him and even refused payment pointing to the ring on his finger and saying it was already paid for. Zachariah thanked him and carried the items back to the house. He then sat the form on a flat stone and filled it with clay. Taking a wire he dragged it across the form and gave himself a smooth surface. Then with a quill he carved his next idea for the mark.

  He still did not like it so he added a little water and clay, erasing his mark and dragging the wire across again. In this manner he had an endless writing surface and he continued to try one new idea after another. Late into the night he tried, his mind so absorbed with the idea that he forgot to eat and fell asleep lying on the floor next to the clay and the mold.

  When he awoke the clay in the mold had hardened but he broke it up and mixed it in with the clay in the bucket and soon it was viable again. Then he cleaned the mud from his hands and found some bread to eat before again trying to discover the perfect design for the mark that would represent him and his father.

  Day after day passed and nothing struck him as right. He needed it to be perfect. Everything he tried was too simple, too plain, and he needed it to be profound. Not just a ‘Z’ but a mark that told people that this was the ‘Z’ of the Zakarias family. He wanted to make his father proud with the symbol, to make it bold and daring, to make it speak to whoever looked at it and have them say “I have got to have a piece of jewelry made by the hands of the one whose mark this is.” Yet try as he might nothing said that to him.

  Then one day the flap opened and Lilith rushed in and stopped short looking at him. He looked up and saw her hand rise to her face as she tried to hide the smirk on her face. “Why are you smiling at me like that?"

  "I leave for a week, and I come home and my husband has reverted to a little boy playing in the mud.” Just then Rachel walked in, there was no doubt she had heard what Lilith had said and as her eyes looked at him both women began to laugh near hysterically.

  As they were laughing a woman that was so old that time itself must have not started ticking before she was born stepped in. She was bent over a walking stick and she looked at the man on the floor. Her eyes shown of life and fire, “Zachariah the symbol you seek is not in clay, but will be found in stone. Get cleaned up and then come join an old woman for a meal. You have not eaten in three days and you look like you are about ready to waste away."

  Lilith looked again at Zachariah, “Husband, why have you not taken care of yourself? Have you at least drunk fluids?"

  He lifted a flask and poured out about a mouthful of water, “Yeah that is the last of that flask. I think I filled it two days ago."

  The old woman blurted out, “Three. He needs food and water and rest. He has been in a trance with this idea in his mind, but the idea he has i
s close but it will not come in mud but in stone."

  Zakarias helped the women carry him to his bed and then Lilith undressed him and cleaned him of the mud. Once he was in a night shirt she called to Rachel and together they fed and nursed him through the night.

  In the morning he awoke and was surprised to see anyone was around him at all, he did not remember them coming in, but the moment he saw the old woman he bowed to her and welcomed her to his home. She answered, “We have already met. The mud man awakens hungry and with no memory but tomorrow you will begin to find your symbol."

  Zachariah looked up at the old woman. Suddenly it was like he was brought out of a dream and the woman he was looking at was one of the oldest and most hideous looking women he had ever laid his eyes on. He could not help but stare at her. It felt like his eyes would fall out of their sockets if they were to get any wider. Her hair was white but frazzled and looked as if it had never seen a comb. Most of her teeth were gone, upon her nose were several warts, and some of the warts looked like they had warts. The bags beneath her eyes sunk to the middle of her cheeks. She looked like she was composed of skin stretched tautly over a skeleton she was so devastatingly thin.

  While he looked at her she told him everything he had been doing, how he had gone into a trance while seeking the symbol and that the symbol was not to be found the way he had been searching for it but now he was ready for the next step. Now he could enter the trance to find the true symbol of his family. Even though she knew all he had done the true shock was still in her appearance and not in her knowledge for he already knew she was supposed to be a great seer.

  All of them sat around and listened to her as she spoke, “Lilith came to me seeking to be healed. Her healing lies within the path of this family. Within the symbol that Zachariah will discover.

  "It began when Rachel's father took a joke as serious and accepted a cut that was not supposed to happen. That marked your family to be healers. From the moment Rachel was born she could find the herbs that healed without even being told what they were, she needed no teacher. She knew how to set bones, and those she touched healed faster than when they sought others for their aid.

  "Even Zakarias when he married Rachel changed. His hands became more talented. He could mold metal like he had only dreamed of before. It was almost as if he was finding the shape within the metal that it wanted to be. Then once he had seen it he would work on pulling it out to become something even more beautiful than it had dreamed of.

  "And Lilith, her very nature began to change. There is still a war within her but her heart has softened too and she truly knows love for the first time in her life.

  "Zachariah was born special. He could not think ill of anyone. He was strong like no one could imagine, and fast like the wind. His hands were like his father's when it came to metals and he also has a gift for healing but it has not yet manifested for it lies in a different path than his mother's. He is also a dreamer. Ideas come to him and he creates things that others cannot even begin to think of. In a thousand years the things he has created now will become common place, but today they will be his and his alone then turn to dust for no one will see their value but he and his family.

  She turned to Zachariah and said, “Lilith came to me seeking healing, and only you can heal her. However it must come after you have found your symbol. Only then will the power within you begin to manifest.

  "There is something you must know though. I see two paths to her healing. In one path she will be healed and you and she will have many children and grandchildren. All her sins will be forgiven and you two will live to a very old age and die within a single breath of each other.

  "The other path is not so kind, and I dare not speak of it. I will say she is healed, but it is not a path either of you wish to take."

  Zachariah looked at her and said, “How will I know to choose the right path?"

  The old woman lowered her head and said, “That I am forbidden to say, for it steps over the line of free will. If I tell you which path to choose then when it comes time to choose you will not choose freely but will choose what I have told you. I can say this; the choice is not yours alone. In the second path Lilith has a choice that can return it to the first path."

  Lilith wrapped her arms around Zachariah and said, “Husband, I am certain you will choose wisely when the time comes and if not I will then choose to be with the man I love so we will be on the right path no matter what."

  Zachariah hugged her tightly, “I pray you are right my love."

  There was a sudden stillness in the air, the ambience changed and for a moment everyone looked at each other with a look of confusion upon their faces then the old woman blurted out, “It is the saw, you young fools. It has stopped. The stone is done."

  For two months there had been the constant whine of the saw cutting through the stone and the sudden silence of it had been startling but Zakarias was the first to lean back and look up at the ceiling and say, “Praise be, I can finally hear the crickets again when I lay down to sleep. I never thought I would miss their song so much."

  Rachel laughed and added, “And in two months you will be yelling at them to go find someplace else to play their tune."

  "Yes, but for now, I will sure enjoy their music.” Zakarias fluffed the pillows on the floor beside him and pulled Rachel down to them. Then he hugged his wife tight and said, “If anyone needs anything they know where it is at, you can lay here with me for a while, baby."

  The old woman looked at them and then at the younger couple and asked, “Are you sure that you two are the newlyweds and not them?” She then let out a cackle that was her form of laugh and Rachel turned a brilliant red.

  Zachariah said, “All my life my parents have never hidden their love for each other, and I for one am glad that they have not."

  "Good!” added the old woman then she turned to them and said, “Never forget to remain young in your hearts and remain newlyweds all the days of your marriage for when you forget that is when your marriage grows stale."

  Zakarias nodded and said, “With this woman that will never happen, Prophetess, for I love her as much as the day I first laid eyes on her."

  The woman looked at Rachel and said, “Then you are truly blessed among women."

  Rachel found an even darker shade of red to turn.

  The old woman smiled at Rachel and then turned to Zachariah and asked, “How long before you can have the table ready?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Well the top part, the first part you cut off, that part can go out front of the shop. Eventually you should have a hole dug and it placed like a welcoming stone to the shop. Do not smooth it out. The roughness will keep it from getting slick when it rains.

  "The slab I had you cut off, that is going to be your work surface, your table top."

  Zachariah looked at her strangely, “I thought that was for you?"

  "Well in a way it was, it was so I could get inside the stone and give you the work surface you wanted.” He continued to look at the woman like she was more than human. How could she have known that he had wanted to use that surface as his work surface for a reason?

  "Now, the base, you had the blacksmith make a stand to hold it. Once it is set up, place the slab someplace safe where it will not be broken and then call me. You and I will go into that room alone and I will help you enter the trance to find your symbol."

  "Are you saying I am going to carve it in that stone?” He looked at her filled with bewilderment.

  "Yes."

  "But I have never been a stone carver or touched their tools in my life. I do not even have any tools to do the carving."

  She smiled and said, “Don't worry, I had Zakarias stop and we purchased three complete sets on the way back here."

  "Three sets? Why would you do that?"

  "Because you are going to break most of the pieces in the first two sets while you are doing the carving,” she said. Upon her face was a soft smile that simply said that
she had no doubt he could do it and that what she said would happen.

  Zachariah sat back and stared at her. After all he had already heard from her he also had no doubt she was right. He just could not imagine it happening.

  The woman looked at him and said, “Now go lie with your wife. Make love to her, for when we enter that room at sunset tomorrow night it will be a long time before we come back out."

  It was almost as if he was in a trance as he stood, he turned from her and walked to his room and found Lilith standing beside the bed putting some items away. He was no longer in his trance but he also felt the need to follow the woman's advice. He turned his wife around and kissed her hard and deeply.

  "Zachariah, we have guests in the house.” She said.

  "I know, and to be honest, my mother and father made love while I lived under their roof so they can hear us tonight. As far as the old woman, if she is ashamed at the sound of our love making she can step outside. You are my wife and there is nothing wrong with what I am about to do to you.” With those words he placed his hands at the throat of her shift and with all his strength ripped her shift off of her in one motion leaving her standing naked before him. Then he lifted her and laid her on the bed, but he did not climb on top of her.

  He whispered, “From the first day you tasted me I have been curious and tonight I will satisfy that curiosity.” He pulled her legs toward him and spread her thighs wide as he knelt on the floor. Slowly he kissed along her inner thigh, first one, then the other, his mouth and kisses inching closer to the folds of flesh where her thighs met. He could hear her breathing become more rapid as his mouth got even closer to that spot he was ravenous to taste.

  Her scent was driving him insane with desire to plunge his tongue between those folds of flesh but he wanted to savor every second of this new experience. He rose onto his elbows and blew lightly upon the patch of fur just above the folds and then where they began he could see a small swelling. With his fingers he pushed the folds apart and for the first time looked upon the little jewel that her fingers had often guided his too. He had no idea what it was called, as he blew upon it he whispered loud enough for her to hear, “I name this your jewel."