Coventina

by Jamie Antonia

  “Haa. I’ll be in touch my dear. Remember what I said.”

  “I will pass it on.”

  “How much longer?”

  “Our estimated time of arrival is nine a.m. local time. The skies are clear with temperatures expected to be in the lower eighties. All in all you’re in for a gorgeous day in Paris.”

  “Wow. Thanks.”

  “Let’s get on the ground.”

  “Oh yeah.”

  The Mustang touched down on Highway A6 appearing to be a red VW Golf. “There are quite a few Starbucks in Paris,” Layla grinned.

  “And I’ve already got the address for the closest one.”

  Denise directed her to the Starbucks on Avenue General Leclerc.

  “Nowhere to park. It should be against the law to have No Parking near a Starbucks,” Layla said.

  “There’s a spot around the corner.”

  “Sweet.”

  “It’s only quarter to ten.”

  “How convenient is that? Pay phones right out in front.”

  “Will these cards work here?”

  “I doubt it,” Layla giggled.

  “Coffee first.”

  The Starbucks sold calling cards, so once their lattes were in hand, they walked back outside to the payphones where Denise slipped in her card and dialed AC’s number.

  “Hello.”

  “Lafayette, we are here,” Denise said.

  “Okay. Come to 16 Rue de Poitou.”

  “Is there parking in the neighborhood?”

  “Yes. Ring all the bells at once when you arrive.”

  “Right. See you in a bit.”

  After heading back in to Starbucks for three more lattes, they made their way across Paris.

  Layla drove past the address before finding a parking spot around the corner. They walked back around to the front door. “Ring all the bells at once,” Denise said. Layla did so, but they did not get an answer.

  “Is this the right address?” Layla asked.

  “Yes, at least I think so.”

  “Wait, I hear someone coming.”

  The door finally opened to reveal AC wearing a black wrap that covered her head. “Come in. Welcome to Paris.”

  “Here,” Denise said, handing her a latte.

  “You read my mind, again.”

  “You don’t own that gallery on the ground level do you?”

  “No. Actually they occupy the floor above it as well. It’s nice having your neighbors gone all night, every night.”

  “What about the rest of the building?”

  “Empty. Don’t worry, you’ll get to see it all.”

  They followed AC up four flights of stairs to the top apartment. As was the case in any place AC called home, the walls were all white. Hanging on one wall adjacent to where she had a desk set up was a painting Denise had given her as a gift a few years earlier.

  “You haven’t checked in to a hotel yet have you?”

  “Nope. We came straight here,” Denise said.

  “Layla. It is important for me to know that you understand the reasons for my distance with anyone new.”

  “I can imagine that is absolutely necessary,” Layla said.

  “Then I want you to know that any friend of Denise’s that comes as highly praised as yourself is welcome, and a friend of mine.”

  “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

  “Well then, let’s get started. First a tour of the place as you’ll be staying here while in Paris, that is unless for some foolish reason you would rather not.”

  “Lead the way,” Denise smiled.

  She guided them to the apartment directly beneath her. It had a unique and different appearance to it even though all the walls in it were white. “You can stay here while in Paris. It will be cheaper for you and much safer.”

  “I have felt like an air-conditioned gypsy lately but answer me one thing please.”

  “Of course,” AC said.

  “Why would we want to stay here, in Paris, when our business is in Rome?”

  “To stay alive. You can do all your planning from here. I have a feeling that at least until I am finished with what I am working on, you will be safer here than you would be in Makanda.”

  “Finished with what you are working on?” Layla asked.

  “I believe I have sorted out any and all characters who may remotely have knowledge of two women, who could be men in disguise, that freed, and rather ruthlessly I might add, a certain woman from the U.K. who was kidnapped while traveling to Rome.”

  “You got all of that out of the data from those phones?” Denise asked.

  “I’ll explain it all to you shortly. I hope you like the furnishings.” Every couch, chair and beddings were a deep purple, right down to the towels and washcloths in the bathroom.

  “It looks like we will be very comfortable thank you. How much is the rent?”

  AC looked at Denise and squinted. “I was thinking that ten dollars a day was a fair price, along with some of your home cooked meals, especially your lasagna.”

  “I think I can swing that, but you know, I’ve seen nothing here in Europe yet the likes of a Jewel Foods or a Kroger.”

  “Oh there are plenty of places to shop for all you will need.”

  “AC.”

  “Yes Layla.”

  “What do I call you, you know, around other people?”

  “You can call me Aja.”

  “Goat.”

  “Yes. Goats are extremely curious and intelligent. My parents were both big Steely Dan fans. My mother had the cover of Katy Lied painted on one of her stereo speakers that I remember from when I was very young.”

  “Same here with Layla.”

  “So, how can you afford to rent us this place so cheap?” Denise asked.

  “I own this half of the block?”

  51

  Leaving Las Vegas

  Denise reached for her ringing phone while on the way to the market. “Bonjour.”

  Layla just looked at her and laughed.

  “Bonjour? Don’t tell me you’re taking French lessons,” Lucilla said.

  “J’ai pense a ce sujet.”

  “Oh, vous avez. Eh bien nous pouvons mener de longues conversations en Francais. Comment excitant.”

  “You speak French too?”

  “And Spanish, oh, and a touch of Swedish.”

  “I am even more impressed.”

  “We’re coming down there, well not there but somewhere. Can I tell you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I have to get them back on the ground with distractions other than each other and the stars Denise, so I suggested going somewhere touristy and crazy like uhm, Vegas.”

  “Vegas? Really? That’s fabulous. A town full of international travelers, it’s genius really. When?”

  “Within the hour.”

  “How are you set for cash?”

  “Are you kidding me? You’ve handed about a dozen envelopes off to me. We’ll be just fine.”

  “Well let me know where you wind up okay. Make sure you call from your phone or another that is secure okay?”

  “I will, thanks. Enjoy your stay in Francais.”

  “We will, thanks.”

  What Lucilla did not say, was that she and Marcus has already been dropped off and were leaving Las Vegas in a van rental that seats twelve people, heading to a rendezvous to collect the other nine members. She had already purchased plenty of water and snacks, ‘just in case’, since they would be traveling through a desert on the way to the west coast. Her plans were to end up back in Las Vegas at some point if the overall mood lightened. Being so near the desert would also make it easy to be picked up and return ‘upstairs’ if needs be.

  This trip was also a way for Lucilla to help her decide what her answer would be to Marcus about leaving or staying when the time came. She’d resigned herself to the fact that she was in love with him, and was certain he was in love with her.

  She also wanted to see first h
and, some of the region where many Native Americans flourished at the time the Roman Empire was at its peak.

  The others appeared some fifty yards away from where she and Marcus were waiting in the van. In the bright sunlight there was no way she could tell they were gently deposited there by Aya, or Mys.

  “For those of you who have never set foot on American soil before, welcome to my country.”

  “It all looks so vast from the air,” Anna said.

  “Thank you,” Conventina said.

  Maria and Diana just smiled, their arms still around their legionnaires.

  Crossing the flatness of the desert had the mood in the van rather subdued. It was not until they approached the greener hills in California that Anna spoke. “Ooh, I like that song.”

  On the radio the song playing was Pavement Cracks by Annie Lennox. Diana started singing to it quietly, “The city streets are wet again with rain, But I’m walkin’ just the same, Skies turn to the usual gray, When you turn to face the day.”

  “One of your homies,” Lucilla said, looking into the rearview mirror to see Anna’s reaction.

  “Oh yeah, we love her.”

  “You know, if we leave for good, I am going to have to take a lot of music with me,” Lucilla said, turning to meet Marcus’ smiling gaze.

  “An awful lot of music,” Anna giggled.

  From behind her another voice joined in singing along quietly. It was Coventina. “Where is my comfort zone? A simple place to call my own, ‘Cause everything I wanna be, Comes crashing down on me.”

  Anna joined in and by the end of the song all of the women in the van were singing along.

  Lucilla sported a wide smile and continued west up and over the hills that once crossed would reveal the Pacific Ocean.

  52

  Over Lasagna

  “Anything else I can do to help?” Layla asked.

  “Yes. You can open the wine. She’ll be here any minute.”

  Aja arrived with her own bottle of wine.

  “I hope you’re hungry,” Denise said.

  “I haven’t eaten all day.”

  “Good.”

  “I bet you’re wine is better than ours,” Layla grinned.

  “We are not in the least bit wine connoisseurs.”

  “You’re wine is just fine. Here, keep it in the fridge for another day.”

  The lasagna was out of the oven and cooling somewhat before eating, so they had a seat in the living room with a first glass of wine.

  “How did you get involved with all of this?” Aja asked.

  “It is a long story. Why not get started over a salad?” Denise said.

  They were well into the lasagna by the time they even finished answering all the questions about their adventure with the members of the Tyrine.

  “That is all amazing, almost too amazing to be true.”

  “Oh, it’s true alright, as true and real as what we are into now,” Denise said. Show her something, she said to Layla.

  Okay. Tell her to keep her eye on the couch.

  AC.

  Aja quickly looked up from her meal at Denise.

  Yes. It was I. Layla would like you to keep your eye on the couch.

  “Okay,” she replied quietly.

  Layla turned towards the room the couch was in and lifted it until it was hovering in the middle of the room. She then made it spin, faster and faster until it was spinning as fast as a top, before stopping it abruptly and returning it to its original spot on the floor effortlessly.

  A small piece of lasagna fell off of Aja’s fork as she continued to stare at the couch.

  She wanted to toss around my car the morning she started to master things.

  “I am impressed.”

  “Would you like another slice of lasagna?” Layla asked.

  “Yes please, but just a small one.”

  “When we were in Chicago for Mary’s birthday, I received my first message from Quintus and those he was with,” Denise said.

  They went on to explain everything since that day in Chicago.

  “The Ninth Legion? That is absolutely incredible. May I meet them?”

  “I would see no harm in it. The are not ‘upstairs’ at the moment and are in the U.S. being tourists on the West Coast.”

  “I thought they were in Vegas?” Layla said.

  “Well, they started from there anyway. Today they are in Los Angeles.”

  “So the reports discussed in those emails are true?”

  “Yes. Believe me when I say that those who met their end, as bitter as it seems in the news, deserved it, or much worse.”

  “Oh I believe you.”

  “Are you close to finishing up what you started?” Denise asked.

  “I am. Of course, we have no control over phone conversations or physical communications, but the details about you, and your friend in Washington are gone. I have everything you will need to put together your plans, only now I am beginning to wonder if you really needed me at all.”

  “You’ve been a huge help to us AC. Hey. How would you like to meet them?”

  “Oh I don’t want to travel back to the states right now. Perhaps another time.”

  “Time is a luxury they do not have,” Layla said.

  “No, I meant how would you like to meet them,” Denise said, wearing a huge grin, her arm stretching to point straight up.

  “Them? You mean the friends upstairs?”

  “Come on. I’ll arrange it. I promise you will never look at this planet the same way again.”

  “That is something I’d definitely agree with,” Layla giggled.

  “This I’ve got to see.”

  53

  AC Upstairs

  Denise was able to arrange being picked up within two hours.

  They cleaned up the remnants of their dinner and were taken on a brief tour of some of the sights Paris had to offer as the sun departed in the west, bathing the city in a glorious golden glow.

  Heading down Boulevard Bourdon, Layla put the Mustang into stealth. “Is your seat belt fastened?”

  Aja laughed.

  “Seriously, please fasten your seat belt.” Denise said.

  “If you insist.”

  We’re meeting them here, Denise said, pointing to her iPhone.

  Affirmative.

  The Mustang ascended and headed west-southwest, to the large open field Denise chose as a pickup spot.

  “Okay, I believe everything you said,” Aja laughed.

  “Oh, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” Denise giggled.

  “Layla, you’re not taking us all the way upstairs are you?”

  “No,” she laughed.

  The Mustang gently touched down on a grassy field surrounded by a tree line on all sides. Night had officially wrapped the region in darkness.

  “I would love to own one of these,” Aja said. “You don’t suppose I could have it secretly reverse engineered do you?”

  “Not this one my dear. Wouldn’t want it to fall into the wrong hands,” Denise said.

  “You are probably right.”

  They were enveloped in the bright light they’d become accustomed to, and quickly taken up into the large craft. In moments they were stepping out of the Mustang into the ambient light of the interior of the craft where they were greeted by An. Welcome.

  Hello and thank you, Denise said.

  They followed An through the first doorway that hissed closed behind them.

  Welcome to Wonderland AC.

  “You simply have to teach me how to do that,” Aja said.

  An brought them to the room that resembled a lounge. Aya will be with you shortly. Before she left the room the far wall vanished into windows affording a view of them leaving Earth’s atmosphere.

  “Oh my. This I could really get used to,” Aja said.

  “Come one, better have a seat at first,” Denise giggled.

  “Its movement seems so effortless.”

  “So was the Tyrine,” Layla said.

/>   “How far away are we?”

  “Oh wait, I’ve gotten pretty good at this,” Layla laughed. “About, four thousand miles.”

  The soft hum behind them signaled the door opening. Aya entered followed by a tray with glasses on it that stopped directly in front of them. Very good Layla. That is almost precisely how far we are from your planet’s surface.

  “Thank you Aya, and thank you for having us.”

  Aya, allow me to present Aja, Aja, one of your hosts, Aya, Denise said.

  “Thank you for allowing me to accompany my friends here,” Aja smiled.

  “How are our friends doing down there?” Layla asked.

  They have been enjoying a day along your ocean.

  “How much time do they have to decide, before you depart?” Denise asked.

  Approximately five Earth days.

  “We should allow them to spend as much time together, in peace, to make a decision.”

  It is our agreed on plan. Aja, you must have many questions.

  “Ha. I think I’m getting used to that. Yes, I do actually.”

  Feel free to ask what you wish.

  “Really? Okay. First, I am very curious to understand how you know where they are, what they are doing, at any given moment?”

  Aya seemed to float off the chair she appeared to be sitting in and over to the open view of Earth. Our species has evolved with advanced versions of what you on your world have labeled telepathy and telekinesis. We have the ability to locate that which we commune with, some at great distances. The vehicle you are in is an extension of that ability. Much of what you see around you is organic. Some of it exists only in the moment.

  “Fascinating.”

  In our opinion, your species is capable of existing in a similar fashion.

  “We’re slow learners that’s for sure,” Layla said.

  “Does your ability extend to all life?”

  All life? The universe is so vast there is no way to answer that question. All life on your world? Yes.

  They went on to discuss many things, all on a much more technical level than Aya had experienced from anyone else in the group of humans. Aya offered Aja the invitation to stay with them on the ship as long as she liked.

  Denise could teach you how to expand your abilities.

  “Really?”

  “Really?” Denise said.

  Yes. Aja would be very receptive to learning your abilities. In time you could learn to incorporate that power into the world around you. Denise is well beyond that level already.

  “Well, I will try to schedule some classes then,” Denise laughed.

  Aja smiled. When can we start?

  Very good. How about over leftover lasagna?