Fate’s Peak

by Scott Volentine

  “A flash of light! How strange… did you save me?”

  “I was running for my life, pursued from all sides, nowhere to go. I found Death first, then I saw you.”

  “You aren’t a knight come to save me?”

  William sighed. “Sometimes I think I’m only a pawn.”

  “I know I’m a piece in a Cosmic Game,” Madeleine said. “My Mother tried to explain the rules but I just wanted to know my part.”

  “What did She say?”

  “She said I’m the reserve.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “To be withheld until the flow needs to be diverted for Her advantage.”

  “I’m guessing my Father is her opponent.”

  “There aren’t opponents in the Game.”

  “The Darkness is my Father’s enemy, and mine. Light is the path of Life.”

  “It’s so exhausting to have enemies. I think people just create them in their minds.”

  William looked down at the grease-smeared pan. “The eggs were delicious.”

  Madeleine flipped her hair behind her shoulder. “My own recipe.” She maintained a straight face for a moment then burst out laughing.

  The laughter chimed in William’s spirit, bringing a smile to his lips. “The enemies aren’t people. They’re ideas that drive people into conflict. Ideas that run against Nature. The Darkness is the shroud of ignorance.”

  Madeleine leaned forward. “Do you think I’d be able to laugh if I saw everything you did?”

  William shook his head. “You’re right.”

  “So, we need the Darkness to protect us from the nightmares of the world.”

  “The Darkness produces those nightmares.”

  “I’m talking about the ones that were created by people. My Mother told me about the pogrom, how her precious children were herded to slaughter time after time. Because they were different, they were treated like livestock.”

  “The Darkness prevented the barbarians from seeing those people’s humanity.”

  Madeleine sighed. “Okay. The Darkness can influence people to commit atrocities, spawn nightmares, but I don’t want to weep anymore about all who died. The killers ended up killing themselves too. They’re all gone. I want a cushion of Darkness to protect me from the dead world, so those memories won’t haunt the living world.”

  William fixed Madeleine with a stare. “How can we create a living world?”

  Madeleine touched her index finger to the corner of her lips and her forehead wrinkled. “I don’t know… how can we?”

  William lowered his eyes. I thought I would figure out what to do by now… Why didn’t my Father tell me about Madeleine’s Mother? He is not the only Creator. According to her, He only created the model of the Galaxy. It sounded like she was speaking from her Mother’s bias, but does that make it untrue? Is it possible my Father only conceived the Galaxy, while her Mother gave it form? If They worked together to create the old Galaxy, do They need to work together to create a new one?

  William’s knees started aching under his weight, so he sat back onto the ground. With the crusted pan at his eye level, he looked up to find Madeleine’s breasts more prominent from the angle. How interesting. He looked into her face and saw an abstracted look about her eyes. What revelations are coming to her from the astral plane? Have I challenged her worldview as much as she’s challenged mine?

  William hated to interrupt Madeleine’s trance, but he ached to bridge the void separating their minds. Clearing his throat, he asked, “What are you thinking about?”

  Madeleine blinked a few times and looked down at William. “How long have I been out?”

  “Not much longer than I was. So?”

  She smiled. “I was thinking about a lot of things. How good it feels to be with someone. When I was alone, I spent a lot of time in meditation, listening to Mother. I thought the world was Her cosmic realm, this cave an illusion. But then you showed up…

  A flush crept over Madeleine’s face. “Your body…”

  “What about my body?”

  “You exist as something more than a mind. This world exists as something more than a cave… you brought me back to my body, made me a part of this world. You made me real.”

  Madeleine stood up, brushing dirt off her dress, and went to the fire. She stood looking at the flames as they sputtered down into embers. “I think that being alone is the lowest you can be. How can you know you’re real without someone to prove it?” She turned back to William, her frown turning into a grin. “Now you’re here. I wish you could feel how I feel, like the world collapsed on me with all its lightness. The emptiness inside me is gone; I’m so full!”

  Madeleine twirled about, her dress swirling around her knees, and she walked over to the pile of firewood. William rose to his feet and went to help her stoke the fire. As they watched the fresh logs catch fire, he ventured to touch her arm. “You changed my life just as much. I never thought to question anything my Father told me, but when you argued against what I had been taught… it might sound weird, but you thrilled me.”

  Madeleine looked into William’s eyes. “I was worried you would be angry with me.”

  “My Father sent me into this world to correct the mistake He made. He told me about His shortcomings but I never really understood what His mistake had been, until I met you. He never told me about your Mother. I take it They had a falling out and parted ways?”

  Madeleine nodded. “I don’t know the details, but my Mother complained of His egotism.”

  “They had different points of views, so I think the Galaxy would be better if They would collaborate. No matter who you are, you can’t know if you’re right unless you have someone to talk to. Someone who will challenge you.”

  Madeleine smirked at William. “So that’s your big plan?”

  “You think it’s stupid?”

  “Honey, no.” She stroked his cheek. “But who are we to question Them?”

  “You questioned my Father by questioning me. I think He enjoyed it as much as I did.”

  Madeleine burst out laughing. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

  “Can’t we at least ask Them to get back together?”

  “I guess it’s as good as anything. I’ll ask Mother—”

  William raised his hand. “Hold on, I have an idea. My Father watches over me and your Mother watches over you. That means They’re both in this cave with us. I want to say what I have to say out loud.”

  Madeleine gestured for William to go ahead, so he cleared his throat. “Thank you, Father, for guiding me through the wreckage and into a better world. In this new world I find myself in, we are no longer alone. Mother remains at the Game, and we must play with Her. To create a new Galaxy, we need to dispose of the baggage of the old one. I hope both of You can work together, like before.”

  William looked at Madeleine. “Your turn.”

  “I’ll give it a try. Mother… did You use me as bait? Have You been trying to snag Father out of His trenches? You know I don’t understand how these Divine Games work, but I think we have a real catch. It sounds like Father has learned the error of His way.”

  William nodded vigorously. “You and Father created a realm of beauty. It does not matter who was responsible for the corruption that tore it apart. All that matters is that we understand what the corruption was so we can purify it, so we can create a realm of everlasting beauty. Mother, only You and Father can know the Truth. You need each other to calibrate that Truth in the new Galaxy.”

  William felt a vibration tickling the soles of his feet as an electromagnetic current streamed up from the heart of the mountain. The floor started shaking as the energy passed through the cave, knocking a tea cup off the altar to crack on the ground. Madeleine cried out and flew into William’s arms, who held her tight, breathing in her scent, as the E
M field passed up through the peak and beamed into space.

  The rumbling ceased and Madeleine shifted her head on William’s chest to look up into his face. “Did it work?”

  “I think my Father will listen to wisdom.” William brushed a strand of hair away from Madeleine’s eyes with his bandaged hand.

  She gasped. “You’re hurt! I can’t believe I didn’t notice that before.”

  “It’s nothing. Stupid, cut it on my own sword. Doesn’t hurt.”

  “Let me see.” Madeleine took hold of his hand and unraveled the bandage, tossing it aside as she turned his hand palm up. A thin scar ran between its head and heart lines. “Not so bad. You were saying?”

  William clenched his hand. “That energy… Tim told me this mountain can transmit signals through the Galaxy.”

  “Who’s Tim?”

  “He lives further down the mountain. He wasn’t very clear, but I got the impression he knew what he was talking about. I think the mountain sent a signal into the Void. That’s what we felt.”

  “Does that mean our Parents approved our message?”

  “I don’t know. We’ll have to see.”

  Madeleine gasped when she glanced at the mouth of the cave and saw the chalky blue sky beyond it. Her heart started racing and she did a double take to be sure the storm had stopped. “Look behind you.”

  William turned to follow Madeleine’s gaze and started laughing. “Let’s go have a look around.”

  They emerged into the clear mountain air and tramped through the snowfall. William ignored the cold as he stood by Madeleine’s side, held in awe by creation. The wasteland of his memory had been subsumed by grass, fields stretching to the horizon in all directions. My memories are of a different world. They have no place in this world so full of Life. All the tension flowed out of his body. He pointed to a dark green clump in the distance, where bushes and trees had sprouted. “I dreamt of a forest. It will be that way again.”

  “It’s wonderful!” Madeleine laughed and flung herself into William’s arms. “My dream came true.”

  Madeleine kissed William on the lips and his eyes went wide. When he kissed her back, electricity tingled through his lips and he felt his heart beating in sync with hers. They forgot everything but the feeling that swelled in their breasts. When they broke their lips apart, gasping for breath, she looked up into his eyes. “Oh, William! I love you!”

  TWENTY-THREE

  A choir of angels rejoiced within William’s mind; it felt like honey was pouring through his heart. Sol Invictus flared in the sky and radiant sunlight twinkled over the couple, melting the snow beneath their feet. William sank to a knee, awestruck by the beauty of Madeleine’s aura. Her mouth softened as she looked down at him. “William, you’re glowing!”

  “So are you,” he replied.

  Madeleine sank to the ground beside William, her dress absorbing the snowmelt, and he put an arm around her. She smiled and leaned into his embrace. “Looks like we made it to the other side.”

  William swallowed a lump in his throat but remained tongue-tied. Love… such power. He gently stroked her body, wishing he could let Madeleine feel as he did: the joy bubbling from his heart that made him want to laugh and cry at the same time, the catharsis of his soul as disjointed memories ran through his mind and rearranged themselves in a new pattern. As he gazed across the land, Madeleine studied his face and reached to brush away a trickle of tears running down his cheeks.

  “What was it like when you were down there?” she asked.

  As if a floodgate had been opened, a torrent of words started flowing from William’s mouth, his voice floating into the sky. He wept as he related the experiences that had psychically scarred him, and Madeleine comforted him with her touch, with whispers of encouragement, with her steady gaze, reminding him everything was all right. As the unholy memories dissipated from his mind, the Holy Light of Love flooded in to fill the space.

  “I guess you could say the earth was sick, but it’s better now,” William concluded.

  A wistful smile came to Madeleine’s lips. “I wish I could have walked at your side.”

  “It’s better this way. I willingly accepted this burden so no one else would have to.”

  “You needed help. You can’t face the world by yourself. Didn’t the wolf save your life when you were pinned down?”

  “He introduced me to the Natural world, showed me how the Light permeates the cosmos through all Life. The Darkness dictates that we compete with each other, but the Light enables us to work together.”

  Madeleine pressed her palm against William’s cheek. “We need to care for each other. You needn’t worry about the Darkness lurking around the edge of the world. The view is beautiful, isn’t that enough?”

  William grinned like a fool. “You’re beautiful.”

  Madeleine blushed and glanced down. “You have some scars but you’re still beautiful to me.” A grin came to her face. “Why don’t I have a look at your chest to see how you’ve healed?”

  The way Madeleine stroked his chest sent a tingle down William’s spine. He felt she had him in her grasp and was pulling him into the future. A smile came to his lips. “We should burn the bandages.”

  Madeleine pushed herself off of William and stood up, water dripping from the hem of her dress. She offered him her hand and he grasped it while pushing himself to his feet. She planted a kiss on his lips and tugged on his arm, leading him inside the cave. Standing before the altar, she turned to him and put her hands on her hips. “Now, take your shirt off!”

  Madeleine covered her mouth to suppress her giggles and William, feeling his spirit surge, joined in the laughter. When they settled down, he pulled his shirt off over his head and tossed it over the altar. Madeleine’s smile broadened as her gaze trailed down from the stained cloth wrapped across his chest. She stepped closer to William and stroked her hand over his musculature, finding the bandage’s knot under his arm and untying it.

  Pulling the wrap off, Madeleine let it fall to the ground and sighed in relief. “Those bandages were filthy! I can’t believe you didn’t get an infection.” She traced her fingers over the claw marks that had begun to scarify on his chest. “Does that hurt?”

  William rested his chin on her head. “You could never hurt me.”

  Madeleine pressed her cheek against his chest. “You’re healing but I don’t think the scars will ever fade.”

  “Physically, mentally…”

  “The past leaves a shadow. The question is: do we live under it or move into the Light?”

  William knelt down to grab the bandage then walked to the sputtering fire. Madeleine stepped to his side, looking into his face, and he returned the gaze. “No more fighting.” He tossed the strip of cloth into the embers and smiled as flames sprung up to devour it.

  Madeleine put her hand on William’s shoulder and pushed for him to face her. “Peace comes through Love.”

  William pulled Madeleine into an embrace and she parted her lips as he moved in for a kiss. A shock of static electricity made them jerk their heads back but the next moment their lips were locked, probing each other’s contours for a comfortable fit.

  When their breath ran out, Madeleine extracted herself from William’s embrace. “I think you need a bath, Mister Man.”

  William glanced into the recesses of the cave, where firelight shimmered on calm water. “Do I just jump in?”

  “I don’t see why not!”

  William sauntered over to the pool and saw his shadowed reflection shimmering on its surface. Madeleine stood back, hands clasped before her bosom, as he untied the string at his waist and let the trousers slide down, crumpling at his feet. She made a strange sound, part-laugh and part-yelp, and he looked over his shoulder at her. Her face went scarlet as her eyes lifted to meet his. He grinned then stepped into the water, ripples tearing through hi
s reflection, fractals of light bobbing away from each other.

  As William waded to the center of the pool, the water rose above his waist and he spun around to face Madeleine, standing at the edge of the pool. The light flickering shadows across the rough walls made him feel like he was in a dream, like one reality had become layered upon another: one of matter and one of energy. He fixed his eyes on the stone altar, which glowed in the sunbeam that pierced through the cave’s mouth, its shadow stretching towards the pool. The shadow came to its end where Madeleine stood, dimples on her cheeks, full-moon eyes shining, a shoulder-strap sliding down her arm. The sight struck the air from William’s lungs and he trembled a moment before puffing his chest out. No words were spoken—none were needed—for the cavern had reached stasis, everything held in balance. Peace flowed like a balm to their spirits as Time abandoned their presence.

  William laughed and Madeleine blinked as he splashed underwater. He raked his fingers through his hair, loosening it up, until his lungs started to burn. The pool’s surface returned to its mirror-like stillness and then he surged into the air, drawing in a deep breath as water flowed off his body and rippled to the edge of the pool.

  William wiped the water from his eyes and grinned at Madeleine. “The water’s fine! Come on in!”

  He splashed water at Madeleine and she reached behind her neck to undo a clasp, behind her back to undo another. She wiggled out of her dress, letting it slither down her body— exposing her porcelain breasts, the curves of her stomach, her pubic hair, the arch of her thighs—until it heaped around her feet. She tilted her head forward, hair falling over her eyes, and smiled at the slack-jawed expression on William’s face. Stepping past the folds of her dress, she walked into the water’s embrace as if in a trance, her eyes locked with his and the air shimmering between them. She started giggling as the water climbed her thighs, and when their bodies brushed together, shivers rushed through their skin.

  “This is wonderful,” Madeleine breathed. “I’ve never felt so alive.”