Chapter #49Coming Clean with Kali by: Seuzz   "I'm really tired, but sure. I don't want it to seem like I'm hiding anything."
"You have hidden nothing, child," she says in a kindly tone, "and have told us much more than you have realized. My colleague is as satisfied as she is capable of feeling. But there are a few issues it would be better to speak of just between us."
She gestures you toward the bed, and even presses you to get between the sheets before she sits again at its corner.
"You told us that you had two quite remarkable experiences with the Libra, that left you transformed." You nod, and stiffen a little. "Miko's questions sliced finely, but not so finely as to disclose all the details. I'll confess I had some hand in that." She looks at you expectantly.
"I wondered," you confess in turn.
"Yes. And it was easier in that she didn't know what to ask. Now. Your first passage into the book. What did you see while you were there?"
You've never told anyone about it, and the memory is now hazy. But the impression is still sharp, for you still feel the effects. "I seemed to see a bunch of symbols," you say. "They whirled all around me. Then they seemed to go into me."
"Do you feel them still?"
"I think so. I don't know how to describe it." You spread your hands and stare at your palms.
"You haven't the words, for you haven't the concepts. We will rectify that in time. Is that all?"
"Yes. Well, that time that was all."
"Ah. And the second time you passed into it. You saw something else?"
"Yes. There was a man there." You try to describe him, and she lets you, though your impression of him is very vague. "He spoke to me. I think he said something about how I was 'progressing nicely'."
"I see. And did you say anything to him?"
"I don't think so."
"But?"
"I didn't feel like I could speak. But I also felt like I didn't have to."
"What did you feel?"
"Nothing, really." You grimace. "After awhile, with this stuff, you know, it's like nothing surprises me anymore."
You're startled by her peal of laughter. "Bless me, child. Indeed. I don't know why I asked. You've made that clear enough."
"Made what clear enough?"
"That you take what comes. Let me see your hands." You hold them out to her, and she runs gentle fingertips over your palms. A tingle seems to pass from her to you. "Yes," she says softly. "It is all very clear now."
"What is?"
"Never mind. Let it not disturb you. Tonight, I think, you will sleep deeply and dreamlessly. But I will give you a notebook and a pen on the morrow, and ask you to write down any dreams you have in the future, as soon as you awake, so you do not forget them."
"Are dreams important?"
"Sometimes. Is there anything else you wish to ask me, or tell me, while we are alone?"
You start to shake your head, and then hesitate. "Joe called me, just before we started talking. I told him that Miko was here." You look up at her. "He said--"
"I can well imagine what he said. Do not let it trouble you. You have unburdened yourself, and in the right way and to the right person."
"Except there's one more thing," you say, and her eyebrows shoot up. "It's the way I got through security. Joe ... Well, we still had a mask of him, and I wore it in order to get through. With his identity. I've got it here, and he told me not to let Miko know about it."
"Ah. I think that will not be a problem. But I can relieve you of your worries by relieving you of it."
You thank her, and tell her where it is. She tucks it into her robe before leaving. "Tomorrow we will begin in earnest," she says at the doorway, and turns off the light. "But you need not rise early. Miko and I have other business. Sleep well, child."
You change from the robe into pajamas and get back in bed. If today's session wasn't "earnest," you're not sure you want to see what tomorrow will be like.
* * * * *
As Kali had foretold, your sleep is heavy and undisturbed by even the echo of a dream, and strong light is pouring through the window when you wake. The clock reads 10:15, and though Kali said you didn't need to get up early, you don't want to be taken for a slacker, and clamber out of bed. You slip the robe back over your PJs and go out into the main apartment.
You have the place to yourself. There's a note on the dining room table, telling you there's orange juice, bacon, and pancake batter in the refrigerator, and you happily make yourself breakfast, and carefully clean up afterward. You then shower and shave and dress. By this point it's almost 11:30, and you've heard from no one.
You don't want to snoop, but there's nothing else to do, so you look through the place. You don't see anything you hadn't spotted before--and you stay out of the bedrooms--and the living space is tidy and uncluttered. The only note that suggests Kali's Scottish roots is a large, framed photograph: the famously iconic picture of the Loch Ness Monster, the silhouette of its head and neck rising from the water. You wonder at its significance: Is the monster real and related to the Stellae? Or is this just a memento, even a kind of private joke? Of her African roots the only sign seems to be a tribal mask that hangs on a wall.
A mask.
On a sudden impulse you pull it down. You have to smile after you have it down, for Joe's mask tumbles out from behind it. Carefully, you replace it.
You wind up in her office, a spacious area with an immense window that looks out onto the surrounding buildings. Besides the desk--which has a blotter and a ream of clean paper and several elegant jars holding pens and brushes--there is a drafting table and an empty easel. A large bookcase covers one wall, and you look over the titles. They are all books on interior design, landscaping, and architecture. You take down one--an immense and expensive picture book of France, its buildings and its countryside. You retreat to the living room and relax while flipping through it.
At one o'clock the door opens and Kali and Miko come in, laughing and chatting. You look at them nervously and put the book down; Kali leans over to see what it is, and seems delighted in your choice, asking if you like it. You nod, but she doesn't seem to be paying attention and just passes on into her office.
Miko remains behind, and looks at you with an archly amused expression. "We gonna have to wash your sheets this afternoon?"
"Why?" you ask, startled.
"You're seventeen. Don't you still have wet dreams?"
You can only gawp at her question.
"You don't have to tell me if I show up in them," she snorts. "I'll be able to tell." She goes into her bedroom.
You're still gasping like a landed fish when Kali reappears. "Ah, I see Miko had something to say to you," she says in a blasé tone. "I do too, but it'll be nicer. I'm afraid we don't have many diversions for you at the moment. You'll be continuing your more mundane education, and I've already ordered some math, history, English, and general science books, but they won't be arriving for a few days."
"I thought I was supposed to be studying--"
"You will, but in the evenings. Miko and I have jobs that keep us busy until six. We do have bills to pay, you know. There's no money in the Stellae side of things."
"Oh. Yeah, I guess that-- What do you do? If I can ask."
"You certainly may. It's no secret. But didn't you guess? I'm a designer. Miko is here as a consultant on a job. A film producer is building a new house."
"Really? Anyone I've heard of?"
"Possibly, but I doubt it. In this city, film producers are outnumbered only by unemployed actors. Miko, are you ready?" she calls.
Her friend comes back out, and you don't know if you're relieved or frightened that she has that sword with her. She hands you a small jewelry box. "Call it a peace offering after last night," she says.
You open it: It contains a thin, unadorned silver necklace. "Wow. Thanks," you say.
"Yeah, well, a cat needs a bell," she says. "Put it on." It's an order, and you comply. It prickles a little, and you don't know whether to hope or fear that it's magical. You'll ask Kali later.
The women depart, Kali leaving you with the invitation to get onto her laptop--which she is leaving behind, with a guest password--and surf the internet or play any of the games she's installed, so you do. You leave the games aside, though, and after spending a few hours watching YouTube and surfing various sites, you become curious about what's going on with your replacement. So you log in and check your email.
There's only one new message since you last checked--many, many days ago--and it is marked as unread. The sender's address provokes your curiosity: thecommittee3475@gmail.com. You open it, and gasp.
It's a death threat.
You settle back, and--despite your surroundings, and your being out of your old life for awhile now--it still hits you hard. Of course, you had made yourself highly unpopular at school--thanks to Blackwell's hex--and maybe death threats aren't to be unexpected. And they're threatening a golem, a thing that isn't even alive. But it still cuts you really close to home.
You wonder if you should call Joe about it.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
| Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author