~Chapter 21~
There is a strange sort of pleasure one can derive from fear. A thrill unmatched could lead to a delight and Mae wondered if the euphoria she felt, as Nimaro allowed her to sit upon his back, wasn't a result of something akin to that.
Mae had expected to find Hidai at the pond when they arrived, but alas he was nowhere in sight. Instead, they were alone, and the water's surface was as smooth and still as glass. It was a hot day and while there was a breeze in the valley, this part of the forest remained clear of the winds path, making it feel muggy. Stopping at the water's edge, Nimaro laid down on the moss-covered bank pulling his akress away so she could escape their relentless grasp.
"I do apologize for their behavior, but my own curiosity spurs them to react as they do," he explained as she walked towards the only large flat rock on that side of the pond.
"I don't mind," she replied as she unfastened the buttons down the front of her dress, "But what is it that you're so curious about?"
"Many things," he remarked coyly. "Mostly I was monitoring you for any signs that you were beginning to succumb to my aura. You will be pleased to know, I found none."
"I am pleased to hear that," she said, slipping her sandals off. "Do you swim?"
"I can," he replied as she removed her dress and set it up on top of the rock.
"But do you?"
"No. The lake in the Quarter is not a place to swim, and the rivers and pools aren't large or deep enough to do more than relax in," he replied as she waded out into the water.
"Well then. Come on in. It isn't much, but it's better than this heat. You can put your cloak on the rock. I figure, since this is my last day before training, I might as well enjoy it, and since you're here, you should enjoy it with me. Truly immerse yourself in the 'human experience.'"
Mae turned her back to him and swam further out into the water, listening for the sound of him coming to join her; the soft plunking noise of his feet entering the water, the only indication that it was safe for her to turn around.
For a being as large as he, it was impressive how quiet he was able to move through the water, gliding through it like a snake. The water seemed to be the one weakness of his akress as they appeared to go limp once submerged.
Even as Mae watched him, she wasn't certain if he was enjoying himself, as his expressions weren't very emotive. And while he appeared to be relaxed, floating next to her in the water, he gave no indication of how he was feeling. She could only conclude that at the very least, he found it agreeable.
For near a half-hour, they soaked, swam, and spoke carelessly, until the water began to feel too cold for Mae, forcing her to head for the shore. Leaving the pond, she climbed up onto the rock and using her dress as a pillow, stretched out to warm up.
"This has been delightfully refreshing," Nimaro remarked as he came near the shore and then shook himself free of excess water. Mae yelped at the sudden spray and hastily grabbed his cloak and hurled it at him.
"I'm sorry!" he laughed, true merriment echoing through the forest, her laughter being drowned by how deep and loud his was.
That was the joy she was hoping he would express, and experience, even if it had come at her expense.
She watched as he spread his cloak out on the ground in the sun next to her rock, and then turned her eyes to the sky when he laid down. It felt good to just laze about in the sun, no conversation, no cares, no worries. Just the heat of a summer's day, the smell of freshwater and woods, and the radiating warmth of that familiar rock.
"How do you plan to extract your payment?" she finally questioned breaking the comfortable silence of that lazy afternoon.
"I will take you into the nightscape. You will sleep and remember, and I will be at your side, experiencing it with you."
"Wait, so, am I asleep or conscious for this?" she questioned as she turned over and looked down at him over the edge of the rock.
"You will be asleep in reality and consciously aware in the nightscape."
"Oh, okay, I suppose that makes sense. And how long will it take?"
"However long you normally sleep."
"Any chance there is a way you can do this without me being aware?"
"Unfortunately, not. I take it there are things you would prefer to remain forgotten?"
"Yeah. There's plenty of things I've buried away because I'd prefer never to think about them. I suppose it's too much to ask for you to let me ignore that stuff?"
"It is not too much. You may ignore whatever you wish. I will not force you to recall that which you'd rather keep hidden. I'm not doing this to hurt you. I've already done enough of that. But you need to understand, the nightscape is not a place for dreams. It will not shy from the difficult or lull you into a false sense of hope with lies. Nightmares have a way of drawing out the truth and laying it out before you, forcing you to face the things you hate the most about yourself, and the things that you have done."
"A nightmare that shows truth? Seems like a contradiction."
"Oh? Then why not tell me of your nightmares and we will see if what I say has any merit."
"Okay. It's been a long time since I had a nightmare, but the last one I remember, I was singing in a dark room. I was alone and by myself, and then lights came on and I was on a stage surrounded by a sea of people. It felt like I was being choked. My voice vanished, the stage began to spin, and the faces blurred together. I woke up and immediately got sick. Turned out I had a severe case of food poisoning from eating undercooked chicken wings. I spent two nights in the hospital because of it. Not a fun time; don't recommend it."
"You fear the judgement and ridicule of others. You let it silence your voice to the point where it silences your ability to enjoy yourself. Although, that may have just been the poisoning, or the 'chicken wings', I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with them. Are they like Thay wings or dragon wings or something else entirely?"
"Thay, but plucked of all their feathers and about the size of my hand, dipped in a batter seasoned with the perfect blend of spices, before being deep fried to crispy deliciousness. Any chance you're hungry?" she asked as she sat up. "It's not going to be a 12-course meal like they served up at your temple, but Hidai hasn't complained yet. Speaking of which, I wonder where he's gotten too?"
Putting on her dress, she waited for Nimaro to fix his cloak into place, and then together they walked back to the house. After changing, Mae returned to the kitchen, where Nimaro was waiting, and she prepared dinner as they shared a bottle of Nuegrum and continued their conversation. Hidai returned by the time the food was ready, so they made up their plates and ate outside with him on the patio. As they ate, they spoke, and when dinner was over, they went inside and talked some more as she washed the dishes. Mae was truly thrilled when Nimaro took it upon himself to fill the sink, since she didn't want to lug a bucket of water up from the cellar, where the only hand pump in the house was located. And once the last of the dishes were dried and put away, they retired to the sitting room until the house began to grow dark.
Lighting a lantern, Mae smiled softly as she sat back onto the couch. "I suppose you're going to need to leave soon."
"Yes, I probably should."
"So, then what comes next?" she asked, hoping he would broach the subject about how and when this trek of consciousness into the nightscape was to take place.
"Tomorrow, I will return with another, and your training will begin in earnest. Tonight, however, I will prepare you to journey into the nightscape with me. If you are ready?"
"Is there any reason I shouldn't want to do this?"
"If you trust me, no."
"Then I'm ready."
"Where do you sleep?"
"In a room upstairs. It's this way," she said, rising from the couch and picking up the lantern. "I have something to show you first, if you don't mind taking a few more minutes."
"I don't mind. Please, lead the way."
Carrying the lantern, Mae lead Nimaro up the stairs to the closet and through to the dressing room, where she picked up her cellphone from the table and had him sit in the center of the room as she powered it up.
"Where did you get that?"
"It's called a cellphone. It's a device I brought with me from Earth."
"Ah, I see. For a moment I thought it some Cyb'nyk gadget you had stumbled across."
"Cyb'nyk have technology?"
"Yes, of all the races, they are the most advanced. What they lack in magic, they make up for in their ability to create, and they use their technology to enhance themselves, and others."
"I had no idea. I really don't know much about them. Neither Ven or Karanosi could tell me anything, aside from the fact that they live in an underground city and if not for the one living in Sap'letor, no one would even know what they look like, although their description didn't make any sense to me."
Nimaro chuckled as she typed in her password and turned on the camera.
"Surprisingly what the told you is true, at least as far as surfacers go," he said as she walked up beside him and turned around, leaning back against his shoulder.
"Then you'll have to tell me all about them sometime," she said as she lifted her phone and put them into frame, "smile."
Even with the flash, she couldn't tell if he was smiling or not, since he appeared to be no more than a black blotch beside her.
"What was that?" he questioned, seemingly a bit started by the sudden flash of light.
"I took our picture. When I return home, Jack's going to want to know where I've been and who I've been with. This will be my proof that everything I tell him is true. You don't take a very good picture though. See," she replied as she pulled the picture up and showed him.
"I don't know what to say. Apparently, that is what I am to that 'cellphone'. It doesn't look like the pictures here, but we have them painted and it takes a great deal longer. Perhaps it is because I am supposed to blend in with the darkness."
"Nailed it," she said with a faint giggle, before swiping the screen. "This is Ven. I still need get a picture of Karanosi and Hidai, but this," she swiped again, "this is Koobs, and this," she swiped a few more times, "is Jack."
"He is your mate?"
"Yes. Him and Koobs, they are the ones I need to get home to." Glancing at the battery life, it had dropped to 18% and she immediately turned it off. "It won't last much longer. I need to preserve it for as long as I can."
"Would you allow me to take that?"
"No. I'm sorry but this isn't a part of any deal. And unless giving it to you would guarantee me a way home now, I can't give it up. I need it to remind me of why I'm doing what I'm doing. To remind me of what I'm doing all of this for if I get discouraged or want to give up. Every picture is a precious memory."
"I understand, and I don't wish to take any of those memories away from you. But please, if you should ever come to the Quarter, bring it with you. I would like for you to allow one of the Cyb'nyk to examine it. It may be possible for them to duplicate this technology, and perhaps even help you preserve it for longer."
She found what he had said to be hard to believe, and as long as the Cyb'nyk didn't damage her phone, she didn't see any real harm in allowing them to look at it, especially since she didn't know what the Cyb'nyk were even capable of.
"Okay, that I can do. I want to see your home one day, and I'll remember to bring this with me when I do. But now that you've seen who I'm doing this for, my room is further up the stairs."
When they entered her room, she walked over towards her bed and sat down on the cushion platform beside it.
"This is it. This is where I sleep."
"Do you happen to have a candle here?"
"Yes, I have an entire drawer of them," she replied setting the lantern on the floor before turning around and opening the cabinet door. Sliding out one of the larger drawers at the bottom, she pulled out a chubby 4-inch candle, and held it out to him. "Will this do?"
"Yes, this will work perfectly."
"And what were you going to do if I didn't have a candle?"
"I have a single use crest in my pocket, but this, if used correctly, will last several ventures into the nightscape," he replied as he took the candle from her as he sat down.
Holding the candle in one hand, he pressed the wick into the palm of his other. Closing his eyes, she watched as he puffed his cheeks and breathed onto the candle, the wax turning from the natural dark yellow, to that of a turquoise green, and when he pulled his hand from the wick, it burst into flames.
"When you go to sleep, you will place this into the center of your chest," he instructed as he let the candle burn, allowing the wax to drip into the palm of his hand. "When your consciousness arrives in the nightscape, I will be waiting for you."
"Do you really have to leave?"
"Yes. Even if your fear has not returned, it is not safe for you to sleep near me. Remember what I said, mastery over one, does not make you exempt from the other."
Once his palm was covered in a thick layer of wax, he blew out the candle and handed it back to her. Using his nail, he then carved a very specific design into the wax. Peeling it from his hand, he carefully flattened it.
"This is my seal. With it, you may enter my realm while you sleep," he reiterated as he grabbed her hand and set the disk of melted wax into it. "Do not sleep until one hour after my departure. The nightscape is no place for you to wander alone. The creatures that reside there are curious by nature. They may cause you harm, albeit unintentionally. And while nothing they do will cause harm to your physical body, it may force you to wake and that will break the seal and release my magic that I have trapped within it."
"I understand," she said, as she placed the seal onto the mattress next to her pillow.
"I am glad. The nightscape maybe jarring to you, when you arrive. Not many are comfortable in it at first. Sadly, there is not much I can do to prepare you for the experience, except to tell you that I am with you, even if you cannot see me initially."
"Will you appear as you do you now?"
"No. I will not be so, corporeal. And you may not be either, please do not let that frighten you."
"I'll do my best, but you should probably leave that single use crest behind, just in case I mess something up."
"It is probably a good idea," he replied as he reached into the pocket of his cloak and pulled out two squares of paper, one white and one black, handing to her the white one. "If something should happen, you will need a glass of water as this one must be dampened. Otherwise, it works the same as the wax seal."
"Got it," she said as she took the paper from him, the same symbol drawn on the face in a black ink as he had scratched into the surface of the wax. "Dampen with water, place on my chest, and go to sleep. Simple enough."
"Yes. It really is quite simple."
"Thank you for spending the day with me," she remarked as she sat back on the bed.
"You need not thank me. My reasons were not entirely unselfish. You are unique Mae. To me, and this world. This 'human' experience is something all of my Ji'vie have experienced with me. Even now, I can still feel their intrigue and joy. It has been many years, too many years, since they have felt as they do now. If this was but a glimpse into your world, then I truly hope to see more."
"I need to ask you, in the nightscape, does my willingness, is that going to make a difference to the way you see my memories?"
"Yes. The more willing you are, the easier it will be for us both. All of my acolytes spend time in the nightscape, and all benefit in their own way. And I believe it will be the same for you."
"We'll have to wait and see. I can't promise anything, but I will try to be open to the experience. I had a wonderful time with you today, even if your intentions weren't entirely unselfish," she told him as she placed the paper seal next to the wax one.
"And for that I thank you. We should laze about again, when time permits. As you now know, it is not something I often do. Rest well, Mae. I will see you soon."
"Can I walk you out?"
"I would like that, but it is not necessary," he replied with a smile as he held up the back square of paper and moved towards the outer wall of her room. "Remember, one hour."
"I'm looking forward to it," she said and watched as he placed the paper against the wall.
"And Mae…"
"Yes?"
"Don't be late."
Flattening his palm to the paper, it expanded and enveloped him as he walked forward into the wall, wrapping back around him, folding in on itself. And then with a small spark, like a static discharge, it was gone, returning to its original form; a small back medallion that clattered to the floor, still attached to the fine silver chain. Picking up the necklace, she held it up in the lantern light to admire its beauty once more.
An hour later, Mae crawled into her bed, ready for the night, and as Nimaro had told her, she picked up his seal and placed it against the center of her chest. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. She had been exhausted when she laid down, but suddenly she felt wide awake. Frustrated, she opened her eyes to get up, hoping that a few trips up and down the stairs would be enough to tire her out again, but instead, she found herself surrounded by a thick grey fog, and where she had placed Nimaro's seal, there emanated a turquoise green glow, illuminating her in the darkness.