The ritual… Chapter 17 (1st draft)…
Horus and His Companions The Sun The Light & The Moon…
We were standing, after the flash of light resolved, in what looked like a mist filled columned hallway. The bluish hued mist reflected the light up ahead… from the direction we were headed, apparently.
There was silence, except for me being able to hear the even breathing coming from those near me. My eyes became accustomed to the variation in lighting around me.
I felt alone, this was startling to me. I reached out for the hand of one of them near by. Apparently Greg had the same idea.
“Gemma, are you ok?” Greg said, pulling me closer to him. Mark moved sandwiching me now between Greg and himself.
“Yeah, I am ok… just not used to the travel that way.” I said, though I knew or at least felt there was more to how I felt just then. I could not put my finger on it, I was struggling to shrug it off, but couldn’t at the moment.
The shadows in the hallway moved. It was someone coming toward us.
“Gemma, I need to talk to you.” Marta said, now visible to our group, as the mist yielded her form.
“Sorry, for being a bit late.” Mark said, then reaching out to Marta pulling her by the offered hand, close to him. He gave her a light kiss on the lips.
“Mark, we felt all of it. It is understandable. Greg so glad you are here, Mark called you in? Good idea, with him having been so preoccupied as he and Gemma were.” Marta said, now she grasped my free hand in hers.
Greg cleared his throat, said, “I was only showing my support for the princess and Mark. I was lucky to escape what I saw happening.”
Marta sighed, then said, “I knew Mark would have planned her rest perfectly.”
Marta then looked into my eyes, very focused, saying, “Gemma, there are many challenges in life, that are both hard and monumental for each of us. This ritual, being one of them. But in your case you will have to face a similar situation thrice, which can not be helped. Yes, you will be standing alone, at times, during this one. Because you must show your consent is genuine. You are feeling that even now before you begin, your part in this. I would guess what could take place here for you, will be because of the nature of your people. Also from the nature of what you hoped to consent to… had planned long ago when confronted with the consent Alec had requested of you. From the consent you had given to Brad, Brian and Mark, here. I wanted to warn you, but not muddle up, what will be asked of you during this ritual.”
“Will I remember anything that will help me, Marta?” I said. I felt again a distant fear, that transformed into anger within the center of my chest.
Marta squeezed my hand hard, to the point of pain, saying, “You will remember when it is necessary, it comes to each of us in this state like an instinctual reaction. Once you have your body back, you will remember. But for now, not remembering may be… helpful.”
I was now feeling fatigued once again. I thought, why, can’t I just remember? How is that even helpful, not to? Who would do this to me? Gods, there I go again… I know I can trust these. Why am I angry? OMG!
The breathing sounds around be quickened in pace. I thought, there I did it again, more confusion, towards the ones I want to help, towards the ones I love. I was even affecting Greg, who I did not remember who the heck he was to me!
Marta said, now holding my hand with a more gentle ease to her grasp, “We heard every word, Gemma. I can not answer your questions right now. I can only say I will be near you and listening to you. I will help you as I had helped Lucia during her darker moments in your world. I am allowed to do that. Because of the web of consents you have made with us. These kept us alive and communicative. That is all I can say, at this point. Yes, Alec, knows I am talking to you. He loves you too.”
I felt resigned to feel this feeling of anger and isolation. I felt I had to. I had a dim feeling I remembered why too.
It was then I thought the somber mood needed to be broken, so I could think, so I could be ready to make choices… feel what it was I was to be doing, when shit finally happened.
I looked over at Greg. “Greg, how do I know you? Who the heck are you… to me?” I said. It was then I heard Marta exhale, the breath she had been holding in a bit too long. Waiting for my response, to her apparent unhelpfulness.
“Gods, Gemma,” Greg said, holding my hand tenderly in his. “Me in a nutshell, before this damn ritual! Well, we have fucked, on numerous occasions. We love each other dearly. I am a merman… not Aquaeous, as our friends here. Let’s see what else. I can do what I do, freely because I am a king of sorts to my people, that is if we recognized such lineage. I was late in the game meeting you, but the three who are entangled with you, got me in the same state. I love you and Lucia, dearly, more than life. If that is a bad thing, as some have made it out to be, well I just don’t see that. To the hells with them, if there are such places… which I am inclined to think not.” Greg looked hard into my eyes at this point. That is all I needed. It occurred to me, I actually remembered our confused mess too. A diplomatic mess, but one I had loved dearly!
“Alec did this to you and me, right?” I said, I saw a slight smile come to Marta’s lips with the saying of that.
“Yes, he did. That is why he is THE ambassador for Queen Lucia… it could be also blamed on our dear one Lucia too. She knew me WELL way before I met you. The Promise is that way… Unity does have its benefits. It heals each of us.” Greg said, looking over at Marta.
“With that I will have to say an AMEN. Now I must allow you to walk, as they say, into the light. Just go. Remember what I said, Gemma. I can help if you ask me to, in what ever way you choose to ask me. I will respond.” Marta said, “Listen to Alec, feel what he tells you to do. Then just do it, it will be right.”
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Marta stepped back into the mist and was gone. I could not feel anything, but what I could physically touch. The boys still had ahold of me. We walked bare foot toward the light, then a wide opening into a well lit room, that contained no more of the mist. The room was full of people, all who I had seen before, and in an anticipative mood. I felt that. I was still human. From what I understood, I would be one, until I got home again…
There was a beautiful crystal deep coffin like tank near a wall, that had four columns around it. It was not in the center of the room, but oddly near the far wall. The room was elegant, but devoid of any carving or art work. Natural marble stone was everywhere, some of it highly polished, glinting in the light that came into the room from the tall ceiling through multiple round openings. The light appeared natural, but was too intense to be such. The crystal coffin was empty. The lid was leaned against its marble base. The lid looked heavy and unmovable. There were steps up to this space, at least ten wide steps, holding people in the round, but no one else was up on the top two steps nor on the top space, save for Alec, Lucia, El, Monica, Paul and one I felt I knew called Bernard. I had been told he was an important third companion to Paul and Lucia, before Lucia had met Alec. El and Monica were Lucia’s adoptive parents, the ones who shared of their, I guess for a lack of words, DNA in the past to form her Aquaeous body.
A way was made for me through the crowd up the steps to stand on the bottom of the two top steps. Brad, Brian, Mark, Marty and Greg stood on the third from the top step with members of the crowd. Most the people were nude, a few wore intricate ceremonial robes. The room smelled oddly enough of a mix of distant flowers and rain. The language at this point was Aquaeous, of course I understood none of it. Since I was cut off from the Unity, I felt none of it either. I only felt what my heightened senses and intuition could communicate to me… both of these were on over time.
Alec nodded to Brad, who stepped up on to the step where I was located and began to untie each of my robe’s knots. Then he took both of his hands and with his hands inside the front of my open robe removed the robe by using his thumbs, which had been edged into the inner sleeves. He pulled downward gliding off my robe, letting it fall behind me at my feet. He then stepped back to his place. He was nude himself… as for me I was not afraid to be nude, it gave me more resolve to stand my ground there. I had a right to be there… but doing what, I do not know. I was sure I would find out soon.
Lucia was faced away from me. All I could see was her slender back. She trembled slightly. No one assisted her. I grew impatient. I was feeling her distress. She was still human. There were few humans in the crowd, these were quiet. The others in the crowd were talking out loud, it was so annoying. I was not sure why they would be carrying on so, with so much tension and uncertainty going on before their eyes.
I grew angry. I knew why, though I am human, there was the remains of my past deep in my psyche. I was Lyran, a warrior shaman. I now had to keep what was evidently trying to take me by force, under my control… I was in fight or flight, but why?
I felt eyes burning into my head, I looked with a quick jerk toward that direction and saw Marta looking intently at me. I then got what was happening… “Marta, help me keep this feeling under control, will you?” I said it in English, out loud, no one appeared to pay attention to me. Marta, nodded. I suddenly felt a calmness. The violent feeling did not go away, but it was farther away and now manageable.
It was then that Lucia, looked over her shoulder at me. It appeared to take all of her will. But her eyes were fearless, full of resolve. She turned back again. It was then she grasped the thick side of the crystal container, crawling with great effort over its side, dropping to the bottom. I could see she was chilled by the cold bare crystal now touching the full length of her nude body, as she positioned herself flat on her back in the bottom of this coffin like structure.
It took all I had to stand by and watch her struggle. I knew a few things about this, from what she had told me. These things making more sense as I was a witness to these events happening to her now. I also felt anger toward Alec and Paul for allowing her to struggle and be so cold… fragile looking there.
But I pulled up in my mind, to keep myself calm, what she had told me. That this was the hard part of the ritual. It would appear to all those around her, who witnessed her transformation… like a death struggle. That it must be understood that she got willingly into the container, that she willingly would struggle there and then be transformed. But in the mean time, for her and for those who would not understand what was happening… it would look like a ritual sacrifice, a murder, a fight for life that no one in the crowd would answer.
I now believed that. What would happen, if I could not control, what I had sworn I would do to protect her? I may be human, in human form, but I had won in my dreams the matches, the tests. I may hurt someone, I may be hurt or killed myself. It was then the answer to my guess of why Marta had broken with convention, with the blessing of Alec. She warned me and she was my help to prevent me from taking the whole room on.
The heavy lid was lifted with ease by the males present that had been standing with Lucia. I had been told of the strength of Aquaeous males, even the females, but now I was witnessing it. I also noted a pinkish hue to their skin. I stared at them and then down at Lucia, what I could see of her from this side of the crystal container’s walls. It was then I thought I heard or felt Marta’s voice in my head. What I got from it was a feeling that told me all the males were now in the beginning of heat. What this met to me would need to play out… their resolve apparently was part of this to under go this ceremony with their beloved.
Water appeared to pour into the coffin. There was no pipe. No way to shut it off. It flowed over the sides into the enclosed box. Lucia, appeared to float to the top of the violently rising water. Her face finally banging the top of the enclosed box. Her hands pushing her face away to gasp a last breath of air her body needed. It took all of my mind to fight my instincts to save her from drowning. I could have at that moment pulled off the lid and helped her. My hands were clinched into fists at my sides. I wanted to look down or away. But I could not take that route for my friend. Alec and Paul were now standing nearer the coffin, looking down into it, the top lid apparently clearer than the sides. Lucia now looking up at them, became calm. She stopped her fight for air and fell back into the depths of the waters of the container. She smiled slightly and then closed her eyes. She was gone. The water turned to the color of fresh blood. I had allowed my beloved to die!
I felt suddenly sick. I vomited on the step above mine. How could I have allowed this to happen? Again, I felt the eyes upon me. I looked in the direction of the feeling. It was Marta. Locking eyes with her I said, “How could I have allowed her death?” I felt the answer again, that she was not dead.
I just stood there. I had lost my sense of direction, I felt numb. I felt a heat forming on the top of my head. I thought how ridiculous that was… thinking about sex right now. I must have gone mad. This must be a dream, that I would awake from and then need to take years to recover from. Where was reality. My hands were numb, I finally unclinched my fists. I would do me nor Lucia any good, to throttle anyone. She was gone.
I vomited hard one last time on the step ahead of me.
Then someone threw a colorful scarf over the mess I had made. Standing next to me was Marta and Glenna. We stood in a row looking at one another. There needed nothing said, my hope had returned. Glenna nodded and smiled. Marta had her eyes closed, her lips moving. My anger and sadness calmed. I stood as relaxed as a wild animal could in such circumstances.
The water cleared. Revealing a very pink and restful looking Lucia. She was beautiful. Her hair floated about her face in long blonde ringlets. She opened her eyes and looked up into the faces of Alec and Paul as they had been staring intently down at her, apparently, awaiting her arrival back to them. The lid slid over with a heavy thud to the floor with the touch of her palm as she swam up to depart her enclosure. She was very much alive and very much focused upon them. It was as if she did not see anyone else in the room. Paul grabbed her under her arms, while Alec grabbed her thighs then hips to help her out. She landed lightly next to them. She could not take her eyes off of them, nor they off of her.
I was over come and now shaking. What was happening to me I did not know. Was this fight or flight again? I looked over to Marta she still had her eyes closed and her lips moving. I felt at that moment that Glenna had purposely placed herself between I and Marta. Again, I was fighting my Lyran side.
I felt danger. My head whiped back. But it was again due to, a threat to Lucia or was it a threat to myself at this point?
Lucia was being held up by Paul, leaning heavily against him. It was then my eyes landed upon the glint of a dagger, held in the hand of Alec. What in the name of the Gods was he doing with that. I felt his intention, it was controlled, it carried necessity, it carried an action, which would include me. I was on guard. I looked back to Marta, who was useless to me at this point. I could not physically reach her, I knew better, since the one who stood next to me could destroy worlds. Alec brought the long blade down heavily on to the inner elbow of Lucia’s left arm, blood flowed. Marty had stepped up on the steps and stood behind Paul. It was then I knew what would happen next… the knife was met for me. Alec move with lightening speed across the three steps that separated us. He arrived in front of me. I was ready to defend myself now. I would choke the life out of him, for what he was doing now… for what I did not understand, but knew blood was wanted… desired by him. Then I cried out in Lyran, I knew exactly what I was saying. I cast a spell to stop him. He had anticipated it and deflected it with his hand. I grabbed the hand that held the knife. But the knife plunged deep into the palm of his hand slicing it wide open, my eyes met his, he was someone else, someplace else, he would not be stopped. I then, as I shouted for my Gods strength over his magic, felt two large hands upon my shoulders and a deep growl of a voice say in English, “Gemma stop fighting.” I stopped. When I did I felt Alec grab my left wrist and slash my palm deeply, saying words that burnt my mind, heart and hand. I felt weak. I fought to turn on the Lyran that held me.
It was my brother.
Vilmos, I thought, why?
In Lyran, I understood it too. Vilmos said,”Gemma stop you are home, Lucia is free, Alec is giving of himself and Lucia to you, in their blood… my sister. Stop your fight, you and she are safe. You did what you promised to do. You are stronger, than these even, I am proud of you.”
Marta grabbed my hand, to stop the bleeding with her hands. El had a hold of Alec’s wound. Paul tended to Lucia, with Marty standing in front of her. I could not see what was happening between them. When I took in all three of them – Alec, Paul, Lucia – they appeared lost in the ecstasy of being one, together at last. I felt great warmth surge up from the palm of my hand and over take me. I could not stand up any longer, I felt as if death was taking me. The only thing real, that I could feel was, the throbbing in my hand of pain and the pain of separation from my Brad, right then. Then I was one, or was that something else. I felt Brad, his touch was on my forehead, my heart, my mind and I understood what was being said around me. I could both hear and think it too. I was on that step flat on my back looking up into the eyes of Brad who held my hand, to stem the bleeding and then Marta who was in my head saying it was done. I was ready.
Ready for what?
All I knew was I was home.
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Becoming the third… Chapter 18
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