Shaman, Healer, Heretic (29 page)

“Come in,” said SK, smiling.

He made introductions all around.

“The smell in the bedroom is urine,” said Sunny, after he introduced her.

“Goodness,” said Alvina, but she was already looking at Wan-li, who SK had saved for last.

“Alvina,” said Wan-li, inclining her head.

“Wan-li,” she replied, smiling broadly. “You’re looking well, dear.”

“Yes, and you.”

Alvina came over to Livvy. “So, we’re going to do it,” she said, bringing out her goggles. The other shamans strained to see what they looked like. Even Wan-li craned her neck. Alvina’s goggles were ultra sleek, top of the line and deep red. Ursula nodded.

“Yeah, we’re going to do it,” said Livvy as she took the goggles. “As you can see, some disassembly is required.”

Alvina looked down at the table and the long lines of wires.

“I can put them back together when we’re done,” Livvy said.

“When we’re done,” said Alvina, smiling. “You think we’ll be done. That’s good, dear.” She looked at all of the goggles and then turned to look at the shamans in the room. “Why the extra set of goggles?”

“What?” asked Livvy.

“There are seven pairs of goggles, dear, and six shamans,” said Alvina.

“Oh,” said Livvy, separating a pair from the rest. “These belong to Min.”

Alvina looked around the room, lingering on the door to the bedroom, smiling expectantly. “And where is Min?”

“She’s…she’s in the hospital,” said Livvy, whispering.

She had never thought to tell them about what she and Min had done and what the result had been. As she recounted the story, she realized that not even SK had heard all the details. She told them about Indra as well. The silence that followed was deep.

“Yes,” said Wan-li. “Anything else?”

“Uh, no,” said Livvy, slumping down in her chair. “I think that covers it.”

“Well, dear,” said Alvina, first shrugging then putting her hands into the deep pockets on her vest. “It’s not like we didn’t know there were risks.”

“In the words of the philosopher,” said Wan-li, “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

“I didn’t know Confucius said that,” said Sunny.

“Yes, possibly because he did not,” said Wan-li. “It was Benjamin Franklin.”

Everyone shifted in their seats as the anxiety in the room dropped a notch. No one had asked how long it would take to put the goggles together. Patience was part of their trade, even at two in the morning.

Livvy quickly snipped the wires that led to Min’s goggles and set them aside. It wouldn’t have hurt to leave them hooked up but she only had electronics for six. There were muffled voices outside and a knock on the door.

This time, it was SK’s turn to look surprised. He hadn’t been expecting anyone else after Alvina. He opened the door, and there stood Joel. Not it was
his
turn to be surprised. In fact, he looked shocked.

“Joel?” said Livvy, getting up from the table.

“Oh, wow,” he said, looking at the assembled group. “I didn’t think…”

“Joel, what are you doing here?” Livvy whispered as she came to the door.

The two Chinese guards looked up and down the hall.

“My shift ended and I just wanted to…”

He stared over her shoulder and saw the Bible verses painted on the wall and that the furniture had been rearranged. Most of the women were looking at him with mild curiosity.

“Be right back,” Livvy said as she stepped into the hallway and pulled the door closed behind her, discharging a couple of sparks to the knob. Joel glanced at the guards.

“Let’s go over here,” said Livvy, heading to the stairwell.

“Who are these people?” said Joel.

“Just some new friends,” she said.

“And that big guy down in front?”

Bruno
, thought Livvy.

“Friend of a friend,” she said.

She opened the door to the stairwell. “What are you doing here at this hour?” she asked.

“Well, I was just driving by to see if you were all right. I didn’t really think you’d be up, but I saw the light. Then when I saw that guy downstairs I just thought I’d check on your apartment. He let me in, but then the guys at the door…” He paused, frowning. “Livvy, what’s going on? Is everything all right?”

“Yeah, I think it is. Well, I think it will be.”

“You’d tell me if it wasn’t, right?” he said, taking hold of her arms and looking down into her eyes.

“Definitely,” she said.

“I worry about you,” he said, lifting one of his hands up to the side of her face. “You know that, right?” he said, stepping closer.

She put her hands on his waist but kept her eyes on his as she stepped closer as well.

“Definitely,” she whispered as he slipped a hand behind her back and slowly bent down.

He kissed her softly at first, sweetly. As she kissed him back, he quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Although she was surprised, she didn’t resist. He didn’t seem to want to stop, his hands moving lower on her back.

She managed to squeeze a hand between them and pushed on his chest as she pulled back, sucking in a breath. He didn’t know his own strength. The muscles in his arms rippled, but she felt his grip loosening as she stepped back.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, trying to get hold of himself. “You’re just so–”

“No, that’s okay,” she said. “It’s just that it’s not a great time.”

“Right, I know,” he said, sounding disappointed but letting go of her.

“But I’m glad you stopped by,” she said.

“Me too,” he said, flashing the radiant smile.

She thought for an instant about kissing him again.

“I’ve got to go,” she said. “Everybody’s waiting.”

“All right,” he said, looking down the hallway at the two guards. “Whatever you’re doing, just be careful.”

“I will,” she said, backing up into the hallway. “I’ll see you soon?”

“Not even the guy downstairs could stop me,” he said, beaming.

She laughed a little and went back down the hallway to her apartment, giving him a quick wave before she opened the door.

“YOU ARE CONFIDENT she can do this, yes?” said Wan-li, as SK watched Livvy leave with Joel and close the door. He didn’t seem to hear her.

“SK,” she said.

He turned around. “What?”

“You are confident Livvy can do this, yes?” she said, again.

“She’s got what it takes,” he said, defensively. “And then some.” He waddled over to the coffee table and threw the book down.

“Yes, I do not want the opinion of your testosterone,” she said.

Sunny snickered.

“She can handle herself over there, yes?” asked Wan-li.

He turned to face her. Wan-li saw the anger there, but he held it in check. Alvina was sitting on the end of the couch and was looking at him with a sad smile. Carmen was on the other end of the couch, her head back, eyes closed, and her plump hands folded over her tummy, apparently asleep.

“Yes, she is young and quite pretty–perfectly understandable,” said Wan-li, in a matter of fact tone. “But the young part, it is a worry.”

“She’ll be fine,” he grumbled.

“Oh, of course she will, dear,” said Alvina. “But it is a disturbing pattern.”

SK turned to her. “What pattern?”

“Min, Indra, Livvy,” she replied.

He stared at her, his eyebrows furrowing together, and shook his head.

“The young ones,” Alvina said finally.

Ursula had been staring down into the alley, watching someone push a shopping cart over the bumps and cracks in the street. “Ursula wonders if your judgment has been clouded,” she said, looking over from the window. “You are the Dwarf, the Master of Animals.”

“The Water Baby,” agreed Alvina.

“The Protector of all shamans,” said Wan-li. “We need you to think clearly, no matter how you feel about her.”

SK looked at her, his lips pinching together in a tight line.

“Ooh, pushed a button there,” Sunny chimed in.

“Enough,” said Wan-li, bringing a hush to the room.

Nerves were starting to fray. Slowly, she rose from the floor, stretched, and went over to the table to look the mess over. It was late and they were anxious to get started. Well, everyone but Carmen. Wan-li looked at the woman who seemed to still be asleep. She was the only one doing the sensible thing.

“It does not matter,” said Wan-li, looking back at the goggles as she crossed her arms. “We will know soon enough.” She nodded to herself. “Yes, soon enough.”

Ursula returned her attention to the window while Sunny closed her eyes and assumed a lotus meditation posture.

Alvina got up stiffly from the couch.

“Think I’ll see about some candles,” she said.

As she passed SK, she squeezed his shoulder. The front door opened, and Livvy came back in, smiling.

“He’s a good looking one,” said Sunny, too cheerily.

“I know,” Livvy gushed.

SK went to the front door, yanked it open and was gone, slamming it behind him.

“Where’s he going?” said Livvy.

“Fresh air,” said Wan-li.
 

“I THINK THAT’S it,” Livvy said, as she put the soldering iron away and pushed the magnifier aside.

Another forty-five minutes had gone by in complete silence. Something had happened while she’d been out of the room, but she couldn’t tell what. When SK came back, he wouldn’t look at her. He was upset and it bothered her, but she sensed that now was not the time to try and talk about it.

They had all come over to the table, and Livvy stood as they looked down at her creation. Six pairs of goggles were networked together through a central box that still lay open. Inside, a green circuit board had six chips and various other components and was mounted to the box with four screws at the corners. It was rough looking.

“Where did you learn to do this?” asked Ursula, peering into the box.

“I taught myself,” said Livvy. “It’s not really that hard to learn.”

The other shamans watched Wan-li as she picked up her goggles and looked at the wires pouring out of them and leading to the box. She put them back down and looked up, meeting each one of their eyes in turn. Finally, she looked at Livvy, as did everybody else. They were waiting.

“I guess it’s time to give it a try?” Livvy said.

Again, everyone looked at Wan-li, and again, she pointedly looked at Livvy.

“It’s time to give it a try,” Livvy said, with more conviction.

Alvina had already lit several candles around the room and now also lit incense. Sunny and Ursula shoved the couch over to the wall to clear space on the floor. As everybody picked up their goggles, Livvy picked up hers and the box. As a group, they moved to the center of the floor and placed their goggles down simultaneously.

“Let’s begin on the path,” said Livvy. “I’ll see you there.”

Without saying a word they rolled out their mats, positioned their pillows, and lay down. SK turned off the lights. It was still dark outside; and the candles and the moonlight were the only illumination now. They were positioned like spokes on a wheel, their heads coming together around the box in the middle.

Livvy was about to ask if there were any questions when she heard Carmen flip the switch on her goggles. No sense in waiting, apparently. Livvy lay down and flipped on the switch and heard the others do the same. In moments, they were on the flip side.

• • • • •

“Did you see that?” said Sunny.

“There was a flash of light when she appeared,” said Ursula.

“Sorry,” said Carmen. “There was a flash of light for all of you.”

“Goodness,” said Alvina, looking around. “So this is really what the Middleworld looks like.”

“Not necessarily,” said Wan-li.

“Is this how it was with Min?” asked Sunny.

Livvy took a look around. Everything had taken on a grayish look, even the clothes that they were wearing.

“Kind of,” she said. “But the colors are more washed out. It all seems to be fading into gray.”

“Ursula sees it too. Very dull.” The dark crimson and bright pink of her robes and head wrap had faded to nearly normal colors.

Livvy reached out a hand to Alvina. The purple flowers on her white frock had faded to a faint lilac color.

“It looks like you can kind of see through people,” she said as her hand neared Alvina. “But you can actually feel them.”

Alvina looked down at Livvy’s hand and said, “Almost, but not really. It doesn’t feel quite real.”

The rest of them tried it as well.

“Yes, interesting,” said Wan-li.

Livvy smiled as she watched them move around. They looked at the sky and the surrounding forest. They scuffed the ground with their shoes and clapped their hands. They moved around and tried shouting and whispering. Eventually, though, they all looked toward the lake. Unlike their clothes, it seemed to have grown darker–a darker black, if that was possible. There were no reflections, no mirror of the sky.