The Sibylline Oracle (21 page)

“If you can make it there…” The corners of his mouth turned up playfully. “You can make it anywhere.”

She broke into a deliciously carefree laugh. He had her on the analytical end of the argument. But she wasn’t prepared to abandon her emotional battle. “Alex, don’t you worry that you would spend time with me only to discover that I’m not someone who you could...” Valeria struggled. “Love?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Alex responded. “I’m afraid you are just stuck with me! I know you. I know your heart, and I know your soul! I also know that if you truly saw yourself, as the woman you
are,
you would understand how much and how easy it is to love you! I’ve spent 3,000 years waiting for you.”

He kissed her lightly and she felt a lovely warmth run through her body.

There’s something else I’ve wondered about. In all of those years, you must have loved others.”

Alex looked up considering whether to share that information with her. Finally, he nodded. “I did marry once.”

The waiter cleared their plates and refilled their coffee. Valeria took a sip, trying to hide her hurt. “I understand. That’s an awfully long time to be alone.”

Shaking his head, Alex said flatly, “I would have waited forever for you!” He looked down and then square into her eyes. “I didn’t give up on you. We simply didn’t know the rules of our immortality then. Really, we are still learning them.

“Valeria, when you originally drowned, I pulled you into the boat with me and tried to revive you. We didn’t know then what we know now about our Prima Mortis. The seas were rough that day and I was afraid I might lose you, so I bound us together with rope. When the boat capsized, it took days for our bodies to wash up on the shore.

“That was my Prima Mortis, so I revived, and prayed that the same would happen to you. I kept waiting for you to awaken, but…” Alex pushed down the memory. “I believed that you were gone from me forever. Daphne kept trying to convince me to bury you.” He paused. “Finally, I brought you to Morgana. I grieved for 500 years. During that time, I had no visions of you.

“As the years went on, we discovered more immortals and, through the purges, we decided that the oracles needed to stick together. I offered Morgana as our home base.

“Then I met a woman—a sculptress. She was kind to me,
although she knew that I could only love you. Still, I think she was happy for a time...and I wasn’t quite as lonely. But then, I had a vision of you in danger.”

“Oh, Alex. What did you do?”

“There was
no choice.
” His eyes flashed, widened by his conviction. “I could never stay away from you!” Valeria could feel the pain of his decision. This was a man who kept his word.

Reaching out, he pulled her into him. She loved the feel of his arms around her. He kissed her forehead and whispered, “So, have no doubts. You are
it
for me, Val.”

She choked back a sob. “Alex,” she pleaded. “Please don’t risk it all tomorrow.”

“Val, this is our chance. I am going to put everything I have into this, to make it right this time.”

“Then please promise me you’ll be safe.”

He shrugged noncommittally, causing her to narrow her eyes in concern. “Alex, you aren’t giving up, are you?” she asked, worry lacing her tone.

Tightening his grip on her hands, Alex looked up at the darkening sky with first stars appearing. “There are so many things that can go wrong.”

She whispered, “Alex, I
need
you to survive this.” She choked this time. “I don’t want you to risk your life for mine. I’ll come back. But
what would my eternity be without you?
Please don’t give up on us, even if it takes another thousand years. Promise me.”

Alex closed his eyes trying to decide if he could really make her that promise. But he owed it to her, so he nodded.

Leaving the restaurant, Alex took her hand as a Puccini aria escaped from a nearby window. They rounded a corner and Caleb’s laughter drifted from an arcade housed in one of the ancient buildings. “
Sweet!
”

Alex and Valeria laughed. Shaking her head, she said,
“Caleb sure is something!”

“
Most definitely
something!” Alex smiled and rolled his eyes. “But you know, the rest of us, we’ve all had love.” He squeezed her hand. “Caleb can’t even enjoy human touch. And even if he could, he has spent centuries in a body that is neither child nor man. He will never know the joy of mature love or make love to a woman. Still, Caleb understands this and he tolerates it quite well.”

Valeria furrowed her brow. “I don’t understand. I mean, he’s really…what, over 2,300 years old? Surely, experience has aged him.”

They stepped onto a curb in front of a flower shop. Alex pulled a bunch of freesia from a bin and tossed some cash onto the counter. The owner wrapped the flowers in paper and handed them to Valeria.

“Thank you, I love freesia!” She breathed in its sweet fragrance.

Alex kissed her cheek. “We don’t know a lot about Caleb but as far as immortals go, we all stay the same age as we were at our Prima Mortis. Even Jeremiah is subject to the laws of his 147 years.”

“Who is Jeremiah?” Valeria asked.

“He’s an immortal; the oldest surviving, in terms of his physical age.”

“There are more like you? I thought you were the only surviving oracles?” she asked. Then she added, “I don’t think I would want to be that old forever. I mean, what can you do at 147?”

The air was cooling and Valeria shivered. Alex, ever the gentleman, took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. She took in the feel of his warmth and the hint of his scent that still clung to his coat. Alex’s eyes narrowed in thought as another shot of laughter rose from the arcade, followed by Caleb’s voice. “Aw, man. Now?”

Speaking in a voice that was too low to transmit the distance to Caleb, but loud enough for Valeria to hear, Alex said, “Yes, buddy, now!”

Alex turned his attention back to Valeria. “Don’t worry, Caleb isn’t riding back with us. He’s catching a ride with someone else.” Alex continued, “Where was I? Let’s see...Oh, we were talking about Jeremiah. That old guy has more spouses than any of us combined. He lives on an island where they believe he is their god and he collects young wives.”

“Collects young wives? What for? I mean...147!”

Alex raised a brow. “Oh, Jeremiah’s young wives always have the biggest smiles every morning.” Alex winked.

Laughing, Valeria remembered how much she enjoyed just being with Alex. “Well, poor Caleb! Stuck forever at his age, with twelve-year-old hormones!”

“Yes, and obsessively intrigued with breasts as all twelve-year-old boys are!” Alex’s eyes twinkled. “At least, that’s what I seem to recall.” He glanced at Valeria with a smirk. “I guess you wouldn’t know about twelve-year-old boys.”

Shaking her head shyly, she went to her side of the car and Alex opened her door. As she turned to sit down, he grabbed her around the waist and kissed her with a burning intensity that left her wanting more. “Don’t ever leave me again,” he murmured.

She pulled his face to hers and kissed it sweetly. “Not if I have anything to say about it—never again.”

As they drove through the streets of Trento, Alex tried to lighten the mood. “There’s an amusing story about Caleb. In the day of the Venetian courtesans, Caleb decided that it was time for him to become a man. I’m not even certain he knew the details of what was involved…at the time. Today with the internet I’m certain he has
all
the details.”

Alex narrowed his eyes, debating whether this subject was
beyond Valeria’s sensitivities before continuing. “The family discussed it and determined that Caleb had a right to make his own decisions about his life, knowing that he would not be able to touch her anyway. So, he saved his money and found a courtesan. They went to her room. When he tried to touch her in the darkened room, his electrical impulse lifted her blouse and the static around him lit the entire room. At first, the girl was frightened. But then Caleb laughed and somehow she decided it was funny.

“Down the street Mani and I listened to Caleb and the courtesan; we could hear the electrical shocks and then long laughs from both of them.” Alex tilted his head to the side. “I guess he got a peep show out of it. But at least he could say that he had spent time with a courtesan.”

Valeria and Alex laughed. She loved laughing with him. She loved the way he talked, the way he looked, and the way he looked at her.
She loved him!

They pulled into the private drive for Morgana, but instead of continuing to the cottage, they veered off onto another road to the right. Valeria saw a simple building situated at the end of the road. Alex explained that this was Mani’s home and his lab. It was the original home on Morgana and had belonged to Alex’s family before they all died. Of course, it had been rebuilt many times but always just the same. It was where he’d lived for many years until he built the cottage.

“I guess I never asked, but are you okay with all of this?” Alex pulled up in front of the home and parked the car.

“I know that if you think it’s our only option, then it is.”

Alex jumped out and opened her door. She stepped out of the car and could see that under his smile was a great sadness. She touched his face. “I’ll be all right.”

They walked down one of the lit trails to the back of the house. The lights were off in the house. Alex sighed. “Mani must be at Melitta’s grave.”

Valeria held Alex’s hand. “Should we wait for him?”

“No. Let’s go get him.”

They walked behind the house to a garden still overflowing with wild flowers. Mani didn’t hear them; he was sitting on a stone bench speaking in another language to a gravestone.

“Hey, Doc,” Alex said softly.

Mani turned. “How is it that it turns dark and I don’t seem to notice?”

Valeria saw several sculptures with names and dates. The one over Melitta’s gravestone bore a beautiful winged angel with large eyes that seemed to see forever.

“Alex sculpted it for us out of Carrara marble. It looks just like my Lita.”

“She’s beautiful, Mani.”

“It is so sad when we outlive the gravestones of those we love,” Mani replied. Valeria noticed the name and dates had faded from Lita’s stone. She touched his shoulder. “Fortunately Alex is a talented sculptor and can recreate them should the need arise.”

As she turned, she saw a more recent gravestone that that read “Cassandra.” It made her shudder and she averted her eyes, as if not wanting to acknowledge her own death.

They all walked back to the house together. The home was long and narrow and was built for simplicity. As they entered, Valeria saw a single bedroom to the left, with a neatly-made full-sized bed. They walked through the main living area. Books occupied every free space with no sense of aesthetic. A couch sat in front of a fireplace midway through the home, with a small dining table behind it. The kitchen, if you could call it that, was a single counter with a double burner stove, sink, and miniature refrigerator and freezer. Mani flipped on the light switch in the lab. As he shrugged on his lab coat, the fluorescent bulbs slowly flickered to life and yellowed the walls. The lab, filled with test tubes and medical supplies, seemed inappropriate for its setting
in the ancient home.

Valeria tried to imagine Alex running through the house as a young boy. She tried to picture his mother cooking and telling him to play outside. It must have been awful for her to lose him to Aegemon’s troops. She pushed that thought away, though the reality of their predicament had settled in.

Mani gestured toward the examination table and Alex lifted her onto it. She could see the tension in his eyes. Mani pulled the stethoscope from the counter and began taking her vitals and logging them on a folder that read, “Cassandra.” Then he left the room and returned with a vial.

The room seemed to darken with the knowledge of what was about to occur. Mani narrowed his eyes as he looked at Valeria, and asked, “Are you ready?” She took a deep breath and nodded.

Mani took a long swab and dipped it in the vial, and then turned to her. “Open your mouth please,” he said and then cautiously placed the swab in the back of her throat. “Now, Valeria, I want you to take several deep breaths through your mouth.”

Then, he took the vial and the swab, tossed them into a metal bowl, poured a liquid on them, and lit it on fire. Mani turned back to Valeria and put a hand on her back, while patting Alex’s shoulder.

“Valeria, I’ve infected you with pneumonic plague. So that you understand, pneumonic means affecting the lungs. It is far more virulent, that means rapid and destructive, than the bubonic plague, due to its location in the lungs.

“The bacteria are now multiplying. As soon as you develop any symptoms, you are contagious. I would guess you have at least ten to twelve hours until we will see any symptoms, though it will not affect any of the family, except perhaps Caleb. We will treat him, along with the staff here, with the antibiotics as a precautionary measure.

“The symptoms to watch for are fever, weakness, headache, rapidly developing pneumonia with a shortness of breath, chest pain, and coughing.

“Alex, this is vital...Valeria
must
receive the antibiotics within twenty-four hours from the time of infection in order to survive.” Mani pulled out a couple of vials and placed them in individual cases. “I am giving you two vials of the antibiotics; one is a back-up. Valeria will only need one injection. What I suggest is to give her the antibiotic when you see Aegemon approaching. But if the time is nearing the twenty-four hour mark, you must not wait!

“Valeria will only be contagious for three hours after the antibiotics.”

Alex nodded, though his hands shook slightly as he placed the cases in his pocket. “Got it.”

“Now, let’s discuss hypothermia,” Mani continued. “Valeria will probably be too ill to have any symptoms from hypothermia. But you may notice that she acts as if she were intoxicated. Alex, in addition to the antibiotics, I’m sending a few hypodermics loaded with morphine. It should reduce her discomfort with the disease and cold of the water. There’s no reason for her to suffer through this without it.

“Tomorrow morning, you will need to take her temperature regularly, at least three times an hour. The plague will keep her temperature up. Her fever must not go over 105°. Use ice if you need to. As far as the hypothermia is concerned, her temperature must not drop below 96°. I would prefer to see her temperature near 100° so that we know her body is fighting the plague. Alex, if she gets too cool, your body heat will work best. But watch your own temperature. If you get too cold, you must warm yourself up so that you can care for her.

“It will be a balancing act to keep her alive. But she must remain in the water for the three hours to be completely safe. She
will probably be unconscious most of the time. As long as her face is above the water and her temperature stays between 96° and 105°, she should survive the three hours.”

Mani sighed, and tried to rub the tension from his neck. “Ava and Lars have constructed a wool wrap that should provide some relief from the water temperature. When she comes out, if she is conscious, which is unlikely, she will not have any body control. Place her in the bed, in the cabin, and warm her with your body heat immediately. And I want you both to understand that Valeria may suffer from amnesia.”

Despite the fact that Alex knew that there was not much likelihood of either of them surviving long enough to concern themselves, he asked, “Doc, if she does lose her memory, is there some way to treat that?”

“None that I am aware of,” Mani replied.

Valeria’s eyes darted quickly to Alex. “It’s not permanent, is it?” She asked Mani.

“I’m sorry, I can’t answer that, Valeria. Right now, the focus is to get you through this alive. The rest we will worry about later.”

Alex wrapped his arms around her waist. “It won’t be the first time I’ve had to remind you. As long as you are alive, we can make anything work.”

Shrugging off his lab coat, Mani continued, “Valeria, in order for you to contaminate Aegemon, you must get close enough for a transfer of the bacteria.”

Alex lowered his brows in concern. “How close?”

“To ensure infection, I would say about six inches, no less. Once that’s done, then the challenge will be to get both of you out of there alive.”

“Anything else?” Alex asked, dryly.

Mani hugged and kissed them on both cheeks. “Kalo Taksiti! Enjoy this evening.” He said. “You are both alive
tonight. So live, tonight!”

∞

As they pulled up in front of the cottage, she noticed how dark it was without the fire lit and it seemed to reflect their moods.

Stepping from the car, Valeria saw that the sky was now midnight blue and lit with a million stars. Its vastness was beautiful and she refused to permit herself to think that this might be her last time seeing them. This was a new beginning for her and Alex, one where they would discover the immense pleasures of being alive together…
forever
.

She noticed that Alex’s mood had suddenly lightened, as he playfully grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the lighted path to the main house. Despite the darkness now setting in, there was mischief in his eyes. “I hope you don’t mind. But as I said before, it had occurred to me after you left that things had been getting too intense and gloomy around here.”

“Alright,” Valeria said, wondering what he was up to.

“This was Camille’s idea. But I think it’s a good one.” Alex bypassed the main house and continued around to the backyard.

Small twinkling lights clung to the edge of the woods where the large, stone fireplace blazed its warmth onto the smiling faces of the family. They'd set the long wooden table with fine linens and china, a three-layer cake was its centerpiece. A crystal chandelier hung above the table from the tree’s limb and was lit with small candles. Valeria’s eyes wandered to another table which had been set with gifts!

The family suddenly trumpeted, “Happy Birthday—Chronia Polla—Many years!”

Alex whispered in her ear, “Yes, love! Please live
many
more years!”

Valeria shivered with the beauty of it all, the love they freely offered to her, and the love she shared with this extraordinary man. It was a life she had never dared to imagine and it was hers now.

The new happiness in her eyes did not escape Alex. No words were necessary. He could see that she felt the full sensation of his undying love for her.

Alex whispered in her ear, “Camille thought it would be fun for you to experience a Greek birthday party, since most of our roots are Greek.” Alex winked. “Especially yours!”

Camille and Ava approached with a glass of wine for Valeria and Alex. “Join the party!” They clinked glasses and yelled, “Opa!”

“I wanted to serve Ouzo, but I was outvoted by Alex and Camille.” Ava pretended disappointment.

There was something about the evening that changed Valeria’s perception of life. She had occasionally received gifts and had celebrations before, though not like this! Still, it was more than that. When Valeria looked over the faces of the family, she felt as if there was something different about tonight. She could sense that the night held a life-altering significance. Then it struck her and cocooned her in delightful warmth with its far-reaching ramifications...she was loved. She loved them, and for the first time, she felt as if she belonged!

Raising her hands to silence the crowd, Camille explained, “Opa is a Greek term used as a celebration of life! It is an affirmation that all that really matters is health, family, and friends, right Alex?” He nodded.

Camille continued, “It means that you are where you are supposed to be, Valeria.” Tears threatened to escape from Valeria’s eyes. “And that you need to take time to celebrate!” She turned to Alex, asking, “Did I forget anything?”

Trays of food and drink started arriving by uniformed
waiters coming from the main house. Another round of “Opa!” passed through the family as Camille and Ava hugged their new sister.

“You did well, Camille!” Alex said. “My father used to say that the meaning of opa is that, having been fed and quenched our thirst, and having enjoyed friendship and love, that we are filled with hope and confidence; that life abounds with all that we need.” Alex raised his glass to Valeria and everyone yelled, “Opa!”

“That’s beautiful!” Valeria smiled. “I would have liked to have met your father.”

“He would have been,” Alex swallowed back the emotion, “so pleased to know that I found someone like you!”

His eyes lit as he picked up a plate from a passing waiter. “My father said that we break plates as a declaration of the hope that tomorrow there will be more.” Alex squeezed Valeria’s hand and kissed her hair. “That seems to be particularly significant tonight!”

Then he smiled, lifting his brow at Valeria, and threw the plate to the edge of the fireplace where it shattered to another round of, “Opa!”

“I don’t know what to say. I’m completely overwhelmed!” she choked.

Ava smiled. “That’s the great thing about Greeks! When you don’t know what to say, you simply eat, drink, dance, or say opa!” The cheer rang through the crowd again.

The music started; Lars played a mandolin and Tavish was on the guitar. Different band members trailed in and added to the music, eventually replacing Tavish and Lars.

A team of waiters brought out trays of flaming cheese as appetizers, with another round of, “Opa!”

As they ate dinner, one waiter occasionally breathed out fire, causing the familiar shout. Then the dancing began. Tavish danced, while balancing one leg of a chair on his forehead. Ava joined in and tried to get Tavish to teach her how to do it. It became a bit of a comedy show with the chair continually crashing nearly on the cake, then nearly on Lars, with Tavish somehow always catching it before anything or anyone was harmed. His expressions of attempted patience, followed by tried patience and exasperation, added tremendously to the comedy. Valeria realized that she liked Tavish, but was grateful for his friendship
only
.