The Theron Residency (Brides of Theron Book 4) (26 page)

              Adama and Anora were standing in the kitchen behind a thick wooden kitchen counter with wooden backless bar stools stored just underneath the ledge. They both had a steaming cup of tea in hand and were talking about what had transpired since Anora had left. She hadn’t realized that Anora had been away for so long. She walked slowly about as she eavesdropped on their conversation. She put her bag down on the overstuffed white chair that was in the living room. Inside the circular crystal structure were no walls. The light in the room seemed to be coming from the soft glow of the pink crystal walls. She looked up and was amazed to see no roof on the structure. Did it not rain in Agartha? She paced around listening to the sound of the voices and exploring her new environment. They continued to talk about the plans Anora had for Laura over the next few days.

              “Laura,” Adama called. “How are you finding the climate here?”

              Laura thought to herself. So, we are going to talk about the weather? “It is nice. Actually, the weather reminds me of San Francisco. But, can I ask you something?”

              “Sure, anything,” Adama said with a smile.

              “Does it not rain here? I noticed that this place doesn’t have a roof.” Adama and Anora started to laugh at this revelation. Laura looked away quickly and tried to dissipate the anger she was feeling now at their mocking response.

              Adama said, “We are actually situated under Mt. Shasta here in Telos, but the weather is like this all the time. We never see rain in these parts.” He walked over to her and put a hand gently on her shoulder. “We actually weren’t mocking you. That just happens to be the first question everyone asks when they come here from the surface. Here in the inner earth, the water is a living thing with conscious thoughts. It knows where it is needed and we have no need to control it like the people on the surface do. We do not dam up the rivers or levy them like the engineers have done to the many rivers to keep them running the same course year after year. That is why on the surface the water has had to find other means of transport to bring the water to the plants and keep everything alive. If they left the natural water dispersal system alone, there would be no heavy rainstorms or hurricanes.”

              “Why are the houses circular then?” Laura asked.

              Anora snorted, “Because, the shape make it so that we never have to dust or waste our time on unnecessary cleaning. In a circular home, the dust never has the opportunity to settle. It blows out through the opening above. These natural dwellings are called into being through our intention just as our clothes and other necessary goods.”

              “Call into being through intention? It sounds a lot like the trees we live in on the planet Theron. They grow and adapt to make living space as needed.” She started to frown again, unable to forget the longing in her heart for Ceran. Anora picked up on this right away and put a hand on her other shoulder offering her a consoling smile. “I’m sorry, I just miss him.”

              “The bond that the two of you share is strong. I would be surprised if you didn’t feel this way Laura. You will be going back to him soon. But, for now you need to focus on the task I have brought you here to master.” She looked up at Adama, “We have the full support of the people of Agartha to use whatever resources are required to achieve this goal.” Adama nodded back to her.

              “The food is probably in the cabinet waiting. Excuse me.” Adama said as he turned toward the door and left the room.

              Laura looked at Anora, “You promised Ceran and me that I would return. You had said in the cave before we left that it would be like no time had passed. How is this going to happen? As I stand here, I feel the hours and minutes pass by. Already, it seems as if we are taking our time. Instead of working on meeting this goal you have for me, we are entertaining visitors.”

              “You’re going to have to trust me Laura. I’ll keep my promise to you and Ceran using whatever means I can. Adama just assured me that I will have all we need to accomplish this at my request.” She grabbed Laura’s hands in hers and said with conviction, “Please trust me my daughter. There is much that you do not understand about the Universe, and you are about to receive a crash course. We will start tomorrow at the library. For now, though, let’s begin with some tea.” Anora pulled her over to the kitchen as she prepared her a mug of the steaming tea. It had to be the most delicious tea that she had ever tasted, sweetened with the richest honey.

              Adama came in shortly after and placed a feast of vegetarian food on the table. She liked him very much. He was a soft-spoken man with much wisdom. His stories were like the fables she loved to hear her Grandfather tell her. Every story he told had a wise underlying principle that you were supposed to grasp. It was likely his way of introducing her to their culture. He talked of bears and tigers walking by his side with aligned goals of peace. He explained that nobody ate dead flesh from the carcasses of animals here. The food was picked by specially trained people who knew how to honor the sacrifice of the lives of the vegetables that were piled on her plate.

              The three of them talked for hours until Adama stood up and said, “It was wonderful to see you again Laura. It is amazing how you always keep your sense of adventure and wonder. I look forward to answering many more of your questions in the future.” He hugged Anora, “I missed you old friend. You really must visit more. It will do you good and rejuvenate you. Make sure you check in on your parents. They would love a visit from the both of you. Rest up now. Mikos will be expecting you in the morning.”

              After picking up the remains of the dinner and putting it back in the cabinet from which Adama retrieved it for recycling they walked back into the house. They were both a little more comfortable with each other now that they had learned a bit more about what each other was about. They talked about what Anora wanted Laura to achieve during her stay here briefly and that made it a little easier for Laura. At least now she would have a notion of what she needed to accomplish to get back to her lover. They also toured the house and she knew where everything was and how to use it.

              Anora brought her to where she would be sleeping. There were privacy screens set up between the rooms that could be moved around to open the space. The bed in the center of the makeshift room was piled high with blanket made from soft material that was similar in texture to what Adama wore. “Now get some sleep. We’ll have a busy day tomorrow.”

              Laura looked up at the sky. It's misty opaqueness maintaining the same degree of light as it did when they arrived. “Is there ever darkness here in inner Earth?”

              “No, there isn’t. The sky remains the same all day and night. We usually don’t even keep track of time. As I said before, here in Agartha, time doesn’t exist. We just go to sleep when we get tired. As long as we have performed the equivalent of four of your hours of work a day, which is required by each and every one of us, we can do whatever we please after. You will see what I mean tomorrow. Goodnight Laura.” As she went through the door, the crystals in the wall dimmed their light. Laura changed into her pajamas and slid under the soft blankets on the bed. She imagined she could hear the sound of Ceran’s breathing just beside her and the weight of his arm lie across her chest with the pulse of his heartbeat softly beating against her skin. She sent him a message via thought,
“I love you and miss you. I wish you were here with me. Good night, my love.”



              Ceran looked up at the white of the ceiling for a while now. He could feel a tug in his heart from the woman he loved. She must have missed him as much as he missed her at this moment. Samel had told him once that when he found the woman he was to spend the rest of his life with he would be connected to her always by an etheric cord that couldn’t be severed until death. He never really believed him when he spoke of it before, but something about that discussion started to resonate with his soul at this moment. It wouldn’t hurt him to consider this to be true, as it brought him comfort from her absence beside him. He sent a message of thought over that long distance with the hopes that it would find her and tug back on that cord that connected her to him.

              He could hear the sound of Zion’s heavy breathing coming from the hammock on the other side of the room. There he saw the shadow of the bird man with a leg hanging over the side of his bed. His foot was dangling just above the thatched grass mats that covered the floor. Today’s exercise was one of futility in his opinion. Learning that the fate of a battle resides on the intentions that you hold in your head seemed far-fetched. Where he came from, you went to battle armed will all necessary tools. How well you fought determined your fate. You just hoped for a positive outcome for you and those who fought alongside you. People were lost and that was always the outcome of the war.

              The light softly filtered behind the window shades. Not being able to sleep, he walked around the room, finding himself lost in his thoughts. Before lying down he witnessed the rainbow of colors that painted the sky behind the curtain. The darkness may have lasted for a blink of an eye after the setting of Sirius A before the light of the star Sirius B rose over the horizon. Ceran stalked his way over to his bed and was out soon after he closed his eyes. Ceran couldn’t sleep. He missed the warmth that Laura had provided under the shared covers of his bed. It was like she had always been there though this was a relatively new arrangement to him. He closed his eyes and tried to drift off to sleep.

              His dreams were vivid that night. There were images of crystal houses with no roofs and misty skies. He watched her as she slept soundly on the soft bed and kissed her closed rosebud lips. She opened her blue eyes and with all seriousness of the moment watched him as he lay down beside her. She lifted her hand and ran her fingers through his hair which caused him to close his eyes. It felt so real. Before he knew it, he was kissing her hungrily and pulling her toward him with a need so great it hurt. He caressed her breast and she moaned quietly closing her eyes at the feeling of his touch.

“Quite a dream I reckon.”
He heard in his head. It took him a moment to place the voice of the man it belonged to. Zion. “
It is time to resume your training. Breakfast is ready so I suggest you be quick about it.”
Zion chuckled as the sound of his footsteps got further and further away. Ceran cracked his eyes open and looked over to the counter across the room. Zion was sitting on one of the chairs with a foot extended outward. He had his attention focused on a tablet computer as he emptied the food from his spoon into his beaked mouth.

              “So, if you can speak directly to my mind are you able to see my dreams as well?” Ceran said as he slid his pants on one leg at a time.

              Zion raised what would be his eyebrows if he had them,
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
When Ceran gave him a look bursting with frustration, Zion chuckled and said,
“Not without your consent. I do have the ability to see what your mind projects when I follow a particular process. It’s a way that I can transfer my conscious thoughts to you directly. There will be an exercise that requires this method of thought transfer later in your training.”
He scooped in another mouthful.
“It looked like you were having such a good dream. The smile on your face was something to see.”

              “Humph…” Ceran zipped his pants and looked under his cot to find his shoes. He put them on before joining Zion at the counter. “What’s for breakfast?”

             
“I didn’t know what you would like.”
Zion pushed a tray over to him with a dome cover. When he removed the cover and looked into the bowl in front of him, he was overcome with a state of revulsion. Suspended in a slimy liquid seemed to be brown worm like creatures thrashing about in all directions within the confines of the bowl.

              He wretched, “Is this a joke? This has got to be the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen.” Zion reached over the counter and dipped his blue fingers into the bowl catching one of the brown, wriggling insects. Ceran almost threw up as he watched the small worm be snatched up by Zion’s powerful beak. He watched as Zion extended his neck three times to force the thing down his throat.

             
“These are a delicacy here. You should give it a try.”
Zion said reaching for yet another.

              Ceran pushed the bowl his way and said, “Have at them. I would rather starve.”

              Zion chuckled,
“Have it your way.”
He helped himself to what was left in the bowl. Ceran couldn’t watch him anymore and excused himself to the bathroom. When he came out, the offending creatures in question were gone. In their place was a plate of steaming eggs and cooked vegetables.
“Given the fact that you wouldn’t eat the breakfast I had ordered for myself, I went ahead and ordered you this.”

              Ceran’s mouth was watering. He did not realize just how hungry he was. He sat down and tore into the food with haste. He did not waste time talking. He still couldn’t figure out the man sitting across from him. Zion seemed content to watch him eat. This guy’s mannerisms were freakish. When he took the last bite, he asked, “So, what will we be learning today?”