Chapter 32
The affair went on until the morning sun came up and I was surprised at the beauty of another world‘s sunrise; knew that the earth did not have a monopoly on such beauty. The colors were all different and yet the same f glorious array. What made it all the more enjoyable was Zip‘s head on my shoulder and her hand on my lap. I was trying to be good and having a tough time of it. She‘d managed to get my attention after I‘d stuffed my face and had dragged me to the roof of the palace through a convoluted maze of passages and staircases to emerge on a flat section that was laid out with blankets and cushions. No company around but our own.
"You ought to relax, Jadewyn. Rest. Enjoy the rise of Demos. With me," she smiled and helped me sit, careful of my broken arm and various bruises. I tried not to yawn, my aches and pains, full stomach, late night and meds were conspiring to make me comatose. Unexpectedly, she asked, "don‘t they kiss on your plane, Jadewyn?"
I sputtered. "Of course we do!"
"Well then, why haven‘t you tried?"
"Cuz I-." She leaned over and kissed my open mouth and I followed her lead. She tasted like chocolate, peach ice cream and red velvet cake all mixed together. She laughed and whispered in my ear.
"So, you‘re a shy one? I suppose I‘ll have to teach you our customs." And she did so.
They were not so much different from our own and I think she was pleased with my performance. I never did get any sleep that morning.
*******
Late afternoon found me hard at work in the library, a massive room with its ceiling so high that it actually sported clouds of mist somewhere over my head and was the s ize of a softball field. I had pestered the resident librarian for any books on the Gates and the Mythology of the Tree as well as the coin.
The books she gave me were thin pamphlets made of carved wooden plates bound together with gold and silver wire. The figures on the pages made no sense to my eyes yet when I ran my fingers on the raised symbols, I understood every word. It had been written several thousand years earlier by a monk named Sagarius and told of a wise Deity that had planted a sacred Tree in a garden marking the central hub of the universe and guarded the lifelines of all creation. He had created a magical device that could focus the power of both and taught several of his chosen to wield it.
He then sent them out to various ends of those Strings and they used the power to make Planes and populate them with beings of their own desires. Some of them went mad with the power and became despotic gods, others created Paradise and Hell. From each plane, more spawned off until there were a multitude, more than any one being could count. Each one different in a subtle way until the differences became massive.
Access to these planes came only through the Gates. Some remained open; their gods of gatekeepers closed others because the inside was too awful to allow the inhabitants to exit. From these planes came our legends of Hell, Limbo and Purgatory filtering through to Earth. Celene was one of the first planes to come into existence and the closest to the Tree of Life.
"Does this mean Earth is the one true Plane?" I muttered. I found reference to this Deity who had created order out of Chaos-he was called Eloahim, Eloahymn, and Lord of Chaos.
Another tome described him and to my astonishment, I saw a drawing of what clearly resembled a Druz, seven foot tall and ugly as sin with those piercing laser blue eyes. I was shocked that it was implying Celene‘s origins were from our enemy.
What I was looking for and hoping to find as a way to get back to Earth without using my blood to open a gate or attracting the attention of the Druz, the NSA or the Dursvan officers. Zip tracked me down, buried behind a pile of dusty old manuscripts and had been watching me for long moments before she spoke and scared me out of a difficult translation. I jumped as her fingers poked me in the ribs.
"Jesus jumping-!" I shouted and she smiled.
"I found you."
"I wasn‘t lost," I protested and she handed me a box that I knew as their version of a lunch tote. I dug into it, realized I was starving as I found meat, fruit, and a drink like tea. I stuffed my face as fast as I could cram it in. "Thanks. I‘m starving," I mumbled through a mouthful.
"How long have you been here?"
I shrugged. "Dunno."
"Did the Finder log you into the system?"
"Finder? Oh, you mean the librarian?"
"The woman who finds these Epicaries."
"I suppose she did." She touched the table and a flat screen appeared on the surface with their version of language. Her eyes widened.
"Jade, you‘ve been at this for over seven hours!"
"No wonder I‘m hungry. And my ass hurts." I grabbed a fruit and t stood up, stretching.
Rubbed my butt cheeks and I swore my bones creaked.
"You look terrible. You‘re turning shades of green and yellow," she told me frankly.
"Have you gotten any rest?"
"I‘ve been resting for days. Hours." I spread my hands, indicating the pile of books in front of me.
"That‘s not resting." She bent her head to the screen, pushed two corners and spoke into it. Minutes later, I was being gently but firmly escorted out to a waiting carriage with my irate bodyguards doing the pushing. Medical personnel were standing at the doors and before I could protest, Zip had the doc stick a square patch onto my bare forearm; I felt an instant heat and just as suddenly as a sneeze, I was gone.