SOON

The Adventures of Edwin D Ferretti, Author

Part fourteen

 

 

A vacant feeling consumed me as I slumped back into the chair. Cindy is so beautiful...letting out a deep sigh I looked at Bast.

"What're we gonna do for the next ten and a half hours?" Bast jumped up on the table and began purring. The room faded and we were both standing next to my car.

"Thank you Bast. We should go and visit Cynthia." I drove my Corvette slowly through town; snow moved out of the way as it encountered the car's wipers, wispy tendrils of mist reached out trying to surround my vision. Squinting, I barely made out Cynthia's driveway; the house appeared and I turned off the ignition in front of the porch.

"Come on Bast; it's only a short distance to the porch." No sooner was I outside my car; Bast was already on the porch waiting for me. The snow storm surrounded me as I made my way blindly to the front door. My fingers and ears were turning numb when I rang the doorbell. No sound announced Cynthia's arrival, the door opened and her hand waved us inside.

"Welcome to our first winter storm. It's most unusual, as we never see weather this bad much less experience snow. Bast there's a bowl of—"

 Bast was a distant dot in the hallway as she hurried toward the kitchen. "I declare, that cat lives on her stomach." Cynthia looked at me.

"Oh my, your hands and ears are cherry red. You must be frozen." She led me to another room that featured a long sofa, bookshelves and a large LCD TV; the fireplace exuded warmth as I stood in front, rubbing my hands together; my fingers began to tingle then ache, a sign of revival that I didn't look forward to, a painful recovery. My ears began to tingle; Cynthia mumbled something and left, the soft pops from the fireplace soothed the waves of shivers racking my body.

The room door opened and shut, Cynthia entered with a tray and set it down on a table in front of the sofa.

"David, come sit and watch me as I put together this drink. My Greek grandfather swore by it as a cure for everything from a common cold to the shivers." She lit a small candle under a glass pot of steamy coffee. Taking two large mugs she dipped the rims into a bowl of water then swirled them around on a plate of sugar. Opening a bottle of Metaxa Brandy she carefully dripped some along the rim, and then set it afire. Once the flames died down she filled the mug with coffee, Metaxa Brandy and Ouza, an anise flavored liqueur. Thick whipped cream floated on top and she handed a mug to me.

Cynthia raised her cup, ""Stin Ygia Sou, to your health." After sipping a mouthful I grinned at her and nodded my head in approval.

"I must have this recipe; my shivers are gone and feelings are coming back to my ears and fingers." Cynthia smiled at me and placed her cup on the tray. "The sugar on the rim is caramelized and ads a sweetness to the bitterness of the coffee and cuts down the anise flavor. Now tell me everything that Cindy told you."

I quickly recapped Cindy's story. Turing on my tape recorder Cynthia and I listened to the conversation...Cindy's soft voice mesmerized me.

"The bookcase is in father's room. I'll be glad to show it to you." I stood and extended my hand; Cynthia grabbed it and pulled herself upright. "Follow me."

Bast if you can hear me meet us in Cindy's father's room. A soft purring sounded at my feet as we ascended the staircase. Thank you Bast. Cynthia stopped and pointed to a door on the right.

"It's in there."

Opening the door Bast and I entered. A canopied bed was to the left; a tall mirror stood to the right of the bed, an open door on the left side led into a large closet, along the opposite wall was the three-door book cabinet. When my hand reached for the latch it encountered a field that shimmered yellow and gold; the harder I pushed the brighter the colors became.

"Bast what do you think, is it spell bound and if so can you open it?" Bast walked to the mirror and sat on her haunches. A bright sheen covered her them extinguished. The face of the mirror clouded, a beautiful tall slender blue woman with wavy hair smiled at me.

"My name is Daleeah, wife of Orion and I will be your guide and fount of knowledge. How can I help you?"

 "My name is David and I'm trying to gain entrance into that," my arm pointed behind me, "bookshelf." I briefly told her of Cindy's predicament and my efforts to bring her home.

"Dressa the Black has caused nothing but trouble since Jen woke him from his magical slumber. I will aid you in opening the bookcase." A bright light forced me to turn my head and shut my eyes.     

"Sorry for the bright discomfort but that's how we travel." Daleeah moved swiftly to the bookcase and placed her hands on the spell of closure left by Cindy's father. The gold and yellow colors blazed, then suddenly extinguished; the three doors swung open. "I see books of magic that shouldn't be here."

"I'm looking for something, that he might have left behind, that will tell me where the dimension that Cindy is trapped in is located. If I find out, I can write a way for her to come home."

"All I know is that Cindy is trapped in a dark dimension, hidden behind veils of black magic. I'll take these books and look through them for clues to her location. I'll also talk with Úma, the queen of the wee folk and see if I can tag along the next time they visit Cindy. There are few places in the universe that I don't know of." I nodded my head in agreement and before I could thank her the room brightened and Daleeah and the books vanished.

 

To be continued.

 

To see a faire—is a dream come true.

To be granted the Gift of Erin—priceless.

LIVING ENDURINGLY

(Book two in the Darkside of the Medallion trilogy)