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)