SHE had the ability to weave dreams and make magick . . . Gii's words remained with her all the rest of the day, circling around and around in her imagination, which stayed as busy as her hands. Just the concept that dreams came from somewhere other than a sleeping subconscious was bizarre enough. But to think that she had the ability to create them! It was the most extraordinary thing she'd ever imagined.
"Empousa."
The Guardian's deep voice startled her, but she was careful to cover her jumpiness with a show of wiping her hands briskly on her muddy chiton while she straightened from crouching under an unusually large cluster of a Felicite Parmentier shrub. He was standing so close that his shadow seemed to engulf both her and the rose on which she'd been working, making her feel flushed and nervous. Buying time to steady herself, Mikki said briskly, "Oh, Guardian. Just a moment." Then she called to Gii, "Gii, the roses in this bed will need to be staked. Would you remind me that tomorrow we'll need to have wood cut and brought out here?"
"Yes, Empousa," Gii called back.
Then, composed again, Mikki turned to face the Guardian. "Sorry about that. Now, what can I do for you?"
"Dusk approaches. The women cannot be in the forest after dark."
Mikki squinted over his shoulder at the sun that was, indeed, beginning to settle into the massive canopy of the forest. "I've really lost track of time today. I keep being surprised at how late it is. You're right; it is time we stop."
"You have accomplished much, Empousa."
Mikki smiled softly. It looked like he'd gotten over being pissed at her. "That sounds like a compliment."
He bowed his head in slight acknowledgment. "Indeed."
Since he seemed to be in an agreeable mood again, Mikki said, "It would really be a help if you would check out the rest of the rose wall and let me know if there are any other parts of it that look weak. The thing is huge; it seems to stretch on forever. I want to make sure it's fertilized, but I also feel like it's important that we begin working on the roses in the gardens."
"It is logical. The garden must have your care, too. I will inspect the wall at first light."
She tried not to stare at the way the setting sun glinted red off the gleaming tips of his dark horns. "Thank you. That would definitely save me time." Then since he showed no sign of leaving, she added, "I was thinking that it would be smart to have Gii or someone draw me up a map of the gardens and then I'd divide the area up into fourths - north, south, east, west - and have each of the Elementals take their direction and a group of women, and that would be the section of the gardens they'd be responsible for fertilizing and anything else I can see they need. I'll still go from section to section supervising, but at least dividing up the area might help organize things."
"The idea has merit." He seemed about to say more and then looked away as if he changed his mind.
"What is it? Hey - I'll take any advice I can get about this. Don't worry about stepping on my toes."
His broad brow wrinkled as he looked from his thick cloven hooves to her slippered feet. Mikki burst into laughter, calling curious looks from several of the women. "No! I didn't mean that literally. It's just a saying - stepping on my toes would be you offending me because you're giving me advice when I didn't ask for it."
"Oh," he snorted. And then, amazingly, the beast laughed. It was a full, rich sound that had the women of the realm staring openly at him.
"You're not laughing because you're actually considering stepping on my toes, are you?"
"Not now that you agreed the women should leave the forest."
A joke? Was he actually kidding around with her? Well, wonders would never cease.
"Gii," she called, not taking her gaze from his. "Would you please tell the women that we are done for the day? Be sure you call the women in from the forest first. The Guardian would like to close the gate as soon as possible."
"Yes, Empousa," Gii said, sending the Guardian a nervous, sideways glance.
"Thank you, Mikado. I can never consider the realm safe while the gate remains open," he said.
Wondering if this was the right time to ask him about the specifics of the dangers in the forest, Mikki bent to reach a pair of shears she had been deadheading roses with and the slim shoulder strap of her chiton slipped down her arm. Before she could shrug it back into place, she felt a prickle of heat run the length of her arm. As if in slow motion, the beast tilted his great head and deftly hooked the tip of one slender, ebony horn beneath the linen strap and then lifted it back to its proper place over her shoulder.
Their eyes met and held.
"I'm . . . I'm not used to wearing a chiton yet," she stuttered.
"It becomes you."
"Th-thank you," she said breathlessly. Though her voice was little more than a whisper, the intensity of his dark, sensuous eyes compelled her to ask, "Is that just more of you being the Guardian and doing your duty?"
His face, which had seemed so readable just a moment before, suddenly closed down. As if remembering himself, he took a quick step away from her. His voice was clipped and he didn't look at her when he spoke. "My duty . . . yes. Caring for you is my duty."
Mikki frowned. What the hell was up with him? His mood swings were wearing her out. So was the uncomfortable silence that had settled between them. She was searching for something . . . anything to say when he finally spoke.
"I could draw the map for you, Empousa."
His voice was deep and as unreadable as his expression, but he looked at her and then quickly away, as if he had become suddenly, inexplicably nervous.
"A map?" she said stupidly and then she remembered. "Oh! A map of the gardens so I could divide the area up among the Elementals. That would be great," she said quickly. "Why don't you give me time to get things wrapped up here and get cleaned up and then you meet me on my balcony? We can discuss the map while we have dinner. You could even bring your drawing supplies and sketch something out for me."
"No!" The word rumbled from him, causing several heads to turn in their direction again. He lowered his powerful voice. "No," he repeated. "It would not be proper."
"I don't know why not," she said easily. "I have to eat; you have to eat. We need to talk about this, and the sooner the better so I can give the new directions to the handmaidens first thing in the morning." She wondered briefly at the certainty with which she felt she must push him. Did it have something to do with the callous way Gii had talked about him earlier? It's time I stopped questioning myself and followed my gut! she told herself firmly. "But if you really don't want to come to my balcony - which I don't understand at all because you were just there last night - I could always have dinner brought to wherever you live. We could eat there while we dis - "
"I will come to your balcony!" he said hastily.
"Good." She was careful not to show the rush of exhilaration she felt when he gave in. "But don't forget that I have to finish up here and then take a bath or something because I am definitely a mess and - "
He held up one powerful hand to cut off her words.
"Would you rather I just called for you when I'm ready?" she asked sweetly.
"Call and I will come to you."
Then he turned and stalked back to the gate.
"I think that went well," she told the Felicite Parmentier shrub.
"I would give just about anything for a long, hot soak in a whirlpool bath," Mikki said to no one in particular as the four tired handmaidens walked slowly back to the palace with her.
"Empousa, can you describe what you mean by 'whirlpool bath'?" Nera asked.
"Absolutely - and you'll like this because it definitely has to do with water." She grinned at the Water Elemental, who giggled in response. "A whirlpool bath is a large tub of warm water that bubbles around you and almost magically soothes dirty, tired muscles," Mikki sighed wistfully. "It's possible through technology, which is my old world's version of magick."
"I believe your new world can do better." Gii smiled knowingly at the other handmaidens.
Nera added, "We can certainly provide more for our Empousa than a tub of bubbling water."
"It's true," said Aeras.
"And if you would like it hotter than merely warm, I can arrange that," the Fire Elemental said mischievously.
Gii took one of her hands and Nera the other. With renewed energy, the handmaidens hurried Mikki around the side of the palace that held her chamber and the curving balcony. They walked on a path that led between two rows of ornamental shrubs that had been trimmed into cones. The path turned and almost immediately fell away to reveal a wide staircase that spiraled gently to the right. Before they had reached the bottom, Mikki felt the temperature of the air get warmer and she smelled something that was vaguely familiar . . .
The stairs emptied on a white marble landing. Mikki stepped out onto it and gasped in pleasure. "It's a hot spring!" But it was like no hot spring Mikki had ever seen. It was two levels. The first held the smallest pools - five of them, Mikki quickly counted. Each was roughly double the size of a modern whirlpool bathtub, and it was like each one had been hollowed out of the lumpy white rock by a giant ice-cream scoop. They were filled with lazily bubbling water so blue it was turquoise. From the lip of the tier, steaming water cascaded down to a larger pool. Mikki walked over to the edge and peeked down. The pool was deep and ringed by more of the white rock, and she could easily see through the clear water to the white sand of the pool's bottom.
"The upper baths are hotter than the large pool below," Nera said. "They should be perfect for soaking away your aches."
"Amazing . . ." She breathed the word on a sigh. "The only thing that would make it more perfect would be soap, clean clothes and lots of wine."
The words had no more left her mouth than the patter of feet were heard on the stairs behind them. Wordlessly, Mikki watched several young women hurry onto the landing. Some of them were carrying trays of goblets and pitchers of wine. Others' arms were filled with clean lengths of fine linen, and still others had baskets packed with delicate glass bottles, soft sponges and brushes.
Gii laughed at Mikki's expression. "Empousa, if you wish for a thing, it will appear. These women are palace servants whose sole responsibility is to be certain that Hecate's Empousa is well cared for."
"Like magick," Mikki whispered.
"Not like magick. It is magick. Your magick," Gii said, gently unpinning the brooches that held her dirty chiton precariously at her shoulders.
"So my wishes are actually commands?" Mikki asked, feeling numb with shock as the servants placed their treasures on the landing, curtseyed and disappeared back up the stairs.
"They are," Gii said.
"Good lord, what if I wish for something inappropriate?"
Gii looked searchingly into her eyes. "I believe you are too wise for that, Empousa."
She certainly hoped so. Good thing she'd be busy with hard physical labor for some time to come. Wishing for triple fudge cake late at night might not be classified as dangerously inappropriate, but without exercise, it would definitely be unwise.
Lost in thought, Mikki let the Earth Elemental unwind her from her chiton and, with a moan of pleasure, she slipped, naked, into one of the bubbling pools. Nera, Aeras and Floga had already poured five goblets to the rim with white wine the color of sunlight and dragged baskets filled with bottles and sponges over to within reach of each of the pools. Gii passed Mikki a goblet before she began to take off her own clothes.
"I'm so glad you chose this cold white instead of a red!" Floga said from the pool on Mikki's left. "I was dreaming of this very wine all afternoon."
"But I didn't . . ." Mikki began and then closed her mouth as she realized that, yes, she had been picturing in her mind a cold, refreshing white wine when she'd spoken. Unbelievable . . .
The icy wine was a wonderful contrast to the hot, bubbly water, and Mikki shivered in pleasure. She rested back against the smooth side of the pool and gazed at the beauty that spread before her. The springs were situated on the rear of the cliff on which the palace had been built. The view was spectacular. Mikki looked out across an area of the gardens filled with what appeared to be all the same type of rose. They had been planted in beds that each formed a spiraling circle, and even though Mikki knew that they, too, had to be sick, it seemed that these roses were greener and healthier than those in the rest of the realm. Beyond the beds of roses, she could see the thick multiflora hedge, and past it the forest. The sun had already sunk beneath the leafy horizon, but the sky still held its dying colors. Mikki sipped her wine and let her eyes linger on the circular rose beds, appreciating the symmetry and style of the unique beds. She could just make out the hint of some blossoms, and it even seemed that a few of them had bloomed. They were scarlet, with a touch of gold at the base . . .
Mikki sat straight up, causing water to slosh over the smooth, white rocks around the pool.
"I wondered when you would notice," Gii said softly.
"Have these beds always been filled with the Mikado Rose?"
"No. They change with each new Empousa. This area of the gardens is sacred to Hecate's High Priestesses. If you look carefully, you will see that in the middle of the central bed there is a small temple. It is your private shrine, a place in which you will never be disturbed."
A sudden thought drifted through Mikki's mind like smoke, and almost without meaning to, she asked the question. "Where is the Guardian's lair?"
"The entrance is beneath these springs. Hecate fashioned it there so his protection would never be far from her Empousa."
Mikki could hear the frown in Gii's voice, and she turned to look at the handmaiden. "You don't like him."
"It is illogical to like or dislike him. He is a beast. It is simply his duty to protect the realm - his sole purpose for being." Gii sounded unusually terse.
"She's worried that he will err again and cause the realm to become bespelled once more," Floga said.
Mikki noticed that the Fire Elemental's expression was as cold and disapproving as her voice.
"You sound like you're worried about that, too," Mikki said.
"I am."
"And are the rest of you?" She looked from Nera to Aeras. Both Elementals nodded quick agreement.
"Okay, what exactly did the Guardian do that made Hecate so angry?" Mikki asked, wondering why she felt so damn annoyed at the handmaidens and so damn defensive of the Guardian.
When no one answered, she turned back to Gii. The handmaiden squirmed and wouldn't meet her eyes. Mikki sighed. "Will you please tell me what in the hell is going on? I mean, how terrible can it be? Hecate did finally let him return."
Gii's gaze rose to meet Mikki's. Her eyes were bright and round with unshed tears. "I cannot tell you, Mikado."
"You've got to be kidding! Why in the world can't you tell me?"
"Forgive me - forgive us, but we are not permitted to speak of it. We shouldn't have said as much as we did." Tears spilled down the little Elemental's cheeks.
"Please don't be angry, Empousa," Nera said.
"She tells you only the truth, Empousa," Aeras cried. "We have been forbidden to speak of it."
"Gii is right; I should never have mentioned it. Hecate commanded that it remain in the past. We may not speak of it ever again," Floga said.
"Well, how about the Guardian? Will he talk about it?"
"Oh, Empousa, no!" Gii's face, which had been flushed from the bath, suddenly drained of its color. "You must not speak of the past with him!" The other Elementals echoed her with horrified No's of their own.
"Okay, okay! I won't ask him. It's all right, Gii, please don't cry. Let's just forget I said anything about it." Mikki hastily assured her, hating that she had caused the young women to become so upset. "Here, help me figure out which of these bottles holds what. I don't want to accidentally pour oil instead of shampoo on my hair."
Sniffing and wiping her eyes, Gii pointed out the soaps and oils in Mikki's basket. Mikki only half listened to her. Her thoughts kept circling around unanswered questions. Even after the warnings she still wanted to ask the Guardian what had happened. Not tonight, of course. Not so soon. But what if she got to know him better? Today he had actually smiled and joked with her. And touched her . . . she shivered, remembering how his horn had prickled the skin of her arm and how his eyes had seemed to see into her soul.
Admit it. He totally intrigues you.
It was true, but she squelched the thought, pulling her mind from the beast to the mystery that surrounded the realm he guarded. Hecate couldn't honestly expect her to live here and not want to find out what had happened that caused the sequence of events that led to her becoming the goddess's Empousa. Maybe the truth was that Hecate didn't want her to hear about it secondhand, like common gossip, and that was why she had forbidden the handmaidens to talk about it. Gii hadn't specifically said that the Guardian had been forbidden, too; she'd just freaked out and said not to ask him about the past. Well, it was obvious that the handmaidens, as well as the other women in the realm, tip-toed around the Guardian, vacillating between treating him like a rabid dog and a god.
She didn't think of him as either.
Mikki uncapped the cork from the bottle Gii had said was shampoo and poured a generous amount of it into her hair. As the night cooled, steam from the pools lifted in thickening waves, veiling each bather in warm mist. In a world of her own, Mikki inhaled deeply, noting that the soap was the same fragrance as the exotic perfume the old woman had given her. She finished washing and rinsing her hair and uncapped the other bottles, too. All of it - the soap, shampoo and oil - were the same rich fragrance.
"It is the anointing scent of the Empousa. None other may ever wear it."
As each woman sipped wine and bathed herself, the pools had grown still, and Floga's voice startled her. Mikki peered at her through the steam and noted that the Fire Elemental's expression was odd - it was almost as if she looked angry.
"Do you wish you could wear it, Floga?" Mikki asked pointedly, lowering her voice so her words were for Floga alone.
The handmaiden instantly looked chagrined. "No, Empousa! Of course not," she whispered.
But as the handmaiden turned away, avoiding her eyes, Mikki wondered . . .