Chapter 8
House Call
Vigau, Arielle, Bonaventure
Kamellia slowly walked over to the couch where the young boy was sleeping. She gently shook his shoulder and said, "Perseus, it's time to wake up."
The boy—who Kamellia had decided to name 'Perseus'—opened his eyes and looked up to her.
She gave him a maternal smile and told him, "It's almost time for breakfast. Come on. Put your linens away and go wash your face."
Perseus nodded. Though he should have been able to speak, he had not said a word ever since the first time he woke up. The charm she made so that he would be able to understand her seemed to be working. It could be that he was mute. Maybe it was part of the trauma of being restored. Apparently it had not been that way with Galatea, but she was only one person. Maybe the effects of being restored was different from person to person. There was certainly a larger sample size to study now.
Kamellia had made several trips out to explore the town more. As she suspected, the bronze statues were missing all over. Thanks to Giger's extensive notes, she knew where to look, but she had only seen a couple dozen locations so far. It would take weeks to cover all the locations in the city.
Was this phenomenon restricted to Vigau or did it have a wider range? Could it be worldwide? If so, what could have happened to trigger something like this? It was times like these that she wished Mordekai and Giger were here. Her specialty was applied magic. She did not have the same head for theory as those two.
For the time being, she settled for observing Perseus and performing simple experiments to test his knowledge and abilities. The premise was that the sort of amnesia Galatea suffered when she was awakened would be shared by any other Ancient. This was difficult to gauge, both because Perseus was a child and because he could not (or would not) speak. Getting him to talk would be one of the biggest breakthroughs toward making any progress.
While Perseus was washing his face, Kamellia returned to the kitchen to fry up the eggs. Ever since she and Mordekai moved into Giger's cottage, she tried to encourage a little more flexibility from the two males of the household, both incredibly stubborn creatures of habit. She was lucky that Perseus did not seem to be a picky eater. Today's selection was sausage, eggs, white pudding and soda bread.
Mordekai particularly liked his filled sodas because he could eat his entire breakfast in one go. He would frequently take it with him so he could continue his studies uninterrupted, but every now and then Kamellia would put her foot down and insist that he stay at the table and share the meal with her. What a difference between him and his other half, Rosicrucis. Rosicrucis was far more finnicky and would often eat nothing more than toast and jam. There was something of a culture war in Bonaventure between those who thought breakfasts should be hearty and those who insisted on it being a light meal. Ironic that both sides would express themselves in two manifestations of the same person.
Though she had the familiars and now Perseus to keep her company, Kamellia found herself feeling lonely without Mordekai. They had not spent more than a day apart in twelve years. Being apart drew her confused feelings into focus. He had been like a father to her in his previous life, then she became a literal mother to him when he was reborn. The love of a daughter for her father, of a mother for her son, and amidst all this, the desire of a woman for a man. If it was forbidden before, how much more so now? As Mordekai continued to grow, he became the figure of the man who was her first love. Though she tried to hide those feelings away, she could never snuff them out.
While the Rosicrucis half was oblivious to all this, the half that was born awakened as Mordekai knew all along. She remembered the time he confronted her about her feelings, how he was not fooled by her denials for even a moment. And then he said the words, that he was prepared to accept her feelings if she was. What a bizarre thing to come out of the mouth of a ten-year-old. At very least, Kamellia insisted that he grow into his manhood first before they even thought about doing anything. He agreed to this, but Kamellia saw the way he would look at her at times and wondered if he could restrain himself when pubescent urges would overwhelm the cold reason of an old man in a child's body. For that matter, she wondered if she could restrain herself. It was a loss of her control that led to her becoming an Abomination. Could the same thing happen again?
Perseus stepping out of the washroom was a welcome distraction from such thoughts. She served up his meal and hers as well. She then folded her hands to say a word of grace before eating. Even though it had been several days, Perseus dutifully mimicked Kamellia's motions, as if he did not have the confidence to eat his own way. Kamellia did not mind and was sure to make her movements slow and deliberate so that they were easy for him to follow along.
Kamellia had just put a bit of egg in her mouth when there was a knock at the door. Kamellia froze. Ever since the incident with the Grimalkin, the Witch-hunters had been in disarray, but maybe they had reassembled and were back on the hunt. Giger had been a target back then and no less than Mordekai's old rival Altai Turco had appeared to expose Giger's violations of the Mage Ban and bring him in. She heard about the obsessiveness of the newly assigned Chief Witch-hunter Wadley Andress. He was relentless and nothing much short of a perfect performance would hold him at bay. Was she ready for this?
If it was the Witch-hunters and she refused to answer, they would get a warrant and then go over the place with a fine-toothed comb. She did not think she could fool them as successfully as Giger had before the Grimalkin appeared. She was going to have to take her chances.
Giger and Mordekai had worked together to make some adjustments to the cottage to better hide their secrets should the Witch-hunters come knocking again. So as not to confuse Perseus, she kept Priscilla and Apollos in their human forms, so that was one less thing to worry about. She would still have to do some thinking on her feet if it was Witch-hunters come for an inspection.
"Stay here, Perseus," Kamellia said as she got up from her seat. "I'll go see who it is."
She went to the door and looked through the spyhole. It was Hrunting Unferth, the very same master who came across her when she first found Perseus. Was he working with ARCANUM? She did not think so, or else he would have tried to arrest her then. Or did he choose to bide his time until he could come for her with reinforcements? She could not see anyone else, but they might be lurking just out of view.
"Open the door, Kamellia Reis," Master Unferth said. "I know you're in there."
"I can hear you perfectly fine from out there, Master Unferth," Kamellia replied.
Master Unferth leaned in closer to the door and whispered, "Come along now, Kamellia Reis. You never know who may be listening."
It could be a trap. Dare she risk it?
"Take off your jacket," she said.
"I beg your pardon?"
"If you want in here, you're going to have to take off your jacket."
Master Unferth sighed and began to unbutton his jacket, then draped it over his arm.
"Set it down on the ground," Kamellia said.
"Kamellia Reis, this jacket did not come cheaply," Master Unferth said. "Do you honestly expect me to just toss it onto the filthy ground?"
"I just swept," Kamellia replied. "It isn't that filthy. If you're so worried, you can lay it on the bushes over there."
Master Unferth glanced at the bushes then said annoyedly, "Kamellia Reis, really..."
"If you want in, Master Unferth, you'll do what I say."
Master Unferth furrowed his brow, and then complied, gingerly hanging his jacket on the bushes.
"Now unbutton your cuffs," Kamellia said.
Master Unferth had stopped objecting and simply did as he was told. He even took the extra step of rolling up his sleeves without being bidden.
"Turn around," she said, "slowly."
He did so.
"Are you satisfied yet, Kamellia Reis?" Master Unferth asked. "Or do you mean to have me take off my trousers as well?"
"If I was being truly cautious, I would have you strip naked, but I don't think either of us want that."
"Is this how you managed to run loose for so long?"
"No," Kamellia said. "No one was looking for me."
Master Unferth looked like he was about to say something but thought better of it and instead asked, "Are you going to let me in or not, Kamellia Reis?"
Kamellia closed the spyhole, took a breath to prepare herself, then unlocked the door.
As Master Unferth stepped inside, he said, "If some street urchin steals my jacket, I will expect to be compensated for it, Kamellia Reis."
He started to remove his shoes and was looking around for the guest slippers. Kamellia waited for him to take off his shoes before saying, "That's far enough, Master Unferth."
"You would have me stand in the entryway?" he asked.
"I'd rather you stand on the other side of town, but I'll hear what you have to say."
"Where is Master Grummond?"
Kamellia said nothing.
"He's not here," Master Unferth concluded. "This cottage belongs to Barz Falkner, or whatever he's calling himself these days. Where is he?"
Kamellia remained silent.
"Gone as well. And you don't know when they'll be back."
Master Unferth's eyes swept across the interior of the cottage. He caught sight of Perseus at the dinner table.
"So you brought the boy back with you after all. What have you learned?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I ask because every one of the ancient bronze statues in town is gone with people being left in their place. The police are going out of their minds. The Guild has managed to secure some of them and we have been trying to make sense of all this. I was wanting to speak with Master Grummond to see what he knows... and what you know, Kamellia Reis."
"Well, I didn't do this, so you can stop accusing me of that."
"You can forgive me for suspecting you, surely. This is the sort of madness I would expect of you."
"It wasn't me," Kamellia insisted.
"I know that," Master Unferth said. "It didn't take long for me to tell as much, but you know what has happened. You avoided my questions before, but I'll have your answer now."
"And if I refuse?"
Master Unferth held up his hands and said, "Kamellia Reis, I am not seeking to punish you. I don't have that power. I want to know what's going on here so that we can take the appropriate action."
Could she trust him? Would he believe her when she told him the truth? Surely Mordekai could bend the situation to his advantage no matter what Master Unferth's intentions were. She couldn't rely on him, though. He was not there. She was going to have to handle this herself.
"What do you think this is?" she asked, testing the waters.
Master Unferth could tell he was being tested and so he chose not to be roundabout with his answer.
"It appears to be some sort of transmutation, the conversion of the bronze into a fleshly simulacrum, a manifestation in the fashion of our familiar spirits, or..."
"Or?" Kamellia asked pointedly.
"Or it could be that the statues were a variety of petrifactive curse, a curse that has now been broken, restoring them to their original state, but if that were so..."
Kamellia simply nodded. Even a mage of Master Unferth's years could not help but be staggered by this.
Recovering himself, he asked her, "How do you know?"
She did not have to say anything for him to figure it out.
"You've done it before. Not you... Not Master Grummond... Falkner... That incident with the statue on the Rue Meredy that stirred up the Witch-hunters... That was him. But how did he confirm it?"
"She remembered," Kamellia said. "Familiars are total blank slates when they manifest. It takes years for them to develop a proper mind of their own. Some never attain human-like reason. Clearly this is different."
Master Unferth paused a moment to take it all in.
"This is incredible... The Ancients walk among us. The secrets of the world before the Cataclysm are within our grasp. How? How did Falkner get his specimen to remember?"
"I don't know," Kamellia replied. "Maybe you could ask him when he gets back."
"Where has he gone?"
Kamellia averted her eyes. Maybe he knew he would not get anything more out of her, because Master Unferth opted not to press her.
"No matter," he said. "Have Master Mordekai contact us when he returns. We will do our part to safeguard the Ancients in the meantime. I will not tell the others about you, so do not do anything to draw unnecessary attention to yourself."
"I don't need you to tell me that, Master Unferth," Kamellia said, "but thank you for your discretion."
"You must contact me if you make any progress with your specimen."
"How?"
"They have poplars planted along the road near where you found that boy. Tie a yellow ribbon to one of the branches."
"Okay."
Master Unferth watched Kamellia for a moment, apparently gauging if he really had her compliance. Apparently satisfied with what he saw, he adjusted his collar and said, "Well, I must be taking my leave, Kamellia Reis. I won't compliment you on your hospitality, but if you can avoid drawing any more eyes on you, I will consider it a fair exchange. Remember to tell Master Grummond when he returns. So much to do, so much to do..."
Master Unferth rebuttoned his cuffs before opening the door and stepping out. He looked over to the bushes and seemed gratified to find that his jacket had been left unmolested. He gave a tip of his hat before going to retrieve the jacket and Kamellia closed the door.
Her heart was beating a little fast. It should have been fine, but she may have just put herself in harm's way. She probably should make some preparations for the worst-case scenario. She wanted Mordekai more than ever, but until he returned, protecting this place fell to her.