The Four Kings (24 page)

“Regi,” said Amanda, “can you take us to an isolated desert island?”

“Sure, Amanda,” said Regi jovially, and he snapped his fingers.

In a moment, they both found themselves resting on hammocks, strung up between palm trees on a sandy desert island, with leaves swaying about them. “Want a drink?” Regi asked. In his left hand, he zapped up a lime drink in a large margarita glass.

“I’ll have a Pink Lady, please,” Amanda said. She instinctively held out her right hand, pretending to hold a drink. Instantly, a tall glass containing the dark pink mix appeared in her hand. She felt the sun’s intense rays upon half her body; the other half was in the shade.

“This is paradise,” she said.

“You deserve it after all that hard work,” Regi praised her. He reclined, closing his eyes.

Amanda thought crazily.
She had to gain his trust. Just maybe… and it was easy for her to feel passionate, too.

She sat up, eased herself off her hammock, and breathlessly walked up to where Regi was reclining. Seeing that his eyes were still closed, she tentatively pressed her fingertips onto his muscled shoulder. Rather than recoil at her touch, Regi hummed. “Mmm,” he said, “that’s nice.”

Amanda mentally told herself not to panic. Steady, steady. She ran her fingers along his sculpted shoulder, then his biceps. “Regi,” she said, “I really admire you being on such an important council. Speaking on behalf of five hundred million Mortals – that’s a huge responsibility.”

“Mmm-hmm,” said Regi, his eyes still closed. He conveyed no expression except satisfaction.
Keep talking
.

“So,” Amanda said, tousling his dark black crew cut while holding the Pink Lady in her other hand, “I mean, you’re incredibly talented, and you’ve brought many much-needed economic reforms to our regions…”

“Yup.”

“I’m just wondering, how did they pick you? How does it work?”

Regi opened his eyes with a frown.
Uh oh
, Amanda thought.
Can’t be good
. He thought it over, and then exhaled. “Well, it has to do with the rules set down by an old wizard god.”

Excited, Amanda attempted to keep her voice even. “Tell me about it.”

“As you know, each of the five continents has a wizards’ council. They all run for three years each.”

Aha. So that’s why the Liberators picked a three-year term for their conquest of North America
.

“Same as the other continents?” Amanda wanted to know.

“Yes. They all run at the same time. Start April thirtieth at midnight; govern until April thirtieth at midnight.”

Keep going, Regi. You’re doing great
. “Do the wizards’ councils on all five continents run concurrently?”

“Yup.” He sighed contentedly. “Keep scratching over there,” he pointed to his left shoulder. He hummed happily. “I remember when my mother would do that as she tucked me into bed, even if just for a few minutes. I miss it.”

“Why April thirtieth?” Amanda asked.

“I can’t tell you that.”

Shoot. Keep digging
. “Why three years?”

“I can’t tell you that either.”

Don’t strike out
.
Think of something he can answer
. “Remember when I asked how they picked you? Was it a special election, as decided by an assembly of wizards, or…”

Regi sat up, his face registering annoyance. “Amanda, you’re asking questions that go beyond what you need to know as Supreme Liaison.”

While she forced herself to maintain a cheery smile, inside she cringed.
Keep your demeanor
. She gently pushed Regi back down to the hammock. “Here,” she said soothingly, “let me give you a shoulder massage.”

“Oh boy,” Regi muttered, disbelieving his luck.

“Can’t you conjure up a woman to do this for you?”

Regi chuckled. “Yes, but this isn’t the same. When you get an automaton to do it, no matter how pretty she is, you pretty well know how she’s going to do it. Here, you’re surprising me. I like that. That’s what a massage is all about.”

“That’s a good boy, Regi,” Amanda purred, “now stay here and let me work on my magic.”

Regi spontaneously convulsed with laughter. Amanda stepped back and savoured the spectacle.

“Magic!” Regi held up his hands, guffawing. He settled back once more, prompting her to close in and rest her hands on his thick neck. She started kneading away, gently.

“So, Regi, do you remember telling me that wizards can make love to each other?”

Regi opened his eyes only to roll them up, and groaned. “Ye-aa-ahhh…”

“Why don’t you have a girlfriend?”

His eyes misted immediately and an appearance of foreboding enveloped his handsome features. Amanda frantically thought:
What’s wrong?
He continued to sit up, looking down into his lap, then glancing out at the waves crashing upon the shore. She waited patiently, with baited breath.

Regi attempted to speak, but wiped his eyes with his arms. He exhaled deeply. Finally he said, “There’s no point.”

Amanda’s eyes expressed shock. “Regi, you? Honestly, you’re such an incredible guy, any girl would love to have you.”

Regi’s irate expression cut her off. He slashed the air with his hand. “Look, there’s no point, okay? It’s not something I have control over.”

Amanda desperately tried to figure out what was bothering Regi. She stumbled onto a wild guess. “Are you gay?” She threw her hands up into the air. “If you are, it’s no big deal, I totally support you.”

Regi clenched his teeth and drilled his gaze into Amanda’s face. “No. I’m not gay. You just don’t know what it’s like to be a wizard. Nothing at all.” His voice rose in volume, and deepened. “You just have no idea!” He was practically shouting now.

Amanda totally backed off both audibly and physically. Wide-eyed, she stood there, not knowing what move to make next.

Regi glared at her for a few seconds, then he sighed and reclined once again in his hammock. He closed his eyes peacefully to rest some more.

“Amanda?”

Amanda gulped, and waited for his next bombshell.
What next?
“Yes?”

He pointed to his right arm, his eyes still shut. “More, please. Try to scratch harder this time.”

Chapter Thirty-One

“Hello, Demus,” Amanda said as she sat on her bed, reviewing her briefing notes. She didn’t even look up.

“Hiya, Amanda,” Demus said cheerfully, having materialized seconds ago. Same chair, same bedroom.

She grinned and closed up her folder. “So, this date you’re taking me on, where is it?”

Demus sported a wicked grin as he held his finger to his lips. “It’s a surprise. Just close your eyes and away we go.”

“Sounds good.” She did as she was told.

Instantly, she recoiled from the sense of – wetness – around her. She was submerged in the lukewarm ocean, wearing a jade-colored one-piece bathing suit. Startled, she thrashed about in the sea, and then calmly started treading water. To her left, she saw Demus, now in black boxer shorts bathing suit. His oval, tanned face gazed at her expectantly.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“The Great Barrier Reef,” he said proudly. “Thought I’d take you here for your first time ever.” He raised his eyes. “It is, isn’t it?”

Amanda nervously recalled the time she had been riding dolphins with Regi, in the same spot, only a week ago. “Right. This is my first time.”

“Ready to SCUBA dive? There’s tons of beautiful coral and tropical fish below. I’ve picked the best spots. And it won’t be too deep, either.”

Amanda looked down into the water. She couldn’t see any bottom, only vague off-color regions below the water. “Are you going to zap up some tanks and regulators?”

Demus laughed. “We’re wizards. We don’t need SCUBA equipment.”

“Demus! I’m not a wizard, and I can’t breathe under water!”

He tilted his head to urge Amanda to dive. “Try it. I’ve got what you need.”

She was puzzled, but took a deep breath, and using accomplished maneuvers, pushed her body backwards into the deep blue. She still held her breath, but now she noticed an orb of air surrounding her head.
Amazing.
Against her better judgment, she expelled the air she held in her mouth, and then breathed through her nose. Whoa! It worked! Demus had conjured up some sort of air bubble surrounding her head.
Unbelievable!

She saw Demus gliding beside her, as playful as an otter. He was positively wiggling his body, as he propelled himself at an incredible rate.
Must be magic
. Amanda again felt so jealous of all the magic wizards possessed. Demus didn’t even have to execute any strokes.

She eagerly followed him down, down, down into the shimmering currents. For one hour, they explored, rapt with curiosity, the multitude of colors, shapes, sizes, and behaviors of the denizens of the deep. Loggerhead turtles. Turquoise blue damselfish. Weirdly patterned black, white, and blue triggerfish with these huge yellow lips, as if they were bio-engineered to test lipstick. Table-like and lacelike tabletop coral – some beige, some faint pink, and some a hint of purple. Amanda marvelled at the richness of the marine world before her.

The two of them surfaced, shaking their heads at each other in happiness. Then Amanda said, “Demus?”

“Yes?”

“Can you – you promised me – take me to the Fortress of Emerana?”

Demus chuckled, water dripping down his face. “You want to see it again, that badly? Okay, sure!” Amanda knew what to do: she closed her eyes, and held her feet out, treading water in the meantime and striking a balance.

In the blink of an eye, Amanda was wearing her regular clothes. Her eyes adjusted instantly from the burning sun bathing the warm waters of the Great Barrier Reef, to the dim light of the Fortress of Emerana. She nearly fell, but adjusted her weight and remained standing. Again, the marble floor. Crystal walls, gleaming with shining point of light. The rain forest canopy several hundred feet up. It was, as always, majestic and magnificent.

“What did you want to see?” he asked. He held out his arms to the side, obviously attuned to her desires. He so badly wanted to please her.

Amanda pretended to think. Craning her neck around to view all angles of the cavernous hideout, she said, “Demus, I’ve always wondered. Here on Earth we Mortals have many different religions, many different gods. Do the wizards have a god?”

Demus walked around her, smirking. She could tell he was enjoying himself immensely. “Of course. Elsedor.”

“Elsedor?” Amanda repeated excitedly.
Of course. She had heard that a few times before. So Elsedor was a god.
“I’ve heard some of the wizards mention his name.” She covered her mouth. “It’s a him, right?”

“Right.” Demus was still gazing at her, as if he were smitten with her. Without warning, he walked over to her and put his arm around her back, resting his hand on her shoulder. He was breathing deeply, as if he were hyperventilating. Amanda stood tense, knowing she had him where she wanted him to be. It was time to move quickly.

She stroked his hand that rested on her shoulder. “Demus, tell me more about this Elsedor.”

Demus’ eyes sparkled with glee. He then walked over to the center of the huge fortress, with Amanda following close by, puzzled. Once he satisfied himself, he stopped and stood, facing down to gaze at the perimeter of a circle inscribed on the floor, containing strange mythic characters that Amanda couldn’t comprehend. The circle appeared to be twenty feet in diameter. Demus closed his eyes, deep in thought. He raised his arms dramatically and chanted,

“Elsedor, O Mighty Elsedor,

Greatness in all of us command,

Lead us toward the promised land.”

Amanda heard a loud hissing noise arising from within the circle in front of as mist – looking like dry ice – arose from the entire circumference of the inscribed circle. She gasped as she saw the outline of a six-pointed marble crown rise from the floor.

“It’s okay,” Demus assured her, grasping her as she stood behind him.

As she watched in fascination, the crown arose, then the head of a bearded man, then his neck and shoulders. She nodded to herself. It was going to be a marble statue. Within ten seconds, the entire sculpture emerged from the depths below the floor, and a rim of flowing lava surrounded it. The red-hot lava was flowing down a smooth granite slope that descended downward and outward from the center, into escape valves embedded within the floor.

Much like an eternal flame
, Amanda thought.

In the midst of it all was the king, mounted on a pedestal. The king had a youthful appearance despite the beard, and rested his chin onto his left arm. His right arm grasped a scepter that culminated into an embellished orb at the top end. The orb appeared to be a complex geometric shape, composed of pentagons. Robes, masterfully rendered artistically by the graceful marble design, flowed down from the king’s shoulders. The giant statue towered; it was about twenty feet high.

Amanda, expressing awe, pointed to the likeness. “That’s King Elsedor?”

Demus smirked as he turned to her. “Elsedor’s not a king. He’s a god.”

“The god of the wizards?”

“Correct.” Demus remembered his sacred duty. Praying and kneeling, he then stood with his eyes closed, and proceeded to jab at the air in strategically located spots. Every time he withdrew a finger, a tiny ball of light – looking like a glowing marble – would form and stay suspended in the air, perfectly intact. Amanda watched, fascinated. Demus, his eyes still closed, miraculously guessed where each spot should lay, and completed a complex network of glowing dots. They all formed an intricate geometric shape. He opened his eyes.

At once, beams of light slowly but determinedly shot out from each glowing dot to the next closest one. A complex shape began to fully form.

“Oh!” Amanda said breathlessly.

Now complete, the shape in front of her, suspended in the air, was based on a platonic solid object, with twelve pentagon shapes all joined together – much like a crude soccer ball. The same as the one on top of the spectre, but much bigger.