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So, another pointless post.

Salvage

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If you come here first, check order of volumes

http://vergilxanon.blogspot.com/2010/10/xanon-chronicles.html

This is the 7th book of series

Warren

Warren

Warren

  Prologue

 Warren Colfax stepped out of the Escort, and said, “Thanks, mate. I’ll see you tomorrow. Maybe we can actually lay down some tracks.”
  “We’re showing hope. If only we could find a bleedin’ drummer,” said Gary.
  “Yeah. Maybe one of these days.”
  “G’Bye.”
  Warren fished in his pocket for his key, as he went up the walkway to his residence. Another busy, meaningless day at work, but at least it was Friday night. He’d have extra time on his guitar, and not have to worry about getting up early.
  His parents' car wasn’t in front of the house. With any luck, he’d have the place to himself. Some time alone would be nice right now.
  When he let himself in, he found his wishes were answered. He went to the refrigerator, and found a sandwich with his name on it. He grabbed it along with a ginger beer, and was pleased to find a Reuben sandwich when he unwrapped it.
  He bit into it, and walked to his room. He looked at his Jaguar, eagerly longing to play, but something caught his eye.
  There was a book on his end table. A thick book with a hard, black velvet cover with silver lettering! The pages' ends were silvered, as well. It was titled ‘The Xanon Chronicles’, and on the cover were two crossed swords over an Omega symbol, also in silver of course. By Donn Ui’Midir/Vergil Xanon, Stefan, and Thanatos.
  Warren wolfed down his sandwich on the way back to the kitchen, finished his spicy drink fast enough to experience the expected consequences, washed his hands, and almost ran back to his bedroom. He picked up the book, and opened it to the title page.
 Book #1: What Revelation Never Told You
 Book #2: Stefan
 Book #3: Life With Thanatos 
 Book #4: The White City
 Book #5: The Second Time Around
 Book #6: The Akashic Castle
 Book #7: Warren
 Book #8: Our Demented Poetry Collection
 Book #9: A Lot Of Love, A Little Hate, A Little Philosophy, And A Few Questions
 Warren? He turned to where that might be, but there wasn’t anything there. The section was missing, but everything else was there.
  The titles puzzled him. Thanatos? Akashic? He turned on his computer, and keyed the words in. He closed the door to his room.  
  Thanatos. A Greek Death god! Akashic Records, Akashic Library. Past, present and future records of all that was, is, and will be!
  Warren read the first page. He wasn’t familiar with Irish mythology, but on his computer he keyed in the names, locations, and he got a quick lesson in it.
  The introduction was long and hard for him to get through, but he felt compelled to finish it. He had to read some of it twice for having been unable to concentrate the first time. The reading got easier when he actually got to the first chapter.
  He finished the first story, before retiring for the night. So much for guitar practise! He’d heard his parents come home, but he’d been too ravelled up in the story to acknowledge them. It didn’t even occur to him to thank them for the book, or ask about it. He’d never seen anything like it before. 
  He’d have some interesting dreams.
 
 
 Chapter 1

  Every last one of us was in the hall, with a temporary table set up for a conference call.
  “Ye gods, I did this all wrong,” said Thanatos. “If he talks to anyone, it will be a disaster.”
  “It’s almost dawn. He has a jam date with his...uh...so called band-mate, in a few hours,” said Tonya.
  “His fellow dreamer-mate, is more like it,” said Ronin. “Those two! I swear.”
  “Be nice,” said Tonya. “We have a serious problem on our hands right now. We have to come up with something, and fast. He’s an early riser, and he’ll have to get rid of that sandwich pretty soon, if you know what I mean. After that, he’ll be calling Gary.”
  Stefan. Dear, silly Stefan. “Than, you know how we can dematerialise stuff, and the other way around? Can you empty out his bladder, intestines, put some freshly chewed food in his stomach, time trip him backward, and just freeze him there?”
  Thanatos scowled. “It can be done, but how would you like it if someone did that to you?”
  “Would I be aware of it?”
  “Not at the time maybe, but the truth has to come out eventually. Now that’s a pretty intrusive thing to do to someone. I don’t think so, but you did give me an idea, Stef.”
  “Yes?” I asked.
  “This will really mess with his head, but I’m going to set him up in a simulacrum of his reality here, and the clock will say only ninety minutes have passed from when he fell asleep. A plate of devilled eggs and sausages in the refrigerator, along with a couple of litres of fresh orange juice will be there for him. He can have the pleasure of chewing his own food, and his need for the intestinal output factor will be gone. Spoil him a bit,” said Thanatos.
  “It sounds to me as if you’ve really gone out of bounds with this man,” said Macha.
  Thanatos shrugged. “His friends will be devastated by his disappearance, but all in all it won’t have too much of an effect on the world. I’ll also save him from the chaos that’s coming down the line in less than five years.”
  “Excuses, excuses,” said Sylvia. “It couldn’t happen to a nicer man, though. Where was he, when I was alive? He’s even better looking than Teddy was in his prime, and he would have been a lot easier to live with.”
  “But would you have been?” asked Stefan of Sylvia. “You were quite a loose cannon. Now that I know you better, I think you actually were harder to live with, than me.”
  “Yeah, but at least I had a gender.”
  “Like, that’s an asset?” asked Stefan.
  Some of us started laughing. Sylvia said, “Most of us have had one when we were in the Physical Realm.”
  “So, I was ahead of my time,” said Stefan. “But hey! My ‘tude got me Donn Ui’Midir’s vir...”
  “I think we can go back to Warren Colfax, now,” I interrupted.
  Thanatos nodded. “Yes, let me take care of him, including giving him the illusion of hunger. Let him think he’s still alive, for awhile.”
  In a split second, Warren’s reality had changed, but he wouldn’t know it for quite some (illusory) time. 

 *****

  When Warren looked at his alarm clock, only an hour and a half had passed, but he felt like he’d slept all night. He was also starving.
  He got into his slippers, and walked to the kitchen. The house seemed unusually warm, not that he minded it.  
  His parents must have done a shopping run. The orange juice hadn’t been there when he last looked in the refrigerator, and what were the leftovers in the covered plate?
  When he looked, he was delighted.
  He warmed the three devilled eggs and sausage patties. He also buttered and heated a crumpet, and had that along with two glasses of orange juice. He wondered what inspired his parents to make the high priced purchase of the fresh squeezed juice, but not for long. He had to get back to that book.

 *****

  “I find him so fascinating,” said Sylvia, to Stefan.
  “You’re a bit smitten.”
  “He’s so innocently seductive. It’s also weird. My kid brother’s name was Warren.”
  “That is weird, but this Warren is so unsure of himself, frightened of life, insecure in his nonexistent future which he subconsciously knows will be cut short, fed up with the cruelty of life, and he reminds you so much of what you were,” said Stefan.
  “And weren’t you the same way?” 
  “Aye, and if I weren’t so focused on Donn and Thanatos, I’d have fallen for him like a lead brick from an aeroplane myself, my dear.”
  “Enough to wear another gender, even.”
  “Only in bed. I’ve got my standards.”
  Sylvia scowled. “One of these days I am going to flatten you, baby.”
  “Whatever! Shall we check up on him?”
  “I’d like that. Thanatos has that clock slowed down to quarter speed?”
  “Hm hm. I wonder how long it will be before he catches on?”
  “Who knows? Who cares? Nothing can stop the flow of things, now.”

  *****

  My, these characters were strange. How could a lesser god have so many hang-ups? How could anyone go through with what these individuals had put themselves through? How could love be so powerful, as to cause an individual to suffer so much for it, and voluntarily continue on with their course?
  Warren shed a few tears at the end of Stefan. No big deal. He wiped the sleeve of his pyjamas across his face, and looked at the clock, again. He’d read this in two hours?
  Next.

  *****

  “A sensitive one,” said Sylvia, as she walked over to Warren, invisible to his eyes.
  “He’s doing OK. Shall we leave?” asked Stefan.
  “I don’t really want to. I wish I could touch him.”
  “Well, you can, but...”
  “I wonder if I can get away with sneaking some black current scones into the fridge?”
  “And while you’re at it, how about some Good Earth China Black in the cabinet.”
  Sylvia chuckled. “You can’t get that in the super, here.”
  “Like he’d question that now?”

  *****

  Warren was hungry again halfway through ‘Life With Thanatos.’ He really didn’t want to put the story down, but the stomach called. Back to the refrigerator!
  White bag in back! Cool! Scones. That would go good with some tea.  
  There was something new in the cabinet. It was still wrapped up. He pulled the box down.
  Black tea, with peach and other tropical fruit flavours. Would he need sugar for this? He’d try without it first. Cream was a must, though.
  No, the tea needed no sugar. Two scones and one cup of tea would hold him for a while. Back to the stories!
  The very strange stories!
  Did his mother buy this book for him? Where the Hell did she find it? Did she have a clue on what it contained?
  The stories were completely out of bounds with anything he’d ever seen in psychology. There was also a bit of low-key erotica strewn about, much of which was gay. Neither of his parents would have bought this for him if they’d known what its pages held. It was too far out for their more conventional patterns of thought. 
 After the first story, all the characters were basically not alive, not that some of them ever technically were, in the conventional sense of the word. This book added a perspective to death that no one in the family could have conceived of. It gave the concept of the 'psychopomp' a greater humanity than humanity itself. Parts of the story were so sweet, funny, silly, other parts rather sad, but one thing that Warren appreciated was the stressing of art in so many forms.  
  The characters were appreciators of music. He identified strongly with that. He was also touched by the love between the characters, and how it overcame all social stigmas of what should, could, or shouldn’t and couldn’t be done.

  *****

  Sylvia ended up ‘sitting’, or rather 'feigning' a seat beside Warren in her parallel reality. Her mind was a’whirl. She pointed at Stefan. “You know, because of your influence, I can’t even write in my original style of poetry anymore?”
  Stefan smiled, and ‘had a seat’ at the foot of Warren’s bed. “You composed him a poem?”
  “How could I not? I mean, look at that. His form, his thoughts.”
  “I would have been effected if my loves didn’t have such a strong hold on me,” said Stefan. “You’re dying to tell me what you came up with, since you obviously can’t tell him.”
  “I don’t know if I ever should tell him. I mean; we are so far apart in our priorities.”
  Stefan shrugged. “I think if I spent all that nonexistent time with Donn’s neurotic hang-ups, Warren can deal with you, provided his feelings for you will reflect what you feel for him, and I think they might. Let’s hear your latest masterpiece.”
  She made a motion on caressing Warren’s hair, though from his perspective, he may as well have been touched by fog.

  “I look at you, and reflect on my past.
  I see so much in you, of what I was,
  All of the fears and insecurity,
  And the fires of creativity

  Just waiting to give rise like a phoenix.
  You are so young, yet way beyond your years
  In all your outlooks and philosophies
  Of life! I’m compelled to give you the keys
 
  To my heart! Next to you, I’m so ancient.
  We are worlds apart, and so unalike.
  I am not sure we can function as one,
  For our diverse streams of consciousness run 
  In alien directions! I nigh mourn,
  My vulnerable one, so beautiful;
  As I look at you, perusing our tale
  Of this time approaching, whence we unveil
 
  Ourselves to you in a reality
  Which may risk tearing you to pieces,
  From which you may not recover too soon.
  I pray that I won’t drive you to ru’n
 
  By my inability to walk away.”
 
  “Sylvia, will I ever write as well as you?” asked Stefan.
  “You already do.”
  Stefan wiped his sleeve across his face. “I shed way more tears over your poetry, than my own.”
  “Doesn’t everyone shed more tears over someone else’s poems than their own?”
  “Seems that way. I like yours better than mine, though.”
  Sylvia gave him a sad smile. “Except for the ones I wrote when I was still Earthbound, that almost made you throw up from the graphically violent thoughts.”
  Stefan gave a weak smile. “Aye.”
  Sylvia was silent for a moment. “Gods, I want to hold him.”
  “Shall I leave you two alone, for now?”
  “Uh...what kind of a question is that for these circumstances?”
  Stefan waved. “See you later.” He disappeared from her sight.
  Sylvia smiled. “Thanks, Stef,” she said despite the fact he was gone.

  *****

  Warren looked at the clock again. Time was moving too slow. He couldn’t read this fast. He put the book down, got up, and looked out the window. He could see the quarter moon, and it was mighty dark outside. By all familiar standards, it should have been past dawn by how far he’d gotten with the books.
  He was feeling a little dizzy, and he got back on his bed. Maybe he’d call Gary when the sun did come up, to cancel today’s jam session. Or was it today yet, the way things were going? 
  His life seemed a bit surreal to himself, right now. That delicious sandwich, those awesome devilled eggs, the new tea, the orange juice, this strange book that looked like it must have cost at least two hundred pounds, and the time he seemed to be spending outside of time. 
  He was thinking about it, now. He was done with over half the prose. He wasn’t planning on reading the poetry right after. He liked what he’d seen in the story, but despite the fact he did like quite a few song lyrics and planned to write his own in rhyme, he just wasn’t in the habit of going out of his way to read poetry. Certainly not over a hundred fifty of them in two combined volumes!
  Warren had developed quite an attachment to the characters. He’d have to study up on Irish and Greek mythology one of these days.
  But now?! Was he tired? Not really.  
  The White City! Should he start it? It was a shorter story, and the ending of the last story was such a tease.
  Yes.

  *****

  “Stefan,” said Thanatos. “You mean you actually left Sylvia Plath with that kid, alone?”
  “Yes. Why?”
  “By every god in the Pantheon! You know that woman. She's the most unpredictable one among us. How could you do that to Warren?”
  “She won't hurt him. She'd be devastated if she did. Can I go back?”
 “The problem is; what would you go back to?”

  *****

  Sylvia did a mental overlap with Warren, but not in a way where he could be aware of it. She did it, so she could read what he was reading, and she also had taken in his mind so his thoughts were her thoughts. There was no turning back.
 
 
 
 

































  Chapter 2


  Deliah! Gods, why was there no illustration of Deliah? She sounded so amazingly hot. All there were was four illustrations of Donn, and two of Thanatos, as done by Stefan, as if Stefan actually existed. Then this book was signed by Donn Ui’Midir, as if Donn actually existed?! But a lot of historical figures were mentioned in the story.
  This seemed to be a blend of fact and fiction. Warren looked up everyone he ran across, and all that had been written in the stories had collaborated with his research.
  Damn! Not one of the female characters were illustrated, anywhere. The descriptions were OK, but a picture or two would have been nice. Warren closed his eyes, and tried to imagine what that painting of Deliah on her horse, looked like. But would he be able to relate to her? She didn’t seem the one on one type. Perhaps she was a bit too wild for Warren. Then again, there were no rules of relationships with this bunch. Anything went, as long as it was mutual consent, sort of. Occasionally the quasi-seduced one only gave in to be left alone, but it was never a case of no consent.
  But Deliah didn’t exist, so why dwell on it?
  Sylvia was picking this up. She refrained from materialising herself to grab him around the neck, and shake. Instead, she hand-wrote her poem out, and materialised it between ‘The Second Time Around’, and ‘The Akashic Castle.’ She had simply signed it, ‘Sylvia.’
  At the start of ‘The Second Time Around’, Warren looked at the clock again. Three-thirty a.m.! He looked outside. It was still dark, as it should have been.
  No, this couldn’t be happening. It was unreal. The day couldn’t have come and gone. There was never any light through the window. Was he going mad? Was this a dream? Did he have a heart attack and not know it? Was his Reuben sandwich poisoned, and he just fell asleep and died?
  He was getting dizzy again. Also, the plot was becoming increasingly weird. Time tripping back to relive an era differently, in a more hedonistic fashion?! That didn’t make sense to Warren. The concept seemed like devolution rather than evolution, from a spiritual perspective. He also felt like he was time tripping, now. Could it actually happen?
  He was getting hungry again. Should he have the rest of the scones? Perhaps a can of soup?!  
  Cream of mushroom soup and another crumpet sounded nice.
  He got up. On the way, he paused by his parent’s bedroom door. He heard snoring. That seemed usual. He headed off to the kitchen.
  Eating this many times in a night wasn’t normal for him. If only the few hours that had passed that the alarm clock said had passed, there was no way he would have been able to eat all he had, and now be hungry again. Still...
  He fished through the cupboards, got his soup, heated it in a pot with some butter, heated a crumpet, grabbed another ginger beer, and had his breakfast of champions.
  After he was done, he washed the pot, put it in the drainer, and went’ back to his book. At this rate, he’d finish it, and maybe even get an hour of sleep before day.
  Yeah, right!

 *****

  Sylvia smiled, as she looked at Warren. ‘Deliah!’ she signalled.
  ‘Sylvia! How’s it going?’
  ‘Warren would like in theory, to fuck your brains out. Are you game?’
  Deliah chuckled. ‘Don’t waste my time. You know I'm finally over that.’  
  ‘He’s awfully cute, and a total sweetheart.’
  ‘Look! You’re the one who’s fallen for him. You cater to him, if he wants to fuck someone silly. I mean, come on! Even I had to see the light sometime on what a waste of time that is.’
  ‘OK.’  

  *****

  At the end of ‘The Second Time Around’, Warren found the poem.
  He read it about five times. Sylvia Plath. Back to the computer! With a bit of searching, he found some handwriting samples. They matched what was on the paper.
  Was this some sort of in depth, sick joke? Who was the poem to? Could it have been to himself? It sort of fit, but Sylvia, if it was by Sylvia Plath, had died way before he was born. It couldn’t have been to him.
 Sylvia. Yes, she was quite an attractive lady, but from what he’d read about her, Warren was a bit perturbed by her. She seemed dangerous. He wasn’t sure he could hold his own against the likes of her. She struck him as having been potentially deadlier than Macha, when alive. A bit more volatile, anyway.
  Warren Colfax preferred the company of a gentle woman. A little feisty was fine, intelligence and creativity was much valued, but he didn’t want someone who was apt to throw something at him, or slap him upside for no reason other than their own delusions of betrayal. The thought of having to defend himself against a woman didn’t sit well with him. Violence wasn’t his thing, if it could at all be avoided.
  ‘I’m different now,’ Sylvia sent to him. ‘I’m not the same as I was, and I’d never hurt you.’
  Warren perceived that. He might as well have actually heard it, but by now he wasn’t sure of his own mental faculties, and simply attributed to the ‘voice’ being a hallucination.
  He looked at the clock. Four a.m.! That was not possible. On the other hand, it wasn’t possible for it to still be dark out, either. It was tempting to go get some cider, or a glass of wine, but he wasn’t sure. If he were messed up now, what would alcohol do to him?
  Back to the story!
  The low graphic sex scenes of the sort he was familiar with had gone on the back burner. Apparently everyone had mostly gotten over it for something better that couldn’t be done on Planet Earth, involving Higher Plane mergings.
  The thought of the mental unions that were written about through the stories had a very strong appeal to him. So did the metaphysical, and no-contact Tantric sex, but why not cover all grounds? Why deprive one’s self?
  Well, whatever.

 *****

  When Warren got to the end of Chapter #11 of The Akashic Castle, Sylvia could contain herself no more. There were just a couple of more pages, and he would know the truth. She materialised beside him. “What you heard wasn’t a hallucination, babe. It was me, and I’m not the disturbed, hostile bitch that killed herself in 1963.”
  Warren closed his eyes. “Am I dead, or am I mad?”
  She put her arm around his shoulders. “Neither, really. You can’t die anymore. You’ve been transferred, like Kyle and Kevin, but a lot further.”
  “I guess that explains how I can read so many pages in less than a night. Where am I?”
  “Right now, Low Etheric. Finish those last couple of pages, and I’ll become one with you in mind to teach you how to handle yourself where you’re really going. I’m going to show you to a place that’s way farther along then you’d be inclined to go if you just died, so I have to prepare you. It’s beyond Tech Duinn”
  Warren nodded, and finished those last five pages as they actually were. “So, that black lady and that Asian man I dream of all the time are Tonya and Ronin?”
  “Hm hm. They were trying to help you write lyrics. Spread philosophy in music.”
  “Why me?"
  “Because you three have a psychic connexion. You’re also of the right personality type.”
  “And I’m not a fan of yours. You’re here, because?”
  “It’s simply an accident, but I consider you worthy if you’ll have me.”
  Warren looked at her. Sylvia Plath was at her most attractive peak, and very easy on the eyes. No, she was no exotic Deliah, whatever that one looked like, but Sylvia was quite a looker.
  He thought that poem over. The one she wrote for him. Yes, he could definitely fall in love with this one.
  Now, how did this kind relate?
  Warren held his right hand up to her, with his fingers spread. Go slow. Real slow!
  Sylvia interlocked her fingers with his. It would turn in to be the most fulfilling embrace he’d ever been in. It involved a mental exchange that no physical sensation could remotely compare to.
  That would be it, for now.
  The walls of the simulacrum of the house, faded. After the illusion melted away, they found themselves in the room dedicated to Armenia. It was very near to the halls of paintings. Thanatos had transferred them to he Akashic Castle a long time ago.
  After Warren redressed in more fitting clothes via materialisation, Sylvia showed him the pictures and he found out what the mysterious looking Deliah looked like.
  From an aesthetic perspective, he thought Deliah might have been the most beautiful woman that ever walked the Earth, like everyone else who saw her. Still, he felt he wouldn’t trade Sylvia in for her if someone had held a gun to his head. If he’d still been mortal, that is. 
  For the moment, anyway! 
  Lust was a hard animal to control.

  *****

  “Warren's aware of where he actually is,” said Thanatos. All of us except Sylvia and Warren were on another 'conference call'. I closed my eyes. “They’re looking at the paintings. Warren is finding out what we all look like, through our art.”
  Deliah zeroed in on him. “Man, Sylvia is a lucky one. What a fox, and so potentially devoted.”
  “He’s going next on canvass for me,” said Stefan. He pointed to Tonya and Ronin. “You two are after him. I just wanna do the easy project first.”
  Ronin smiled. “You’ve never painted an Asian before, huh?”
  “Nope. Nor an African of such dark colour as you, Tonya! I want to do you last, because I think for me you’re the hardest project, and I really want to do you two justice.”
  “Why thank you, Stefan,” said Tonya.
  “Thank you for agreeing to be one of my subjects.”
  “Hey! I’m flattered. No one’s ever painted me, before.”
  Ronin looked at Thanatos. “There will be no consequences for having dropped our mission?”
  Thanatos smiled. “I looked everything up. No. Everything is right on target.”

  *****

  At the end of the rather long viewing, Warren and Sylvia were hand in hand. “Shall we see the rest of the gang?” asked Warren. “I’d love to see Donn and Thanatos.” He didn’t mention Deliah.
  “They’re a trip,” said Sylvia, as she gently embraced him. “To see them next to each other, looking so much alike, only in different colours. It’s mind-boggling, to see them for the first time.”
  “And with them around, you fell in love with me?”
  Sylvia kissed Warren on the nose. “I adore those two, but that’s not the kind of relationship we have. You know, I’m the only one who’s not really paired off with anyone here, now that Deliah’s sunk her teeth into Andre?”
  Warren scowled. “Deliah wasn’t with anyone?”
  “Actually, Deliah was with anyone she wanted to be with. Who’s going to turn her down?”
  “Turn her down? But I thought no one here...uh...has...you know...”
  “No. What you know as sex has been history forever. We've gotten fed up with it. Our way is better. I’ll show you, after we meet the others. I meant that I wasn’t in a dedicated relationship, and after I’ve had my curiosity sated with the only one who would have me, I wasn’t in the habit of borrowing anyone. I was too busy writing poetry and song lyrics; anyway.” 
  Warren kissed Sylvia on the forehead. “How long did your poem to me, take?”
  “Not long. I suppose, to your still sequential way of thinking, it might have taken about fifteen or twenty minutes. It came pretty easy.”
  “It was one of the nicest things anyone’s ever done for me.”
  “Even though I had to invade your mind without your permission to write it?”
  Warren brushed the hair back from her forehead. “I forgive you.” 
  They kissed, before transferring over to the rest of us.

  *****

  Sylvia had to support Warren, after the transfer. He almost fell over, not being used to having his environment change on him, in this fashion.  
  After he regained his bearings, he looked us over, smiled, and said, “Hello.”
  The rest of us simply waved, said our greetings, and Thanatos said, “Have a seat. We were just talking about you.”
  “I imagine,” said Warren, as he took an empty chair.
  Sylvia sat beside Warren, and materialised him a cup of China Black with cream, just like the last he had at the simulacrum of his old residence. “You liked this, from what I recall,” she said.  
  “Very much, thank you.”
  “I’m sorry, but I’m really not inclined to join you with the tea, anymore,” said Sylvia.
  “Understood,” said Warren. He looked us all over. “I thank you for taking me into your company. I feel very privileged, and lucky.”
  “No luck about it. You’re supposed to be here,” said Thanatos.
  Deliah jumped in, looking at Warren. “And how long are you going to keep your accent?” It was a disguised, subtly provocative question. Here, it was Irish standard except for our newcomers. Yes, Deliah and Sylvia had strong Irish accents, by now.
  Warren knew exactly what Deliah was doing, and it wasn’t nice, though potentially amusing. The war between the English and the Celts never really went away. Warren simply said, “Let’s keep world politics out of here. It’s not relevant, anymore.”
  I couldn’t help myself. After a comment like that, I sent him an ‘energy wave’ caress. He closed his eyes, and shivered. I sent him a nonverbal, ‘Gods, I have a hard time believing what a young one you are.’
  He looked at me. ‘Thanks, Donn! I hate conflicts, and what you just did to me...what does that connote?’ He kept it strictly telepathic, as well.
  ‘Approval. You’re a bit closed off. I’ll point that out to you, now. This is a very open household, as you have perceived from your reading. You can face your conservative nature now, or be uncomfortable with how this place works for a while.’
  ‘I’m not that conservative. I mean, I was...I was...’
  ‘Very open with your former so called band-mate! Yes, but this is a new environment.’
  Warren swallowed. ‘I guess I have to come to terms with myself, and I might as well admit to you that I fell in love with you during the reading of the Xanon Chronicles, but not in the same way, as the household’s more well known poet.’ He had a sip of his tea. “Damn, this is good. I’m also curious about that Lichee Black that was mentioned in the stories? And the vanilla nut?”
  Two more cups appeared before him, via Stefan.
  Warren simply chuckled. “Thanks.”
  “Any time,” said Stefan.
  Warren put his nose over the fresh cups, and tried them both. “The vanilla nut with everything in it wins out for me, but what can you expect from a Brit?”
  Stefan smiled. “If I could still stand the stuff, I’d raise a cup to you.”

  *****

  We stayed at the table for a while, and just talked. Thanatos decided to hold off on a complete merger for a while. So, the newcomers would learn about us all a little more slowly. It didn’t matter. Thanatos didn’t want to risk inundating everyone with too much at once. It worked for some, but Warren was just too green, and Ronin still had to digest us, despite how far along he was on the evolutionary scale.
  After we were done with our meeting, everyone got together with their favourites, and went off. Deliah, Andre, Tonya and Ronin went one direction, Kevalyn and Macha another, me, Thanatos and Stefan to the studio, and Sylvia and Warren, off on their own.

  *****

  “I’m not leaving this studio until I get everybody down,” said Stefan, as he stood in front of his canvass. “I can’t believe the world has people who look like that, who are mortals.”
  “Tell it to Raquel Tejada (a.k.a. Welch),” I said.
  “Never mind,” said Stefan. “I mean, Ronin leaves Bruce Lee in the dust.”
  Thanatos shrugged. “It happens.”
  “And what about Warren?” asked Stefan. “He’s fresh of the Physical Plane. He hasn’t had time to get to where we’re at.”
  Thanatos shrugged. “That’s mostly Sylvia’s problem, though I think we might have to help him along a bit here and there.”
  Stefan put his pencil to his canvass. “There go I, but for the grace of Chaos.”
  “From the perspective of Sylvia, or the perspective of Warren?” I had to ask.
  “Yes.”
  It was the answer I’d expected.
  Stefan put up Warren’s sketch rather quickly. It was a portrait from the beltline up, and he just drew him in a long sleeved shirt. It was the most uninteresting thing I’d ever seen Stefan plan out, in all his days.
  “No, maybe not,” said Stefan, as he blanked out the canvass. He started again, and this time, he sketched Warren with his Fender Jaguar strapped on. “I think he’ll like this one better.”
  “I think so,” said Thanatos.
  I’d never seen Stefan finish a painting so fast in his life.
  From what he had said, both Thanatos and I had expected three paintings.
  Not so. There would only be two.
  Stefan put Tonya and Ronin in Shinobi Shozokus, minus the hood and mask, Tabi boots, and they were facing each other off with Katanas.
  Only Ronin was into the martial arts, but this was visual art.
  “I wish I had the patience to put Tonya in cornrows, but that is just so time consuming,” said Stefan.
  “She looks great in Jeri Curl,” I said. That’s how she usually wore it, anyway.
  “I think I’ll put two braids in Ronin’s hair.”
  “Dragons on the jackets would look good,” I said.
  “It would take me too long. You can do that,” said Stefan.
  “I don’t like duplicating themes.”
  “I’ll put a ghost dragon behind them,” said Stefan.
  “Sounds awesome,” said Thanatos.
  Stefan raised his pencil again, and he ended up with quite a set-up.

  *****

  Sylvia and Warren had settled in a love seat in front of a fireplace. Warren had a cup of tea in hand. “I can’t quite get this right,” he said looking at the tea. “The flavour is a bit complex.”
  “If I keep fixing it, you’ll never get it. Keep trying, until you get what you want.”
  “Nobody else had this problem, did they?”
  “Stefan...as Kyle had been drinking this stuff all her life. Or at least a good portion of it! The flavour was strongly ingrained in...its mind. Stefan had to put it together for Donn a few times, before he got it. Yes, somebody else did have this problem.”
  “Can you please fix it this one last time?”
  Sylvia smiled. “OK.” She closed her eyes, and the tea in Warren’s cup went away, to be replaced by something else. “Now, just work on retaining that flavour.”
  Warren nodded. “OK. You know, I don’t like being unaware of the temperature.”
  “If you were in it for more than a few minutes, you would change your mind. This fire doesn’t do anything to warm the room. We are at constant twilight. It’s below freezing ninety odd percent of the time. The only time it ever gets above freezing, if we have a windstorm from the Light Pole, and clouds, all on the same day. Imagine being in your hometown on a winter’s day with no heat.”
  “Darlington? Never mind. How much warmer was Tech Duinn?”
  “Seven to ten degrees, Celsius. Still cool, but manageable. You’ll lose the desire to experience sensation soon enough.”
  “I still like the concept of eating.” 
 “So did I, for quite a while. You can do that for as long as you want. You’ll just be the only one doing it. The rest of us now see it as a waste of time.”
  Warren scowled. “I’ll feel odd.”
  Sylvia put her arm around him, and kissed him on the cheek. “I wish you’d been with us earlier. We understand, though.”
  He looked at her. “That I’m a trilobite amongst gods?”
  Sylvia laughed. “Hardly. More like a first grader who got thrown into college, but that’s OK.”
  “This really is pretty cool, but I see problems.”
  Sylvia ran her right index finger down his nose. “I see only one problem.”
  “And?”
  “Your ego. Don’t worry about anything. Just be what you are. No one is expecting you to be like us, though after you do a merger with all of us, you should be more comfortable and you will learn a lot.”
  “Are you in my mind, right now?”
  “Hm hm. You’re going nuts, wanting to return my poem, but you’re at a loss for words.”
  “But I’m not reading you,” said Warren.
  “You can. You’ve just got to learn how to connect. I’ll show you that later. You didn’t read the poetry part of Donn’s books.” 
  “I can’t always read that much poetry all at once.”
  “Why don’t I read it to you. You might get some ideas.”
  Warren shrugged. “I guess so. Thanatos did readings, from what I recall?”
  “Hm hm. With his nice tenor and the accent, he keeps you rapt. Let’s get comfy.”
  “OK.”
  “Stand up, for a minute.”
  He did, as did Sylvia. She widened and lengthened the loveseat, turning into a modified couch; materialised a couple of pillows, a few unneeded blankets, and the poetry collection. She laid herself on the couch, and pressed herself into the back of it. “Come on,” she said.
  “Where do you want me?”
  “Just get next to me. I can hold the book with one hand, and I’ll hold you with the other. Lay your head on my right shoulder.”
  Warren closed his eyes, and nodded. He came beside her and leaned into her side, wearing a subtle smile. He worked his left arm under her back without a fight, and got as comfortable as the situation allowed.  
  Warren did his best to pay attention to Sylvia, but of course she lost him a few times, and she knew damn well when she did, and why.
  Oh, why let the lad lay there in his self-imposed torture. She could finish the reading, later. She closed the book, and dematerialised it. “Warren.”
  “Hm?”
  She ran her left hand delicately across his chest. “I think we can finish the book in a bit.”
  Warren made a hissing sound, as he inhaled through clenched teeth. “I thought...you didn’t do...this any...”
  She pulled him against her. “Not for my own sake. It’s as boring as hell.”
  He encircled her in turn, in expected desperation. “Ye gods; I think is the expression I’m supposed to use?”
  “Works for me,” said Sylvia, as she unlatched his belt buckle. "Leaving you in the state you're in is the worst thing I can do for you, and us. It'll hold you, and us back. Also, I don't mind doing this a few times because I never had you before and think you're one fine lookin' piece of meat, all right?"
  Warren laughed. "All right." He knew well enough to know he meant more than that to her than that. If you wanted sarcasm, this was the place to be.

  *****

  Thanatos and I walked out on the second painting. It was a bit complicated, Stefan was having a hard time, and he still was a bit slow compared to me. He’d memorised their facial features, but he hadn’t asked them to pose for this, and for someone who had only painted Caucasians before, excepting two light skinned black men, this was a little bit of a challenge with the shading. Andre had been easy, because he wasn’t that dark, but Tonya was a very dark brown. Having no reference point to work from made it even harder.
  “Want to go outside?” I asked Thanatos.
  He held up an index finger, and closed his eyes. “You know, there is actually a major rainstorm going on?”
  “Do we tell Stefan?”
  “Do we want to see that gorgeous painting ever finished?”
  I chuckled. “You’re mean, sometimes.”
  “I have a vested interest, all right? There’ll be more storms.”
  “Still, you know how Stefan loves them”
  Thanatos shrugged, “Well, somewhere on this latitude there is almost always a rainstorm. If Stefan bitches over missing one storm due to a painting, I’ll track one down later, and transfer him into the storm that is going on whenever he wants. Or I might do the unthinkable, and create another one for here. Hey! If he wants, he can have a hurricane with tornados.”
  What a concept. “Is that even possible?
  “Donn Ui’Midir, look at who you’re talking to!”
  “Uh, never mind.”

  ***** 

 “Damn, why do I do this to myself,” said Stefan, as he blotted out his work on Ronin’s face. “I’ve never been so tempted to cheat, in my life. I wonder if I can even do this without Than’s help.”

  *****

  Deliah stretched out in her chair. “It’s so hard to be transferred here directly from Earth.”
  “Stef...Kyle and Kevin did OK, sort of,” said Ronin. “From what I read, anyway.”
  “That was Tech Duinn. There is a difference between Low Etheric, and High Etheric. Donn took Kyle and Kevin to a place right beyond The Physical, and we are right on the wrong side of the Astral. Priorities are generally different here, and though we can do what we used to do, we'd really rather not. We've outgrown a lot, you know?  
  "Donn also put Kyle/Stephanie, through some real garbage after the transfer, but I guess ultimately it was for the better. It forced the relationship into an unconditional mode. I don’t know, but I don’t think a more noble relationship can exist, than what Donn, Thanatos and Stefan have,” said Deliah.
  “It’s a touching relationship,” said Ronin.
  “To say the least,” said Andre.
  “I think I have a book to read,” said Tonya.
  “We’ll stay with you,” said Deliah. “In fact, I might reread it myself.”
  “That sounds like a good idea,” said Ronin.
  “What’s one more time, for me,” said Andre. “Gods, what a hilarious relationship they had in books one and two.”
  “And what Donn put himself, through! Crashing into the wall in the skating rink, and all?” asked Ronin.
  “I want to see him on ice, and on horseback,” said Tonya.
  “So do I,” said Ronin.
  “Oh, he’ll be only too happy to perform,” said Deliah. 

  ****

  The very dazed Warren said, “I thought you don’t have to sleep, here?”
  “It’s optional.”
  “I’m so tired. I feel like I hadn’t slept in a week, and you didn’t even take me Astral.”
  Sylvia caressed his hair, and then transferred him to her room, which she’d been in perhaps twice, since she’d been here.
  “How’s about I sleep with you?”
  “You’d do that?”
  “Warren, I love you, and want you as my protégé. I want to take over from where Tonya and Ronin left off, OK?”
  He got under the covers. “Sylvia Plath! An author, and a poet with a huge cult following! How can I ask for more?”
  “Warren Colfax. Philosophical dreamer, who would have been cut down, before he even had a chance.” She materialised a vial of musk oil. “Roll over on your stomach.”
  “You spoil me.” He rolled over.
  She kissed him on the shoulder. “After what you managed with me, my not overly experienced fledgling, I think you deserve at least this much.”
  “Donn was a damn good teacher, with his implications in the writing. I never thought self control could enhance such an experience to such a degree.”
  Sylvia poured the entire ounce of oil on him. “You have a lot to learn.”
  He passed out in what amounted to about ten minutes.
  After Sylvia worked all the oil into him, she woke him just long enough to get him to reposition himself according to her own ‘requirements’ for the ‘illusory’ time being.
 
 
 
 
































  Chapter3


  Stefan turned around when he finished. His audience had left him without informing him.
  It was one hell of a good painting. “Yeah, I didn’t think anyone was crazy enough to stick around for this,” he said to himself. “I think I’ll just hang it. Everybody ‘ill see it soon enough.”
  He transferred the painting, and put it up.
  Stefan then ran to the library. 

  *****

  Thanatos and I stood on the desert floor. We were there, but not in the same state of our environment. We were in strictly observer mode, and the rain was falling through us without affecting us.
  ‘It’s a long one,’ I noted. It was too noisy to be overheard. The winds were too high, and the rain was coming down in torrents, so we had to communicate telepathically.
  ‘Violent one, too.’
  ‘I almost have half a mind to feel it.’
  Thanatos looked at me. ‘The wind would knock me on my ass, and you do see how much force that water has, coming down. If you really like pain, and will risk being blown across this desert floor like a tumbleweed, for want of a better analogy, go right ahead.’
  ‘Since you put it like that...’
  ‘You miss being able to experience this without the incredible discomfort this location provides, huh?’
  The lightning flashed. ‘Sometimes. Of course, you don’t.’
  ‘No. Not at all! For me, one way of saying it is, how many times do I want to see the same movie?’
  ‘If it’s something like this, I haven’t had enough.’
  He embraced me. ‘There are so many things we thought would never change. So many points of view, we thought we would hold forever. Remember when you wanted to keep your virginity for an eternity? Then you had all these wild dreams of what you might do regarding sex just before the transfer to The White City that you didn't write about, and you lost all interest right after you transferred? And how much tea we drank at Tech Duinn, and how we thought we’d never stop? And how hedonistic we were the second time around on Tech Duinn after we could barely get you to eat the first time around, and how again we lost interest in all that killer food and sensuality after going High Etheric/Low Astral again?’
  ‘I still like to do so much that I’ve always done. I still love to paint, skate, ride, read hard cover, write poetry on those now rare occasions when so inspired. I think I’m more the same than different.’
  He kissed me on the forehead. ‘Creativity is always with us.’
 I wrapped myself around Thanatos. ‘Can we go High Causal?’
 ‘Oh, yeah, babe.’

  *****

  Kevalyn and Macha were walking down the hall, on the way to the music studio. They had to pass through the halls of the pictures to do this. Macha noticed the new ones, right away. “By gods, look at that,” she said, pointing to the one of Tonya and Ronin.
  “As if they’d fight.”
  “Tonya couldn’t handle a sword any better than Percy as a cat.”
  Kevalyn laughed. “Put Percy as even a housecat against any swordsman, and I’ll bet on Percy.”
  “That cute little pussycat?”
  “He would have sent Kyle to the hospital on numerous occassion if she weren’t so macho, and he didn’t even mean it.”
  Macha laughed. “Oh, I know. I just had to set you up for a comeback. I wonder if Tonya and Ronin saw this picture, yet? It is awesome.” 
  “Let’s ask.”
  In no time, Tonya, Rodin, Deliah and Andre were in the hall.
  “Oh my god,” said Tonya. “Stefan is a dream.”
  “I’ll say,” said Deliah.
  “But this would never happen, even if I knew how to handle a sword,” said Tonya to Ronin.
  Ronin winked at her. “I can teach you.”
  “What’s the point? I’m no Macha.” The subtle sarcasm was lost on the audience. “If I’d wanted to be a warrior, I would have hounded you for the knowledge long ago,” said Tonya
  Deliah snuggled up to Ronin. “Maybe you can teach me?!”
  Andre looked at her, and struggled not to laugh. “Del, will your harem ever be big enough?”
  She blew him a kiss. “When there’s too many of their names to remember.”
  Ronin ruffled her hair. “I am so glad to meet you, and Donn didn’t do you justice in describing you.”
  “Thanks. Do you play Go?” asked Deliah.
  Ronin smiled. “Hell, yeah. I may not be going as Sakanashi Ronin, but I think I’m still Japanese enough for that.”
  “Fifth generation American, huh?” asked Deliah.
  “Oh, yeah. My parents even had the pleasure of being put in the American concentration camps.”
  “Sad,” said Deliah. “Some of my relatives were in Germany. I actually did lose some in that somewhat exaggerated holocaust.”
  Ronin said, “Well, I’ve come to see it as a favour if they were killed. That way they didn’t have to live under the bastards who did this to them anymore.”
  “You know, you sound an awful lot like Stefan,” said Deliah.
  Ronin said, “It's a Japanes way of thinking. Don't let them take you alive. Death before captivity, and death before dishonour! Same difference, some times. If Japan weren’t so ritualised, Stefan would have loved it, from what I read about him.”
  “I bet,” said Deliah.

  *****

  This time when Sylvia read Warren our poetry, he was rapt. “That stuff is actually entertaining. And what you wrote me...no one ever did that for me. I don’t know if I can ever give anything like that back to you.”
  “Who says I’m expecting you to? Poetry was my life. It’s not yours, except for your song lyrics. I’m not holding you to my interests. We’re not the same,” said Sylvia.
  “What does someone like you see in someone like me?”
  “You’re sweet. You’re benevolent, polite, not as damn class conscious as you might be, you care about others, you have an innocence about you...all kinds of things.”
  “I also have a confession to make,” said Warren
  “Yes?”
  “I seem to know so little. I mean, those stories...I don’t know anything about that. The history, the philosophers that were stressed, the Fomors...nothing. Ireland is just across the way, and I don’t know anything about them.”
  “You know something?”
  “What?!”
  “A lot of people who actually live on that island know nothing of Irish history either. It’s a matter of priorities. You know something else?” asked Sylvia.
  “Probably not.”
  “I think we should do a closer mental merger, and let you see where I’m coming from. I think I’d like to let you experience everything I feel for you from my perspective. You think you can handle that?”
  He gave her a sad smile. “Why? Do I think I’ll break down in tears?”
  “I think we both will.”
  Sylvia was right.

  *****

  Stefan walked the corridors of the library. Damn, what was he in the mood for?
  Philosophy? Hm...maybe not! Poetry? Definitely not!
  How’s about a novel?! Sheer entertainment, for a change! Suddenly he knew what he wanted. He transferred to the right part of the library, and pulled out Lucky Pierre’s by Vin Smith. It was one of the funniest books he’d ever read, and it was what he was in the mood for.
  He rather missed Thanatos and I not being at his side for a read-fest, but hey. It happened, once in a while. Not too often, but...

  *****

  As usual, after Thanatos and I came back from the High Causal, I was light years beyond euphoric.
  We landed in the room devoted to Ireland. “You know, Donn, I think we should do another conference call pretty soon. I sense a lot of curiosity about the stuff you wrote about, like our variable performances, with the newcomers. You on ice and horseback, me and Macha in the ring, and you and Stef doing one of your synchronised dances in the rink? Maybe a jam, with everyone on the set.”
  “Sure,” I said. “I’m game. I haven’t been either on Hesper or the ice in a while. I wouldn’t mind getting back into that.”
  “You seem to be outgrowing it.”
  “I suppose so. When was the last time you picked up a sword?”
  “Way before the last time you put on a pair of skates.”
  “You think Macha will play?” I asked.
  “Oh, sure. It might motivate our newcomers into getting performance ready in something.”
  “Ronin’s an expert in various Asian martial arts. Ninja training’s his hobby.”
  “For all the use he has for it,” said Thanatos.
  “Intellectual curiosity in practise. About as much use as you have for being the best fighter in existence, along with Macha.”
  “Indeed. I think we should do a total merger on Tonya and Ronin.”
  “Not Warren?”
  “Partial,” said Thanatos. “He’s already way over his head to be totally comfortable with us. Can you imagine, if he knew everything about me?”
  I chuckled. “Would he still respect you in the morning?”
  He kissed me on the forehead. “I think he’d spontaneously combust from information overload. I wouldn’t lose his respect, but there’s a few things that you didn’t write about that would shock him out of his socks.”
  “We don’t have to let him know that.”
  Thanatos looked up at the ceiling. “Donn Ui’Midir, everyone else here knows about it. You think the subject won’t come up eventually?”
  I narrowed my eyes. “Thanatos, we only did that once, and you were as clinical as they come. Me, on the other hand...”
  “It was Stefan’s idea. Also, I was game, considering I’d never done it before.”
  “Aye. Neither had I. I guess that excuses it.”
  (What was it? Uh...I'm NOT telling.)
  “Aye, I guess it does,” said Thanatos.
  “Now, I wanna snog.”
  “So do I. Then let’s go for a ride.”
  I pressed myself against him. “Aye, let’s.”

  *****

  Sylvia and Warren walked through the halls, hand in hand. Warren said, “I know so much more now, but I find it an unsatisfactory way of learning. I feel like I’ve been programmed, almost. Like a computer, fed a bunch of data. It was too effortless. Too...unsatisfying. You know that statement about how you have to live before you can die?”
  “Hm hm.”
 I made pretty decent money, I lived at home with very low rent, I wrote a lot of good music with the help of my Otherside friends, and with a little more time I could have had some exposure. I guess despite my sometime ambivalent attitude toward life, I really got off on the fight.  
  “I know it’s one hell of a privilege to be here, but I feel my purpose got cut short, not to mention that I’m not sure I’m comfortable with everyone knowing what I’m thinking, and not knowing what everyone else is thinking, unless they deliberately direct their thoughts at me.”
  “Then tell everyone to stay out of your mind. You know something else?”
  “What?!”
  “Stefan is having a hard time dealing with you,” said Sylvia.
  “You know, I’m confused about Stefan, too. I...can’t...I can’t help but love him, and everyone here, after what I’ve read about him, but he is just so...um...so...”
  “Incomprehensible.”
  “Yes.”
  “He doesn’t know how to relate to you, despite being a telepath. He’s also drawn to you in ways he wishes he wasn’t.”  
 Warren looked to the ground, and slowed a little. “The curse of a pretty face?”
  Sylvia shook her head, “Oh, ye gods, no. If you didn’t have the right personality, you wouldn’t be here, and Stefan wouldn’t give you the time of day. What you look like would be considered icing on the cake, but cream cheese frosting on head cheese just doesn’t cut it, you know?”
  “That is absolutely disgusting.” 
  “But you know what I mean?!”
  Warren nodded. “Yeah. You really know what I need to hear. I hated being treated like a fashion accessory, or trophy boy. I’m not a bloody mink coat or diamond tiara. I’m a person.”
  “So, shall I stay out of your head, too?”
  Warren stopped, and Sylvia did the same, just knowing she should. “Why do I get the feeling that it would be a mistake to say, yes?”
  Syvia withdrew her hand from Warren’s. “Because if you did say yes, I would have to estimate and guess on how to interact with you, you wouldn’t ask for what you wanted because you’d think you were imposing on me when you wouldn’t be, and I’d make mistakes. This way, I know damn well what’s gotta be done with you, and right now you think that existence here is totally pointless, you’re feeling like a well kept pedigree pet of a filthy rich household, and I’m going to prove to you that this is not the case, right now! There are challenges here. Now you can get the Hell out of my face, and I don’t want to see you again until you write me a poem, and then maybe after that, you can write me a song, too.”
  This isn’t what Warren was expecting, and he looked at her with his lower jaw dropped, somewhat in shock. “You’re serious.”
  Sylvia smiled. “As serious as a hyena eviscerating a zebra.” She gave him a gentle shove. “Go where ever suits your fancy. There is nothing off limits in this castle. Walk down the halls until you find something you like, and go for it. Call me when you’re done. I’ll be there in a flash.” She disappeared.
  Warren put his back against the wall of the hall, and sank to the ground. He was too stunned to think, for a while.
  Yes, Sylvia Plath was still Sylvia Plath.

  *****

  Thanatos and I just went on a simulacrum of a mad race across the desert of our unnamed planet. I then felt an incredible hollowness. “Stefan!”
  Thanatos looked at me. “He’s reading. You know that writer he knew as Kyle? Vin Smith?”
  “That psychic dude. Yeah. I’ve read about half his stuff. Than?”
  “After we take care of the horses, or should I say horse and pony, let’s go to Stefan. I miss him, too.”
  “Aye. Tell me about it,” I said.
  “Then maybe after a book and snuggle-fest we can go spelunking?”
  “The only time we ever did that, was in Hades.”
  Thanatos smiled. “Let’s do it here. I know some great caves.”
  “Metaphysically, gravity light, or ropes and high beam headlight on helmet?”
  “Let’s do ropes and torches.”
  I chuckled. “You crazy, mon.”
  “Irish-Jamaican? Ooh, that’s bad.”
  “Yeah, I wouldn’t half mind going caving.”

  *****

  Warren materialised a pen and several sheets of paper. He wrote down Sylvia’s poem to him, and stared at it for a very long time. How in the Hell could he respond to something so poignant? So beautiful, and moving? How could this fledgling progressive rocker wannabe even come to a halfway point in this? 
  He was pretty blocked. He felt outclassed. How the Hell could he ‘hit a good return’ to the likes of Sylvia Plath?
  Blank out. Don’t think. Let it come. Let it flow. Relax.
  He reread Sylvia’s piece one more time, although he knew it. It had a greater effect on him, to see it on paper.
  Hm. Maybe a different angle!  
  How he got here? How about something about Sylvia?  
 Yeah!
  Oh, yeah!!!!!

 I've been pulled out of life without Death,
 Into a realm of mass confusion!
 All I knew slipped out from under me,
 As I was shown what could never be
 
 In the realities of my youth!
 Time stood still, as Death did take my hand
 Without my remotest awareness!
 Could I've been shown greater gentleness?
 
 On the Otherside I've met my dream!
 A once mortal love of long ago!
 She'd died way before I was e'en born,
 And like me, her heart was also torn
 
 In the great tribulations of life!
 She had transcended it on her own,
 By way of suicide! She was free
 Of life, yet Death did not hold the key
 
 To her happiness! There was a void.
 When our eyes did meet, our fate was sealed.
 She could never let me go again,
 And I've found, I now had the best friend
 
 That existence could offer.
 
 ‘Sylvia?’
  She was sitting beside him, in less than a second. “Nice,” she said. “Very sweet.”
  “You already read it?”
  She smiled. “I never left you. I just wasn’t in a state to be perceived by you.”
  He looked at her. “That is so touching, yet the concept freaks me out to no end. I swear, if I weren’t dead already, I’d probably be having a cardiac arrest over this information.”
  “Warren, how can you call yourself dead?”
  “Well, I’m not exactly alive. I mean, I’m here, Gary’s...Gary! Oh my god! Gary. I...oh no!” He brought his knees to his forehead, and wrapped his arms around his legs. He convulsed a few times, and pressed his back against the wall.
  Sylvia stroked his hair. “You’re missing. They’ll never find you. Would you like to write him a letter and tell him you’re OK? He knows your handwriting. It’ll be OK if you do this. I promise.”
  He responded with a sniffle.
  Sylvia said, “Let’s get a photo of you with your Jaguar. I’ll time trip back, and pick up your guitar from the night you came here. You can be pictured with Macha, Kevalyn and Donn, and we can give him a made up photo with the letter.”
  He couldn’t talk, but ‘Not a photo of you?’
  “No, babe. People know what I look like. It’s too weird. Nobody knows the other three. Maybe we can even leave him a future CD of your work in a few months of his time.”
  Warren nodded. He couldn’t help but feel better with Sylvia wrapped around him. Slowly bringing himself under control, he materialised a handkerchief and blew his nose. “I thought we didn’t have bodily functions anymore. How come I’ve got snot up my nose?”
  “You weren’t thinking about it, and you expected it.”
  “But I haven’t had to go to the bathroom since I got here.”
  “You expected that, too.”
  “And when we shagged...”
  “Yeah! Nothing. You removed that part of yourself because you read it didn’t exist. You weren’t even technically conscious of it, but you rearranged yourself to function like everyone else here, simply because of Donn’s descriptions of what we were like. Now, speaking of shagging...”
  “Can I have a cider first, please? I know alcohol will have no effect here, but...the psychology behind it...”
  Sylvia materialised him a stein of mulled apple cider. “Here.”
  He tasted it. “Gods, I’ve never had anything so good.”
  “Your welcome.”
  He smiled. “Sheesh, from reading those stories, I’m even beginning to talk like you.”
  “And our merging helped with that, too. I never used to talk like that. The Old World Pagan epithets, and all?! It’s addictive.”
  “I noticed. You don’t want one?” he asked, holding up the cider.
  Sylvia sighed. She materialised one of her own. “Well, let’s see if I can keep this down.”
  “Don’t drink it if it’s going to make you sick.”
  “It’s not really making me sick. It’s just...uh...I better keep this analogy to myself. Let’s just say I’m disused to this, now.”
  “You’ve got me curious.”
  Sylvia tried to have a nip of cider. It didn’t work. She couldn’t get herself to swallow. She spat it back into the stein and, shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t do it. It would take work. Maybe later.”
  “No! Don’t you dare change anything about yourself because of me! Please?”
  She dematerialised the cup, and smiled. “I won’t.”
  Warren finished the cider, and dematerialised his stein. “So, where do we shag this time?”
  Sylvia pointed down the hall. “First right turn, two doors to the left. Austria.”
  Warren kissed her on the cheek. “Last time was mostly for me. This time, for you.”
  “OK. After we plant that letter and photo at Gary’s house. Where do you want to say you live?”
  Warren shrugged. “How about and Austrian postmark, since we’re going there in a few minutes.”
  Sylvia chuckled. “Sure.”
  The plan would work in easing Gary’s mind regarding Warren’s well being, but he would have a few issues with his theoretical future ‘front man’ abandoning him.

  *****

  Thanatos and I and I gave Stefan warning before materialising beside him.
  Stefan only had a couple of chapters to go, and he closed up the book, and hugged us. “Hi. I missed you guys.”
  “We missed you, too. I was wondering if perhaps the three of us might go caving on this planet, later,” said Thanatos.
  Stefan said, “Sure. Not as exciting as being between two colliding stars, but it’s been a while.”
  “The Hades thing doesn’t count,” I said.
  “Then there’s a first time for everything,” said Stefan. “Have you two spent any time with Warren?”
  Thanatos shook his head. “He’s Sylvia’s project. We’ll meet up later.” Thanatos looked at me. “Donn, why don’t we take him to Bri Leith, later. I’ve never been there, myself.”
  I wrinkled my nose. “That’s a real step down. That’s lower than Tech Duinn. It’s on Earth, sort of.” 
  Looking back on it, it may have been pretty impressive by Earth standards and would have blown the peasantry out of the water, but I had no innate desire to go back. Even when I stayed there as a kid, I took it for granted, and didn’t think much of it.
  Oh, it was a very artsy and elegant place for it’s time, but my imagination left it in the dust even when I was a child. Hey! I was an artist as a young sprog. And with my grandfather’s stories about things? Uh huh. Bri Leith was really going to leave me satisfied with what it had to offer...not.
  Thanatos said, “It is on Earth. Just not in a way that can be perceived by most mortals.”
  Stefan said, “I’ve never been to the Earthy side Faery Realm, myself. If it’s not too hard on us, why not go?”
  I had to say it. “There’s lot’s of sunlight.”
  “Eeeeeew. Never mind.”
  I chuckled. “Yeah, right. Stefan, will you ever change?”
  “No. I’ll never change, and I wouldn’t mind seeing Bri Leith provided there wasn’t anyone there.”
  “There’s always someone there,” I said. “It’s huge, and always needs a maintenance crew. Let me warn you, though. It’s like the Black Hole of Calcutta after Versailles, after even Tech Duinn. Dresden after, and before the firebombing! Worse.”
  “Whatever,” said Thanatos. “Let’s save it for Warren.”
  Out of the unexpected, a large, sabre toothed black cat suddenly appeared at the foot of the bed. Percy rolled on his back, before us. ‘Tummy rub?’ 
  Stefan gave him one. “Percy. How have you been?”
  ‘Fine. Everyone seems to be pretty well occupied, and I thought I’d pay my lead servant a visit.’
  Stefan rubbed the self-modified leopard under his chin. “You know, for a slave owner, you were a lousy provider.”
  ‘Why? Because I never left a mouse or a bird on your plate, as if you would have eaten it?’
  “Dude! You never saved me one bleedin’ cockroach.”
  ‘Hm. Actually, I thought roaches were quite tasty. Also, I knew at the time it was your job to feed me, and not the other way around even at that time.’
  “Have you spent any time with Warren?” asked Stefan.
  ‘No. Last I time I checked in on him, he was sitting in the hall working on a poem. He’s a bit distracted to be bothering with anyone other than his mentor wannabe right now.’
  “Sylvia!” said Stefan.
  ‘Who else? He’s a nice kid.’
  “Cute, too,” said Stefan.
  ‘Oh, get off of it. He could look way better than he does.’
  Stefan leaned forward, and kissed Percy on the nose. “How so, my love?”
  Percy made a gentle growling noise that was as close to a single purr, as he could. ‘He could be a cat.’
  “I’ll tell him, you said that,” said Stefan.
  ‘Excuse me, but I didn’t say it. I can’t exactly talk in the form I now have.’
  “All right, I’ll tell him you conveyed it, if I remember. He might be amused,” said Stefan.  
  Thanatos stroked the now unnamed species of cat. “Actually, that was quite a compliment, coming from you.”
  ‘Well, whatever! It’s not something that he wants to be valued for, and you know it, Stefan. Remember how pissed off you used to get if someone noticed you were kinda sorta cute?’
  Stefan scowled. “I really wasn’t much to look at. As for the form I wear now, I don’t even pay attention to it. I took this form on the request of Donn. Except for the nose, that is. That’s for me.”
  Percy rolled on his stomach, got to his feet, positioned himself in front of Stefan, and put his nose against Stefan’s. ‘Keep this conversation in mind, Stefan. Don’t you ever forget it.’
  Stefan caressed his cheeks, and scratched him behind the ears. “So he’s obviously a cat lover.”
  ‘You can bet that nose of yours on that. I check out all newcomers to the fullest. It’s advantageous to do that on most occasions.’
  “Percy, want to go spelunking with us in a little while?” asked Thanatos.
  ‘Hell, yeah! Sounds like a blast. Thanatos?’
  Thanatos sighed, with a subtle smile. “Percy, you can be a real ass sometimes, but go ahead and ask, so the other two can have a laugh.”
  ‘You know the way your eyes light up? Can you turn on the high beams, so we don’t need to wear those stupid helmets?’
  Stefan chuckled (as did I), and said, “We’re carrying torches.”
  ‘And if you have to use a rope to get somewhere?’
  “Percy, I can’t believe you asked that. You’re usually so sharp. We transfer,” I said.
  He looked at me, and the way he had his eyes narrowed, he looked like he was smiling. ‘I was having a blond moment, OK?’
  Thanatos pounced on the cat, and embraced him. “Percy did a set up, just so he could insult us.”
  ‘Oh, yeah! I don’t make mistakes like that, Vergil.’
  “I should have known, kitten,” I said.
  ‘I could lick your nose, sir.’
  “Yes, my liege. You can. I can also get even. I mean I did have to do a battle of wits with Macha for how many millennia?”
  ‘But it has been a while.’
  I stroked the bridge of Percy’s nose. “There’re some things you don’t forget.”
  “Like that you can’t win a battle of wits against Percy, unless you’re Deliah?!” said Thanatos, as he let go of the cat. “When shall we go caving?”
  Percy changed to human form. “Whenever you’re ready. And when Deliah and I spar in the wit department, we end in a draw. It’s like you; Thanatos, and Macha in hand to hand combat.”
  We went to the Light Side of the planet after Stefan finished his last of the book.

  *****

  Warren and Sylvia rested against each other, both with an arm around each other’s waist. “You’ve done so much that I’ve missed. Tech Duinn, The White City, the different Planes and Levels that correlate with the White City...” said Warren.
  “You can still visit all those places. You can ask for any guide you want.”
  “I'd like exploring different places. The different planets you went to?”
  “Oh, we still do that,” said Sylvia.
  “And what’s it like to stand at the summit of an erupting volcano, or face down two colliding stars, or riding a comet?”
  “Noisy and bright. Explosive. The best one to get a vicarious experience with is Thanatos.”
  Warren nodded once, as he closed his eyes. With a mischievous smile, he asked, “You trust me with someone like Thanatos?” 
 Sylvia put her head on Warren’s shoulder. “I sense more than a touch of sarcasm.”
  “Has he ever sent you over the edge without touching you?”
  “No. Not like how you’re thinking. I was intimate with Thanatos only once, and he’s really not for me. He only did the heavy duty non-contact Tantrics alone with Macha, Donn and Stefan, and that didn't happen very often. That was more of a 'Keith' thing. I did get to experience what he put them through vicariously, so I do know what it’s like. When me and Than made out it was in other, more familiar ways.”
  “Can you do an Astral merger with me later?”
  “Hm hm. What do you want to do now?”
  “Can you take me to the gardens of Tech Duinn?” asked Warren.
  “Sure can.”
  “Is the miniature golf course still there?”
  “Oh, yeah.”
  “Can we play that? No score keeping, of course?!”
  “Only way we do it!”

  *****

  We started out with torches, but we had to switch to the lighted helmets. It was not always easy travels. The ground was uneven, we had to fight our way through stalagmite and stalactite jungles, and after I fell on my face once with an "AAAAAAAACCCCKKKKKK!!!" I decided it would be better to have two hands available to help me navigate through the labyrinth. Everyone else thought the same, except Thanatos, being he could see as well in the dark as he could in the day. As for if anyone laughed when I took my nosedive...of course. Even Stefan, who did help me up!
  Oh, it was a trip. Little trickles of water, and small streams all over the place. We even found a pool of temperate water. Stefan did a depth test with a six-foot stick. It had a depth of about three feet. “We could sit in it,” said Stefan.  
  “If you do, I’m leaving you,” said Percy.
  “I don’t think I’ll ever tire of whirl pooling it,” said Stefan.
 Percy tilted his head, and scowled. “Do you have any idea how weird I think you guys are for that thing you used to do all the time, where you would deliberately freeze your butts off, and then undress in the halls of Tech Duinn oh so slow, to finally get relief in that sauna and spa?”
  “They do stuff like that in Scandinavia,” said Stefan. “We’re not the only ones who used to take delight in fluctuating between extremes.”
  “People are whacked,” said Percy.
  “And uncorrupted animals are practical to a fault,” said Stefan.
  “Define uncorrupted,” said Percy.
  “Undenaturised,” said Stefan. I’m not talking about your...our hybridisation. Animals are just persuaded to go against their innate behaviour by people. They become strange. Neurotic.”
  “While people tend to be naturally this way,” said Percy.
  “I’m inclined to agree with you,” said Stefan.
  “The Tuatha tend to be neurotic, as well,” said Thanatos.
  “As if you weren’t, at one time?” I asked Thanatos.
  “I never said that I wasn't.”
  “Oh, ye gods! We were all as neurotic as they come; only I never got over it. Let’s carry on,” said Stefan.
  Percy chuckled. “Ever think of joining ‘Neurotics Anonymous’, Stef?”
  Stefan looked at Percy. “I love you, kitten.”
  Percy gave Stefan a playful snarl.
  Stefan smiled at him. "You're scary when you do that in human form. I wonder if fur is gonna grow out of your face."
  Percy chuckled. "As if. To Quentin Collins, aye?"
  "Aye."

  *****
  Both Sylvia and Warren left a bit to be desired on the putting. Sylvia having had a little more practise time; was a little ahead of the game, but not by much. It just didn’t interest her, other than to pass some moments once in a while, so she never bothered to develop the skill of getting that little white dimpled ball in the hole.
  They ended up joking that maybe they should play the game with the reverse concept of the higher score winning, after a few pretty hilariously miserable putts that defied anything they thought possible. They played the course twice.
  When they walked toward the garden, they noted it was getting misty. “This is great. We’re getting fog.”
  Warren looked up at the sun. “About an hour to dusk.”
  “This will be wonderful. The garden will be at it’s best.”
  “Nice, how everything stays so static, here. Nothing ever grows over or dies.”
  “Convenient, to say the least. After the garden, want to make out standard in the whirlpool, then let us finish up with that Astral merger?”
  “Will you take me Causal soon?” asked Warren.
  “Let’s give that a little more time.”
  “Time doesn’t exist,” said Warren.
  “Forgive the old cliché, but not yet. Later. I promise you.”
  They walked to the garden in silence, and entered one of the gates. “Those torches are fantastic,” said Warren. The visibility was going down. “Can I have some tea under one of the gazebos?”
  “Hm hm. I like the Japanese one, the best.”
  “Let’s go there, then.”
  “To the right. See the Pagoda up ahead?”
  “Yeah. Cool,” said Warren.
  “After we get back home, let’s try to meet with the rest of the gang. I think I’ve been hoarding your company for long enough.”
  “I’d like that.”
  They soon got to the Japanese gazebo, and sat down. Warren materialised his own vanilla nut tea with success, and raised his cup to Sylvia. “To the first romantic evening I’ve ever had.”
  “It’s hard to fathom that you were only twenty one.”
  “When can I be incorporated with all my former lives?”
  “Warren?”
  “Yes?”
  “How’s about thinking of the here-now, in the here-now?”
  “Will you forgive me if I’m thinking about what’s next after this?”
  “Not at all. Shall we enjoy some time here on this dark, foggy night in the garden first?” asked Sylvia.
  “Please. This is a rare treat.” He had a sip of his tea.
  Sylvia pressed herself against him, and held him. He switched his teacup to his other hand, and returned her one-armed embrace. They traded a quick kiss, and their grip on each other grew a little tighter.
  Warren didn’t quite finish his tea, when he dematerialised his cup. They embraced completely, and in their passionate kiss, Warren sent, ‘Mmmmm. Let’s transfer to the spa.’
  ‘Oh, yeah.’
  They did. They landed in the scented water, and Warren had neglected to dematerialise his clothes in transfer. Both he and Sylvia ended up laughing pretty hard, and it took a little while for the proper mood to return.
 They did not do the Astral merger as they’d planned. Sometimes things just don’t work out right.

  *****

  After we finished our caving expedition, we found Warren still inaccessible. Gods, were those two ever going to be available, or was Sylvia going to keep him all for herself?

  *****

  “Can we look at the pictures one more time before we meet up with the others again?” asked Warren.
  “I don’t see anything wrong with that. After all, I do have a selfish streak and I do like having your exclusive company, you know?” asked Sylvia.
  “Indeed, I do.”
  This time, they would see the new paintings Stefan had put up.
  When Warren saw his portrait, he was about floored. He pointed at it. “How could he do that? He only saw me for a few moments.”
  “Actually, both of us were with you when you read the book, and we do have flawless memories, when we’re not zoned out.”
  “Nobody as EVER done anything like this for me. I mean, I...I just...this isn’t how life works.”
  “Warren, we have hundreds of portraits up of those who exist in this household, excepting Tonya, Ronin, you, and Andre, being he’s kind of new, but we paint each other. Whenever someone gets a new idea on what to do with someone, it goes down on canvass. We’ve been doing it forever, and if you watch, you’ll see how fast we are. Donn is the best. He just plots out his work in pencil, and throws the paint on at an incredible speed, knowing where to put everything without flaw.” 
 “I think I really want to see the others, now.”
  Sylvia closed her eyes. “Everyone’s all spread out. The core group will now meet with us. Let’s transfer to Vietnam.”
  “OK.” He took her hand.

  *****

  “About time,” said Thanatos. “Sylvia, I didn’t know if we were ever going to see you two again.” 
 Warren simply gave a wan smile and waved at us. Percy, who had taken the form of the sabre tooth cat again, walked up to Warren and pressed himself against his right leg. Warren kneeled beside the cat, and started petting him.
  Sylvia said, “Well, I did have to spend some time grooming our new poet.”
  “I trust you’re enjoying yourself here?” asked Thanatos.
  “Very much so,” said Warren. “On the other hand, I assume you already know this.”
  Thanatos was the first to sit on a mat, and the rest of us followed, except for Warren, who just sat where he was as he put his arm over Percy’s shoulders, and Sylvia, who sat beside Warren. Thanatos said, “Basically, yes. I also know that you feel like you haven’t fulfilled your purpose in life, which is true, but you can and will accomplish here what you came to Earth for. It’s just that according to your still sequential time perspective, it will take longer.”
  Warren scowled. “On paper, that doesn’t sound like much of a problem. But on the other hand...”
  I pointed at him. “You are in the exact same state of mind Kyle was in when she got herself hit by the train, as far as your ambivalent attitude goes regarding the situation.”
  “But I didn’t commit or try to commit suicide. I was taken,” said Warren, as he took Sylvia’s hand. “On the other hand, I’m glad I won’t be dragged back to Earth against my will, being now there’s more to exist for here, then there.” He looked at Sylvia.
  Sylvia moved closer to him, took her hand out of his, and put her arm around him. “Warren, you only have one problem with being here. You’re resentful of the fact that you couldn’t leave your mark on the music scene.”
  “I’m also perturbed by the fact that my mind is an open book to everyone, but I have no idea what anyone else is all about.”
  Thanatos made a motion where he raised his right hand, and brought it down in the direction of Warren. “That will change in due time.”
  Warren felt a wonderful electrical sensation corresponding to Thanatos’ move. He felt an energy surge going through every inch of him. It felt better than what Sylvia had done with him. Warren sighed and smiled, as he closed his eyes. He extended his hand toward Thanatos, who was way out of reach, and visualised himself returning something of himself. Warren felt a surge of something indescribable leaving him, and that felt pretty good, too.
  Thanatos said. “You catch on fast. I felt that, love. Thank you.”
  Warren looked up at Thanatos, then back at Sylvia. He felt equally attracted to both, though not quite in the same way, and this didn’t sit too well with him. He was uncomfortable being divided in his loyalties.
  Sylvia knew. ‘We are One,’ she sent to Warren. ‘There is only One Oversoul. We are all apart of it. Also remember that I’ve had Thanatos in the way you never will. It’s all right.’
  Warren put his head on her shoulder. “Thank you. Everybody. And thank you for that painting...Red Tail.”
  Stefan said, “Welcome.”
  Warren moved away from Sylvia to brush the side of his face against Percy. Percy immediately stretched, and sent, ‘Ooooh. Syyyyyylviaaaaaa! Can I borrow him for the night?’
  Warren immediately recoiled. “What the...”
  Thanatos laughed. “Ye gods, Percy. Be nice.”
  Well, that completely broke any tension or discomfort that existed on any level between us, and our newcomer!

  *****

  Thanatos took us to the old flat in The White City for the sake of Warren’s curiosity. We checked out the flat, but ended up finishing up our discussion on the rooftop.
  Warren and Percy were on the ground, and Sylvia sat on the bench behind, and beside Warren. Me, Thanatos and Stefan sat across from them, and I was lucky enough to get middle seating.
  Thanatos crossed his arms. “So Sylvia materialised a letter and a photo of your alleged new band that adopted you, and whisked you away to Austria.”
  “I was a bit upset at the idea of devastating my mate, Gary. We were pretty close. I didn’t want to hurt him.”
  “We record everything worthwhile that we do,” said Thanatos. “I don’t play much, but Macha, Kev and Sylvia are always working on something.”
  “I still play, but I mostly go off on my own, somewhere. If I come up with something absolutely brilliant, I’ll tell everyone, and we set something up,” I said. “I’ll play with you if you want a jam partner.”
  “We’re both guitarists, though,” said Warren.
  “My preferred instrument, but I can play a lot of things, including some pipes. If you ever need a recorder, flute, fiddle, harp, or oboe, I can accommodate you. I play other things too, but not as well.”
  Warren shrugged. “Maybe. Anything goes in prog-rock.”
  “Next we’ll have to talk to Kevalyn and Macha. Let them know they have a new career,” said Thanatos.
  “Can I ask a question?” asked Warren.
  “The answer is yes, to both your questions.”
  “I hate when you do that,” said Warren.
  “All right. Yes, every time when Donn writes another story it does get circulated on the Internet, and yes, everything you and the rest record here can be put on the Internet as well. Also, the chance of your message spreading will be about right up there with Donn’s stories. A blip on the screen!
  “You never would have made it that big, anyway. You’d have played the clubs, earned a little side cash, sold maybe a hundred or so CDs a year, and had your future messages go mostly ignored. You’re not enough of a whore to be a rock star,” said Thanatos.
  “I never considered being a rock star. I was hoping for maybe a cult following,” said Warren.
  Sylvia stroked Warren’s hair, and got Percy’s attention, in the process. “I suspect you might have even had a hard time with that. You were awfully straight laced, and I don’t think you were the type to cater to your fans to the degree they would have liked.”
  Percy looked up at Sylvia. ‘Hey! I’m the cat around here. What are you doing, petting him for?’
  Sylvia looked over me, Stef and Thanatos. “Will one of you be so kind as to come over here and give our demanding liege some more intimate attention?”
  Thanatos looked at Percy. “He can come over here.”
  Percy rolled over on his back, and stretched out as far as he could. ‘Oh, excuse me, but being the cat, you are here to serve me, and I’m not here to do all that work of actually getting on my feet, walking those few paces over to you, to get petted. You have to come over here, to experience that privilege.’
  Warren flattened himself, and kissed the cat on the side of the face. “That’s catitude for you.”
  Percy got up, and rubbed his head against Warren’s shoulder, after Warren sat down again.
  “But apparently Warren's worth getting on your feet for,” noted Thanatos.
  ‘Well, this here snoggin’ buddy of mine went to the floor for me. I really should show him some consideration in my return of his affection, shouldn’t I?’
  I scowled. “Weren’t you just competing with him for Sylvia’s petting rights?”
  ‘Yes. So what’s the issue?’
  “Never mind. I shouldn’t be arguing with someone who has five inch fangs, anyway.” I said.
  Percy stretched again, and yawned. ‘Wise decision, my love.’
  Warren wrapped himself around Percy. “I had a feeling cats were like this.”
  ‘Like what?!’ asked Percy.
  “As arrogant as they can back themselves up to be, with a sense of humour.”
  ‘Sounds about right,’ sent Percy, as he swished his tail twice.
  Thanatos looked at Stefan. “You’ve been quiet.”
  Stefan said, “I’m sorry, but I’m thinking very politically incorrect thoughts.”
  “Wondering if our new comrade is in the same boat with Baldr or Persephone? It’s OK. You have an interesting point,” said Thanatos.
  Stefan shrugged, and smiled. “I’m just thinking how strange this situation with Warren is. It’s exactly the opposite of what happened to me.”
  Warren looked at Stefan. “What do you mean?”
  Stefan said, “I wanted to die. I tried to commit suicide at a young age, yet I was forced to live. You basically wanted to live, but you were transferred here. A good way to put your state of mind, is to say it was like you really wanted to climb Mount Everest on your own, you got about a third of the way up, and someone grabbed you with a helicopter, and put you on the summit like that.”
  Warren looked at Stefan. He didn’t know what to say.
  “Yes, I analysed you,” said Stefan. “You and me have a few things in common, including a few of my past dreams. You remind me of an improved version of my former self, in some regards. If we’d known each other in life, I think I would have tried to take you on as a protégé.”
  “As Kyle?!”
  “Aye.”
  Thanatos said, “If you two had met in life, you would have destroyed each other.”
  Stefan just sat there for a moment. He then burst into tears. “I know that,” and he disappeared.
 










































  Chapter 4


  Warren sat up. “What happened?”
  Thanatos said, “Stefan’s going through a rather strange phase of reflection on something that could never be. He...it, rather is a bit smitten with you in a strange sort of way.”
  “A past with me?”
  “Hm hm. With him as Kyle, of course.” said Thanatos.
  “I liked Stefan as Kyle. Still do, really. What would it have been like?” asked Warren.
  “Probably worse than me and Teddy,” said Sylvia. “You wouldn’t have physically fought, but Kyle was a hard one to deal with. Kevalyn as Kevin was one of the handful of people who actually could stand to live with her, but Kevin knew how to deal with her.”
  “I remember Kyle wasn’t very nice to her husband, and her poetry doesn’t speak too highly of the human race. It’s real dismissive,” said Warren.
  “In Kyle’s own version of the Xanon Chronicles, she had her husband killed off before the first book even started.”
  “Can I read those?” asked Warren.
  Thanatos materialised two copies. He got up, and gave one to both Warren, and Sylvia. “I believe you’ll be wanting to go downstairs, with these.”
  Warren looked at the book, as he stroked Percy. “Heavy on the erotica, from what I recall.”
  “Kyle Shannon weren’t no Donn Ui’Midir,” said Thanatos. “That one got real graphic. I mean, me and Macha had quite a time with those stories before I knew who I was.”
  “I remember,” said Warren.
  “You two go read those, have your fun, and me and Donn will take care of Stefan.”
  ‘What about me?!’ asked Percy.
  “You can go with Donn and Thanatos,” said Sylvia.
  “Please,” said Warren.
  Oh, to see a big cat try to give someone a raspberry.

  *****

  Thanatos and me ended up rounding up Stefan and taking him to Tech Duinn. We went to the only warm room in the castle. The one of the whirlpool bath! Yes, we went temperature sensitive. Stef got middle seating. Thanatos kissed Stefan on the forehead. “You know how silly you’re being.”
  “Hm hm.”
  “You know that by having met him, you would have made his life a tempestuous hell,” said Thanatos.
  “But we might have written great songs together.”
  “You write great songs now, when you feel like it,” I said. “On those rare occasions when you write them, that is.”
  “I’ve written my best stuff in the throes of dysfunctional passion,” said Stefan.
  Both Thanatos and I laughed. “So did Sylvia,” said Thanatos. “You know something, Stef?”
  “What?!”
  “If you two had met in your last life, you’d both be in line for another incarnation.”
  Stefan nodded once. “I think you fixed me.”
  Not a good way for Stefan to have phrased that. It’s been a while since I’d laughed so hard.

  *****

  Warren placed the open book in his lap face down. “So right, yet so wrong.”
  “The personality profiles and confused identities of every one?” asked Sylvia.
  Warren laughed. “Donn as Thanatos, Thanatos as Rhynn, and their immediate seduction? Uh huh. Sure!” 
 Sylvia put her book on the end table. “Amazing how a set of stories written from one in so much pain, can be so funny.”
  “Amazing how I can think Kyle was so cool, but I’m so glad we never found out about each other. Can I say something obnoxious?”
  “How can someone with such innovative shagging techniques on mind have been so closed off in actual practise?”
  “Yeah. I mean, even Kevin was basically left in the lurch, right? Kyle never did any of the more interesting stuff she wrote about?” asked Warren
  “No, she didn’t. Sex wasn’t a priority in their lives. Kyle also remembered too much of Donn, and enough of Thanatos so that her loyalties to those two interfered with her ability to really connect with a person, even though she did have a damn good relationship with Kevin. But Kevin, or should I say Kevalyn now might as well be the exclusive property of Macha, as far as everyone, including Kevalyn is concerned. And for quite a while, as you note, Donn and Thanatos are Kyle-Stefan’s main company.”
  “Amazing how Kyle and Kevin found each other.”
  “It was divinely arranged. They were probably the only two on the planet who could stand to spend so long with each other. They had a mutual need of each other. You’ll find out every last detail, when you’re good and ready.”
  “Kyle was always the financial support.”
  “The control freak,” said Sylvia. “If I’d been in her position financially and shared her aversion to children, I think I would have made her look like Donna Reed, as the saying goes around here.”
  Warren laughed. “I had to look Donna up. She was way before my time.”
  “Actually, I should say Kyle was into being uncontrollable. She wasn’t a dictator. She didn’t even demand the loyalty of whoever was under her wing. That was my thing. When I was alive, I was as possessive and as jealous as Hell.”
  He kissed her on the cheek. “And you didn’t know what you wanted, either.”
  “I had my own problems with the concept of gender identity in my own way,” said Sylvia.
  “But you always were very feminine.”
  “It never occurred to me that you could do things like what Kyle did. I couldn’t begin to imagine a person like that could exist. Otherwise, I might have been more like her.”
  “I grow more and more curious.”
  “Let’s read some more.”
  Warren picked his book up. “OK.”

  *****

  I brought my forearm before me, and ran my nose over it. The whirlpool was now scented with jasmine oil, and it was still one of my favourite smells. “It’s nice to come back to this,” I said. “It’s interesting to be at the point where you can access all levels of four planes with no effort.”
  Stefan said, “Convenient, I'd say.”
  Thanatos said, “Very, considering it takes no more effort for me to keep you in places that you didn't belong anymore.”
  “Only in one direction, my dear,” said Stefan.
  “Indeed, but a blend on the Higher Planes is worth every little bit of what I have to put into it,” said Thanatos.
  Stefan put his head against Than’s shoulder. “And speaking of blending...”
  “Can we go all the way, in stages?” I asked.
  Stefan scowled, and looked at me. “All the way? Surely you’re not talking ground zero?”
  I wrinkled my nose. “Well, I suppose we could, but if we do, I don’t think I wanna write about that.” (We didn’t.)
  “Understandable,” said Thanatos.
  Thanatos took us to Nirvana again in the most delectable way possible.

  *****

  “This is so nice,” said Warren. “I think I would have preferred Kyle’s kind of a rescue. This would have given me a chance to see the whole world, first. I love to travel, explore new places, and I was hoping to see more before I died.”
  “You can still do that.”
  “But not from the perspective of a person, right? I mean, you guys never go to Earth, anymore.”
  “We can,” said Sylvia. “All our Lower Planer limitations are gone. We can go anywhere below the Low Mental on our own. We just don’t, because we don’t have to. We can learn everything about the place in the Akashic Library instantaneously, and we consider going down a waste of time, not to mention that by actually walking the Earth in the Physical, we might disrupt something. We don’t belong there. When the ones from the Higher Planes came to Earth, it caused problems in the past.”
  “Nephilim?”
  “Among other things.”
  “I don’t even know why I know that word,” said Warren. “I was just a blue collar English kid.”
  “You got it from our mind share. You don’t talk the way you used to, either.”
  “I notice. Sorta. It’s kinda cool, but kinda not, and that was how I used to talk. I don’t like always being given things. Existing without effort.”
  “There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that. You remember what happened between Donn and Thanatos in the prologue of the first book?” asked Silvia.
  “Those two were together forever, though. Then Donn tried out living like a mortal, then a Tuatha. That seems like dormant knowledge regained.”
  “Same with you. We are all from the same Source. Ultimately, there is no difference between us. How many times did you read that in Donn’s books?” 
 “I’m having a hard time digesting it. Also, I’m really tripping on some of this stuff Kyle/Stefan/Whatever, wrote.”
  “Kyle. A mortal disdainful of the world, and everything in it,” said Sylvia.
  This stuff is so beautiful, but so...I...it would be so cool to try some of this stuff, but I could never bring myself to ask.”
  “The two on one?”
  “Yeah.”
  “Want to experience it all vicariously now?” asked Sylvia.
  “I guess so.”
  “Preferably connected, from the overt state of your physiology.”
  Warren chuckled. “That’s a polite way of putting it. Of course the answer is yes. I can’t read this without it effecting me.” He put the book down. “Can you face away from me, this time?”
  “Hm hm.”
  “I’m glad you got over wanting a man taller than you. I think you’ve got a cenetimetre or two on me.” 
  “Well, I don’t need an expendable warrior to protect me from attack now, do I?”
  “That’s a pretty obnoxious psychology,” said Warren.
  Sylvia put her book on the end table again, stood up, and dematerialised her clothing. “So it is.”
  “You are so damn beautiful.” But, what if she was Del...no! He shouldn’t go there.
 “So are you.”
  Warren stood up, dematerialised his own clothing, and embraced her from behind. He kissed her on the shoulder. “This all right with you?”
  “Yes.”
  He stroked her hair, and scraped his teeth on her neck. “OK.”
  Again, the planned high metaphysical conclusion would be shelved.

  *****  

  After landing at home again, we found Tonya, Ronin, Andre and Deliah available, so we went to them. They had Percy with them, as well. Percy was in his new beloved form of the sabre toothed cat. Deliah had an entire couch to herself, with Percy resting his head in her lap. Her strokes were light, and went all over. Percy was really enjoying the session. It was rather comical, to see such a large, magnificent creature, with his eyes half closed, in feline rapture.
  “Hi”. I said, and we all sat down, Stefan choosing the floor beside Percy. 
 “When is Sylvia going to let us see Warren?” asked Deliah.
  Thanatos said, “They are reading the Kyle Shannon Xanon Chronicles.”
  Deliah laughed. “Shannon Xanon. Gods, that's bad. They? Together?”
  “Yeah,” said Thanatos.
  “If Sylvia compromised herself for Warren, I guess then it will be a while,” said Deliah. “Hmmmmm.”
  “She did, and it will,” said Thanatos
  “Thank you for sharing,” said Andre.
  Thanatos shrugged. “Any time.”
  Tonya and Ronin looked at each other, almost not quite laughing. “Gods! Your guys’ terminology!” said Ronin.
  Thanatos’ left eyebrow went up. “Some of the alternatives, like screwing each other’s brains out isn’t very polite, is it?”
  That did get us chuckling a little. “I suppose not,” said Ronin. “Please forgive me.”
  “No problem. So we don't say that. I see you two got a mental imprint of the map of this castle,” said Thanatos with a sardonic smile, as he motioned at Tonya and Ronin.
  “Oh, yes,” said Tonya. “This has got to be the most impressive thing in this realm of existence.”
  “It’s not, when looking at the basic facts,” said Thanatos. “It’s the same as everything else, on the atomic level.”
  "I'm talking sheer architectural wonder and creativity," said Tonya.
  "Even that's limited by what we're used to," said Thanatos. "There is far more intricate stuff out there. In fact, I think outer space is more interesting on the scale you're speaking of, but even that is made up of the same thing that makes up everything else."
  "You have a damn good point. I retract what I said," said Tonya.
  Percy gave a soft growl of appreciation, as he was now getting stroked in stereo, before conveying, ‘Gods! Can’t you guys remember Donn’s teachings on everything being equal?’
  “It’s the old Irish way,” I said. “It’s not my teaching. It’s Tuatha knowledge, and I can't help but agree with Thanatos. I have seen things personally that leave this in the dust, but I don't do alien art. Not yet anyway, though I reserve the right to change my mind if I ever feel like it.”
  ‘Well, you’re the only old Irish Tuatha in this room, oh ancient one,’ conveyed Percy.
  “Aye, ye wee shavelin’.”
  ‘As if,’ responded Percy.
  “Anyway, will you two accept our apologies for not having been around?” asked Thanatos of Tonya.
  “It’s fine,” said Tonya. “We have our guides, and we can’t wait to get back to exploring. I swear, if time were relevant, it would take a century to check this place out.”
  “At least,” said Thanatos. 
  “This place is like the holodeck of Star Trek, the new generation,” said Ronin.
  Thanatos said, “Then perhaps I should have said, one hundred five years, forty two days, sixteen hours, four minutes, and ten seconds, or something.”
  “That was Mr. Spock, of the original series,” said Tonya.
  Thanatos smiled. “Or Data, of the later series.”
  “I must confess, I didn’t watch that,” said Tonya. “I was hooked on the original.”
  “Cool. I was a rabid Trekkie for a while,” said Stefan. “Gene Roddenberry rocked.”
  “Yeah. I remember you wanted to become a Vulcan, when you grew up,” said Tonya. “Can we go up to the telescope tower?”
  “Sure can,” said Thanatos. “And after, would you like me to actually take you to other worlds?”
  “We’d love it,” said Ronin.
  “And maybe I can arrange to arrive back when Warren Colfax is finally available, though I would like Macha and Kevalyn to come out of their isolated state, so maybe we can talk music.”
  “What a concept,” said Deliah. “You’d think those two were Donn, Stefan and Thanatos.”
  “Hey!” objected Stefan.
  “Well, you’ve always preferred their company to mine, Your Nostrilness. And as for how you acted with me, your cat is a better snoggin’ buddy than you are,” said Deliah.
  Stefan smiled. “It’s no secret that I do have my priorities.”
  ‘Uh...excuse me, but I am nobody’s cat. I am a sovereign being who actually seems to have everyone else’s devoted servitude, as you can now well see,’ sent Percy.
  “True. The tower?” asked Deliah.
  “OK,” said Thanatos, as he transferred everyone, including Percy. Percy would take on his human form, for a while.  
  Percy would also go visit the foreign worlds.

  *****

  Warren closed up the now completed book. Sylvia had finished a little bit ahead of him. “The writing style wasn’t as good as Donn’s not that Donn’s the world greatest writer, but the stories were a beautiful concept. Interesting, but Donn’s, or should I say Thanatos’ or Vergil’s, or whatever’s family grew by way of adoption just like this one.”
  “We’re having enough problems with the awkwardness of Kyle and Kevin changing their identity and gender. Let’s pretend Kyle got the name right, and use ‘Donn’, for that story. Kyle had a lot of insights on the future. She was shown part of her Akashic Records, and she was pretty sensitive, though not on her terms.”
  “Stephanie. Is it really that hard to tell the difference when Stefan takes on a female form?”
  “She almost has to take her clothes off. There’s a real subtle change to the voice, but even as Stephanie, she looks like a gymnast or something. Defined, and on the scrawny side. Very narrow hips, not much in breasts, and with the outfit ‘it’ always wears, you can’t tell at all.”
  “Stef is a good looking guy, but I don’t know if I’d like that in feminine. That nose...”
  Sylvia laughed. “You get used to it.”
  “Can I ask a personal question?”
  “Physical style? They were technically good. All of them! On the other hand, the attitude was clinical toward me. It was devoid of passion. Ritualised in the worst way. Do the job, and get it over with. That’s not what I needed, not that my own innate desires were very high. I was just curious to see what it was like to make love to something that beautiful, when talking about Donn, Thanatos, and Stef. Deliah and Kev were more into it and a little wilder, but I prefer men.”
  “And the way you make out now?”
  “Astral and Causal? Everyone is wonderful. It’s way more beautiful, and feels so much better than what we just did, which is really kind of silly in all retrospect.”
  “When will we finally get around to that?” asked Warren with a tone of ambivalence.
 “We could do it now, but I sense you really don’t want to.”
  Warren chuckled. “You know I am curious, but I have to admit you’re right. I’m sure you can understand why, though.”
  “Oh, yeah. There's things on your plate that are ahead of your desire to experience what's currently beyond your understanding.”
  “True. Do you have any idea how much it’s bothering me that I haven’t picked up my guitar in so long?”
  “Then let’s go to the music studio. I’d love to hear you play. Your own material, of course! Then maybe after you get everything else out of your system, we can go to where you haven't gone.”
  Warren ran his right index finger down Sylvia's nose. "Thanks, love."
  They’d run into Kevalyn and Macha.

  *****

  Warren and Sylvia met Macha and Kevalyn in the hall. Warren and Sylvia were walking toward the studio, and Macha and Kev were walking away from it, though the women had been kicked back in ‘Abyssinia’, and not working on a project, so it was just a coincidental meeting.
  “Macha! Kev! Aren’t you going in the wrong direction?” asked Sylvia.
  “Oh, I suppose if our new guitar player is going to jam,” said Kevalyn.
  “I am,” said Warren. “If you join us, I’d also like to listen to you.”
  “That can be arranged,” said Macha.
  “I’ve read so much about it, and I’ve never hear Tuatha music.”
  “It’s absolutely beautiful,” said Sylvia.
  “Then, let’s go,” said Warren.
  Macha and Kevalyn turned to walk with Warren and Sylvia. Sylvia said, “I materialised a photo of a fake rock band with you two, Warren, and Donn, to leave behind with Warren’s former Earthly working partner. Are you guys game in doing this for real?”
  “Sure,” said Macha. “Of course I checked you out, Warren. We can work.”
  Warren closed his eyes, and shook his head, wondering if he’d ever get used to being scanned. He looked at Macha. “All right.” 
  “You start,” said Macha. “You’re Fender is out on a stand, waiting for you.”
  “Thanks.”
  They walked into the studio, and Warren strapped on his Jaguar. He was marginally amused at the fact it was his guitar from home.
  He was good. Damn good.
  “That’s wonderful,” said Macha. “I like your innovative style. You self-trained guitarists seem to be the most creative.”
  “The lessons deal with music theory, and somebody else’s work,” said Kevalyn. “It stifles creativity.”
  “So you noticed,” said Warren. “Lessons were a stupid waste of money. I couldn’t deal with them. All you need is a guitar and chord charts.”
  “We have an identical philosophy in that,” said Kevalyn.
  “Cool,” said Warren. “Now can we listen to you and Macha play?”
  Warren was rapt, and loved the prehistoric Irish music. The Otherworld style hypnotised him. He pretty much went into altered states. He’d never known such peace of mind.

  *****

  Tonya and Ronin were blown away by our interstellar trip. They could have done it themselves, but they’d never gotten around to it. It was one of those things that were nice in theory, but things just kept getting in the way.  
  They went through various types of stars, from red giants to white dwarfs, and actually entered a black hole, and a white hole. Of course, by now they knew of the concept of being on site for a collision of stars, riding the comet, and all that. Ronin and Tonya just had to experience that from personal perspective, and Thanatos was only too happy to accommodate them. Even the originally doubtful Percy had a blast.
  Tonya and Ronin also knew of the incident with the volcano, and Thanatos informed them that if they wanted to see an eruption from the summit, they were on their own. That was fine with them, though Andre would be joining them. The bonding during this little excursion brought Tonya and Ronin fully into the fold.

  *****

  “I have never heard anything so beautiful in my life,” said Warren, after Macha and Kevalyn finished their first set. "I feel like I took some kind of drug."
  Kev had been on her Gibson SG, and Macha was on a synthesiser keyboard, pretending to be several different instruments. “Well, it’s better than ‘Sugar Sugar,” said Kevalyn.
  “I’m not sure I ever heard that,” said Warren.
  “Do yourself a favour, and keep it that way,” said Kevalyn.
  Warren chuckled. “Now you’ve got me curious.”
  “Let’s say you would have rather faced a firing squad, than admit to those lyrics.”
  “Now I’m dying to see them,” said Warren.
  Kevalyn held up her forefinger. “Let me get them.”
  Kevalyn disappeared for a few seconds, and came back with a piece of paper in hand. She gave it to Warren, who read it. To see the expression of disbelief on his face was enough to send anyone rolling on the floor with laughter! “This was actually on the radio?” he asked.
  “Not only that, but it was a hit,” said Kevalyn.
  Warren scowled. “Not only would I have faced a firing squad, but I think I might have rather been burned at the stake than put something like this boulderdash out...” He suddenly became aware of what he’d said. He looked at Sylvia. “Sylvia. I never talked like that. Who am I? Me, or you?”
  She smiled. “Mostly you’re yourself. Mostly. We’ve shared our minds, though. All the stuff I taught you, so you can exist here? That, and a little more.”
  He swooned a little. “I think I’m a bit lightheaded.”
  “And I learned a few more guitar chords from you, though I rarely play. I just write most of the lyrics for our projects.” She put her arm around him, and steadied him. She kissed him on the temple. “But you already know that.”
  Macha said, “Warren, you’ll get used to this in no time.”
  A cock-eyed smile crossed Warren’s face. “Adjusting to a new reality’s not as easy as I’d have thought. Now, as soon as I get my bearings, can I try to add some rhythm guitar to one of your Tuatha pieces? I’ve got some ideas.”
  “Please,” said Macha.
  “I think I better play the next one sitting down, though.”
  “No problem,” said Macha. “I see you want to hear more from us, for right now.”
  “Yes.”
  Warren got his wish.

  *****

  After our interstellar travel crew landed in the castle again, we just sat around a large table. Thanatos was aware that Warren was occupied, as usual, though in a more constructive fashion. Everything was going well with his integration. “It’s interesting, what we’ve been able to do, and what we just don’t do, because we don’t think of it,” said Ronin.
  “Don’t feel bad. How long have I been around, and I only get around to doing it now, and it’s not even my idea?” asked Thanatos.
  “Yeah, you have to be certifiably insane, to come up with some of these adventures we've been on,” said Stefan.
  Stefan was, of course the one to come up with the most outrageous ideas. “If you’re expecting an argument from me, you’re not going to get one,” said Thanatos.
  Than's statement was amusing, but not amusing enough for anyone to react. “Understandable,” said Stefan. He looked at Ronin. “And now I may be motivated enough to immerse mine self in the study of Japanese culture, the slow way?”
  “And if you can control yourself enough not to utter the word, ‘Nipponese’, I may even help you,” said Ronin.
  That one got a few laughs. “I’d never say that in front of you,” said Stefan.
  “Only behind me,” said Ronin.
  “If you’re out of hearing range, of course,” said Stefan.
  “You’ve been hangin’ around Percy and Deliah too long, babe,” I said to Stefan.
  ‘Mmmmm. Thank you,’ we got from Percy. 
  “Yes, I’ll have to agree,” said Deliah. “Thank you very much, though I have been relatively good, lately.”
  “Relatively,” said Thanatos. “Though with our lovely newcomers, I anticipate that to change.”
  “Oh, yeah,” agreed Deliah, as she winked at Ronin.
  Not that anyone would mind.

  *****

  In the middle of a tune Warren was participating in, he suddenly yelled, “Stop! I gotta stop! Paper! Pencil! I’m sorry, I gotta stop!”
  Needless to say, the three ladies were more than a little stunned.
  Warren unstrapped his guitar, put it on the stand, and walked to a clear spot on the floor, and just sat down. He materialised a sheet of paper and pencil. He quickly wrote down four lines, then stared at it for a few moments. He then wrote down two more.  
  Everyone was dead quiet, and didn’t ask him anything. He was on the ground for what may have amounted to about forty minutes if time were real. He then picked up his guitar, and picked a few notes, then did the corresponding chords. It was real simple, but it sounded damn good. Rock music simplicity with old world melody!
  He materialised a music stand in front of himself, put the paper on it, and we found he had a pretty good voice.
  “I’m calling it ‘Escape’,” said Warren.
 
 “How much longer can you run boy,
 Galloping under starry skies?
 The forest’s gonna end real soon;
 ‘Cross the plains, for the mountains’s highs!
 ‘Neath the cover of night, we go;
 Can’t stop now, gotta get away.
 We don’t need what we left behind,
 We run to face another day.
 
 I’ve gotta get out, gotta break free,
 Escape the chains of society.
 I don’t wanna pay the price for you,
 I’ve gotta do, what I’ve gotta do.
 I can’t stay in this prison here,
 And I can’t stand your unfounded fear.
 You want me to just follow the rules,
 And carry on like the other fools.
 Well, I don’t think I wanna play the game.
 
 We’ll stop at the next stream we see.
 It’s safe for us, to slow for now.
 Don’t need my best friend’s heart to burst
 For the midden I’ve disavowed.
 If choice is given, I declare,
 I’ll keep my freedom o’er the fair
 Of what’s keeping them all entrapped,
 Which is their own minds; so impaired.
 
 I’ve gotta get out, gotta break free,
 Escape the chains of society.
 I don’t wanna pay the price for you,
 I’ve gotta do, what I’ve gotta do.
 I can’t stay in this prison here,
 And I can’t stand your unfounded fear.
 You want me to just follow the rules,
 And carry on like the other fools.
 Well, I don’t think I wanna play the game.
 
 I dismount on the forest trail,
 To give my horse a needed rest!
 This defiant brat’s liegeless now,
 Since my stallion has done his best.
 Dare we fall asleep? I wonder
 If we have lost our trackers yet?
 I guess not, as I fall to ground,
 For the arrow’s point, I’ve just met.”
 
 That ending hit Sylvia hard. Real hard! “Oh, gods,” she said in a cracked voice.
  She just faded out.
  Warren looked at the place where she was. “It’s only a song.”
  Macha shook her head. “No. That was way more than just a song.”
 
 
 
  Chapter 5


  Warren looked at Macha. “How do I find her? How do I follow her? I didn’t mean this!”
  Macha took him by the hands, and transferred what knowledge he needed, to him. Before she let him go, she embraced him. “It’ll be OK, love. You’re triggering things here, but it’s fine. Necessary, even! Some of us just have a few more things to work out within ourselves. You’re being here is helping to enable our final evolution to progress a little faster in some respects, though it might not seem so at first glance. Go.”
  He smiled at her. “Thanks.”
  He disappeared.
  Kevalyn looked at the written lyrics. “Damn, that’s good. Reminds me of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. This tune is better, though.”
  “More fitting for this crowd,” said Macha.
  “Hm hm. What I feel for Warren is kind of strange. Love, but something different, that I’m not familiar with.”
  “I feel for him pretty much what I felt for Donn, sans the lust. Also, what I feel for Percy. You know what I mean?” asked Macha
  “Something soft...protective...unconditional.”
  “He seems to inspire that. Also, if anyone threatened him, they would face the wrath of the Morrighan in her full glory, power, and sadism.”
  Kevalyn said, “Aren’t we supposed to be evolving out of that mind-frame?”
  Macha asked, “What would you do, fair lady, if anyone threatened him?”
  “Materialise a claymore and cut his or her head off.”
  “Your case?”
  Kevalyn chuckled. “Never mind, huh?”

  *****

 “Sylvia?”
  “Warren, you kill me, sometimes. That ending shocked the living daylights out of me.” She had herself under control. She was seated on the couch in the main living room.
  “It’s just a set of lyrics I wrote. I’m kind of, sort of vaguely dead already. It can’t happen.”
  “Gods! Between you and Stefan.”
  “You think my song was Stefanesque?”
  “Very,” she said.
  He stood before her, and gently ran his hands through her hair. “Next time, I’ll warn you.”
  She pulled him into her lap, though he’d be facing her. “There won’t be a next time. I see what you’re capable of, and I won’t take the next incident like I took this one.”
  “Shouldn’t you be sitting in my lap?”
  “It happens,” she said, as she embraced him. “But I’m bigger than you.”
  He leaned into her. “Little taller. On Earth I had perhaps a stone on you, give or take.”
  “You know, we never did that Astral to Causal merger.”
  “No, we didn’t. We keep getting distracted.”
  “Shall we do it now?”
  Warren leaned into her. “No sex might be a good idea.”
  “Definitely. You may never want to have it again, after this.”
  He turned his head, and looked at her. “It feels good. Why give it up, just because there’s something better?”
  “Trust me. The desire fades. The main thing that motivated me to my regression was a combination of curiosity and your good looks, I'm sorry to say. Well, not that I would have had anything to do with you if you were half the ass my husband was, but you get my drift.”
  "Didn't my wanting you have something to do with it, too? I mean, our mind shares?"
  "I can't say that didn't help."
  Warren nodded. “Indeed. How do we do this, now?”
  "Just relax, and I'll take over. I'll switch us both."
  “I guess I’m ready,” said Warren.
  “Yes, you are.”
  She embraced Warren, and she forced him and herself into the Astral higher state. Eventually they went Causal, and when Warren came back, he wouldn't be the same. 

  *****

  Me, Thanatos, Stefan, Deliah, Ronin, Andre, Tonya and Percy were still together in our little orientation meeting.
  “How about an ice show?” asked Deliah of me.
  “I wouldn’t mind,” I said. “But should we wait for Warren?”
  “You could put on another one,” said Deliah. “I love watching you skate.”
  “I’ve been curious about that myself,” said Tonya.
  “Sure,” I said. “Stefan, do we do a couple of those sets where we mirror each other?”
  “I’m game.”
  “Are you skating?” asked Andre of Thanatos.
  “No. For me, it was a passing fancy. Donn and Stef really like to skate, and I’d rather be an observer in, in this case.”
  “Shall we be off? Everyone seems completely acclimated to their new home,” said Stefan.
  “Everyone here, anyway,” said Thanatos. “Warren will get the hang of this place, soon enough.”
  “Transfer time?” I asked.
  “I’ll take us,” said Thanatos, and in a second, we were on the edge of the rink.
  Stef dematerialised his cloak, and both of us switched our boots for skates. “Astronomy, first?” I asked. 
 “Sure. All Blue Oyster Cult and Led Zeppelin?” Stefan asked?
  “How about one Rush tune? Between Sun and Moon?”
  “Oh, yeah,” said Stefan.
  We both went on the ice, and faced each other. We had spent the equivalent of countless hours getting this perfectly choreographed, and we would be perfectly synchronised, though there would be no triple axels or aerials. Stefan still never mastered those. The desire just wasn’t there.
  Astronomy, Dancin’ in the Ruins, White Flags, Kashmir, Battle of Evermore, Immigrant Song, and Between Sun and Moon, it was. Then Stefan left me to perform alone.
  I went all out.
  I skated to strictly Tuatha music. I showed off my grace and athletic ability to its fullest, to what really was the most haunting music I ever heard in my life. Yes, I was a hit. My audience wouldn’t let me go too soon, and being that I hadn’t skated in so long, I didn’t really mind at all.  

  *****

  Sylvia ended up taking Warren to Tir na nOg, after they got back to the High Etheric. They both lay in the grass under a willow, overlooking a stream. “After that, I feel kind of bad having taken any mortal lovers,” said Warren.
  “I don’t,” said Sylvia. “It was the thing to do for the time. I just feel bad that I chose Ted Hughes as a husband.”
  “I had a Scottish almost girlfriend. I really respect her, and I have to admit I still have feelings for her, but we never met face to face. We were planning on it, but it was just so hard. I was in Darlington, and she was in Aberdeen. That was almost five hundred kilometres between us. She looks a little bit like Deliah.”  
  Sylvia stroked his hair. “Little bit. Write her a poem. The way things are going, maybe we can invite her here later, though we should probably wait until she dies a natural death?”
  “How can you talk like that, after what we just did?”
  “Get rid of your stupid hang-ups ingrained by your too conventional upbringing. You know damn well, we don’t think like that here. Look at Stefan and his two loves. Not to mention, you did do a bit of two timing on Earth.”
  “Once. I regretted doing that. I destroyed a good relationship. Donn and Thanatos were together forever, though. Kyle was...well, that was different.”
  Sylvia got closer to him. “Kyle fell in love with Donn, thought Donn was Thanatos, got it straight later, but kept them both in her heart, and both welcomed her in their own way. It worked. No jealousy, no possessiveness, no conflict, and I don’t own you, Warren. Nobody does. You are your own, though a single part of Chaos, as we all are.”
  “I can’t help it, but I’m feeling a bit off. I’m wishing I’d lived life differently.”
  Sylvia sat up. “Why don’t you write your Scottish girlfriend a song? When you record it, you can drop a copy of it off at her place postmarked Austria again, and I’m sure she’ll recognise herself.”
  Warren turned his head to her, and scowled. “She was an internet friend. A dream basically, but you’re serious?!”
  She smiled. “Dead serious. Now, would you like me to go away for a while?”
  “Please don’t leave me here alone. I don’t know this place. I don’t belong here. I don’t even have the right accent yet.”
  Sylvia laughed pretty hard. “Warren, you are something else. Are you sure you haven’t had a total mental merger with Stefan? I mean, your humour...”
  “Not that I know of,” said Warren.
  “Now that’s a good answer if I ever heard one.” She materialised a clip-board with a piece of paper, and a pen. “Here.”
  Warren sat up. “I almost can’t believe this is happening.” 
 “Then we’re both experiencing quite a hallucination. Go write your Karen a song.”
  He took the clipboard, and the pen, after retying his left shoe. He wore Onitsuka Tiger running shoes.
  This is what came out, for his lyrics:

  Will A Time Come?
 
 I look at you, and dream of the day
 I can tell you what I feel for you.
 You’ve confused me so much with your ways,
 I’m not sure I’ll ever have a clue.
 Will a time come I can hold you close?
 Will a time come you’ll be at my side.
 Will my dreams e’er materialise?
 Will a day come when I will confide
 The love that I feel for you!
 
 When I first laid my eyes on you.
 I thought you were from the World of Fay.
 You are a vision not of this realm.
 Would you e’en consider me, or nae?
 Your words and wit have claimed me as much
 As any could that I’ve heard.
 I wonder what you are really like.
 What agony in my soul, you’ve stirred.
 
 I look at you, and dream of the day
 I can tell you what I feel for you.
 You’ve confused me so much with your ways,
 I’m not sure I’ll ever have a clue.
 Will a time come I can hold you close?
 Will a time come you’ll be at my side.
 Will my dreams e’er materialise?
 Will a day come when I will confide
 The love that I feel for you!
 
 How many more tears now must I shed
 O’er my longing and uncertainty
 For my desired companionship
 With you?! Will you be just phantasy,
 To torment me until my demise,
 Or do you think you could walk with me
 Through what is left of out life and time?
 Will you ever share my company?
 
 I look at you, and dream of the day
 I can tell you what I feel for you.
 You’ve confused me so much with your ways,
 I’m not sure I’ll ever have a clue.
 Will a time come I can hold you close?
 Will a time come you’ll be at my side.
 Will my dreams e’er materialise?
 Will a day come when I will confide
 The love that I feel for you!
 
 Warren materialised an acoustic guitar, and played a loose rendition of what he had in mind, for it. Sylvia was very much impressed. “You astound me.”
  “Even though I seem to be copying Stefan’s style, and perhaps borrowing a phrase or two, here and there?”
  “When someone’s written a few hundred poems on the same topic you’re writing about, I suppose that can’t be helped from time to time. This song does seem to be at least ninety seven percent original.”
  “Thanks,” said Warren, as he dematerialised the guitar.
  “The music’s totally innovative. A weird blend of ancient and modern.” 
  “Thanks. I did call myself a progressive rocker. If only me and Gary could have found someone reliable to play drums, we might have had a CD or two made already.”
  “Kyle and Kevin had one out. It never sold one copy. Kevin also had a few out as a solo artist. Same story.”
  Warren shrugged. “Not that it matters anymore, huh?”
  “Nope. Never did. Also, whether it worked or not, it’s all in the Akashic Library.”
  “I get that it doesn’t matter if it works or not.”
  “As long as you do your best.”
  Warren raised his hand to her. “I tried.”
  Sylvia put her arm on him. “I know.”
  He gently pulled her closer to himself. “I’ve got to write you a poem or a song.”
  She kissed him on the forehead. “You already did.”
  Warren closed his eyes. “Not intense enough. It doesn’t do you justice.”
  “Let me write you one, first. I think it might be fun for you and me to do an epic conversation, like what Donn, Stef and Than did. Let me reply to your last one to me, first.” She moved her hand across his chest very delicately. His light cotton work shirt might as well not have been there.
  Warren exhaled through his teeth. They both lay in the grass, and he slowly put his left leg over both of Sylvia’s.
  Sylvia caressed his hair. “Hmmmm. Nice.” She started to fade out, heading back to retake her Astral form.
  “AAAAAAAIIIIIIIIYYYYYYYYY!”
  She took him with her.

  *****

  After the performance I put on, everyone came on the ice to me.
  “That was an awesome show,” said Tonya.
  "Always," said Stefan.
  “If I didn’t know better, I’d be inclined to ask if you studied to be a Ninja,” said Ronin.
  “I only studied what Macha force-fed me in my younger days,” I said. “I hate fighting.”
  “Tell me about it,” said Thanatos.
  “Says the only warrior who can match Macha,” said Deliah.
  “For all the good it does,” said Thanatos. 
 “You did rescue me from the Formorians, love,” said Macha.
  “I made your battle easier,” said Thanatos. “You beat them on your own. I just had to make you do it again to make you see that you did everything you had to do to get to where you were going, and that feeling guilty over it was pointless.”
  “OK, then you rescued me from myself.”
  “Your welcome,” said Thanatos.
  Macha chuckled. ‘Gods, I still love you as much as ever,’ she sent nonverbally to Thanatos alone.
  He smiled at her. ‘And I thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I love you too, and without any further regrets.’
  ‘Shall we volunteer to do a show in the ring, now? Give Donn a break before he goes out with Hesper?’
  ‘Good idea,’ sent Thanatos. He raised his hand. “You guys. While we’re all on getting entertained, shall me and Macha stage a sword dance next?”
  “Please?” said Tonya.
  “Oh, I have been dying to see that,” said Ronin.
  “I haven’t seen it yet myself,” said Andre.
  “There’s no reason to do it any more, not that there really ever has been,” said Thanatos.
  Macha looked at him. “There was when you had different priorities, Keith.” 
 Thanatos narrowed his eyes. “I suppose that’s one thing I can’t deny. Not after the love of my existence plastered it in his journals to be viewed by anyone who cares.”
  Macha smiled. “Damn fruits.”
  Stefan scowled. "Come on! He's not that particular, and you know it!"
  Thanatos chuckled. “Yeah, right. As if gender is even relevant in the scheme of things.”
  I just shrugged. By now I had no idea of what to call myself.
  “You both will be in combat dress, right?” asked Deliah of Thanatos.
  Thanatos cocked his head. “You’re just dying to see me in a loincloth, huh?”
  “Oh, yeah,” said Deliah. “Actually, I think there’s someone else I’d like to see in a loincloth, too. Oh, for one more devolutionary six or seven hours in time.”
  “Hmmmmmmm. Ye gods, what is Warren doing to everyone?!" Thanatos scowled. "As if our new dedicated poet/musician is the type. I advise you treat Warren with some delicacy. He’s rather innately refined, genteel and self-subdued, though you’d have a hard time getting him to see this in himself due to his working class background. He also idealises loyalty and honour. If you try to dissuade him from Sylvia, you’d better make sure you can do it in such a way where he can face himself after you’re done with him.”
  Deliah looked positively sphinx-like. “I know just how to deal with him, babe.”
  “Aye, no one can stand against you. Not even the grandson of The Source, as you've proven to me.”
  “And don’t you forget it,” said Deliah with a wink.
  “I am so glad, Warren’s not here to hear you talking like this,” said Macha to Deliah. “You’re at least as bad as I was. Maybe worse.”
  “Probably worse,” said Deliah.
  “It helps to be perhaps the most beautiful woman that ever existed to get away with it, huh?” asked Macha.
  Deliah shrugged. “I doubt I deserve that honour, but thank you. As far as seducing who I want, it’s definitely been an asset to look like I do.”
  Thanatos crossed his arms. “Deliah, you got me in bed the first time with your words. Remember that little argument we had regarding aversion and detachment?”
  “Like yesterday.”
  “You manipulated me like a piece of clay, you little...” he hesitated.
  “Bitch queen?” asked Deliah, filling in the blank.
  Thanatos chuckled. “Sure.”
  Deliah blew him a kiss. “That is one compliment I would endeavour hard to repay, if only you were genuinely interested, and didn’t just play the part of a high grade vibrator.”
  Thanatos blew her a kiss back. “Take it out on Warren.”
  “So, you bless our future union?”
  “I know Chaos Itself couldn’t stop it,” said Thanatos
  Andre said, “Listening to this is almost as much fun as having watched the ice show.”
  “Oh, isn’t it, though,” said Ronin.
  “These conversations happen all the time, though usually on other topics.” I said.
  “I must also add, I don’t want him just because he looks like he does. I know damn well that he’s a total sweetheart,” said Deliah.
  “We know that! We are very selective on who is adopted into our contrived family,” said Thanatos.
  “And I am eternally grateful to be apart of it, Great White,” said Deliah.
  “Aren’t we all?” asked Stefan.
  “Totally,” said Andre.
  “Now, let’s get to some solid ground, where there’s a lot of floor space,” said Thanatos.
  “Yes, let’s,” said Macha.

  *****

  Warren and Sylvia sat over a table across from each other, and both had pens in hand, and paper in front of them. Warren had a cup of tea and a half eaten scone in front of him as well, as he wrote a single line. He verified the symbolic count twice, to make sure the metre was correct. “This is OK, but it just doesn’t have the depth and passion I want.”
  “Shhhhh. Neither does mine.”

  *****

  Macha and Thanatos squared off with claymores. Both also had boot knives, and dirks in their belts. Thanatos wore his girded loincloth, boots, gauntlet, and sword harness. Macha wore a short sleeveless tunic, boots, gauntlet and sword harness. Both showed exquisite grace, and I think they changed their minds about doing just a sword dance.
  They really went at it. Speed, agility, power, acrobatic wonder, and enough grace to make Percy seem akin to the zombies of ‘Night of the Living Dead’.
 The fighting technique was mixed. There were a few Asian martial arts moves, and that really got Ronin’s attention. He was rapt. He was also trying to learn something, but they were just so fast, he couldn’t get anything from the exhibit.
  Once, Macha swung her sword so hard, she unarmed both Thanatos, and herself. Both claymores flew, and both parties dived to retrieve their swords. Both grabbed their respective weapons, rolled, and got to their feet with an incredible display of the ultimate physical prowess. Neither had an advantage. 
 The battle went on for quite a while, then they both backed off and stood there looking at each other. An amused smile crossed Thanatos’ face.
  Macha dematerialised her sword. Thanatos did the same with his. He bowed to her, only to be hoisted off the floor by Macha, and slung over her shoulders. “Hey! I didn’t lose! What the Hell?” he asked.
  Macha faced us. “Mine!” and they both disappeared.”
  We all looked each other over. “But I thought...” started Ronin.
  “So did I,” I said. “Don’t ask.”

  *****

  Macha put Thanatos down. “Gods, that ought to get them talking.” They were in the room dedicated to Denmark.
  Thanatos laughed. “Aye, but what’s this going to do for my reputation?”
  “We’ll tell them it was a joke, later. Just guerrilla theatre.”
  “Please. But while we’ve got them wondering, what do we do now?”
  “Shall we waste our time on a chess board, knowing full damn well it will end in a draw?” asked Macha
  “Gods, we haven’t played chess in ages. Sure.”

  *****

  Sylvia finished her last line, and looked up at Warren. He’d already finished his piece, and was simply staring at her. “You’re done?” he asked.
  “Hm hm. I’ve done better, but this was kind of done under duress,” said Syvia. “It seemed like a school assignment, because of this mutual desire to emulate Stef, Donn and Thanatos.”
  “I almost wish I hadn’t seen their poetry. It’s influenced me so much, I don’t know what I’d be writing if I hadn’t been exposed to it. After you reading me over a hundred fifty of their verses, I can’t help but write like them. I’ve never heard or seen such a numerous collection of anybody’s poetry, all at once. And though I do read poetry, usually six or seven at a time has been enough for me.”
  “I obviously didn’t come out of it being unscathed by their style. So, who goes first?” 
  “You.”
 
 “I look at you, and curse the times that were.
 I could have dwelt on beauty, 'stead of pain,
 If you could have existed in my time.
 Still, better late than never's, the refrain
 
 I'll hear from the three who seduced me here.
 Your touch takes me into a paradise
 That has once completely eluded me.
 The best parts of my past could not suffice
 
 For any of what you've returned to me.
 In ways, you're a mirror of what I was,
 In others, you're the complete opposite.
 I hope you don't mind my position does
 
 Let me know what you are inside and out,
 Yet this holds back not my fascination
 For what you are, and one day will become.
 You certainly provide inspiration
 
 For me to continue with my art
 Of choice.”
 
 “That is so sweet,” said Warren. “What I wrote is so middle of the road, but I just couldn’t come up with anything better under the circumstances.”
  Sylvia said, “From now on, we only write when we are truly inspired.”
  “That’s probably a good idea. I haven’t written you anything as moving as my song lyrics to Karen, and I don’t feel too good about that.”
  “It’s OK, love. Old yearnings are sometimes more inspirational than anything. Especially when accompanied by new beguilements that remind you of the old.”
  “Sylvia, if you are talking about what I think you’re talking about, I’m working on resolving this within myself.”
  “Warren, you are attracted to Deliah. You will be fighting yourself, and making you and everybody completely miserable if you don’t admit this to yourself. Also, I’ve had her once, myself.”
  “Out of curiosity?!”
  “Of course. Even I have to admit she is very beautiful, and though I’ve never been compelled to repeat the experience, she was a pleasure to be with.”
  Warren looked at his own poem to Sylvia. “This is one hell of a time to be telling me this.”
  Sylvia reached for the poem. “Let’s see this.” She read it aloud.
 
 “What greater love, than the sharing of minds?
 Thought for thought, and truth for truth to be ours!
 No lies; no illusions, no deception.
 Just us, with no hidden motivation!
 
 I've never felt more cared for, than right now.
 I have never felt such a peace of mind.
 This rapture could never be felt in life,
 And my 'membrance of what was is a knife
 
 In the honours of past, I have betrayed.
 If I'd known this was to be my future,
 There's not one who could have distracted me
 From you, or my dreams of your company.
 
 I would have spurned ev'ryone that I knew,
 And restrained the nature of what I was
 Meant to be. I but wish I could have seen
 What was to be, when I was alive. Keen,
 
 I would not have been on living as I did,
 Though past decisions cannot be undone.”

  Sylvia reached across the table, and took Warren’s hand. “My dearest protégé, I really love you, but this piece is not the truth. It’s what you want yourself to be, not what you actually are. Now, what is it Macha threatened to do to Thanatos when he was balking at getting his own feelings sorted out over Kevalyn?”
  “Hogtie him, and deliver him on a pole, I think.”
  “In this realm, I can do the same to you.”
  “What if she doesn’t want me?”
  “I know Deliah, and I’m sure she does. Shall I ask her now?”
  “Now? Sylvia. Do you know what you’re doing to me?”
  “Making you face yourself.”
  “What’s Del really like?”
  “Brilliant, sarcastic, entertaining, and also eager to please. She presents herself the way she does, more because we like looking at her, than personal vanity. She doesn’t take any garbage, though, and she tells it like it is. She also has a way of getting her way. She can’t be out-argued,” said Sylvia
  “Not even by Percy?”
  “Percy doesn’t necessarily win all debates, though he is damn good. Percy just refuses to back down. It’s a feline thing.”
  “I think I understand.”
  “Yes, now why don’t we go see if Deliah is available so that you can soon truly become comfortable with yourself, and how many lassie friends you want.”
  “Lassie friends. How long before I start calling them that?”
  “Soon enough. Now, about Deliah?”
  “What if I want to spend some time snogging with you, now.”
  “Fine. Let’s! Russia?”
  “Sure.”







  Chapter 6 


 The Elysian Fields!
  Everyone was there when I did my exhibit ride, including Sylvia and Warren. They had been called. I was also talked into wearing a close fitting, light blue embroidered, sequined outfit that a circus performer might wear.  
  Whatever. It was only for one performance, and I could live with it.
  I’d already described my routines in a pre-sequel, and I not going to rewrite what I’ve already written, here. After all, don’t I do enough repetitive writing of repetitive scenes of ‘day to day’ repetitive activities? If 'days' were relevant, that is. (Does that make any sense?)
  Yes, I was appreciated. I also have to write about a little telepathic collusion between Sylvia and Deliah, for Warren was sitting between both, and all three were wrapped around each other. When I completed my show and walked up to my audience, Warren looked somewhat concentrative, and distressed! His upper teeth were firmly planted over the outer edge of his rather attenuate lower lip.
  “Awesome show,” said Tonya.
  “Thank you.” I couldn’t help but look into Warren.  
  Ye gods, he barely noticed what I’d just done. I pointed at Sylvia. ‘Will you and Deliah please cut the game, and resolve this little issue that’s going on between you three.’
  The message was directed only at Sylvia, Deliah, and Warren.
  Sylvia winked. ‘Yes, my dear.’
  All three disappeared. 

 *****

  A very uncomfortable Warren, a maternal feeling Sylvia, and a caring but experimental feeling Deliah were sitting on the edge of Deliah’s bed. Sylvia asked, “Would you feel better about this if we tied you to the bed and had our way with you, so you could abdicate yourself of all responsibility.”
  Warren shook his head. “That would make me feel absolutely awful. Please don’t do that.”
  Deliah said, “You know how we are. You know how we function. You know the silly standards you hold yourself to are inane and self-destructive, and you can’t suppress yourself without holding back your own personal evolution, not to mention the fact that you are causing yourself a bit of psychological damage by fighting what you really are.”
  “Then, we have guilt,” said Warren.
  Sylvia narrowed her eyes, placed the tips of her right fingers under Warren’s jaw, tilted his head up ever so slightly, and asked, “Why?”
  “I have this strange ingrained feeling that it’s just not right to do this.”
  “Again I ask, why?” asked Sylvia.
  “You were furious when your husband was unfaithful to you,” said Warren. “You committed suicide after the breakup of your marriage.”
  “I was wrong. I was also a head case when I was alive. You have no idea how impossible I was to live with, what a perfectionist bitch I was, and when things didn’t go my way, how I dealt with it.”
  “You’re not at all like that now,” said Warren.
  Deliah caressed his hair. “And you might as well be a twenty one year old lad, in his prime.”
  “Aren’t I?” asked Warren.
  “Sorta,” said Deliah. “Now, do you want us both, or only me?”
  “You know the answer to that,” said Warren. “You’re both reading me like an open book.”
  Deliah said, “See you later, Sylvia.”
  Sylvia kissed Warren on the forehead. “Bye, babe.” She then said to Deliah, “Enjoy. He’s damn good for a greenhorn ex-mortal.”
  Warren’s lower jaw dropped as Sylvia disappeared.
  Deliah started unbuttoning Warren’s shirt. “Yes, this is really happening. So how about surrendering yourself to me.”
  “I almost feel like I’m going to faint.”
  She kissed him on the cheek, and then proceeded to pull his shirt off. She ran her hand over him. “Acceptable.”
  “Are you telling me I should reformat myself to measure up to my more athletic housemates?”
  “Not now, please.”
  “Did you reformat yourself at all?”
  Deliah untied his running shoes. “I didn’t have to. This is what I actually looked like in my prime.”
  It was his turn to stroke her hair. “Can you tell me what I feel for you? If we should even be doing this?”
  “It’s closer to infatuation than love, but I like what else is there. You have a great respect for me in the way that counts. My intellect, and ability to manipulate circumstances to suit me?! You are in awe of me. You already read the theory that I could have beaten Alexander the Great in battle. I suspect I could have, but I don’t like to dwell on bloodshed.” She pulled his shoes off, and straddled his lap. She was still fully dressed, and Warren was still in his pants, which were being somewhat stressed.
  They embraced very gently. “You’re so delicate. So small,” said Warren.
  “Five foot two. It doesn’t matter. I like this stature, or I would have changed it. I like being held in a protective fashion by someone noticeably bigger than me. I like being enveloped as completely as possible, by my lover.”
  “When was the last time you had sex.”
  “White City after Donn's 'Second Time Around'. It’s been forever.”
  Are you doing this for me, or for you?” asked Warren.
  “Both of us. You are one of the most adorable ex-mortals I ever scanned.”
  Warren chuckled. “Mortal. Ex-mortal. What’s it all mean?”
  “Nothing.” She ran her upper lip over his right nipple.
  “Oh gods. Shouldn’t I be doing that to you?”
  She ran her hand over his now much tortured feeling shaft. “That would be nice.”
  “I have no idea how to get you out of that dress.” It was a sheer, layered thing that had no obvious clasps.
  She dematerialised it. “Like that. Would you like to do the same to the remainder of your clothing?”
  Warren nodded.
  Out of deference to both, I will write no further of their interlude!

  *****

  Stefan and I ended up going off to the tower with the telescope a little after my riding exhibit.  
  Stefan looked up from the telescope. “It’s so strange,” said Stefan. “Even after being out in the universe and riding a comet, I still get pleasure from this thing.”
  “So do I. Thank the gods it’s not manually focused.”
  “Considering how sensitive it is, I'll have to agree,” said Stefan. “On Earth, I even had problems with the more powerful little ones.”
  I scowled. “Even the most powerful Earth telescopes are a joke compared to this. What do you have it set on?”
  “Fourth planet from our second sun. Three of the moons are in view.”
  I looked through the viewer. “Good sighting, Stef.” I looked at it for a few minutes. I thought it looked better through the telescope than actually being there. The distance view looked more mysterious. More atmospheric! 
 When I straightened up, Stef embraced me from behind, moved my hair out of the way, and kissed my neck. “I haven’t written you a poem in ages.”
  I pressed myself into him. “The muse may strike us again.”
  “I have a desire to go to the holographic garden.”
  “That sounds like a damn good idea. Walk, or transfer?”
  Stefan stepped to my side, and looked at me. One of those mischievous smiles, he wore. He let go of me. “Run!”
  We both raced for the stairs.

  ***** 

 A bit later, Deliah woke up first. She was pressed against Warren, and he had an arm around her. Gods, he was sweet, and what an attitude. No, he wasn’t as delicate a lover as some of us had been in the old days, but he adapted quite well to the concept on one party active, one party passive, then changing places. In the past, he was under the impression it was a mutual deal, but now he would have to admit it was better to concentrate fully on your lover or fully on your own sensations, one at a time, despite the fact that those sensations were shared. 
  Now, Deliah decided to mess with Warren's head a little, break down his present way of thinking, and get him to move forward. ‘Sylvia!’
  ‘Yes?’
  ‘You are available, I grant?’
  ‘Be right,’ she appeared. ‘there.’ She looked at Warren and Deliah. ‘Awe! How cute!’
  ‘So, shall we let him sleep a little longer, or would you like to wake him up?’
  ‘Oh, I don’t know. I suppose I’d rather wake him up. I assume you wore him down pretty good.’
  ‘Uh, do you know who the fuck you’re talking to?’ asked Deliah. 
  ‘Never mind.’ Sylvia dematerialised her shoes, and got under the covers. She was in jeans and a T-shirt. She pressed herself against Warren, sandwiching him securely between herself and Deliah. She stroked his collar length hair, and then lipped his right ear. “Warren,” she whispered.
  “Hmmmm. Del.” He was a bit slow to come out of it.
  “No. Sylvia.”
  He woke up pretty quick, and realised his situation. He looked behind him. “I am awake?”
  “To my knowledge,” said Deliah.
  “Of course this sort of thing happens all the time, around here,” said Warren. 
  “Not so much anymore. It used to happen here and there when Donn wrote of our time in 'The Second Time Around'. Donn just didn't write about it as much as he could have, considering he thought that dwelling on it too much was disrespectful to us, not that I personally spent much time on that ravishing, but frustrating little twerp.” said Deliah. “Warren, would you like a horse?”
  “Not particularly. Can I borrow someone else’s?”
  “Yes,” said Deliah. “You have a fascination with Gilgamesh.”
  “Snow white horse with neon eyes? Hm hm,” said Warren.
  Sylvia ran her hand down Warren’s side, and over his hip. “Shall the three of us go for a ride, after we get out of here?”
  First, Warren closed his eyes, and bared his teeth, in a not overly successful attempt to stifle his reaction. “When are we getting out of here?”
  “In a little bit,” said Sylvia.
  Warren swallowed. “OK, I guess.”

  *****

  Stefan and I walked through one of the most enchanting parts of the castle, hand in hand. The holographic garden was in a huge black room lit with torches, like the night garden at Tech Duinn. Of course there was also classical statuary, and lit fountains of floral scented waters. If you can’t catch the scents from the spectral flowers, you compensate in other ways.
  “I still miss the old electrical storms in your old garden,” said Stefan. “I miss the fog coming in, and the sun going down at Tech Duinn.”
  “Unfortunately, for the sun to go down, it must also come up. Anyway, isn’t our horizon close enough to a downed sun?”
  “Oh, I guess so.”
  “We can also go closer to the dark side of this planet if you want night, and we can hunt down one of those storms, though it will be over snow and ice.”
  “Maybe later?” asked Stefan.
  “And maybe I should add vents to the floor to disperse dry ice, for your fog?” 
 “Can you do it without messing up the floor?”
  I thought about it for a moment. The spaces between the black marble tiles! I could put symmetrical vent holes in all of them.
  I closed my eyes in concentration, and in a few seconds, there was a mist over the whole floor of the garden. “Better?”
  “Much. Thanks, Donn. It’s beautiful.”
  I looked it over. “It does enhance the place.” I kissed him on the nose. “Shall we see if Thanatos is available, or shall we hoard each others’ company for a while?”
  “Yes.”
  I chuckled. “All right.”

  *****

  Warren had not been on a horse before now. Gilgamesh, though a very tall animal, was the perfect mount for a first experience.
  Warren and Deliah rode double on Gilgamesh, and Sylvia was on her own black mare, whom she’d named Salem. Salem was a newer breed, called an Azteca, and she was a beauty. Salem had a white star on her forehead, and she had been taken from the High Etheric.
  They rode toward the Light Side, in the direction of the sun. The horses were unsaddled, and un-tacked. They either cantered or they walked, so their gaits were smooth and they wouldn’t lose a rider unless that rider made a deliberate effort to dismount.
  Warren rode behind Deliah, being he was quite a bit taller. This way both got a good front view.
  The mounting process had been rather humourous. Yes, they could have transferred on the horses. Instead, first Warren had helped Deliah up, and then he found he couldn’t get on the seventeen and a half hand steed himself. Sylvia had to help the inexperienced Warren up, before vaulting on her own mare.  
  The sky was partly cloudy, the weather was calm, and if they had been in a position to feel it, it was freezing. However, being they were unaware of the physical status of the place, Sylvia was in her T-shirt, jeans and running shoes, Warren was in jeans, a heavy turtleneck sweater, and Onitsuka Tigers, while Deliah was in a side-slit miniskirt, halter -top and cross garter sandals. She didn’t always dress like a Semetic princess.
  The skyline was absolutely gorgeous. Warren was very intrigued by the red to purple sky, the multiple moons, and the alien landscape. “Warren?” asked Deliah.
  “Yes?”
  “I don’t write much poetry, but I have something churning around in me. Iambic pentameter. A part of me is going to leave you to write it down.”
  “A part of you. In the same way that Thanatos was in hundreds of places at once?”
  “Hm hm. I can do it, but I can only split myself up into two, being my puny little mind has a hard time going time tripping more than once at a time at this time, but I’m working on something from the perspective of me as I am, and you still a mortal struggling with your lyrics.”
  “Sounds nice.”
  “In a way it’s a take-off of one of Stefan’s pieces to Donn. 'The Tuatha Guitarist?' Same theme, some similar analogies, but it’s me to you, not Stefan to Donn, and it’s not the same.”
  “OK.”
  “A part of me will be back, shortly.”
  Warren waited a moment, and asked, “Are you gone yet?”
  “Yes.”
  Warren chuckled. “Hard to tell.”
  “Impossible to tell, for you,” said Deliah.
  “And I can tell you’re reintegrated when you recite me the poem.”
  “Yes, sir.”
  “And of course you know what your other half is thinking.”
  “Warren, we are one divided by a time trip.”
  “How do you keep track?”
  “Me? No problem. I mean, there're only two of me. More than that...and, well? I haven't gone there yet because I can't deal with it!” said Deliah.
  “Sounds confusing.”
  “Not really,” said Deliah.
  “I like that concept of time tripping. Makes me miss not being given a chance to fulfill my goals on Earth, a little less.”
  “Good.”
  “Shall I shut up, so you can concentrate on your poem better?”
  Deliah started laughing pretty hard. If Warren hadn’t stablised her, she might have fallen overboard. “Warren, thank the gods, I know you’re being sarcastic. If that was for real, I would disown you right now.”
  “That was a good one,” said Sylvia. 
  “So I may have a bit more competition in the wit and sarcasm,” said Deliah.
  “From what I’ve read about you, I might as well be a garden snail racing a cheetah,” said Warren.
  “Oh, don’t cut yourself short,” said Deliah. “You’re pretty sharp. The only reason you didn’t know what you now deem relevant, is lack of exposure to the topics and a lack of that commodity known as time.”
  He kissed her on the back of the head. “I don’t want to battle it out with you, in anyway. Even if I did have a chance of winning.”
  “I like your way of thinking,” said Deliah.
  They were silent for a while. Then Deliah said, “Are you ready?”
  “For the poem?”
  “No. For another bout in bed.”
  “No, but I am ready for the poem. Now it’s you who’s being sarcastic.”
  “Maybe, but not necessarily. Being you're so new, so good looking, and such a sweetheart, does tend to make me devolve some times.”
  “Some times?” asked Warren
  “I’m feeding off of your desire. I’ll never have Andre, because that desire isn’t there. You, on the other hand...”
  “You sound like a vampire, now.”
  “And so increases your attraction. Let me recite that poem.”
  “Back already?”
  "I time tripped, remember? It's also rather short. Here it is.

 What a vision you are, what tunes you play,
 What lyrics you write, and what words you say.
 What a draw you are. I can't get away,
 As I watch your work. Beside you I lay
 To you unawares; wondering what's next.
 Can you compose any faster, your text?
 I can't help myself. Though we're worlds apart,
 I've let you and your art, capture my heart.
 Will our realities ever combine,
 And can your company ever be mine,
 
 In more that just spectral dreams?”
 
  “I will not cry.”
  “Glad you like it,” said Deliah. “It’s the least I could do for you, having contributed some inspiration to that wonderful song you allegedly only wrote for your Scottish not quite girlfriend.”
  “Pretty good,” said Sylvia. “You really ought to write more.”
  Deliah said, “It was another version of what Stef already wrote. It’s so hard to come up with innovative material. How many thousands of verses are in our archives? Forget it. I’ll leave it to you.”
  “Warren might inspire you a bit more,” said Sylvia.
  “Oh yeah, but I’m not sure he wants to see that in print,” said Deliah.
  “No, probably not,” said Warren.
  “Where shall we tend to the horses, after we’re done?” asked Sylvia. 
  “Let’s ask them,” said Deliah.
  It would be Tir na nOg.

  *****
 
 Stefan and I walked a bit more, had a light snogging session, then we beckoned Thanatos.
  Thanatos looked the misty floor over. “Nice touch. Makes it even eerier,” he said. “We ought to direct everyone here.”
  “Later,” I said. “After we’re through with this place. We don’t want to share you, right now.”
  He took our hands, pulled us together, and put an arm around each of us. “You know, I swear you two have had me for eighty percent of the time at least, not that time is relevant?”
  I put my arm around his waist. “Me thinks you exaggerate slightly!”
  “All right, seventy nine percent. This is a really profound change. ” He looked at Stefan. “Thank you for being such a darkling, Red Tail.”
  “I think I was born like that, but you’re welcome.”
  Thanatos kissed Stefan on the temple. “No, you just can’t get some of your environmentally influenced Earthly tastes out of your system.”
  “I guess not. Can we go look at harlequin baby pictures after this?” asked Stefan.
  “You almost deserve to be pushed across the room for that one,” said Thanatos, with a chuckle.
  “Hey! They are pretty cool looking, in a gruesome sort of way.” Stefan paused. “Also, this is one hell of a big room, dude.”
  I started laughing. “Will you two knock it off.”
  “Be glad Deliah’s not here,” said Stefan.
  I settled down. “I am. Within a short span, I’d probably have to be scraped off the floor with a spatula, if she was in on this.”
  “Let’s just enjoy the three dimensional photography for a while,” said Thanatos.  
  Stefan looked at a nearby fountain. It was lavender scented. “And the heavenly smells.”
  Thanatos looked at Stefan. “Dude! With you so close, all I can perceive is Drakkar Noir.”
  “You’ll get used to it.” 
  “On and off.” 

  *****

  Warren was brushing down Gilgamesh. “I never knew a horse could look this good.”
  Deliah and Sylvia were working on Salem. “All our equine companions are perfect in form. Everything becomes that way after one’s off the Physical Realm,” said Deliah.
  “I think they’re pretty animals, but I never thought much about horses. I was more focused on my music,” said Warren. “Do you guys ride much?”
  “Depends on the mood,” said Deliah. “Are you changing your mind on your own horse?”
  “I really like Gil,” said Warren. “If I can borrow him, I don’t think so.” He ran his hand across Gil’s withers. “Made by Macha, is he?”
  “Oh, yeah. The perfect warrior’s horse! Big, powerful, agile, and there’s no need to talk of his intelligence and personal initiative,” said Deliah. 
  “After this, can we go to the music studio?” asked Warren. He resumed brushing the horse down.
  “Would you like to play with Macha and Kevalyn again?” asked Sylvia.
  “Hm hm. Maybe I can write some more tunes, too.”
  “That was pretty good, on how your last jam session inspired you to crash it and write ‘Escape’,” said Sylvia.
  “That ancient music triggered me. It just took me away from myself, and everything I know,” said Warren.
  Gilgamesh turned his head, shifted position, and gently nosed Warren, while sending him some rather warm thoughts.
  Warren closed his eyes. “Gil just told me he loves me, in his way.”
  “Aye, they care about us,” said Sylvia.
  Warren hugged Gilgamesh. “I don’t know. Maybe I do want an equine companion to serve. It would be so cool to have something like Hesper. Something that will lay on the couch with me, or get on the bed with me, or something.”
  “Then you would want a pony,” said Sylvia. “Probably a Welsh cob. Colour?”
  “I like those cream coloured horses with the dark legs, and dark mane and tail.”  
  Sylvia scowled. “Buckskin, I think they’re called. Let’s signal Thanatos.”

  *****

  ‘Than?’
  Thanatos waved his hand over an image of a calla lily. ‘Yes, Sylvia?’
  ‘Warren would like a very affectionate, hand raised, buckskin Welsh cob.’
  ‘All right! I’ll get one in a little bit. Donn made a change to the holographic garden. It’s real interesting. Why don’t you three come to us...as soon as you finish with the horses, of course.’
  ‘All right.’
  So much for the music studio!

  *****

  “Wow,” was Warren’s first word, when he saw the garden. “This is uber nice.”
  “The misting is great,” said Sylvia. “Than? The pony?”
  Thanatos eyed Warren. “You know, you’re not going to get another Hesper,” he said.
  “The name! Is Hesper really a Fir Bolg horse?” asked Warren.
  “I suppose, in a matter of speaking,” said Thanatos.
  “I thought he was a Tuatha horse,” I said.
  ‘Please drop the subject for now. This isn’t an appropriate time,’ sent Thanatos, to me alone. “Tuatha raised.”
  Suddenly it occurred to me. ‘Thanatos, did you make him for me?’
  ‘Shhhhhhh.’ He turned to Warren. “Shall we stay a while later, then I’ll go find you a High Etheric pony of your specifications?”
  “Sure.”
  Warren’s stallion would be called, Kemberlaine.

  *****

  “Thanatos!” I got him alone.
  “Yes. I gave Hesper to your grandfather, to give to you,” he said. 
 “Why didn’t you tell me?”
  “It didn’t matter.”
  “You know, every time I think I can’t love you any more, you pull something like this.”
  He embraced me, and of course I returned it. “Donn, don’t mention it.”
 





















  Chapter 7


  I’m not going to dwell too much on Warren’s relationship with his new equine friend. Let’s say it was close, and the horse would be treated more like one would treat a pet show dog, or cat. He wouldn’t be ridden too often, but he ended up being nicely spoiled.
  No, Warren would never get Kemberlaine to come up on the couch or lay on the bed, but he did end up spending a lot of time in the castle. Hey! There was only one Hesper.
  Kemberlaine will not take up that much more room in this story, being he’s not that relevant to this tale.
  I’m also not going to go into too much detail on Warren’s jam sessions, or recording sessions. He spent a lot of time on them, and he also wrote a lot of tunes, though he wasn’t the most prolific lyricist, more from not being satisfied with his work than not spending time doing it. (If I did devote the time he spent playing, that’s what eighty five percent of the remainder of this tale would be spent on. He was pretty fixated.) 

 *****

  As Warren was shutting down the equipment from a solitary experiment, Stefan walked in with a piece of paper.
  “Warren?”
  “Hiya, Stef.”
  “This is kind of weird. I mean, I was with you, when you when you read our tale, and I was in your mind at the time.”
  “You were also the first one to do a painting of me. I really appreciate you posing me with my guitar. ”
  Stefan shrugged. “Thanks. I considered you a worthy subject. You’re quite attractive.”
  “I don’t think so. I was thinking of modifying myself, and considering how different we are, with you having the face and form of your choosing, I wonder how you can say that. We have nothing in common.”
  “I’m not fixated on one look. Anyway, I wrote a poem, which could be used as song lyrics; from your perspective, based on the time you read Donn’s book! I sort of couldn’t help myself”
  Warren scowled. “You did?”
  Stefan held up the paper. “I hope you don’t mind.”
  Warren took the paper. “I really like your poetry. I haven’t read one thing by you, that I don’t like.” 
 “Thanks.”
  “I’ve been contemplating doing covers of some of your songs, but I don’t know. What’s already down is pretty hard to beat.”
  “Feel free. I don’t care. I’d consider it a compliment,” said Stefan.
  “All right. Let’s check this out.” He looked at it. “The Transformation, huh?”
  “Yup.”
  Warren read it aloud.
 
  “So strange it was, that one last night.
  From all I knew, I took a flight,
  For death did sit beside me then,
  To make me ne'er look back again,
  But I didn't have to die.
 
  I just lay down to read a book.
  The clock stood still, when did I look,
  And when I upped, what did I see,
  But a wond'rous exotic tea,
  From which nowhere I could buy.
 
  So many pages I went through,
  Yet dawn ne'er came, in time's due.
  I read of strange philosophy,
  That my teachings had denied me!
  They showed me life was a lie.
 
  How beautiful, what I did read.
  To new awares, it did me lead.
  New ways to a relationship,
  I slowly did 'self re-equip,
  For my past, I must defy.
 
  When the lengthy tale I finished,
  More than I could ever have wished,
  Came to me, as my room did melt.
  Such giddiness, I never felt,
  As the tale I read did deny
 
  It was a work of fiction.”
 
  Warren tilted his head. “I like this. It’s actually pretty descriptive.”
  Stefan smiled. “Think you can do something with it?
  He folded in up, and put it in the back pocket of his jeans, “I might. Stef?”
  “Ayuh?”
  Warren extended his arms. “Hug?”
  Stefan stepped forward, and they embraced. “You seem to be adjusting, here.”
  “I’m still a little perturbed at not having been given the chance to try and make something of myself, but that seems to be progressively fading.”
  They stepped back from each other. “I’m sorry if I seemed to have been avoiding you. I know I can read you, I know I confuse you, and I just wasn’t sure how to deal with you. You just reminded me of so much of myself when I was your age, though you're a lot nicer, and I didn’t get into music until my thirties,” said Stefan.
  Warren extended a hand. “Stef?”
  Stefan took his hand. “Yes?”
  Warren smiled. “I look forward to working with you.”
  They disengaged. “Wanna do something now?”
  “Can we go to Tech Duinn?”
  “Hm hm.”
  “Can I see if Kemberlaine likes the whirlpool?”
  Stefan laughed. “I’ll be on the golf course. Gods, I never want to share a bath with a horse again, for as long as I exist.”

  *****

  Warren’s pony did not appreciate the concept of the whirlpool. Warren couldn’t even get Kemberlaine in the room.
  Warren and Stefan ended up going for a ride on the beach together, followed by a jam session.  
  Warren fell off twice, being a novice rider going bareback, but he was a fast learner and ended up figuring out how to keep his balance on a galloping pony rather quickly.

  ***** 

  Kevalyn and Macha were kicked back in the room devoted to the Mayans. 
  Kevalyn said, “One day, we ought to get every musician in the house together, and have a jam session from Hell. Imagine what we could come up with.”
  “A complete merger might be more efficacious.”
  “But, what’s more fun?” asked Kevalyn.
  “You have a point.”
  “It’s nice to have some new blood, and a new outlook. Also, I like Warren's main influence. Spacemen 3 was a good band.”
  “I’ll have to listen to them.”
  “Shall we do that now?”
  “Sure.” 

 *****

  As Stefan and Warren were grooming their ponies, Warren said, “It’s so strange, but I haven’t seen much of Tonya and Ronin. They were trying to work with me.” 
 “They chose you as a messenger, but everyone, even they got cut short.”
  “Love got in the way?”  
  “Seems like it,” said Stefan. “You didn’t read much when you were alive.”
  “No time. I was pretty burnt out from my job. All I made time for was my guitar. As a kid, I was just out to have fun.”
  “Warren, there’s a lot you’ve learned from Sylvia and Deliah. There’s a lot more that you can learn. You don’t seem to know the answer yourself right now, but would you rather learn the instant way via a merging, or the slow way, via hardcover reading?”
  Warren put his forearms on top of his pony. “You used to have a lot of fun snuggled up with Donn and Thanatos reading hard cover, huh?”
  “Oh, yeah. Going through about twenty cups of tea per decent size book, too.”
  “I think I’d like to do that between Sylvia and Del. I think I might want cider some time, as opposed to tea. I mean, I like the taste, and I can’t get drunk anymore, right?”
  “Right,” said Stefan. “I never could see getting into altered states of consciousness, unless it was to knock myself out of body, preferably for good, but Donn wouldn’t hear of it.”
  Warren resumed brushing down Kemberlaine. “Stefan, I didn’t think much of myself. I threw away so many good things because of stupid moves I made.”
  “Like I didn’t make dumb moves? I can’t recall not liking myself. I went through phases where I wanted to be something I wasn’t, I tried to become that way, and I put on these stupid poser façades and it really ended up screwing me up, but I never disliked myself. I was just in the habit of striving for unrealistic ideals.”
  “I guess I gave up.”
  Stefan smiled, and his left eyebrow went up. “You can’t have that attitude, anymore. Granted you’re mighty focused now, but you’re not quite the same man that you were on Earth.”
  “Not quite. I never could have written such diverse lyrics, my vocabulary’s expanded a bit, and I also have to admit, I couldn’t have conceived having such awesome women in my life.”
  “Brilliant, aren’t they? Though you seem also very distracted by their appearance.”
  “They’re both beautiful. I never could have imagined anything as pretty as Deliah. I can’t believe you didn’t keep her as...a...”
  “Warren, looking back on it, I wish I’d never been intimate with anyone but Donn and Thanatos. What I feel for those two...”
  “I can tell from your poetry.”
  Shiva nosed Stefan, and Stefan put a little more pressure into his strokes, as his pony ‘requested’. “Don’t get me wrong. I love Deliah. She’s been a very good friend since The White City. It was just a different sort of relationship. We didn’t really like each other as lovers. I mean, I can count on one hand, you know?”
  “Yeah. Only curiosity motivated you to even bother.”
  “Hm hm. Both of us! I don’t know why she even asked. She knew that me, Donn and Thanatos were identical in styles, save Than’s knowledge of the non-contact or low-contact Tantra that he liked so much as Keith.”
  “What’s that like?” asked Warren.
  “Indescribably beautiful, but it's hard on the instigator, and takes forever. It’s a focus thing. A complete and total worship of your lover, in connexion with...I’ll have to say ‘its’ innate self, and connexion to The Source. There’s also an incredible self-awareness involved. Do you have any idea what this entails, when you’re both empathic and telepathic?”
  Warren shrugged. “Sylvia and Deliah really let me know how they feel for me. They also took me Astral and Causal. That was way better than sex, though I don’t want to give anything up. I guess I’m too hooked on what it all feels like.”
  “It takes a while,” said Stefan. “Don’t worry about it.”
  “Donn really put you through it regarding sex, or lack of there of, huh?”
  “That was a two way street. It’s better that it happened the way it did than him giving in to me.”
  “Just out of curiosity, can you switch gender, so I can see what you look like?”
  Stefan nodded. He dematerialised, and came back. “There. Stephanie.”
  Warren scowled. “I don’t know if I can tell the difference.”
  “I’d weigh less, now. I take up less volume. I’ve also got all the chick parts, but I’m still as buffed as hell, despite being kind of on the scrawny side. I’d have a better strength weight ratio now, though the overall strength factor would be a little lower if I took on a physical form.”
  “Interesting. What about speed?”
  “Running? Not as fast up hill. Level ground is almost, not quite negligible. I have to use a different running style to compensate.”
  Warren cocked his head. “Do you think that maybe if you had a smaller nose, you might be able to run faster, or does it help with your aerodynamics?”
  Stephanie laughed so hard she had to turn away from Shiva. “Gods, Warren. You have obviously been hanging around Deliah too much.”
  “Bite your tongue. No such thing. I guess you can also go back to your other gender, now. I mean, as you are, I must admit I feel very intimidated by your nose.”
  Stephanie faded out, and came back again reformatted. “Dude, I am going to be putty in your nostrils if you keep complimenting me like that.”
  Warren winked at Stefan, and pointed a finger at him. “That’s quite all right.”
  “What shall we do after the horses?”
  “How about going to the library. I think I’ll learn some stuff the slow way.”
  “Between Deliah and Sylvia!”
  “Oh, yeah!”
  Stefan leaned on Shiva again. “So, you think you can concentrate on your literature?”
  “Of course! After they wear me down so much that I never want to look at another, whatever you call it here, until I change my mind, no problem.”
  “Twat.”
  Warren looked at Stefan in disbelief. “I can’t believe you said that.”
  “Trust me. I did.”
  Warren chuckled. “I guess so.”

  *****

  Thanatos had been bitten by the art bug, and I was watching him lay out his latest painting. He put Warren down on his un-tacked pony, racing toward the viewer. In reality, Warren never dressed like this, but Than would put the lad in black jeans, black riding boots, a black long sleeved work shirt unbuttoned half way down, and a silver Omega pendant, which he would be very reluctant to wear in life. The scene was in the desert below.
  “Looks like a Stefan painting,” I said. “Warren would call that a poser shot. It’ll never happen.”
  “I know. It gets worse. Wait until I apply the colours.”
  I looked into Than’s mind, for the sake of seeing what he had in store. I chuckled. “Brilliant aura surrounding them. Oh, it’s a gorgeous concept. You better inform him that it’s only art before he sees it. I mean, you wouldn’t want to give him any ideas on this being a subtle hint on him changing his style.”
  “I wouldn’t want to change anything about him. All I intend to be is one to answer any questions he might have. He’ll find his own way.”
  “Hm.”

  *****

  “Siddartha, Meditations, the whole Krishnamurti, Gurdjieff, and Castaneda collection. You want me to read all this?” asked Warren. He and Stefan had the books in a total of four baskets, currently sitting on the floor.
  “You don’t have to, but it might be advisable,” said Stefan. “You’ll probably get to where you’re going several times faster.”
  “I remember Donn recommending some of these books in his story. Or mentioning them, at least.”
  “They helped me out, a lot. They really open your mind, and they were critical to my transformation.”
  “I remember. Everybody here has read these, right?”
  “Don’t know about Tonya and Ronin,” said Stefan. "I didn’t do a total merger with them.”
  “I never thought this information would have a use after death.”
  “You never stop learning.”
  “Until you hit Home, in which case you become a part of the omniscient!” said Warren.
  “Damn right. You’ve been thinking about this, I see.”
  “Hm hm. It’s hard not to, around here.”
  “Understandable. Would you like to settle down somewhere and call Sylvia and Deliah to keep you company?”
  Warren looked at the books. “You know, I think I’d actually rather read these alone now that I think about it? I want to absorb this stuff, right? Really learn it?”
  “Yup. It’s easier to do that here on this side of The Veil.”
  “Still, I think I want to give it my undivided attention.”
  “OK. See you later, then?” asked Stefan.
  Warren smiled. “Thanks. I’ll step out of time, OK?”
  “Sure.”
  Warren faded out, with the baskets of books.

  *****

  Warren went to Tech Duinn for his reading. He went all out for hedonistic luxury, landing in Macha’s old bedroom. He lit the fireplace, turned on the long unused generator and electric blanket which Macha had decided on before departure, went temperature sensitive, and settled down with a mug of cider on the nightstand that would end up being refilled more times than Warren cared to count.
  He started out light, with Siddartha. He was intrigued. He was also hooked.
  Warren thought briefly of the fact that he wasn’t as distracted from his perusings as he might have been on Earth. When he was still technically alive, he might have done well to finish a chapter a night, but he was plowing through this, as if it were a holiday dinner after not having eaten for two days. He was also retaining almost all of it.
  It seemed now to Warren, that all he knew was wrong. The things people did, the way they lived, their biases, their nationalism, and their tendency to separate themselves with labels. There was how people manipulated each other, imposed their will on each other, obligated each other in ways they had to right to, and how everyone seemed to be determined to interfere with everyone’s evolution.
  One had to find their own way! No single path was for two people. You gave yourself away by following another’s word.
  At first Jiddu Krishnamurti drove Warren absolutely nuts. Because he tended to answer questions by telling you what the answer is not, it really made Warren think more than he wanted to, but he understood the motivation behind the style before he was halfway done. Jiddu was forcing the readers to find their own way. One individual’s answer might not sit right with another, so Jiddu was true to his own teaching, of ‘Truth is a Pathless Land’.
  There was no road to enlightenment. Everyone had to blaze their own trail. It wasn’t easy. Nothing worth while, ever is. Enlightenment also obviously didn’t come automatically on death. Not that he had technically died, but he sure as Hell wasn’t condemned to walk around with a blanket over his head anymore, which he also came to the conclusion that Physical existence was.
  Stefan, or Kyle, rather, had realised this in life, however. At what age?!
  Then again, Kyle was taken at two and forty, and Warren had never met a psychopomp during a near successful suicide attempt. Kyle had some rather dubious advantages over him.
  In a way, he felt a slight envy for what Kyle was. She/it/whatever had at least had the opportunity to get out a collection of short e-stories and poetry on the web for all to see before she was taken. Some art, too! Warren never had the chance to leave a mark on Earth while he was alive.
  Then again, he could now. He had enough material recorded, and it had been proven that it could be delivered to Earth the way it had been delivered to Gary and Karen.
  Warren hadn’t thought about those two very much, lately. He suddenly became aware of his changed priorities. 
 He also knew Stefan/Kyle/whatever would have traded an earlier death for all the fame and fortune that the Earth could have offered, not that this came anywhere near happening.
  ‘Stefan.’
  ‘Yes?’
  ‘Can I assume you wish Donn had taken you when you were one and twenty?’
  ‘Hell, yeah! If I didn’t love you, I’d hate you for what happened to you, I’m so jealous. Why do you ask?’
  ‘I suppose I feel the same way about you.’
  ‘Well, it’s not like we can trade places, ya know?’
  Warren chuckled. ‘Aye. Too bad, huh? Anyway, how much time has passed since you last saw me, from your perspective?’
  ‘I don’t know. Earth terms, maybe a few minutes.’
  ‘Good. See you all in a few more minutes then, maybe.’
  ‘Late.’  
 
 
 
 












































 Chapter 8


  Warren closed up his last book. Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson! When he looked over his stacks of books, he was astounded. He had been completely psychologically rearranged, from what he was before.
  Well, sort of, to a degree. He refilled one more mug of fermented apple cider, and fueled the fire one more time.
 Some company would be nice, around now. Too bad Kemberlaine was such a standard pony. It would have been a kick to have him under the covers beside him. Or he could see if Percy was available. Something that looked like it was half leopard, and half sabre tooth tiger might be nice to snuggle with for a while. But on the other hand, Percy was so sarcastic and derisive, he might ruin Warren’s mood.
  Sylvia and Deliah? Or perhaps Sylvia or Deliah. Both were intellectual whizzes, both were damn attractive, and both were a good lay...hm. But was that what he wanted? Maybe, sort of?
 Deliah was hotter than Hell to look at, but his relationship with Sylvia was a bit more scholarly. Sylvia was the one who thought him a protégé.
  He chose Sylvia. For his reading session under the covers, he wore a T-shirt, sweat pants, and socks.
  ‘Sylvia?’
  ‘Yes, Warren?’
  ‘Am I interrupting anything?’
  ‘No. I’ll be right...’ she materialised. “here!”
  Warren smiled. “Thanks. Guess what I did.”
  Sylvia walked over to the nightstand, and looked at the books. “Looks like you got a crash course in Buddhism, Krishnamurti-ism, Toltecism, and Sufism, by any other name.” She looked into his mind. “Nice and warm under there, huh?”
  “You can’t feel that now, though. Can you?”
  Sylvia took off her shoes, and crawled over Warren. “That can be changed, lover. In fact, it has been.” She dematerialised her clothing, and yanked on the front of Warren's T-shirt.
  Warren pulled his shirt off, and materialised a vial of rose oil. He held it up. “You call this nose oil, right?”
  “Thank you Stefan, and yes we do.”
  He gently nibbled on, and lipped her neck, as he sent her waves of appreciation. “I want to try something a little different.”
  She stroked his hair, and ran the back of her right index finger down the side of his face. “No complaints.”
  He rubbed the side of his face against Sylvia’s upper arm, and poured the vial over her shoulders, despite the fact she was still seated. She leaned forward, and he worked the oil into her, with the most delicate touch he could.
  If time were relevant, he would have spent several hours on her, using every technique he could think of. He drove Sylvia over the edge, over and over again. He wouldn’t let her touch him, though. Then suddenly, he reached for his T-shirt, and put it on.
  Sylvia sat up. “What the Hell are you doing?”
  “I think we’re done.”
  “You never even took your sweat pants off! What do you mean, we’re done?!”
  Warren shrugged. “I just wanted to see if I could go through with what we just did without breaking down.”
  Sylvia pounced on him, and pinned him to the bed. She dematerialised his clothing. “Warren,” she snarled. “You do NOT mess with Sylvia Plath, like this.”
  He got a whole lot more than he bargained for.
  They both went out of time together for their own short eternity.

  *****

  Later.
  Macha and Kevalyn sat down at the conference table they used for important all hands meetings. Macha made a mental plea for everyone who played a musical instrument to show up.  
  They did. In fact, Tonya and Ronin also showed up, just out of curiosity, and they were valued and welcomed for potential input.
  Macha made her suggestion of everyone who played something get on the floor, and just jam to see what comes out.
  “We’ve done it before, and come up with some real masterpieces,” said Thanatos. “Our new guitarist should add a bit of a more diverse style and atmosphere, considering Warren’s a bit different from what we do.”
  “Thanks,” said Warren.
  Thanatos pointed in the direction of Ronin and Tonya. “Any conceptions you have of what our slowly expanding orchestra can do will be appreciated.”
  Ronin said, “You know, in a way I’m feeling a bit bad I don’t play anything, now. I have never heard anything remotely as beautiful as what you guys do. Being I still have a pretty strong fascination with the culture I chose to be born into the last time I was on Earth, do you think you might have use for a koto player?”
  “Oh, yeah,” I said. “That would be great. Who knows what that would do for us.”
  “So I’d be the only one here who didn’t play anything?” asked Tonya.
  “Can’t have that, huh?” asked Kevalyn.
  “Hell, no.” said Tonya. “I’ll have to think about what I want to play, though.”
  “There’s quite a few instruments that none of us play, or don’t play very often,” said Thanatos.
  “Any suggestions?” asked Tonya.
  Thanatos shrugged. “No one plays a saxophone, and though several of us know how to play an oboe, we rarely do. They have a nice tone, but it’s just that other instruments seem to get precedence.
  “I think I’d rather play an oboe than a sax,” said Tonya.
  “Good,” I said. I could have been wrong, but I didn’t think our music would have been enhanced by a saxophone player. I mean, why not add a tuba? It was out of place for our style.
  Ronin said, “So perhaps me and Tonya should step out of your time to learn our instruments?”
  “Sure,” said Thanatos.
  Tuatha music mixed with progressive rock, and a classical Japanese undertone.
  Not bad at all.

  *****

  I came on Warren sitting on the edge of the mesa, with his right arm around a seated semi-pardaline (So I made a word up, meaning semi-leopard-like, OK?) Percy. “How’re you doing?” I asked, as I sat to the other side of Percy.
  “Not bad. It’s nice to be able to play more, have time to write, have people pay attention and appreciate my material, and actually use it.”
  “Nice place behind us too, huh?”
  “Have you seen all of it?”
  “Yes, but not by walking through it. That’s not possible. This castle is infinity.”
  Warren looked behind him. “It looks finite, from the outside.”
  “Would you like me to guide you to see it all?” I asked, as I started stroking Percy.
  “How?”
  “The easiest way, would be for us to become one.”
  Warren looked at me. “Maybe later. I'm tripping on something else, right now. You know what I’m thinking. Tell me about it.”
  “Warren, no one here really has a gender. It’s a façade. You can look like whatever you want. You can look like Percy, or you can look like a garden slug. You look like you do, because that’s what you think you should look like. You could look like me, or you could look like Deliah, Nichelle Nichols, or anyone. You’ve had a fairly intimate relationship with your Earthly working-partner. But this isn’t the entire issue. You have something blocked from me. Would you like to tell me what it is, so we can deal with it?”
  “I’m having a hard time with myself. I don’t know if I’m ready to talk about it.”
  I looked back at him. Into his eyes! He was looking a bit forlorn, and I wasn’t sure I had to be a telepath to read his unspoken thoughts. I raised the hand I had on Percy, and spread my fingers.  
  Warren touched his fingertips to mine. We did something of a mind share. I also sent him waves of warm feelings.  
  Warren smiled. “You love me, too?!”
  “Honourably, sir. I’ll never hurt you.”
  We clasped each other’s forearms. “Then I guess everything is all right. Take me in, to see the castle.”
  Percy stretched. ‘Take me too, please. I’ve been ignored since Donn got here.’
  I stroked him. “No, we haven’t. We’ve been snuggling with you.”
  ‘Yeah. You’ve been treating me like a cat.’
  “You are a cat, right now.” I said.
  ‘I thought it was just a façade,’ said Percy. ‘That’s just what you’ve been telling Warren.’
  I looked at Warren. “Well, let’s the three of us go then.”
  “I’m ready,” said Warren.
  Percy gave a contented growl.
  I went Astral first, Percy followed me on his own, then I took Warren, and we blended into each other. It would prove to be one much appreciated tour, from Warren’s perspective.

  *****

  Thanatos and Stefan were kicked back in the room dedicated to Sumer. “Warren seems to be progressing quite nicely,” said Thanatos.
  “He’s growing up pretty fast. If I’d had known about all these books when I was younger, I would have progressed a Hell of a lot faster myself.”
  Thanatos leaned forward, and put his forehead and nose against Stefan’s. “You’re upset about the past again.”
  Stefan backed away, and kissed Thanatos on the nose. “I’ll never stop bitching. It’s too much fun.”
  “Sometimes I wonder if it’s not your favourite activity.”
  “Top three, probably,” said Stefan.
  “At least.”
  “Is it really right, what we did with Warren?”
  Thanatos scowled. “Stef, let me ask you a question.”
  “OK.”
  “I know damn well Warren’s relationship with Ronin and Tonya was nowhere near as strong as what you had with Donn, and later with me, but can you imagine what you would have gone through if we’d abandoned you completely? What would have happened if Donn never invaded your dreams, or answered your desperate pleas, though it wasn't to the degree of your liking, of course?”
  “Not only would I have killed myself, I would have wanted to totally cease to exist.”
  “You don’t abandon a channel. It’s as bad as abandoning an animal.”
  “Aye. Donn didn’t write about it, but I remember how you took care of all of your channels, and how Deliah took care of hers before the second transfer from The White City,” said Stefan.
  “So what we did with Warren is irregular, but it has happened before, and it will happen again.”
  Stefan chuckled. “It just cracks me up, on how we want to switch our past lives.”
  “And if you did, all stories following ‘What Revelation Never Told You’ never would have happened. Everything would have been different. I know damn well you couldn’t face that, knowing what you know.”
  Stefan embraced Thanatos. Of course Than returned the hug. “Thanatos, do you ever not know what to say?”
  “It’s happened, babe.”
  “Thanks for sharing me with Donn, and Donn with me.”
  “Same,” said Thanatos.

  ***** 

  Sylvia and Deliah were laughing pretty hard. 
  Deliah said, “I can’t believe Warren did that to you.”
  Sylvia said, “Tried to do that to me, rather. He was testing himself. He passed with flying colours.”
  “I notice. He’s come a long way, huh?”
  “Well, he’s obviously not the insecure youngster who me and Stefan observed reading the Xanon Chronicles.”
  “I’m glad he was so driven to learn new things. Otherwise it would have been a disaster,” said Deliah.
  “Well, if he hadn’t been, Tonya and Ronin never would have picked him.”
  “Isn’t that the truth! When will he be totally ours, so to speak?”
  “I have no idea. That’s a question for Thanatos.”
 















  Chapter 9

  A conference call had been placed, and everyone at the castle was around the table. Thanatos held up an attractively packaged CD. “Well, Warren, here you have it. You recorded it, and you engineered it. The first Synthstatics CD is ready.”
  Warren reached for it, and Thanatos gave it to him. He opened it up. “Nice cover and booklet. You’ve managed to make me look pretty good.”
  “As if,” said Thanatos. “Now, from what I recall, you wanted to give one to Gary and Karen?”
  Warren scowled. “I did at one time. I’m not sure I care any more.”
  “You’re not sure?” asked Thanatos.
  “Actually, I am sure. It’s part of my past, and I guess it’s not relevant, anymore. I’ve got you guys, and what used to be just isn’t important to me.”
  Thanatos smiled. “Welcome on board. You can consider yourself one of us, now.”

  *****

  And so ends a very concise introduction of how we got three newcomers to our adopted family. 
 Will there be more? Oh, I don't know. I'm in no position to tell at the moment.






End of Volume Seven

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