Chapter 7

Laura and Kimber brought food, placing it on the stone pedestal south of the table. The canopy had been removed so that the stars and moon were visible. Kelly was still asleep. Kimber was a tall, thin girl, several points below her preferred BMI- enough that some people worried about her and pushed food at her. Her hair was naturally curly, her eyes strangely to far apart, and too starkly, flattened almond shaped for her identified ethnicity. Her skin was dark, golden honey in tone- sunlight pushing through a jar. She was supposedly Hispanic; she was accused of being an alien hybrid. Physically she was 21, intellectually she bounced from 12 to a hundred. She was either extremely ‘blond’ or quite profound in her observations. She tended to wear the two piece dress that had a distinctly Egyptian look about it. The top had one strap over the right shoulder. The top piece was loose and allowed the bosom to fill it and leave folds, while the gold, elastic band kept it tight to her rib cage. The white, rippled skirt barely fell mid-thigh. The gold waistband hugged her hips, navel exposed. There was evidence for muscle lines on her stomach. She wasn’t thin from not eating.

Laura was dark chocolate, and carried the accent of the island she was raised on. Her hips and butt were big, and the curve of her back was pronounced. She sported a military cut, and a gold painted tattoo of an Aztec like hummingbird. She liked wearing the brightly, multicolored, strapless, summer dresses from her origin point, but would tolerate all white for ceremonial reasons. Technically, servicing ‘this boy’ was supposed to be all ceremonial in nature. He was a boy to her, even though he was designated legal age. She preferred older men, as they carried the chisel feature of wisdom earned through having lived, trial by fire. That, and she grew up in the circle of elders and had likely fixated on attributes that indicated health and longevity. Her work was not pleasure, just work; she accepted the ideal that true work always held pleasure, but her only wanting was to train the initiate to survive the ordeal to come.

Telmar was Asian. His face had the chiseled expression that is associated with having endured losses. He was Chinese descent, and perhaps mixed. He didn’t discuss his family or heritage. He had accepted his fate and become renown in the practice. Mother had taught him. Mother was teaching his wives through him, as was the way. Mother wasn’t his biological mother. Mother was jokingly old enough to have lived through the last fall, and she would tell you as much. Mother could care less if you believed it, as long as you heeded her ‘recommendations.’

Laura brought Telmar a peeled orange. She held the orange near until the smell of it brought him out of his trance.

“Do we engage him now?” Kimber asked.

“No,” Telmar said.

“But he is so hard,” Laura said. “Aren’t we supposed to help relieve him?”

“Not yet,” Telmar said.

“I thought if you have an erection over four hours you need medical attention,” Kimber said.

“He has cycled,” Telmar said.

“Quite a lot, apparently,” Kimber said, catching a stringy thread of precum. There was enough pooled on his stomach to lube the penis, make it shiny; something she liked to do before going down on it. “I can’t get pregnant during a ceremony. Right?”

She brought her finger up to smell it and was going to taste it, but Telmar took her wrist and pulled her hand away. She pouted. He sucked her finger clean.

“Yes, even this small sample could get you pregnant. He doesn’t have to cum inside you. This is enough.”

“Oh. But he can’t cum while dreaming, is what I meant,” Kimber said, trying to recover.

“He can. It’s called a nocturnal emission,” Telmar said. He returned to his position at the head of the table.

“Like Emissary?” Kimber asked.

“What?” Laura asked.

“Emission comes from the word emissary, right? Just like fickle comes from the word fick,” Kimber said.

“Fick is not a word,” Laura said.

“Then where do you suppose fickle comes from?” Kimber said.

“You can both go now,” Telmar said.

“But we’re supposed to help you wake him,” Kimber said.

“On the third night, if he has not awakened, then you must engage him,” Telmar said.

“What would happen if we rush him to emission now?” Laura asked.

“It depends on where he is in the dream world,” Telmar said. “It could rush him back, it could separate him permanently from his body. Most likely, nothing. If he is in random chaos, which tends to be the dreams at this stage, he will not reach threshold.”

“Which means he won’t cum,” Kimber said. “So, I could ride him without consequence… to him.”

“My, aren’t we horny today,” Laura said.

“And you’re not?” Kimber asked.

“I said we,” Laura said.

“As long as we are in his sphere of influence, we will be aroused,” Telmar said.

“Or until he stops dreaming,” Kimber said.

“Or until he stops dreaming,” Telmar said.

“Would you like relief?” Kimber asked.

He invited her in between the table and his chair. She sat on the table. He rose to meet her. Laura broke the orange and fed it to him. Kimber and he shared the same orange piece together, while engaging each other in a ceremonial way. Their lips met. Orange juice ran down their lips and chin. Kimber chased it through his beard with her tongue. Laura supplied more orange, even dipped a slice in the precum available from Kelly. Telmar pulled Kimber to the edge of the table. She lay back, allowing her legs to go up, her knees folding over his shoulder. She had to pivot to lay beside Kelly. In her rocking, her shoulder touched his shoulder. Laura came around and kissed Kimber, orange in her mouth.

The boy sat up. “Fuckkkk!” ‘Nocturnal emission’ drove him up from the sleep. He became aware of the other three, sexual congress in progress for at least two, and stark awareness of his being naked. He stood up on the table, pointing the stick he still clutched. He did not try to cover his erection. It continued to point, too, oozing.

“Fuck! What the hell is going on here,” Kelly demanded.

“I can explain,” Telmar said, still hugging Kimber’s legs.

“Don’t stop,” Kimber said. She sighed heavily. “Fuck, I was almost there.”

Kimber disengaged from Telmar with a deep rocking of her hips, and rolled off the table. Telmar and Kelly pointed at each other, equally sturdy despite age disparity, and despite one had finished its business. Kimber pulled her dress down and used it to dry the outside of her. The boy retreated to the edge of the table, pointing at her, then back to the man. He didn’t know who to point at. Telmar’s wand seemed more officious than the boy’s stick.

“At least someone came,” Kimber said. “Maybe cum again?”

“No. We need to bathe him, give him clothing, and true relief,” Laura said.

“Stay away from me, you, you, you pervs!” Kelly said.

“Lakin, you need to be calm and hear the explanation,” Telmar said.

“Lakin? Who is Lakin?” Kelly asked.

“Your name is now Lakin,” Telmar said.

“My name is Kelly!” Kelly said.

“Your parents hated you?” Laura asked.

“Kelly is a perfectly reasonable boy’s name,” Kelly said.

Laura made a face that suggested hopeful skepticism.

“You never heard of Gene Kelly?”

“Oh, it’s your last name,” Kimber said.

“Fuck! Where are my clothes?”

“Those had to be disposed of,” Telmar said. “There is a robe over there. There is food and drink as well.”

“I am not eating anything from you,” Kelly said, climbing down from the table. He found the robe. It was awkward pushing the stick through the robe. It snagged and got stuck several times and he had to slow down just to get it through. For the duration of his trying to robe himself, which had him spinning in circles, no one advanced on him, and he seemed completely unaware of their existence. He couldn’t tie the robe. He didn’t focus on this fact. He returned to pointing the stick at them. He was unaware of how much time he took dressing.

“We’re not going to harm you or poison you,” Laura assured him.

“You’re damn right you’re not,” he said. He backed away until he ran into something hard and unseen. He turned. There was no wall.

“You cannot leave yet,” Telmar said. “You cannot leave until you have full understanding of it.”

“What is this?” Kelly asked.

“You are centered on the ceremonial table,” Telmar said. “Your sphere of influence is locked to the table and defined by this invisible barrier.”

Telmar sat on the table, in the middle of the long side, facing south. One of the hexagon tile rose to meet his feet. Kimber and Laura set on either side of him. Tiles rose to meet their feet, as well. Kimber stretched her legs straight out, and when she brought them down, the tile was where it needed to be to catch the length of her legs. She tapped it twice, and it withdrew back into the earth. She alternated kicking her feet like a kid, until Telmar tapped her leg with his wand, indicating he wanted her to be still. Kelly walked the perimeter of the invisible barrier, touching it with his left hand. His erection had fully surrendered. All the while, he kept the stick pointed at the strangers. He came back around to full south, and the pedestal with the food and drink on it. He eyed the water.

“Quench your thirst,” Telmar invited.

“No!” Kelly said, tapping on the invisible wall. “What sort of sorcery is this?”

“Oh, this is beyond the levels of sorcery,” Telmar said. “If you survive what is to come, you will become Fringe.”

“I knew you were going to try and kill me,” Kelly said, pointing the stick more fiercely.

“Not I,” they said in unison.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Telmar asked.

“I was fishing with my brothers,” Kelly said.

“Lakin, you need to get this, and accept it soon: you have no brothers. You have no family,” Telmar said.

“You killed them?!” Kelly demanded. He wanted to back away but could not.

“Not I,” they said.

“They may still be alive. We don’t know your story. We don’t need to know your story. You were asleep when they brought you. Stiff as a corpse,” Telmar said. “Think back. Kelly was fishing. Did it come from the water?”

“From the forest…” Kelly answered, too quickly. He became quiet, following it. His brow crinkled with effort.

“Stick with it. It’s like remembering a dream,” Telmar said.

“It was in the shadow of trees. I think it was a tree, so perfectly still yet… It reached for me. It came forwards as male. It came forwards again, female. If I lied, it inched forwards,” Kelly said.

“Did you ask it questions?” Telmar asked.

“It said its name was Dell, or Della, depending on the aspect it’s projecting,” Kelly said.

“Wow, what a sophisticated assessment,” Kimber said.

“And means you’re hyper-heterosexual, or it wouldn’t have bounced genders,” Laura said.

“Not that there is anything wrong with that,” Telmar said. “In some ways, ambiguity can be harder to sort.”

“I like harder,” Kimber said.

“What in the fuck are you guys talking about?!”

“You said fuck,” Kimber said.

Kelly came forwards, pointing the stick aggressively. “You will tell me what this is about.”

“Did you ever read the Trades of Fall?” Telmar asked.

“There’s like five volumes! Of course I didn’t,” Kelly said.

“Seven, actually,” Kimber said. “Most people don’t discuss the other three, but they’re legit.”

“So, you didn’t read it,” Telmar said. “Did you even finish high school?”

“I got my equivalent,” Kelly said.

Telmar nodded. “Hopefully that will be enough. You strong in the sciences?”

“I am not interested in joining your cult!” Kelly said.

“Good, cause this not an interview,” Telmar said.

“Interviews can be fun, though,” Kimber said.

“Fuck you,” Kelly said.

“Any time,” Kimber said.

“I demand that you release me!” Kelly said.

“You can leave anytime you want,” Telmar said. “But first, you have to put down the stick.”

Telmar stood up on the tile. Laura did, too, but Kimber simply pushed off the table lighted on her tile. Kelly renewed his threat presentation. Telmar and Laura stepped off their tile, even as they were descending back to earth. The three of them walked away from the table. Laura and Kimber went East and West, respectively. Telmar went towards Kelly, who retreated from him. Kelly was confused who to arm himself against. They left the sphere of influence, leaving Kelly stuck inside, trying to figure it out.