Excerpt: Gnostic Path Series: Prima Materia

Aleanora quickly put on the clothes Salaam had provided her. She was eager to get out to where he and the others were making plans. She opened the door and the room fell silent. All eyes were upon her. She swallowed and tried to keep from favoring her sore leg as she moved to the table where the pitcher of water and glass were setting. As she poured, the conversation seemed to relaunch.
“So we’re going to break into Hezekiah’s place?”
“It was my thought, Lukas. Between the two of us, we can open the way. Paracelsus can keep watch.”
Paracelsus was watching Salaam as he ticked off the plans. He started at his name. “I’m going? I am not opposed, but this ist not expected.”
“How? I thought he was bonded to Aleanora.”
“That is not entirely accurate,” Salaam was watching Aleanora as he spoke. “But it is no matter for Aleanora will be coming with us as well.”
“What? That is too dangerous.” Lukas shot a glance to Aleanora. “You are hurt. You need to rest. You’ve been through enough. Please, let us do this.”
“Lukas, your thoughtfulness is appreciated. I must go. I want to see this done. And I know the location of the recipe. Salaam and Paracelsus needs the recipe to cure me. I want to help with the cure, since it was my mistake that poisoned me in the first place.”
“My dear, you are wrong.” A voice broke from the kitchenette. She hadn’t noticed him standing there. Jakob came out from the shadows and pulled up a chair to the table where all but Paracelsus now sat. Jakob mounted the chair backwards and leaned his arms on the back of the chair. “You are not to blame. I know for a fact you are not to blame.”
“It is all conjecture.” Salaam waved his hand. His eyes failed to look at Jakob.
“No… I have heard it from the horse’s mouth…Hezekiah told me.”
All eyes turned to Jakob. “What? I am not evil. I have released my best servant from his services. I have also allowed Jasmine to go… she should be rescuing Christabel’s little blossom right now. I have given Isolde the option to leave and she’s considering it.”
“Have you stopped your experiments?” Salaam’s voice carried and icy edge.
“Dear man, I can’t stop progress.” He gave to glances to Salaam before continuing. “But I can tell you that not long after your announcement and departure, dear girl,” Jakob was now leering at Aleanora, “Not long after that… that night… he called me back to his house for drinks. He was inebriated when I arrived. He offered me whiskey and sat me down and proceeded to rant for hours. He had apparently launched a retaliatory attack at you moments before my arrival. Apparently, he had given you something in your food all of these years… this was to keep you from becoming pregnant while he… shall we say carried on with you… and make you dreadfully ill if you had ever summoned up the courage to leave. If you had stayed that day… you would have eaten dinner and been fine. You left… and as Lukas describes it… you became ill, right?”
Aleanora nodded. A low growl grew. She looked to see Lukas snarling.
“He told me that night about how he had not given you the dose the night before. His hopes were that either Salaam or I would create a dramatic event for him to play with by causing you to have our child. He was very irked when he heard that Salaam did not seem to play along. Our man, Hezekiah, likes to create drama when he becomes bored.”
Salaam shook his head. “We should not be discussing this. We need to prepare for the retrieval of the recipe.” Aleanora caught him looking at her, his eyes seemed weighted with worry.
“But Salaam, I’m getting to the point of my story. He had become bored when he invited us. We knew that. We did not know we were part of the entertainment.”
“You were.”
“I was… He told me to teach her.” Jakob swallowed. “It was not my idea, but I was not going to go against my host.”
“You were not going to go against the man who supplies you when you need gypsies these days.”
Jakob’s eyes fell to the floor. “No. You are right.” He looked at Aleanora, “I was not out to hurt you, though. He wanted me to ‘give you experience.’ I chose to give you training in something that might keep him from getting bored. I really did not want him to get too bored with you.” His eyes drifted down to gaze at her hands. “I know what happens when he gets bored with his students.”
The room sat chilled for many moments. “I have seen the effects of his boredom, Jakob, just as you have. However, my answer was to remove her from the danger, not to give her more time in his presence before he could get bored.”
“And my answer was to buy her more time and then ask her to join me. Thus, if I failed, she might still have some more time to find another way out.” He shot a glance at Salaam. “I am trying to help here. As I was saying, he was drunk that night. He was angry and drunk. He told me he put the recipe out those years ago… he was laughing at his joke. He was explaining how things had become too routine. Aleanora was too obedient… was too good of an apprentice. He knew she was going to do well and was going to figure out that she knew enough… that she was an alchemist already.”
Paracelsus coughed. Christabel gasped. Lukas snarled. Salaam shook his head. Aleanora clutched her fingers into her palms. Salaam slid his arm around her shoulders.
“Yes. That’s right. So his tale continued that night. He told how he pulled the recipe out where she would look for her lesson recipe for the day. The pig set her up to fail so that she would have to rely on him to survive and would not be able to leave until he was done with her.”
Lukas flung his chair across the room as he leapt to his feet. The chair flew through Paracelsus and shattered against the wall. His eyes became horrified when he realized what he did and looked to Paracelsus apologetically. “It ist alright, dear boy. My sentiments as well. I only wish I could fling a chair… though this ist precisely what I had surmised had happened. No alchemist would be so careless.”
Salaam’s eyes were focused on the floor. Aleanora rested her head against his shoulder. “I am an alchemist, I guess.”
“Lioness, you have been an alchemist for some time. He was never going to pronounce you as one, because that would give you power.” He rubbed her shoulder with his hand.
She looked at Jakob. He was watching her. His eyes had a faded sour look which shifted to a kind supporting look when he noticed her looking his way. He smiled weakly at her. Salaam shifted and she sat upright. She reached for her glass of water, but Jakob reached it first. He handed it to her. She noted that Salaam had gotten to his feet and moved over to whisper with Lukas. She smiled kindly at Jakob. She was nervous being left with him, but she knew that Lukas and Salaam would be watching him. It’s not that she feared Jakob would hurt her, but that she felt vulnerable still, and he was making her feel moreso.
“You don’t have to go with them. I can stay her and guard you. You could draw a map for Lukas and Salaam. They could probably move quicker on their own.”
“I feel up to the journey. I want to see this wrapped up. I want to be a part of the solution.”
“You would make the map.” His eyes softened. “Aleanora, you’re still not healed.”
“Salaam’s ointment…”
“Suppresses the pain, relinks the tissues, and stops the bleeding. Muscle mass takes a bit longer to heal… You don’t trust me.”
“You seemed on Master Hezekiah’s side back at the mansion.”
“Aleanora,” Salaam had paused his conversation with Lukas, “please stop referring to him as your master. Call him Hezekiah.”
“Or call him ‘Asshole’,” Lukas added.
“There are ladies present, young man.” Paracelsus interjected. “Though if they were not … I would of course agree with your choice.”
Aleanora nodded shyly. She looked over to Jakob. “In any case, you seemed to be on his side.”
“I told you a few minutes ago. I played along to try to help you.”
“Lord von Richter-”
“Call me Jakob, please.”
“Lord von Richter, I do not wish to remain in your protection.”
“I wish you would reconsider on this. I would like you to also reconsider my offer of returning with me to my manor. I know Lukas and Jasmine must not have painted a pretty picture, but please know that I only test on those who are willing. I would never even approach you to be one of my subjects. You would have a place of honor at my establishment as lady of the house.”
Aleanora tried to suppress the warmth growing in her face. She knew she was blushing. She started to respond, but he raised his hand.
“Don’t answer now. Just consider. Salaam is a traveler. I have a residence.” He gazed at her, she could feel his eyes. She did everything she could to not look at him. Finally, he inhaled. “Are you certain the child is Hezekiah’s?”
She swallowed. The seed of doubt was present now, growing through her mind. If he had stopped the potions the night before Salaam and Jacob’s visit, it could be Hezekiah’s from that night, Jakob’s from the tantric session, or Hezekiah’s from the punishment session. She really couldn’t say whose child it was. Tears began to form in her eyes. If it was Jakob’s child, was it fair to take it away from him? She did not care about fair when it came to Hezekiah now, but Jakob had proven to be helping them and was possibly innocent of nefarious plans. Possibly. She sipped some water.
“Aleanora, if you would excuse me. I think Lukas would like you to join him over there. He’s ready to discuss the location of the chest. I will keep Jakob company. There are some things we need to discuss as well.”
Salaam held out his hand to her and she accepted it, allowing him to help her from the seat. As she walked away, she heard Salaam whisper, “Jakob, I will personally extract you from this room and make sure you can not find us again if you continue in this measure. Aleanora does not need your interrogations or your offers. You will cease this nonsense.”
“Salaam, I was merely making an offer to help her.”
“I heard your offer, Jakob. I also heard your attempt at creating uncertainty. You will stay away from her.”
“Salaam, good man...”
“You WILL stay away from her.”
Aleanora had reached Lukas. She turned just short of him to look back at the two men in their discussion. Lukas’ hands gripped her shoulders gently and pulled her back towards him as she gawked. Salaam had put his hand on Jakob’s shoulder. His fingers were now acting like a vice on the mage’s shoulders. Jakob was not flinching, but it was obvious that it was through sheer will power that he hid his reactions. There was an unexplained aura of authority radiating from Salaam’s face. She had never seen such ruthlessness from him. Lukas’ mouth was now at her ear, “It’s alright, he will handle it. Jakob should not bother you again.”
“Lukas, but he’s right. The child could be his. How could I separate the child from the father.”
“You can for the same reason you can with Hezekiah… because… it is not …safe.”
“Salaam, you don’t want to do this. I was going to provide you with a portal so that you can gain entrance to Hezekiah’s mansion.”
“We will do it without your help. Leave. Now.”
“Salaam.” Jakob raised his hands in an openhanded gesture. “Let’s talk about this like gentlemen.”
Salaam did not release his grip. “That is not possible, because only one of us is such. Leave now, while you can,” He tightened his grip, “before I become angry.”
“That’s not angry?” Aleanora was in awe. Salaam was now a terrifying visage.
Lukas chuckled, “Apparently not. I have to admire him for keeping his calm. I think if I was able to have a confrontation with him, I’d do more than wrench his arm. My claws would even come out.”
“What do you mean if you could have a confrontation?”
“Von Richter has a charm that keeps his creations and their progeny from attacking him. So not only can I not attack him, but I can’t make another were-creature through bite or scratch and let them attack him.”
Aleanora looked back at Lukas. His eyes smoldered with hate. “I’m sorry.” She watched him. The bones in his cheeks tightened as his eyes narrowed on his desired prey. “Perhaps I can discover a potion that could release that … or maybe I could even cure your lycanthropy…”
His rage broke and his eyes softened. He looked at her and smiled shyly. “You’d do that…” His eyes moistened. “We should see to curing you first. Then we’ll worry about these fantasies.”
She looked back at Jakob and Salaam. Salaam was lifting Jakob out of his chair. “Alright, Salaam! You’ve made your point! Damn!” Salaam was helping, ever not so gently, Jakob towards the door. Jakob was not struggling as much. He was actually seeming to try to take it in stride. Walking along with Salaam. “Thank you so much, Lord von Richter for stopping by. And thank you for all of the information you have imparted. Despite our refusal of your assistance or kindness, we are grateful.” He pointed at Aleanora and gave a snarky smile, “keep my offer in mind.”
Salaam opened the door and tossed Jakob through it. He then slammed the door. “We will proceed with our planning now.”