14. ZARA #2
“Consider it done. I’m sure Rosa will take them in for as long as they need.
You know how she loves having children to spoil in the house.
Antonio moved on last month, so she’ll have room.
” He glanced at me. “Rosa runs what you might call a halfway house for those in need of a breathing space and some serious nurturing. They’ll be well looked after under her wing. ”
“That’s obviously not the first time he’s helped someone like that at your request.” I said, after we’d left the church. “How often do you do this?”
He stopped and frowned down at me. “What did we agree about questions? I’ll answer them after we’re done. Otherwise there’ll be no time for this.” He pulled me into a shadowed alcove and the air rippled again as he transported us away to somewhere new.
“I really wish you’d warn me before you do that – oh my goodness, is this the Colosseum? Are we in Rome?” I could feel my eyes widening and my jaw dropping, but I couldn’t do a damn thing to stop them.
“I did promise you sightseeing once the night’s work was over, did I not?”
“You did,” I nodded. “But I wasn’t expecting this. Can anyone see us?”
“Of course,” he said with a smirk. “We’re showing off your beautiful dress, remember?”
“Of course,” I echoed dully. I was going to stand out like a sore thumb here wearing this. Deciding to admit defeat and let him win this one, I concentrated on changing into something a little less in your face and was horrified when nothing happened.
“Oh no, no, little one,” he admonished, wagging his finger at me playfully.
“You made your bed, now you’re going to lie in it.
Unless you’d rather go home, of course.” I looked longingly at the people milling around taking in the wonder of this incredible ancient site and knew I couldn’t bear to miss out on the opportunity to see it for myself.
Even if I was going to have to make a spectacle of myself in the process.
“Of course not.” I raised my chin and got ready to own my hideous creation.
“Wait.” He pulled me back just as I was about to march out of the shadows.
“As much as I’d love to make you do this, it seems I’m not a complete monster after all.
Which is quite unexpected and more than a little disconcerting.
” He clicked his fingers and my outfit changed to something far more appropriate for the setting.
I was hugging him before I realised what I was doing.
“Thank you.” I was already racing off before he had a chance to answer, eager to explore. I’d wanted to visit Rome for as long as I could remember so I wasn’t going to waste a single second of the time I had here.
“I’m so glad I came tonight. Thank you for showing me the sights.” Any doubts I might have had about whether I was doing the right thing had completely evaporated. This had been exactly what I needed.
After we’d left the Colosseum, we’d visited the Trevi Fountain where he’d produced a gold coin and told me to toss it in and make a wish.
Instead of wishing for Seth to come back to me right that instant, I’d wished that he was safe and achieving whatever it was he needed to achieve. That was definitely progress, right?
Now we were sitting outside a late-night café-bar sharing a bottle of red wine and watching the world go by while I finally got to ask some of my questions.
The first one had been how come everyone was speaking English and when he’d stopped laughing he’d explained that they weren’t and that being fluent in the language of whatever country we were visiting was one of the perks of the job.
Sadly that ability didn’t carry over into waking life, not for me anyway.
“Hang on a minute,” I said as it dawned on me that I was drinking actual wine when I wasn’t in my physical body. “If our bodies aren’t here, where is all this wine going?”
“What makes you think our bodies aren’t here?”
“Well, I don’t know about yours but I’m pretty sure I left mine lying on my bed.”
He shrugged. “Maybe the wine isn’t here either then. Or maybe it’s magic. Stop worrying about it and just drink it. And I’m glad you enjoyed tonight. I did too. It’s been a long time since I had such pleasant company.”
He sounded a bit wistful and I couldn’t help wondering if he really needed an apprentice at all or if he was just lonely. He’d claimed he was busy, but he’d only had one visit to do tonight, and I didn’t see how there could be that many mortals whose lives warranted interference from the gods.
“Have you ever had an apprentice before?” He’d said dream walkers were rare, so if he had it had probably been a long time ago.
“A few,” he said, “but they didn’t really work out. You’ve probably noticed by now that I’m not the easiest person to get along with. I can be a bit… abrasive at times. But I’m doing my best to be nicer.”
“I think you’re being too hard on yourself,” I said.
“I saw the way you helped that family tonight. And I haven’t forgotten what you did for Florence either.
You might come across as rude and arrogant sometimes,” I smiled to myself as he flinched, “but that’s not who you are on the inside. And for what it’s worth, I like you.”
His face lit up when I said that. “So you’ll come back tomorrow? I don’t have any visits planned, but I can tell you more about what we do and why we do it.”
“I’m looking forward to it already.” I smothered a yawn, and he gave me a rueful grin.
“Am I keeping you up?”
“Yes,” I admitted, “but this was absolutely worth missing sleep for. I think I should be getting home now though.”
“Come on then.” He stood up and threw some euros down on the table to cover our bill, then held out his hand.
I took it without hesitation this time, stepping close to him and closing my eyes as I braced myself for the rippling sensation I knew would come.
When I opened my eyes, I was back at the manor, lying on the bed and very much in my body, with his last comment to me, and the accompanying chuckle, echoing in my head.
“Make sure you wear something in that delightful shade of pink tomorrow, Mathitevómenos. It’s part of your uniform now.”