Chapter 18: A Wedding

Jewel spoiled Cody with a trove of Christmas presents. He felt like he let her down since he did not get her half as many gifts. But he knew that the last one he had would make up for any discrepancy in the count or value of what he purchased. After they had unwrapped their presents and collected the mound of wrapping paper Cody took their drinks to the kitchen for a refill. When he returned he handed Jewel her drink then dropped to a knee to give her a final gift in a small square box with a flip top lid.

Jewel paused in disbelief, then took the box and held it tight before saying, yelling, “Yes, of course.”

Cody refrained from being a smart ass. He wanted to ask what she thought was in the box. Instead he pulled her close and hugged her tightly, saying, “I love you.”

The gifts were now an afterthought. Jewel called her mom and told her the news. She thought her mom would balk when Jewel told her that they were planning a fall wedding.

“I guess that’s still nine months off, so you’re probably not pregnant.”

“Mom!” yelled Jewel.

“What? Haven’t you done the math? Your cousin was born six months after my sister married.”

“What? I, uh, I guess it had never dawned on me,” said Jewel slowly.

Phone calls to family and friends continued for the next several days. Cody and Jewel had already picked a date, so when asked, they offered invitations to a select number of those they called. They wanted a small, intimate ceremony.

From December through September Elaine only appeared a handful of times. She never gave Cody a job but on each occasion grilled him on his usage of enablements. He pushed back every time by saying she knew if he used The Onyx so why continue the questions?

Even though Elaine rarely stopped time and talked with Cody, he assumed she was constantly watching. It took a great deal of concentration to block her from his mind. If he wasn’t careful he would begin to obsess over her possible presence which would lead to Jewel becoming suspicious.

For the past nine months Heidrick and Annike had also gone quiet. Whatever Annike spotted during Cody’s brief encounter with them in their car leaving Best Buy spooked them into hiding.

As the days turned into weeks and then into months, Cody hoped that his involvement with The Onyx and Orion was over. He wanted it to just be a bad phase of his life, and how both sides had retreated in fear of mutual destruction. That is what he hoped. In his heart, he knew that was not what was happening. He was positive both sides would reappear at some point.

Cody surprised Jewel with the interest he took in planning their wedding. Even though it was to be a small wedding with less than thirty guests, it took many phone calls and visits to churches and venues for the reception.

The weekend before the wedding, Jewel and Cody were on the couch watching television. When the show ended Jewel turned to Cody and said, “Can you believe it? A week from today we are going to be married.”

“Are you trying to scare me?” joked Cody.

Jewel tossed a throw pillow in his direction. He dodged it and leaned toward Jewel to give her a kiss.

Cody said, “On the one hand, it seems like a big deal, but on the other I don’t know that too much will change. We got this place last month and that was a huge step.”

They looked around the room of their new house. It was the first time Cody had used any of the inheritance money he got from his uncle the previous year.

The house was closer to Jewel’s old apartment which was by choice since she still needed to go into the office and Cody worked from home. They splurged and got a three bedroom house with a large backyard. The master was obviously their bedroom. The other two were used for a home office and an exercise room. The kitchen, dining area, and living room were all one big space which made the home seem much larger. An upstairs area was a loft that they used for a game room.

“You’re right,” said Jewel. “And we were even able to pick out new furniture without killing each other.”

“Don’t forget the waffle maker, that was a big one, too.”

Jewel made a face. “You still think I should have held off on that? It would have been to put on the registry?”

“I mean, it would have been a practical gift. I’m not sure how much use we’ll get out of a crystal decanter or electric salt and pepper mills.”

“I use those all of the time when I am at my mom’s house,” countered Jewel. They realized they were going down a well-worm path and paused. Jewel shook her head and chuckled.

“Guess this is what it’s going to be like to be married, huh?”

Cody stood and offered his hand. “Yep, and with benefits.”

He pulled Jewel to her feet and led to her to the bedroom. At the door, she ran ahead and jumped on the bed.

“Come to me, my husband-to-be,” she said with a laugh and huge smile.

Cody took a step toward Jewel when he realized her grin had frozen on her face.

“Oh, fuck no, not now Elaine!”

He turned to see Elaine standing in the corner. She had a severe look on her face.

“You’ve had plenty of time to play house the past nine months. It’s time to talk.”

It was clear she was not in a joking mood. Cody turned and sat on the edge of the bed.

“So talk,” he said sullenly.

Without any niceties Elaine says, “Orion has gotten way too close. Your uncle’s death and a few untimely coincidences opened the door for them to get an edge. We need to close that loophole.”

Cody shrugged. “And how is that loophole closed?”

“You have to have an accident and end up in a coma.”

“What? Accident? Coma? What the fuck are you talking about?”

Elaine did not flinch. “Dagon has served The Onyx for almost a century. He has wanted to move on, to die and be released from his coma, for more than a decade. This problem gives him that chance.”

“How does someone dying from a coma close a loophole? And again, what the fuck are you talking about by saying I have to almost die?”

“Remember the structure of The Onyx? The Onyx is served by Gurus who have Guides. The Onyx, Gurus, and Guides are all in some form of a vegetative state. Have you never wondered why every time we talk time stops? I am practically dead and can only materialize to talk with you when there is no time.”

Cody’s shoulders slumped. This was new news. He did not see this twist.

“Dagon is a Guru. He has a guide who will take his place. I will move to that Guide’s spot, and you will take my spot as a Guide. You are a bit junior for the role, but by being in a coma and a Guide you will not trigger the same anomalies when you use enablements. Hence, the loophole is closed.”

Cody just stared in the direction of Elaine. He had nothing to say.

“The final approval needs to come from The Onyx. It will probably take a few days.”

“Wait,” Cody said louder than he expected. “This all started when some old guy knew he’d die and he passed on an ankh to his daughter. Then before she died she figured out a management structure for The Onyx. Why is it that now Gurus are living for a thousand years?”

“I don’t have an answer,” Elaine replied flatly. “Over time, the power of the ankh has evolved. I guess The Onyx – the person – thought that being in a coma would be safer and allow the wearer to be in control for an indefinite – even infinite if so desired – amount of time.”