Chapter 34: Essence

Where does one uncover the true essence of human nature?
In a tender heart? An avaricious mind? A courageous spirit? Or a jealous soul?

A Fool's Book of Wisdom

"You could not possibly begin to understand just how relieved and delighted I am to leave that place." Kimberly unconsciously trailed her fingers over the now unblemished skin of her throat and shuddered. "I really did believe I would die down there. You do know that, do you not?"

Helen turned her compassionate eyes on her companion and allowed a weak smile to touch the corners of her mouth before she wrapped a comforting arm around the younger woman's slender shoulder. She gave Kimberly a gentle shake.

"Now, now, I will not stand for any of that foolish kind of talk. Helen may be a crotchety old bitch, but she never turned away from a person in need of help, and she sure as hell does not intend to start tonight. So, enough talk of dying. This night needs no encouragement to take a life." She shivered, gathered the loose folds of her skirt in her hands and hugged the garment close to her body. She sighed and then muttered with disgust, "Bah! Helen is the true fool here. Ready to run off without looking to see where she is. Well, we cannot go back because that is where we were. We cannot go forward or we walk into a bloody brick wall, although a hard thump to my thick noggin might do me a bit of good, seeing as my brain has been working so well this night. But I will hold off on further abusing myself until I am not quite so pressed for time. Come now, old girl, should we go left or should we go right?"

Helen allowed her eyes to drift, looking from side to side, examining their options. She gave a small snort of disgust, smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand and tilted her head back to look up and examine the nighttime sky.

"Well, that helps a wee bit, I think. At least I now know which direction we need to go."

Her course now decided, she gave a curt nod of her head, lifted her skirts and turned to face the path on her left. She trudged down the alley to its end where it met with a raised wooden walkway. Without glancing over her shoulder, she called to Kimberly.

"Girl, you need to come with me as I do not intend to leave you here for that fiend to find. I give you my word that with the rising of the sun, if it is your wish, you may go wherever it is that you will. But for tonight, I need to keep you with me. After all, I do believe you owe me a favor for the effort I placed into healing you. I would not have all of my hard work go for naught. Besides, not all of my reasons are altruistic ones, either. I am quite certain that Xavier believes you killed me tonight and I intend that Xavier remain ignorant of my survival for as long as possible. Therefore, the beast must not find you turned or not." She stopped and looked around her. "Do you happen to have any idea of where we are? I need to return posthaste to my home in the Bois de Vincennes..."

Kimberly gasped at Helen's words and covered her mouth with the splayed fingers of her hand, muffling her words and almost hiding the slight quaver in her voice.

"But no one lives in the Bois de Vincennes! I have heard that it is haunted and not a place where one should go for a casual stroll. I live in Montmartre and, while it is not a savory place to wander, I at least feel secure enough to walk the streets where I will during the hours of daylight. Madame, do you mean to tell me that you live in a place where it is not only dangerous to walk the paths during daylight, but an open invitation to disaster if one decides to venture off the marked ways? I realize I sound quite foolish and superstitious, but after the events of this night you can hardly fault me for my concern."

Kimberly paused. Thoughts of the haunted Bois had brought the horrific memories of her encounter with the beast flooding into the forefront of her mind, and she had to fight off the rising panic that threatened to overwhelm her. She closed her pale blue eyes and, ignoring the fetid smell, took slow, deep breaths of the chill night air to calm the rapid beating of her heart. Once her heart no longer threatened to burst and the roaring sound of her pulsing blood thundering in her ears quieted, she opened her eyes. She looked into the deep sapphire of Helen's eyes and found no pity, only respect and something else. She studied the older woman's bemused expression for a moment before she continued, her eyes widening with sudden realization. "Hmmm ... well, perhaps not all is as it seems in the Bois. Is it truly necessary for us to go there?"

Helen simply stared with an unwavering gaze into Kimberly's eyes, cocked an eyebrow and gave a slow nod of her head.

Kimberly moaned and threw her hands into the air. "Oh fuck! This seems a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire ... damned if I do, damned if I do not. I am sure there are numerous other truisms that would equally apply to this situation, but they all mean the same thing. My future is not certain yet. I mean, whether I am to have a future, that is. Merde!"

The young woman's voice trailed off into a quiet rant of muttered curses before falling silent. Helen smirked and shrugged, her gaze never breaking from the younger woman.

"Very well! Just stop staring at me, woman! Yes, I know where we are. We are near my home. I recognize the smell of this place well. This," Kimberly spread her arms wide to dramatize her words, "is Montmartre. And, due to the lateness of the hour, we shall never find a brougham for hire. If you intend to walk, it is a long, long walk, Helen. If I were to hazard a guess, the walk would take probably around three hours without a rest. That means the night should be near its end by the time we arrive at your home, but I can see from the look in your eyes that nothing I can say shall change your mind." Kimberly sighed and rubbed at her temple. "Let me think a moment. Hmmm ... Do you ride?"

Helen blinked and nodded.

Kimberly continued, "Good. I have a friend who owes me a favor. He might be able to locate a horse or two for our use, but it could take a bit of time. Then again, if we begin walking to the Bois now, we might pass by a conveyance that we could borrow for the night. Although I am quite certain the gendarmes would not see our use as borrowing, if you take my meaning. Normally, I do not condone this type of behavior, as I am not a thief. But, after my encounter with ... Xavier? Yes, Xavier ... my normal standards no longer apply. What do you think?"

Shrugging, Helen turned back to lift her foot onto the raised walkway and called over her shoulder.

"I think we need to make haste. If we find a means to quicken our journey whilst we walk, I shall certainly feel no qualms in availing myself of it. But I see no benefit in speculation. We simply waste time." Her rapid stride faltered and her abrupt halt startled her companion. Helen turned to Kimberly and with an abrupt wave of her hand, motioned for the younger woman to take the lead. "Please, the ones I care for most in the world are in danger from Xavier, and I must return to the Bois as soon as I am able. I do not know these streets. Will you help and show me the way?"

With a sigh of resignation, Kimberly nodded and walked past Helen.

"Of course, follow me."

"Sing?"

The astonished couple spoke the single word in unison and Erik's embrace turned ever more protective. His amber eyes flashed and his angry words rumbled low and full of menace.

"You speak nonsense. I trained her voice so that she might sing at the opera, not weave enchantments. And I know no more magic than the simple healing potions taught to me by Helen. How is it that you believe the two of us can call to life the Golem?"

Leshii turned to regard the man. His eyes narrowed, his lips thinned into a hard, straight line and the mossy strands of greenery that made up his hair began to sway as if stirred by an unseen breeze.

"Foolish man," Leshii snarled, "you think to question me now that your enemy comes? Still your insolent tongue and do as I say, or all you hold dear shall surely perish in a manner most unpleasant."

Erik released Christine from his hold and stepped in front of her as he drew his body to its full height. The air began to crackle with static electricity as the woodland spirit and man faced one another. An instant before the tension reached the point of no return Sabratha ran between the two and shouted.

"Stop!"

A vibrant cloud of fiery red hair floated in gentle wisps about her small body as she stood between the spirit and the man. She held her arms out with her palms raised toward each being's chest. She looked first to Leshii and then to Erik, her gaze piercing, yet gentle. The rising wind ceased and the crackling energy faded.

"We have no time for bickering. Leshii, they have no idea of the nature of their power, and you seem to have no understanding of how to explain it to them, so allow me to do it." She lowered her arms and gracefully inclined her head to Leshii, who reluctantly returned the nod.

She turned to the couple, who now had their arms wrapped about each other's waist. Christine thought she caught a glimpse of deep sadness in the woman's eyes, but it disappeared before she was sure what she had seen. Sabratha gave a small shake of her head and then turned serious eyes on the couple.