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The Seduction of Seleste

from the world of the mating season

Closure

Chapter 7

The moment he licked that stone pussy, it seemed to Keme that he was transported out of place and time. A daze washed over him, the world became a blur, and he staggered until he had fallen. When he raised his head again, he was free of traveling pack and spear; he was in the jungle, sitting under the stars. The moon was large in the sky, palm trees pressed close, crickets chirruped, creatures growled, the night sang its usual chorus. Down the grassy incline, he could see a lake. His heart leapt. It was their lake.

Keme closed his eyes. How many times had they made love beside that lake? Cooked beside that lake? Laughed beside that lake? Cuddled under the stars beside that lake . . . The lake was their home. He had been a small pup the first time he'd seen it, had dragged Aiyana into the shallows with him by the paw, and how she had laughed when he jokingly tried to catch a fish with his teeth.

"Welcome home," said a happy voice. Aiyana's voice. "I've been waiting."

No. It couldn't be. Keme opened his eyes and felt the first wave of misery grip his throat tight. It was. Aiyana sat beside him. Short, sleek, and beautiful as he remembered. Her wild mane was pulled back in two even wilder tails wound with grass cord. Full breasts and round hips, she had been a mother once, she told him. Long before she fled with little Keme in her arms, she had been a mother. But her pup had died. And so . . . stealing the prisoner's pup the night it was to be executed was no great feat. She had been so young when she fled with him. Perhaps eighteen.

"I stole you on a night like this," Aiyana whispered as she watched the stars. Without looking at him, she closed her paw over his in the happy, absentminded way he remembered. But Keme shook his head and snatched his paw free.

"No. This isn't real!"

"I was so young, so frightened I would be caught, that you would be killed. My husband had died in the chieftess' stupid battle; my pup had died because I fought at his side, never knowing I was carrying new life. I had nothing to lose should they have caught me. And besides," she smiled at Keme and stroked his face, "I wanted you. So desperately. Who knew you would one day feel the same?" Her eyes crinkled in a misty smile.

"This is a dream - stop this!"

"Dreams do not know the things I know. Like when you first began to want me. You were thirteen. You thought I didn't know, but it was there, the change in your mannerisms, the absent stares, the awkwardness. I was so ashamed. You were a child, and though I did not encourage your feelings, I did not discourage them either. Then one day . . . seventeen years old . . . you came to me."

Keme squeezed his eyes shut. "Stop. This is a trick -- or some magic curse from that damned statue! And when I awake, I'll forget all about it."

Aiyana looked at him sadly. Her eyes had always been so dark, so round, and so barren of lashes. Her cheekbones were high, her lips thin and soft. Her bare breasts knocked against each other with her slightest movement, so supple, so yielding. He looked away. She was everything he remembered. Even her smell was the same! But worst of all, she bore the wound. The place where he sank the knife in her chest . . . it was a dark blossom of dried blood. Tears rose to blind him, and he put a shaking paw to his eyes.

"My god," Keme whispered, "you're real." He shot to his feet and turned about. "Where am I? Some afterlife? Is this my punishment for - for --?"

Aiyana climbed to her feet as well. She shook her head and put a finger to his lips in her mothering way. "Hush, Keme. It needed to be done," she said soothingly. "I asked you to do it, did I not? And now, I am free." She cupped his face and smiled at him warmly.

"Aiyana . . ." Keme held her close and couldn't stop his arms shaking. She was small in his embrace - her head barely came to his chest. "But . . ." He looked past her at the calm, cool night surrounding them. "What is this place?" He looked down at her. "Truly?"

Aiyana broke from his embrace and stepped back. "The statue you licked, she is Shima, a spirit of old. With her was her mate, Shizhe'e. They were known by the ancient wolves of the Meketh as The Lovers, the spirits of pleasure, devotion, passion. You and Seleste were drawn to them because you are still in love with those who have gone. You especially. Perhaps because you blame yourself that I have crossed."

Keme shook his head as he caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. "Oh, Aiyana . . . how could I not? To sink a knife into your chest --"

"Made my passing easier to bear," Aiyana cut across him. "Keme, I was dying. The venom had spread through my body. I was in so much pain. You ended it. It was the greatest thing," she shook her head and took his paw, "that you ever did for me. To end my suffering like that . . . you saved me!"

Keme stood staring at her a long time, then suddenly whispered, "God, I miss you."

"I know."

He laughed and scratched the back of his ears. "I feel so lost without you. It always seemed like you knew everything there was to know, and now here you are, helping me again."

"You are unconscious right now," Aiyana told him. "I was able to reach you because of that and the presence of Shima and her mate Shizhe'e. They linger there, trapped in the stone, and those buried in the graves are their worshipers, the Meketh."

Keme just stared. "Isn't any of this the least bit bizarre to you? I was supposed to be in the summer village right now, but nope. I'm standing here talking to your ghost. God, what a week I'm having."

Aiyana laughed. "Nothing is bizarre once you're dead."

Keme took her paw and kissed it. "What if I stayed with you? Wherever this is . . ." His green eyes traveled over the press of palm trees, the looming night sky.

Aiyana shook her head. "You don't get it, do you? This is your subconscious. I'm reaching you from the spirit realm because Shima's presence is allowing me to do so. Now listen to me carefully."

Keme waited, feeling dismal again. He wanted to stay with her. He'd give anything to not have to go back to a world without her. He wanted to tell her this but knew she would silence him. There was something very important she was trying to convey to him, and time was of the essence.

"When you awake," Aiyana said carefully, "continue the way you were going. Another tunnel at the opposite end of the graveyard will lead you to the surface again. You'll be at the ruins of the Meketh. Perhaps you could camp there for a time. But whatever you do, don't go to the summer village. Not for a week at least."

Keme stared at her. "But you always told me . . . you always said to go there if anything ever happened to you."

Aiyana smiled at him fondly. "Yes, I said that when you were a pup. You're almost an adult now . . . almost."

"Hey!"

Aiyana laughed. "I'm serious, though, Keme. I know I told you you would find friends in the summer village, but you mustn't go there right now. You saw what was happening when you tried before, didn't you?"

"You . . . you saw me?"

"Through a pool of water as you were camping. Water is a window into the spirit world, Keme. Remember that. And remember what else I told you."

"Yes, Mother," Keme teased.

They smiled at each other. Before he knew what he had done, he leaned down and kissed her. It was so natural, as if he had only just come home from the hunt with the red deer of the jungle on his shoulders. She kissed him back fervently, and he pulled her close in his arms.

"But," he whispered and dropped his forehead against hers, "you know . . . you never told me why you wanted me to go to the summer village. You never told me who I would find there."

"Because I wasn't sure they were still there. And I just wanted you to be safe. Fine job I did of that." She placed her paw over the red wound gaping in her chest. Keme placed his paw over hers and watched in silent wonder as the wound disappeared.

". . . what just happened?"

Aiyana smiled. "You've forgiven yourself. Come." She took Keme by the paw and together, they walked under the stars.

Keme watched her happily. It seemed it had been years since the last time he saw her, smelled her, heard the soothing sound of her voice when, in fact, it had only been weeks. He wanted to take down her mane, run his fingers through it, kiss her, hold her, all the things he missed doing so much. Her small, muscular body. Her neck might have met his elbow. Little pygmy warrior, how I love you . . .

"But who are the Meketh?" Keme wondered aloud. "And why must I go to their ruins? Sounds creepy."

Aiyana laughed. "The Meketh," she sighed. "Many of them wander the spirit realm. They seek to worship Shima and her mate even in death."

"I take it you've met a few of them."

"Mm hmm. They were a sacred sect in ancient times, a secluded tribe that lived in the cliffs to the far east. Somewhere near the sun village, actually."

"What happened to them? Their neighbors didn't like the naked dancing, I take it."

Aiyana nodded. "Wolves feared magic in those days. We hadn't yet learned of its benefits. Magic in ancient times was seen only as a method of destruction. The Meketh might have been the only ones who used magic for good. The sun wolves believed they were dangerous, and for this reason, they marched on Meketh and destroyed it. It was a massacre. The sun wolves outmatched the Meketh ten to one."

"Talk about a bully," muttered Keme.

"Some of the Meketh were taken prisoner, and it was from these same prisoners that the sacred art of magic was learned by the sun wolves. The first shaman took their place in the chief's court, crops were blessed, wolves were healed . . ."

"If I'd known magic, I could have stopped that venom," Keme said wretchedly.

"No, Keme," Aiyana said. She stopped to look at him.

They stood facing each other under the stars, and Keme realized for the first time that they were on the cool bank of the lake. Aiyana was gazing up at him sadly.

"What is done is done. Do not weigh your heart with regret. You are young and you are strong and you are good, and you have the whole world at your feet. Go out and live in it! And do not weep for me. I rest in peace because of you." She reached up to cup his face, and he closed his paw over hers.

"You're lucky," she said, smoothing her thumb against his cheek. "It's not often a wolf gets this kind of closure. Someone usually dies, and you never see them again."

"Thank god I licked that stone pussy!"

They looked at each other and laughed.

Keme's face saddened as he realized: he was probably going to wake soon. Then he'd be sitting in that creepy chamber with that dirty crying female, hardly any food, and aching muscles. He wanted to protest, wanted to beg to stay, wanted to cling to her, but all of that would have been childish. So he stood miserably resigned.

"Take my paw," Aiyana whispered. "She's waiting."

Keme sighed. He didn't have to ask who. He took Aiyana's paw, and together they waded into the lake. The water was ice cold, but for some reason, it didn't bother him. They had waded in to their waists when he suddenly realized: the water was a gateway back to the waking world. He was wondering if it would work in reverse when he noticed Aiyana watching him. Her eyes were sad and earnest.

"You have to take care of her," she implored. "Not that I expect any less of you."

Keme made a face. "Do I have to?"

Aiyana laughed. "Keme! Take care of her. The way I took care of you." She squeezed his paw.

Keme squeezed back. He could feel it: he was waking up. The world became a steady blur; white fog crept in the corners of his vision. The water was coming to his chest, and pretty soon, Aiyana's head would have submerged.

"I love you, you know," Keme told her.

Without looking back at him, she smiled, "I know."