Chapter 3. Black flowers blossom

It was night when Innis woke on the beach.

He was lying on his back by a bonfire. Had it been a dream?

He sat up with a start.

Eurides was sitting close by, with her back to him.

Looking around he saw Florry further down the beach

slumped over.

"Don't worry, he's just sleeping." she said.

Eurides was trying to open a timber packing crate.

"Is he going to be alright?" Innis asked.

"He'll be fine. He won’t remember a thing. He’ll wake up

tomorrow, find his satchel full of jewellery and coins and

be on his way like a startled rabbit."

Innis liked the thought of that.

Eurides rolled the crate onto its side.

"You're a pragmatic man Innis." she said as she worked,

"Each year is finding you a little more worse for wear."

Innis could see that Eurides was using the broken knife he'd

dropped in the water. He looked at his hand and saw the

wound was completely healed.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Eurides stopped what she was doing and tapped the knife on

the crate. "I want you to look after something for me."

Not waiting for him to answer she rolled the crate over again.

"I can’t think of anything in this world that would be safer

in my hands, than in yours." Innis said.

The top of the crate came off and Eurides peered inside.

"There you are." She gently lifted out a large porcelain statue

of a peacock. Its glaze glistened in the firelight.

"There were two of them on the ship. A peahen and a peacock."

"Are they yours?"Innis asked.

"No, I saw them side by side on the dock at Graves End in

London before we embarked. The Captain had them both

unpacked and checked for damage before they were loaded."

"Is that what you want me to look after?" Innis asked.

Her laughter surprised him. It was light and almost girlish.

"If only it was that simple."

Eurides slowly turned the statue in her hands.

"From time to time I occasionally indulge in nostalgia.

The colors remind me of a different time and place,

another world all together."

She sighed then carefully slid it back into the crate.

"What are you going to do with it?" Innis asked

"Nothing." Eurides said.

"He'll be safe here from the tide. Someone will find him."

Eurides stood up. "Help me stack the fire."

Innis thought the fire was already much bigger than it had be.

He stood next to her as she threw in some broken boxes.

"You still haven’t told me what you want me to do."

Innis tossed in some rope and driftwood. He looked at her

face in the firelight and thought how beautiful she was.

Eurides stared into the fire and smiled.

"It is a most faithful mirror."

He tried to guess what she meant then watched in horror as

she walked into the fire. He turned away not wanting to see.

The flames drew back as if in surprise then closed around

her with a roar.

He looked for her body in the flames. Eurides was standing

naked in the middle of the bonfire with her back to him.

She swayed slowly and rythmically with outstretched arms.

Waves of motion flowed through her body.

The tattoo markings that adorned her pulsed and glowed.

Innis could feel a change in the fire. It was giving up its light

and heat to her. The flames swirled and altered in shape

and pattern - a halo and a crown, a set of golden wings and

royal garments, dragons kneeling before her.

Eurides' movements slowed.

She turned to face Innis and held out a hand.

"You warned me about that not so long ago." Innis said.

Eurides smiled.

He stepped slowly to the edge of the fire and felt nothing

more than a gentle warmth.

"You still have a choice." Eurides said.

He took her hand.

"Close your eyes."

Innis stepped into the fire and emerged in the walled

garden of his Fathers’ rectory in Wiltshire. It was spring.

He could feel the sunshine on his face. He could hear

the hum of bees and smell the freshly cut apples that his

Mother had picked. "Why are we here?" he asked.

"I want to prepare you for what’s to come."

They were sitting on a garden bench.

"The world will not change. History will take its course

regardless of you. What is going to change is the way

you see it."

He could feel his mind starting to drift. "How will I see it?"

"That will be entirely up to you." Eurides said.

The sound of her voice and the feel of her presence began

to fade until Innis realized that he was alone.

He was suddenly present and fully aware, in the center of

the bonfire. He screamed as his clothes and hair burst

into flames.

Flames filled his mouth and clawed at his face and ears.

Innis screamed as his skin split open and the muscle and fat

beneath it simmered.

He screamed until his throat closed and he couldn’t scream

anymore.

Then he fell blind to his knees and the fire engulfed him.

*