Disclaimer: I do not own The Riddles of Epsilon.
It had been such a long time since he had left her anything, appeared to her, or even since she felt watched by his piercing eyes. Rather, she would notice a crab or fish or Domino, her dog, staring at her. When she would turn to look closer, they would scuttle or swim or bound away. Every passing day, Jess would feel more and more alone. She had started to believe that Epsilon had abandoned her.
But then, yesterday, Mrs. Shilling had entered her attic room and dropped a bundle of five small, white flowers on her bed, smiled tightly, shook her head, and walked out. Jess had been so overjoyed to have a sign that Epsilon was still there, that she forgot to be mad at Mrs. Shilling for entering her room without knocking.
It had been a week since she had last visited the cottage, but with this renewed hope and the fact that she had slept beautifully (she'd had the most wonderful dream), she decided to head out. As she passed through the house, rather early, her mother smiled knowingly at her. "Say hi to the air for me," her mother would tease every time she saw Jess going to the cottage.
She was speaking of Epsilon, of course. He was a Bright Being and had 'helped' Jess solve the mystery of Yolande, whose real identity was Cimul, the Lord of Inversion. 'Helped', meaning that he had given her countless riddles to solve and piece together, all while nearly scaring her to death. But he was trustworthy, and a servant of Agapetos.
Jess practically ran to Epsilon's cottage, meaning she had to rest for a moment on the stone seat halfway up. When she stepped in, she saw no one, but called, "Epsilon?"
There was no answer. Jess sighed and walked up into Epsilon's room where she spotted the note on the desk. It was in Lumic code, as always, and read, "I have not abandoned you. I will meet with you here, tomorrow." Jess grinned. Perfect, she thought. Wait, he is going to meet me here? It has been so long since I've seen him! I wonder why he needs to see me now? For Jess knew it was important. At the bottom of the note, after the Epsilon symbol of a half feather toppled over, there were more symbols. "Be here early. Don't forget. Keep an eye on your surroundings."
Jess sighed and turned to leave. She had to help out a bit today. Ick. She walked back, Epsilon's warning just registering. She spun around, looking each way. What was going on now? Was Cimul back? Had Agapetos been more injured than they believed? Was Epsilon himself hurt? Could Epsilon be hurt? Were there more Dark Beings? Worse Dark Beings? Were they after her mother? Or her? She was panicking herself. As her eyes moved over the land, a soft, mysterious tune called to her.
It would have frightened her if she had not been humming it herself. It was from her dream the night before. The words ran through her head, calming her, offering comfort and safety.
Sleep now lovely one
So I can see your face
It's been too long
Since I've seen your grace
You enchant
My heart with your smile
Dream of me, sweet one
Stay for a while.
Jess was exceedingly lucky, for due to her slow pace, she had just reached the stone bench when she fell into a deep sleep, and she toppled roughly onto it.
