CoglIII

Merindia dropped off Jacob at a different location. He understood her need to be cautious. She had lived most of her life within a world marginalized by the secretive and highly illegal world of trafficking. Merindia was sheltered and yet she demonstrated a maturity well beyond her years. Jacob admired her fight for independence. When he was involved in the battle of wills with her father, he had no idea that the fallout would mean a reprieve for her.

His own precarious lifestyle dictated that he rarely use the same route. In his very first case he was ambushed by thugs wanting to steal evidence from a highly explosive white collar crime involving government officials. Jacob was able to defend himself. It was his first real introduction to the physical skills inherited from his powerful father. Despite his speed, agility and as yet untapped resources, he always remained mindful of the possibility of being victimized in some way by a surprise attack. There were enemies at every corner, sometimes criminals from the streets and at others, 'family' members looking to gain an upper hand.

Jacob knew he was charged with the custodial responsibility of a true treasure. Hidden for years in John Pater's abandoned belongings was the magical formula. The properties and life sustaining action were known only to him. The potential of the formula for illicit use was much coveted by other branches of Vincent's biological family. It was kept safely locked away and buried below unyielding stone.

Jacob thought deeply about Merindia's comments. The ability to recreate the formula was at the heart of her marriage to Virgil. There was no doubt that she had a lot to worry about. Her request for Vincent to step out of the shadows and assume his rightful place as the head of the 'family' was reasonable only if the 'Leon D'Oro' had been raised with the knowledge of his birthright. Vincent was not.

Eating up the blocks at almost inhuman speed, Jacob made his way home, pondering her last request over and over. It was impossible. His father could never take on the role of an Exemplar. The title existed to ensure the archetype of the Lion cult lived on, but the current holder was just a simple man, loving and protecting his family. Any previous mindless violence was no longer a part of his being.

Jacob felt as if he was working with only a small part of the complete knowledge he would need to do battle with Virgil. Conflict was coming! His restless nature since hearing details of his father's dream presaged a challenge. He certainly had mounds of research and homework ahead of him if he hoped to understand the modern role of his family in a dynasty originating in ancient Egypt. Studying the past was the one area where he was most skilled. Even with his enormous capability of acquiring knowledge effortlessly, it would still mean looking for a DNA needle in the haystack of history. Jacob would have to find a way to access what seemed to be a point of enormous change in the evolution and exaltation of an ancestor who had been charged with the power of the golden lion.

He knew that the accolade originated in Roman times! There was a whole pantheon of Gods and Goddesses of the era and even more honors which had been bestowed on the faithful. He had no idea where to start. Jacob only knew that his father currently exemplified the ancient cult of the Golden Lion and Merindia carried the power of the Goddess who first bestowed the gift. Its real value was the combined strength and majesty of the lion with the intelligence and cunning of man. Virgil and Merindia seemed destined to be in a head to head battle to maintain something of importance beyond the formula, beyond ensuring the dynasty. Jacob had no idea what it was. She was willing to stake her future on a life with Brian. What would that mean for Virgil? Jacob was consumed by a mystery which had no beginning and no end, only the muddled middle story of two people pulled together by a fate neither understood.

Jacob had been caught up in his thoughts to the exclusion of everything around him. He looked up surprised to find himself facing the front door of the Brownstone. Even by his own standards, the speed seemed excessive. What the young man was coming to realize on a mental level seemed evident on the physical. Every day his body grew in stature and skill. The last challenge to his family's security brought him into contact with Kardin, Merindia's father. Their faceoff in the warehouse of the drug lord's illegal operation and the powerful energy transposition they shared left him with an unassailable new tool in his personal arsenal. Perceptions were deeper, his heart slowed, the long muscles of his once lanky frame filled out. And yet, the full knowledge of his own unique abilities eluded him.

From inside his house he could see lights and hear the sound of laughter coming from downstairs. Cathy was seated in the living room with Sue and his mother. They were obviously sharing some happy memories. In a family who had seen its share of trauma, happy times had been few and far between.

'Jacob, come on in. We thought you were never going to get back.'

A smile was the only response to the unspoken observation behind the statement. 'Where's Dad?'

'He went to settle Cilla. She was not herself tonight.'

Jacob looked around at the faces of his mother, his wife and their housekeeper Sue.

'Is this some secret women's meeting?'

'Oh, you're being very peculiar Jacob.' Catherine frowned seeing something in her son which alerted mothering instincts. 'I suppose you heard from Terry this morning. Do you know what she's up to?'

'I do. It's a crazy idea!'

'Too crazy... to be feasible?'

Jacob held his tongue. He thought Terry was too ambitious but he respected her desire to please everyone.

'What's wrong Jacob?'

'I have a lot on my mind Mama.' Jacob shrugged his shoulders hoping to dismiss any concerns.

'I know you spoke with your father this morning. Does your mental preoccupation have anything to do with that conversation?'

Jacob could not ignore his mother's insistence. She had been a prosecutor and knew how to interrogate effectively. He had no wish to share the full impact of anything he had heard during the course of the day. Before he could open up to his mother or anyone for that matter, he needed time to process the information, but her eyes demanded some answer.

'Between Dad's dream, Terry's wedding, Merindia's wedding and a real desire to take a week off, I have not had time to process anything. I hope you will bear with me Mama while I just think about it overnight.'

Catherine took her son's hand and squeezed it. 'We'll talk tomorrow.'

He leaned over and kissed her cheek before facing his wife. 'Cathy, I'm going up. I'll be on the computer.'

Jacob smiled at all of them and went upstairs. He didn't really want to access anything on the internet. His own amazing skill at traveling back into the past would be best. He prepared himself for bed and waited for his wife to join him.

Cathy wasn't long in coming up. She sensed the disquiet in him.

'We don't have to talk. I realize that you have been quite busy today.' Cathy prepared herself for bed, keeping an eye on him.

'Thanks for coming up KitCat. I didn't want to take you away from my mother. I really just need to hold you close.'

As she crawled in beside her husband, Cathy set aside any misgivings. Jacob rarely ever displayed any uncertainty since their amazing trip out west to find his mother. He had been youthful and idealistic when they first met but over the past three years he had matured emotionally and physically accepting responsibilities well beyond his years.

The family secrets which bound their early lives together also tied them into an unbelievable past and future. Resolving the real physical enemies who were envious of Jacob's unique gifts and strengths tested his resolve over and over. His job as a public defender opened doors for him to develop his intellectual persona and create a balance between the real world above and the surreal world below. Cathy had little doubt that he had much on his mind but he would use his amazing abilities to organize all thought into a practical plan. She did not probe him to share. He would when he was ready.

If he was troubled, Cathy knew he needed sleep to access a past event which would tie some loose threads together. It had been a long day for both of them. She was happy to cuddle down beside her loving husband. Their lovemaking earlier in the evening had left her with a warm glow. She lay in the crook of his arm waiting for the deep even breathing which signaled his energetic push to the past.

Jacob's consciousness brought him out of a deep sleep wondering where and in what time frame he would find himself. To his surprise, he was in his bedroom, the summer sun was streaming in at the top of the window and his wife slept peacefully beside him.

How did that happen?, he thought. Jacob was sure he had programmed himself to travel back and yet he could remember nothing. Was I unable to make the journey or unwilling to see an outcome? His only sense was a heaviness felt in his shoulders. When he checked the source, it seemed that the large bird which plagued his father's dreams had invaded his own being. He had a sense that the creature for reasons of its own was resting itself on his shoulders. Jacob could not determine the message. What he did understand seemed to be a need to first understand the messenger.

Irritated that the astral trip into the past did not materialize, he felt his frustration mounting again and could not stay in bed. Cathy began to stir with his movements.

'KitCat, I'm going in to work today.'

'Hmm….I thought you were staying home.'

'I can't Cathy. I have to keep busy. I feel like slowing down will allow something in my head or heart to catch me before I'm ready and I will be lost.'

Cathy sat up alarmed at her husband's words. She had never heard him talk with such fear. Looking into his eyes, she didn't see fear but sadness, as if he had lost something precious. He desperately needed to regain his footing.

'Jacob, don't go just yet. Please sit and talk with me a minute.'

His hesitation was just long enough to drive fear into her veins.

'You shouldn't have to think about it so long. Please sit,' she invited. 'What's going on inside your head?'

'I tried to go back in time last night. It didn't work. I woke up this morning without having seen even a moment of the past or gaining any insight into anything.'

Cathy waited. It was always good practice to wait and allow words to flow.

'I feel like I have lost my ......' He shrugged his shoulders and tried again. 'My mind feels full but it's jumbled. Does that make sense?'

'Is it like a ball of twine you are trying to unravel or are you caught up in a ball of cotton wool?'

Jacob smiled. 'It feels like cotton wool.'

'Be patient. Stay with the feeling until it clears.'

'How do you know it will?'

'Cotton wool is like fog. Eventually the sun comes out and it disappears. Jacob, the way isn't clear for what you want to do. Just wait.'

'As simple as that Cathy?'

'Yes. That's what I teach the women who come below. I tell them they need a few days to find their way, especially if they have been living in the toxic environment of the streets. They look as if they are in a fog in the first twenty four hours. They can't even begin to imagine a different life, or even the possibility of something better until they deprogram from the current life.'

'Cathy, it can't be that easy. Suppose when the fog clears, there is a ball of twine?'

'To me, that would mean that you just have to unravel it little by little. You know, tie it to a tree or a stick and walk with the ball. If you lose your way you can go back and start again or take a different route. I think that the way forward will probably take some time.'

'Do you have any other metaphors?'

'Yes, there is the onion one.'

'Onion? Am I to sniff my way forward like a dog?'

Cathy took a deep breath. Her brilliant husband was highly impractical. 'No, when you peel an onion it comes off in layers. If you cut it, there are concentric circles which lead nowhere. You have to remove it layer by layer to get to the core.'

'I see. Did I ever tell you that finding you and loving you is the smartest thing I have ever done in my life. No fog, no twine, no layers! What I found, just by opening my heart was an intelligent, loving woman who knows how to help me understand life.'

Jacob made no move to do anything for a long moment. He just stared at his wife. Her lovely long hair fell enticingly over one shoulder. He marveled at her composure and her strength and knew he needed both in that moment.

'I thought you were going to work?' she whispered at last.

'Not just yet.'

Sometime later, as they on their backs, holding hands, Cathy felt compelled to share an idea which she had discussed with Catherine the night before.

'Jacob, I was thinking….'

'I was hoping that you would be… feeling.'

'I'm fine in that department. I need to balance it with some thought.'

The pair laughed a little as they cuddled together in bed. Jacob's teasing ways were back in place. His seriousness earlier had frightened her a little. Great gifts often came with significant liabilities. Cathy hoped Jacob would never be so overwhelmed with the weight of his responsibilities that he would lose the sweetness of his heart and the teasing joker who lurked beneath the surface. She turned in his arms so that she could look into his face. She placed a finger on his lips, in a gesture asking for silence.

'I was thinking,' she began again, 'that I would call Merindia and offer to help her with the wedding, if she'll let me.'

Jacob said nothing. The finger remained at his lips.

'I like her. I still don't have any desire to see Brian but I hope that I will be able to see him through Merindia's loving eyes. Maybe I could change my perspective a little.'

Jacob smiled beneath the finger but continued to hold his tongue.

'I know what it's like to love a man so deeply that I would defy everything to be with him. I felt like that about you when Brian and Edgar held me captive. She's a good person Jacob. I will trust her to show me the way.'

'I don't know what to say Cathy. Just when I think I can't love you more, you find a way to increase my awareness of what you mean to me.'

'I have often thought that about you too. Let's always stay willing and open… to be more to each other.'

'You know Cathy, I never had a role model for marriage…fatherhood?.... yes…. but not marriage. My Dad and I are learning together. You make it easy for me to care about being the kind of man who thinks this relationship of ours is a real partnership.'

'I didn't have any good role models either Jacob.'

'I thought women knew these things instinctively?'

'Okay don't spoil a good thing with a sexist comment.' Cathy grabbed a pillow and hit her husband. When he didn't respond, she knew that their moments of intimacy had passed. 'Are you going to work?'

Jacob grew serious. 'I am. There are a few things I want to catch up on. Oats has a couple of cases which are going to be very challenging. I'll let off some steam, walk a little, then come back home and we can take up where we've left off.'

Jacob stopped in to see his mother before going out the door. She was busy getting the girls to eat breakfast and looked up with a smile at her son.

'You are feeling better today son.' She did not need to ask a question. She could see, in his face, that his mood had improved.

'Yes thanks Mama. Cathy helped me to put things in perspective. Yesterday was just a funny, off day.'

'Are you worried about your father?'

'No Mama….not right now. I don't know the significance of the dream but I am hoping to get a clearer understanding of it. Is Dad alright?'

'Yes he had a good night last night.'

Jacob leaned over and kissed his sisters, admonishing them to eat up.

'I'm taking Cilla to the school today to see about registering her for kindergarten.'

'What do you think about going to school Cilla?'

'Don't want to 'Cub.'

'I hope when you go there you will see lots of fun things to do. Maybe you will like it.'

'No!'

'Let's talk later Cilla.'

Jacob raised his eyebrows, winked at his mother. 'I can't imagine how scary that is for her. See you later Mama.'

Jacob arrived at work nearly ninety minutes later than his normal time.

'Running away from the women Wells?' Oats was not surprised to see his young defender. He had offered time off after the intensity of the DelCassian case but half suspected that Jacob would not be able to resist the lure of an interesting case.

'There isn't one of them I would not enjoy being with today but I need to work.'

'You may not feel that way at the end of the day.'

'I'll take my chances.'

'There's a couple of files on your desk. One is a about a late stage pregnancy where the mother dies. Homicide or manslaughter?'

'We've had these cases before. The fetus has no status in law.'

'Check the details and any precedents. We have to be prepared to defend against either charge. While you're at it, can you see where the file is on that Jaruscek case. I want to get that guy to court.'

'Sure…'

'Are you okay Jacob?' At the affirmative nod he continued, seeming to find something unusual in Jacob's face. 'I know I joked about the women but everyone is fine right?'

'Yes, although Cilla seems to have her mind set against going to school.'

'Alright get out. We'll talk later.'

There were numerous messages on Jacob's desk. He sat down and sorted through them one by one. He worked steadily for two hours. Nothing was difficult. His mind slowly began to wind down releasing pathways for him to open up to other things. Even as he was typing his last note, he could feel the sights and sounds of the past drawing him.