Chapter 4: Breakfast Conversation
After a long evening with no news, El sent Sara and Mozzie home to catch what rest they could. She knew she'd get none. She'd taken a sleeping pill sometime after midnight, but it hadn't helped. Satchmo did his best to keep her company. Normally they didn't allow him in bed, but she'd made an exception.
Sometime in the early morning, she wandered downstairs to the couch. Concentrating on a book was impossible so she put on the TV to provide a little background noise. She turned it off after ten minutes. When daybreak finally arrived, she was relieved to cast off the pretense of trying to sleep. This would be the morning to confront Lavinia, and El vowed not to leave the library till Lavinia coughed up what she knew.
Sara and Mozzie would go with her. They'd agreed the previous evening to first meet for a strategy session over a breakfast that Mozzie insisted on preparing.
As promised, he showed up on her doorstep at eight o'clock. Her spirits lifted at the sight of him in a Julia Child navy blue apron with a tall white chef's hat on his head. Mozzie quickly took possession of the kitchen. He only allowed her to tell him where her supplies were as he zipped around, pulling out a mixing bowl, skillet, and more paraphernalia than he could possibly use. El had already made coffee. While she perched on a kitchen stool, he rambled nonstop about his culinary adventures. She suspected he was making it all up, but his wild stories made her smile.
"It was right after I chanced upon a patch of chanterelles in Billington's Wood north of town that the wild boar sprang upon"—he cocked his head—"Is that the doorbell?"
But El was already racing to the door, almost tripping over Satchmo in her eagerness. She told herself it was Sara, but her heart insisted it might be Peter. When she approached the entry, she slowed her pace. She could hear Sara calling to her through the door. It was a thoughtful gesture. Sara knew what she was going through. By the time she opened the door, she had her emotions once more under control.
Sara was wearing a cheerful turquoise turtleneck over her bell-bottoms. "I spoke with my boss at the paper. Larry's assigned me to the case. He realizes I know more about the Starry Wisdom cult than any of the other reporters. The police feel that they're the most likely suspects, but personally I don't think they're responsible."
Mozzie walked out of the kitchen, spatula in hand. "I didn't see anything about it in the morning paper."
"Captain Hughes spoke with Larry last night and requested a news blackout for twenty-four hours at which point they'll reassess."
"The university will have to be informed," El said. "What will I tell the president? That they've been abducted?" She took a moment to control the unexpected shakiness of her voice. "All I know for certain is that they've disappeared."
Mozzie took her arm and led her into the dining room. "Leave everything to me. I'll speak with Calvin after we've met with Lavinia. There's no need to inform him right away. Peter and Neal don't teach on the weekend. After a good breakfast, you'll feel much better. Now that Sara's here, I'll start the frittata."
"May I watch?" Sara asked. "I've never seen one made."
"A frittata must be carefully constructed," he said, looking pleased with the request. "I like to think of it as a culinary Big Bang. One miscue and instead of a galaxy you'll wind up with dark matter. Follow me."
El gave them free rein in her kitchen. She needed a moment to compose herself. She was a physician, accustomed to explaining difficult news to patients and their families. She could hardly let her fears overcome her. She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat at the dining room table opposite the two paintings Neal had made. One was a beachscape, the other a scene of a lush forest. The beachscape looked particularly alien with an amethyst and teal-colored sky unlike any seen on Earth.
She shared Sara's views about their disappearance. This was not an abduction such as what Sara experienced a few weeks earlier. How could they have been seized on the campus in broad daylight without anyone witnessing it? More likely they'd been sucked into a wormhole. She hoped it led to one of the worlds Neal had painted. They at least looked somewhat hospitable.
When the doorbell rang, her heart once more leaped to her throat. No one else was expected. Was it Peter at last? Or Diana? She bolted from the table, but Satchmo was faster. He was already barking at the door.
When she opened the door and saw Lavinia, El stood stunned for a moment.
Lavinia tapped impatiently with her umbrella on the welcome mat. "Well, are you going to invite me in?" Brushing aside El's fumbled greeting, she strode into the room and shrugged off her coat. Satchmo was generally friendly, even with strangers, but he was going overboard with Lavinia. Fortunately, she didn't seem to mind even when he pawed at her tweed skirt.
Mozzie, spatula in hand, and Sara joined them in the entry. When El began to introduce Sara, Lavinia stopped her. "We've already met," she said brusquely. "You attended one of my courses on library science. I've seen your byline in the Arkham Gazette. Are you here as a journalist?"
Sara didn't appear intimidated by her abrupt manner. "And as a friend."
Lavinia studied her for a moment then shook her head. "This is unacceptable." Turning to El, she added, "I'll return later."
"No, you won't!" El retorted, infuriated. "You'll stay here and tell us what you know. Are Peter and Neal all right? Where are they?"
Lavinia stared at her impassively. "Their condition is unknown but we're trying to ascertain it. As to where they are . . ." She turned to scrutinize Sara once more.
El took two long breaths before speaking. She couldn't make Lavinia angry but she was determined to crack through her granite surface. "Sara can be trusted and you need her as much as we need you."
"Elizabeth's right," Sara added. "You can talk now or I can publish a story in the paper about the disappearance of two professors and how the head librarian of Miskatonic University is involved in the cover-up of the crime." She raised a brow. "Your choice. Which will it be?"
A slight smile crossed Lavinia's face. "Come with me."
"Where are we going?" Sara asked suspiciously.
"To the dining room. You want to be included. Before that happens, I must verify that you're not in league with the enemy."
"What enemy?" she demanded.
"You'll know soon enough if you pass."
"What about us?" El demanded. "Aren't you worried about us too?"
Lavinia gave another one of those secretive smiles that El found so annoying. It was as if she knew all the world's mysteries but had determined to keep them to herself. "I've already tested you and Mozzie."
Mozzie waved his spatula like a bidder at an auction. "Stop right there. When did you probe me? I demand to know the circumstances."
She glowered at him for a long moment. "If you must know, it was when you invited me to see an astrolabe you'd purchased."
"When was this?"
"Many years ago," she said with a dismissive huff. "Sometime in the mid-'60s as I recall."
Sara gave her a startled look when she mentioned the date and started to speak but before she had a chance, Mozzie took over. "You admit you probed me yet you refuse to go out with me? On what possible grounds could you object?"
And that didn't explain when Lavinia had tested El. Their few encounters had always been during large gatherings. Perhaps physical contact wasn't necessary. Did Lavinia have some sort of psychic ability? Was that how she kept herself so well informed? Sara was clearly impatient to move forward, but El resolved not to let Lavinia leave until she'd given a full explanation.
"Go ahead," Sara snapped. "You have my permission to test me however you wish. I want answers. If this is the means to obtain them, I'm willing to be subjected to whatever conditions you impose."
Lavinia had Sara sit down on a chair in the dining room. She then peremptorily jabbed two fingers onto Sara's right temple and held them firmly in place. Sara sagged back into the chair, her eyes half-closed. It reminded El of a Vulcan mind meld she'd seen Spock perform on Star Trek. Mozzie believed many of the concepts described in that TV series would one day be possible. Was this another instance of where the writers had been clairvoyant?
She'd seen Lavinia perform the same technique on Neal after he'd traveled through a wormhole in the boarded-up Church of St Jude. He didn't suffer any adverse effects from the procedure. The possibility that a telepathic link could be established between minds made El yearn to obtain an EEG for Lavinia's brain.
After a couple of minutes, Lavinia released her fingers. "You'll do," she said curtly, as Sara blinked her eyes. "This was a necessary precaution. I make no apology. You were held by the cult for days. I had to be certain you weren't infected."
"How do you feel?" El asked Sara.
"Fine. I don't remember anything that happened. Did I say anything?"
El assured her she hadn't while Lavinia reached into her tapestry bag and pulled out a flask. Snapping her fingers, she demanded glasses.
"Is that emerald wine?" El asked as Mozzie rushed to accommodate her request. He grabbed three cocktail glasses from the buffet and set them down on the table in front of her.
"There's nothing to be feared from it," said Lavinia, pouring about a jigger's worth into each glass. "It will allow you to be objective. You should all drink some."
"Does it contain algolnium?" Mozzie asked eagerly. "Is that why Neal and Peter have the chemical in their systems? I demand an extra dose." He seized the flask from Lavinia and poured a large amount into a glass.
She snatched the glass before he could drink it and poured most of it back into the flask. "You can have only as much as I give you. There's no algolnium in the wine. It's perfectly safe to drink but I won't force you. If you don't wish its benefits, that's your decision."
Sara picked up her glass, raised it to Lavinia with a smile as if challenging her to a drinking contest, and tossed it down with one gulp. She then reached into her purse and pulled out a notebook. "I've done as you ask. Now start talking."
"If this is what it takes, I'll go along," El said and drank her dose. The wine was cool on her tongue. For the briefest moment the image of an ancient forest, its trees covered with moss entered her mind. The anxiety she'd been enduring since learning about Peter and Neal no longer overwhelmed her. She was aware it was present but she could control it. She looked at Lavinia with fresh appreciation. "Thank you. I begin to understand."
"Truly amazing," Mozzie added. "I look forward to your explanation of how it's made."
Lavinia ignored the glass he shoved in front of her. "You want to know where Neal and Peter are." She glanced at Neal's paintings on the wall and pointed at the forest. "That's where."
For a second, El wondered if they were trapped inside the painting. It made her realize she no longer considered anything impossible. "What do you mean?" she asked. "They're in a forest?"
Lavinia nodded. "But not a forest on Earth. They're on Merope." As Mozzie started to speak, she held up a hand to silence him. "They're on my world, not yours."
El supposed she'd known for a while that the only rational explanation for Lavinia's abilities was that she was an extraterrestrial. That was easier to accept than believing she was a witch. But hearing her admit it left her in shock, even with the emerald wine. She left it to Mozzie to ask the questions.
"Merope is a star in the constellation of Taurus, a B-type subgiant in the Pleiades star cluster," he said automatically as if addressing a lecture hall. For once, even he looked flabbergasted.
Lavinia nodded calmly. "My planet orbits Merope. For convenience, I've adopted the same term. You wouldn't be able to pronounce the word in my language. Neal dreamed of Merope and used that as inspiration for his painting."
"Why did he dream about it?" Sara asked, her face serious. Not for a second did she appear to question Lavinia's assertion. "Is Neal from there too?"
"No, but he has abilities that you don't have, and don't ask me more about them. This isn't an appropriate time to discuss them."
"I agreed to accept your conditions," Sara said, "so answer me this instead. How did Peter and Neal travel to Merope?"
"Through a wormhole in the library vault. The evidence indicates that a portal opened in the crystal manuscript. I assume you know what that is."
Peter had described it to El after the initial discovery. "They've been studying it for two months. Did it somehow spontaneously transform into a wormhole portal?"
"I wish that was the case, but I fear Neal and Peter were abducted. Merope is no longer a safe place to live. Our world, like yours, was invaded by allies of the Ymar, a hostile race bent on conquest. The intrusions were devastating to Merope. Our species was forced to flee. A few of us are helping other planets who are also being afflicted by the scourge."
"Is Azathoth one of the Ymar?" Mozzie asked.
She nodded. "To describe them, I'm using the name of their home planet. The planet Ymar is part of Algol's planetary system."
His mouth dropped. "They're from the Demon Star in the constellation Perseus?"
She nodded. "The irony isn't lost on us that your species called Algol the Demon Star without knowing how true it was. The Ymar were not satisfied with their own world. For eons, they engaged in empire-building. They invaded planets and conquered their inhabitants. They call themselves the Great Old Ones or the Outer Gods, but they are neither. They are scum. Their only desire is to be worshipped and held in fear by the species they enslave."
"Then Azathoth is not an amorphous ball of tentacles like he's depicted?" Mozzie persisted.
She shrugged. "He can be if he so chooses. The Ymar are shapeshifters. Azathoth can mold his physical appearance into whatever shape he wishes."
"Shapeshifting is possible?" El asked, her amazement only slightly dulled by the wine.
Lavinia nodded her confirmation. "The Ymar aren't the only ones capable of transforming themselves. Meropians are as well." With that, Lavinia dissolved in a matter of seconds from a Black woman in tweeds to Vijay Zadok, a fellow neurologist.
El gasped. She'd known Vijay for years. He often substituted for her when she was away at conferences. Now he was sitting across the table from her. The studious young Indian gave her a guileless smile. His eyes held the same questioning look he used when she explained a new technique to him.
Her head reeled from what she'd just witnessed. Someone refilled her glass with emerald wine and ordered her to drink it. She decided it was Vijay. His voice had the same comfortable, reassuring tone she'd heard him use so effectively with patients.
"You wondered when I tested you," Vijay said. Now he sounded more like Lavinia. "I took his place one day when he'd gone out to lunch. You requested I test an MRI scanner on you and that gave me a suitable opportunity."
They'd acquired the new MRI scanner in 1971, the same year she'd met Peter . . . Had Lavinia been testing her suitability to be Peter's wife? She tamped down her outrage at the thought. She'd been violated without her permission. What else had Lavinia done to her? This was not the time to protest. Lavinia was the key to Peter and Neal's whereabouts, but that day was coming.
She glanced at the others. They were both looking worriedly at her and she gave them what she hoped was a reassuring nod.
Lavinia dissolved back into her original shape. Turning to Sara, she added, "You will publish none of what I'm telling you."
"No one would believe me if I did," she retorted. "But you have my word."
"And mine," Mozzie added. "You explained that the Ymar came from a planet in the Algol planetary system. Are zoogs, ghasts, and nightgaunts also from there?"
"You have so much to learn," she muttered with a frown as she studied him. "The Ymar no longer reside on their homeworld. They were banished long ago to a parallel universe. What you call the A-Brane. All the creatures you mentioned come from a planet in that universe."
"Who banished them?" El asked, caught up in the story and enjoying the lucidity the additional wine gave her.
"Another alien species known as the Celaenians. Their goal was to remove the Ymar from Earth so you could be free to evolve naturally. They made use of wormholes to banish the Ymar to the A-Brane. This occurred in the sixth millennium BC."
Sara's eyes flashed understanding. "The wormhole portal Neal and Peter discovered under the mausoleum was one of the wormholes, wasn't it?"
Lavinia nodded approvingly. "To secure their banishment, the Celaenians altered the molecular structure of the Ymar so they can no longer travel through wormholes. They believed they'd permanently sealed the wormholes and that the Ymar could no longer harm the inhabitants of our universe. Unfortunately, that didn't turn out to be the case. The Ymar have discovered a way to re-open portals and are attempting to make a comeback. They've already conquered Merope. Earth may be next. Although to our knowledge the Ymar have not so far succeeded in traveling through wormholes, they've enlisted other species to do their bidding."
"But none of this explains why Neal and Peter are on Merope," El said. "Why would the Ymar want to abduct them?"
"We don't know," Lavinia admitted, "and that's a major concern. We are attempting to rescue them now."
"Who is this 'we' you keep referring to?" Sara asked. "Are there other Meropians on Earth?"
Lavinia studied the three of them without answering. She then turned to Mozzie. "Haven't you been waving that spatula around long enough? You promised me a frittata." When he started to protest, she added firmly, "You've absorbed enough for now. After you've had sustenance, I'll answer more of your questions."
Lavinia was still squarely in the driver's seat. But after all the revelations she'd made, this was one time El concurred with her decision.