3.53 Classified Cargo

Soon enough the Villa guests forgot about the drama of the missing meal. After feasting on BloodWine, side dishes and desserts, Soloha and dancing Goldens, the troubles of the last few days were for now, left behind. Without Dena by Nolan's side, Bella had little trouble accomplishing her task once the libations took over. She slipped him the key with relative ease, she only had to mention a few words. Nolan had suspected as much. He had been struggling with the tryst theory, it made no sense, since when were Bakkon and Mel an item? With plenty of distractions to cover him, he slipped almost unnoticed out of the Villa and hurried down Main St toward Dion's Salon.

         Thoughts swung like a pendulum as he hurried off to meet Mel, his friend until now. She wanted to see him? Surely she would be angry with him, but there was a part of him that wanted to hear it. He didn't know what to think anymore, he felt unearthed, confused about his role in the whole New Empire thing, it all seemed like a big gag. The truth was he liked Mel, he never expected anything like this to happen, her survival was a loose end for Atalon, she wasn't supposed to survive!

         The Salon was dark, he peered through the glass, unlocked the door and slipped inside.

         Mel's heart leapt as the bell pierced the silence.

         "Mel?" Nolan called out softly. "It's me, Nolan!"

         Relieved, Mel hurried out from the back room, tousling her hair as if somehow she could make herself look good, however Nolan was obviously  horrified when he saw the state she was in. Mel could read the expressions on his face, no words were necessary.

         "Oh, Nolan…" she whispered, staying strong. "What happened?"

         Nolan was speechless, he had never seen her like this, she was barely recognizable.

         "I knew you would come back for me!" She smiled, inching closer. "Please... I need you to help me... I need you to get this horrible harness off..." She pulled back her robe to show him the damage the gold harness was doing to her skin.

         Nolan winced, he didn't know how to react or what to say, he didn't have the key. She looked absolutely terrible, her wounds were still bleeding. Even in the shadows he could see how the harness had injured her, it wasn't supposed to do that.

         "It wasn't supposed to do that."

         "I probably wasn't supposed to go jogging in it."

         She didn't seem mad at all… He didn't know what to think, after all he hadn't even warned her about the sacrifice, he couldn't believe she still wanted to talk to him, let alone trust or excuse him.

         "I'm... Sorry… You know… I was forced to take you in. I'm just so glad you escaped!"

         "It's all good" Mel smiled, forgiving, hopes surging. "I know you were only doing your job."

         "Have you been hiding in here all along?"

         "Yes" she whimpered. "I can't go back to the Villa, not now!"

         Nolan pondered the scenario, it wasn't good for either of them.

         "What are you going to do?"

         "I was wondering..." Mel bit her lip, hesitating… "Can you take me to Ebar?"

         Nolan took a deep breath, it wasn't that easy. "Geez... I don't know…" He really didn't want to get in between Atalon and his sacrificial bride, he knew better than that, especially now.

         "Please?" Mel begged, reaching for his hand. "You know he'll just eat me now, look at me!"

         Nolan pulled her robe closed, the wounds were extensive, she had been badly hurt, seeing her like this made him feel sick inside. Mel was the only goddess he really knew, she was the only stylist who could do his hair right and that meant the world to him. Perhaps she would be a valuable asset in Ebar, a real friend was valuable, apparently.

         "I'll tell you what" he had an idea. "There are two vimana's going to Ebar tomorrow morning, one of them is a cargo ship. If you can figure out a way to get on board, I'll figure out a way to not notice."

         "Really?" Mel felt a wave of relief. "Thank you! I promise you won't regret it!" She curtseyed as best she could "King Nolan... Your Honor!"

         "Please don't do that to me" Nolan turned to leave. "To you, I'm still Nolan. You make me regret it? You'll be back on the Menu."

         "Nolan…" Mel whimpered seductively, following him to the door. He turned around towards the teary goddess, seductively sliding her fingers beneath the golden harness she was caged inside. "Please?"

         He pondered her predicament, without a key it would take tools to remove her harness and he was about to be missed at the Villa, it wasn't a good time to get dirty with Mel.

         "The mechanics at the airport will have tools to get that off" he suggested, reaching into his pocket for a business card. "Tell them I sent you." He scribbled Classified Cargo on the card, handed it to her and left the Salon.

         As the high of the Final Feast libations wore off, heated discussions arose once again as to the fate of the missing guests. In this climate, it was easy for anyone to slip away, unnoticed.  The night was still outside, illuminated by bright moonlight, Halios followed the path around the back of the Villa to the old trail that circled the city wall. He turned up the hill and followed the path to the pyramid site, unlocked the man-gate and hurried across the lot towards the Royal Residence.

         "Security Check!"

         The guards let him inside without question, however the main lights were out. Halios lit a small torch and walked down a series of narrow stairwells and passageways into the maintenance chambers below.

         The food cellar was packed with enough food to last them a month. He rolled out the keg of BloodWine and unscrewed the tap, pulled out the package from his pocket and opened the vials that were inside, closed his eyes to pray for success and raised the vials for a toast. 

         "As Below, so Above!" Then, with care so as not to waste a drop, he poured the solutions into the keg and screwed the tap back on tight.