Voynich Shift - Pars Duorum (COMPLETED)

Part XIII - Leonis, 1:12, 2:16 - Missing Nothing

"Birds?"

Arthur blindly patted the soft space next to him on the makeshift pallet.

No one was there.

"Abrina?" A sleepy Arthur opened his eyes and turned his head to find the naked woman standing in front of an open window, basking in the morning sunlight, and glowing like an angel. She stood with her arms outstretched as if she were attempting to hug the world with a tattered pair of sheer curtains fluttering around her, dancing in the breeze. It was practically ethereal.

"Hello there," she said, turning toward him, wearing nothing more than the loveliest smile he had ever encountered.

Arthur propped himself up on an elbow as he took in the beautiful scene, considering something Bernie had said as they sat at the old man's dinner table discussing Voodoo just before he died. "Don't you listen to her, Junior. It wasn't nothing like that," Bernie said with a tone in his voice that Arthur did not recognize until recently.

The old man was right, there were no incantations or spells necessary when Arthur and Abrina surrendered to each other; no need for him to chase her or for her to seduce him. The only magic was what they felt when they collided. Something explosive, a powerful feeling that now coursed through Arthur's body; an intense internal urge to touch, to feel, to explore the beautiful woman before him...something much more potent than any sorcery. And what had occurred over the last two days, what had been happening between them, flowed as easily as rainwater runs to lower ground.

"What, Arthur, you can't speak?"

The man kept his lips closed and lay back in anticipation with his hands behind his head.

"Hmmm, I know, maybe you didn't hear me? Let me come closer, then," Abrina said softly and crossed the room, kneeling down at the edge of their makeshift bed to slink toward her lover.

He lay outstretched on the soft pallet of blankets and sleeping bags awaiting her arrival, admiring her approaching wicked smile that quickened his heart rate. Abrina, as she crawled up to him, placed a soft cheek to his and with her breath warm on his ear, whispered, "Take me," setting him alight like a wildfire.

Arthur grabbed the beautiful woman and rolled her over, grabbing her by her wrists and pinning them to the floor. He could see it in her crystal blue eyes as he stared down at her, that same intense desire he felt burning him from the inside. Arthur pressed his mouth to hers and she wrapped her legs around him, pulling him down. Her body against his...oh, the electricity!

<<*>>

Wearing an antique pink and white button-up day dress she found in a trunk, Abrina scanned the grounds around the mansion for wild, edible vegetation. She paused as she heard Arthur cry out from the kitchen.

"Jesus, that's cold!" he bellowed followed by the sound of metallic squeaking.

Abrina knelt to the ground. "I bet you are awake now!" she yelled at the house.

"Without a doubt! I should've heated up the water in the fireplace like you did."

"I told you, but you didn't listen, did you, lazy?"

"Hey, smarty pants, you know what? We should get out of here and go do something different today. We've been in this drafty house for nearly three days and supplies are running low. We should go to that general store up the road and buy a few things," Arthur yelled from the kitchen. "I hate to say it, but I'm kind of over pastries and veggies for a while."

"Don't complain, Arthur. You could have nothing to eat," Abrina said as she pinched off a bit more of the wild watercress she found growing next to the house. She lifted the green plant in front of her face to admire it and then placed it in the frayed basket with the other plants she discovered. She wiped her forehead and looked toward the open doorway. "...and we do have running water, that's also a plus."

"Running water? As long as I'm making it happen. I'm the one that's been doing all of the pumping."

"I'm not saying anything," she responded with a snicker.

"Ha, funny lady," Arthur said loudly and the metallic squealing stopped, followed by another cry of agony. "Dammit!!!"

At the sound of a creaking board, the chuckling Abrina turned to find a shirtless Arthur standing on the porch with a rag around his neck, water dripping down his body. "I do need a few more items for this salad, Arthur. So, you're right, we should go shopping...that is if I don't lose focus and forget," she said playfully and angled her head to give Arthur a once over.

With his hair still wet, Arthur lifted a toned arm to slick back the dark locks on his head and leaned lazily against a peeling white column. He knowingly stared back at Abrina as the mid-morning sunlight accentuated his chiseled body, eliciting a smirk from the woman's lips. "So, we're going to the store, you say...what's the matter? Are you losing focus or something?"

Abrina slowly rose from where she knelt, the basket still lying on the ground. She strolled toward Arthur and began to unbutton the top of her dress. She wrinkled her nose and grinned as she walked toward him. "My focus is just fine...oh, hold on..." she said and lifted a pointer finger in the air.

Sneeze!

"Bless you! Uh oh, Abrina, did you catch Faith's cold?" Arthur inquired and stood upright, a look of concern on his face.

Abrina sniffed as she shook her head. "No, I do not believe so. I imagine it might be the dust in that old house."

"But you're outside..."

Opening her mouth to argue, Abrina paused, meeting Arthur's concerned stare. "You hear that, too, I assume?"

"Yeah. Sounds like a car engine."

The couple wrenched their heads down the road at the sound of a blaring car horn.

Abrina quickly ran to the porch.

Arthur waved her into the house, but she chose instead to stand by his side, ready for battle. "The gates of Hell..."

"Huh?" Arthur said with a raised eyebrow.

"It's nothing," she replied, eyes forward, fists clenched.