The Blue Divide

Chapter 27

Eko's hand rose to his throat where his mother's necklace had hung. He'd gotten used to wearing it these past few months. Now that it was missing, his fingers kept clenching over air. He couldn't remember taking it off, but when he'd awakened the previous morning, it was gone and his blankets were twisted in a nightmarish heap. He couldn't remember his dreams but that was probably a good thing. There was no way they'd been pleasant.

He followed Mr. Leventis along a private beach below the house. It was sunny, but the wind was cold off the sea. Ever since their dinner, Mr. Leventis had been encouraging Eko to search for the Heart's music with his mind, the same way he searched for fish. It hadn't worked yet.

"Did you know the Heart showed you to me before we even met?"

Eko looked up at him. Mr. Leventis was at least a head taller. He was starting to like the man. It was nice to talk to someone who knew exactly what he was going through. No more secrets. No more lies. It was like a boulder had been lifted off his chest. "Does it show you things often?"

Mr. Leventis nodded. "I sometimes dream its dreams. I was born into the holy caste as a priest of Poseidon. We are given the power to communicate with the Heart."

"After I touched the Heart I could always hear its music in the back of mind, even though I'm not a priest," said Eko. "But since turning human it's been silent, except for one dream. But in that dream Poseidon appeared to me in human form. Perhaps it was nothing more than a nightmare."

The big man shook his head. "I don't think so. You touched the Heart. You are bound to it whether you like it or not. Any dream from it is a sacred thing and something to be celebrated. As we are now, on land, it is the only way we can communicate with it."

"So far, it's only been that one time," said Eko. "And it made no sense."

"I can help you dream more dreams," said Mr. Leventis. "They'll be deeper and much clearer. Perhaps the secret to tapping into its power lies within your unconscious. Maybe you can get it to show you what you have to do."

Mr. Leventis was so intent on Eko. So eager to help him. It was nice to finally have someone on his side. "How can I do this?"

"With bloodweed."

Eko remembered the phony blue plant Nerine had spent so much on to help him change back. Did it have another use? "My betrothed brought me bloodweed to help me change back. It didn't work."

Mr. Leventis shook his head. "No, it won't work for that I'm afraid. But take it in high enough quantities, and it will alter the state of your mind, and make it sensitive to the music of the Heart."

"But Nerine said that it was extremely rare. I don't think it's possible to get it in large quantities."

"It is very rare, which is why I grow it myself. I have quite the impressive water garden growing in my chapel."

Eko stopped, his toes digging into the sand. "Why are you helping me?"

Mr. Leventis smiled and slapped his back. "I thought I'd already made that clear. We're two of the same. I think soon you'll realize that our interests go hand in hand. Then you'll become a full-fledged member of the Blood of Poseidon. We can work together as a team to restore glory to the earth. Why should power exist in Atlys alone? Why not return it to the land of its origin? And you can be a leader in bringing about this goal."

Eko thought of the dreams of glory he'd had after touching the Heart. Dreams that made him scream when he awoke to his real life, so pitiful by comparison, and search for a quick death. Dreams that could actually come true.