Jerome's Quest

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

When Robin woke up, he felt hungrier than he ever had in his life. Even when he'd been a poor musician who could only afford chips and beans to eat, he hadn't been this hungry - after all, chips and beans were filling, if not particularly balanced. He wondered if the food he had eaten in Limbo was like 'Faerie Food' - it really had no substance, and it meant he could never return to his own world. He yawned and looked around at the clearing, suddenly realizing what falling asleep there meant. "Damn! I wonder how long I was asleep - one day for every hour! Poor Jeri must be going crazy by now; unless they called off the tour. I wonder if he can sing."

"Actually," the woman's voice said, "his voice is every bit as good as yours - lacking, perhaps, the rough edge required for modern music. But you're right about the fact that he's been driven crazy - he spends the nights with two or three women now. He'll have a heart attack before his year is up, and it doesn't seem as if he's any closer to locating my soul. It's very disappointing, really."

Robin jerked around, shading his eyes against the glaring sun. He saw her as a silhouette, standing in the beam of sunlight that shone into the glade between the trees at the edge. "Hello? Who are you? I can barely see you - I hope you've come to help me, because I can sure use some."

The woman stepped closer to him. She wore a white robe that looked like a filmy nightgown or . . . something like a Christmas angel. She had blond hair, styled in a chignon at her neck and ornamented with white satin ribbons. "Hello, Robin," she said. "I hope I can give you some assistance - at least, that's why I came. With you here in Limbo, there's a good chance Jerome will never locate my soul."

"I don't think she has anything to do with the organization. The Goddess a metaphor, in a way, for the creative principle, the concept of creation. Nature, the earth, the universe - all are the Goddess. We are, too. I've come to take you back to your world, Robin, and every minute we spend here means Jeri becomes more decadent and demoralized, living your life."

"Just this last show, Jeri, and we can head home for a couple of weeks. Then you can get a rest, or give it a rest. And I think you know what I refer to, don't you?" Dierdre faced Jerome over breakfast in his hotel suite. He was yawning his way through his second cup of coffee. "I wish you'd eat something - you're getting thinner than Rob ever was, and the goddess knows he was never hefty."her any better than you have been? You were planning to come along on the tour anyway."

That night they were performing at an 18th century opera house in Venice. Jerome joked that he was finally somewhere that made him feel young. He had recovered enough to go onstage, but the nagging headache behind his eyes wouldn't go away; hadn't done so, in fact, for several days now. The crowd was enormous; the stadium held a capacity of 16,000 and it appeared that every seat was filled. The opening band was a little too much in the thrash-rock direction to suit Jerome, who stayed in the dressing room until the last minute, trying to shut out the screeching of the lead singer. When they finally took the stage, the noise in the amphitheatre was tremendous. It was during the second number that Robin appeared onstage. Well, it was actually more dramatic than that, since he seemed to fall through a hole in the sky and crash to the stage with a thump. And he was naked . . .he grinned at Dierdre and held his arms open. She gave a choked laugh and embraced him, hugging him around his waist.

The crowd started to scream, and surged forward in a wave. They weren't really sure what was happening, but almost anything could set off fans when they were wound up that tightly. Robin scrambled to his feet and Jerome whipped off the long leather coat he was wearing, throwing it around his descendent's shoulders. Just then the barricades gave way and the crowd rushed the stage. The entire band ran for the backstage, Robin and Jerome at their head. They managed to reach Robin's (Jerome's?) dressing room, but by then someone had snatched away the leather coat and Robin was naked again. Jerome had lost one sleeve from his shirt, and Dierdre her sequined jacket. Robin rushed to the couch and snatched up a blanket someone had left there, wrapping it around his body. Then

"Thank the goddess! I thought you were never gonna find your way back."

"Alicia helped me."

Jerome turned quickly from where he was rummaging through a closet, trying to find real clothes for Robin. "Alicia? You saw her?"

"She came to me when I'd made it to the edge of Limbo - my escort flew away and left me there. I fell asleep from exhaustion, and when I woke up again, she was standing in front of me. She said she hasn't been born yet, but her time is coming up. I guess you've been wasting your energy up until now, looking for her."

"That figures." Jerome unearthed a pair of jeans that looked about three sizes too big for Robin. "Think you can get these to stay up until we get back to the hotel?"

"If there's a belt or some braces. How about a shirt?" "Hold on - here's a black tee shirt. Not terribly clean."

"Do I look like I care right now?"

Jerome threw him the jeans and shirt, then took off his belt and brought it over. "I'm certainly glad to see you, son. This playing rock star gets tired fast. By the way, there are two girls coming to your hotel suite later."

"You mean your hotel suite. I'm sleeping with Didi, tonight and ever after. Any assignations you made you'll have to deal with yourself. I don't go in for that stuff anymore - hasn't anyone told you about AIDS?"

"You're talking to a man who has eight months to live. Does it really matter?"

"I don't suppose it occured to you that you could contract the disease and pass it along to some of those girls before you depart for your long-awaited rebirth?" Robin sounded exhausted, and somewhat disgusted.

"No, I suppose it didn't. After being dead for nearly 200 years, I'm not accustomed to giving thought to the ramifications of being human." Jerome turned and stalked out of the dressing room, slamming the door behind him.

"Let him go, sweetheart. He's tired and he needs some time alone. He'll be all right now you're back, and he has been using condoms. I want to hear all about your journey through Limbo; but perhaps not just yet. Tell me; does the door to this room have a lock?"

"I'm too hungover, and your nattering isn't helping any. What happened to those two girls from last night?"

"What do you think? I sent them on their way. I'm sure people are beginning to wonder why I put up with you. Of course, they think you're Robin. I don't see how I'll ever be able to marry him now."

Jerome regarded her curiously. "Were you planning to? Somehow I had the feeling you'd decided against it, after he finally gave in."

"Don't be so nasty. You've turned very nasty, lately. I'll be glad when Robin escapes from Limbo and gets back here - - you're not cut out for the life of a rock star."

"Who is?" He responded gloomily. "If you don't want Robin to bring home some noxious disease from this tour, you'd better chain him to the bed. That's if he ever does escape - I could be caught here until my year's up, and I'll never find Alicia's soul."

"We've been to ten countries already - how could you look for

"Not as the bloody main attraction! The idea was that I could travel around the cities and surrounding countryside while Robin did all the work. The only people I come in contact with are the ones who attend the Experimental Monkeys concerts - they're not likely to be pregnant or toting babies, now are they?"

"I'm sorry, Jeri. Shall we end the tour now?"

He shook his head. "I can't bring myself to do it - so many people would lose work or money. But I certainly hope Robin finds the way back soon."

"So do I - before you completely self-destruct."

"Thanks a lot. I guess you're trying to tell me what a lousy life I have. It may not be much, but I'd like it back. Shall we go?" He stood, brushing the dirt and leaves off his jeans. "I wonder if I'll take these clothes back with me, or arrive starkers? And where will I land - back in Didi's bedroom in London?"

"You'll arrive back in the same state you left, and it will be wherever Jerome is at the time. And I didn't mean to disparage your life in any way, Robin. Jeri is very proud of you as his descendant, as he should be. He is not, however, designed to live life as a rock star."

She started towards the sun, and he followed her. "Wait a minute, Alicia," he said, "Do you mean I could arrive anywhere in the world with no clothes on? What if Jeri's having dinner somewhere, or walking down the street?"

"I'm sorry, Robin - those are the rules. You'll just have to make the best of it, and hope Jeri has a coat you can borrow."

"Whatever you say, guardian angel." He followed her into the light.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Robin rose and sat on the fallen tree. She sat beside him, the white robe falling around her like gauze draperies. He noticed she wore no shoes. "Huh? I don't get it . . . oh. Alicia - you're Alicia! You mean your soul is wandering around down there by itself, looking for a host?"

She laughed - it was low and musical, surprising in such a delicate, ethereal woman. That she did seem those things was equally surprising, since she was too voluptuous by modern standards. Then Robin realized that truly thin women usually lacked those traits. Knowing her to be both courageous and determined reminded him of Dierdre, and how much he missed her. They had only just begun to mend their relationship when he was jerked away. Would they ever be able to salvage it now, or had she already decided she could do without him?

"No, Robin . . . I am my soul. I have no corporeal body left; what you see is the form my soul took in my last life. But I've chosen my next incarnation, and if Jerome is able to find me after birth, we'll be together."

"I'm sick of the games they play here. This place is run like a haphazard amusement park."

"A good analogy. Not what we expected when we died, is it? Still, the people in charge of this place are just employees, in a way - they spend their lives running what we call the 'afterlife'; for them, it is life."

"And when they die?"

"Good question. I don't have an answer for you, unfortunately. I spent a longer time with these people than most souls, simply because I've been waiting all this time for Jerome to die. It seems hard that just as he came back to me, I have to leave him to be reborn. The ways of the Goddess are inexplicable to us mortals, I fear."

"Goddess? I thought there was no God. Now you tell me God's female? I would've thought a female would do a better job of organization."