“I am sorry, my friends, I should have told you this earlier, but I didn’t want to dampen your spirits. But I’m afraid it can’t wait any longer,” began Elijah, after they had finished eating.
“Tell us what?” asked Pancratius.
“About the governor’s wife, Jezebel, and her religion.”
“You mentioned something about it last night,” remarked Dominic.
“I did, but I didn’t go into all the details, and neither Pancratius nor Symphorian know much about the situation. She is a follower of Baal, more specifically of Kama, Cupid’s archenemy. We would do well to speak very little of our powerful friends.”
“If that’s the case, then maybe we should change Dominic’s name as well, since just about everyone knows that the children of Hephaestus Eumenide and Charles Savio are good friends,” remarked Symphorian.
“You’re right, I had completely forgotten about that. I think Jezebel has been searching for information about any of Cupid’s friends and family, so she can send that information to Kama,” replied Elijah. He glanced at Dominic. “Since we have to change your name as well, perhaps we could say that you are my nephew and you are thinking of working for me. We’ll change your last name to Leroy, but do you want to change your first name?”
“I don’t know,” sighed Dominic.
“Well, what you could do is go by Nic; it’s not only a nickname for Nicholas, but it’s also a nickname for Dominic. Most people associate Nic with Nicholas rather than Dominic, so it won’t cross their minds that your name is Dominic,” remarked Symphorian.
“Yeah, I could do that. So then, I guess I’m Nic Leroy,” said Dominic.
“Sounds good to me,” replied Elijah.
“And to me,” echoed Father Simon.
“Same here,” yawned Symphorian.
“Uh-oh, looks like Lionel needs to hurry up with that carriage or someone is going to sleep soon,” grinned Pancratius.
“Oh, keep quiet,” mumbled Symphorian, trying to keep his eyes open.
“We know that Baal is Kama’s father, but who is his mother?” asked Dominic, changing the subject.
“Apollo and I have heard many rumors about that, but we have narrowed it down to the two most likely, Lilith and Jezebel herself.” The three teens gasped while Father Simon nodded his head.
“It would actually make sense that Jezebel is Kama’s mother; she is a beautiful woman. Not only that, but the way she speaks about him, and Baal doesn’t sound like a woman adoring her gods. She sounds more like a woman who is proud of her family,” Father Simon pointed out.
“That’s interesting,” remarked Symphorian, rubbing his chin. Pancratius started chuckling.
What’s so funny?” asked Symphorian.
“Well, Lionel has some extra time. You’re wide awake now, thanks to your love of learning,” winked Pancratius.
Everyone else laughed while Symphorian glared at Pancratius, who only grinned back. Symphorian then nearly jumped out of his chair when a hand touched his shoulder, making the rest of his party laugh even harder. The teen glanced up sheepishly at the owner of the hand.
“The carriage is waiting. We can go whenever you are ready,” said Lionel. He then turned to walk to the door, but Dominic could tell that he was stifling a laugh.
“We should get going,” said Elijah, rising from the table. “We still have several hours left of travel. We will have to leave Julhem by Wednesday night in order to get Dominic back to Rosirim in time for the last challenge. And I suggest we leave our merriment here. The situation in Julhem is so dire that we will be too busy to even joke with each other.” A sad look came into his eyes.
“Yes, but Professor, remember that we Fralisians do not know much of what is going on in Julhem and we are excited about opening our new restaurant. Let’s wait until we get there and let the news dampen our spirits then. We do not want to give ourselves away too quickly.”
“Very good point, Father Simon. Then I guess we won’t leave our merriment here,” grinned Elijah.
“Oh, and before we head out, we should get Dominic changed to match us,” said Father Simon, rummaging through his bag for some extra clothes. He then took Dominic into a room to change. A few minutes later, Father Simon came back beaming, “They fit rather well. What do you think, Professor?”
Dominic walked out dressed in a white shirt; black pants, shoes, and jacket; a purple hat, and a purple vest with a red rose pinned to it.
“Looks very good, very… Fralisian,” grinned Elijah. “Then again, since Dominic is a Muriandoan, he can pull it off much better than I can.” He chuckled. “Alright, our party is ready to go, then. Dominic, I’ll fill you in on all the details about the restaurant so that you can answer any questions with ease. Now let’s be off!” He then led the group out the door towards the carriage.