By the end of the second night, Katie and Alexis could hardly keep moving. Everything hurt, and while the pain helped clear their minds a little, they were so deep into the dance by then, they hardly knew what else to think. Lockhart, Lincoln, and Captain Decker were also up and moving, and without having any sleep in forty-eight hours, Lincoln felt he was hallucinating. Near noon on the next day, after about sixty hours, Lincoln was the first to collapse. Even unconscious, his arms and legs continued to move like a puppet to the music. One thing did happen before that, though.

Kartesh finally got Saturn to a sufficient sobriety, or at least awake state where she could talk sense to him and feel he honestly heard her. Whether he would listen or not was another issue.

“I don’t know how the centaurs and fauns and the others stand it for a whole month, but normal human flesh and blood is not made to go without sleep and without food for that long.”

“But Kartesh. The human element is adding such spice to the dance. I have never heard Pan and his helpers play so well. There is something truly great going on with your friends in the mix.

“But you are killing them!” Kartesh shouted. Saturn heard but did not want to hear. He wanted some more grapes.

~~~*~~~

Around eight o’clock, with the sun well up in the sky, they heard the “Aye-Aye, Yip!” followed by “Blithering Genius!”

The less than enthusiastic men went carefully to the clearing and saw the branches over the trap removed. They got excited to think that something actually worked. They inched up to the hole expecting to see Silenus trapped in the bottom and were surprised to see it empty. Suddenly, the hole got bigger. Truscas fell in. Mingus grabbed on to the lip, but it shook him off and he slid to the bottom. Roland jumped back and began to run around the edge of the clearing while the hole followed him. He got caught when the hole disappeared and reappeared in front of his moving feet.

Boston came to the edge of the clearing and tried not to laugh, though it was a sight to see Truscas from the arms up and the top of Roland’s head. Mingus was not tall enough to stick out.

“Yip-Yip.” Silenus danced across the clearing and stared at her.

“Yippie!” Boston shouted back. A serious expression crossed Silenus’ face before he smiled and shouted back.

“Yappy!”

“Yahooo-ee!” Boston responded appropriately. The next thing she knew, Silenus stood beside her, his arm around her shoulder.

“I like you,” he said.

After a brief moment of shock, Boston responded. “I think I like you, too.”

“I love your red hair,” Silenus continued. “It is a unique color and I love what you have done with it.”

Boston had started growing it out, not that she had a choice. It was not as short as it had been, but she thought for the moment that it had to be rather scraggly. She could only respond politely. “Thank you.”

“We could retire to my boudoir.”

“Sir, I have a young man,” Boston looked down at her feet for a second.

“Oh, I see,” Silenus responded.

Afraid she might lose him Boston leaned over and kissed the man on the cheek. “But I think you are sweet.”

Silenus raised his eyebrows before he smiled again. “I see. Fatherly type. To be honest, I might prefer a young man myself.” Boston did not flinch. “Grape?”

Boston raised a hand. “No thank you. My mother does not approve of me drinking.”

“Silly mother,” Silenus said, as he turned them to walk toward the hole.

“A little help here.” They heard Mingus’ voice.

“But now, I assume all of this is because you want something of me,” Silenus became as serious as the fat drunkard could be.

“Yes,” Boston said, turning to the god. “My friends are trapped in the dance and Kartesh says Saturn is the only one who can set them free. She thought you might have some way of sobering him up, at least temporarily.”  She saw Silenus put his hand to his goat-skinned cloak, as if feeling for something, but he said nothing, so she said nothing.

“Your friends?”

“Humans like me. Kartesh says the dance will kill them. Please.”

Silenus appeared to think for a minute. “That Egyptian woman is said to be very smart. She is…” he snapped his fingers as if trying to remember the word.

“The Kairos,” Roland offered.

“Exactly. Goddess of time. They say she knows the future.”

“We are from the future and trying to get back there.” Boston could hardly keep the desperation out of her voice. Silenus put that serious expression on his face again.

“You and the elves and no doubt the friends you want to save, but the centaur belongs here, I believe.”

“A good person who was kind enough to help us in our time of need,” Boston said.

Silenus looked down at the centaur. He snapped his finger and the three in the hole shot up in the air while the hole closed itself up beneath their feet. “At the risk of sounding like an elf, what’s in it for me?” Silenus asked.

“I need a cup to show you,” Boston said. She had prepared for this possibility. She lifted her hand and a crude wooden cup, more like a bowl appeared. She took the grapes from Silenus’ hand, squeezed them and allowed the juice to flow into the cup. She stirred it with her finger while Silenus watched carefully. Then she got the canteen from her side, added a little water, and stirred it again. When it was as ready as she could make it, she handed it to Silenus. He took it carefully and sniffed it.

“Nice bouquet,” he said before he put it to his lips.

“It’s called wine and it has no seeds or stems.”

“Interesting,” Silenus liked it and stood still while Boston thought through the wine making process, what she knew of it. She knew Silenus followed along in her mind. “Interesting,” Silenus said, when she finished. “You humans are very clever. Sometimes I think the gods don’t give you nearly enough credit.”

“So, you will help us?” Boston tried not to plead.

Silenus looked up at the centaur once before he looked back at Boston. “Never let it be said a centaur was kinder than the god.” He smiled and pulled a clay jar from his clothing. “A formula I developed in case I ever got drunk. I call it Ipecac. It may do the trick, but I think I had better administer it.” With another snap of his fingers, they found themselves once again standing outside that giant door.

The travelers with Silenus did not have to knock on the giant door. Kartesh appeared in their midst and said Saturn was sleeping some of it off. “But he will be right back at it if we don’t administer a cure.” She curtsied to Silenus.

Silenus said, “Tut, tut woman,” and held out the jar. Kartesh took it, opened it without asking permission, put a touch on her finger and touched it to her tongue.

“Ipecac,” she called it by name though no one had mentioned that name. “This might help.”

Silenus raised his eyebrows. “You are as bright and insightful as I have heard, indeed. And by the way, you have very nice friends.”

“Actually, she’s my boss,” Boston said.

“Our goddess,” Mingus added with his hat in his hand and an elbow in Roland’s ribs.

They looked at the centaur, but he seemed to be having a hard time just keeping up with what was going on.

“I thought we might get him to take it in some of this lovely wine young miss Boston told me about,” Silenus suggested.

Kartesh gave Boston a hard look, but Boston shrugged. “I had to bargain. Was I wrong?”

“No,” Kartesh said. “4000 BC is about right for wine, but I’m not sure it appears in this part of the world for another two thousand years or so.” She looked at Silenus. She saw him rubbing his hands.

“A secret. I like secrets, and I am very good at keeping them.” He grinned as broadly as he could, and it looked much too broad for a human face.

Kartesh said no more. She lifted her hand and a goblet of wine appeared. She poured the ipecac into the wine and stirred it with her finger much as Boston had. Then she said, “wait here,” and vanished. Only a few moments, they heard a roar. “Woman. What have you done? You have poisoned me!”

A moment after that, the giant hovel vanished and left two elves, one centaur and one young woman staring at each other because Silenus had, perhaps wisely, vanished as well.

“Now what do we do?” Boston asked, but no one answered as they waited in that place for over an hour.

“I’m hungry,” Boston finally added, and they trudged back to their camp where they had lunch in silence.