Eternity Ring

There were few people from whom Rhonda would have taken such an admonition, but Chris was more than just her oldest friend, he was her closest as well. What's more, if he had come to her with such a tale, she would have equally skeptical. She marshalled her thoughts. "It all began when I gave her the task of going through the Breck Bequest," she started.

Slowly and carefully, she led Chris through the sequence of events. How Jessica had found the ring, how she had 'accidentally' put it on her finger and, having done so, how it was apparently stuck there. She explained how neither had thought that much of it at the time but slowly, increasingly, she had found herself aware of what Jessica was thinking. She ended by telling about the incident in the lift and the brief experiments she had tried afterwards. But, for all her candid honesty, she did keep quiet about the dream; she wasn't ready to talk about that just yet, even to Chris.

"I know it sounds crazy," Rhonda concluded, "and, if I were you, I wouldn't believe it either, but, especially when we touch, it's so real, so clear. Physically it's as if I'm experiencing what she's experiencing. I told you about the shoes being too tight and, that time in the lift, that was so real it was as if it was my arse that the old perv was fondling. Ugh! I still shudder at the memory. Bastard!"

Chris listened sympathetically. As to what he really made of all this, well, for the moment he'd reserve judgement. Whilst there was no doubting his friend's sincerity, he was all too aware of the tricks the mind can play and the self-delusions which can lead any of us astray. However, he could see that, whatever the truth of the situation, Rhonda was finding it disturbing and frustrating, and, for her sake, he kept his doubts to himself.

"OK, let's put the mind reading bit to one side for a moment," he said, once Rhonda had run out of steam. "How do you feel about Jessica? I mean, if what you say is true then you're pretty much in this together, whether you like it or not. I seem to recall you weren't exactly best pleased when she first arrived. Do I gather your attitude has softened a bit?"

"If what I say is true...." Rhonda wasn't that surprised that she hadn't completely convinced her friend. She addressed herself to his questions. How did she feel? "Well, I'd still prefer it if the post had gone to someone with real skills but she's not too bad," she conceded. "As long as I don't ask too much of her she's conscientious and reliable. After all, she did make a decent fist of cataloguing the Breck bequest and, well, she's a lot better than no assistant at all."

"I don't mean that, I mean what do you think about her as a person? If I remember correctly you thought she was a brainless airhead whose mindless wittering was driving you to distraction. Is that still the case?"

"She's not Einstein, never will be, but, once you get to know her...."

"So you do fancy her?"

"I do not!"

"We'll see, we'll see. Anyway, when do I get to meet her?"

"Meet her?"

"Yeah, I want to see what sort of girl has stolen my best friend's heart. Bring her down here one night."

"She has not, repeat not, stolen my heart. As for inviting her here...." Rhonda had been about to dismiss the idea out of hand but the more she thought about it the more her knee jerk reaction seemed churlish. There were all sorts of reasons why she should get to know Jessica better and bringing her down to the Golden Ball for a drink with Chris would be easier than going out as a couple. On a purely cynical level, if they were to become friends then Daddy was more likely to open his chequebook and increase her chances of getting to Peru. On other levels, well, Chris was wrong to say she was smitten but there was no harm in being friends, was there?

The next day Rhonda was sitting at her desk working through her emails when Jessica arrived at looking rather sheepish. She came over and Rhonda looked up. Even before she had said a word Rhonda could feel Jessica's nerves. The poor girl was scared of her, no that wasn't quite right, the poor girl was scared of upsetting her.

"About yesterday... I'm sorry... I...," Jessica started.

"No, please, Jessica, I'm the one who should be sorry. I was brusque and intrusive and didn't take your feelings into account," Rhonda replied.

"Thank you. I'm sorry I freaked out. It's just this mind reading stuff. The thought that you could... the thought that anyone could... it's really scary, like I was naked or something. I mean I like you, I really like you but," Jessica gave a little blush, "the mind reading stuff is a bit much. However you're doing it, can you stop, please?"

"I'm not sure if I can stop," Rhonda felt the wave of anxiety, "but I'll try. I promise I'll try." Rhonda looked at Jessica and could tell that she wasn't just hurt but also conflicted. It was as if Jessica felt that she had failed somehow and let Rhonda down. That was crazy and Rhonda had to put a stop to it.

"Look, Jessica," said, getting up out of her chair, "I don't know what this thing between us is, or even if it is a thing, but I want us to stay working together as a team, you and me, so, whether it's a thing or not, let's try and work round it. Will you do that with me?"

"A team? You and me?" Jessica asked and Rhonda could feel the hope in her chest.

"Yes, you and me, together," Rhonda reassured her.

"Oh, Rhonda, thank you," Jessica gushed, "I've been so worried, worried I'd upset you, worried you wouldn't want me as your assistant any more."

Rhonda looked at Jessica and she could feel the wave of relief coming from her hit like a tsunami. She knew Jessica was insecure, but surely not that insecure.

"Why on earth would I want that?" Rhonda said gently, pushing to one side all the reasons that would have been so valid not so long ago. She quickly thought of reasons to praise Jessica. "You've been really useful since you came on board. Look at all that work you did with the Breck bequest."

"Useful... Thanks, boss."

"No, I mean it, thank you. Now, it's gone nine, and we should be getting on."

As Rhonda worked away she pondered over how this was going to work. How she could pretend that all was normal when it so blatantly wasn't. However, Jessica had come to her that morning like a little lost puppy and it would be cruel to hurt her, cruel not to try and act as if there were nothing abnormal going on. This, of course, didn't stop her curiosity as to what was behind it, what was causing it all. The only clue she had was that it all seemed to be tied in with the ring but the scientist in Rhonda argued that, just because it had started when she had put the ring on Jessica, that didn't absolutely prove they were linked. Maybe, if she could just get Jessica to take the ring off, then that would at least settle that question and, maybe, resolve the entire issue. But that was easier said than done. They had already tried many times simply taking it off and the ring wasn't going anywhere. No, there was no way around it. If the ring would not come off without cutting it then it would have to be cut. Much as damaging a potential exhibit went against every grain in her body, that's what they were going to have to do. She went over to where Jessica was working.

"Jessica, there is one thing," she said as she approached.

"What's that, boss?"

"I know this sounds stupid but I think it might help if you weren't wearing that ring."

"But I can't get it off. Seriously, I've tried everything."

"I know you've tried everything and that's why I think the time has come to cut it off."

"Cut it! You can't do that! You can't! You can't!" Jessica was visibly upset by the suggestion.

"Please, Jessica, calm down. We have tools down in the labs which will do the very minimum of damage and, afterwards, it can be repaired."

"You'll hurt it." Jessica sounded like a petulant child.

"We'll be really careful. I'm no keener on damaging the ring than you are, honestly."

"It doesn't want to be cut. It likes it on my finger."

"Jessica, listen to yourself. How can a ring have feelings? I know you're fond of it but, believe me, it's for the best."

"It just does, I know it does," Jessica protested.

"Now you're just being silly."

"Am I? So, it's not silly when you talk about mind reading but when I know, know in my heart, that the ring has feelings, that's somehow different?"

Rhonda had to admit that she hadn't got an answer to that one. "Please, Jessica, we'll be as gentle as possible and, once it's off, we'll get it repaired so nobody will notice. I know you're fond of it but I shouldn't have put it on you in the first place and...." How could Rhonda explain her fears about the ring without going into the whole mind reading thing, "... well, it is the museum's after all."

Rhonda nearly relented, such was the roil of hurt and confusion coming from Jessica. Surely she hadn't got that worked up over such a tiny thing as the ring; but apparently she had. Then, cutting across the hurt, Rhonda felt a resolve come from deep inside Jessica, that she wanted to do what Rhonda wanted, whatever the cost.

"OK, you're right. Let's do it," Jessica said with a certain amount of grim determination.

So, together, they went down to the labs where there were various tools for cleaning and restoring the exhibits and, amongst them, a set of specialist cutters.

"OK," Rhonda said. "Hold out your hand."

Jessica was shaking like a leaf as she did so and, even before they touched, Rhonda was well aware of the conflict inside her. The stone in the ring was a deep burgundy and, until you looked closely the patterns seemed to be moving. As soon as Rhonda took Jessica's hand the floodgates were opened and the full extent of Jessica's disquiet was evident.

'She'll hurt it, she'll hurt it, please, please, you have to stop, but we can't, she's right, it's not yours and, if she says it has to come off... but she'll hurt it, she doesn't understand, she thinks it's just a ring, she....'

"Hey, it's OK," Rhonda said soothingly. "I'll be really careful and ever so gentle."

As Rhonda picked up the cutters the intensity of Jessica's thoughts increased. The words were now indistinct, little more than a blur of worry. Meanwhile the stone in the ring had now turned bright crimson. Rhonda was determined to go through with this so she turned Jessica's hand over, exposing her palm and the narrow part of the ring which she was where she was going to make the cut. As she picked up the cutters the noise in her head became deafening but she was resolute. She rested Jessica's hand against the bench to steady it and slowly, with infinite care, approached with the cutters.

"Ow! Jesus! Fuck!"

As soon as the cutters had touched the ring a bolt of pain had seared up Rhonda's arm causing her to jerk away. Her arm still tingled as if she had had an electric shock. However, this just made her more determined and, after all, she'd know better this time. She steeled herself, this time she would be ready. Ignoring the storm of worry coming from Jessica she once again approached the ring with the cutters. She was ready for the bolt of pain but this time but, when the cutters touched the ring, there was no shock, nothing. Maybe whatever it was had happened and wouldn't happen again. She adjusted the blades so they would do least damage and....

This time the jolt wasn't just through her arm but through her whole body. She was thrown back against a workbench and the cutters went flying across the room, skidding to a halt in a far corner. She somehow knew, with absolute certainty, that, if there were a next time, it would be worse still and, shaken to the core, she just stood there, panting.

"Are you OK?" Jessica asked tentatively.

"Yeah, I guess so," Rhonda replied.

"I think... I think it's kind of protecting itself."

"That's..." Rhonda was about to say 'that's crazy' but, to be fair to Jessica, it was no more crazy than anything else that was going on. Jessica turned her hand over and, as she did so, Rhonda could see that the stone in the ring was now a vivid orange, almost as if it were on fire. Rhonda reached out to take Jessica's hand and, once again, the connection opened.

'Please don't try again, please, please, Rhonda, please don't try again. It will do anything it needs to do to protect itself. If you try again It will hurt you, really hurt you, I know it will, I just know it will.'

Rhonda let Jessica's hand drop.

"Maybe you're right, maybe the ring is protecting itself. Look!" Rhonda pointed to the stone in the ring, which, as the two women watched, died back from the fiery orange and returned to a deep burgundy. "Whether it is or not, I'm not going to try cutting it again until we know a lot more about it. There's too much I don't understand, there's too much neither of us understands."

"I know you think I'm silly but it's as if the ring talks to me."

"I don't think you're silly, well, maybe I used to but I don't anymore. As for the ring, well, it looks like you're stuck with it. I don't know what it just did or how it did it but I'm not going near it with the cutters again."

"Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. Now, come along, let's get back to work."

Over the next few days Rhonda tried her best to keep her contact with Jessica down to a minimum. The shock she had received when trying to cut the ring had hit her in more ways than one. Firstly, physically, she had been hit quite hard and her arm muscles still felt shaky. Secondly, and far more importantly, her normally rock solid confidence had been shaken. The idea that the ring might have supernatural powers, the idea that the ring could have supernatural powers, had shaken her belief system to the core. She was a scientist, a rationalist, an atheist and had the deepest disdain for believers in what she dismissed as 'woo'. It genuinely pained her when ancient artefacts where deemed to have 'mystical powers' and yet, that was exactly what she was forced to ascribe to the ring.

And, again, there was the whole telepathy thing. She was one of those who decried psychics as charlatans who preyed on the weak and gullible and yet, here she was demonstrating similar powers. At least she wasn't ascribing them to spirit guides; that would be the last straw. She knew she was ignoring it in the hope that it would go away, which also went against her nature. As long as she kept away from Jessica the effects weren't too bad and she could manage. However she was finding that, as long as they were within a hundred yards or so, she always knew exactly where Jessica was and what sort of mood she was in. If they happened to be in the same room then this empathy was stronger. Malcolm had called them to his office to discuss the issue with James, and Rhonda had almost squirmed with the embarrassment that she was picking up from Jessica.

And then, as they were working together in the labs, Malcolm came down to see them.

"Ah, Rhonda, Jessica, I'm glad I've found you both. I need someone to run up to Inverness. Can I interest the two of you?"

"Inverness, is that the Lairg dig? The one Zoe Williams is running?" Rhonda asked.

"That's the one. They've unearthed something rather interesting, something that needs to get put in a preservation tank as soon as possible. No, I'm not going to tell you what, Zoe wants to keep it a surprise. Now, they're a bit short staffed at the moment and we need this done soon as, so I wondered if you would spin up there for me. Maybe you could take Jessica, get her out of the office for a couple of days, show her that it's not all dull book work."

Rhonda hardly needed to think this over. If she were being sent all that way then it must be important and the thought of a couple of days out of the office was very appealing. As for travelling with Jessica, well, she was managing the telepathy thing, wasn't she?

"Yeah, I fancy a run out," she replied. "Blow away some of the cobwebs and see how Zoe is getting on." Rhonda glanced across at Jessica. She could feel waves of anxiety coming from her. "What about you, Jessica, fancy a trip to the Highlands?"

"I'm not sure if Jeremy...."

"Oh, to hell with Jeremy," Rhonda said. "Come up to Bonnie Scotland with me, we'll have some fun."

"Jeremy doesn't like me.... He likes me to.... He's not that happy that I'm working here anyway."

Both Rhonda and Malcolm were somewhat shocked by this admission.

"But you'd like to come, wouldn't you?"

"Oh, yes! Visit a real dig! Oh, I'd love to."

"Well, that's settled then," Rhonda said firmly. "Tell Jeremy you've been ordered by your boss and, if he doesn't like it, that's just tough."

Jessica just smiled but she couldn't look Rhonda in the eye and Rhonda could feel how conflicted she was.

"Well, it's too late for you to be leaving today," Malcolm said. "If you were to set of at, say, seven o'clock tomorrow morning that would be fine. Jessica, why don't you discuss this with your young man this evening and tomorrow, if you want to go, that will be fine and if you don't, well, we'll understand."

"And now you're whisking her away for a night of sin and depravity in the Highlands," Chris said as he and Rhonda shared a pint in the Golden Ball.

"I am not!" Rhonda replied. "I just think that it will do the girl good to get out and see some real archaeology."

"This will be the girl whose inane wittering was driving you crazy just s few short weeks ago. And now you're prepared, nay eager, to spend two whole days in her company. Smitten, that's what you are."

"I told you before, I am not smitten."

"And I didn't believe you then. How's the mind reading going?" Chris asked.

"I can live with it."

"Can you? What about Jessica? Can she live with it?"

"We're both pretending it's not an issue. Well, we have to. I told you what happened when I tried to cut the ring off."

"You have to? Pretending it's not an issue is the best response you can come up with? Really!"

"Please, Chris, I can't even talk to her about it. What am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know but there must be something better than ignoring it and hoping it will go away."

"Well, if you can come up with anything please let me know," Rhonda said crossly.

"OK, calm down, keep your knickers on. Seriously, Rhonda, I'm worried. Whatever this is, it sounds batshit crazy and now you're going to lock yourself away with her in the front seat of a van all the way to the far side of Inverness and back."

"I can cope. It's just a drive out and it will do us good to get to know each other a little better."

"And while you're away you'll have your wicked way with her..."

"No I won't. She's straight and has a fiancée. She's off limits on both counts."

"We shall see, we shall see. Now, I brought the last round, this one is yours. Pint of Pride, please."

With the long drive and early start ahead of her, Rhonda was back home in good time and was pottering around the kitchen, tidying up before going to bed. The blast, when it hit her, caught her completely off balance and she fell to the floor, her side one huge ball of pain.

'Slag! What do you want to go to Scotland for?' She heard the words as plain as day. Then, even before she could get to her feet she felt her wrist being grabbed, she felt herself being dragged, thrown across the sofa, she felt her skirt being ripped from her, the heavy weight holding her down, the intruder thrusting between her thighs. She felt herself opening up, not in welcome but in a desperate attempt to minimise the pain, the pain as, again and again, she was invaded, violated. Fortunately he didn't last long and, fully sated he collapsed on top of her, his face next to hers, his whisky breath reeking as he got his breath back. 'Fuck off to Scotland then, see if I care,' he snarled. Again, the voice was as clear as a bell.