Call of the Goddess: A Bona Dea Novel (Stormflies Book 1) (19 page)

Ty eyed Quinn suspiciously, disapproving how closely the two walked together. Then he backed off a respectable distance and followed.

The buzzing in her brain continued to intensify. An image flashed before her eyes, blinding her to the present. She saw a similar orb in her mind, propped inside a cave, glinting with firelight. A face with pale skin flashed before her eyes, a perplexing vision.

Tripping on the rocky ground, her consciousness returned to reality.

Quinn caught her arm to steady her.

“Sorry,” she said, straightening up.

His hands gently gripped her upper arm. She lay her hand over his purposefully, letting the contact linger. His hand felt hot to the touch. The skin felt dry but soft, meant for delicate work. As the contact lasted, his emanations grew stronger. He sought to impress her, to offer her anything to promote further visitations. And he desired to know her in every way. Her mystery intrigued him, this woman who suddenly appeared in his life. She took her turn to blush and avert her gaze.

The vibration plagued her. She wanted the droning to stop. Her neck felt stiff as she resisted the quiver in her muscles.

At the edge of the excavation, Quinn instructed her to climb down one of the metal ladders. For a nervous moment, Axandra feared one of the flashes might cause her to fall. After a deep breath, she swung onto the rungs and climbed down. Her shoes safely touched the bottom a few seconds later. Quinn quickly followed, descending the ladder in the blink of an eye, sliding with his boots scraping down the sides.

As they neared the metal object, another peculiar sensation touched her body, a pulse—subtle and low in frequency. She stopped in her tracks.

“Do you feel that?”

The question prompted the archeologist to regard her with a curious expression. “Um. No, Madam. What do you feel?”

The pulse in the air exacerbated the internal vibration. She blinked and rubbed her eyes to clear them of the blur, but this only made tears flush over their surfaces.

Palm out, Axandra stood motionless and concentrated for a moment on the pulse.

“A thrum,” she described, closing her eyes to help sooth them. She felt as though her body turned in a slow circle, even though her feet remained planted in one place. She sensed a knot of heat in the center of her torso. “Every second or so. Very deep.”

Copying her movement, the explorer stretched out one arm toward the object. He waited several seconds, then lowered his arm. A disappointed look marred his round face.

“Peculiar,” Quinn said softly, a finger tracing his lips as he thought. “Is it rhythmic? Is it centered here?”

Her body swayed again. Her gut flipped and with just a moment's notice, she lunged aside and heaved the contents of her stomach onto the dirt. She crouched low, trying not to fall over. Why couldn't anyone else feel it? The noise flooded her ears.

As he reacted a moment later, she heard Quinn say “Oh dear,” then he hollered for help. He hurried to her side, holding her shoulders against her wobble to keep her from tipping sideways into the dust.

“I'm sorry, but I have to leave,” Axandra moaned, staying doubled over. Her skin perspired suddenly. Her digestion bubbled restlessly, and again she vomited. Squinting down the undigested pastry she'd just eaten, she felt embarrassment flush through her body. The pulse still throbbed through her and the buzzing filled her ears. She reached up to cover each side of her head, trying to block out the noise.

“By all means. Let's get you out of here.” Quinn helped her to her feet and steered her toward the ladder even as she remained half-stooped, her head reeling. With Ty reaching down from above and Quinn pushing from below, they managed to extradite her to the ground level.

From there, Ty supported the Protectress and took her to his dardak. She heaved again before mounting the animal, but there was nothing left in her stomach to expel but bile. Sara gave her a cup of cool water to wash the acid from her mouth and throat.

“I'll be okay,” Axandra assured, sensing everyone's concern. “It must be motion sickness.” Climbing onto the dardak's back, she wrapped her arms loosely around Ty's torso, and they trotted away. She swallowed down the next wave of nausea, feeling relief the farther they moved away from the site.

+++

After Eryn
gave her an extra dose of chickle leaves, Axandra took a few hours to sleep off the raw stomach and headache that came as side effects of–well, whatever she had experienced at the dig site. She wasn't entirely certain the source of the discomfort. Though she was highly susceptible to motion sickness, she always dosed herself with chickle leaves before going on any type of transportation, and had done so that very morning to avoid being sick. The mysterious rhythm and vibration certainly contributed to the upset stomach. The most likely source of those sensations was the orb. And while the object appeared to be a solid globe of shining metal, she felt certain that something lay inside. At the moment, they had no way of distinguishing the contents.

The last time she experienced anything akin to this bout, an earthquake occurred several hundred kiloms offshore of the island. Dizziness struck her with an overall sense of disorientation. The mild sensation lasted a very short time. At the time, she managed to keep down her day's meals. But she hadn't been the only human being to sense the sudden shift of the tectonic plates beneath her feet. Visiting with friends, she learned several experienced analogous discomforts at simultaneously.

After waking, Axandra sat in the main sitting room of Sara's home. Eryn sat with her and they talked quietly about how she was feeling after the brief rest. Axandra assured the Healer that she felt much better and that whatever unsettled her system was gone. She was given an entire sofa to herself, and she took advantage by stretching out her legs along the cushions and keeping warm under a knitted afghan. Ending any further conversation, Axandra took to reading one of the many books she toted with her.

Miri, who had a difficult time sitting still, busied herself by assisting Suzanne washing the dinner dishes and cleaning the table. The chimes hanging high in the foyer rang, signaling visitors at the front door. Miri immediately went to answer the summons.

Hearing voices, Axandra picked out the male voice and recognized the timbre from earlier in the day. Bowing her head back to the book she was reading, she hoped to hide a small smile that curved her lips.

Miri returned to the room, followed by the visitor. “Madam, Mr. Elgar has come to see you.”

Flashing coy smiles to each other, Sara and Suzanne encouraged Eryn and Miri to go with them into the kitchen to fetch after-dinner tea.

Washed clean and donning a wool jacket against the evening chill, Quinn bowed stiffly toward her. “Good Evening, Protectress. I came to make sure you were feeling better,” he told her, a statement and a question all in one. His thoughts found their way in to her mind again. She looks better. Good. I've never seen anyone so sick from a cup of juice.

“I do,” Axandra affirmed, moving slightly to sit up.

“My apologies, Protectress, but no one has shown such a reaction at the site. I wasn't aware—”

Axandra stopped him with a wave of her hand. “It wasn't your fault. I'm hypersensitive to motion. Vibrations, too. Travel does a number on my stomach.” Waving again, she offered him a place to sit down. She shifted her feet to the floor, clearing a space on the cushions. He accepted her offer and sat on the far end of her sofa.

“You really felt a pulse from the object?” Quinn asked, the scientist in him always seeking out details. She found it an endearing trait.

“Yes. It reminded me of a heartbeat,” she described, “a very steady rhythm, but a hundred times heavier than my own heart.” Shaking her head, she pushed away a revisiting feeling of nausea. “What made you want to be an archeologist, Quinn?” she asked, shifting the focus from herself.

By the pleased smile on his face, she could see that showing interest in him personally caused him great joy. He relaxed a bit. His shoulders lowered about two inches as he settled against the cushions. “When I was a little boy, I read one of those journals where they made the first discovery of the Ancients—farther north of here. I was fascinated by the similarities with humans. After my service years tending to grain fields and building houses, I trained to go into digging for the Ancients myself. History is so alluring, the patterns of events and fitting together the puzzle. I am happiest when I find a challenge.”

“Like this one?”

“Oh-ho-ho,” Quinn guffawed. “This is by far the most challenging puzzle yet! A gigantic, featureless orb!” Just the thought of it sent his mind spinning with possibilities. His grayish eyes lifted toward the wood beams in the ceiling, his arms uplifted. “Where did it come from? What is it? What's inside?”

The true Quinn shone through, not the one nervous to impress her, the unreachable Protectress. She witnessed at that moment his passion and his nature. Inquisitive. Compassionate. Intelligent. His first love was his science.

“And you, Protectress? What gave you the inclination to serve the world?”

And funny.

The laugh came out unbidden. Her body relaxed further and her fatigue melted from her shoulders. She listened to her own laugh and realized she missed the sound.

“Of all the choices I had before me,” Axandra began, still chuckling through her words. “I guess this was the best fit.”

He laughed with her, his eyes twinkling. Then, he sighed, looking down at his hands. He cleaned beneath one fingernail as he said, “I have a confession, Your Honor.”

“Oh?”

“I asked Sara if I could see you again. Well, really I asked Sara if I could see you the first time.” He tripped over his words. “I arranged to be the custodian the day of your visit. I had to ask for a few favors. Sara helped.”

Now Axandra's suspicions about being set up were confirmed. “Really?”

“I just wanted a chance to talk to you, but you didn't talk much. So I asked Sara if she thought I could have another chance.”

“I'm glad you did,” Axandra told him. Something about his eyes struck her as alluring. The gray-blue circles of his irises swirled like water.

“Oh?” Quinn asked, his blonde, broad eyebrows arched high with surprise.

She held out her hand to him. “Yes. Thank you for today.”

He accepted the offer to touch her hand, at first with just his fingertips. Then he clasped his thick hand about her slender one. She likes me! Would it be too much to ask?

“May I see you again?” he asked hopefully.

“I would like that very much.”

She thought she heard giggles coming from the kitchen. Then the other women returned, each one smiling secretively. Suzanne carried a tray of tea and cakes. Quinn blushed and withdrew his hand from hers.

Sara invited him to stay for tea, an offer he couldn't refuse.

20th September, 307

Prior to the Northland tour
, a sect of Believers requested an audience with the Protectress on their home soil. They complained of unfair discrimination against them due to the actions of a separate sect and wished that their requests be heard by the Protectress herself.

Though still skittish, the Protectress felt she needed to make a display of fairness toward the group and, with the Council's approval, forwarded a message that they would meet at the Northland Landing at the time specified in the request.

Together with the People's Council, the Protectress carefully worked out how she would address the expected questions. Certainly, they would once again ask the Goddess to show herself, as the group had requested for generations. The answer was always the same—neither the Protectress nor the Council reserved means by which to summon such an entity. The answer did not confirm nor deny the existence of the Goddess but made clear the being would not appear upon demand.

The council members agreed that the most likely questions would pertain to the health and well-being of fellow Believers. Many still ailed from the first alleged appearance of the Goddess. At this point, five had passed on, hopefully to commune with the Goddess as the Believers sought. A few managed to overcome the barrage of symptoms and clutched at life, plagued with aches and pains and chronic fatigue. The Healers gave no explanation why some improved while the majority continued to decline. There did not appear to be any unique characteristic common to those who beat the symptoms.

The councilors agreed at the same time that an assembly of Healers in the nearby villages and towns would be called to discuss the details of each afflicted individual's health in order to compare symptoms and circumstances. Axandra offered that Eryn coordinate the assembly, as the Healer had already discussed the idea with her. The Protectress spoke at great length with her Healer to try to understand how the affliction affected the people and where it might lead.

At first, the councilors and Ty Narone protested Eryn's involvement, for the Healer's duties were to the Protectress first and the Palace staff second. However, Axandra pointed out that Eryn already spent a great deal of her time away from the Palace treating several of the afflicted citizens living in or near Undun City, aiding the city's Healers in caring for the increasing number. So they agreed that Eryn would lead the assembly. This meeting would be proposed to the Believers to encourage their cooperation.

On the morning of their second full day in North Compass, the entourage proceeded to the Landing a few kiloms outside the village proper. As they approached the monument of the three derelict interstellar ships, they viewed a large encampment of Believers gathered on the open fields to the northwest. The pilgrims housed themselves in colorful oilskin tents grouped in loose clumps. Many people sat in small circles with one or two standing in the center preaching or singing. Creases etched the lethargic faces, and dark circles sank the eyes. They all appeared very thin, save a few with firm faces in sharp contrast to the hollowness of the sick. The healthy ones helped care for those in need.

“They all look so frail,” Eryn whispered toward the Protectress' ear.

Axandra nodded in dismal agreement. As the cars pulled up to the main entrance, she let her mind wander out to the people and found little except discomfort and pain filling their souls. There were so many minds in such dire states that she felt it necessary to block them out, lest she begin to echo their symptoms. Eryn warned everyone to be careful with their abilities and aided the councilors and Elite in blocking the onslaught, as she had done back in Lazzonir. Axandra refused this time, believing she needed her mind to be free and open if she were to try to better understand the Believer's plight. As the despair washed over her, she momentarily regretted that decision. With a deep breath, she brought down the curtain in her mind that she could use to shield herself.

Just outside the main door to the museum site stood a frail-looking man dressed in an unadorned brown tunic. He waited there alone, his fingers steepled in front of his chest. His body hunched forward, and he limped when he moved a few steps to greet them, waddling from side-to-side on bowed legs.

“Protectress,” he said with much relief and gratitude. “My name is Algin. Thank you for coming. It gives us hope that you agreed to this meeting.”

“When the people need me, I will listen,” the Protectress pledged, bowing at the waist in greeting.

“Shall we go inside and sit comfortably while we talk? I have arranged for refreshments for you and your group.”

“Please,” Axandra agreed, almost feeling a need to reach out and steady him as he hobbled in front of her. She resisted, knowing the touch would not do either of them any good and would be quite unwelcome.

They entered the grounded spacecraft and found a small conference room with seats around an oblong table of highly polished wood. The frail man sat in one soft chair while Axandra sat in another and turned to face him. The others continued to stand, allowing the meeting to proceed more intimately.

“The others elected me to speak with you about our situation,” he introduced. His voice rasped and shook his ailing body.

“I am here to listen to your needs, sir. I will offer whatever assistance I can give you,” she stated in carefully rehearsed words, making no promises. She let the curtain in her mind lift slightly so that she might monitor his feelings while they conversed, even if his face expressed a good deal of his anxiety.

“I know you will,” Algin responded, squinting his dark eyes with his thin smile. “I will not mince words. We wish to see the Goddess again. That is our primary desire.”

In return, Axandra pronounced, “I am unable to summon such an entity. I regret I cannot help you with this request.”

Breathing heavily, Algin smacked his tongue inside his open mouth a few times, wetting his palette and lips. His eyes watched her carefully. Typically, the Believers would not open their minds to anyone outside of their beliefs, but she understood that being the Protectress, she was not restricted by such rules. She sensed his abilities probing her gently. Watchfully, she allowed him only a peek at her thoughts.

He continued his story. “She came here that night. I saw Her myself. She was smaller than I expected—but beautiful nonetheless—a light that hovered over this very ship. We marveled at Her appearance and said our prayers to Her. Then She bathed us in light and we felt as we never had before, as though Heaven had descended on us for a brief moment in time!” Algin smiled in remembrance of the sensation, his arms outstretched toward the ceiling. “She filled us with joy and took away our pains.”

Then his arms dropped. Quivering slightly, his lips turned down into a frown. “But now, we are all sick. We have made a sin against Her, and we need to make it right. She needs to come so we can make it right. She will make us better again. Please, you must call Her to us.”

Again she said, “I cannot summon the Goddess, sir. What sin do you believe you've committed?”

“We need help!” Algin demanded. His mind pushed at hers more forcefully, tugging at the curtain. The cat opened its eyes and growled at the intrusion, then shrank to the back of Axandra's brain, away from the prying tendrils. As gently as she could, Axandra resisted him.

“The Healers are trying to help you.”

“The Healers have not helped. We are still sick. We need the Goddess!” He lunged at her desperately. Ty reacted immediately, grabbing the man across the torso and pulling him back. “Please!” Algin cried out. “Please help us! We are dying!”

Helpless as to what to do next, Axandra searched the eyes of the Eryn and the others, but they were shocked as well. They were not prepared for this situation.

Turning inside her mind, Axandra asked the Goddess in her for guidance.
Can you appear? Can you make them better? What can you do?
she questioned urgently.

A dark sky and a rain of stars overtook her vision, falling at her at astronomical speed. All around her, people fell and lay lifeless on the ground. Then the Great Storm filled her eyes, the swirling mass of colored clouds and lightning striking all around.

What does this mean?
she thought in confusion.

Algin wept, kneeling on the floor where Ty restrained him. The old man only wanted one thing, to be well again. In his mind, only the Goddess could cure their ailment. For two months, he suffered through pain and weakness.

“Only the Goddess can help us,” Algin whimpered, his face in his hands. “We've always been faithful. Why does She punish us? Why?” he implored, looking up at Axandra with cloudy eyes.

“She can't help you,” Axandra said, her own voice filled with his despair. The link to him was too strong now, and he did not want to relinquish his mental grip. Could he sense the Goddess in her? She resisted again, pushing against his offense. “I'm sorry.”

A bright flash caused her to shield her eyes with her hand. She turned and hurried from the room, away from Algin. Footsteps echoed in the large open entry way as she headed out the front door. The world dimmed around her, and she feared she might collapse on the floor.

Outside, she stood on the paved walkway and inhaled a deep breath. She looked around at the vicinity trying to remember why she had come out here. She felt tired, her eyes heavy and achy. The sun appeared much higher than she thought it should be for this time of day. On the road, the two cars sat idle, the two drivers waiting off to the side, chatting with each other and sharing a bit of something that was packed in small tan envelop. The wind picked up from the east, blowing in with a hint of moisture that tickled her nose. Perhaps it would rain somewhere today.

Breathing deeply, Axandra attempted to focus on what had just happened, why her emotions swirled in turmoil—she felt sad, terrified and confused. Her heart raced in her chest and every inch of her skin felt hot. She'd never experienced a panic attack like this before.

Eryn came out after her just a second later. “Madam, are you all right? You ran out in quite a hurry.”

“I'm fine. Um, I think,” Axandra rubbed the center of her chest, felt the fierce thumping of her heart beneath the bone and inhaled deeply, forcing her shoulders up. She gazed out at the airy fields around the ships, expecting something or someone to be there. She found nothing but the short blue-green grasses showing their light sides as the wind blew down the blades like a ripple on the water. “I feel like I've been asleep, like I've missed something. I needed fresh air.”

“Well, it hasn't been very entertaining in there. Ty is about fed up with our Believer friends not showing.”

Believers. She expected the Believers to be here for the meeting. But no one was here. The fields around them lay empty and appeared undisturbed. Yet, she had just been speaking to someone…

“Madam, you look puzzled,” Eryn observed.

“I expected—” Axandra said as she continued to look around for clues as to why her brain felt so disconnected from the present. “I expected they would be here waiting for us—for me. Why wouldn't they come? They requested this meeting. It doesn't make any sense.”

“We all expected the whole throng,” Eryn reminded. “But I guess they've given up or stayed home. I hear from Healers all over that the sick are bedridden. They have no idea what causes it other than they were all present here the night of your installation. Some suspect contamination of their food or water. I've asked the custodian to check the ships for any sort of leak. It took a slew of toxic substances to keep these ships in space. Radiation or chemical sickness could be possibilities, though we've never experienced such before.”

Lips pursed, Axandra nodded in acknowledgment of the Healer's words. A leak of toxic particles offered a less chilling hypothesis. Perhaps radiation explained the glowing light that the Believers claimed to have seen.

Then she realized that a long blank existed for the span of the morning, maybe more. The sun hung noon high, and the last thing she remembered clearly was arriving in the village just before dinnertime.

“Eryn, what did we do last night?”

The Healer took a turn scrunching her face in a curious and concerned expression. “We ate dinner at Sara's shortly after arriving in the village and then all went to bed. You headed in the earliest. The extra day of travel just about did you in.”

“Extra day?” Axandra asked curiously crossing her arms over her breasts. The chill of the air got to her skin. “Why did it take an extra day?”

Before she received a response, Ty came stomping out through the main doors of the museum ship, mouth a straight line.

“I suggest we leave, Protectress. Your appointment appears to have been canceled.”

Axandra shook her head. “No. We should wait. They asked us to be here. It's very important to them.” She wanted to give them a chance.

“We've already waited two hours and my scouts have reported there is no sign of any Believers anywhere.”

Two hours. Axandra couldn't remember even coming here today. With her thumb and forefinger, she pinched the bridge of her nose between her eyes, lids shut. She thought the pressure might help clear the haze from her brain. However, the haze remained.

“Exhaustion has a nasty effect on people,” Eryn said to her, trying to interpret the visible symptoms. “We should return to our hosts and rest.”

“Very well,” she acquiesced with a disappointed sigh. She addressed Ty with a pointed finger, “But have one of your guards remain here in case they do come.”

Ty agreed. The rest climbed back into the cars to leave. Axandra could not shake the strange sensation that something very odd had happened to all of them, though no one seemed worse for wear, except her.

Back at Sara's house, instead of sitting for lunch, Axandra went straight to her room, requesting that the Healer come with her. She sat tiredly on the edge of the bed and slipped her heavy shoes from her feet. “Eryn, I'm not feeling well.”

“I suspected as much,” the red-head agreed with an almost annoying tone of mothering. Eryn drew up a chair to the side of the bed and sat eye-level with her patient. “What is the trouble?”