Crystal Warrior: Through All Eternity (Atlantean Crystal Saga Book 1) (67 page)

Their days were so busy there was scarcely time to talk with one another and every evening they dined as guests of the Coast Guard and Navy, usually with the company of Commander Abernathy or Captain Hogan, Navy scientists, or their superiors. The public had been told that the force field had dissipated as mysteriously as it had formed and the yacht had been found drifting in the area with its crew ill and disorientated.

But within the discreet world of the US Navy the truth had created its own shudder of fascination. Commander in Chief Holworthy, whose brass had obtained them the cooperation they'd needed to get out on the water had spent three days on the Base and dined with them twice. Late at night as the four of them drove back to Harmony's house they would mull over the exigencies of being alternative-thinking civilians in an orthodox-thinking naval enclave.

They'd all become inured to the raised eyebrows, sideways smiles and sudden body-slams against chair backs as they explained about the origin of the ancient crystal, how it came to be on the ocean bed and how they knew about it and how to deal with it. It seemed there were few within the hierarchy who, even with the irrefutable evidence presented to them, could open their minds to the possibility of past lives, let alone highly technological life some eleven thousand years or more before current time. Most were stuck in the ‘evolution from the cave to the sophisticated high-rise’ syndrome and the perception that this life was the only one they were going to have and so they'd better make it count.

Of them all, Georgina knew only Captain Hogan and Commander Abernathy were in total sympathy with them, for they'd been present when they'd programmed the crystal and they knew the force field had only started to dissipate once Georgina indicated the programming was complete. When Abernathy had questioned them about maintaining the secrecy all were able to assure him they had no desire to expose themselves on a worldwide scale to the kind of skepticism and cynicism they'd encountered from US Navy personnel. Abernathy had been a little embarrassed and inclined to apologize.

‘We've all been where those people are, Commander,’ Georgina assured him. ‘Personally, I'm very happy to have it all kept quiet. Though when the ‘Astrid’s crew gets well and start talking about their experience that may be difficult. They've already mentioned some very strange phenomena. But none of them know of our part in all this and I'd prefer they didn't. I just wanted Fran and Gould back—and I've got that. I don't need the world breathing down my neck for details. I don't think I could handle the sort of sensation it would cause.’

‘You should understand, Commander,’ interposed Torr, ‘scarcely two weeks ago we were both as straight and normal, for want of any better terms, as anyone else. Speaking for myself, this stuff has blown my mind wide open and there are times when I feel like a wind-whipped flag and I'm scrambling to haul in its tattered remains. Trouble is, I know if I ever get it back together it'll show me a totally different set of symbols to those it bore when I unfurled it before the storm.’

Case favored Torr with a teasing look of open-mouthed admiration.

‘You should write that down, man. It's poetic. We'll have you writing articles for spiritual magazines next!’

Torr sat back and let his gaze rest lazily on Case. The two had become good friends and Georgina waited with quiet amusement for his riposte. He didn't disappoint her.

‘I already have a couple of topics in mind—‘Aging Bikie Discovers Alternative Thrills’ or ‘Tattooist Saves on Suntan Oil’.’

The two of them grinned fatuously at each other and Georgina knew they'd spend the next few minutes in the age-old game of friendly one-upmanship. Torr was easy and relaxed around Case, Harmony, the Navy personnel, everyone it seemed, but her. The reverse was also true of course. Emotions were something she'd never learnt to verbalize and there was so much emotion between them waiting to be discussed you could just about build the Great Wall of China with it.

With him on one side and her on the other.

What would happen when Case left? She knew he was missing Merryn. He rarely let his laughing, teasing mask slip but occasionally she'd catch a faraway expression in the depths of his sunny blue eyes which belied his usual cheerfulness. Fran and Gould were improving by the day and both were having longer and longer lucid periods. They'd both improved noticeably after the introduction of their Atlantean signature stones into the healing sessions. Large quantities of Gotham’s citrine were easy to come by. Phryne's diamond was another matter.

Torr had solved the problem by buying a diamond pendant and hanging it round Fran's neck. Georgina hadn't questioned the cost or his feelings for Fran. She'd have had to speak directly to him to do that and increasingly she felt the need to retreat behind her wall of silence. What would happen when he finally breached it, she didn't dare contemplate. At moments when she watched Fran's long slim, burn-scabbed fingers fondling the diamond at her throat and remembered Phryne's similar attachment to a black obsidian teardrop, she wondered if she could ever bring herself to speak to him. The virulence of her jealousy surprised her. It wasn't an emotion she was used to dealing with.

A legacy of unbelievable antiquity from Gynevra?

As the days slipped by Georgina found herself worrying at the problem whenever she was alone. Often when she wasn't, Case or Harmony would call her back to awareness with quizzical smiles and gentle questioning. But how could she begin to explain something to them that she couldn't explain to herself? Gynevra hadn't tried to explain it beyond understanding it only affected her in regard to Taur. With Gotham or anyone else it hadn't been an issue. Gynevra had reasoned it was because she loved Taur, and only Taur.

Was that what she felt for Torr? How could she know? She'd ‘recognized’ him on some elemental soul level. He'd triggered memories so ancient they'd no right to exist any longer! Dammit! How could she know what she felt when they hardly spoke to one another even though so much begged to be shared?

Looking at him hurt. The green of his eyes was so strong, so startling, scoring tracks of need deep into her viscera. So tall and broad and dark, he drew women's eyes like birds to the trees at dusk. With Gould she'd discovered great sexual pleasure but her knowledge of the ecstasy Gynevra and Taur had shared made her suspect Torr Montgomery could take her places in the realms of sexual joy and satisfaction she'd never dreamt existed.

But that was lust, not love. What did she know of love? She who thought she'd found it twice in her life only to find her judgment so far from base she'd been dumped on the stony beach of her own foolishness like a stranded porpoise. Twice!

How could she ever hope to judge her real feelings for Torr Montgomery if she couldn't even talk to him? And how was she supposed to talk to him when she knew the moment she did would be the moment she begged him to take her, hold her, and never let her go?

Chapter 37

‘George! There're pink turtles swimming in the sea!’

‘What? Where?’ Georgina jolted upright in the canvas chair under the single stately palm on Harmony's front lawn.

Case chortled.

‘Gotcha, little sister.’ Then he shook his head gently at her. ‘Time you started talkin' to that man 'stead of wearin' the turf off that race track in your head.’

Georgina hunched back in her chair and stared balefully at her brother-in-law.

‘I sometimes wonder how Merryn puts up with you,’ she muttered.

It was the first afternoon in a fortnight they'd permitted themselves to relax. Torr had gone off somewhere straight from the hospital with a brother of one of the other crew members and Harmony had gone to spend time with her daughter and grandchildren further up the coast. Georgina and Case had decided they wanted nothing more strenuous than to swim in the ocean and lounge under a tree with a cold drink.

‘I've been talking to you for the last five minutes and you haven't heard a word I've said. If I was the nasty sort, which I'm not, I'd say—Nah, that's too nasty even for me.’

‘What?’ Georgina demanded. ‘What would you say, Casey Valois? Tell me or I'll throw this ice at you!’

Miming terror, Case whimpered in a childish falsetto, ‘That it's no wonder Gould went off with Fran 'cos he probably got sick of trying to get your attention, too.’

She threw the ice and he dodged it with laughing agility.

‘That is so-o low,’ she seethed.

‘I know,’ Case responded, falsely repentant and eyes dancing with merriment, ‘but I also know it's probably not far off the mark 'cos your head—and heart—has definitely been otherwhere for the last few months. Since a memorable, if very brief, visit of one Torrens Montgomery, to be exact. Now, George,’ he said, holding up his hands, as she began to rise menacingly out of her chair, ‘you know I wouldn't say something like that if I thought it would hurt you. I understand, as do Merryn and your Mum, it's not so much that you've stopped loving Gould, it's that you've discovered you love Torr more.’

Arrested by the certainty in his voice, Georgina slumped back again and glared at him from beneath lowered brows.

‘I'd like to know how the hell you've worked that out,’ she demanded truculently, ‘when I haven't.’

‘You—haven't?’ Case looked genuinely bewildered. ‘Then this isn't what's bothering you?’

Georgina began twisting the hem of her cotton tee shirt around her fingers, opened her mouth to speak, closed it again and ground her teeth.

Case sighed.

‘Spit it out, George,’ he advised solemnly. ‘There's only you an' me an' this poor dumb tree to hear you. It doesn't matter how it sounds, how mixed up it comes out, just tell me what you're feeling, what you're thinking. I can't guarantee I'll have the answer for you but sometimes just talking about a problem helps you find the answer for yourself. D'you trust me, little sister?’

Georgina nodded. There was no one she trusted more.

He held her gaze and waited. When she still didn't speak, he added, ‘No matter how corny it sounds I promise not to laugh—’

‘It's not that,’ Georgina blurted at last. ‘It's—Case, how do you know I love Torr more than Gould?—No, no! That's not what I want to know. I want to know how you know when you're in love. I mean
truly in love.
’ She stopped for a moment and rubbed the palms of her hands down her thighs. Then with a hefty sigh and her eyes focused on the tips of her fingers, she continued, ‘I loved Alan. I love Gould. But look at us! Look at me.’ Suddenly she was staring at Case, self-consciousness forgotten in the intensity of her feelings. ‘Both times I was
in love
. I was truly happy. Then wham! A couple of years down the track I'm staring at the wreck of my life again. How do I know it won't be the same with Torr? What is it with me? Isn't one man enough? I might as well go and be a prostitute.’

With this last declaration she hunched back in her chair again, arms folded across her chest and cheeks flaming.

Case sat for a long moment considering the woman beside him. At last he said, ‘Thanks for honoring me with your true thoughts, George. Someone's done a real number on your self-esteem somewhere along the line, haven't they? Ever thought of doing some energy movement therapy? You're carrying a heap of emotional garbage.’

Georgina shook her head and chewed on her lip.

Case rose to stand before her and gripped the arms of her chair.

‘George, there's nothing wrong with you,’ he declared earnestly. ‘Many people have loved different partners at different times in their lives. It's not a question of being good or bad. I believe we come into each lifetime with a mandate to learn a certain lesson and the life situations keep being put before us until we learn it. At a guess, I'd say yours was something to do with speaking up for yourself, about knowing who you are. I can't answer your questions about love except with the old, corny ‘I just know’, which isn't much help to you. But I reckon, if you'd let yourself relax around Torr and talk to him like you have to me, you'd find your answers.’

As he spoke he sank slowly to his haunches before her, still gripping the arms of her chair. Georgina closed her eyes and squeezed them tight.

‘I can't,’ she whispered. ‘I've got to sort out my life with Gould first.’

‘Why?’ Case asked, genuinely perplexed.

Sucking in a deep breath, she whispered, ‘Because when I talk to Torr I want no ‘emotional garbage’ as you call it, between us. ‘Cos—when I talk to him—’

‘What?’

‘There won't be much talking going on,’ she whispered.

‘Ah.’ Case dropped back into his chair and gazed at his sister-in-law. ‘Don't like to be crude, little sister, but I don't believe either Fran or Gould had any such scruples.’

‘I'm not Fran or Gould.’

‘Nah. They understand life's for living; that it doesn't fit into neat little boxes. They probably discovered
lifetimes ago
that the harder you try to fit life into perfect little boxes the more difficult it gets. Go with the flow. Let go and let God.
Bend
a little, woman!’

‘Now you're getting on your soap box,’ Georgina muttered.

‘You betcha! George, I'm serious. You don't need to feel guilty. You don't need to feel inadequate and you do deserve to be happy.’

‘I was happy with Gould.’

Case looked stumped for a moment, then said carefully, ‘There are many degrees of happiness. Had Torr never come on the scene you might've gone on for years being happy with Gould—up to a point. Didn't you tell us Gynevra was happy with Gotham
at first
? I suspect the happiness you could know with Torr might make your relationship with Gould look like a—Sunday School picnic.’

Georgina choked.

‘A Sunday School picnic! My mother would never have let me to go to one if it was anything like my relationship with Gould!’ She laughed a little shakily with Case then asked, ‘What was it you wanted to tell me that got blown away by pink turtles?’

‘I've decided to go home. Soon as I can get a flight. I've been away from my family long enough.’

‘You can't!’ Georgina jerked forward in her chair, her response so reflexive she couldn't check it even though she knew it was totally unfair. She stared at him for a long moment, her eyes wide and filling with tears, her bottom lip clamped between her teeth.

‘It's time, George,’ he averred softly. ‘Fran and Gould are over the worst. The doctors believe their mental health will gradually revert to normal and plastic surgeons can totally rebuild faces these days. It's just a long, slow recuperation process now. Torr says he's not going anywhere until you do. He's here for the duration. He's gone to hire himself a car today. I've given him my tickets and he's booking my flight for the day after tomorrow, I hope.’

Georgina swallowed.

‘You're leaving me alone with him!’

‘I'm going home to my woman. D'you realize this is the first time we've been apart since we began living together?’

Georgina shook her head and swiped at her eyes.

‘Well, it is and it's been damnably hard, George. I don't mind admitting that, but it's been a damned sight harder on Merryn with the shop and the clinic to run and wee Jordie as well. I know I'm leaving you in good hands. You know that as well. In fact, you've known that for thousands of years.’

Case knelt before her again, gripping her hands.

‘Don't you?’ he persisted.

Georgina sniffed.

‘You've already proved you're strong enough to handle anything life throws at you. D'you think maybe it's time to take control of what happens to you instead of trying to dodge around the missiles? Hurl a few of your own even?’

Georgina slipped her hands from his grasp and wiped her face.

‘I know you're right. I'm sorry I cracked up. It's just—I hadn't thought of you going and it took me by surprise. Of course you must go—and of course you're right about everything else! When aren't you? It's about as predictable as the fact you'll be demanding to be fed any minute now.’

Case grinned with relief and leapt to his feet.

‘That's my girl! I thought we might ask Harmony if tomorrow she'd take us down to that Caribbean Market she was talking about in Miami. I need to find some stuff to take home with me. Merryn would strip my hide and tan it for a wall-hanging if I came home with nothing to show for my travelling. Will you come?’

Smiling a little wanly, Georgina teased, ‘Your hide would make a beautiful wall-hanging.’ Then she said, ‘It'd be a shame not to see something of this place before you go home. The Caribbean Market sounds like a great idea.’

‘Mmm. So it's a plan. Now speaking of food,’ Case said, grinning and pushing lazily to his feet, ‘d'you fancy a wander down to that hot-dog stand on the beach?’

Case turned to wave before disappearing down the airport corridor. Numb with panic, Georgina stared at the spot where he'd vanished, willing his lanky form to reappear.

‘Now there's just you and me.’

The words, slow and deep from just behind her shoulder, so exactly mirrored her thoughts she wasn't sure they’d been spoken.

Georgina turned sharply to stare at the man at her side. The mercenary was back. She'd seen so many sides to Torr Montgomery in the last few days. Dedicated and focused on learning the techniques of a healer; lightning fast and strong to restrain a patient who'd threatened to jump off the balcony; quick and droll in dealing with late night cabbies; boyishly delighted with the ex-army jeep he'd hired; and expert at cooking clams on Harmony's barbecue. She'd almost forgotten the mercenary. With thumbs hooked in his trouser pockets, jaw jutting with just a hint of belligerence, and serpentine eyes watching her from beneath scowling brows, she was tempted to ask him where he'd left his guns.

‘You should take more care of your thoughts. I'd be delighted to show you.’

Georgina felt her eyes widen and her cheeks flush. Turning about as if jolted by an electric shock, she raced through the airport, acutely conscious he strode a grim breath behind her left shoulder—and the moment for decisions loomed as close.

At the jeep she silently berated herself for not having the presence of mind to get a taxi back to the hospital. The chance she might ever have presence of mind in the vicinity of Torr Montgomery was a slim one, she decided acidly as she fastened her seatbelt. Staring straight ahead at the rows of cars in the car park, she waited for the engine to start.

‘The Hyatt or the Hilton?’

The words were so clear in her mind he could've spoken them aloud. He couldn't have shocked her more if he'd stabbed her with a knife. Her head swung of its own accord and their eyes met and held.

‘Finally,’ he murmured with a steely satisfaction.

Jaw clenched, nostrils flared, his eyes threatened to blaze into emerald fire at a word.

Pinned to that threat like an opossum to a flashlight, Georgina whispered, ‘What?’

‘You're looking at me.’

Abruptly she stared straight ahead out the window again.

‘The Hyatt or the Hilton?’

‘Will you stop doing that?’

‘What am I doing,’ he drawled, ‘other than waiting for you to speak to me?’

‘You—You—’. She turned to face him again. ‘You're projecting thoughts into my mind!’

‘What thoughts?’ he asked, affecting innocence.

Her cheeks were hot, her eyes burned, and her hands itched to slap him!

‘You know what thought,’ she snapped and turned back to the windscreen.

‘The Hyatt or the Hilton?’ he asked, enunciating each word carefully. ‘Gina, for two people with the intimate memories you and I share this is a ridiculous conversation. I have a startlingly clear memory of the first time we made love in Ist's Grotto under the Great Causeway. You blew my mind and sexually speaking it should've been bullet proof.’

‘We didn't have bullets then,’ Georgina muttered, her cheeks feeling as if they'd burst into flame.

Hands curling into fists around the steering wheel, he ignored her comment and went on, ‘I also vividly recall the last time. Your body was rosy and flushed with sleep and there were tears on your cheeks because you knew you would leave me. I was very angry for day by day, I felt you slipping from me, no matter how secure I made the walls of your prison. I knew fate and time were against us—and I was filled with terror for I knew I couldn't live my life without you. I took you that last morning in the heat of my anger and fear, for you would've refused me. I hurt you that day. I now understand we've carried the pain of those last days in our souls through all the millennia since. Gina—Gynevra, I beg your forgiveness and ask you to place your hand in mine and let me take you where I can love you as I would've chosen to do had I not been so afraid of losing you.—The Hyatt or the Hilton?’