Oceanborne (27 page)

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Authors: Katherine Irons

Tags: #Romance, #Paranormal, #Fantasy

BOOK: Oceanborne
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“You're familiar with him?”
“Yes. Arthur would have lived and died in about the sixth century, A.D.”
“Practically yesterday, as I said.” Morwena nodded. “It looks exactly like this. I was there only a few moons … months ago. Maybe a little more seaweed and some oil sludge, but that's everywhere around the British Isles.”
“Do you think he's really buried there? Arthur?”
Was this any stranger than thinking she'd seen her dead father in Atlantis?
“I don't know why he shouldn't be,” Morwena said. “Not that there would be much left, other than his grave goods. He was buried with quite a few gold objects, I understand. I didn't witness the funeral, but a friend of mine did, and she said that there were close to a thousand humans on rafts and boats around the island.”
“But you say it's underwater now?”
“Yes.” Morwena nodded. “Ice is continually melting at the poles, and the sea level rises. Not that the island was very high to begin with.”
“What's this one?” Elena asked, pointing to the next exhibit. The display appeared to be Greek or Etruscan in style. There were columns and a domed crystal object in the center.
“Another of your kings, I'm afraid. Alexander.”
“Alexander's tomb? Alexander the Great?” Elena's eyes widened and she pressed her face against the glass case. It was all she could do to breathe. “Archeologists have been searching for this for centuries.”
“We could have told them where it is, if anyone had bothered to ask,” Morwena said.
Tears filled Elena's eyes as she drank in the golden figures of horses, chariots, and mythological creatures carved around the crystal crypt. In the center, she could clearly see the image of a man's body. “This really exists?” she asked. “Why haven't his remains vanished?”
“It's no secret,” Morwena confided. “The casket is filled with honey, and that's preserved the body. His hair is undamaged and the color remains as yellow as ever. He's as beautiful as your legends claim. Not a big man, but well formed with muscular arms and broad shoulders.”
“Most archeologists I know would give their right arms to see it.”
“I don't know that it's worth losing an arm, but I'm certain Orion would take you if you ask him—once he returns, that is.”
“Where is he again?” Elena's memories of Orion's whereabouts were fuzzy, and she wondered if Morwena possessed the ability to put her into some sort of trance. Orion's sister seemed so likeable, so normal. How could she be an Atlantean princess, and would she be capable of clouding Elena's reasoning capabilities? And if she could, should she be trusted?
Morwena gave her a shrewd glance, almost as if she could read her mind. “I think we should go,” she said. “It would take hours for you to look at all of the displays, and I'm hungry. Rhiannon will have something delicious to eat. She always does. I can bring you back to see the museum another time, if you like.”
“I would,” Elena agreed. “But I'd like it even better if Orion could take me to Alexander's real tomb.” She felt a vague sense of unease. “Is Orion in danger? What was it that he had to do that was so important?”
“Orion is well. You have nothing to worry about.”
Immediately, Elena felt a rush of warm reassurance, almost as if Orion's arms were holding her.
I love him
, she thought.
I love him, and nothing else matters. I don't care how crazy all this is. And if I'm dreaming, I never want to wake up.
She shook off her discontent. “And you're certain Rhiannon will receive me?” she asked. “If she's the crown prince's wife, won't she have duties that—”
“Rhiannon will be thrilled to meet you. She's been urging Orion to find a partner for ages. And wait until you meet Danu. She's five going on fifty. You'll adore her.”
“Who is Danu?”
“Rhiannon and Morgan's adopted daughter.” The sound of a brass gong echoed down the corridor. “There's a function in the great hall,” Morwena said. “We have to hurry or I'll have to attend.” She grinned mischievously. “Even in Atlantis, there are affairs that are more bother than worthwhile. And if we're lucky, we'll arrive at Rhiannon's in time to share her meal. She has the best cook, and I love her desserts.”
 
Orion and Alexandros walked out of the ocean onto the beach at Rethymo minutes before the arrival of the tidal wave. Alexandros assumed the appearance of a local police officer and began to order people off the beach at once. Orion raced to the harbor. Few fishermen were there, but he saw at least two American tourists as well as the Greek captain of Elena's charter boat. Two women from her archeological team stood on the dock watching as the captain prepared to take his undamaged vessel out away from the fires that were raging on shore.
Since the older woman of the two was obviously American, Orion conjured an illusion, which portrayed him to the humans as an English-speaking naval officer.
“How fast can you get out of the harbor?” Orion shouted to the captain. “Cast off and head out to sea as fast as it will go or abandon the boat and head for higher ground. We've picked up a tidal wave on our radar. It's heading toward the island.”
“Tidal wave?” the captain asked. He shook his head. “This boat is all I own. I won't leave her.”
“Then take these people aboard and get out of here. You should be safe in deep water.”
“Are you certain?” the younger woman asked.
Orion looked out to sea. He could see no sign of the rogue wave, but the sea birds were circling frantically. There was no time for the women and the two tourists to reach high ground. “Take these people onboard!” Orion shouted. “Otherwise, their deaths are on your head.”
The two tourists ran down the dock, and after a moment's hesitation, the women followed. The captain swore in Greek, but he waited until they scrambled onto the deck before he yanked his lines free. “Aren't you coming?” he called to Orion.
“No. I'll be all right. A speedboat is coming for me. Godspeed.” As the captain steered away from the dock, Orion continued his sweep of the harbor. He could sense the coming of the wave, not the largest he'd ever seen, but lethal enough. He found Alexandros and together they continued warning all the locals and visitors they could find.
Some were amiable to good advice; others refused to listen. Again, he and his brother split up. There was something Orion needed to do before the wave hit. He remembered the address of the house Elena had been renting, and he hurried through the twisting streets toward it.
“Elena!” he called as he pushed open the kitchen door. He knew she wasn't here, knew exactly where she was, but if the house was occupied, being a friend seeking her would make a good alibi.
He had reached the staircase leading to the second floor when a tiny Greek woman came rushing down. Immediately, he cast a net of illusion over her. “A wave is coming, Grandmother,” he said. “Go up to the roof and wait there. You'll be safe there.”
“Who are you? Why are you in this house?”
“I'm an angel,” he said in her native Greek. “I've come to help you. Do as I say and you'll be safe from the coming wave.”
“I smell smoke,” the old woman said. “I don't want to burn.”
“The fires won't come here. Go to the roof and wait for help to come.”
“If you're an angel, what is your name?”
“Who do you think I am?”
She mumbled a name, and Orion smiled. He waited until she had vanished up the steps to the roof balcony, and then he followed her up. Elena had left something in this house, something evil, and he had to have it. He knew where she'd hidden it. He'd read her mind when they'd last discussed the coin that she'd recovered from Melqart's ship.
A quick search of Elena's bedroom proved his memory correct. He removed both the coin and a diamond ring from the box. He wasn't certain what he would do with either one, but leaving the ring here might prove fatal to the old woman. The diamond might have absorbed some of the same evil energy. Orion took that as well.
He'd taken the first steps onto the street when he felt the rush of wind and heard the first screams of the terrified citizens of Rethymo.
CHAPTER 25
A
s Orion started toward the harbor, he nearly bumped into Elena's graduate student Stefanos racing toward Elena's house with a small boy in his arms. A terrified Greek woman, carrying a screaming toddler and dragging a girl of about nine or ten by the hand, ran after him. “Go!” Orion shouted. “To the top floor. Hurry!”
The woman stumbled and nearly lost her balance as Stefanos and the boy reached the front door. Screams of the flood victims from the shoreline echoed above the grinding of wood and the groan of metal. Seconds. They had only seconds and all three might be swept away.
Although the wave was still a block away from them, Orion could feel the vibrations of the rushing water and the tons of debris washed along by it against his sensitive skin. The cries of the humans and animals crushed by the force of the tidal wave, fueled his rage toward Melqart. Senseless bloodshed! And for what? A single gold coin? Someone must put an end to Melqart's reign of terror.
Orion seized the woman's hand and wrested the redfaced and wailing baby from her arms. “Run!” he shouted to the woman in Greek. Scooping the girl up in his free arm, he carried the children through the ground floor of the house and up the stairs to the first landing.
“To the top floor,” he ordered, setting the girl down. She stared at him with fear in her eyes, then turned and fled after Stefanos. Orion thrust the still-shrieking baby into the woman's embrace. “The house is strong,” Orion said. “The water may flood the downstairs, but the structure will stand.”
Orion knew as he left the house for the second time that the children saw him as he really was, not as the adults or even Stefanos saw him. It was a risk he had to take. Human children were not so easily deceived by illusion, and casting a spell over more than two humans at one time was always tricky. Luckily for him and his kind, adults rarely believed children when they claimed to see
monsters.
Being seen for what he was broke all the rules, but saving lives had to come first. If he had to face retribution for defying the law, he would pay the penalty.
He headed out again. This was an old part of town, some houses built by wealthy Venetian merchants. The streets were narrow and twisting, houses and shops crowded shoulder to shoulder. Everywhere panic-stricken people ran screaming—parents seeking little ones, husbands and wives calling out for each other. Animals feared the sea's anger as well. A tame parrot flew squawking over his head. Barking dogs, a wheezing goat, and even a braying donkey pulling a cartful of vegetables fled past him up the cobbled street, instinctively seeking higher ground.
As Orion rounded a corner, a wall of water three feet high roared up the alley toward him. He snatched a half-drowned tabby cat from a floating door and tossed the creature onto a flight of stairs that ran up the outside of a stone building. The cat landed on its feet and leaped the wooden steps two at a time until it reached the top, where it perched on a post and meowed pitifully. The cat was plump and wore a rhinestone collar. Orion wondered if the cat's owner had been equally lucky. He hoped so.
The rescue had cost him only a few seconds and several deep scratches on his right hand, but the injuries were nothing. Orion had always had a weakness for cats; he admired their independence and resilience. It was a pity they were poor swimmers and avoided the water whenever possible.
Orion felt pity for the humans, but above everything, he was grateful that Elena was safe among his people in Atlantis. It was for her sake that he'd interfered in Melqart's attempt at mass murder. It would be impossible for him to have her know what had happened and to tell her that he'd done nothing to help. In truth, he had to admit that perhaps he'd been wrong about humans. If Elena was any example of her race, they were not nearly the villains that most Atlanteans believed them to be.
When this was over, if he survived the battle against Melqart's forces, he'd summon the courage to ask Elena to stay in Atlantis with him. And if she agreed and his father objected, he'd go away somewhere with her. He loved his family and he'd spent his life as a soldier, but Elena was more important. If she'd have him, he would put her first above all others.
No matter what happened between them, if she chose to return to her own world or remain in his, it was imperative to protect her, to shield her from harm. If that was love, then he loved her as he'd never loved another. It wasn't enough to have her sexually or to satisfy his own needs as it had always been for him before when it came to a beautiful woman—Elena's happiness must come first.
Those feelings were a new experience for Orion, a little frightening, but one he welcomed with an open heart. He'd resisted telling Poseidon how he felt, not to avoid censure, but because this was all too new to share yet. First, he had to know how Elena felt about him; then he could deal with his father and the High Council.
Strange that he, who'd been so cynical about his brother Morgan's choice of a human woman as his life's mate, should come to the same fate. But Elena wasn't Rhiannon, and he didn't think that winning her over would be as easy. Theirs had been an unusual courtship, to say the least. Few men would seek to impress a woman by nearly allowing her to be devoured by a giant squid on their first date.
Straightening his shoulders, Orion turned his mind to the task at hand. He hoped that there were other victims he could save closer to the shore, and that he, his brothers, and their fellow Atlanteans could make some small difference in this crisis. He would do what he could. Whatever the chasm between his kind and the world of men, it mattered little today.
Reaching the area of the greatest need would be easier if the water were deeper so he could swim, but the deeper the water, the less the chance of survivors. Walking, even running, seemed such a primitive method of getting from one place to another, and despite his gift of being able to exist on land longer than most Atlanteans, gravity and the constant barrage of poisons from the atmosphere made the process difficult.
“Help me! Help me!” came a woman's shout from the interior of a tiny shop.
The water was deeper on this street, still incoming and rising, treacherous with broken glass, jagged metal, nailstudded boards, and all manner of flotsam. Orion struggled toward the frantic cries and assumed the disguise of a rugged Greek peasant with thick neck, bald head, and muscular arms and legs.
“Help us!” the woman called. “My brother! A display case has fallen on Ari! I can't get him out, and the water will soon be over his head.”
A torrent of water, as high as Orion's chest, poured in through the open door and the broken front window pushing furniture and all else before it. He saw the woman standing on a counter, soaked to the waist, and pounding futilely at a large glass-and-wood cabinet. The small man, pinned beneath it, strained to keep his face above the churning water.
“How bad are you hurt?” Orion demanded in a rough countryman's dialect as he made his way to Ari's side. “If I can raise the case, will you be able to crawl out from under it?”
“Yes, I know I can! Thank God you've come! I thought I was done for. My legs are trapped, but I don't think they're broken.” Water sloshed into the man's mouth and he choked and spat. His sister began to cry.
A drowned rat bobbed up in the filthy water and bumped against his face. The sister screamed, but the man knocked it away from him and took another gulp of air. “You'll have to get help.” He gasped and choked again. “It's too heavy for you to lift.”
“Please!” the woman begged. “He's all I have. You must help us.”
Orion glanced at the sister. She was a plain woman with acne scars on her cheeks and bad teeth, but obviously brave enough to remain with her beloved brother when she could have sought safety for herself. Her eyes were red from weeping and her graying hair loose around her shoulders. “I'll free him for you,” Orion promised. “Calm yourself.”
“Go into the street and find others!” she insisted. “No man is strong enough to lift this case alone. I'll do what I can, but—”
“Don't worry,” Orion assured her. “I will lift it off him. I'm stronger than I look.”
 
As Morwena had promised, Princess Rhiannon welcomed them into her home with open arms. “I've been waiting to meet the human who twisted Tora's tail and saved our sister's life,” Rhiannon said as she kissed Elena on both cheeks and ushered them into her private sitting room off a beautiful courtyard. She was a lovely woman with short blond hair that curled around her face, freckles on her nose, and a warm smile, not at all the regal crown prince's wife that Elena had expected.
“You've heard already?” Morwena asked.
Rhiannon laughed. “You know how fast gossip travels in the palace. Has Tora been found?”
“No,” Morwena said. “A pity I didn't put another arrow through his slimy heart. He's probably still running, his tail between his legs. He tried to kill Freyja, as well. For that alone, I should have finished him off.”
“Killing is never as easy as you think, not even in the heat of anger,” Rhiannon said. “Not even trash like Tora.” She glanced at Elena with open curiosity. “Please, sit down. Make yourselves comfortable. Let me have the girls bring you something to eat.”
Rhiannon clapped her hands, and the servant who'd shown them into the princess's presence, a shy brunette with a bouncy step and a heart-shaped face, curtsied and left the room.
“I was hoping we hadn't missed lunch,” Morwena said. “I'm starving. I don't know when Elena ate last. You know Orion. He thinks the rest of us can go as long without sustenance as he can.”
“It's kind of you,” Elena said. She was hungry and tired. She wished she could curl up somewhere and sleep around the clock.
“Orion wanted me to take her to Mother,” Morwena said. “But I thought she'd be better off here. You have a better grasp on the difficulties Elena is facing. Besides, Mother's apartments are close to Father's.” She pulled a face. “And you know how unreasonable he is where humans are concerned.”
“Orion?” Elena rubbed her eyes. “Where is he?” When she tried to think of him, to summon his image in her mind, her thoughts were fuzzy. Why couldn't she remember the man who'd brought her to this strange and wonderful place? Was this all an illusion?
And if she wasn't dreaming, what would come next? She'd already seen someone who looked so much like her father that it boggled her mind, yet Morwena had insisted that his name was Lord Melvin, or something or other. The thought that she might not be able to trust Morwena troubled her. She liked Orion's sister immensely, and she thought she would like Rhiannon, too. She glanced around the room. This place, like everything she'd seen in Atlantis, was vaguely familiar, and yet alien. Could it all be a product of a deranged mind? Hers?
“Orion had pressing business,” Morwena said, answering Elena's question.
“As did Morgan,” Rhiannon added. “Otherwise, I know he'd like to thank you, too. He adores Morwena, and anyone who saves her life has made a fast friend in him forever. You are very brave.”
“No.” Elena shrugged. “Not brave, at all. I think I'm impulsive. I saw this creep hurting Morwena, and …” She settled back into a high-backed, cushioned chair that appeared to be fashioned from a very large cream-and-blue conch shell. “Who was he? And why did he want to kidnap her?”
Rhiannon and Morwena exchanged glances. “Tora is my half-brother Caddoc's stooge,” Morwena explained. “And both of them are monsters. My half-brother is my father's eldest son, but his mother was Halimeda, a witch if there ever was one.”
“Your stepmother?”
“Ex, I suppose.” Morwena wrinkled her nose. “As monstrous as her offspring, but clever and very beautiful. As, I suppose you might say Caddoc is. My father's sons are all handsome.”
“As his daughters are beautiful,” Rhiannon said.
“But if this Caddoc is the oldest, why isn't he crown prince?” Elena asked. “Or is that rude of me to ask?”
“Hardly rude,” Rhiannon said. “Morgan is the son of a high queen, now deceased. Caddoc's mother was a baseborn concubine before he was born. Poseidon elevated her to a minor queen position, but nothing could make her babe eligible to inherit.”
“She ensorcelled my father,” Morwena said, stretching out on her back on a couch and resting her head on her hands. “She wanted Caddoc to be crown prince. She even tried to poison the king. She's evil and so is Caddoc, but he's no real threat. He's an empty bag of wind, all talk without the bollocks to back it up.”
“So Morgan thinks,” Rhiannon said, “but I wonder. He makes me nervous.”
“He's stupid, nearly as stupid as the Samoan. They're lovers, you know. Cladda told me. She caught them behind the—”
“Enough of such talk,” Rhiannon chided mildly. “What will our guest think if we indulge in the same gossip we joked about earlier? Whatever Caddoc and Tora do together is their own business. They're adults.”

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