Authors: Katherine Irons
Waterborne (7 page)
A sharp whistle pierced his thoughts, and he scanned the ruins of a partially fallen wall ahead. Almost at once, Anuata swam from a cluster of washa kelp and waved at him.
“You made it,” she called, as he approached. “I’ve been watching for you.” She glanced at Ree. “She’s still alive, I see.”
“She is.”
The Lemorian warrior-woman shrugged. “Men. She’ll be a liability if we have to fight.”
“Mine, not yours.”
“It’s your neck.” She motioned toward a crack in the wall. “Take that way. There’s an inner courtyard beyond and two doorways on the far side. Take the left passage. It will lead you to a section of the old palace that is reasonably secure. Then follow the music. It will lead you to sanctuary. I’ll keep watch.”
“You’ve seen no sign of any patrols?”
Anuata shook her head. “With me gone, they’ll put Jar’tare in command of the guard, but this far away, we’ll have scouts to contend with. There are wild dolphins here. Some may be willing to carry a message to your people for you.”
“You think we’re better hiding here than making a run for it?”
“Yes. No one will expect you to know of this place.” She regarded him with interest. “When I went ahead across the flow, did you expect me to betray you?”
Alex shook his head. “I knew you wouldn’t.”
“Good.” Anuata smiled. “The two of you will be safe here for a while. Few Lemorians are willing to enter the Old City. They say it’s haunted by the ghosts of those humans who died when the earth opened and the sea swallowed the island.”
“And you don’t fear ghosts?”
She laughed. “Stories to frighten children.”
He grinned at her. “A woman after my own heart.”
“Have you ever been here to this place of sanctuary?”
“No, but I’ve heard tales.”
“Haven’t we all?” She laughed. “Walk softly and break no rule of sanctuary at your peril.”
“And how will I know them?”
“Oh, they’ll tell you. You’ll find food here and welcome. Take your rest, while you may, prince. You’ll need your wits and strength if any of us are going to get out of here alive.”
CHAPTER 7
R
ee opened her eyes to the sound of music. For an instant, she couldn’t remember where she was or even who she was, but then the events of the last few hours and days came back to her. She supposed she should have grown used to expecting the unexpected, but once again, she was totally at a loss to comprehend this new situation.
ee opened her eyes to the sound of music. For an instant, she couldn’t remember where she was or even who she was, but then the events of the last few hours and days came back to her. She supposed she should have grown used to expecting the unexpected, but once again, she was totally at a loss to comprehend this new situation.
She seemed to be standing in a forest glen, the grass and trees around her a hundred shades of green. Above, sunlight dappled through the leaves of massive oaks and she could glimpse the flicker of colors as songbirds fluttered through the branches. The rays of sun felt warm on her skin, and the music soothed and massaged her spirit.
She’d never heard music like this. At first, she thought the notes might be Indian or somewhere from the mists of the Himalayas. The air smelled of wildflowers and oddly ... of rosemary and thyme. But it was the bright notes that brought a catch to her throat and a tear to her eyes. She had the strangest feeling that this was all familiar from long ago. Yet, she couldn’t remember ever being in such a place or even seeing a movie with such a setting.
What was this and how had she gotten from the bottom of the ocean floor to a lush forest? Was this a dream, or had everything she’d thought she’d experienced since she’d been shot on Varenkov’s yacht been a drug-induced illusion? She hoped not, because the man she’d believed had carried her off the boat and under the sea was too hot to be a figment of her imagination. Just thinking about him sent her imagination soaring.
Ree grimaced. Maybe it had been too long since she’d been on leave. Lovemaking was something she’d always taken for granted. Sexual pleasure was one of the joys of living, and her education hadn’t included the artificial rules that bound most women’s possibilities. Not that her upbringing had been permissive. It hadn’t. Boys and girls in the program had always been kept apart after regular class hours, and none of her instructors had ever crossed the line with any of the students.
There had been rumors of one rogue teacher at the institute. As the story went, he’d used his position to manipulate and gain the affections of several of the boys in a class several years ahead of hers. When the sexual intimacies had been discovered, the instructor had been eliminated, and the entire class had vanished. Where the students had gone, whether they had returned to civilian life or something more sinister, remained a mystery. But after that time, all exercises off campus had been under the direction of a pair of instructors, one male and one female. The dormitories for novices over the age of ten had been replaced with private rooms, rooms that were locked at night with a high-tech security system that the state prison system might have envied.
Upon graduation from the third level at age eighteen, institution rules about social interaction between boys and girls were relaxed. Students were encouraged to act upon natural male-female urges and to experiment, so long as no one was harmed or forced into anything they didn’t want to do. The unspoken command was that each novice was to keep in mind that sexual foreplay and intercourse was as normal as eating or sleeping; sentimental attachment to a temporary partner was a weakness not to be encouraged.
Ree smiled, remembering how well she’d embraced that belief, and how she’d followed it religiously until Nick had come into her life and changed everything. They’d served together for two years, four months, and twelve days before the inevitable happened. She’d fallen hard, head, heart, and mind, and for nine months she’d been the happiest she’d ever been in her life ... until she had gotten him killed ...
Ree swallowed against the constriction in her throat. Where had that come from? She hadn’t thought about Nick for days ... not for hours anyway. It had been a long time ago. Any normal person would have put that behind her. She’d learned her lesson well. Take what pleasure you can find, enjoy every experience, but don’t drop your guard and don’t become emotionally involved. Never again. Losing Nick had almost killed her. It had been her own weakness that had opened her to the pain, and she wouldn’t make the same mistake again.
A shadow passed over her, and she studied the trees more closely. Were they too perfect to be real? Was this woodland Eden a figment of her own imagination? She could swear she heard the sound of a rocky stream—no, it was a waterfall, and when she took a few more hesitant steps, a break in the trees to her left showed just that, a misty cascade of tumbling water. Mossy green banks ran down to a pool so clear that she could see trout swimming in it. She brushed aside a leafy branch and ventured closer.
Chattering squirrels peered at her from the branches, and a yellow and brown bird chirped merrily. Blooms of every color and shape grew in clusters throughout the small clearing, hemmed in by lacy ferns and flowering vines. Ree couldn’t shake the thought that the colors were too bright and the setting too beautiful, more like a movie set than real life. But as she watched, a deer pushed through the ferns followed by twin, spotted fawns. Ree stopped. Motionless, she watched, entranced, as the doe lowered her head into the crystal water and drank.
“Come closer.”
The booming voice echoed in her head.
Ree looked around, but saw no one.
“Who comes seeking sanctuary?”
The woods shimmered, and the trees receded. Fog settled around her, so thick that she could no longer see the waterfall, although the sound of the water rushing over the rocks and falling remained. Ominous shadows drifted behind the curtain of mist, and the bright music took on a haunting air.
“Why do you come?” The tone became a whisper. “Why? Why? Why?”
“I can’t play your childish game if I don’t know the rules!” Ree cried.
What is real, and what is an illusion?
“Show yourself!”
“Show yourself!”
The ground shook beneath her feet. She nearly fell, took a stumbling step, and slid down the slippery grass bank into the water. The water was icy cold, but not as cold as the howls and shrieks that rose from the surface.
Fear lapped against her. Every instinct urged her to flee. The water rose to her hips, and bony fingers scratched and tugged at her legs and clothing. “Damn it!” she snapped. “Show yourself!”
The voice came again, low and ghostly. “Why do you seek sanctuary here?”
“Who says I do?”
“Ree.”
That voice she knew. It was faint, but compelling. “Alex? What’s going on?”
“Run before it’s too late!” came the specter’s warning.
“It’s a test to see if you can be frightened away,” Alex said. “Demand sanctuary. Promise that you will honor their laws and ask to be admitted.”
Rationality warred with emotion. Could she trust Alex? She certainly didn’t trust whoever was behind the vanishing Robin Hood set and the picture-perfect deer. And where the hell had the ocean gone?
“Hurry!” Alex urged. “The window is closing. I’m already inside. Trust me. Ask for sanctuary before it’s too late.”
“Oh, hell,” she muttered. And taking a deep breath, she shouted, “I demand sanctuary!”
The water began to swirl around her, and a strong undertow swept her off her feet. Before she could utter another word, she was dragged under, and then pulled up and into the darkness behind the waterfall. There was a loud bong, as if someone had struck a great metal bell, and then she sprawled facedown on a thick carpet.
Strong arms went around her and lifted her up. “It’s all right,” Alex said. “Our hosts are into theatrics. You’re safe here.”
Dizzy, she looked around. She was in a round room with a domed ceiling, a room that was draped in gauzy draperies. “Are we under the ocean again?” she asked.
“In a manner of speaking,” Alex said. “But there’s no water here. We’re breathing air again.”
“A submarine?”
“More of a terrarium, not strictly speaking, of course. This is a reinforced sphere with an artificial atmosphere. Physically, we’re beneath an ancient city that sunk in an earthquake before the first Egyptian pyramids were dreams in an architect’s imagination.”
Ree glanced around the large chamber. The room was dominated by a great bed, curtained, like the walls in filmy draperies. In one section of the room, more curtains only partially concealed a bubbling hot spring and crystal bath with marble steps leading down into it. There was a marble fireplace against one curved wall, and in it, logs burned merrily. An animal-skin rug lay on the floor in front of the hearth, but she could only guess what the origin was. The fur was thick and white, soft under her bare feet.
“Polar bear,” Alex said with a twinkle in his eye. “You would have known what it was if they’d left the head attached.”
“
They.
Who, exactly, are
they
? More giant jellyfish, or talking octopi?”
They.
Who, exactly, are
they
? More giant jellyfish, or talking octopi?”
“Our hosts. The
keepers
of sanctuary. This sanctuary, at least.” He waved toward a large crystal-framed window. “That scenery should make you feel more comfortable, although it’s a bit strange to me.”
keepers
of sanctuary. This sanctuary, at least.” He waved toward a large crystal-framed window. “That scenery should make you feel more comfortable, although it’s a bit strange to me.”
Outside, Ree could see rolling wooded hills and a wide river. The trees were clothed in red and gold autumn foliage, and the river twisted and rolled over rocks and through deep canyon walls. There was no sign of human habitation, but deer grazed in the fields and birds flew through the blue sky. White billowing clouds arched overhead. “It isn’t real, is it?” she asked. “It’s all an illusion.”
He shrugged. “Perhaps. Sometimes, it’s difficult to tell what’s real and what’s not. It depends on your perception of reality.” He spread his hands. “But sanctuary is real. We can only stay a short time, a few of your days, at most. But while we’re here, we’re safe from predators, including Lemorians, sharks, jellyfish, and wandering mercenaries.”
“Are we?” The strains of music drifted down from the dome, seeping into her bones and easing her fears. Ree knew she was being manipulated, but it was such a delightful manipulation that she couldn’t resist. Each note rang clear and sweet, and again she had the oddest feeling that she’d heard this melody long ago.
He nodded. “You’ve had a rough time of it, haven’t you, Ree?”
It was her turn to shrug. When had things ever gone easily for her? And why would she expect differently? “We’re still at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean?”
“Yes.”
“And you aren’t going to turn into a two-headed troll in the next five minutes?”
“Cross my heart.” He chuckled. “Hungry?” He waved toward a low table. Covered dishes emitted delicious odors. “I’d venture that the food is wonderful, and I can promise you’ll find some of it to your liking.”
“It isn’t drugged, is it?”
“Nope. The hosts are quite peaceful, and they don’t care a dried flounder for our quarrels. They don’t take sides, and so long as we don’t break their rules of hospitality, we’re as safe here as we’d be in the high temple of Atlantis.”
“Why doesn’t that give me much comfort?” Her eyes narrowed. “What are the rules?”
“Nothing too difficult. I had to leave my weapons at the door, so to speak. We can’t murder each other or our hosts, and we’re to refrain from slaughtering the wildlife or causing destruction to the sphere or our chamber.” He uncorked an onion-shaped bottle that might have been fashioned centuries ago and began to pour wine into a silver goblet. “Wine?”
She nodded. She needed a drink. Maybe two drinks. Maybe the whole damned bottle.
The food, as Alex had promised, was to Ree’s liking. There were whole grilled lobsters, shrimp bisque, warm loaves of whole grain bread, bowls of fresh fruit, and tempting dishes of peas and onions, nuts, berries, stewed apples, cooked seaweed, roast beef, fried flounder, and more pies and sweet muffins and cakes than she wanted to count. They ate and drank, and with each goblet of wine, Ree found the flavor more delicious.
“If this is an illusion, it’s a good one,” she admitted after they’d finished the first bottle and gone on to a second. She wasn’t intoxicated, but she was feeling much more relaxed. Learning to consume alcoholic beverages had been an important part of her education. A woman or a man who couldn’t hold their liquor was in the wrong line of work. All things in moderation, she’d been taught ...
When it came to sex with the right partner however, she had her own ideas ...
He smiled at her, and her heartbeat quickened. It was impossible to be so close to this magnificent man and not feel the attraction between them. Alex radiated virile male power, and try as she might, she couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to make love to him. Would he be a generous lover, or like so many handsome men, was he all about his own rewards? Somehow, she thought he would be better than that. Something told her that Alexandros, whoever he was, would be an accomplished and generous lay.
She liked her men big, and Alex filled the bill. She looked into his sea green eyes, trying to decide if he could read what she was thinking. It really didn’t matter. She was past the point of being hampered by her few inhibitions. And when his gaze dropped to take in the curve of her breasts and the narrowness of her waist, she felt liquid heat slide under her skin.
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