Chapter
Four
As soon as everyone left, Dawson dug around in the storage closet in the hallway until he found a set of his old surgical scrubs for Selyn. They’d faded nearly white from so many launderings, but they were clean and soft. He figured they’d cover her enough that she wouldn’t feel threatened.
He’d noticed her clutching at the
gaping neck on his old bathrobe. She was holding it closed
now.
“Try these,” he said, handing her the
folded pants and shirt. “They’ll be more comfortable than that old
robe. They should fit you. You’re almost as tall as me, and I was a
lot skinnier when I was in vet school.”
“Vet school?” She gazed up at him and
frowned as she took the scrubs.
“UC Davis, where I studied to be a
veterinarian. I wasn’t trained to treat people. Only
animals.”
“You healed me.” Smiling, she shook
her head. “I’m not an animal.”
He let out a big breath of air. “You
can say that again, Selyn.” He walked the few steps to her room,
reached around her and opened the door. “Try those on. See if
they’ll fit.”
Without a word, she left him standing
in the hallway, and shut the door behind her. He’d known clothing
was going to be an issue for her from the moment she awoke and
immediately tugged the blanket all the way to her
chin.
She was probably used to her full,
flowing robe, but the one she’d worn last night was totally ruined.
The rips and tears could be mended, but bloodstains had already set
in the soft fabric. The last thing Dawson wanted was to put Selyn
back into clothing that would be a constant reminder of that
terrible beating.
Clothing that covered her completely
and yet was still comfortable to move in should help her relax a
little, especially since she’d be staying here in his home. She’d
tried to hide her reaction to his nearness, but he’d sensed her
anxiety whenever he got close to her. That was the last thing he
wanted—for this beautiful young woman to fear him.
He waited outside the bedroom, leaning
against the wall in the hallway with his arms folded across his
chest. After a few minutes, Selyn slowly opened the door. He wasn’t
certain, but she seemed relieved that he’d waited for
her.
At least she smiled when she saw
him.
“Does this look okay?” She ran her
hands down the front of the worn cotton. “It feels so strange to
wear pants. I’ve never worn anything other than my
robe.”
Her toes peeked out from beneath the
wide pants leg. She lifted up one bare foot and laughed. “The pants
look so silly.”
“I don’t think so.” He pushed himself
away from the wall, though it was hard to stop staring at her. He
paused for one more look. “I think you could wear rags and make
them look beautiful.” Her eyes flashed wide in surprise, and he
could have bitten his tongue for making such a personal comment.
Awkwardly, he turned away and headed toward the kitchen. “C’mon.
Let’s get something to eat. Are you hungry?”
She nodded, padding quietly behind him
on bare feet. Shoes were something else she’d need. She hadn’t had
anything on her feet when Roland brought her in the night before.
She’d worn nothing but that torn and bloodied robe that was beyond
repair.
Until they had time to shop for
clothing, the scrubs were the best he could do. They’d sure never
looked like that on him!
The soft fabric clung to her tall,
slender frame, and the deep V-neck offered a glimpse of the
hollowed shadows between her breasts. He’d seen those perfect
breasts last night, when he’d used a syringe to drain blood and
fluid from her punctured lung.
He’d not thought of her as a woman
then. No, she’d been a badly injured patient, someone he shouldn’t
even have treated. He was an animal doctor, damn it! What if he’d
harmed her in some way? What if he’d not had the skills to help
her?
Shit. She was fine this morning. He had to
quit worrying about what was done and think about what was coming.
Alton’s father would be here soon, and before long, if what Alton
said was true, they’d be more deeply immersed in the fight against
demonkind. Thank goodness Selyn had recovered so quickly. Her body
was healthy, her injuries healed from a combination of his
medicine, her Lemurian healing ability, and Willow’s
magic.
He almost stumbled when all those
thoughts collided at once. Damn, but if he didn’t know this was all
really happening, he’d think he was losing his mind. Demons and
Lemurians and talking swords and a talking dog! Aunt Fiona’s spirit
must be loving every minute of this. She’d warned him, hadn’t
she?
Chuckling softly, he held open the
door at the end of the hall. Selyn glanced at him and stepped
through. She had to be starving, but she’d not said a word.
BumperWillow jumped off the living room couch and trotted
alongside, blond curls bouncing and tail wagging. Eddy’d been smart
to leave her behind.
The dog seemed to make Selyn more
comfortable with him, though Daws couldn’t blame her for being
nervous around a strange man. Even though he’d been the one to
treat her injuries, she’d been unconscious the entire time. He
wondered what it must be like, to awaken after such a nightmare and
discover you were in another world among complete
strangers.
He regretted that Roland had decided
to leave before Selyn regained consciousness. At least she knew
him, if only slightly. She didn’t know Dawson at all, though he had
every intention of changing that. Just not quite yet.
Carefully, he refrained from touching
her as he guided her to a stool at the breakfast bar in the
kitchen. The last thing he wanted to do was make her more nervous
than she already was. It had to be hard for her, knowing that,
other than the dog, she was alone with a man in his home. Except,
she didn’t seem as nervous, now, sitting comfortably on the tall
stool, looking wide-eyed at Dawson’s bright kitchen filled with
morning sunlight streaming through the big windows.
Like a flash it came to him—what she
was seeing, what she was experiencing for the first time. “You’ve
never seen sunlight before, have you?” He paused beside her,
fascinated by her expression, by the sheen of tears in her
sapphire-blue eyes.
She shook her head, transfixed.
“Never. I’ve heard of it. My mother used to speak of it with such
longing. She told me of the sunlight glistening off the water on
the bay near her home, before Lemuria sank beneath the sea. How the
blue sea sparkled like diamonds. She loved to swim with the
dolphins.” Selyn turned away from the sunlit window with its view
of Sedona’s famous red rock formations, and smiled at
him.
It was the first true smile of hers
Dawson had seen, and if he hadn’t been holding on to the edge of
the granite bar, he’d have had to grab it to keep from stumbling.
Her smile blazed a path right through him.
“Do you know dolphins?” she
asked.
He had to clear his throat to get his
voice to work. “I’ve seen them.” He wished the ocean was close
enough to take her there right now. He wanted to give her anything
she desired, whatever she dreamed of. “We’re a long way from the
ocean here in Sedona, but one time, years ago, I watched dolphins
swim beside a boat in the Pacific. Beautiful, fascinating
creatures.”
She had a dreamy expression on her
face when she nodded. “I would like to see dolphins one day. And
the sea. I definitely want to walk along the shore and stick my
toes in the waters of the sea. Those are the stories I remember the
best. The ones my mother told of her life before the DemonWars,
before the purge that sent her to the mines and a life of
slavery.”
Without thinking, Dawson reached for
Selyn and wrapped his fingers around her hand. She didn’t pull
away, but her head snapped up. She stared at him from wide, almost
frightened eyes.
He didn’t turn her loose. He kept his
grip light, as nonthreatening as he could, but he had to touch her.
Needed this connection now, at this precise moment. “I promise you,
Selyn. When this is over, when the demons are gone and all this
crap is done, I’ll take you to the ocean, and we’ll walk along the
shore. You can hunt for seashells and dip your toes in the water.
Your entire body, if you want.”
He stared at her as she watched him.
Her lips curved up in that delicious smile once again, and he was
almost certain his heart stuttered in his chest.
“I would like that. I would like that
very much.” And then she tugged her fingers free of
his.
This time he let them go.
He took a step back, moving out of
temptation, if there were such a place while she was here, in his
home. In his world.
“It’s almost lunchtime, but I’m going
to make us some breakfast. Eggs and bacon okay? Or do you prefer
cereal?”
She actually laughed at his question.
“I always feel lucky if we’re allowed bread and a piece of cheese
when we break fast. Surprise me. I have no idea what kind of foods
you eat.”
“I guess it’s all pretty strange to
you, isn’t it?” He glanced over his shoulder, talking to her while
he pulled a couple of pans out of the cupboard, and then raided the
refrigerator.
“Even Lemuria is strange to me. I’d
never been outside the mines until I met Roland, and then only to
the level above the one where we live and work. I had to be very
careful not to be caught when I met him.” She sighed. “Obviously,
this last time, I wasn’t careful enough. I’ve heard of so many
places, but I’ve never seen any of them. Not even pictures. We had
a few books to learn to read, but none with pictures.”
He started the bacon frying and
grabbed clean flatware and a couple of plates. “How is it you know
as much as you do?” He smiled at her, hoping to put her at ease.
The things she’d never experienced had to make this simple
breakfast in a kitchen in Earth’s dimension utterly mind-boggling.
“You’re comfortable with our language. That’s something I’ve never
thought to ask. How is it all of you speak English?”
She grinned. “Ah, that’s where my
Lemurian heritage helps. We speak and understand all languages. No
matter what you speak, we hear and understand the words, all the
nuances of the language. You might be speaking English, but I am
hearing Lemurian.”
He set a glass of orange juice in
front of her. Her eyes lit up. “What is this?”
“Orange juice. From a type of fruit, a
citrus. Try it.”
She sipped. Her eyes widened, and she
took a huge swallow. Then she set the glass down and slowly licked
her lips. Dawson almost groaned when the pink tip of her tongue
swept over the fullness of her upper lip and then brushed the
lower.
Staring at the glass, now only half
full, she said, “This is wonderful. We have water and tea in the
mines, but nothing like this.” She took another swallow. Again she
licked an errant drop from her top lip.
He couldn’t stand it. Turning away,
Dawson poured himself a cup of coffee, took a swallow, and burned
his tongue.
Shit. He’d never felt so awkward around a
woman in his life, nor enjoyed himself more. He loved the fact he
could show her new things, give her new experiences. Orange juice
was safe, but that wasn’t where his imagination wanted to lead
him.
The image of her perfect body, covered
in bruises and contusions, flashed into his mind. She’d been
through too much. More than any woman should have to bear.
Damn. Stick to new memories, Daws. Good
memories. Something besides slavery and brutality and
a life where the sun never touched her smile.
The snap of bacon frying drew him back
to the stove. Selyn took another sip of orange juice and closed her
eyes, as if lost in the sensual pleasure of the cold drink. Dawson
tore his gaze away from her before his damned testosterone-fueled
brain went off on other sensual pleasures, other things he’d like
to show her. “Did you go to school?”
That was a safe question, wasn’t
it?
She shrugged. “Not really. Our mothers
taught us what they could. There was nothing organized for us.
We’re slaves, after all. Not worthy of an education. I can read and
write, and I know my numbers and the basic history of our world. I
know some history of Earth, but not as much as I
should.”
She smiled as she ran her fingertip
through the condensation on the side of the glass. “I know how to
fight. How to protect myself.” Then she sighed. “At least, I
thought I did. Birk’s attack taught me I’m not as strong as I
thought.”
Dawson put the strips of bacon on a
paper towel to drain, and stuck some bread in the toaster. Then he
cracked and beat half a dozen eggs, poured off most of the bacon
fat, and dumped the eggs into the pan. Concentrating on the eggs,
he asked her the question he’d avoided so far. “How did it happen?
What did you do, that you were beaten so badly?”
She stared at her hands clasped around
the base of her glass of juice and shook her head. Her long, dark
hair rippled in midnight waves over her shoulders. “I don’t really
know. Birk caught me coming back from a meeting with Roland.
Normally, catching one of us in the passageways where we don’t
belong would warrant a slap, maybe the loss of what few privileges
we have, but he surprised me with a solid punch to my jaw. I wasn’t
expecting it. I never recovered from that first punch, not enough
to fight back. He was too strong, too fast. . . .”
Her voice trailed off as she gazed
once more at the sunny window. “I’m afraid to go back to the mines.
I know I have to, but I’ve never been so close to death before. It
was terrifying.”
“You were badly hurt. Your injuries
might have killed a human woman . . . or man.” He shoved the eggs
around the pan, concentrating on the lift and swirl of brilliant
yellow, watching them solidify as they cooked. When they were
almost done, he raised his head and caught her sapphire gaze in his
own. “When you go back,” he said, “I’ll go with you. I don’t want
you to have to face that bastard alone. Never again.”
She laughed. It was a harsh sound
without mirth. “He would kill you. He’s a large man. Bigger even
than Alton. Taller. Broader. He’s grown more cruel each year, as if
something drives him to terrorize us as much as
possible.”
Dawson didn’t respond. She might be
right, and maybe he wouldn’t win a fair fight with the man who’d
beat her, but as far as he was concerned, fairness didn’t enter the
contest when a man did to a woman what that bastard had done to
Selyn.
Calmly, Daws scooped eggs onto a
plate, then buttered a piece of toast and set it next to the eggs
with a couple of strips of bacon. He put the plate in front of
Selyn along with a small jar of jam. Then he put a serving of eggs
into a shallow bowl with a strip of bacon crumbled across the top,
and set it on the floor for BumperWillow, next to the water he’d
put out earlier.
Thank you,
Dawson. It looks wonderful.
You’re
welcome.
He would never, not ever, get used to
conversing with a dog. Smiling, Daws filled his own plate and sat
across from Selyn.
She stared at the food.
“Is something wrong?”
She shook her head. “No. It’s too
right. This is amazing.” When she raised her head, she was smiling
again. “It’s too pretty to eat.”
He laughed and put thoughts of killing
Birk out of his mind, at least for now. “No, it’s not,” he said,
taking a forkful of eggs. “You’re the only thing at this table too
pretty to eat, except that’s all I can think of doing with
you.”
Oh, crap. I
didn’t really say something that stupid . . . did
I?
She paused with the fork halfway to
her mouth, cocked her head to one side, and stared at him. “What is
it you want to do?”
He felt the blush all the way to the
top of his head. She was probably as innocent as a young woman
could be, no matter her actual age in years. He shook his head.
“Nothing,” he mumbled. “Eat your breakfast.”
She stared at him a moment longer, and
then dug into her food. From the hurried yet efficient manner in
which she ate, he figured mealtimes in the slave quarters weren’t
necessarily a social occasion.
Sadness flowed over and through him, a
sense of time lost, of innocence crushed. At the same time, he knew
wonder, and the powerful awareness that his life would never be the
same again.
Sticking to the shadows, Taron managed
to get through the mining level without stumbling over one of those
massive guards. From there he climbed more stairs to the main
level, and then went straight to his quarters with the ruby
sword.
Within a few minutes he’d found his
grandfather’s white leather scabbard in the back of his closet. The
leather was still supple, the buckles and straps soft and well
used, though not badly worn, considering the fact that his
grandfather had fought in the DemonWars before Lemuria sank beneath
the sea. Though the ruby blade was larger than the average crystal,
it fit perfectly into the scabbard. The leather didn’t hide the
gold pommel, but at least the unusual crystal was out of
sight.
Taron quickly shoved the ruby sword
beneath the bed and sent out a message for Roland.
Taron!
Where are you?
Roland.
Thank goodness! I’m in my quarters. I have something here you have
got to see. I need your help.
I’m on my
way, Taron. Stay put. Things are beginning to happen. Artigos has
been taken. He is on his way to Earth, and Alton is preparing to
take over the council. You might not be safe if word gets out about
the crystal swords before he’s got complete
control.
Taron glanced at his bed and thought
of the ruby sword lying beneath it. Roland, I think the crystal swords might be the least of
our problems.
Alton paused outside the portal that
led to his mother’s lodgings. Enough time had passed that Dax and
Eddy were well away from Lemuria, possibly at Dawson’s by now. At
least Artigos couldn’t make contact with anyone, should the trance
wear off. Alton knew he’d run out of excuses to delay any
longer.
“Alton?”
Ginny’s soft fingers wrapped around
his wrist.
“I know.” He took a deep breath. “I’m
ready.” He really did not want to have this conversation with his
mother. How did one approach a woman who had lived a lie for most
of her life? Though her rooms connected to the residence his father
kept, that door was kept locked, and his parents had maintained
separate entryways to their own rooms since the great
move.
Even Alton hadn’t realized the
truth—that their marriage was truly a sham.
He thought of how much he loved Ginny,
how complete she made him feel, and sadness for his mother’s lonely
life almost felled him. What he intended to tell his mother now
could very well be the final blow. How much disappointment could a
person bear?
Ginny gazed up at him, cupped his face
in her hands, and kissed him. “I love you, Alton. You can do this.”
Then she took his hand in hers and lightly tugged him toward the
doorway.
“You’re sure?” He looked down at their
fingers, so tightly linked. Of course she was sure. Ginny never
doubted herself—or him. Her faith set a high standard for
Alton.
She made him a better man than he ever
could have been on his own.
“I’m sure,” she said, tugging him
closer. Her soft laughter melted away much of the anxiety that had
been building since Dax and Eddy took Artigos away.
“C’mon. It’s time to talk to your
mom.” Ginny kept her hold on his hand. Alton sighed and pressed a
small button beside the door. Soft tones echoed on the other side
of the portal.
The shimmering light brightened, and
Ginny followed Alton through, into Gaia’s lodgings. His mother
waited on the other side with her hands folded tightly beneath her
chin. When she saw them, she bowed her head, formally acknowledging
the two of them. Then she raised her chin. Tears streamed from her
eyes.
“What have you done?” Her harsh
whisper condemned them both. “He called to me. He begged for my
help, but now I can’t reach him. What have you done to
him?”
Ginny shot Alton a quick
glance.
Alton froze, obviously stunned by his
mother’s accusation. Ginny took one look at his ashen face and
stepped forward. “Gaia, Artigos is safe. Everything we’re doing is
to save him, not harm him. Remember what you said when we met, that
your husband had changed, that he lost his soul many years
ago?”
Gaia’s eyes went wide. She shook her
head, denying Ginny’s words and her own. “No. No, it was only a
figure of speech. I didn’t mean it literally.” She laughed, still
shaking her head, but it was a harsh and broken sound. “He has a
soul. I know he does. He must!”
Ginny took another step closer and
wrapped her arms around Alton’s mother. Gaia felt rigid, almost
brittle within her embrace. “We fear it might have been taken from
him,” she said, using soft, soothing tones. “Not by his choice. By
demon possession. He’s in a safe place, where we can help him. So
we can help Lemuria. And you, Gaia. We want to help you,
too.”
Gaia’s eyes flashed from Ginny to
Alton and back to Ginny. Nervously she licked her lips. “I don’t
know.” She practically moaned the words. “I heard him cry Alton’s
name in anger, but then he was gone. His thoughts are always with
me, even though he doesn’t want to share them. Ever since we wed,
he’s been with me. What have you done to him?” she
demanded.
“A trance, Mother.” Alton ran his hand
over her hair, soothing her as if she were a child. “That’s all.
Merely a form of compulsion that will keep him from being afraid
until we can help him. You know he’s not the same man he was. You
see the difference, don’t you?”
Gaia closed her eyes and turned away.
“Many, many years ago when we were still young, we were so much in
love. He was a good and kind man, a loving father.” She turned to
Alton, raised a hand as if to touch his face, then dropped it
heavily to her side. “You remember him that way, don’t
you?”
Alton looked absolutely stricken. “No,
Mother. Not since I was a small child. Maybe then, but not for most
of my life.”
Gaia didn’t appear to hear him. She
stared at something. At nothing. “Something changed.” Slowly, she
shook her head, still denying the obvious truth. “I thought it was
me, that I wasn’t a good wife, that the stress of our world sinking
beneath the sea, the move, his father’s disappearance . . . I
blamed so many things for the changes in Artigos. Changes I
couldn’t explain.”
Alton rested his hand on her shoulder.
“Let’s sit down, Mother. We have a lot to discuss. I know this is
quite a shock.”
“Yes.” Trembling from head to toe, she
nodded and turned away. “Where are my manners. What would you like
to drink? May I bring food?”
“No, Mother. We’re fine. Sit. Please.”
He waited until she perched nervously on the edge of a long, low
sofa. He sat beside her and took her trembling hands in both of
his.
Ginny sat on Gaia’s other side. She
smiled at Alton, encouraging him. This had to be so hard for
him.
“What happened to Grandfather? I don’t
remember him very well.”
Gaia shook her head. “He disappeared
during the big move, when the DemonWars were just ending. It all
happened so quickly then. Our world was being destroyed. There were
earthquakes and terrible upheavals. Huge waves drowned entire
cities, and buildings collapsed and fell into great rifts in the
earth or were washed away by the seas. Artigos the Just was
overseeing the transfer of many ancient records, but he was
supposed to meet us here, in our new home. He never arrived. Your
father bravely stepped into his place and took on the heavy task of
governing our world. Everything was chaos. So many of our people
were lost during the chaos of the move, from the horrendous
cataclysm, from the war. Terrible times. Just
terrible.”
“Is that when Father
changed?”
Gaia slowly nodded her head. “I blamed
the pressures of the move, the massive responsibility, but it was
something more. He stopped coming to my bed. He no longer wanted
anything to do with you, his only son.” She raised her head, and
her eyes were wide. “He banished the warrior women, the ones who’d
fought demonkind so bravely. No one knew what became of them, but I
knew. I wasn’t supposed to hear, but I knew when he had their
swords destroyed. When he sent them below to work the mines. For
all I know, they’re still down there, like a dirty secret. Those
brave, brave women.” Her voice broke, and she bowed her
head.
Ginny caught Alton’s gaze and almost
wept. Gaia had known. She’d known the truth all these years and had
never said a word.
“Why didn’t you say anything, Mother?
Why didn’t you speak out? What he did was terrible. It was
wrong.”
She stared at the floor. “Because I
loved him. I still love him. I keep hoping the man I married is in
there, that he’s not lost to me, but it’s been so long. So very,
very long.”
Gaia pulled her fingers free of
Alton’s grasp and clasped her hands together. She straightened her
spine and was once again the wife of Chancellor Artigos of the
Council of Nine. “Where is he? What have you done with him? What do
you intend to do next?”
“We’ve taken him to a safe house where
he’ll be cared for. We believe he was possessed by a demon many
years ago, one that has influenced his choices throughout his years
as leader of the Council of Nine. One of our group will try to
remove the demon from his heart and mind. With any luck and a lot
of skill, we hope to get him back, healthy and able once again to
rule Lemuria, but we need your help.”
She stared suspiciously at her son.
Ginny could only imagine how it pained Alton to have his mother’s
anger and distrust focused on him. “My help? How? What can I
possibly do?”
“You can officially introduce me to
the people. They know you as his wife, know you’ve stood by him all
these years. They trust you. Tell them I will be temporarily
holding his position—the position I’ve been groomed for all my
life—until he is cured of an unknown illness. Tell them he’s with
healers now. We don’t want people to know we suspect demon
possession. That would cause too much fear. An illness would be
easier for the citizens of Lemuria to accept.”
“You’ll bring him home when he’s well?
When his soul is restored?”
Alton glanced at Ginny. She shrugged.
They didn’t know what was going to happen. There were no
guarantees, but Alton looked at his mother and said, “We will do
everything we can to bring him home. You have my
promise.”
She smiled, and it was as if the sun
were actually shining here in the depths of Lemuria. “Whatever you
want, my son. I will do what I can. Just bring your father home to
me.”
Ginny gazed at Alton and opened her
thoughts. I’ll stay with your mother. Go
and do what you need to do, but be careful. I love you, and I’m
going to be really angry if you don’t come back to me in one
piece.
Gotcha. “Mother, Ginny will stay with you.
I’m going to meet with the council and let them know what’s going
on. Then I’ll check on Father before I return.” He leaned over and
kissed Ginny, patted his mother’s hand, and then he was
gone.
Ginny sat there beside Gaia and
wondered just how much they could count on a woman who’d allowed so
many brave women warriors to die as slaves.