Chapter
Fourteen
Dawson awoke with the strange sense he was being watched. Slowly, cautiously, he opened his eyes—and looked directly into Selyn’s blue-eyed gaze. She clutched the blanket against her chest and stared at him so seriously he almost laughed—yet even as he fought laughter, he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted a woman in his life.
“Good morning,” he said.
She dropped the blanket, leaned down,
and kissed him. Her naked breasts pressed against his bare chest,
and he groaned against her mouth. He hadn’t dared look at her when
he’d crawled into bed. Hadn’t wanted to know what she wore to
sleep.
Now that he knew she slept in nothing
more than her beautiful coppery skin, it was impossible not to want
to see more, to touch more. He wrapped an arm around her and rolled
Selyn to her back, but the blankets went with him and blocked the
full contact of his body to hers.
It was probably just as well. He
hadn’t even considered the possibility of sleeping in the same bed,
much less actually making love to her, and there’d been no need to
carry his wallet on this trip into Lemuria—along with the condom he
kept stashed inside.
She gazed up at him, wide-eyed as he
hovered over her, and it suddenly hit him that he was probably
scaring the crap out of her, looming over her like this. He leaned
close and playfully rubbed his nose against hers. “Don’t be
frightened of me, Selyn.” He kissed the end of her nose. “I’ll
never hurt you. I promise.”
She blinked. Then she ran her tongue
over her top lip, curled the tip, and brushed her bottom lip. He
didn’t even try to ignore the invitation she’d made, whether it was
consciously done or not.
He leaned close and kissed her mouth
this time, gently at first, sliding his lips over hers while
silently cursing the blankets that kept their bodies separated.
Selyn raised her hips, pressing as close to him as the bedding
would allow. Dawson rested on his elbows and cupped her head in his
hands. Her arms slipped around his back, and she hugged him
close.
He held Selyn down with his greater
weight, and the hard length of him was planted firmly between her
legs. She squirmed and bucked beneath him. Not fighting him. No,
she raised her knees on either side of his hips, clinging to
Dawson, frantically rubbing against the promise that was bundled
behind soft blankets. It was torture. Excruciating, amazing,
blissful torture.
He tried to put himself in her place,
tried to imagine what she might be thinking, what she was feeling.
He knew, from things she’d said, she’d never been with a man. Selyn
had spent her life apart from men, exposed only to the huge
Lemurian guards who bullied the women with their cruel treatment.
She probably didn’t have any idea what her natural instincts were
telling her body it wanted, what it needed.
She took sexual innocence to an
entirely new level. Even though he hadn’t been with a lot of women,
Dawson figured he had to know more than Selyn with her total lack
of experience.
And the one thing he was certain of
was that she had no idea at all what she was asking for. Not a
clue. It was going to kill him, but he had to stop this and stop it
now. Knowing what was right didn’t make it any easier—his body
shook with need, and it took everything he had to fight his own
instincts.
It was definitely going to kill him—he
was absolutely positive he wouldn’t survive—but he ended the kiss
and the rubbing and the wonderful things his body was ordering him
to do and, breathing hard, rolled away.
Selyn popped up on one arm and glared
at him. It was impossible to concentrate on her flashing blue eyes
with her bare breasts almost even with his lips.
“Why did you stop kissing me? Was I
doing something wrong?” She frowned at him.
It probably didn’t help his case one
bit when he laughed. “Oh, Lordy, Selyn. No. You weren’t doing
anything wrong, but what you were doing was going to lead to a
whole lot more, and I’m not prepared for that. Not at
all.”
“What?” She ran her fingers over his
collarbone. He almost whimpered. “What aren’t you prepared
for?”
“Making love.” He stroked her tangled
hair. “You can’t imagine how much I want to make love to you, but
we can’t. The risk of pregnancy is too high.”
She stared at him for a long moment.
Then she closed her eyes and nodded, took a deep breath, rolled
away, and flopped down on her back. “Oh. Okay,” she said. She
stared at the ceiling. “Our women don’t conceive easily, but I am
proof that it can happen when least expected.” Then she smiled
ruefully at him. “But I hope you realize it is not very easy, this
stopping when every instinct in your body wants to keep
going.”
He chuckled and dropped his arm across
his eyes so he couldn’t see her breasts. “Trust me. I realize it.
Honest.” He let out a huge gust of air. “No doubt in my
mind.”
This time, Selyn laughed with him. She
ran a fingertip over his chest and made him shiver. “It’s not just
about making love, you know. I was hoping I would finally get to
see you. My sisters and I talk about men, about what they might
look like. How they’re different from us.”
He raised his arm off his face and
stared at her. “You want to see me?” That he could do, though she
might get to see a lot more than she expected. Just the thought of
being naked in front of Selyn’s curious eyes made him hard. Hell,
breathing the same air, being in the same room—just thinking about
her—made him hard. “I don’t mind if you look.”
He peeled the covers back to his
waist. Selyn spun around and sat beside him with her legs crossed.
He was almost relieved when the blankets twisted around her waist
and covered her hips and thighs. She touched his chest and ran her
fingers through the dark mat of hair that spread between his
nipples.
“I’ve seen some of the guards without
shirts, but they don’t have hair like you do on their chests. Not
so much.” She stroked his dark pelt as if she were petting a
kitten.
Dawson thought about sitting up, but
decided against it. He was probably less threatening to her, lying
on his side this way, propped up on one elbow.
Staring at her as if he could eat her
alive.
She grabbed the blanket at his waist
and looked at him.
“Go ahead. It’s okay. I don’t
bite.”
“I know that.” Slowly, Selyn peeled
the blanket down over his hip and thigh.
Her eyes got so big he chuckled.
“We’re definitely built differently.”
“I can see that.” She stared at him a
moment. Then she reached out and touched him. His cock jerked. Her
fingers tracing the length of him had to be the most erotic thing
he’d ever felt in his life.
He sucked in a breath, and she paused.
Her head shot up, and she stared at him with parted lips and a
glazed expression in her eyes. Her fingers lingered on his full
length, and he felt each fingertip like a brand burning into the
flesh.
She’d leaned forward to touch him, and
her bare breasts were mere inches from his lips, her nipples
puckered into taut peaks. Dawson gave in to temptation, leaned
close, and suckled one rosy tip into his mouth, laving the dark
rosette with his tongue, and tugging just enough to bring a soft
gasp to her lips.
She arched her back, forcing her
nipple into his mouth. He licked and nibbled, suckling her deep,
tugging hard. Her heart was pounding so hard he felt its pulse
against his lips, and he knew she had to be wound tight as a
spring.
He slid his hand over the soft swell
of her belly and under the tangled blankets that covered her. She
gasped when he parted the tight curls between her legs and slipped
his fingertip between her swollen folds. Her hips bucked forward,
and he pulled his hand back. The last thing he wanted to do was
take her virginity with his fingers, but she whimpered until he
cupped her mound in his palm and rubbed his hand slowly back and
forth.
Her cries went short and sharp and
desperate, and she clutched his forearm with both hands until her
short nails dug into his skin. She was slick and wet, her labia
swollen all hot and slippery beneath his fingers, and he wanted her
with a desperation that was almost beyond his control.
After a moment, he sucked in a deep
breath and hoped like hell he could hang on. He really didn’t want
to embarrass himself, but he was so close to the edge. He released
her nipple with a light little “pop,” and pulled his hand from
between her legs.
Her breath hissed between her lips in
short, sharp gasps, so he stretched up and kissed her. “Lie down,
Selyn. There are things we can do that won’t risk pregnancy. Things
I can do for you to take away some of the tension. Will you let
me?”
Nodding, she slowly pulled the
blankets away from her waist, and lay down with her hands at her
sides clutching the bedding. She watched Dawson like a cat watches
a snake.
Daws rolled closer and knelt between
her legs. For a moment he just looked his fill of her, lying there
with her hair in black, ropey tangles around her shoulders, her
left nipple shiny from his mouth. He stroked that damp tip with one
finger, and then he circled its mate. “Remember when I said you
were too pretty to eat, but that was what I wanted to do to
you?”
“Yes.” The word slipped out on a
shuddering sigh.
“Let me show you what I
meant.”
Her entire body trembled. He leaned
close and suckled her breast again. Her short, sharp, “Oh!” had him
smiling around the nipple between his lips. He worried the right
one and then the left. Then he kissed his way along her ribs. She
giggled when he ran his tongue along her side, but by the time he
reached the tuft of dark hair between her legs, she was panting,
and her body shuddered with arousal.
He slipped his hands beneath her
buttocks and lifted her. Sat back on his heels and took a moment to
put her at ease with careful touches and an encouraging smile. Then
he dipped his head and blew a soft puff of warm air against her
damp petals.
Her body jerked in his hands, but her
arousal was obvious in the glistening moisture sparkling in her
curls and the way her body trembled and shivered beneath his touch.
Her sweet, feminine scent had him mentally kicking himself for not
bringing along at least a whole box of condoms. He lifted her long
legs and hooked them over his shoulders, cupped her firm bottom
once again, and ran his tongue slowly between her slick
folds.
Her gasp was as much a cry of surprise
as an invitation to do more of the same. He licked her again,
tasting her honey, dipping his tongue deep and then circling the
small bundle of nerves he’d already discovered was in exactly the
same place on a Lemurian woman as on any woman from
Earth.
She cried out, a long, keening note of
pleasure as he loved her with his lips and tongue, with soft
nibbles of his teeth. He wanted to drive deep with his fingers so
he could feel her body ripple around him when she came, but once
again he reminded himself Selyn was untouched and penetration might
hurt. He wanted this first experience to be nothing but pleasure,
even if it killed him.
Her hips bucked and writhed beneath
his mouth. She clutched the bedding beside his knees, and he knew
she was close by the sound of her cries and the rapid rush of her
breathing. He suckled her, drawing her clitoris between his lips,
using his tongue to lave and caress, to curl and lick softly
between her sensitive folds. Suddenly her body went rigid in his
grasp. She cried out, arched her spine, and tightened her thighs
across his back. He tasted her release. The sound of her cries, the
rush of her climax, almost took him over the top. He buried his
face in her heat, licking, sucking, using his mouth to gently bring
her down, and finally, when her body began to go pliant and soft,
he lay her down on the bed.
When he sat back between her legs,
Dawson couldn’t quit grinning. The dazed expression on Selyn’s face
was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen in his life. Knowing he’d put
that look of contentment there made him feel like cheering. He was
hard as a post and his balls ached, but he knew he’d given Selyn an
amazing climax—one that had her blinking owlishly with vague,
unfocused eyes as she slowly returned to the present.
That alone was worth a little bit of
frustration. Okay, a whole lot of frustration, but they’d have a
chance before too long. He had to believe that. For now, though, he
took satisfaction in knowing he’d given her an experience unlike
anything she’d ever had before.
Selyn lay in the tumbled sheets,
shivering and trembling, weak as a baby from the most powerful
experience of her life. She’d heard about sexual orgasms and knew
some of the women gave them to themselves or gave them to each
other, but she’d never felt the need before. Never truly understood
what her body was capable of feeling with the right touches, the
right stimulation—the right man.
But what of Dawson? He lay beside her
and stroked his hands over her belly and hip, but that man-part of
his was still swollen and looked like it had to hurt. She knew he’d
liked it when she touched him, just as she’d loved the way it felt
when he touched her, even before he’d put his mouth on
her.
She reached for him. His hand snaked
out, and he grabbed her wrist firmly, stopping her.
“That’s probably not a good idea,” he
said.
“Why?” She looked at her forearm,
firmly locked in his long fingers. “You touched me with your hands
and your mouth. It felt wonderful. Why can’t I touch . .
.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Truth?
I’ll embarrass myself. I won’t be able to last if you touch me.
Hell, I’m having trouble maintaining just being close to
you.”
An almost palpable sense of power
rushed through her. Selyn smiled and tugged her hand free of his
grasp. “Good. Then it won’t take us very long, will
it?”
He blinked. It appeared Dawson Buck
hadn’t expected her to press the issue.
“Lie back.” She gave his broad chest a
gentle shove.
“And think of England?” He laughed,
but he did as she said, and lay back against the pillow with his
arms folded beneath his head.
Selyn straddled his long legs and
studied the thick length of him that pointed almost to the ceiling.
“I have no idea what that means, that ‘think of England.’ Some day
you will explain. Now, though, you will have to tell me what you
like. I need to know what will make you embarrass
yourself.”
He groaned, and she was almost sure he
blushed. She wrapped her hands around his. . . . “What do you call
this?” She squeezed him for emphasis.
He gasped. “You’re killing me. You’re
doing this on purpose, right?”
“Of course I am. What is it called?”
She ran her fingertip through a small bubble of white fluid that
appeared at the tip.
“Oh, shit.” He arched his hips,
lifting her.
“Oh, shit?” She laughed. “I don’t
think that’s right.”
He groaned, rolled his head back, and
closed his eyes. She continued to stroke him, slowly up and down.
She cupped the sac that hung beneath and explored it with her
fingertips, gently rolling the two hard little balls inside. His
legs trembled beneath her thighs, and his chest was heaving with
each breath he took. His lips were drawn back, and if she hadn’t
known better, she’d have thought he was in terrible
pain.
She remembered how it had felt when he
put his mouth between her legs. Thought of those moments before her
climax—how badly she’d needed. How much she’d wanted.
That must be how Daws was feeling now.
Needy. Wanting her to finish this. She leaned over and wrapped her
lips around the broad head of his parts and sucked, just the way
he’d done to her breast, to those sensitive nerves between her
legs.
She definitely got more than she
expected. He cursed and cried out, his fingers tangled in her hair;
his hips bucked hard, and suddenly her mouth was full of him. She
wrapped her hands around the base to keep him from choking her, but
she kept squeezing and sucking and licking. His cries were much as
hers had been—incoherent and ruled by passion. She tasted his
release—salty and a little bitter, but not at all unpleasant—and
she held him in her mouth even when he wanted to pull away. Held
him and licked and eased him down, just as he’d done for
her.
When he was still and his member had
gone soft, she finally set him free with a final lick and a kiss.
His fingers slipped from her tangled hair, and his hands fell to
his sides when she crawled along his body to lie beside
him.
He turned and looked at her with what
could only be wonder in his eyes. Selyn wanted to weep, to think
that she and this man she was growing to care for so much, had
shared something so personal, so intimate and unbelievably
wonderful.
He leaned close and kissed her hard,
and she wondered if that was the taste of herself on his lips,
wondered if he tasted his release on hers. And then she realized he
was grinning and so was she. “Now,” she said, staring into those
blue eyes of his and feeling powerful and feminine and much more
sure of herself than she could ever remember, “are you going to
tell me what you call that thing?”
They showered together, exploring each
other’s bodies with an ease Dawson really hadn’t expected. Of
course, he hadn’t expected a lot of what had happened this morning,
including Selyn’s taking over in bed and leaving him cross-eyed and
weak as a kitten.
He’d never had an experience like
that. Not even close. He definitely wanted it again, and if it
meant going all the way back to Sedona by himself, he was going to
round up an entire crate of condoms.
He slipped on his jeans and boots
while Selyn dressed in the scrubs she’d brought along, and wove her
hair into a long braid. Neither of them knew what to expect today,
but Daws wanted to be ready for anything.
“Are you hungry?” Selyn stepped out of
the small kitchen area. “There’s food here. Cereal and fruit. We
need to break fast.”
“I’m starving. Those sandwiches were
gone a long time ago.”
After a few minutes’ preparation,
Selyn handed him a bowl of hot cereal that reminded him of
sweetened cornmeal. She’d sliced what looked like apples on
top.
Tasted like apples, too. “Where do you
get all your fresh foods?” He leaned against the counter and took
another bite.
She shrugged. “I’m not really sure.
I’ve heard we have traders who go out into other dimensions. Fruits
and grains come from Earth, fish and some fowl from Atlantis. Some
of the foods are manufactured here, though I’m not sure what
they’re made from. We don’t farm or raise animals, yet we
occasionally have chicken and even beef. Even those of us who are
slaves have never gone hungry.”
“This is good, and it’s filling. Some
day I really want to learn how this place functions. Like the light
in here. When we went to sleep, it was dark, and yet we awoke to
dim morning light that’s brighter now, like daylight.”
“The light comes from inside the rock.
Most of the stone is crystalline and has a natural-looking glow
that mimics sunlight on Earth. It’s all set to a twenty-four hour
clock, since that’s what we had before Lemuria was destroyed. This
light through the stone is all I’d ever known until I went to your
home.”
A soft knock had both of them turning
toward the door. Dawson set his empty bowl down quietly, but Selyn
put her hand on his arm before he could reach the
door.
“Grab your sword,” she said. “I’ll see
who it is.”
He reached for his sword and jerked
his hand to a stop just above the hilt. Instead of the bare blade
he’d left on the table the night before, this morning it was
enclosed in a red leather scabbard. Swallowing back a million
questions, he unsheathed his sword and stood to one side. Selyn
unlocked the door and swung it open just a crack. Then she flung it
wide. “Good morning,” she said, stepping aside as Birk and Artigos
the Just slipped through the door. Selyn shut it firmly behind
them.
Artigos immediately checked out
Dawson’s crystal blade. “Birk told me yours was a ruby. Good. Let’s
hope it will remove demons as effectively as
DemonsBane.”
Dawson swallowed. “It managed to
create its own scabbard during the night. What’s a demon after an
accomplishment like that?” He laughed and glanced at Selyn. She
held her sword in one hand, a red leather scabbard in the other,
and a look of utter confusion on her face.
Grinning, Dawson turned back to
Artigos. “How is that going, getting rid of the demons in the
guards?”
“Very well. The trick will be
convincing the women and men to work together. The soldiers in an
army must have trust if they’re to become a cohesive
force.”
“All but one of the women have
crystal.” Selyn was buckling her new scabbard on as she spoke.
“Taron spent some time training them, though we all have much to
learn. Unfortunately, there’s one woman, a rather foul-tempered
sort, who did not get a sword. She might be a
problem.”
“Any reason why she was skipped over?”
Artigos glanced at Dawson, but Selyn answered.
“She tried to take a sword that hadn’t
acknowledged her and ended up with badly singed fingers. Then, when
all the swords were handed out, the last one went to Dawson and not
to Isra. I worry that she might be angry enough to give us
away.”
Silence stretched while Artigos seemed
to ponder Selyn’s information. Finally, he reached his decision.
“She might, but for now we need to concentrate on removing the last
of the demons from the few remaining guards. They’re the only ones
down here she could even go to. Plus, there are those six others,
still possessed, who were called to work in the levels where the
free folk live. They’re a problem we’ll deal with
later.”
Birk interrupted. “The last five men
down here who still harbor demons are due to report in a few
minutes. I’m going out to meet them. Lord Artigos, I’ll contact you
when I’m ready, but if the three of you show up with crystal, plus
mine, we should be able to take care of the entire group at
once.”
He slipped quietly out of the room.
Dawson shot a quick glance at Selyn. It was starting. He was going
into his first mission in the battle against demonkind, and he was
going with Selyn at his side and a sword in his hand. And a red
leather scabbard strapped to his back. “What do you make of these?”
He patted his scabbard.
Selyn checked the position of her
sword across her back. “I’m learning not to question good fortune.
I needed a crystal sword. I got one. My sword needed a sheath.
There’s one waiting when we awaken.” She stepped close to Dawson
and grabbed his hand. Her laughter gave way to the seriousness of
the moment. “I needed a hero, and there you were.”
How could she possibly see him as hero
material? Dawson wanted to protest, but all he could think to do
was lean close and kiss her. Then, glancing up, Dawson realized
Artigos was studying him. “Sir?”
“I am still trying to figure out why a
human would be here in Lemuria, fighting demons in a battle we may
very well lose.”
Dawson shook his head. He’d felt this
war was every bit his as much as Lemuria’s from the beginning.
“From what I’ve been told, Lord Artigos, demonkind threatens all
dimensions. If Lemuria falls, Earth will be next. Likewise, if
Earth goes over to demon rule, Lemuria will follow, as will Eden
and Atlantis. It’s not just Lemuria’s battle. It’s one we all have
a stake in, one that affects all our worlds.”
Artigos looked almost weary when he
nodded. For the first time, Dawson was aware of the man’s age, the
fact he’d been locked away for thousands of years.
As if he’d heard Dawson’s thoughts,
Artigos sighed. “I have been away from my world, from my people for
much too long. I remember humans as a primitive, warlike people,
yet you are obviously thoughtful and well-educated. Thank you for
your commitment. And you as well, young Selyn. This battle is, for
you, even more personal than for many.” He raised his head. “Birk
calls. Are you ready?”
Dawson glanced at Selyn. She leaned
close and kissed him full on the mouth. “Now I am,” she
said.
Dawson noticed that Artigos was now
grinning ear to ear as he led them out to meet the demon-possessed
guards.
Selyn’s first thought was that these
guys were huge. Her second that she really didn’t have a clue how
to fight—her every step in the battle with Birk had been directed
by Artigos’s ruby sword. Still, she drew her clear crystal blade
and stood between Dawson and Artigos, each man carrying a crimson
blade that flashed with light the color of blood.
And, just like that, knowledge flooded
her mind and body. How to grip the hilt, where to place her feet,
how to feel as the battle began to unfold.
The guards immediately broke formation
and drew their weapons, but it was obvious from the beginning they
expected Birk to join them. When he sided with the prisoner and two
strangers, the five stumbled back, confused and
disoriented.
Birk drew his sword. What had appeared
as steel within his sheath now glistened with blue light. “The five
of you are known to be possessed by demonkind,” he said. “Throw
down your weapons so that we can remove the demons that rule your
thoughts.”
“Demons? There’s no such thing in me.”
The guard turned and thrust, but his charge was toward Selyn, not
his commander. She crossed blades with him, crystal to steel, and
his arm twisted with the strength of her blow.
Artigos lunged forward, slapping at
the man with the flat of his blade, but he missed. It was Dawson
who got the hit, connecting with the man’s chest while ducking to
avoid a wild parry with steel.
The guard stiffened; his steel sword
dropped from nerveless fingers, and he fell to his knees. The other
four leapt back as a thick, oily mass oozed out of the man’s chest.
The sulfuric stench made Selyn’s eyes water, but Artigos reached
high with his ruby blade, and the demon burst into
flames.
Dawson raised his blade, ready for the
next attack. It came as the first guard toppled to the ground,
unconscious. Dawson slapped his blade against one man before he had
a chance to attack, while Artigos went for another. Selyn leapt to
one side and reached for the demon mist escaping from Dawson’s
opponent.
Her sword seemed to swing under its
own power. She caught the demon and destroyed it with a single
well-aimed thrust. Artigos had his man down while Birk fought off
the other two with his own crystal blade.
As soon as Dawson’s man was down and
out, Selyn shifted her stance and swung her blade through the mist
escaping from the one Artigos had just downed. It flashed with blue
sparks and left nothing behind but the stench.
Birk and Dawson engaged the final two
guards. Where Birk used brute force to back his assailant across
the cavern floor, Dawson’s fight was one of finesse and skill.
Selyn glanced at Artigos and saw that the man was standing and
watching Dawson with a look of pure admiration on his
face.
“Should we help them?” She shot
Artigos a grin and got his answering smile in return.
“I’ve not seen footwork like that
since I was a very young man. It’s like watching a
dancer.”
Dawson parried and thrust, but the
guard twisted away and Dawson’s blade missed. “I could use some
help, here.”
Scrambling, Selyn caught up to the two
as they fought their way across the floor. “I’m here. Sorry,” she
said, ducking to miss the slash of steel just over her head.
“Artigos and I were admiring your footwork.”
Dawson slapped his blade against the
man’s back as he stumbled and turned. Selyn caught the escaping
demon with her crystal, and it sparked and faded away in a cloud of
smoke. As this demon died, Birk managed to corner the last of the
guards. Artigos stepped in, forced the demon out with DemonsBane,
and moved out of the way so that Birk could destroy the
creature.
The five guards lay on the floor in
various stages of consciousness. Only one, the first, was still
entirely out of it. The others were slowly sitting up, shaking
their heads, and gazing about with confused expressions and
trembling hands.
Birk went to the one man who was still
out. He shook the guardsman’s shoulder and, when he opened his
eyes, helped the man sit up. “Now do you believe?”
The guard nodded. Then he glanced at
Selyn, realized she was one of the Forgotten Ones, and looked away.
The other four had a similar reaction. They all huddled together on
the floor, unsure now what was expected of them.
Birk sighed. “I imagine it’s going to
affect all of them this way, once we bring them together with the
women.” He looked at Selyn. “There’s a lot of shame involved. I
feel it. I know they feel it. We are the men who fathered all of
the young women. One of us may be your father, Selyn.”
He sighed and, like the others,
glanced away. “We don’t even know which ones are our daughters.
Those were terrible times, and awful things happened. Somehow, we
need to work past the shame the men feel, and the rightful anger
harbored in the hearts of the Forgotten Ones. As impossible as it
sounds, we need to learn to trust each other if we’re going to form
a cohesive fighting unit.”
Selyn glanced at Dawson and then
focused on Birk. “Many of the women won’t want to forgive. They’re
armed with crystal, though, and the swords seem to know we have to
work together. It has to happen now, not later. Time may be running
out.”
Dawson wrapped an arm around her
waist. “I’m worried that we haven’t heard from either Taron or
Roland. Not a single word since they returned to the upper levels,
and Roland went back almost a full day before Taron. Something’s
wrong, but we have to get everyone working together here, or we
won’t be able to help them.”
Selyn squeezed his hand. “Shouldn’t we
go above and find out what’s happening?”
Artigos sheathed his ruby sword. “Not
yet. Dawson is right. It’s time to bring the women and the guards
together.” He glanced at the five men still sitting on the ground.
Then he tilted his head, smiled at Selyn, and shrugged. “Then, all
we have to do is convince them not to kill each
other.”