Guardian of the Storm (11 page)

He hadn’t really had to do anything at all to make her aware of him sexually. It was more than enough that he was extremely physically appealing, but he hadn’t left it at that. He had teased her into heightened interest by appearing to be interested in her.

What really confused her was that he had implied that his restraint was self-imposed. Could it possibly be true? Or was it just something he said to take the sting out of rejection because he really wasn’t that interested? Surely, if he was very attracted to her in a physical sense, it would take more than words to hold him back? Particularly when nobody would know but her that he’d broken his vow?

Either it was a prime example of just how different their cultures were, or he was just being kind because he knew she was attracted to him.

She sighed, dismissing it with an effort. It would be better, she was sure, not to think about it. They really weren’t well suited at all, on any level, not physically, by nature, or culturally.

She craved the open affection she’d had before, among her own people. She hadn’t realized touching was so much a part of her life until it had been wrenched away from her. She and her friends had often shared hugs and purely platonic kisses of affection. She’d shared much the same with her younger brother and her parents. Even her teachers and other members of the community would pat her on the head, or the back, or her hand when she’d done something they approved of, or when she was hurt and in need of reassurance.

Granted, she hadn’t been around the Niahians enough to know whether or not that was part of their culture, but she had an awful feeling that it wasn’t and that that sort of behavior would be looked down upon, perhaps even earn punishment. They seemed very ... self-contained. They didn’t seem to suffer from being completely alone. Family groups appeared to travel together, but as often as not, they traveled alone, as Kiran had before she had invited herself to join him.

Except for the few times he’d displayed a sexual interest in her, he hadn’t seemed all that inclined to socialize. He had never asked about her family, her friends, or her life before or after the disaster. He’d never shared any of his own background. In all the time they’d traveled together, she didn’t know a whole lot more about him than she had learned in the beginning—he was on a mission, and he wasn’t even inclined to tell her what that was all about—except to point out that she was slowing him down.

She hadn’t really had a plan in mind when she’d decided to follow him. More than anything else, she supposed, she’d been thinking about survival, and desperate for any sort of contact with another being. Somewhere along the way she’d begun to toy with the idea that she might be able to convince Kiran to continue to be her companion or at least take her to a place where she might find one.

It was almost … human… that the moment she began to consider other possibilities, he seemed to have changed his mind.

But, maybe she was wrong about that? Maybe she had completely misunderstood him? It seemed probable that his culture allowed sexual freedom for the men, even if women were chattel as they had been on Earth in ancient times. Maybe he wasn’t looking for, or expecting, anything else? Maybe he wouldn’t condemn her if she indulged her own cravings?

But, what if he did? What if she discovered, as she feared, that she wasn’t allowed to and wouldn’t be accepted by him or his people if she gave in to her own needs?

She had the possibility of making a life with her own people now, though. She didn’t know how likely it was, wouldn’t know until she had the chance to find them, but, if they could go back to the colony and start again, would it really matter what the consequences were in relation to the Zoeans?

That was a lot of ifs, though.

Maybe it would be best just to wait and see?

She sighed. It would be really hard to say no if Kiran offered … maybe impossible.

* * * *

They had been traveling for hours and the sun was almost directly overhead when she saw her first glimpse of the sacred mountain far in the distance. She wasn’t certain, at first, that that was what it was, or if it even was a mountain. It looked more like a heavy purple cloud along the horizon. As the day wore on, however, and their escort headed directly toward it, the mountain became more substantial, discernible from the clouds surrounding it—taller than anything she could remember seeing.

Late in the afternoon, they reached the jumble of rocks at the mountain’s feet and the party halted at last. Tempest wasn’t at all certain she could stand when she was helped down. They’d only stopped twice, briefly, for respite, and she wasn’t accustomed to sitting in one position for so long.

Fortunately, when her knees buckled and she went down, her escort seemed to take it as a worshipful posture. They, too, bowed and worshipped the sacred mountain. When they rose, a brief discussion ensued between Kiran and the leader. Finally, the leader, after glancing at her several times, nodded. Their escort mounted the
aquestans
once more, turned them, and departed.

“What was that all about?” Tempest asked, watching as they diminished with distance.

“They wanted to wait here for your return. I told them we would not need their escort further.”

Tempest glanced at him. “Wouldn’t it have made things easier if they’d stayed? At least then we could have ridden instead of walking.”

Kiran turned to look at her. “I did not think it wise to chance it. The leader was far too interested in you.”

Tempest’s brows rose. “Really?” she turned to study the retreating Mordunes. She hadn’t noticed. Maybe Kiran was mistaken?

“You regret that he is gone?”

Tempest glanced at him in surprise at his tone, but finally shrugged. “I regret the loss of the
aquestans
… I think.” She turned to look up at the mountain. There was a steep trail of sorts leading up, or at least something that looked like a trail. She didn’t see any sign of anything that looked like a Temple, though. “How long do you think you’ll be gone?”

Kiran frowned. “We will go together.”

Tempest looked at him in surprise. “I thought you said you had to go alone?”

He glanced away. “I do not trust that they will not return.”

“Oh,” Tempest responded, repressing the urge to smile as it occurred to her that he must be jealous, at least a little, to be so surly about his suspicion that the leader of the Mordunes had been interested in her. “Do you think we can make it all the way up before dark?”

“If we do not linger here.”

Tempest glared at him as he shouldered his pack and strode toward the point where the trail began the climb from the desert. So much for thinking there was any possessiveness in his previous remark. He was all business now. Shrugging, realizing she wasn’t really surprised, Tempest shouldered the water skin and followed him.

Kirry, instead of trailing behind her as she had from the beginning, followed virtually at her heels. Tempest glanced down at the little grat several times uncertainly, wondering if it was really a good thing that the animal was becoming so tame.

It was strange to think the Mordune would consider taming a wild animal as a sign of a deity. As far as she could see, though, that was the only thing it had taken to convince them. Who would’ve thought it?

Kiran hadn’t. She wondered if that meant the Zoeans weren’t as superstitious as the Mordune. Or maybe it was just Kiran? He hadn’t seemed particularly inclined even to look upon her as a woman, much less a goddess, she thought irritably.

She shook her head. It was just so absurd to think of anybody looking upon her as a goddess! Unnerving, too.

The leader of the Mordune had been handsome, not nearly as handsome as Kiran, but very attractive. Under other circumstances, she might have been interested. As it was, she couldn’t get far enough from the Mordune fast enough to suit her. She was just as glad as Kiran to see the last of them, even if she couldn’t help but think it would’ve made his task a lot easier to have the beasts to ride.

She definitely wasn’t cut out to be a goddess! Being around people who thought she was one was probably the scariest experience she’d ever had.

Chapter Ten

Tempest was bored. It had been so long since she’d suffered from that particular malady that it took a while to figure out exactly what the problem was.

Kiran had found a watering hole about three quarters of the way up the sacred mountain and they had set up camp there. He had been distant. She wasn’t certain if it was because he was angry with her still or if it was because he was focused on what he’d come to do, but she didn’t try to slip past the barrier he’d erected. As they settled that night, he’d told her that she would have to remain there until he returned. He had left at dawn the following morning.

Kirry, as it turned out, wasn’t as much company as Tempest had thought she might be. She wasn’t constrained to stay at the campsite and wandered off, leaving Tempest to spend most of the day alone—a good bit of the night, for that matter.

By the third day, Tempest had begun to wonder if something had happened. Kiran hadn’t told her how long he expected to be gone …. Not exactly, anyway, but she hadn’t really believed him when he’d said he might be gone for many days.

What if he didn’t have any vision at all? Would she be stuck here for weeks? Months?

On the morning of the fourth day, Tempest decided she’d had all she could take of sitting around and twiddling her thumbs. Surely it couldn’t hurt to do a little bit of exploring?

It would’ve been easier if she’d known where Kiran would be. Then she wouldn’t risk running in to him.

She decided, though, that she’d just keep an eye out for him and make sure she didn’t bother him. As she neared the top of the mountain, she slowed her steps, trying to move as quietly as possible. She stopped when she caught her first glimpse of the plateau at the top. Coming up on her tiptoes, she surveyed the area as far as she could see. There was no sign of Kiran, but she caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a building cut from the stone in the distance.

She climbed a little higher, searching the area carefully. She was about to move when she heard something, dimly. It sounded like—singing. Chanting maybe? She stopped and looked around the area again.

She saw him then and her heart skipped several beats as she ducked down.

He was standing on the rock above the building she’d seen, his arms outstretched toward the heavens. He was so far away, it took her several moments to realize he wasn’t facing the edge of the cliff he stood on. He had his back to it.

She stayed where she was for some time, watching him, but he was too far away for her to tell what he was doing. She supposed he must be offering up prayers. She could see smoke from a fire and wondered if that had anything to do with his ritual. It was cool so far up, but didn’t seem cold enough that he would feel that he needed a fire.

Of course, he was much further up than her. Maybe it was colder up there?

He left the edge of the cliff after a while, disappearing from her view.

She frowned, waiting, but he didn’t reappear. Easing up a little further, she looked around the plateau. There were boulders, naturally, but it was surprisingly flat and even and she began to study the rock curiously.

She realized after she’d studied it more closely that it wasn’t a natural plateau. The top of the mountain had been flattened.

When she judged that an hour had passed and he still hadn’t reappeared, she climbed to the end of the trail and began to wander around the summit, pausing now and then to glance toward the cliff where she’d last seen Kiran, stopping to examine the rocks more closely.

The plateau, she finally decided, had been cut away with precision. The stones were all as smooth as glass. Time would have worn away rough edges, she knew, but they looked as if they’d been cut with something like a laser. Moreover, the entire area that she’d paced felt absolutely level. No matter which direction she wandered, she could not sense any dips or inclines.

The realization intrigued her. She felt a surge of excitement at the discovery, certain it must mean that she’d been right when she’d considered the possibility that the civilization on the Niahian world had been plunged backwards by some cataclysm, possibly much the same thing that had happened to Earth.

It could mean anything, of course. She really had no idea of how to go about investigating the intriguing possibility. Finally, it occurred to her, however, that there was at least one thing she could check.

Returning to the campsite, she grabbed up the skin of water and made the climb once more. Pausing to make certain Kiran was still nowhere in sight once she gained the top, she hurried over to the center of the plateau and slowly and carefully poured a little water on the stone, watching it. The water formed a tiny pool, spreading only as she added water. She stopped, watching for several moments, but the water remained where she’d poured it.

Finally, satisfied, she moved to another spot, and then another. In all she tried five separate points. She tried pouring directly onto some of the stones, and between others. The water didn’t run at any point.

Pleased with herself, she sat back and looked around. It was flat. It hadn’t just seemed flat. No way was that a natural occurrence, not for such a large area. The whole plateau, as far as she could tell, was dead level.

Setting the water aside, she turned to study the ‘building’ at the far end speculatively, wondering if she could get close enough to examine it without Kiran seeing her.

He would be furious, she knew, if he caught her. She wasn’t worried about his anger so much as his displeasure, however. It distressed her immeasurably, she’d realized, when he disapproved on her. He believed this place was sacred and had forbidden her to come.

She decided to risk it, anyway once she’d convinced herself that she could get away with it without Kiran ever knowing the difference. She could make her way to it along the perimeter of the clearing. There were boulders large enough that she could hide if Kiran reappeared at the summit.