The Pearl Savage (29 page)

****

Lillian gave a low chuckle at Anna’s
comment, thrilled that she was so engaged in conversation and turned
to look for Clara. Shouldn’t she be coming along; what had her
lagging behind so?

She paused and Anna turned, her
eyebrow raising was clearly illuminated by the glow of the candle.

“Clara?” Lillian called. “do
not dawdle, we have much yet to discuss.”

Anna’s face changed to worry. “She
does not impress one of folly. Was she not right behind us?”

Yes, she had been.

The women hurriedly retraced their
steps and came upon Clara’s reticule and towel, sprawled on the path
in a wet heap.

“Clara!” Lillian screamed.

“She has been taken!” Anna
cried.

By
whom
,
Lillian thought. Her mind immediately went to Matthew.

Where was he?

Anna whipped her head around to look
at Lillian. “Where is Matthew?”

Where indeed?

The women wasted no time, rushing
the entire length back to the clan. They stumbled into the dwelling
area and found Stephen and Joseph who stood upon seeing their
expressions, their backs to the fire.

“What is it?” asked Joseph eying
Anna over carefully and finding no damage. She shook off his concern
immediately, worried only for Clara.

Both women spoke frantically at the
same time and Stephen put a hand up, silencing them.

Joseph was shocked, he had never
heard Anna speak so much.

Anna looked at Lillian.

Lillian nodded and told the tale.
She mentioned that she suspected Matthew and Stephen’s eyes became
hooded with anger.

“It cannot be him, he is Band. He
would not harm a female, let alone take one.”

Joseph shifted uncomfortably,
Stephen turned on him, grabbing his large bicep. “What say you?”
he said in a low urgent voice.

“Matthew is friends with no one.”
Stephen nodded, releasing him and giving him the gesture with his
hand, go on, “even you, who runs with him, fights with him. You but
know him a small amount.” and Joseph put his index and thumb
together, leaving the barest of spaces between them.

“
And
you do? Know him?” Stephen spit out, angry at the situation,
frustrated at their position. The Princess gone, maybe taken by a
member of the Band. Or worse, in the hands of the
fragment.

“
He
spoke of his past only one time.”
They all waited for
him to continue. “And there was a girl…”

“How old was he when he came to
us?” Lillian asked for clarity, knowing that Anna knew even less
than she.

“Ten and two years.” Stephen
said immediately.

“
He
was with the
fragment
and
how
he was with them we do not know, as they have no Band. But, he was
mistreated by all, save one girl, Margaret. She saw that he had food
enough to exist, but could do no more. Later, when some males
discovered what she meant to him, they assaulted her in front of him
unto her death. He vowed that he would never care about a female
again.”

“This would have been good
information to share,” Stephen said with real reproach.

Joseph sighed. “He swore me to
secrecy. He promised it would not affect his duty to the Band.”

“Isn’t it a biological directive
to protect if you are Band?” Lillian asked.

“It is,” Stephen said slowly.
“But it is entirely possible he has some internal wires crossed;
his directive becoming mixed with the environment in which he was
raised.”

“When he was forming, a young man
subjected to that much abuse…” Anna trailing off, entering the
conversation again.

“Yes, it would be a devastating
start for one of the Band. We are aggressive by nature and that kind
of treatment, over time would not be ideal.” Joseph said.

“Ideal?” Stephen questioned
sarcastically. “If he has indeed taken Clara, then we are
honor-bound to find him before something irrevocable happens to her
or to him.”

“Agreed,” Joseph said. “But
how,” he asked, flashing a palm toward the women. “We cannot
leave them here and the clan unguarded.”

Stephen had an idea. “Is President
Bowen still here?”

Joseph nodded.

A look of relief washed over
Stephen’s face. “He can remain with his Band and leave after our
return.”

“What do we say about Matthew?”

“For now we treat this as a
disappearance, what if Matthew is not responsible? Then we cast doubt
upon him forever with an unproven accusation. No. We see the
President now,” he looked at the women, “Go now to your
dwellings, say nothing. We will return and tell you what will
happen.”

Lillian did not like that Matthew
was being afforded this benefit. But, she realized it was justice, of
a sort. After all, he was twenty and two years and there had never
been anything she had heard that was contrary to his loyal protection
of the clan. Still, Clara was gone.

A frown furrowed the area between
her eyes. How much more could the Princess withstand?

****

Charles and Clarence came into view
of a huge timber fence with single logs too big for a man to embrace.
The tops of which had been sharpened to pencil points. He was sure
that he could see the flash of a fire which burned in the heart of
it.

“
It
looks like this is the end of the trail. The
savages
must abide here.”

Charles nodded. They were achingly
tired, having traveled two days to this spot. But he must try to
penetrate the fence and find Clara. At the very least, he needed to
know that she lived.

A large gate swung open and two huge
men exited One was speaking heatedly with the smaller guard that was
operating the gate. Another man that was noticeably older with an air
of authority (the Queen came to mind) gestured toward a point which
was north of here.

They
crouched down, unmoving. “
Savages
,”
Clarence breathed out.

Charles
nodded, taking in the huge males’ height and something he wasn’t sure
how to name. There was a lethal grace in the way they moved. He had
trepidation about the potential to come against them, yet Clara had
been taken
.
He
swallowed back his anxiety. Some things needed to be done,
regardless of how one felt about it. Bravery was a matter of
containing your fear while throwing away caution.

They
watched as the
savages
threw strange-looking knapsacks on their backs. A small stable boy
approached with giant horses; horses that bore no
resemblance
to those of the sphere. Where was Clara, Charles thought in
frustration?

Suddenly,
a women ran to one of the
savages
throwing her arms around him. He hugged her hesitantly at first then
the hug turned fierce as
he
wrapped his arms around her until she was engulfed in his embrace,
his size overwhelming hers.

They waited.

****

Anna and Lillian watched President
Bowen argue with Stephen and knew that if Bracus was here, things
would not be at the fever pitch that they had slid into.

“Bracus is rescuing Evelyn now and
you are reclaiming the Princess?” President Bowen said derisively.
“Why was there only one guard on her?”

Stephen held his temper, but it was
a near thing, swimmingly close to the surface, as it was for all the
Band. “It is as I said before. The women,” he gestured to Lillian
and Anna, “planned to bathe at the springs and we felt that inside
the border, they would be safe enough with one member of the Band
about.”

President
Bowen’s gaze fell like a weight on Stephen. He held his breath,
hoping beyond anything that Bowen would not intuit the circumstances
of her disappearance. What if Matthew had claimed her in some odd
way? What if she were a
select
?
After all, had she not responded strangely to first Philip and then
Matthew? None if it bore any sense. It was
his
natural directive to protect, which would be even more amplified with
a female. However, with the knowledge of his abuse at the hands of
the
fragment,
his
motives were now in question.

The
President ran a hand through what little hair he had atop his head
and with a heavy sigh said, “We will stay for two days hence, with
my
Band.” and he frowned. “But know this, I want that Princess back
here, standing in front of me, unharmed. Do you understand?”

He did.

“I will, Mr. President,” Stephen
replied, casting a glance at Joseph who looked like he may have been
nervous. But the Band were predators, heaping emotion or perceived
weakness under the veil of blankness. They all did that very well. It
was automatic, akin to breathing.

Bowen
narrowed his eyes at Stephen and pointed his finger at his chest,
where his head reached. “Do not engage the
fragment,
they are too many without your Band mates. Even for her.”

He nodded but knew if she was coming
to harm, he and Joseph would die to save her.

A sound made him turn and it was
Anna, running toward them.

Now what?

Joseph looked at her with contained
care, his desire riding in his eyes, bypassing his instinct for
indifference. She leaped into his arms making him stagger back from
the impact. Then hesitatingly, he wrapped her in his fierce embrace.

She pulled away from him just a
little and they stared into each others eyes. Hers were brimming with
unshed tears. On his face rode a stunned expression of surprise that
he made no attempt to hide.

Stephen looked on with interest. He
could not believe this was Anna.

Apparently,
neither could Joseph
.

“Why now?” he whispered bending
down, his lips moving close to her ear.

“I don’t want to lose you, I know
that now,” she stammered, the first fat tear making a wet trail
down her cheek. It trembled at her jaw and Joseph used a finger to
catch it.

“I will return for you,” Joseph
said simply, his fingertips climbing their way up her arms, where
they grasped her shoulders. He drew her closer and she looked up at
him, putting a hand on his chest.

She warned, “It will not be simple
between us.”

Joseph shrugged. “Nothing valuable
is gained through ease.”

She smiled and it was sun breaking
through the clouds, he couldn’t help but grin back. It was a
contagious thing, breaking the tension of the preceding moments like
rain in a desert. It was a fine thing to see a member of the Band
commit to a female and she to him.

The President said, “I do not wish
to separate two so newly linked…” he trailed off.

Anna looked at him with gravity. “I
understand duty.”

He nodded. “I am glad that you do,
but I will not lie. I am unsure as to how and where the Princess and
Matthew may be… what danger awaits them.” he looked at Joseph and
Stephen tilting his head in their direction. “I cannot make
promises.”

She
nodded, drying tears marking her face. But it was a face that shone
with hope
,
an
expression she had not owned in some time.

Joseph felt for the first time in
his life there may be something beside purpose and duty. And he now
had an inkling about what made Jack who he was. He had Lillian, the
other half that made him whole.

Anna felt the feather light kiss
that Joseph brushed against her forehead and steeled herself not to
hurl her body on his; stopping him from leaving her. Now that she had
decided to trust him the grief she felt from his departure crushed
her, immobilizing her. She prayed that he felt as she did.

She watched his broad back disappear
on his horse, Stephen riding beside him.

Trepidation and fear swirled around
her heart like clinging fingers of mist, a shroud she hoped not to
bear forever.

CHAPTER 31

Queen Ada’s gaze narrowed on the
scarred mess of the sphere tunnel’s wall. She was unconcerned about
the ramifications of her actions. All that mattered is she retrieve
her imbecilic daughter and keep the Wedded Day firmly within sight.

She
looked about her impatiently, where was that ridiculous man?
Ah!
Coming toward him in a halting bumble was the Record Keeper’s
associate, Ernest. He was an abiding fool, but Ada needed him
.
He
held precious maps, set aside from the time Before Ash Covered the
Earth.

He twisted and wrung his hands as he
neared her. A fine sweat beaded his upper lip, his waistcoat soaked
with nervous sweat. “My Queen,” he said dipping his head and
bowing twice.

Insufferable fool.

She placed her hands on her hips,
the guards swarming around her like pesky but necessary wasps.

“I have the records you need, the
maps.” He held up long scrolls of paper bound together with
different colored ribbons, each color signifying a different
geographical area.

“Fine,” she said the word curtly
and she saw him cringe. Ada looked around for a moment then snapped
her fingers, her string of pearls hitting her hip as she whirled
around to face the nearest guard who approached.