Waterborne (18 page)
Authors: Katherine Irons
It was all he could do to keep a straight face. ’Enakai thought she was in control. She believed that she held him in her power. Actually, she was doing him a favor, ridding him of his troublesome mother and providing entertainment while he waited for the call. Once his brothers were dead, the high council would summon him. Who else? He was the firstborn son of Poseidon. Becoming high king was his destiny.
The driver reined in the dolphins.
“This is as far as we can safely go,” ’Enakai explained. “Already the heat becomes troublesome for the dolphins. The priests can escort Queen Halimeda to the edge of the flow.”
Caddoc swallowed and stared at the river of fire that spread across the ocean floor. Great fountains of molten lava gushed and leaped over the glittering stream. “At least it will be quick,” he muttered, more to himself than to ’Enakai.
“It’s not too late to change your mind and accept the honor yourself,” she reminded him.
Caddoc shook his head. “She’s old and suffering. And, as you say, this will provide great luxury for her in the afterlife.” It sounded good, but for himself he had no belief in gods or goddesses, neither these of the Lemorians, the old earth spirits that the fairy folk worshiped, or the one supreme god of the Atlanteans. When you were dead, you were dead, as far as he was concerned. It was the pleasures that a man could appreciate in this life that counted.
“There’s time for you to bid her farewell, if you like,” the queen suggested.
Again, Caddoc shook his head. “No. No need to make her suffer. Parting from me ...” He sighed. “I am her only child, and we were always close.”
“So be it,” ’Enakai pronounced. She waved and two priests opened the door to the shell conveyance.
Caddoc turned his back. Better not to watch. The sight might give him nightmares. He wished he had covered his ears when his mother began to scream. “I warned you,” he said to ’Enakai. “She won’t take this well.”
The shrieking continued, grew louder, and became foul curses joined by the filthiest and most original swearing he’d ever heard his mother utter—which was amazing, considering the oaths he’d heard from his dear mother through the past several thousand years.
At the last minute, he couldn’t stand it. He turned and peeked from the corner of his eyes as the priests dragged her to the top of a high platform. He looked away as they pushed her over, and her last word drifted through the water.
“Ca ... ddoc!”
Caddoc shuddered and glanced back. She was no longer part of the party at the edge of the lava flow. The remaining priest, a short one, who must have been dragged over with his mother, delivered a short ritual, then hurried back to the procession.
“It’s done,” ’Enakai said. “Not as tidily as I might have hoped, but finished with some dignity.” She arched a brow. “Any regrets, my prince?”
“No.” He straightened his shoulders, realizing that it was true. He felt nothing at all. His mother was dead, and she would never trouble him again in this world. “I’m sure she’ll thank me for it in her prayers,” he added piously.
“I’m sure,” ’Enakai replied.
She was unnaturally quiet all the way back to the temple. Once they arrived in the grand courtyard, she left the dolphin chariot and took a seat in a jeweled chair. Eight female soldiers lifted the poles and carried her swiftly down the wide avenue to the palace. Caddoc was forced to follow on foot.
The soldiers conveyed ’Enakai, not to her private apartments as Caddoc had supposed they would, but to one of the smaller reception rooms where she often settled minor disputes among her subjects and meted out justice to criminals.
As they lowered the open chair to the marble floor, ’Enakai clapped. Immediately, two of the guardswomen moved to take hold of Caddoc’s arms, one on either side.
“What is this?” he shouted. “How dare—”
“Be still,” ’Enakai ordered. “There is a final matter to be cleared up.”
“What matter?” Caddoc demanded.
She placed her hands, palms together in a position of prayer. “You have sworn to me, haven’t you?”
“Yes. Yes. But what does that signify?”
“Which makes you a Lemorian, subject to our laws.”
“What laws?” Urine trickled down the inside of his leg. “What law have I broken? I’ve done all you asked. I let you sacrifice my own mother to your lava pit, didn’t I?”
’Enakai sighed. “Unfortunately, that’s the sad point, Prince Caddoc. Causing the death of one’s parent is a great crime among my people.”
“No!” he shrieked. “I’ve committed no crime. It was your idea. I only did—”
Another soldier thrust a length of shark tail into his mouth, muffling his cries, and his bowels betrayed him, sending a flood of offal over his sandals. Someone snickered, but Caddoc could hardly hear for the pounding of blood in his ears.
“The punishment is blinding,” ’Enakai said with cool disdain. “Take him to the prison and carry out the sentence.” She patted his cheek. “It won’t be so bad, my precious. I’m leaving you your sacks and rod. You’ll still be able to pleasure me.”
Caddoc’s eyes bulged as terror drained him of his last measure of courage and strength.
Noooo!
Noooo!
“And cut out his tongue as well,” the queen added. “Otherwise, we’ll never hear the end of this. He’ll drive me mad with his whining.”
CHAPTER 18
A
lex insisted that Ree return to the surface after they had made love for a second time. “I tell you, I’ve never felt better,” she insisted. “Whatever sickness Anuata is referring to, I can assure you that I don’t have it. I’m having no trouble breathing under water.”
lex insisted that Ree return to the surface after they had made love for a second time. “I tell you, I’ve never felt better,” she insisted. “Whatever sickness Anuata is referring to, I can assure you that I don’t have it. I’m having no trouble breathing under water.”
“To the beach, woman,” he ordered. “If I can put up with another day or two on this island, so can you.”
Reluctantly, Ree followed him into shallower water. When they reached the breakers, Alex raised his head and shoulders above the crashing surf. “Watch your feet,” he warned. “This is a good feeding spot for rays and smaller sharks. You don’t want to drive a spike through the bottom of your foot.”
After the reef, the small spit of land and palm trees that she’d found so enchanting seemed a barren second choice. She hadn’t wanted to leave the coral paradise. “Why do we have to stay here?” Ree persisted as Alex waded ashore. “Every day we waste, Varenkov is getting farther away.”
He turned to look at her, and flashed a roguish grin that would have melted a granite sphinx, his wet hair clinging to impossibly broad shoulders, his muscular chest beaded with drops of water. Ree’s throat tightened as her gaze naturally swept lower over the hard, taut belly, to linger on his large and well-formed sex. Alex’s gaze met hers, and she felt heat flash beneath her skin as desire reared in the shadow of her thoughts.
Maybe he’s right,
she thought.
Maybe I am part Atlantean now.
She’d always enjoyed sex, but now she found her appetite for lovemaking ravenous and her enjoyment magnified many times over.
she thought.
Maybe I am part Atlantean now.
She’d always enjoyed sex, but now she found her appetite for lovemaking ravenous and her enjoyment magnified many times over.
“Didn’t you just agree to do what I say, when I say it?” Alex reminded her.
Ree nodded, noting with satisfaction that if she was hot and bothered just looking at Alex’s naked body, he was just as aroused in seeing hers. “Just don’t push your orders beyond the bounds of the mission.”
He held out his hand, and she was thrilled by his touch as his strong fingers closed around hers. “What if the mission required tending to the needs of your commander?”
“I suppose it might depend on what those needs were.”
Alex laughed. “You have to know that sexual pleasure is the weakness of Atlanteans. We require a great deal of it and in infinite forms.”
“I’m beginning to appreciate that.” She released his hand and settled onto the warm sand, letting her feet rest in the incoming waves. She’d always been comfortable with her body, and she’d worked hard to keep it in the best shape, but she’d never been as aware of being female as she was here on this solitary beach in the twilight as the red-orange sun sank into the sea. Again, it seemed to her that she’d spent her entire life asleep, and now she’d awakened. Scents were stronger, her vision was clearer, and she was utterly aware of every sensation, from the feel of the sand under her to the caress of the waves and the smell of flowers blooming somewhere on the island.
Alex was all male, as sexual a man as she’d ever laid eyes on, and yet ... She had to be honest. Her attraction to him wasn’t simply physical. He was funny, intellectually challenging, and courageous with a strong sense of honor.
Easy,
she warned herself. She was wading into dangerous waters. This was supposed to be business.... and sex. She had no time for a man in her life. She’d had one, and that had ended badly. Alone, she could be strong, but she didn’t think she could stand the pain of losing someone she loved again.
Easy,
she warned herself. She was wading into dangerous waters. This was supposed to be business.... and sex. She had no time for a man in her life. She’d had one, and that had ended badly. Alone, she could be strong, but she didn’t think she could stand the pain of losing someone she loved again.
Alex dropped onto the sand beside her. “Did you ever make sandcastles when you were a child?”
She looked away, focusing on a bleached white piece of driftwood. Playing on the beach with her mother had been a cherished memory, but so old and softened by time that she wasn’t certain what was real and what she’d fashioned of wishful thinking and longing for what she knew she could never have again. “No.” It was easier to lie than to answer questions that would probe and resurrect images best forgotten.
“It was a treat for Orion and me, to go above the water and race back and forth on a stretch of beach. The sand there was black, and there were high cliffs. My mother was vigilant. She and a company of guards would keep watch while we played. Sometimes we could spot fishing boats in the distance, and when we did, my mother would clap her hands for us to return to the sea. I remember the sounds of wind through the rocks and the sight of flocks of sea birds wheeling overhead.”
“Why did she bring you out of the water if it was dangerous?”
Alex dug a hole, heaping the damp sand to form a wall. But each foaming wave that rushed in would cut through the barrier and wash away the sand. “We had to learn to breathe as humans do. There are times when we need to use our powers of illusion to disguise ourselves as one of your kind.”
“My kind?” She chuckled. “And what is my kind?” She raised her hand and pressed it, her palm flat against his wet and sandy one, then leaned close and kissed his mouth. “Make up your mind, Alex. Am I Atlantean or human?”
“I think you’re Ree O’Connor, an unknown and fascinating creature.” He pushed her back against the sand, and kissed her passionately.
Fire leaped between them as his hands and mouth moved over her. Soon, they were making love again, oblivious to anything but each other while the foam and waves washed around them. And this time, when they could wait no longer and Alex entered her, Ree realized that intercourse with this man was more than physical body parts and familiar motions. His touch, his nearness, the magic that they shared went beyond anything that she’d ever imagined.
It’s too late,
she thought.
I’m already lost.
she thought.
I’m already lost.
Later, after the world had come undone and shattered into a thousand stars, and Ree had drifted back to earth, she was yanked back into the present by a familiar voice.
“Mother of Vassu! Are you two at that again?”
Ree pushed herself out of Alex’s embrace and sat up abruptly to find Anuata and Dewi standing a few yards away and laughing. “What are you?” she asked. “Voyeurs?”
Dewi laughed louder. “It was quite entertaining.”
“Most entertaining,” Anuata added.
Alex got to his feet and offered Ree his hand. He studied first Dewi and then Anuata. Both wore full battle gear and seemed the worse for wear. Dewi’s right eye was black and swollen as was Anuata’s single remaining eye. Dewi’s chin and shoulder bore dark purple bruises and there was a scrape down one thigh and leg that ended in a gashed knee. Anuata’s knuckles on one hand were torn and bloody and her nose and lower lip were swollen. “Have you two been fighting or ...”
Dewi grinned. “Some of each.” He handed Ree her boy’s tunic, her armor, and sword, and she began to put them on.
The big Amazon smiled. “The little man and I have come to an understanding. Some things he is very good at.”
Ree glanced from one to the other and shook her head. “Crazy, both of you.”
Anuata tossed Alex his armor and weapons. “There’s someone you should talk with. Out there.” She motioned toward the reef.
“An envoy from ’Enakai?” Alex asked.
“No,” Dewi said. “Aphrodite. One of your father’s ...” He shrugged. “She says you know her from the palace.”
“Aphrodite here?” Alex frowned. “I know she left after my father died, but I didn’t realize she was in the Pacific.”
Dewi grimaced. “I’d heard she followed Caddoc and his scum when he fled the kingdom. You could ask her, but whether you’d get an honest answer is anyone’s guess.” He rolled his eyes. “You know mermaids.”
“What?” Ree glanced at Alex. “Could you fill me in here?”
“Mermaids are not known for honesty,” Anuata said.
“Mermaids?” Ree asked, not certain she could wrap her head around the concept.
“Later,” Alex said. “Now, I need to talk to Aphrodite. Come with me if you like, but watch, don’t comment. It’s better if you don’t say anything at all. She’s a mermaid, and they have no love for humans, least of all human females. They’re jealous of them.”
“Of all women,” Anuata said. “Of course, they’re greatly attracted to human males, but not always to the humans’ benefit.”
“A mermaid?” Ree looked doubtful. “This I have to see.” She looked back at Alex. “I suppose she has a fish tail?”
“Yes,” he admitted. “But it’s best if you don’t mention it. It’s bad manners.”
Aphrodite proved to be exactly what Alex had said, a mermaid, complete with a scaly fish tail. Ree had to blink to be certain she was seeing what she thought she was seeing.
The mermaid reclined indolently on a bed of sand along the edge of the coral reef. Beside her lay a pile of discarded fish bones, leading Ree to assume the lady had just finished her evening meal. Or breakfast. Who knew what schedule a living, breathing mermaid might keep?
She was very beautiful, this exotic, fairy-tale creature, with her long, black hair and skin the color of sea foam. Her features were delicate; her eyes sea blue and her bare, voluptuous breasts shapely enough to bring a sailor to tears. From the waist up, she was every bit the alluring woman. Her arms were in perfect proportion, her lips were coral pink, her lashes dark and long and curling, and her voice high and sweet. But from the waist down, she had the appearance of a great green and glistening fish.
If this was a practical joke Alex, Anuata, and Dewi were playing on her, Ree thought, this was a good one. And if mermaids were as real as fairies and Atlanteans, what else existed under heaven? The possibilities were endless.
Alex called out to her in a language that Ree had never heard him or anyone use, and the mermaid answered in a burst of emotion. After a few exchanges, they switched to a language that Ree could understand.
“My half brother, is he well?” Alex asked. “Prince Caddoc.”
Aphrodite scowled. “I wouldn’t know. We parted company soon after we arrived. He had the audacity to suggest that I join him and his ... his pet, the ugly Samoan in a rather dull game. You know that I enjoy my pleasures, but I am no common whore. When I refused, Prince Caddoc became difficult. To Hades with him!”
“Fair enough.” Alex nodded. “Do you know where he is?”
“When last I heard, in ’Enakai’s bed.”
“My friends say you have information for me.”
“Perhaps,” Aphrodite answered. She dug in the pile of fish bones, came up with a skeleton that had meat still clinging to it and nibbled daintily.
Alex waited.
The mermaid sighed and raked long, slim fingers through her hair. “I do. And for the love your brother bore my friend Sjshsglee, I will pass a message. The human you hunt is on the island of Rorakleesan, the land that the air breathers call Pago Pago. Poseidon directs you to proceed there at once and kill him.”
“He’s still here? Varenkov? In American Samoa?”
Ree’s heartbeat quickened. If the Russian was nearby, it might be possible to finish him before he could slip through her fingers again.
Aphrodite nodded. Then she yawned and fluttered her long, thick lashes. “And you must do as the king commands, yes?”
A blinding pain shot through Ree’s head, and she doubled over as cramps in her stomach made her clench her teeth against the pain. A gray cloud gathered behind her eyes and suddenly the reef had vanished and she was looking down from a great height at a cove in a rocky coast. Dark shapes bobbed in the water, not swimming shapes, but something unnatural. Bile rose in her throat as she saw the color of the sea, not blue but crimson.
“Ask her about the cove,” Ree cried. “Ask her what she knows about the cove.”
Aphrodite’s head snapped around, and she stared at Ree in astonishment. “Your woman has the sight,” she said. “I had heard much about her, but not that.”
“Do you know something you’re not telling me?” Alex demanded.
“You didn’t ask.”
Ree pressed her hands against her head. She forced herself to fight the pain and to look again. This time, her view of the water was more distant, and she could see small boats, and farther out to sea a large ocean-going ship. Blackness closed over her. She thought she was dying. “Blood,” she whispered. “I see death and blood.”
“She does see the future,” the mermaid said. “A true seer. There is a thing your brother the king does not want you to know. The Russian’s vessels will drive the dolphins and massacre them by the hundreds at Aunu’u Island. The humans will butcher them and sell the meat. Poseidon knows of the coming atrocity and has sent word to Lemoria asking Queen ’Enakai to send her soldiers to save as many as she can. But ’Enakai is suspicious of messages from Atlantis. Who knows what she will do?”
“When will this drive happen? Do you know?”
Aphrodite smiled. “What does it matter? Your brother the king sends you to kill the Russian while some of my kinsmen try to turn back the dolphins.” She stretched and yawned again. “I’m sleepy. I had hoped to sing for you, but—”
“When?” Alex repeated. “When will the killing take place?”
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