The Last of the Wilds aotft-2 Read online

  “How many times have you done this?”

  He grinned. “Once.”

  Her heart was racing. She realized she was terrified. “This is a bad idea.”

  “We don’t have to go through,” he told her. “I won’t tell the others you didn’t go. I’ve shown you the way out, so you have to tell me where the treasure is.”

  She looked at him and felt a surge of frustration and anger. He hadn’t said it would be so dangerous. But he had done it before and survived. How hard could it be? She just had to let the current take her through. She gathered her courage and forced herself to stare at him defiantly.

  “Not until we get to the other side,” she said.

  He laughed then gave a whoop. “Let’s do it! Try to keep in the middle of the flow. And take a really big breath. I’ll hold on to you as long as I can. Ready? On three. One, two...”

  Her heart was in her mouth, but somehow she managed to suck in a breath.

  “...three!”

  They dove down into the current. He grabbed her wrist and held tightly as they rushed into darkness. She wondered how she was supposed to keep to the middle when she couldn’t see, then she realized the walls rushing past them were faintly visible. Tiny curls of light decorated the surface.

  Glow worms, she thought. Their presence indicated just how dirty the water was. She was too terrified to worry about getting sick, however. She had never travelled so fast before; she was sure she was going to be dashed against the wall before they made it out.

  The tunnel began to curve this way and that. They had to swim frantically to avoid colliding with the occasional outcrop of rock. She glimpsed all manner of things stuck in cracks and dips of the surface - even, to her horror, a skull.

  Just as her lungs were beginning to protest, she rounded a corner and found the current was sweeping her toward a slash of dark blue. Rissi let go of her and swam forward so he shot through the narrow gap. She kicked out and managed to slip through without touching the rock.

  The current eased and died. She looked back to see a rock wall fading into a haze. Below she could see a vague hint of sea floor. In all other directions was a depthless blue that was somehow frightening in its potential.

  The urgency of her need for air was more pressing, however. She swam toward the rippling surface above. As she broke through she gasped out the breath she had been holding then began sucking in another.

  Before she could get a proper lungful of air, her head plunged under the surface again and she gulped in water. She kicked upward, broke through into the air again and coughed out the water. All the time she had to fight to keep her head above the surface.

  “Rissi!” she called frantically.

  “Imi,” came the reply. There was a pause, then his head appeared.

  “Why is it moving so much?” she gasped. “Is there a storm?”

  He laughed. “No. This is normal. These are waves.” He grinned. “You haven’t been outside before, have you?”

  “Yes! But it wasn’t this... this wavy.”

  By keeping her legs moving, she found she was able to rise and fall with the waves.

  “So where now?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “Where’s the treasure?”

  “Oh.” She gathered her thoughts. “Xiti Island.”

  He stared at her in dismay. “Xiti!”

  “Yes. Do you know the way?”

  As he shook his head she felt a wave of disappointment. “Oh. I should have asked.”

  “I know where Xiti is,” he told her. “But it’s far from here. It would take hours for us to swim there.”

  She felt hope return. “How many hours?”

  He shook his head again. “Three. Maybe four.”

  “That’s not too bad. We could get there and back by tonight.”

  “How long will it take to get this treasure?” He frowned. “What is the treasure? I’m not swimming all day if it isn’t worth it.”

  She smiled. “It’s worth it. I overheard traders talking about sea bells. They said there were some there the size of a fist.”

  His eyes brightened. “Did they? Then why haven’t they taken them?”

  “Because...” Imi considered her answer. Would he change his mind if she mentioned the landwalkers? “Because they’re waiting for them to get bigger.”

  “Bigger,” he repeated. “I guess they wouldn’t notice if a few went missing... But... we’d be stealing them, Imi. What if we got caught?”

  “ ‘Nothing the ocean grows is owned by any man until it is taken,‘ ” she quoted.

  His lips twitched, then he began to grin. “I’ll be rich!” He looked at her. “But you’re already rich. What do you want sea bells for?”

  She smiled. “A birthday present for my father.”

  “So that’s what this is all about.” He laughed. “We’re outside the city and both already in trouble. We may as well keep going. Follow me.”

  He dove under the surface. Taking a deep breath, Imi plunged under the waves and swam after him.

  Mirar regarded the growing contents of the makeshift table in surprise. A bowl of soup steamed in front of him. On a thick slab of wood lay something wrapped in leaves that smelled of roasted meat and herbs. A bowl of green leaves and fresh roots sat to one side of this and another of steaming cooked tubers on the other, and there was the usual bowl laden with ripe fruit.

  “What’s this?” he asked.

  “A feast,” she replied.

  “Is this what’s been keeping you busy all morning?”

  “Mostly.”

  “What’s the occasion?”

  “We’re celebrating.”

  “Celebrating what?”

  She placed the two wooden cups he’d carved on the table then straightened. “I haven’t detected your emotions in over a week. I think that’s long enough to prove you’ve got the hang of hiding your mind.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “That’s not all.”

  “What? Being free to leave the cave is not reason enough?”

  She produced a leather pouch and lowered it to the cups. Out of the hollow stick that acted as a spout came a stream of dark purple liquid. The aroma was familiar, though he had not smelled it in centuries. Teepi, the Siyee’s liquor.

  “Where’d you get that from?”

  “I traded for it. With the Siyee.”

  “They came back?”

  “Yes, early this morning. I think they’re concerned I’ll perish. Or that I’ve decided to stay.”

  “Hmmm.” He picked up the cup and sipped. The fiery liquor warmed his throat. “It’s just as well I have learned to hide my thoughts. We can’t stay here much longer.”

  “No,” she agreed. She sat down and picked up her bowl of soup. “They also gave me a girri. I had to cook it today, so I thought I might as well make us a feast. Nothing much else for me to do now.”

  He watched her drink the soup. “You’re getting bored with me, aren’t you?”

  She smiled slyly. “No. I have never found you boring, Mirar. In fact, I’ve always found you a little too interesting for my own good.”

  He chuckled. So. There it was. The invitation. He had noted the way she sometimes looked at him. Thoughtful. Curious. Admiring. The spark of attraction was still there for her. Was it for him?

  He thought back to other times circumstances had brought them to each other’s beds and felt an old but familiar interest flare. Yes, he thought. It’s still there.

  “I got to wondering today,” she said, setting her empty bowl aside, “if any of the other Wilds have survived.”

  She looked up at him, seeking his opinion. He took another sip of Teepi, giving him time to slowly extract himself from pleasant memories.

  “I doubt it,” he replied.

  She pursed her lips. Which reminded him of another time when she had paused and made that face, considering what they might do next. She had been naked at the time, he recalled. He shook his head to clear his mind.
<
br />   “If you and I are still alive, why not them?” Emerahl insisted. “We know The Oracle was killed, and The Farmer, but what about The Gull? What of The Twins and The Maker.”

  “The Maker is dead. He killed himself when his creations were destroyed.”

  She looked at him in horror. “Poor Heri.”

  Mirar shrugged. “He was old. The oldest, apart from The Oracle - and she was half mad.”

  “The Gull and The Twins were younger,” she said thoughtfully. “What about The Librarian?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. I doubt he still watches over the Library of Soor. That place was a ruin even before the gods’ war.”

  She sighed. He considered her carefully. His interest in her was still there, though dampened by the conversation. She was too distracted. If he got her attention, what would she do?

  “This is too morbid a conversation for a celebration,” he told her. He reached out and took a piece of fruit, then carved a slice from it. She turned to watch him, but her gaze was still far away. Reaching across the table, he held the slice up to her mouth. “Life is too long to ignore opportunities for pleasure,” he murmured.

  Her eyes widened, then narrowed. “You said that...”

  “A long time ago. I wondered if you would remember.”

  She took the piece of fruit. “I could hardly forget.”

  He looked meaningfully at the slice. “Are you going to share that?”

  Her pupils widened and a smile slowly spread across her face. “It would be greedy of me not to.” She rose and moved around the table, her eyes bright. Placing the slice of fruit between her lips, she leaned forward and offered it to him.

  Oh, yes, he thought. He caught her waist, pulled her closer and bit into the slice. Their lips touched, their mouths met around the crisp sweetness of the fruit. He felt his teeth break through juicy flesh, felt her hands slide around his back, and the firmness of her back beneath his own palms.

  His interest flared into desire. He felt her respond to it with equal passion. Suddenly he wanted too much at once. He was pulling her down onto his bed and trying to undress her at the same time, but achieving neither. She laughed and pushed him onto his back, then straddled him. Pulling off her clothing, she tossed it aside. He caught his breath as her breasts were uncovered. She was perfect, but how else could she be when she could so easily change her age?

  She brushed his hands away long enough to pull off his vest and tunic. Her hand moved to the waist of his trousers. The ties came undone. She tugged the waistband down, then looked up at him and grinned. Then, without a word, she sidled close and he felt the warmth of her begin to envelop him.

  No!

  The thought was not his. An emotion tore though him, jangling his nerves. He could not put a name to it. Horror? Anger? He gasped in confusion and shock. He felt as if his entire being was sinking into misery. The fire in his blood was doused by a chill that he could not shake, and a lingering sense of another will fighting his own.

  Leiard.

  “No!” he protested. He sat up, the sudden movement causing Emerahl to lose her balance momentarily. “You bastard!”

  Emerahl braced herself and stared at him. “I trust that’s not me you’re talking to,” she said dryly.

  He found he could not reply. It took all his will to keep control of his body.

  I can’t let you do this, Leiard said. I can’t let you betray Auraya again.

  Auraya doesn’t matter! Mirar fumed. You can’t go back to her. You don’t even exist!

  Emerahl was watching him through slowly narrowing eyes. Mirar felt Leiard’s will weaken. He took a deep breath, trying to rein in the anger. “I didn’t mean you,” he explained to her. “I meant him. He did it. He... stopped me. I can’t believe... I thought...”

  “That if you didn’t let him take control he couldn’t bother you any more?” She shook her head and climbed off his bed. “I told you it wouldn’t be that easy.”

  “What am I supposed to do?” he exclaimed, standing up and yanking his trousers up to his waist. If it was possible to die of humiliation he felt he might have then. “Is he going to stop me from bedding any woman from now on, just because he feels loyal to... to that...”

  “Auraya,” she finished. She reached for her clothing and began to dress.

  Her acceptance of his sudden impotence was somehow more mortifying than if she’d been amused by it. She could, at least, behave as if she was surprised.

  “You have to accept that Leiard is a part of you,” she said. “He cannot feel anything that doesn’t exist in yourself.”

  “Obviously he can. I don’t love Auraya.”

  She turned and smiled at him. “No, but a part of you does. A part you don’t like, unfortunately. You have to accept that part and everything that Leiard proves that you can be. Otherwise...” She frowned and looked away. “I fear you’ll never be whole again.”

  “You don’t know that for certain.”

  “No, but I’d be willing to bet on it.” She moved back to her table and sat down. Unwrapping the roasted girri, she began to tear off pieces of meat. “Eat. I’m not offended. A little frustrated. Perhaps a little embarrassed. But not offended.”

  “You’re embarrassed,” he muttered. “I’m utterly humiliated. I’ve never been unable to—”

  “Let’s just eat,” she interrupted. “I don’t need another tall story of your sexual prowess. Not now. And definitely not while I’m eating.”

  He shook his head. Anger had subsided into a sinking, dark emotion and he found he could not be bothered with it any more. He sat on the edge of his bed and glowered at the food. Seeing the skin of Teepi lying on the edge of the table, he topped up his glass, tossed the drink down, then poured himself another.

  “They’re not tall stories,” he growled.

  “I know,” Emerahl said, in an overly placating way.

  “I really—”

  “Just eat.”

  Sighing, he did as he was told.

  Teiti’s legs shook as she stood on the bank of the Children’s Pool. An hour had passed since Imi had disappeared. She could still remember the last glimpse she had caught of the princess as she dove into the water.

  She and the guards had questioned the other children, but none had seen Imi leave. Teiti had sent out all of Imi’s guards but one to ask people around the many entrances to the cave if they had seen the princess.

  “She’ll be back,” the remaining guard soothed. “Most likely she gave us the slip so she could get a bit of private time with that boy.”

  That doesn’t reassure me at all, Teiti thought. She’s too young to be interested in boys. If she was, I’d be just as alarmed that she was with some lowly trader’s son.

  “Lady?”

  She looked down to see a pair of girls standing in front of her.

  “Yes? What is it?” she asked.

  “Just thought you should know,” one of the girls said. “There’s a tunnel at the deepest part of the pool. It flows out into the city. I know Rissi’s used it before, when he wanted to avoid getting beaten up by Kizz.”

  Beaten up? Teiti smothered a curse. Why did I let Imi play with these ruffians?

  “Where is it?”

  The girls pointed. “At the deepest place.”

  “I’ll go and look,” the guard offered. “If they’re right, we’re going to have to start searching the whole city.”

  The whole city. Teiti sighed. The chances that the king would not find out about this were dwindling rapidly. The longer Imi was missing, the less Teiti cared what the girl’s father would say or do. What mattered most was whether Imi was safe.

  “Go,” she said. “Find it. Find out where it goes. I’ll send for more assistance.”

  As he waded into the water she turned away and started toward the main entrance of the pool. One of the guards was there, questioning people. She would send him to the palace. It was time to inform the king of his daughter’s disappearance.

 
13

  The two veez circled each other slowly, their tails twitching. Auraya sighed and shook her head.

  “They’ve forgotten they’ve grown up.”

  Mairae laughed. “Yes - they’re like a pair of children who can only relate by wrestling with and insulting each other.”

  Stardust leapt on top of Mischief, and all detail was lost as the two became a blur of rolling, twisting fur, legs and tail.

  Mairae chuckled. “How is Mischief’s training going?”

  “Well.” Auraya grimaced. “There’s not a mechanical lock that he can’t open, and he’s become much easier to link with now that he’s matured a bit and I can actually hold his attention for more than a few moments. He speaks into my mind now, too.”

  The two veez separated. They stood apart and chattered at each other, then simultaneously affected boredom and began washing themselves.

  “Have you met Keerim?” Mairae asked.

  “No.”

  “He’s a famous veez trainer, visiting from Somrey. Not bad-looking, too. You should arrange t—”

  :Auraya.

  The call was from Juran.

  :Yes?

  :The gods have called us to the Altar. Is Mairae with you?

  :Yes. I will tell her.

  :Good. I will collect you both on the way down.

  Mairae was regarding her expectantly.

  “What is it?”

  Auraya rose. “We’ve been called to the Altar.”

  “The Altar?” Mairae’s eyebrows rose. She stood and scooped Stardust off the floor. “How unusual. I wonder if the gods have an answer for us.”

  “On the existence of Pentadrian gods?” Auraya tried to pick up Mischief, but he darted away. She moved to the bell rope and pulled it. There was no time for chasing veez. A servant would have to take care of him.

  They left the room, entering the circular staircase at the center of the Tower. Auraya heard Mischief speak her name telepathically, somehow managing to convey immense disappointment at her leaving so abruptly. Mairae put Stardust down.

  “Go home,” she ordered. The veez scampered down the stairs. “Good girl.” Mairae straightened and looked up the stairwell.