Becoming (26 page)

Layla sipped her wine and gave him an amused
glance over her glass. “I appreciate your confidence in my talents,
my lord.”

“Did they give any indication where the
sisters are being kept?”

“No.” Now her red eyes glittered angrily, her
mood changing in a blink. She put her glass down hard enough to
slosh its red contents over the edge. “They were frustratingly
vague and brief in their messages. From what I could determine, it
does not even seem as though they are all being kept at the same
location.”

He considered this for a moment. Then, with a
negligent wave, he sat back in his chair with his elbows pressed on
the chair’s arms and steepled his fingertips together. “Not to
worry, my sweet. You can continue to monitor their thoughts for me.
I have every confidence that we will find them. After all, the
world is only so big.”

It took all Amber had not to scream like a
girl when she opened her eyes to find nearly twenty sets of eyes
staring unblinking back at her, but she managed it. Her heart was
thundering so hard that she saw the sheet covering her chest
vibrating.

Gabriel?
she thought. She realized
immediately that the thought hadn’t been received. It seemed to
echo back to her in her head. Unwilling to give up, she ventured
aloud, “Gabriel?”

There was murmuring.

“See? She remembers,” said one of the males
standing at the foot of her bed.

He had an unusual accent. To Amber’s
untrained ear, it sounded like a variation of maybe a South African
dialect. He had sunny blond hair, dark blue eyes and the build of a
dedicated NFL quarterback. His clothing was old-fashioned, a
flowing, white shirt with laces rather than buttons, worn loose
around the neck with rolled up sleeves, paired with conforming
black pants and knee-high, black leather boots. He moved around to
the right side of the bed, pushing aside several of the even more
muscular males who surrounded her.

Instinctively keeping her left hand beneath
the sheet and out of sight, Amber reached up with her right hand to
hold the sheet closer to her neck and moved to sit up, only to find
her head pinned. Alarmed, she reached for the back of her head,
accidentally releasing the sheet in her haste to find out why she
was bound. The sheet slipped precariously to her waist and she
reached to grab it back, a hot flush burning her cheeks. She
silently cursed Ini-herit for not warning her about this. The
vicious pounding of her heart continued unchecked.

Seeing no way around it, she lifted her left
hand to the back of her head while her right held the sheet. She
realized her hair was the reason she was pinned. It was unbound and
much, much longer than she had ever worn it. With a shift of her
body and a tug, she was able to loosen the hair pinned beneath her
enough that she could slowly shift into a sitting position. Her
wary gaze settled on the blond male, who had stopped near the head
of the bed.

“Hello. I am Simon,” he said. “I am the
Gloresti who was assigned to watch over your Estilorian form. I
helped you make the transition between the planes.”

Okay, that made a little sense. Amber nodded
to indicate she understood. A quick sweep of her gaze around the
room told her that all of the other Estilorians were also males.
They all had weird, burnt orange eyes. Her heart sank.

“Where’s Gabriel?”

“
Archigos
Gabriel transitioned quite a
distance from here,” Simon explained. He had a friendly face and
warm voice. That didn’t make her feel any more cordial toward
him.

Archigos?
she thought as she said, “I
want to see him.”

Exchanging looks with several of the males
standing around her, he said, “Do not worry. You will. And your
sisters, as well.”

Amber frowned. She certainly didn’t know her
sisters well, but they were more known to her than this group of
strangers. “They’re not here, either?”

“No. The Elphresti figured you would be safer
apart. Only those of us in this chamber know your exact
location.”

Somehow, that didn’t ease her anxiety in the
least. And she suddenly realized with a tremendous amount of
embarrassment that she really needed to pee. After glancing around
and seeing that they were in some kind of underground cavern, she
couldn’t even imagine what kind of bathroom facilities they might
have. Did Estilorians even urinate? What if they didn’t? How would
she possibly explain that to these guys? Her mortification seemed
to know no bounds.

“The elders thought it best to assign you and
your sisters each a young Gloresti,” Simon continued, “so we can
relate to you better. I have only been on this plane for
ninety-seven years. But I did pretty well bringing you over, did I
not?”

She could hardly argue that. She was sitting
there, wasn’t she? She gave a reluctant nod for lack of knowing
what else to do.

“And I will be an excellent guardian for you.
I pledge my life on that.”

Her eyebrows lifted over the declaration. She
wasn’t about to ask anyone—especially someone she didn’t know—to
lay their life on the line for her. But before she could say
anything about that, Simon started leaning toward her. Panic
flared.

“Our Orculesti explained that humans hug and
sometimes kiss as signs of friendship and affection for each
other,” he said, reaching for her. “I would like to welcome
you.”

Amber scrambled back and away from him, her
heart somehow soaring to an even greater speed. It was a wonder it
didn’t just blow up in her chest. She backed right into one of the
other males on the other side of the bed. Jerking away from him,
she ended up in a tight, sitting ball, pressed against the
headboard with the sheet grasped to her chest with both hands. It
was a hard struggle not to start hyperventilating.

Simon, noting her reaction, once again stood
tall. He looked puzzled. “Humans do not hug and kiss as signs of
welcome?”

Swallowing hard to control her reaction,
Amber answered through a clamped jaw, “I can only say that this
human doesn’t.” And—did she mention?—she wanted to see Gabriel.

“Ah.” Simon nodded, then gave her another
winning smile. She was beginning to hate that smile. “Well, would
you like me to show you around?”

“I want to see Gabriel,” she repeated, not
caring if she sounded ungrateful. She could feel herself beginning
to shake, a delayed reaction to the panic Simon had caused her. But
she refused to come apart in front of this group of males who
appeared to be soldiers of some kind. She guessed maybe they were
the Waresti Ini-herit had mentioned.

“Simon,” came a female voice, “for all holy
sake, give the girl some breathing room. Can you not see she is
uncomfortable?”

A couple of the males beside Simon shifted,
allowing the speaker to approach the bed. Amber noticed that Simon
didn’t look away from her, even at the newcomer’s approach, and
found his unwavering stare unsettling. Maybe his focus was due to
him being her Gloresti, she thought. To avoid looking at him, she
turned her attention to the female.

Appearing to be around Amber’s age, she stood
nearly a head shorter than the males around her, but commanded all
of the attention in the room. Her hair was long, straight and as
black as a moonless night. A silver circlet rested on her head, a
dark red jewel in the shape of a tear hanging from the headwear
over her forehead. In contrast to her dark hair, her skin was pale
and luminous. Her eyes were a darker green than Amber could ever
remember seeing on a human. Small, coordinating green markings—some
kind of hieroglyphs, Amber thought—decorated the outside edges of
her eyes, giving her even more allure. The round curves of her body
were perfectly displayed in a ruby-colored bustier and a flowing,
light pink skirt made of many thin sheets of fabric. Amber guessed
that when she moved, the fluttering panels swept aside to reveal
her legs. Large silver hoops swung from her ears and numerous
bracelets lined both of her wrists

She looked like she had just stepped off the
set of
Lawrence of Arabia
.

“I am Kanika,” she said in a lightly accented
voice that spoke of ancient ruins and hot desert nights. “The
Elphresti assigned me as the Orculesti to be present when you
transitioned.” She gave a rueful smile. “It appears I managed to
excuse myself at the worst possible time. Please forgive me.” When
Amber didn’t reply, Kanika turned to Simon. “I will take her to the
spring.”

Simon nodded. “Are you hungry?” he asked
Amber.

She shook her head. Although she probably
should have been ravenous, all she could think about was her
painfully full bladder.

“Very well,” Kanika said with a cordial nod.
“Please come with me, Ambryl.”

Edging carefully toward the side of the bed
while keeping the sheet around her, Amber glared at the Waresti
blocking her path until he moved aside. When she got to the side,
she realized that she was on a mattress supported by a stone altar.
It looked like a fairly significant jump to the ground without any
stairs.

“May I assist you?” Simon asked.

Since he didn’t just grab her without asking
and he was, after all, supposed to be dedicated to her safety,
Amber gave a short nod. He reached under her legs, braced her back
and swept her easily to the floor. She was rigid with tension as
her feet touched the ground.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, clutching the sheet
around her as tightly as her grip would allow.

Kanika started wordlessly in the direction of
a tunnel, so Amber swiftly moved to follow. The sheet made walking
an ungraceful experience, but she wasn’t about to shed it and go
without, especially since she could sense the eyes of all of the
males in the room watching them walk away.

Her gaze swept their surroundings as they
walked. The cave was made out of an unusual, glittering type of
stone in a rosy brown color. There appeared to be a series of
tunnels leading off from the main chamber they had left behind.
Glowing balls of energy floated up near the high, craggy ceiling,
lighting the way. She almost tripped after staring up at them for a
long minute and wondering how they got up there.

It wasn’t long before they entered a chamber
that made her forget all about the lights. It was circular on the
left side but flattened out on the right. The stone appeared to
have been specially carved on the rounded half of the room, as it
surrounded a swirling, bubbling pool of water. Holes on either side
of the pool allowed the water to flow through, a perpetual spring.
An arrangement of colored glass bottles sat on a flat-topped rock
on the edge of the pool, and a series of carved stairs led down
into the water. On the flat side of the room was a wall-length
mirror over a stone vanity. It appeared, due to the nozzles over
the single basin, that it was an operating sink. Immediately to
Amber’s right as she entered the chamber, enclosed in a small stone
niche, was a sight that warmed her troubled heart.

“Please feel free to make use of the
facilities,” Kanika said lightly. “I will be over here when you are
done to assist you with your bath.”

Without bothering to comment on the whole
bathing part of the statement, Amber hurried over to the toilet.
There was no door, but Kanika had walked out of sight, so Amber
dropped her sheet and grabbed her hair to pull it out of her way.
It fell nearly long enough to brush the backs of her thighs and
felt heavy and cumbersome. The earliest opportunity she had, she
was taking a pair of scissors to it.

As she emerged from the toilet niche once
again wrapped in the sheet and started to walk over to the sink,
Kanika moved forward. “You may wash your hands, along with the rest
of you, in the pool. I will assist you. I think it would be
enjoyable for you to wait to see your new form until after we get
you ready for the Becoming ceremony.”

Becoming ceremony? Curse Ini-herit and his
lack of detail!

Flushing uncomfortably, Amber said, “Thanks,
but I don’t need any help.”

Kanika’s dark brows lifted. “But the anointed
bath is a part of our welcome to you, as is the adornment of your
custom-designed clothing afterward. We have been preparing for your
arrival for more than eighteen years.” Sweeping her hands in the
direction of the pool, she said, “All of the oils and cleansers
have been specially crafted for you, as were the clothes and
decorations you will wear. It is our honor to welcome you.”

An image of Mrs. B flashed through Amber’s
mind.
Don’t ever turn down gracious hospitality, child.

Sighing, she nodded in surrender.

Amber was more than a bit relieved when
Kanika added the contents from one of the colored glass bottles to
the pool and golden, bubbling foam covered the entire surface. When
the Orculesti told her to get into the water, Amber removed the
sheet and all but jumped in before the other female could see
anything. Perhaps her modesty was a bit ridiculous, but she
couldn’t help it.

Kanika seemed to catch on to the fact that
Amber wasn’t entirely comfortable with her nudity…or, in point of
fact, the entire situation. So she remained clothed on the edge of
the pool, dangling only her bare feet and calves in the water, and
had Amber situate herself near the edge where she could reach her
to wash her hair.

“You really have nothing to be shy about,”
Kanika said as she selected a bottle from her collection and leaned
forward to gather Amber’s hair for washing.

“Things are different on the human plane,”
Amber responded. “Especially for females.”

“Ah, yes. I have gotten that sense. Some
humans are very peculiar about such things.”

Not knowing what to say to that, Amber merely
shrugged. Kanika expertly gathered her hair and applied the
contents of her selected bottle, gently massaging it into her scalp
and all the way to the ends of each strand. Amber felt herself
relaxing a bit. The scents floating around her were somewhat
familiar. Was that lemon oil? It made her think fondly of her home
in Newnan.