Fire Island: Book 3 of The Chatterre Trilody (Chatterre Trilogy) (12 page)

Chapter 16

The scent of night flowers was beginning to perfume the air with their heady sweet scents when Thunder and Raine arrived. Nimri and Larwin were sitting in their garden, watching the sun's dying rays put a halo around the top of the stately sequoia their home was built around, when she heard them talking. It was Nimri's favorite time of day, but rather than relax and enjoy it, she hopped up to meet their unexpected guests. Before he said a word, Nimri knew Thunder had returned because of the skull's strange images. What she didn't understand was why he had brought Raine.

Just as Nimri hugged them both in greeting, Mica wailed from his basket under the gingko tree. Raine's eyes went wide with excitement. "May I?" She nodded toward Mica.

"Of course," Nimri said. Raine didn't need to be told twice. As she rushed toward Mica's spot in the shade, Nimri looked at Thunder and said, "She loves babies."

"I noticed." His eyes softened, as he watched Raine pick Mica up. Immediately, the baby's cries stopped. "Now, they are both happy."

Nimri nodded. "But you didn't bring her over here for baby cuddles, did you?"

"Not totally." He smiled. "Have you and Larwin observed anything unusual in your skull?"

"You know we have, because that's why you're here."

He nodded. "Tem-aki and GEA-4 were with you. When did they return?"

"They haven't."

"Then why were they with you?"

"From my perspective, you were with them."

"Seriously?" Nimri nodded. Thunder frowned. "How could that be?"

"Well, GEA-4 is amazing, perhaps she managed it."

"Is that what Larwin thinks?"

Nimri bit her lip as she shook her head.

Thunder lowered his voice to a whisper, "Does he think what I think? That they are dead?"

Nimri shrugged. "I don't think anyone knows what to think, even Kazza seems fascinated by this."

Looking thoughtful, Thunder scratched his head. "Maybe he is the ideal one to figure it out." Nimri felt her eyes open wide. "What? You don't think so?" Thunder put his hands on his hips. "Have you thought about the fact that it is a skull from one of his long-lost kin, and not a human?"

Nimri put her hand over her mouth, as she gasped at his logic. "Why didn't I think of that?"

Thunder shrugged.

~o~

Tem-aki perched precariously on the ledge of a boulder and stared into the calm water of the peaceful pool. At dawn, when she'd walked along this beach, the water had lapped much closer to the ten-story-tall vertical stone wall that imprisoned the thin sandy beach next to the bay. She wasn't exactly sure why the water was lower, now or why the pool with the colorful fish and strange pincushion creatures seemed peaceful, but GEA-4 had shrugged off her comments with one word. 'Tide.' For now, Tem-aki was just happy to have found a seat where she could look into the water and watch the fish.

Who would ever have thought that something, which she had always thought of as an exotic food, could be so colorful or interesting to watch?

Or live in an environment which smelled like something was decaying nearby?

Some yellow-green fish with bright blue freckles and half-closed olive-colored eyes, had been half buried in the sand under the warm clear turquoise water but five of them were now moving around like some form of strange birds, as they navigated around a purple fan like plant, their one foot wingspans banking like a plane as they made the tight turn.

Suddenly, an orange and white snaky thing lunged out of a hole near the base of the fan and all the flying ones darted away. The patch of pretty flowers nearby snapped shut and vanished into straw-like holes. Tem-aki gasped as she leaned forward.

Suddenly off balance, she shrieked as she threw herself back against the boulder. Her spine hit the solid rock with a thud. It hurt, enough for her eyes to water, but falling into something without oxygen could have been deadly.

Heart pounding and eyes closed, she leaned back against the safety of the solid rock, until her pulse calmed. When she opened her eyes, she was looking skyward into Saphera's questioning gaze.

Tem-aki jerked in surprise and nearly launched herself into the water. She dug her bare toes and fingers into the rough rock and told herself that Cameron would not allow the cat into his house, if it was dangerous. That didn't calm her slamming heart, but she did manage a ragged breath.

When she dared to look back up, Saphera was lying down, chin on crossed paws with ears pointed forward as she stared down. Tem-aki gulped. "Are you happy?"

Saphera cocked her head to one side.

"Are you going to lie there and stare?"

Saphera blinked.

"You are, aren't you?" If she hadn't been afraid that launching herself into the water meant death, she wouldn't feel so threatened. Still the creature's body language didn't appear menacing. But that didn't mean she was any less trapped. "Why am I even trying to talk to a dumb beast?"

With a snort of disgust, Saphera lunged to her massive paws, dove over Tem-aki's head and landed in the water. She then casually paddled toward shore.

Tem-aki held tight to the rock so she wouldn't fall in after the cat.

When her heart finally stopped slamming against its imprisoning ribs, her fingertips were slick with blood. Carefully, she climbed back up the massive side of the rock and made her way toward shore. Once on the other side of the massive rock, she saw that the dry sand she had walked over to reach the boulder was now awash with water.

She stared at the shifting, rippling water.

How deep was it?

If she hopped down, would it suck her feet down, like the shallow water she toyed with most mornings?

Tem-aki swallowed her fear, but the lump in her throat remained.

Was it her imagination, or was the water traveling farther up the beach with each wave?

Brow furrowed in concentration, she remembered that today was the first time she had ever noticed that dry sand touched this particular lump of granite, as she walked the beach.

Worse, the water seemed to be rising minute by minute.

If she didn't move, now, she might be stuck here. Standing up, she hiked up the robe's voluminous fabric and leaped as far as possible, then ignoring the sucking sand, she ran for her life.

~o~

Cameron watched a moray eel stick its head out of a yellow coral head, and at the same time, avoid a cloud of small, bell-shaped jelly fish, which were transparent except for the four purple circles each of them had in the middle of their bodies. Closer, a school of orange, purple and pink fairy basslets reminded him of sparks from a fire, as they darted and swirled among the coral.

Hearing a splash, he looked up and saw Tem-aki, robe hiked up to her waist, exposing beautiful, long legs, running from the boulder, where she had been observing life in the tidal pool.

As she sprinted past, he noticed panic etched on her normally calm face. Cameron stood up and prepared to confront whoever had frightened her. But no one seemed to be in pursuit.

More splashing in the tidal pool drew his attention away from the beach, but it was only Saphera toying with the moray eel. Cameron sighed and wondered if he would ever be able to convince her to leave it alone. It had been seven years, since he had noticed Saphera harass the moray the first time. He had felt choking fear when he saw her jaws so close to the eel's poisonous flesh, yet he had managed to shake off the horror of what might be and shout at her to leave the thing alone.

Of course, Saphera had ignored him then, as well and the hundred other times he had warned her about touching the creature.

The strange part was that, even on the occasions when her jaws clamped onto a moray and she tossed it out of the water, she never appeared to show any signs of poisoning.

Not seeing anything unusual chasing Tem-aki, Cameron jumped down from the boulder and headed toward the stairway to the cloister. Despite Tem-aki's tendency to avoid speaking, she did say an occasional word or two, and if she was as upset as he suspected, perhaps she would finally talk to him.

Feet mounting each step with determination, he climbed the tall, steep stairway, which was anchored in a crevice of the sheer rock wall. On the patio, the novices were working on decorations and entertainment for the forth-coming Summer Solstice Ceremony, which would begin at Dragon Ridge with the next moon cycle.

A nasty-sounding laugh echoed among the other voices. Recognizing Varlet's tone, Cameron paused to listen to what the misfit, who only seemed to like people, who were either exactly like him or those who tried to curry his favor, was laughing about. Since a major premise of their faction was to accept others and treat everyone as they wanted others to treat them, Cameron had been surprised when Varlet passed his initial training phase.

He was even more surprised that in the months since Varlet had been under his own supervision, the initiate had not done anything which was punishable by expulsion. Varlet had come close to the line, yet he had never actually crossed it.

Hearing no more laughter or derogatory comments, Cameron resumed climbing the steep stairs. Now, instead of wondering why Tem-aki had looked so terrified, he wondered if Varlet or his syncopates had done something to terrify her. Much as Cameron would like to believe her haste to return to his home had something to do with wanting to watch their solstice preparations, in his heart, he knew she did not have any interest in the most important project any draco could ever be assigned to oversee.

In the 1066 years since his ancestors came through the Star Bridge, each eighty-two year-cycle end had been a special time. Had Tem-aki and GEA-4 arrived because this year's Summer Solstice marked the end of thirteenth cycle and the beginning of the fourteenth?

For the first time in his life, Cameron wondered if being in charge of officiating at the celebration would be good or bad.

Whatever it was, it was his responsibility.

As the preparations on the patio came into view, Cameron's gaze sought Tem-aki, but he only saw Varlet. The typical group surrounded the tall, wide-shouldered man. If Varlet didn't have shifty eyes and thin, angry lips, he would be handsome and if he had a more caring heart, he would eventually be a good draco. Unfortunately, Cameron doubted that Varlet would ever become a good draco and realized that as long as the man kept just inside the regulations, there would never be just cause to dismiss him.

Perhaps it would be wise to think of a reason for him to resign.

~o~

"Shine a light from the back, so the light comes out of the eyes," GEA-4 said as she held the candle to the back of the crystal-quartz skull. When the interior of the skull began to glow, she added, "It activates the power."

Tem-aki frowned. "What is the purpose?"

"I believe it might act as a dimensional door."

"You think we passed through to a different dimension?" The high-pitched note hurt her own ears, almost as much as the thought that she might have ended up somewhere from which she could never leave.

"It is a possibility."

Tem-aki stared at the crystal-quartz skull. On other worlds, it would be viewed as a masterpiece of art, with no special powers, except its ability to captivate the viewer's interest.

Could it be a way to communicate with her brother, even if he was in another dimension?

If so, it was a miracle that she should use, not complain about because this form of communication was not exactly what she wanted.

So what if Larwin wasn't in front of her and she couldn't speak to him? So what if she didn't know where he was or where she was. She'd spent most of her life not knowing his actual location because, as a Shadow Warrior, his missions were top secret.

She had a way that she could communicate with him, and she needed to figure out how to use it.

Heart pounding, she turned to GEA-4 and told her what they needed to have available the next time the skull connected with Larwin.

Chapter 17

Tem-aki watched Nolan, the kind gray-haired grandfatherly-looking one, instruct Benji, the energetic, young one with freckles, how to chop onions, tomatoes and peppers. Guerreterre's food was processed in factories on whichever world produced it, so she had only seen what the vegetables looked like in pictures and holograms. The reality of cutting onions was not only an eye opening affair, it was an eye watering one, too.

Benji's eyes were watering so badly that he nicked his finger.

Nolan hustled the boy over to the bamboo tube that ran a continual stream of water into a large bowl and washed the injury clean, then applied pressure to the cut flesh. All the while, Nolan calmly spoke to Benji. To Tem-aki's surprise she understood the essence of what he was saying, so apparently GEA-4's most recent additions to the language program were working.

Nolan tied a thin strip of fabric over the cut, then Benji finished cutting the vegetables into small cubes. Once that was done, they moved to the crude iron stove, which they had stocked with twigs, and lit on fire prior to cutting the vegetables.

Benji hoisted a large, shallow black iron pan on top of the hot surface and threw in a glob of yellow goo, which Nolan called butter.

The goo started sizzling and melting. Nolan grasped the pan's crude handles with a thick piece of fabric, then tipped it one direction than the other, as he explained to Benji that the bottom needed to be coated. Tem-aki thought the idea of goo being called a coat was strange, but Benji seemed to accept Nolan's advice. When the liquid was in a thin layer over the bottom, Nolan poured all the cut vegetables into the hot pan. A delicious aroma sizzled into the air.

Tem-aki's mouth watered so much that she had to swallow.

As instructed, Benji used a wooden spoon to spread things evenly, then began breaking eggs into a bowl. Once they were all broken, he added milk and began to energetically beat the mixture. Twice, he stopped beating the egg mixture long enough to stir the cooking vegetables, then when Tem-aki could see air bubbles in the eggy mixture, even from across the room, Benji poured it over the mouth-watering vegetables the pan, plunked a lid on top and grasped the big pan with the thick cloth as he moved it to a cooler part of the stove.

That apparently done, Benji stacked plates and eating sticks on the serving counter while Nolan sliced bread. Without being called, everyone began filing into the large, rustic kitchen. After what Tem-aki calculated to be fifteen minutes, Nolan removed the lid, letting a delicious aroma into the room. He then used the knife to cut the gelled egg and vegetable mixture and began ladling a serving onto each plate.

Cameron didn't need to tell Tem-aki to get in line.

He got in line behind her, and, as he had done so many times, said, "I wish I knew why you came to me."

However, for the first time, Tem-aki understood what he was saying. She turned to look back at him, surprised that he wanted to know the same thing she did.

Benji put a slice of bread on her plate and Nolan put a big spoonful of the eggy mixture on top of it. As she walked to her place at the table, they did the same thing to Cameron's plate. His words kept circling in her mind. 'I wish I knew why you came to me.'

As he sat in the chair opposite her, Tem-aki softly said, "I wish I knew why, also."

Cameron looked like someone had tasered him. "You spoke!" Staring at her, he sat down hard. "Do you seriously not know why you are here?"

Everyone was staring at her.

Tem-aki gulped and wondered if it was proper to nod or shake her head. "I do not know where here is. I do not know why am here."

All but one of the men looked shocked. She looked from face to face, wondering why they were suddenly looking at her with such strange expressions. Why did Varlet's expression look smug?

"You really don't know why you are here?" Nolan asked, as he sat down on the only empty seat. Turning her attention to him, Tem-aki shook her head.

She swallowed and tried to remember the word for brother. "I try find Larwin."

"What's a Larwin?" Nolan asked.

"Is it a dragon?" another asked.

"Why does she call dragons larkins?" someone else asked.

Cameron simply stared at her, his brown eyes confused.

Tem-aki cleared her throat. "I look for him for three years."

Cameron's forehead furrowed. "Larwin is important to you?" She smiled and nodded. His frown deepened.

~o~

Cameron shoveled down his breakfast omelet without pausing to savor it. Conversation ebbed and flowed around him and though he knew that most of it focused on the day's preparations for the upcoming Summer Solstice Ceremony and planning a trek to Dragon Ridge to begin setting up the festivities, his thoughts kept coming back to 'Larwin' and how Tem-aki's face had softened when she'd said the name.

Though she had not said so, he knew from her soft expression that 'Larwin' was a man.

Despite the fact that Nolan's special omelets were his favorite food, breakfast was tasteless and dry. Cameron gulped some coffee to wash it down, and burned his tongue.

Meanwhile, Tem-aki sat across from him eating her food with gusto, and examining several bites, as if she'd never seen food before. Of course, she did that frequently. Was the food here so different from heavenly fare?

And who was 'Larwin' to her?

Furthermore, how could a celestial being lose someone, because that was exactly the impression she had given them about why she was looking for 'Larwin'.

Cameron's teeth ground together.

"You're making Benji feel bad," Nolan whispered.

"Huh?"

Nolan leaned close and spoke softly, so his words did not carry, "The way you're glaring at your plate, stuffing food in your mouth and chewing, as if you don't want to taste it." Nolan sighed. "Benji was so proud to make breakfast, but now..." his words trailed off.

"Sorry," Cameron said. And he genuinely was sorry for making the kid feel badly. "I was thinking of something else."

"I thought as much." Nolan relaxed. "Planning for a major event like this is a burden... and between you and me, knowing this year was the end of the current eighty-two year cycle, is one of the reasons I asked not to be considered for the office of high draco."

Cameron forced his muscles to relax and focused on the conversation. "I wish I had thought ahead, instead of being so honored by the offer, that I immediately accepted." He didn't know why he had assumed the position of high draco would focus on people's individual problems, when with each advancement he had been given, he got further and further from individuals. While he could understand why each promotion became more political and about organization, for some reason, he had assumed that he would still have the satisfaction of helping, and be able to see the results of his time and efforts.

He sighed, as he realized that instead of seeing smiles on the faces of people whose name he knew because of returned health or an improved crop, his results were bags of decorations and canisters of fireworks that would make this cycle ending/beginning a Summer Solstice Ceremony that would be remembered long after he passed onto the next phase of existence.

And, he'd been sure he was in the right place and it was the right time, for him when Tem-aki and GEA-4 had emerged in the Protected Place.

Now, he wasn't so certain.

And now, he wondered who 'Larwin' was and why he was so important to Tem-aki.

Was 'Larwin' the reason why she walked the beaches every morning and stared into the distance some mornings and the depths of tidal pool on others?

Was 'Larwin' more important than the preparations for the coming celebration?

Apparently, so, since she never sat down to help with any preparations.

Seeing Nolan watching him, Cameron focused on smiling and relaxing his muscles, then pretended to enjoy breakfast. He doubted that Nolan was ignorant enough to believe his act, but Benji's stiff posture relaxed, so apparently his body language was believable.

Tem-aki ate her last bite, then got up from the table, rinsed her dish, and then headed outside. Presumably to go to the beach and look or wait for 'Larwin'.

~o~

"The tip of the peninsula appears to be an extinct volcano," GEA-4 said.

"You thought that the original place the big boat was at was the site of one, too," Tem-aki said.

"That is true, however, the area under the original site is still heated." GEA-4 made a very human gesture as she pointed at the distant dark brown mountain, which stood in stark contrast to the cloudless blue sky. "While that is not." The dark, cone-shaped hill overlooked the narrow entrance, which protected the vast harbor-area from the white-topped waves of pounding water beyond.

"I can't see any of those strange hexagonal stones over there. It's a shame that I don't have access to my lab, that data would probably be fascinating. In fact, it might even be a new form of mineral."

"What about the life signs? Do you believe it is possible for a mineral to be a life-form?"

Tem-aki shrugged. "I think anything is possible, until its scientific properties are proven or disproven."

Staring across the calm water, she studied the cone. Volcanoes were fascinating places, particularly the cool ones, which were often excellent sources of gem-stones and other minerals. However, there was no easy way that she could see to get over to the extinct volcano, so there was little hope of finding out any answers to that mystery. However, she could analyze the pools that appeared when the water level went down. Each pool seemed like it was an entire eco-system full-throttle in an explosion of life, yet when the water returned, each one became visually inseparable from the bay.

"Will you finish processing the slate and calcite by this afternoon?"

"The project should be finished in three hours."

"Excellent, we can test it after lunch.... Let us hope the idea works."

GEA-4 gave a curt nod, then turned her attention back to polishing the slab of slate.

Unwilling to think of the hundreds of things which could go wrong with her communication plan, Tem-aki hiked her robe up to her thighs, took out her tricorder, waded into the water and focused on the black-spiked things scuttling in the sea grass closest to her. Shortly after morning meal, she had watched the three youngest yellow-robed boys laughing and splashing in the shallow water, as they played a game with the spiny creatures. Using odd spoon-shaped sticks, the boys had expertly scooped up the bristly balls and tossed them into a basket on shore.

She expected them to dump them back, once their game was over, instead two of them grabbed the basket's handles, while the third had carried the three scooper-sticks toward the stairs.

Did they want those creatures for their pins?

Her tricorder showed that the spiny balls were poisonous. Tem-aki inched backwards, toward shore.

Obviously, the boys had collected the oddly pretty balls because they were trying to make the shore safe.

A large shadow passed overhead. Tem-aki looked up in surprise. Seeing the belly of a bloated, golden beast, she gasped and jumped backward.

Her foot landed on a spiny ball, driving the barbs in deep. With a shriek of fright and pain, Tem-aki fell backward into the knee-deep surf. Water surged over her head and into her nose and mouth.

Flailing screaming, and choking, she fought against the water and the sudden dragging weight of the golden robe. All thought of the thing in the sky was temporarily lost, as she struggled to breathe.

Suddenly, hands grasped her under the arm pits and she was pulled upright. Blinking water out of her face, she saw GEA-4 tow her the short distance to dry shore.

"Thank you for saving me."

"All you needed to do was stand up."

Tem-aki pointed to the three spines protruding from the sole of her foot. "Those are why I fell."

GEA-4 picked up her foot with one hand and expertly extracted the spines with the other.

It felt like fire was moving from the sole of her foot to her knee, then the flames licked higher. Tem-aki closed her eyes and gritted her teeth against the screams of pain, which welled in her throat.

~o~

Cameron hummed a cleansing mantra as he sharpened the tiny, curved blade on the special stone, then, washed the small knife in hot, soapy water to sterilize it. Switching to a preparation chant, he grasped the first sea urchin. with a pair of eating tongs and cut a round opening in its top with the knife, then he passed it to Emmet.

Picking up the mantra, Emmet grasped the dangerous, spines with his own pair on tongs, and began to scoop out the tongues of sea urchin with a small bone spoon. As quickly as Emmet disgorged a succulent morsel, Tristan rinsed it in the stream of cold, fresh water, then put the cleaned bit into the heavy red ceramic bowl. Meanwhile Benji added minced onions and chopped cilantro to the bowl. Nolan sliced bread, while he watched them.

Cameron frowned, wondering what was missing, then put down the tiny knife and looked for Varlet. He spotted him outside, leaning over the railing, laugh lines obvious on his face. "Varlet, you need to add the olive oil and lemon juice," he called.