Fire Island: Book 3 of The Chatterre Trilody (Chatterre Trilogy) (19 page)

Chapter 24

Tem-aki and Cameron sat on the rock until the moon rose and the water began to lap against their toes. Cameron looked up at the sky, where stars were beginning to shine. "I think we missed evening meal." He stood up and stretched. "We'd better get back before anyone misses us, or starts rumors about where we've been and what we've been doing."

It took her a moment to understand that he was suggesting that the others might suspect they were having some sort of romantic liaison, instead of sitting on a rock, in view of anyone who wanted to look down at the beach. He hadn't held her hand as they told each other about their families and shared their beliefs, but now, he reached for her hand and helped steady her as they walked to the stairs. Then, he motioned her to go first.

Halfway up, it felt as if the entire stairway heaved and rolled. With a startled shriek, she dug her fingernails into the railing and held on tight. Behind her, Cameron was beseeching someone to protect them.

As suddenly as it began, the movement quit.

Heart slamming, Tem-aki turned to look down at Cameron. "I should have realized this island was seismically active."

"What?"

Forcing herself to relax her grip, she gestured to the distant cone-shaped mountain. "Volcanoes are generally found near fault lines, which are known to be unstable."

Cameron stared up at her. "Volcanoes? Fault lines? Seismically active?" He shook his head. "I don't understand, but can we get off these stairs?"

"Of course." Tem-aki turned and hurried upward. "I should have remembered about the aftershocks."

"Aftershocks?"

When she got to the flagstone-covered patio, she rushed to a chair near the center of the open area. After all, an earthquake could destabilize things, so it was best to stay away from the railing overlooking the ocean as well as the sheer cliff-face above the depression Cameron's home was constructed in.

A moment later, GEA-4 came outside. "That was a four point six," she said in Cameron's language. She then focused on him. "How often do you get earthquakes?"

"Never," he said. GEA-4 tilted her head to the side. Cameron shifted his feet, then added, "Not since I was a child."

"Interesting," GEA-4 said.

"Earthquakes tend to occur in groups, as the ground makes large and small moves," Tem-aki said.

"You know about these things?" Cameron asked in surprise. "Never mind, of course you do."

"I am a geologist, which means I study of rocks," Tem-aki said, mixing words from her native speech in with Cameron's language. "Earthquakes happen when rocks move, so while earthquakes have never been a primary interest, they are part of my knowledge-base."

"When I was young, the ground shook several times over four or five days. Many of the mud-brick structures fell down, hurting the people inside."

"Were you injured?"

He shook his head. "We were out in our boat, fishing and didn't even realize anything horrible had happened until we got back to shore."

"Lucky for you."

"Not really. My father is a fisherman, and he goes out for days at a time."

"That's why you said your father was never around much."

Cameron nodded.

"Pressure in the earth can build up over a long time..." She felt her feet tremble and knew she was feeling an aftershock. "And right now, is a fine example of what I meant about how there is usually a series of earthquakes. The first one is usually a reaction to pressure – either increased pressure or decreased pressure – which causes some rocks to move."

"All earthquakes are a reaction to pressure," GEA-4 said. "But after the first, many consider the later ones to be reactions to the reaction. Another type of reaction is a tsunami."

"Right, I read about that," Tem-aki said.

"What is a sue-nom-eee?" Cameron asked.

"A tidal wave, which can be created when water displaces ground," GEA-4 said.

"So the second ones are always less," Cameron said.

"Not always, but usually," Tem-aki said.

"Too bad we don't know which area had changes."

"On the map, you called the epicenter Dragon Ridge," GEA-4 said.

"How could you know that?" Cameron said, then looked at the stars. "Never mind, I understand."

"Isn't that the area your group was working at, when we met?" Tem-aki asked. Cameron nodded. "Could anything they did have caused a pressure change?" She considered the fact that GEA-4 was the only one, who had come outside very suspicious.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out." With that, he turned and stalked inside.

~o~

Cameron tried to control his temper as he entered the sleeping room and realized that everyone was asleep in their hammocks.

How could they have slept through the earth moving?

Even as he wondered, he realized that if the hammocks could minimize the movement Sirocco made in a bad storm, and allow them to rest, the design would also allow undisturbed sleep if the land moved.

He stood in the doorway, wondering what to do. If there was another aftershock, did he want to sleep through it? Even if he tried to get into his hammock to sleep, after the evening he had just had, and the things he had learned, could he relax enough to sleep?

Learning that Larwin was Tem-aki's brother had made his heart leap in delight in much the same way as it had later leapt in dread when he felt the earth beneath his feet move.

Nolan quietly rose, put on his robe, approached him and then whispered, "Can't sleep?"

Cameron shook his head, then gestured for Nolan to accompany him back outside. Once there, they settled onto seats near the middle of the patio, where he had left Tem-aki and GEA-4. One glance assured him that they were now inside, looking into the glowing skull. Turning to Nolan, Cameron told him everything that Tem-aki had told him, then shared how afraid he had felt during the earthquake. He concluded by asking, "You were at Dragon Ridge. Do you think there is any possibility that something we did could have caused the earth to move?"

"All we did was clear the paths, rake the leaves and pile dead branches for the bonfire." Nolan stretched his neck, causing it to crack and pop. "We didn't take any fireworks and even if we had, I don't see how they could make enough of a bang to be felt here."

"That's what I figured, too."

"So what are you really worried about? That it might have shaken down more deadfall or something?"

"Actually, I hadn't thought about that, but obviously, that could have happened." It was difficult to admit, but keeping his worries inside would be even worse. Cameron cleared his throat. "It's the unknown."

"That is always difficult," Nolan agreed. "In fact, it wouldn't surprise me to find out it was everyone's greatest fear."

"Seriously?"

Nolan nodded. "It is a major reason why I refused to accept the blue cowl."

"You would have made a better high draco than me."

"I don't think so."

"I do."

"That is only because you are having doubts and your thoughts are scattered."

"Are they?"

Nolan snorted. "You are trying to organize the Solstice Ceremony, yet; you have idiots like Varlet to worry about and if that isn't bad enough, you are constantly told by some that the old ways should be ignored. They don't realize that profit and possessions aren't particularly valuable things."

"True. If I'd thought about it, I would have passed on the cowl, too."

"Varlet was third in line."

"Why do you think I accepted?"

Nolan leaned back and crossed his ankles. "If he'd been second, I would have accepted, too. I can't see anyone besides one of us having the faith or temperament to be draco. Can you?"

Cameron shook his head.

"For the sake of the order, I'm glad you accepted." Nolan cleared his throat. "I'm just hoping that the choice is as good for you, as an individual, as it is for the rest of us."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Nolan gave the window where Tem-aki was leaning close to the skull a pointed look. "I know your thoughts and concerns are scattered, but when you told me who Larwin was to her, your entire demeanor changed. It is possible that the creators sent them to aid all of us, but have you ever thought that she only came here for you?"

If he hadn't already been seated, he would have needed to sit down. Could Nolan be correct? If she was here for him, it explained why she felt 'family' was more important than most anything else. And, it could explain why she seemed to know quite a bit about dragons, yet did not seem to completely understand his obligations as the sect's leader. Strange, though, that she seemed to view reverence for the bringers of fire and fertility as a curious thing to venerate.

Did the creators want him to have a family other than the order?

His fingers touched his palm as he remembered how right it felt to hold her hand.

Nolan might have something with this idea. He would think on this some more, but not now. Now, they needed to decide what to do about GEA-4's prediction that the earthquake's center was at or near Dragon Ridge. "I think we need to send someone to Dragon Ridge to make sure that it didn't damage the area."

"Anyone in particular?" Nolan asked.

"Anyone other than Varlet, Malin or Dirk," Cameron whispered, worried that one of them might take the opportunity to create problems – assuming the earthquake's cause hadn't been the result of something they had done. He hated to think that about anyone, particularly someone within the order, but that trio kept offering veiled proof that they wanted to undermine the brotherhood.

Nolan nodded in understanding. "Better to keep an eye on them."

~o~

As Larwin helped her aboard the boat, Nimri felt as if a frantic ball of beating wings was in her stomach. But, when she realized that the golden bamboo mat beneath her feet felt as stable as the dock, most of her anxiety vanished. Next, Larwin handed her Mica's basket, then the staff of power and then the summoning skull, which was packed in a carry-basket like Mica. After she put them in the shelter of the structure on the back portion of the strange boat, he directed her to sit on a swing-chair near the long stick, which he had called 'tiller'. Larwin seemed excited about the tall, straight pine trunk, which he called 'mast' and the long horizontal piece attached to it, which he called 'boom'. What interested Nimri about the boom was that the sheets she and Bryta had sewn together were tied to it along with a woven rope, which appeared to come from the top of the mast.

As her gaze wandered over everything they had created in such a short period of time, she noticed more woven ropes going from the top of the mast, to other parts of the boat, but when she asked what they were for, Larwin's reply was, "They are called lines, not ropes and they are to hold the mast steady."

Nimri scratched her head over why ropes needed to have a new name, just because they had designed a new model of boat, but now, when the last bits were being loaded, was not the time to ask. Instead, she did her best to keep out of the way while Larwin and Thunder put bags and baskets of food on the deck for Raine, Coral and Reed to put away. To Nimri's amazement, they picked up several parts of the deck and put the food under the floor, instead of in the sheltered portion near the tiller.

As she watched, she realized that in addition to putting things below the deck, they also seemed to be somehow balancing the weight, which apparently affected how level the deck was. Obviously, those three had a lot more experience doing this than she could have imagined.

Once the last basket was secure, they put the pieces of deck back in place and even though she squinted, she couldn't see where the lids were.

Amazing.

But what was even more amazing, by the time she finished scrutinizing the decking, Thunder was pulling her sail to the top of the mast with the rope and she realized they were already in the middle of the river, moving toward the rising sun.

It didn't feel like they were traveling, but it certainly looked like the banks on either side were moving.

The movement was peaceful.

With surprise, she realized she could learn to like being on a boat. Relaxing on the gently swinging seat, she watched the shore slip by and realized that they actually might be able to rescue Tem-aki.

It would be wonderful to have a sister...

~o~

Tem-aki watched the two nicest ones slip into backpacks and head for where GEA-4 had calculated the epicenter of the previous day's quakes to be. She had tried to caution Nolan about the potential for more quakes and how she felt that things should be given time to stabilize, but he had merely smiled at her, as she imagined a loving grand-father would, and patted her hand in an oddly comforting way.

Now, she looked at Cameron, to see if he would stop them, but all he did was wish them safe journey. Her eyes narrowed and her tongue itched to say something, but then she remembered all the years when family month was over and they all had to part to resume their individual roles. Was what Nolan and the boys were doing that much different than the way things functioned on Guerreterre?