Fire Island: Book 3 of The Chatterre Trilody (Chatterre Trilogy) (4 page)

Chapter 5

Tem-aki's fingernails dug into the craft's golden sides, as she held on for dear life. With each stroke, the tiny craft moved forward, the front point dipped down, so water sloshed over GEA-4's bedraggled form, as she perched in the small bow. Tem-aki looked over her shoulder at Cameron, whose back was toward their destination and wondered if she should bring his attention to the problem.

But how could she ask him if it was safe to have GEA-4 sit there?

Would GEA-4's weight sink them before they got to the big boat?

Seated on the bottom, in the middle, and getting damper with each stroke, Tem-aki's stomach cramped against the flimsy little boat's unsteady motion, and her fingers dug deeper into the fragile reed sides. She shut her eyes tight so she didn't need to look at all the water surrounding her.

What had she been thinking, when she allowed a man wearing a long, flowing dress to talk her into getting into this unstable thing?

And, had she understood him properly, when he pointed to the other boat and explained that was where there was food?

How would she possibly be able to eat anything if the other vessel also felt like it would flip over at any moment?

Cameron knelt in the stern and hummed a cheerful-sounding tune as he propelled the unsteady thing backward.

Hearing a big splash, Tem-aki risked a peek, to make sure that GEA-4 had not fallen in, but the 'droid was fine and to her surprise, the big furry animal was swimming next to their craft. For some reason, she had thought it would stay on the safe solidity of the rocks.

Obviously, she had been incorrect.

She glanced forward and was surprised to see that their destination was much larger than she had expected. In fact, it looked like it was at least two stories tall. She frowned and wondered why anyone would float a building. Then she remembered all the odd roundish things on Kalamar, which she had determined were homes and shops, so perhaps if a world had water, having buildings float was common.

The good news – or perhaps it was the bad news – was that their destination did not resemble anything she had observed on Kalamar. So wherever she was probably was not in that quadrant. Now that she thought about it, she realized she had not catalogued any volcanic activity, old or new, on Kalamar, and she certainly hadn't observed anything with the bizarre readings like the big, rocky, octagonal-shaped things on the land.

Her tricorder had given similar readings to the octagons as she had gotten from the walls of the old salt mine, but the truly strange part was that there was also a reading that indicated life signs.

Where was she?

What happened to Thunder and Raine?

Would she ever see Larwin or their parents, again? Not that she'd ever seen much of them to begin with; Guerreterre culture evaluated children on their third birthday and then sent them to the appropriate training facility. She had only been a year old when Larwin had left the security of home for military school, and did not have memories of him living at home. But she cherished her memories of the four-week-long breaks they had shared each solar revolution, when they went home to their parents.

A thump brought Tem-aki back to the present and the reality that she was surrounded by water. Fortunately, they had arrived at the sleek golden side of the big boat. Unfortunately, Cameron was gesturing for them to precede him up a weak-looking rope ladder. Tem-aki swallowed, but the lump of fear remained. "GEA-4, can you climb that?" she managed to ask.

"Affirmative." The droid surged to her feet, which sent the boat wildly rocking. Tem-aki screeched and dug her broken nails into the small boat's sides. GEA-4 grasped the woven fiber and bamboo ladder and hoisted her weight out of the boat. The tipsy craft bucked like an unbalanced mordike and she was sure she would be pitched into the deep, dark water.

Instead, the motion calmed. She opened one eye, then both and looked around, only to see Cameron's hazel eyes looking at her as if she was the oddest thing he had ever seen. Would he find her reaction as strange if it was his first time in a boat, which moved in unpredictable ways, all threatening to pitch him into unbreathable water?

At least he wasn't laughing.

Tem-aki took a deep breath and told herself that if the flimsy ladder had held GEA-4's weight, it would hold her. And if the droid could climb it, even though she was still severely damaged, so could she. She took another deep breath, then loosened her grip on the small craft with the hand closest to the ladder and grasped it. In reaction, the small boat moved. Quickly, she half stood and grabbed the ladder with her other hand, then, before she had a chance to let her fears overwhelm her, she climbed as fast as possible, while wearing a space suit and chunky boots. Which meant that she slipped with every movement, until the ladder miraculously moved away from the golden side of the big boat, so that she could get a secure foothold.

Glancing down, she realized Cameron was holding it out, and anchoring it. Smiling her thanks, she turned her attention to the climb. Once she got to the top, flat deck, she threw herself aboard, kissed the smooth golden surface and vowed that if this boat was as stable as it seemed, she would never leave it.

With that plan in mind, she began removing her space boots and suit.

~0~

Cameron took his time securing his dory to Sirocco's side and wondering why the deity had left Draco Shakura's staff of power in the dory. And now that he saw it in the light of day, he was positive it was Draco Shakura's lost staff. Reverently, he leaned forward to touch the magical wood. Immediately, power raced up his arm.

Why would she leave something so important behind?

He pondered that mystery so long that Saphera heaved herself onto the dory, gave herself a good shake, which soaked him to the skin. Then, she stood on her hind legs, braced her front paws on Sirocco's deck and vaulted aboard.

From above, there was a scream.

Catching the ladder, as the dory shot backward, he scrambled to the deck to see what the problem was.

Saphera's sudden appearance was probably what had startled Captaintemakiatano, but he couldn't be sure.

Once Cameron could see above the deck, he stopped transfixed by the sight of the strange turquoise skin hanging from her body as she stared at the open doorway to his cabin.

Saphera was nowhere in sight, which meant that she was probably hiding under the table in his galley.

Now he could see that the turquoise layer was some strange form of clothing. And, since it was half-torn away, he was positive that Captaintemakiatano was a female. Thankfully, he could also see that she appeared uninjured, so he assumed her scream had been a response to Saphera leaping aboard.

Captaintemakiatano's scream had apparently terrified his dear companion, and she had probably done what she always did in such a situation. Hide.

Taking her attention from the galley door, Captaintemakiatano calmly began pulling at the strange azure layer. There was no blood and her expression didn't appear pained.

Obviously, the stuff was removable.

Clothing?

Judging by the methodical way she was moving, he was inclined to think it was the most likely possibility.

The shedding of the turquoise layer revealed a glimmering silver layer, which was very similar to the ill one's attire, which made him wonder about their relationship. Were they from the same group, or was the silver layer coincidence?

As he silently watched, Cameron was reminded of a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, except for the fact that she didn't appear wet or have wings. At least none that he could see from his vantage point.

Knowing that she was all right, he quickly stepped back down, grabbed the staff of power, then climbed aboard, nodded to Captaintemakiatano, as if seeing a creator's emissary disrobing on Sirocco's deck was normal, and hurried to the galley to check on Saphera and prepare their mid-day meal.

Chapter 6

Thankfully, the larger boat was steadier than the small one had been, so Tem-aki was able to eat the food the strange man offered. As she chewed the dark bread and chunky whitish thing, which he called 'sandwich', she studied Cameron. If he put on normal clothing and got his shaggy hair cut to a normal length, he would probably be quite handsome. For certain, his food tasted wonderful. Perhaps long hair was typical here. Thunder's hair had been worn long too, but Cameron didn't have any tiny braids with beads and feathers, so the style was different. Perhaps the braids weren't as important as the hair's length and it fashionable, on this planet, for males to have long hair.

And if so, she might actually be on Thunder's world, but that didn't explain why GEA-4's language program hadn't worked.

Again, she thought of Thunder's dark hair, which was well past his shoulders with four small braids, two near each ear, which blended in with the rest of his thick hair, except for the beads and feathers decorating them. She studied Cameron's hair, which was a similar dark brown/black color, but there was no sign of any tiny braids. Aside from the color, there didn't seem to be any similarities, so she might be wrong about being on Thunder's world.

And their clothing was decidedly different.

Which might mean that she would never see her brother, friends, or her parents, again.

Tears blurred her vision and the sandwich threatened to come back up. She clenched her jaws, closed her eyes and tried to focus on calming thoughts. Several minutes later, when she finally felt like she might be back in control of her emotions, she sighed and opened her eyes.

Cameron was staring at her with a worried look.

"I'm fine," she said, as much for her own sake as his.

His expression didn't change, so either he still couldn't understand her or he didn't believe her. He chewed his lower lip and glanced from the food left on her plate to her. Did he think he'd made her ill? If so, would he stop providing food and shelter?

Tem-aki tried to smile assuringly and took another bite of the too-sweet red gel-food.

Cameron's concerned look calmed somewhat, but not entirely. How could she assure him that her roiling stomach had nothing to do with his strange food and everything to do with her uncertainty over her future?

Whoever Cameron was, he obviously lived wherever here was and knew how to survive in this water-infested environment. She needed that knowledge.

After she figured out how to survive here, she could figure out if she could find a way to either find Larwin or a way to get back to Guerreterre.

If anyone had ever told her that she would be sitting at a table that was on a boat, which was surrounded by an unimaginable quantity of water, she would never have believed them. Yet, now that this impossible-to-predict situation had happened, all she could think of was how to get back to her waterless home-world.

While a cup of water was wonderful, when there was enough to drown in, it was evident that even marvelous things had a point where they became a liability. Until this moment, if anyone had told her she would ever think such a thing, she would have laughed at them.

Tem-aki gave Cameron another smile and thanked him for the food. Just because he had found her, had not obligated him to help her, much less feed her. At least he hadn't tried to clothe her. She glanced at his shapeless saffron-gold toe-length dress. If the males of this world dressed like that, what did the females wear?

The feline took that moment to crawl out from under the far end of the long table. Huge as the black and white creature was, it seemed timid, which was as reassuring as it was curious.

Why would something that had teeth bigger than her pinky and claws that looked capable of shredding the flesh from a madrox fear her?

Tem-aki looked down. The feline, which he had called a Saphera, was studying her with intelligent blue eyes.

Gooseflesh rippled over her.

~0~

Cameron didn't know what to think about his unexpected guest. At first, he had thought she and her companion had materialized in response to his prayers.

Now, he wasn't so sure.

His attention moved from the one with matted golden hair, who was poking at her berry sorbet, but not really eating it, out the open door to the damaged one, who stared at the sun, with sightless, silver eyes. Uneasiness rippled through him.

Perhaps he made Captaintemakiatano uncomfortable. If so, Cameron didn't know if he should sit down and eat with her, or leave her alone. Since his stomach was clinching with stress, it wasn't wise to try and eat. With a gesture to Saphera to follow, he went onto the deck to meditate or at least try to figure out why the smaller one was so obsessed with sunlight.

He sat on the deck, his back to the mast and Saphera plopped down next to him, as they studied the ill one. The more he watched her – at least the curves made him believe it was a her – the more he realized this one was even stranger than the tall one. While there were traces of soot from burning and several slashes in her skin, there was no sign of blood. Furthermore, if he or anyone he knew had been hurt that badly, their bones would have been laid to rest.

Could this one, and perhaps the other, be demons instead of the creator's emissaries?

His mouth went dry at the thought, but it made a horrible sort of sense. The damaged one didn't seem to understand, or fear, the burning power of the sun. Which probably meant that she had never seen one previously. That probably meant they had come from the underworld.

A sudden chill made him shiver.

Saphera put her massive paw on his lap and began to purr.

~0~

Now that the cat and man were no longer staring at her, Tem-aki could eat with her fingers instead of the strange, slick slicks, which had been provided, so she made quick work of the too-sweet food. Then, with nothing else to do, she watched the odd pair stare at GEA-4 and noticed that while they did not speak, they seemed to be communicating. The feline hadn't spoken to her, either, but she had not considered that strange.

Now that she thought about it, though, it was odd that the only time she had heard Draco Cameron O’ryan speak was when he had given her his name and that of Saphera. All their other communications, assuming you could call gestures and facial expressions communication, had been silent.

For the first time in her life, Tem-aki wished she had taken more of the social studies classes, which explained why individuals behaved the way they did. Instead, nearly her entire curriculum had targeted earth-sciences and eventually centered on rocks and minerals. While her education had prepared her well for doing the geological survey she had been in the middle of when she initially spotted the rogue madrox, it certainly had not prepared her for wherever she currently was. And it didn't help her understand why Draco Cameron had moved close to GEA-4 or why he seemed to be inspecting the repair she had done on the circuit at the back of the android's neck.

She watched with interest as he fingered GEA-4's shredded uniform. Primitive as the cloth his own robe was made of, she wondered what he thought of the high-tech fabric and if he understood how catastrophic the event had to have been to rip and burn the protective fabric.

As he fingered the material, Cameron got a strange expression on his face. Suddenly, he grabbed GEA-4's face in both of his hands and seemed to stare into her face. Tem-aki jerked out of her chair and shouted, "Don't do that to a droid!" But, GEA-4 had already grabbed Cameron and flung him away.

Within a blink, he disappeared over the side of the boat. Tem-aki sprinted to the rail, but Saphera beat her, and dove into the horrible water.

Oh Keus, now she needed to help them both!

But how?

She stared at the ripples expanding over the water. Her education hadn't prepared her for anything like this, either.

Tem-aki whirled to confront GEA-4, who had resumed solar-recharging. "Did you need to throw him overboard? He is the only one here who knows how to exist wherever here is! I needed him. But you didn't think about that, did you? Of course not, all you need to exist is to stand in sunlight." Tem-aki glared at GEA-4. "Well, do you have anything to say for yourself? Can you show me where to find food or other humans?"

"There is no need. Draco Cameron O’ryan knows how to swim as do most on this planet."

"I beg your pardon? Are you suggesting that you know where we are?"

"We are on the planet we were headed to."

"Larwin is here?"

"On this world."

"And you can take me to him?"

"Negative."

"Then how do you know where we are?" Tem-aki slapped her forehead, at her stupidity. Now that the 'droid was able to recharge, of course, she had taken the opportunity to do a celestial survey to determine location. "Never mind. Dumb question."

Hearing the sound of splashes, she rushed back to the railing, where she was grateful to see Cameron dragging himself onto the little boat. He had lost the bulky, blue collar and the robe's gold fabric now clung to his well-toned physique. If he was that fit, why had he hidden his body under the ridiculous tent of a garment?

Cameron sat down in the small boat and appeared to either catch his breath or be deep in thought.

A moment later, Saphera rocketed out of the water, landing lightly beside Cameron, then gave her huge body such a shake that she resembled a fountain. As more water dripped off Cameron, she casually hopped onto the deck next to Tem-aki, then sprawled in the biggest pool of sunlight, put her chin on her crossed paws and stared at GEA-4.

Now that she knew that neither had drowned, Tem-aki moved away from the railing and looked around the big boat, as she wondered what to do.