ICE BURIAL: The Oldest Human Murder Mystery (The Mother People Series Book 3) (11 page)

Zena
took the tall cup and drank deeply of the warm liquid.
“
It is good,
”
she said gratefully.
“
I thank you.
”

“
The people here make it,
”
he explained.
“
We must learn to make it ourselves. Too much, though, has a strange effect.
”

“
What does it do?
”
Zena
asked, glad to be distracted
from her thoughts
.

Lief
smiled.
“
It makes people act crazy,
”
he said.
“
They stum
ble and fall and
cannot think properly.
”
He staggered around the clearing with a comical look on his face, demonstrating.
“
S
ometimes they cannot walk by themselves and must be
held up
by their friends,
”
he added, and made them all laugh with a vivid description of the three people he had met on his travels to the south. He
mentioned only the humor in the situation, not
the man
’s
scarred face
or the woman
’s
pale eyes
or his own sense of unease,
lest th
ey
upset
Zena
further.

“
Do not
give her any more then,
”
Hular joked.
“
We need
Zena
to think well right now if she is to save this child.
”

The remark made them serious again, and
Zena
answered soberly.
“
You are right, except that I cannot save the child alone. It is a task for us all. Still, for all of us to go to the village where it is to be born might arouse suspicion. I will go first to see what I can learn while you finish the trading here, though perhaps one of you could come
with me
, whoever is not needed in the trading.
”

“
I will come with you,
”
Lief said immediately. The determination in his voice was evident to all, and no one argued. Lief was a good choice anyway, since he had come as a guide more than as a trader and would
be able to find the
village better than any of the
m.

Sorlin, who loved going to new places,
sighed heavily. “I do not think I can come. I must
get back to my young ones as soon as the trading is finished.
”

“
Do not
worry,
”
Hular assured her.
“
Durak and
I will join
Zena
and Lief as soon as we are finished here. By that time
Zena
will know more.
”

“
I hope I do,
”
Zena
answered, feeling doubt rise again. She pushed it away
and spoke without thinking
.
“
There is a way to prevent this horror from coming to pass,
”
she said forcefully.
“
We have only to think of it, and then we will know what to do.
”

The words seemed to have burst out of her from a place she had not known, and she was astonished. So were the others.
They had never heard
Zena
speak
in such a forceful way
before.

Lief, however, was not surprised.
It was as Larak had said:
The
power is there, waiting to be released
. He wondered if
Zena
heard his thought for she gave him an odd look. Again, their eyes held; then she turned away, frowning a little. Her cheeks were very pink.

Lief smiled to himself.
  The fire is there, too,
Larak had warned
.
He
hoped at least some of it
would be directed at him.

CHAPTER
SEVEN

The next day, Lief and
Zena
set out for the village Mara had mentioned. Lief was pleased that no one had questioned his decision to accompany
Zena
. He wanted badly to have
time alone with her. They still had hardly spoken together, but the few words and looks they had exchanged had told him that they understood each other well. He was also certain now that
Zena
was as attracted to him as he was to her
.
The flush in her cheeks and the tautness of her mouth told him that. Still, he must be patient
.
When the right moment came, he would know.

Zena
’s
voice broke into his thoughts.
“
I
do not
know where this village is, only that we must go west to find it,
”
she explained as they climbed the steep slope above Mara
’s
village. Her voice sounded strained and self-conscious even to her own ears, and she was irritated with herself. Whatever was the matter with her?

“
I think I know where the village is located, though I
have not
been there before,
”
Lief answered pleasantly. He wished he could help her relax
in his presence
, but perhaps that was impossible. The tension between them was fierce and strong and until it found an outlet, it would continue to plague them. The thought made him stiffen with desire.

Zena
sensed that he was trying to help her and her irritation at herself increased. She had to stop behaving like a nervous child. Even more, she had to concentrate on the task before her and not
let
her attraction
to
Lief distract her.

“
I
do not
know when this child will be born, either, except that it is soon,
”
she went on determinedly.
“
We are constantly watched, so Mara and I
have not
been able to speak again.
”

“
I, too, have been watching,
”
L
ie
f answered dryly. He wondered if she was aware that
a good part of
his watching was devoted to her. Her reply told him she was not.

“
I as well,
”
she admitted,
“
but I think your eyes are sharper than mine. Tell me what you have observed.
”

“
Or I am less watched than you,
”
L
i
ef corrected with a smile.
“
I have seen that the Leader and Korg are preparing for a journey, perhaps to the same village we seek,
”
he went on more seriously.
“
I have seen that there is an understanding between them that I cannot grasp, that Korg controls the Leader in some way, even as the Leader seems to be in charge, believes himself
to be
in charge. What this means, I
do not
know.
”

Zena
nodded.
“
I
think you are right.
It is as if Korg makes it possible for the Leader to speak as he does, to influence the people. But how does he do this?
”

“
That is what we must discover,
”
L
i
ef answered.

They were quiet then, saving their breath for the steep climb. High peaks tipped with snow rose on either side of them, glittering in the sun; here
,
in the meadow
s enclosed by the mountains, the
greenness
of grass and bushes pre
dominated, and the pervasive scent of flowers. A string of small lakes, milky turquoise from the glaciers that fed them, dotted the slope;
above them small swift birds, as blue as the lakes themselves
, swooped and darted fearlessly.

When they reached the last lake they stopped to drink, and the water was so cold they had to warm it in their hands before their throats could swallow it. They went on, over the next pass, breathing hard but
hardly
aware of their exertions, so magnificent was the scene.
Zena
thought she could go on forever in such a place, where there was so much peace and beauty. She
suspected
L
ie
f must feel the same, for his eyes roamed ceaselessly over the landscape, and there was a look of total contentment in his face. She felt the contentment come into her as well, and some of the tension
left
her body.

Another, higher pass loomed ahead. They sat for a moment to rest
on the soft moss between the rocks
, and watched a huge bird settle on a nearby
boulder
. Its fierce yellow eyes stared at them, unblinking, as it arched its head to preen its feathers. Then, with a loud rush of wide-swept wings, it took to the air again. Higher and higher it rose, soaring in ever-widening circles until it disappeared from sight.

Zena
sighed.
“
I would like to do that,
”
she commented,
“
to fly far above the land, to see all that is below me and to soar into the clouds.
”

“
One day perhaps it will be possible,
”
L
i
ef answered, to her surprise.
“
After all, if a bird can fly, why can
we not
learn how to do it as well?
”

“
We have no wings, no feathers,
”
Zena
objected.

Lief
laughed.
“
That is true, but even if we did they might not help, as I discovered. Once, when I was a child, I came across a bird like the one we saw
. It was dead, and o
nly the wings were left. I attached them to my arms with resin and strong ropes and jumped from a high rock.
”

“
What happened?
”
she asked him, eager as a child to know. Lief looked at her upturned face. She is all right now, he thought, relieved. He looked a moment longer, wanting to know every curve of her face.

“
I fell,
”
he answered, laughing again.
“
But I still think it might be possible,
”
he added with a serious note in his voice.
“
I must just understand better how to do it.
”

Zena
smiled, thinking of the small boy with wings attached to his arms. It was an appealing image.
“
I think you were very brave,
”
she said.
“
And clever, to think of such a
project.
”

“
Just curious,
”
Lief
answered.
“
I have always been curious about everything. Many times, my mother told me she was afraid for me because I
was so
curious.
”

“
I think it is a good way to be,
”
Zena
answered, defending him.

Lief
did not
answer, but his
dark
eyes expressed appreciation. Except they
were not
really dark,
Zena
saw, looking more closely, but a blue so dark it looked almost black. Nor was his face guarded as
it
often
seemed
to be
.
Was that because he felt at ease with her even if she
did not
with him?

The desire for him that she had tried to ignore
all through the journey
returned, even stronger now, and she felt her face flush. She turned away, angry at the fair skin that made her emotions impossible to hide. She always blushed - when she was angry or embarrassed or anything else, and it was annoying!

“
We must go,
”
she mumbled, rising
to her feet
, but
Lief
did not
move. Her discomfiture amused him but he also found it endearing. His fingers itched to caress those flushed cheeks, the slender body, but he held them back. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her, but he must be careful, must not rush her.

“
There is one way in which we can almost fly,
”
he remarked instead.

“
How is that?
”
Zena
asked, glad of the distraction.

“
In Akat,
”
he
replied
.
“S
ometimes in
the act of love
, if both people understand each other well, I am told this is possible
, though
have not experienced it myself
.
”
His voice was even deeper than usual, and
as
soft as a caress.

“
Nor have I,
”
Zena
answered, her lips stiff as she t
ightened them
to control their trembling.
Not looking at him, she
reached down
for
her pack. He had
removed
his tunic
to bask in the sun and the gleam of his bronzed skin caught her eye anyway.

Lief
rose
in a swift movement
and
clasped her arm, forcing he
r to face him. He could see the need on her face; feel her desire palpable against his own even as she struggled to push it away, and a joyous
delirium
filled him.

“
We can do this,
”
he murmured.
“
For many days now, I have felt that it would be so. And so have you, have you not?
”

Zena
’s
eyes flicked up to his for a moment. Did he mean now? Here?
“
We should go on,
”
she mumbled, but even to her own ears her voice sounded uncertain. His hand felt so warm and the long fingers were so gentle on her wrist...

“
Yes, we should, but we need not go right now.
”

Lief
looked into her face, and
once again
his voice was as soft as a caress.
“
This is the place for us,
Zena
, here among the high peaks, where both of us love to be. Did you know I came here for those peaks as well as to know more of you? I could not live away from the mountains and I could not rest until I had found you. Once I had seen you I knew I had to come to you.
”

“
To me?
”
Her voice was only a whisper.

Lief
did not
answer, only touched her face with his gentle fingers. The desire was so strong now
Zena
thought she would burst with it. Her legs shook and she sat
down again
abruptly, knowing that this time they really
would not
hold her up any longer. Lief lowered himself to the ground beside her. Every motion he made was graceful, she thought, and wondered at what he had said. Had he really come here for her?

Slipping her garment from her shoulders with a fluid gesture, he drew her against him, reveling at the smoothness of her skin, at the heat that rose between them.
She sighed
deeply, finally beginning to relax.

“
Imagine now that you are a bird,
”
he murmured as he stroked her arms, the length of her body, with delicate fingers,
“
not a large one that hunts, like the one we just saw, but one of the graceful swallows that darts effortlessly above the fields, the lakes and streams. As my fingers touch your arms, imagine the feathers there, soft and strong, that allow you to fly; as I stroke your body, imagine the wonderful bursting strength that will propel you into the skies. There, you can feel it, can you not, in a secret place deep inside you? Close your eyes as my lips touch them and know that they are the eyes of a bird that sees all as it soars, feel the bird plunge toward the earth as my mouth covers yours, then rise again with the fluttering wing-tips that are your fingers...
”