Island Tango (Silver Goddess Series, Book One) (9 page)

A moment later, Herculea felt tremors rock her body violently
,
and she screamed into the fresh air and rain as Pedro pushed harder to heighten her climax.  She moaned with each tremor that coursed through her and sighed in delight as she felt him reach his own intense pinnacle.

They lay together in silence, their bodies still intertwined at every angle, sweat and rain soaking their bare skin.  All that could be heard was their irregular breathing and the drift of the wind through the trees.  Herculea slowly and reluctantly came back to reality, unable to believe that she was lying in the wilderness in Brazil with a virtual stranger.  She looked over at him.  His eyes were closed, but the continued irregularity of his breath
ing
told her that he wasn’t sleeping.

Affectionately, he caressed her sweaty hair, and she felt an uncomfortable twinge of self-awareness.  She tried to move away, but he wouldn’t let her.  Instead, he placed a hand on her cheek and leaned down to kiss her shoulder.

“Stay lost with me.” He urged in a tone that bordered on pleading.

Herculea fought the impulse to
present him with a litany of questions that had no place there.  She wanted to enjoy this indulgent sense of being lost just a little bit longer.  So she again pushed her intellect aside and snuggled close to Pedro’s heart, resting her cheek on the matted hair of his solid chest.

A halo of afternoon sun was dipping underneath smoky clouds when Herculea finally stirred again.  Rubbing her eyes and pushing her bangs away from her still sticky forehead, she realized that she had fallen asleep in Pedro’s arms.  It had been a
deep
and dreamless sleep, and she felt more like she was awaking from a coma than a nap as she fidgeted against him.  He opened his eyes and squinted for a moment, then smiled as he looked over at her.

“Good morning?  Or afternoon…
or evening? I really have no idea.” He mumbled in a groggy voice.

“I think it must be close to sunset.” She conjectured, gazing at the patterns in the sky.

“Then we should go have dinner.  You must be starving.” Pedro shifted and reached for his clothing strewn across some twigs next to them.

At the mention of the word “dinner” Herculea’s stomach rumbled.  All she had eaten that day was fruit.  She looked down at her partial nudity, her dress twisted around her hips.  She readjusted her dress and stood up self-consciously.  Now she was wide awake and painfully aware of how vulnerable she had allowed herself to be.  The whole setting seemed surreal
.  S
he looked away from Pedro.

“Your house is that way, right?” She asked, pointing east.

“Yes, it is.  Let’s go.” He zipped up his pants and took her by the hand.

It was quite a hike to get back to the house.  Herculea had forgotten how much ground they had covered earlier in the day.  When they finally reached the house, Herculea felt weak and in dire need of a wholesome meal.  Against her vegetarian beliefs, she found herself craving a plump, juicy steak with creamy mashed potatoes swimming in salty gravy.  And a glass of full-bodied red wine. Herculea began to salivate at the succulent meal she had created in her imagination.

She trudged behind Pedro up the staircase leading to the patio and followed him inside.  The
stepped into a large den.
  Mahogany furniture and forest green walls occupied the masculine space.  There was a bar table with a decanter of what looked to be cognac.  It was surprisingly dark and windowless in the room, and Herculea did not notice any lamps or other electronics.

As though reading her mind, Pedro said, “The only electricity I have here is the freezer.  It seems a waste to have other modern conveniences since I’m here so infrequently.  Call me a survivalist.”

Herculea’s head began to spin with a combination of hunger and discomfiture.  She felt the need to be alone and collect her thoughts.  And remember her mission here in Brazil.  She did not want to spend the evening with Pedro.

“I think I should be getting back to my hotel.” She blurted out as Pedro whipped around to face her with a stern expression.

“Why would you want to go back to your hotel?  I’m going to take you to dinner.” He said tightly.

“It’s been a long day.  And yesterday was a long day too.  I think I’m jet lagged.”

Yes, Herculea thought.  That was a revelation.  The reason she had fallen asleep outdoors in broad daylight with a semi-stranger at her side was her jet lag.  Well,
that
and the mind-numbing sex that had preceded it.  But it was mainly the jet lag, she thought.  It was so unlike her to let her guard down in front of someone she did not know or trust.

Suddenly, she could taste the mango juice on the tip of her tongue. Alarmed, she recalled the slight bitterness of the drink.  Maybe he really had laced it with alcohol and that’s what caused her to be intimate with him and sleep so soundly afterwards.

“I guess we could have dinner at one of the hotel’s restaurants.” Pedro suggested, not seeming to grasp her desire to be alone.

Feeling violated, but not wanting to discuss it, she protested, “I’m just so tired.  And this is a business trip for me, after all.  My time in Brazil is limited, and I have to get some strength back to do my work.” Herculea spoke decisively, not caring at the moment if she offended Pedro.  She was not his prisoner.

“Oh, yes.  You are going to interview some
c
apoeira artists
?” Pedro asked with a hint of condescension in his voice.

Herculea hesitated before replying.  She did not want to go into detail about her search for the Silver Goddess, but
she would see if Pedro could at least point her in the direction of Vinova.

“Actually, there’s been a change of plans.  I want to find the Silver Goddess and
observe her life on the Island of Vinova.  I’m planning a research project
.”

Pedro’s face froze in visible shock.  “Are you crazy?” He boomed.

Confused by his reaction, she simply exclaimed, “What?!”

“You cannot do that.  You don’t know how dangerous she is.  And you cannot reach her island by ordinary means.  It’s impossible.” Pedro spoke quickly and irrationally.

“You’r
e the one who told me about her!  And you told me to try to find her!
  I’m an
anthropologist
, a scientist of humans.  If this woman really exists, I am going to find her
and study her
.” Herculea said stubbornly.

“Do you know how ridiculous you sound?” Pedro snorted cynically.

In that
insulting
moment, Herculea shut down.  She would not tell Pedro anything else about her plans.  She just hoped he would drive her safely back to the hotel.  They were in the middle of nowhere, and she would not be able to hail a cab.  Hitchhiking would be the only option to get back to Rio, and
that was far too dangerous.

“Please take me back to the hotel.” She said quietly.

“I don’t understand what’s wrong with you.  You could have a romantic stay in Brazil with me.  I can show you the best this country has to offer.  Instead, you want to go on some wild witch hunt.”

Pedro shook his head angrily, as Herculea heaved an impatient sigh.  Before Herculea could open her mouth to argue with Pedro, a golden glimmer caught her eye from across the room.  Sitting on a coffee table was a thick hardcover book decorated with gold calligraphy.  Intuitively, Herculea knew it was somehow important.  She walked a few steps towards the table so she could read the book’s title.  As soon as her brain processed
the words, she gasped in horror:
The Immortality Abyss
.

“
Why do you have this book
?!” Herculea demanded before Pedro even realized what she was referring to.

“What book?” He asked, following her eyes to the table.

His reaction was disturbingly calm and calculating.  “Oh, that book.  Would you like to read it?  It would be good information for your research project.”
He said sardonically.

“Why do you have this book?!” Herculea repeated hysterically, remembering again the strange mango juice she had drunk just hours earlier.  “Did you slip something into my drink?”

“Yes, a little rum.” Pedro admitted.

“How dare you?” She burst out.

Herculea didn’t understand why he had felt the need to spike her drink with rum. 
If he wanted to get her intoxicated and into bed, he could have easily done
so
in San Francisco.  They didn’t need to fly halfway around the world for him to seduce her.  Something wasn’t adding up.

“I don’t know what kind of head game you’re playing with me, but I am going to ask you this one more time.  Why do you have that book?” Herculea stood with her hands curled into fists at her sides, waiting dete
r
minedly for a truthful answer.

Pedro stood for a long, pensive moment staring at the floor.  He shoved his hands into his pants pockets and nodded his head resolutely.  Herculea sensed that whatever he was about to say would be
devastating
.

On a shaky intake of breath, he
admitted
, “I have that book because I am immortal too.  Just like the Silver Goddess.”

Herculea stopped herself from interrupting, although her heart began palpitating as the import of his words
took
effect.  He continued in a sorrowful voice.

“Long ago
, at the beginning of the twentieth century, I was a happy man.  And I was in love. 
Mathilda
---the Silver Goddess---
and I had been together for
a few
years, since we were about your age.  When we got into our forties, she started to fear growing older.  And so did I.  When we were traveling through Brazil, we found that book.”

He pointed menacingly to the tome that sat on his coffee table.  “The spell promised eternal life
,
and foolishly we let ourselves be bewitched.  We lived for a while on the Island of Vinova.  But things were never the same again.  It just wasn’t natural.  Our love died, and one day she banished me from the island.  I have never been back since then and cannot ever return.” Pedro hung his head in misery.

“Yes, t
he Silver Goddess.” Pedro muttered maliciously.  “She
was my sweet Mathilda
before
we conducted the spell, but after we became immortal, she chose
silver as the paint of her eternity
.”

“
The paint of her eternity? What does that mean?”
Herculea asked, confounded.
“And why silver?”

“
I
never knew why she chose silver.  And I don’t care now.  All I know is that I am doomed to live forever.  No reprieve.  No oblivion.  Just endless days ahead.  It’s enough to
drive a man insane.
 
The Immortality Abyss
warned of misfortune, but I didn’t believe it.  I thought eternity would be perfect.
”

Pedro twisted his fingers into locks of wavy hair and
yanked masochistically. 
The nurturer in Herculea wanted to comfort him, but she was too afraid.  Reeling with the information he had given her so far, she felt like he still had more to say.

“Is there anything else?” She asked
expectantly.

He looked at her with the same brazen intensity that had first captivated her in California.  “Yes.  I want you to spend eternity with me.”

Herculea backed away in horror as he continued, “Please don’t be scared.  I know you didn’t directly consent.  But I think you will understand my predicament.  I cannot possibly spend eternity alone!  For
almost a
century, I have been searching for
a
woman to convert to immortal status and be with me forever.  Herculea, you are that woman!  I will not search for another hundred years, or another hundred days!  You are the one.”

For all of her adult life, she had dreamed about hearing a man tell her she was the one.  But it sounded grotesque under these circumstances.  His words
were
hollow to her ears, like air escaping from a stray seashell.

Clinging to the last thread of her composure, Herculea looked unblinkingly into Pedro’s eyes and asked, “What have you done?”

He averted his eyes towards the coffee table where the book rested, but said nothing.  Herculea would not tolerate his silence.

“What have you done?” This time, she asked the question through gritted teeth, refusing to take her eyes from his face.

She would stare him down like an animal all day and night if that’s what it took to extract an answer from him.

“Tell me!” She shouted.

Pedro squirmed under her gaze and continued to focus his eyes on the book.

“It was in the juice.” He whispered.

“What was in the juice?
The rum?
” She asked slowly and deliberately.