by Jaymin Eve
I placed a hand on her cool arm to halt her for a second. “Did you collect our bags from the guards before we left the Isle?” I was not staying in these clothes a moment longer.
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Abby. They won’t release them until you leave Spurn; they seem to think that’s incentive for you to behave and to get off the planet in a timely manner.”
I croaked out bits of laughter. There was nothing in our bags but clothes and a couple of first-aid essentials.
“I will get you some netting. It is quite easy to learn the wrap.”
I paused, looking down at Talina. She was wearing a pale blue netting now, but besides covering the essentials, the rest of her skin was bare.
“Are you telling me that everyone is wearing this?” I gestured to her skimpy attire. “All of my friends?”
With a slight grin, Talina nodded. “Uh, yes. Gladriel insisted that if we are to house you, then you must conform to as many of the Spurn customs as possible.” She lowered her head. “Looking at the males of your clan, she might have actually done us all a favor ... for once.”
My heart almost stopped beating. My face went burning hot as I mentally pictured Brace in one of the loin cloth garments. My feet began to move all by themselves. I was just about out the door when Talina’s voice halted me.
“Would you like to change first, before you leave? Gladriel will not allow you to dine unless you are dressed appropriately. She is quite the sea-witch.”
My arm caught the door, halting my pace. Looking back over my shoulder, I saw Talina hadn’t moved and she still had that grin on her face.
“Yeah, sure, that would be great.” I was calm; I would not go breaking my neck to see Brace shirtless.
Talina turned to rummage through a large wooden trunk tucked away in the corner. She emerged with two long strips of black material. I forced my feet to make their way back to the center of the room.
“This color will look stunning with your hair and red marking.” She turned to me, holding the material aloft, her warm eyes sparkling.
She didn’t ask me about my Walker marks, but I could hear the curiosity in her voice. She possessed such an obviously kind nature. I wasn’t a horrible person, but if anyone messed with me or those I considered mine, I was inclined to go all psycho. Talina appeared to be a genuinely gentle soul. Could she really be half-Walker? I didn’t get the impression that kind and gentle was part of their ... our nature. I could open my necklace and test it for sure, but I didn’t want to scare her away before having the chance to explain everything.
“Okay, strip off your clothes.” She gestured for me to throw them into a nearby bucket. “Stand tall and hold your arms out to the side. I’ll hose you down and then we can get these wraps on.”
She produced a large smooth device, like a bucket, but it was in the shape of a half-clam. I discarded my clothes and was turning around to face Talina when she dumped the entire contents of the shell on me.
“What the hell, Talina?” I spluttered as the clear liquid ran down into my mouth.
It didn’t taste like water. Actually, it was similar to the fruit we had been eating here. I was amazed and grateful that it cleared the last clogging from my throat.
“Oh, sorry, Abby. I should have warned you. We don’t generally wash, since we are always in the ocean, but the juice of the cucreamer fruit is our only means of fresh water.”
“I guess that explains why we haven’t needed anything to drink since we arrived here,” I said, sardonically wiping the excess liquid off of my face.
It wasn’t sticky. In fact, when I looked down I realized I was clean, as if it had literally sucked the dirt off as it flowed over me.
Once I was reasonably dry Talina showed me a simple but effective manner of wrapping the soft strips so they covered everything. It was pretty ingenious; they were secure and actually really supportive. She led me over to a reflective surface against the side wall. It wasn’t a mirror, more like another of the giant shells, but it did echo a slightly distorted version of my image back at me. My red and black curls hung loose down my back, and the meshy wraps offered more coverage than a swimsuit. My mark was obvious, even all the way down my hip and thigh. I liked the mesh. I felt liberated, no clothes weighing me down, and they were amazingly soft and light.
Standing there, hair flowing free, Talina and I looked like Amazonian woman.
“Okay, let’s leave; Gladriel doesn’t like it if we’re late for dinner.” Talina’s creamy features paled to a sickly white and her eyes widened.
Every time she mentioned her mother, the brown of her lovely eyes dulled and she retreated even further into herself. I didn’t like it. I wondered what the odds of me making it through a dinner without punching Gladriel in the face were. Low, I’m sure.
I followed her from the room and we moved out to a central landing with a curved wooden stairwell that went both up and down. She led me up to the next level. We emerged out onto an open deck. The moons were in the sky, spanning the four corners. They cast that lovely blue tone. I liked it. It was as if the world was washed clean each night.
The first person I saw was Samuel. He stood stiffly against the railing, staring out over the expanses of the water surrounding us. In the distance, following in a line, looked to be many of the strange flat-bottomed pontoons. Samuel turned at the sound of our footsteps on the wooden decking. Before I could catch myself, I laughed.
He stalked over to me. “Don’t even say it, Aribella. They gave us no choice.”
He crossed his arms over his broad and bare chest. I didn’t bother to look closely. You know, brother and all that. But I did notice the series of faded scars criss-crossing his arms. They were similar to Lucy’s but so much more detailed. Some were the faded pale pink lines of aged scars, others were still a puckered red. I hadn’t expected these physical reminders of his year-long imprisonment. For some reason I’d thought First Worlders healed all injuries.
“Abbs, I’m so glad you’re awake. It’s just spectacular out here. You have to come and see everything.” Lucy bounced over to us.
She was wrapped in baby blue, which matched her eyes. Talina obviously liked to color-co-ordinate. Her curves were highlighted in a really obvious way; she looked like a mermaid from the ocean, blond curls flapping in the winds. I noticed Lucy’s wraps were a little more detailed, hiding most of the red welts on her back. She stopped right before me. Taking a step back, she gave me a once-over. Lucy loved fashion. She never stopped trying to dress me like her own life-sized doll.
“Hot damn, Abigail. You look smoking. It’s not really fair. These wrap things are designed for tall or thin. Not those of us that are ... curvy ... yeah, let’s go with curvy.” Both hands were planted on said curvy hips, lower lip jutted out in an exaggerated pout.
“So what has been happening since the Isle?” I ignored her, while continuing to look around.
I loved this area. The deck was huge, with a few different levels hidden from view. I couldn’t see Brace or Lucas. Not that I was looking for them.
“We dragged your unconscious butt through the water, and Gladriel grudgingly let us board her pontoon. We’re traveling back to the Earon’s territory; apparently Spurns don’t mix in each other’s quadrants for too long. They end up having a hair-color dance-off or something.”
I laughed at the mental images.
“What’s an Earon?” Had that been mentioned before?
Talina took my arm, her other already clutching Lucy. She led us over to an outer deck that spread out over the side of the pontoon. Samuel didn’t bother to follow. He just moved back to where he’d been before. This outer section had no railings, and it felt like we were flying above the water. There was a soft bedding spread out, like the one I had slept on till I woke.
“We are Earons.” She ran her hand through her emerald hair as we sat.
The ocean was calm now, which helped settle my queasiness.
“There are four clans on Spurn. Ba
roons are the blues, the top clan, with the most territory and numbers. Earons are second; Yetle, the golden third; and the Gerks, the grays, are the smallest and least powerful clan. As the leader of the Baroons, Ladre holds dominance over basically all of the clans.”
“Do all of you live on these boat things?” I gestured to the flat-bottomed barges that surrounded us.
“No, not everyone.” Talina shook out her long hair. “Ladre spends most of his time in Silver City, a place under the sea, in the center of the four territories.”
Seriously?
“Let me get this straight.” Lucy sat forward, her face alight, eyes sparkling. “You can live under the sea? Do you just swim down there? What anchors it to the ground?”
“Why don’t you all live there? Is there any way we can visit?” I added my questions.
Talina looked at us. “Hold up,” she said, laughing. “Silver City is a huge underwater structure, built by the Spurns many moons ago. It is encased in a large tensile bubble, blown by the monstrone species.”
I raised my eyebrows, but she continued before I could speak.
“They’re an underwater species, mammalian, like Spurns, but they cannot breathe above the water. They are extremely rare. I’ve only ever seen one in my life. The strongest swimmers can make it down to the city without assistance, while the rest of us use the tube,” her eyes flashed, “and before you ask, if we have time, I’ll take you there and you can see it for yourself.”
Lucy and I sat straighter. That would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“The tube pumps essential air and nutrients down to the city, which means, if allowed, you can visit.” Her wistful expression was trained on the horizon. “I have only been there once. I find it uncomfortable down there.”
“So what’s with you and Ladre, of the blue-hairs?” Her fascination with the only Spurn taller than herself had not escaped my attention.
Talina’s pink skin darkened and her head dropped to a point where I couldn’t see her expression anymore. She answered me while looking down.
“Next to my brother, Ladre is the best Spurn. He has all the power, but I‘ve never known him to abuse it.” A disdainful laugh escaped her. “And if you truly understood the nature of my race, you would understand how special he is.”
“You should tell him how you feel.” Lucy’s eyes locked on Samuel as he continued to stare outwards from the side railing. “Life is short, Talli, and the worst that can happen is a bit of rejection, which won’t kill you.”
I could tell Lucy had to restrain herself from leaving us to stand beside Samuel. My friend was not an individual anymore; she was now invariably tied to another being. I just wished that her choice wasn’t such a damaged man. I could tell that she was struggling to ignore his current distress. She noticed me watching her and smiled.
“It’s just been a stressful few days for him. He doesn’t like to be imprisoned, and seeing me in danger just wigs him out,” she answered too softly for Talina to hear.
Reaching out, I squeezed her hand.
“I can’t.” We both swung around as the words burst from Talina. “If it was just rejection then that’s something I could deal with. But it can never be.”
I had a terrible feeling this was one of those insurmountable segregations of their society.
“Baroons will never mate with those outside; they are afraid to mar the purity of their clan.” She was looking up again now, her voice flat. “And even if once-in-a-land-sighting they did deign to ‘slum it’, I’m a halfling, which is basically worthless here.”
“The clans never inter-marry?”
“What’s inter-marry?” Talina tipped her head to one side.
I laughed. “To be married is like being mated, but for life, and you aren’t supposed to be with any others but the one you marry.”
The ‘supposed’ part was what many Earthlings forgot.
She shook her head, the masses of emerald hair cascading out onto the wooden deck. “No, we never do that on Spurn. We have mating seasons, and some couples will be together for a few of those, but there is nothing like marriage here, we are a species of clans and family but our true nature is more solitary.”
I was just opening my mouth to speak when male voices drifted over to us. The lisping of Raror was clear across the deck.
“... there’s no fishing here. We don’t eat our brethren.”
My heart beat faster as I waited for them to approach. I wanted to pre-picture Brace in the loin cloth, but I didn’t think I could mentally do it justice.
Talina stood. “Gladriel is requesting us for dinner,” she said formally, her face falling.
I jumped to my feet in one easy motion. These mesh wraps allowed such a range of movement. Lucy was already at Samuel’s side. He took her face into his hands, and as their lips touched in what even I could tell was a fiery kiss of passion, I turned away.
Only to find myself staring at a massive expanse of muscular sun-kissed chest.
Every speck of moisture that had been in my mouth disappeared. I tried to swallow once, but my muscles wouldn’t obey me. Brace and Lucas were side-by-side, directly before me, laid out like a gift-from-the-gods. They were twin bookends, one so dark and dangerous and the other icy blond. However, it was Brace my eyes were glued to; it was Brace that for the fiftieth time took my breath away.
“Abby, you should look into procuring more of those garments for your wardrobe back on First World,” Lucas said, speaking in his usual mix of formal and modern.
I tore my eyes from Brace to note Lucas was wearing a plain white wrap, which looked extra crisp against the dark honey tone of his skin. He was lean, but with prominent and well-defined muscles. His chest was virtually hair free; that, or they were so blond I couldn’t see them.
“I have to disagree with Lucas,” Brace interrupted, drawing my attention again. “I think there’s a bit much of your flesh on show.”
I managed not to drool over him as I flipped him off. That level of bossiness should be such a turn-off, but it wasn’t dampening my interest at all.
Brace’s responding grin was dark. But his eyes never left my face. The intensity had me squirming a little. His mesh matched my own in color, and right then all I could do was take as many mental pictures as I could for the future.
You could say that I was very aware that he was an oversized man. More heavily muscled than Lucas, but thankfully just falling short of being bulky. I hate bulky. His height saved him, allowing his grace and agility to carry his muscled chest and arms. But without looking top heavy.
I followed the muscles down, over his fifty-ish pack abs and muscled legs. His skin was tanned, not as honeyed like Lucas’, but still shades darker than my own ivory tone. I caught a smirk from him. Clearly he was enjoying my perusal.
“Are you going to lick him?” Lucy’s low words in my ear startled me out of my daze. “He does look lickable.” She finished with her hands on her hips.
“No!” I blurted out in shock.
Well ...
No ... I shook my head ... no, I wasn’t going to lick him.
“Lucy, you’re not allowed to say any man is lickable, unless that man is me.” Samuel didn’t seem to have the same over-the-top-possessive streak that Brace was capable of; his words sounded semi-serious, but I was pretty sure he was joking.
Lucy winked at him, and her expression was hot enough that I wanted to blush.
Glancing back at Brace, I was relieved to see he hadn’t reacted to Lucy’s comment. I hoped he was far enough away not to have heard. Although, as I took one last glance ...
No, Abby, no licking.
“If you could all follow me downstairs, we have been requested.” Talina stood next to Raror at the highest point of the stairway.
I managed to keep my tongue and eyes to myself for the journey down to the lower levels. More often than not, Brace’s looks clouded my judgment, and I’d forget all the secrets and weirdness. But there was to be a confrontation b
etween us in the not too distant future. I was at my limit of secrets.
Stepping into a large wood-paneled room on the bottom level, I realized that the water movement was much stronger down here.
Gladriel was waiting for us, already seated at her own little table. It looked to be made of coralline. She waved a hand, gesturing for everyone to take a seat on the ground. There were separate padded meshes laid out.
Raror and Talina sat on either side of her while the rest of us fell down in a rough circle.
I watched with interest as a bevy of emerald-hairs entered the room and placed little tables before us. More followed, handing around bowls. I wasn’t surprised to find them filled with the pink fruit; it was a light pastel shade with a creamy seed-filled center, the way I remembered a melon from years before. But then we received a second plate, a type of slimy-looking salad. It held an array of green-toned weeds, which I had a sneaking suspicion was going to taste very salty.
“I apologize for the limited variety of nourishment,” Gladriel started, her arrogant tone not sounding at all sorry, “but we do not eat other than krillonia, cucreamer and the blanch weeds.”
I decided to try the weeds first. That way I could wash them down with the semi-sweetness of cucreamer fruit, which I already knew was edible. The first bite was as predicted: salty with a crisp and crunchy texture, and a tang in the aftertaste. But it wasn’t half bad.
Before I knew it, I’d finished my entire portion. Lucy, looking a little green around the edges, offered me hers. Eagerly I grabbed it; I was starving. I still felt restless. My energy was depleted. I could feel the depths, but I wanted to fill it with something – anything – to staunch the aching hollowness. Before I knew it, all three of my bowls were empty and I was semi-content.
Sitting back, I noticed Gladriel had not touched her portion. She was staring at me, her yellow eyes cold.
“Why have you visited Spurn, and why do you wear that mark?” Her words were hasty, one running over the next.
I sucked in a breath, needing a minute to figure out the best way to broach the subject.
“Well,” I finally said, “I’m here for Talina.”
