“I like you.” She attributed the lapse to her still precarious condition. “We should go. I’d prefer to reach Baghdad as soon as possible.
Lil didn’t know whether Dana believed her or not, but getting her to agree to travel was another argument. Dana insisted Lil needed to rest, but Lil didn’t want to be alone in the desert without her men. She was afraid what might happen to Dana if she became incapacitated. It was only when she pointed out their lack of security that Dana agreed to move. Again, Lil had to lean on Dana’s shoulder, unable to completely support her own weight.
As much as Lil had determined to push onward in her quest, her body refused to cooperate. Lil barely managed another quarter of a mile when she had to stop and catch her breath. Lil refused to look at Dana as she wiped the sweat from her brow. Dana surprised her by throwing the pack at Lil’s feet.
“This isn’t working,” Dana sagely pointed out. She squatted and started tugging at the bottom straps on the pack. “I couldn’t carry many supplies so I decided on the shelter half instead of the sleeping mat you suggested. Now, I’m glad I did.”
Until Dana loosened the low-lying tent from the pack, Lil hadn’t noticed the heavy canvas material. She was grateful for Dana’s foresight. Used by the military for combat-type situations, the shelter half would house two people although there wouldn’t be a lot of room to move around. At least it would provide them some protection from the elements and the bugs.
“I’d argue that we need to keep moving, but something tells me I would lose.”
“You’re damn right you’d lose,” Dana snarled unexpectedly. She kept her back to Lil as she yanked the straps loose. Dana set up the tent with sharp movements that easily communicated her anger.
“Are you upset that I didn’t tell you who I really am or that you had to watch me die?”
“Yes!” Dana stopped trying to set up their shelter to confront Lil. “Yes to both of those. I get that I probably wouldn’t have believed you about who you really are. Whatever. But after you were shot…you knew your injuries were fatal. You had to have. You should have warned me then what would happen.”
“And still you would not have listened,” Lil said calmly. “You would have blamed my words on a delusional mind, a misconception based on denial of my impending death.”
“So I just had to see it to believe it?”
“Exactly.”
Dana turned away quickly, but not before Lil saw the glint of tears in the moonlight. She set the tent up, keeping her back to Lil throughout the procedure.
“I’m sorry for upsetting you. My only excuse is that trust doesn’t come easily for me. There are a great many who would happily profit from discovering my true identity.”
“Do you think I’m one of those?”
Lil couldn’t interpret Dana’s quiet tone. She sensed the question was loaded with subtext and her answer would determine any future relationship with Dana. Lil didn’t even have the benefit of an expression to go on since Dana wouldn’t look at her. Weak, tired and uncharacteristically vulnerable, Lil stopped trying to steer the conversation. She decided to reply truthfully. If Dana chose to leave afterward, that was up to her.
“If I thought you were one of those people, I never would have asked you to join my expedition.”
Dana finished fumbling with the equipment and knelt beside Lil. She still seemed tense, but not as angry. “Let’s get you cleaned up. You look like something out of a zombie apocalypse movie.”
Lil wasn’t sure what Dana meant, but happily complied. The gore-stiffened shirt dropped onto the sand, revealing bruised flesh from multiple bullet wounds. The wounds had already knit back together in many places, but others still seeped. Dana used a fresh, clean bandage and some of their water to cleanse Lil’s skin.
“It looks like some of the bullets punched all the way through. The holes in your back haven’t closed up completely. How’s your breathing? I can hear whistling sometimes when you inhale.”
“It’s a little uncomfortable,” Lil admitted as Dana applied gauze pads to her back. “I think my lung was punctured, but it’s healing. How are you holding up? Your voice sounds…odd.”
“Hum? Oh, I guess I’m just feeling a little numb. I keep expecting to wake up from a bad dream any second now.”
The comment unexpectedly hurt more than her lacerated heart. It had been a long time since someone compared Lil to a nightmare. That the remark came from someone she was growing to care for stung more than Lil wanted to admit. Lil gritted her teeth to refrain from speaking further as Dana helped her change into clean clothes and crawl into the shelter. Lil stretched out on her back and rested an arm across her eyes, hoping that conversation was finished for the night. As the silence ensued, Lil concentrated on reaching out mentally. The hush from Imani Bah was just as complete as that within the tent.
“What are you doing?”
“Excuse me?” Lil expected Dana to assume she was trying to rest.
“You seem tense.”
“I am in pain.”
“Sure you are, but is that all there is to it?”
Lil sighed. “No, that isn’t all. I’m trying to contact one of my women.”
“One of your women?” Dana asked incredulously. Lil sensed Dana roll onto her stomach though she couldn’t really see anything in the dark. “Is that some kind of chauvinistic euphemism?”
“Not at all. I have several women who work for me.”
“And you’re trying to contact them how, exactly? Osmosis?”
Lil frowned at the laughter in Dana’s tone. “No, telepathically. I am able to communicate with them through a mental bond.”
“Why didn’t you do that before? What are they saying?”
“They are saying nothing,” Lil admitted. “I’m unable to reach anyone. Apparently, my injuries are still too severe for me to make the link.”
“So, you have to be well to reach anyone? That’s not much of a gift if you’re in trouble.”
“This much I know,” Lil mumbled.
Lil quieted again and attempted to focus once more. She took slow, even breaths, relaxing her muscles as she reached out mentally. Lil felt a tenuous tingling, a hint of a tendril of thought snaking outward over the continent. She chased the thread, sure that at any second she would reach Imani.
“How many women do you have working for you?”
Lil lost the link. She scowled. “Uh, seven. One for each major continent.”
“Really, that’s all? Why wouldn’t you have more? Some of the continents are pretty big. Do you know them all personally or is it some kind of job that’s passed down as people die? Do you choose them yourself?”
Lil was having trouble keeping up with the questions. She had expected this rapid-fire interrogation earlier and thought the time had passed. “I assure you, seven are enough. Yes, I chose them and know them all personally. Not just anyone can fulfill this role. They do not die until or unless they no longer serve me. Zoe Yates handles Australia, Camilla Romero is in South America, and Imani Bah is in Africa. Imani is closest to our location and it is she I am attempting to contact. Any other questions?”
“How old is the oldest one?”
“Imani was born in eighteen seventy-six. Why?”
“Just curious. Have you reached anyone yet?”
Lil finally lost her patience. “How am I supposed to contact anyone with you continually asking questions?”
The abrupt silence made Lil feel a little guilty for snapping at Dana, but she didn’t apologize. She tried to reach out again, slowing her breathing and attempting to follow the bond toward Imani. The wind blew grains of sand against their canvas shelter and the night cooled as time passed. Lil’s wounds took their toll and lulled her down into a healing slumber.
****
Dana awakened to the sound of voices. For a split second, Dana tensed in irrational fear that the insurgents had returned for them. She relaxed when she realized the voices weren’t raised in anger and there were no sounds of gunfire.
From what she could tell, there were only two speakers and both were female. She easily identified Lil’s voice, but not the words since she spoke in an unfamiliar language.
Her first instinct was to race out of the shelter in the hopes that someone had come to their rescue. Dana had already risen onto her knees and started for the exit when she suddenly hesitated. After what she’d learned about Lil the night before, Dana wasn’t sure what she’d find waiting for her outside. What if it was an angel, or a demon, or another supernatural being?
Preposterous, she quickly discounted. There were no such things. Right, and Dana had imagined that Lil returned back to life after being perforated like a pincushion by several high velocity rounds.
She pulled the edge of the shelter half aside far enough to peer outside without being noticed. Dana squinted against the bright sunshine. Once her eyes adjusted, she saw a dark-skinned woman speaking with Lil not far away. The stranger was a lot shorter than Lil, barely reaching her shoulders. She wore colorful African garb including a bright orange and yellow head wrap. The woman nodded at something Lil said and then glanced in Dana’s direction. Her sudden smile made Dana think the stranger knew she was being watched.
Suddenly, the woman raised a hand in a parting gesture and simply…vanished. Dana rubbed her eyes, shook her head and scanned the immediate area. She jumped back slightly when Lil entered the shelter very much alone.
“Was that the woman you told me about? Imani?”
Lil settled onto the sand beside her and reached for the water canteen. “Yes. I was able to contact her a short time ago.”
“So you’re better then?”
Lil sipped the water and nodded.
“That’s it? That’s all I get?”
“What further answer do you require?”
“Look, can you just try to talk like a real person? I want to know what’s going on. Is she going to call in the troops and how in the hell did she vanish like that?” Dana was way past patient. She was frustrated and wanted answers to a hundred different questions all at the same time.
“No, Imani isn’t going to call in the troops. She is, however, sending a truck to come and retrieve us. She’ll see that arrangements are made to get the expedition back on track so that we may continue our search for the artifact.”
Dana waited, but Lil didn’t say anything about the people she’d lost in yesterday’s attack. “And the vanishing trick?”
Lil seemed to weigh her response, her jaw working as she chewed on the words before responding. “I’m able to translocate…”
“Translocate?”
“Instantly move from place to place at will. I’ve shared that gift with the women who work for me, although they tend to have a more limited maximum distance.”
“Anywhere? Then why haven’t you just transported us to safety?” Dana was confused and getting pretty cheesed. She couldn’t understand why Lil put them through all this if she had the ability to relocate them anywhere in a wink.
“I can’t do it when I’m injured,” Lil snapped, seeming to finally lose her own composure. “My body had to heal and that is where all of my energies were focused.”
“Okay, that makes sense, but what about Muhammed and the others? Is she going to send anyone for them or is that just their tough luck? Oh well, they’re dead and it’s time to move on? How heartless can you be?”
“Of course I care,” Lil snapped, showing some emotion. In the time Dana had known her, Lil rarely appeared anything but completely composed. “Imani will ensure that the men are retrieved and their families notified. Not that it has anything to do with you, but Muhammed was my friend. His loss pains me deeply and his family will be well compensated for his loss.”
“But?”
“But, he would understand. I have to find the dagger.” Lil’s voice dropped to a whisper and she refused to meet Dana’s eyes.
“Will you tell me what’s so special about this artifact? I get the archaeological significance of such a find, but why is it more important than the people you’ve lost? I think I deserve to know the answer.”
“Does it matter?”
“It does to me,” Dana answered honestly.
Lil shifted around, clearly weighing her response. “The dagger, at least that is what I’m assuming the artifact is, has the power to end my life. Permanently.”
“Are you kidding me? We’re doing all this because you want to die? Wasn’t last night enough for you?”
It seemed that dying once would be enough for anyone. Dana couldn’t understand why Lil would want to experience that again on purpose. Most people avoided death at all costs. On top of that, the idea of suicide was completely unfathomable.
“Dana, how can I explain this in such a way that you comprehend? How can I describe the never-ending torment of living for eons, of seeing everyone and everything you have ever loved perish? My fate has never been my own. The dagger will end my life for good. At least that is my hope. I just want it to end.”
“Oh, I understand all right. You’re a coward.”
Lil surged up onto her knees, unable to stand inside the low-slung tent. “How dare you? You have no idea what it’s like—”
“To live for centuries? No, I don’t, but I know giving up when I see it. You’ve been given an amazing gift.”
“This is no gift, it’s agony!”
Dana wasn’t convinced. She’d never considered the chance of living forever, but the possibilities were endless. “Think of the things you’ve witnessed: the building of the pyramids, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon…”
Lil nodded. “The Black Death in Europe, the Salem witch trials. Believe me, Dana, there is more ugliness in the world than beauty.”
“If that’s all you’re looking for,” Dana allowed. “A gift is what you make of it, Lil. You say your fate was never your own, but I don’t think that’s true. Eternal life is just as much a blessing as a curse, but you’ve decided to see only the negative. How can you be so blind to the wonders all around you?”
“Now you sound like Samael.”
“Who?” The name sounded familiar, but Dana couldn’t quite place it.
“The Archangel Samael. He is the closest thing I’ve ever had to a true friend. Although he can be extremely frightening at times.”
Dana smiled. Ironic how she’d just been thinking that angels were imaginary. “An angel, huh? Haven’t you ever had anyone to love?”
“Of course.” Lil sounded offended, which only amused Dana even more that she could get a rise out of the normally stoic woman. “Unfortunately, love can never last. Death, at least for most people, always comes.”
“It’s not about that. It’s about the feeling, the love you share with another. Most people only experience that once. You’ve had countless opportunities, and I guess,” Dana hesitated as the truth occurred to her, “now I know why you’re afraid to keep living.”
“I’m not afraid. I’m tired,” Lil argued. “I’m tired of loving so completely and losing everything. No matter how hard I resist, it always happens again.”
The air suddenly felt heavy between them. Dana had the oddest sensation that Lil wanted to say more. She remembered the look that passed between them a few nights ago. She had watched Lil across the campfire, struck by her beauty and the way Dana had started to feel for her. That night, Dana thought there could be more between them. She’d forgotten about that in the excitement of trying to survive an insurgent attack and watching Lil die. Lil’s words reminded Dana of the chemistry between them.
Dana reached out and cupped Lil’s cheek, overwhelmed by the urge to show Lil that life was always worth trying. To her surprise, Lil leaned into the touch. The tear that tracked down Lil’s cheek proved her undoing.
Dana caught the moisture with her thumb. She leaned forward and touched her lips to the humid trail. Lil gasped, the puff of breath sweet against Dana’s mouth. Magnetically drawn, almost against her will, Dana closed the slight distance and kissed her. Lil’s eyes c
losed and Dana felt her soft, silent moan. A sharp sensation of arousal flooded her midsection and Dana attempted to deepen the kiss. She touched the tip of her tongue against Lil’s closed lips, anticipating that she would open her mouth. Instead, Lil pulled away.
“It could happen again now,” Dana whispered, lowering her defenses entirely to show her desire.
“No,” Lil grated in a trembling voice. “I can’t watch someone else I care for die. I know you think I’m a coward, but I can’t go through this again.”
Lil pulled away and exited the tent, leaving Dana alone with her whirling emotions. Anger warred with hurt and arousal. She wanted to argue with Lil, to force her to admit that some things were worth the risk. Dana had just started out into the desert heat to pursue the topic, whether Lil wanted to hear it or not, when a truck rumbled toward them.
A heavy black cloud belched from the truck as it roared to a stop, carrying the stench of burnt motor oil. Lil refused to look at Dana as she spoke to the driver. The man didn’t appear too savory, or freshly showered for that matter, and spit a brown stream out in an arc from the truck window. Lil gave a few sharp directions and then headed for the passenger side. She climbed aboard and left the door hanging open.
“Are you coming?”
Chapter Eleven
Gravel and loose sand shifted beneath her boot soles. Lil appreciated the crunching sound, a muted counterpoint to the violent cacophony of distant bombs and sporadic weapons fire. Rebel insurgents fought somewhere a few miles away. They weren’t any threat to Lil, at least not physically, but she couldn’t help blame the unrest for her current predicament.
Because of the random AT4 strike on her convoy, Lil’s men were dead, her equipment lost and the other divers she’d contracted scattered to the four winds. The trio had decided that the Cradle of Life was decidedly bad for their health and longevity. Now Lil was in a demolished section of Baghdad late at night searching for a contact. The mysterious man sent her a note in the hotel bar, via the waiter, to say he had associates who could provide security to get her expedition back on track. She had yet to determine how this mystery man had learned of her need in the first place.
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