Beyond the Garden

by S. Y. Thompson

  “Maybe we’re looking at this all wrong.”

  “How so?” Dana asked.

  “We know that over time erosion can bury entire cities. Perhaps the Garden does lie to the north near the Faw harbor.”

  “So, what? We pretend to anchor off of Faw and dive around the edges of the harbor? Would it be deep enough?”

  Lil tried to picture the area in her head. Silt and sludge could have covered the Garden, but there would be signs of it that might show up with satellite imagery. The real trick would be avoiding detection by local authorities. Anything they found would be confiscated by the government as part of the country’s history.

  “Perhaps. Water levels have risen over the centuries and erosion could contribute to concealing the oasis.”

  “Okay,” Dana conceded somewhat reluctantly. “I guess it’s time we turn this ship around.”

  “I will let the captain know. We can plan our first dive for tomorrow morning.”

  Lil stood and Dana followed her example. A touch on her arm prevented Lil from leaving the room.

  “You’re not going to tell him what we’re doing?”

  “That would not be a good idea,” Lil admitted. “So far, he thinks us merely eccentric, rich Westerners, but if he finds out what we’re after…”

  “Things could change. I wish we had more people to help with this. It seems like it’s taking forever. Can’t you just beam from place to place and check these things without anyone knowing?”

  “It certainly would be faster, but if I could do that I already would have. I still need oxygen and time to look around. Besides,” Lil teased, “it’s more fun this way. I enjoy spending the time with you.”

  Lil surprised herself with the admission. The moments of gentle connections with Dana had grown over the last few days. She had expected to panic after having sex with Dana, but it never happened.

  “That’s sweet,” Dana said, reaching to clasp her hand.

  Lil squeezed and released her. “Why don’t you plan our dive while I speak with the captain. What do you say to dinner on the sundeck today?”

  “Sounds great.”

  Lil left her in the shadowed cabin and made her way forward. She found the captain near the bow. Pravde ruffled her feathers as they approached the man’s back. She dug her talons in a little deeper and Lil glanced at her in concern. The bird didn’t like this man, but so far he’d done nothing untoward. Lil agreed with Pravde’s opinion, but didn’t really care about the impressions he gave. As long as he performed the tasks for which he’d been hired, Lil had no complaints.

  “Captain Shirazi, I’m afraid we’ve had a change of plans. We’d like to head back to port in the morning.”

  Shirazi squinted at her beneath his sweat-stained cap. Lil could have sworn she spotted a momentary sense of concern in his dark eyes. “Of course. May I inquire as to the change of plans?”

  Since her cover story was an American on vacation, Lil couldn’t exactly tell him the truth. She shrugged to illustrate a casual indifference. “I guess we’re just ready to feel solid ground beneath our feet.”

  “Then you did not find what you’re looking for?”

  “Who says we’re looking for anything?”

  Shirazi looked down and sketched a shallow bow. “My apologies. I simply assumed from the pattern of dives you have made the last few days. I meant no disrespect.”

  Lil thought his behavior a little odd, but let it go. Making more of the comment would accomplish nothing. “Think nothing of it. Would it be possible to have dinner early tonight, perhaps in about an hour?”

  “I will see to it.”

  ****

  The sun had begun to set over the Gulf waters. Lil and Dana occupied a small, circular table covered with a linen cloth. The elegant flatware, china and crystal setting added to their image as rich, vacationing Westerners. Although a Champagne magnum resided in a nearby ice bucket, it was merely a prop. They drank water. Lil’s physiology prevented the alcohol from affecting her during a dive, but it wasn’t the same for her companion. Dana refused to drink while they were in the water so much.

  Lil took in the highly romantic venue, made complete by the scenery, the exquisitely prepared meal and the company. Her eyes rested briefly on Pravde, who resided on a nearby rail. She preened contentedly after a dinner of fresh caught fish. Lil jumped slightly when Dana grasped her hand.

  “Penny for your thoughts.”

  Lil quietly assessed her companion. The soft intensity Dana directed at her took Lil’s breath away. She felt tingles of arousal and fear in equal measures. Dana ignited a fire in Lil’s blood, but terrified her because of the emotions she generated. Regardless of her fear, Lil wasn’t inclined to run.

  “At one time, I would have maintained a relationship with you until we accomplished our goal.”

  Dana’s eyebrow rose, communicating her amusement. “You mean the goal where you commit suicide and leave me behind?”

  There was an undercurrent of doubt and anger threaded throughout the sarcasm. Lil felt a flash of fury, but quickly let it go. She understood that Dana’s reaction was prompted by her tumultuous feelings. Lil bypassed the question to focus on expressing her heart.

  “Somehow, you’ve managed to convince me to let you in, something I swore I’d never do again. I realize this isn’t easy for you. You know you’re essentially contributing to helping me find the instrument of my demise.”

  Dana squeezed her hand and said softly, “I’m hoping you’ll change your mind before we get to that point. I’m hoping you’ll see that what we have right now is worth living for.”

  She felt tears prick her eyes. Lil opened her mouth to respond, to say anything that would express the depths of her affection. Before she could speak, the roar of a fast-approaching vessel filled the air. A hail of automatic gunfire inspired Lil to leap across the table. Dishware crashed to the deck, adding to the racket as she tackled Dana out of her chair. Dimly, Lil was aware of Pravde taking flight to escape the bits of lethal metal. Lil clasped Dana closely to her. She kicked over the table and pulled Dana behind the lightweight shield. It wasn’t a lot of protection, but it was better than nothing.

  “What the hell?” Dana shouted, cowering closer to the wooden floor.

  Lil wondered the same thing and quickly propelled her awareness into Pravde. A cigarette boat sped around the yacht, executing a tight arc in order to make another pass. A handful of angry men had targeted the yacht. Lil couldn’t imagine their possible motivation until she caught a glimpse of a familiar image. She directed Pravde to fly closer. Lil felt the owl’s initial resistance. The instinct for self-preservation was strong in the bird, but loyalty won out.

  Pravde glided on a thermal current, dipping lower. The men aboard the craft weren’t interested in the owl. With a closer view, Lil identified the dual crosses carved into the men’s cheeks.

  “Haimia.”

  “What are the Haimia?”

  Lil had no time to respond to the frantic question. Already, she was assessing the situation through Pravde’s perspective. The attacking men had automatic weapons, but apparently not an unlimited supply of ammunition. Lil couldn’t see ammo boxes or any other weapons lying on the deck of the smaller craft. Other than the magazines inside their AKs or any clips carried in their pockets, Lil thought that the extent of the threat.

  “Stay here. I’ll try to draw their fire.”

  “You can’t be serious!”

  Lil scampered away, headed for the lower deck in an attempt to reach her crossbow. The ship’s crew had already begun returning fire. Lil tried to stay out of the way of flying rounds as she scrambled toward the cabin she shared with Dana. She’d only recently healed from her previous injuries and didn’t relish the agony of another gunshot wound. A round passed closely enough that Lil felt the heat. It pounded into the wooden frame of the pilothouse before she could hustle below deck. She heard one of the crew yelling in anger as he returned fire.

  As Lil entere
d the stateroom, she silently cursed herself. It was such a habit to maintain her identity that she hadn’t even considered translocating. With the men occupied in such a dire situation, it was doubtful anyone would have noticed. Lil grabbed the crossbow and her quiver of steel bolts. She slung the arrows onto her back and made up for the previous oversight by relocating directly to Dana’s side.

  To her relief, Dana was still alive. She huddled against the gunwale farthest from the attackers. She had dragged the table over with her to create questionable shelter.

  “That was fast.”

  “I hate to keep a lady waiting.”

  Lil took up position at the opposite side of the deck, using the hull for concealment. She squatted down and pulled the crossbow into firing position. Lil closed her eyes, drawing on the link with Pravde to gain information on the marauders. The cigarette boat was just pulling around the stern of the yacht and coming back for another pass. Lil saw one of the men concentrate his fire on the craft and instinctively ducked as an explosion shook the planks under her feet. The driver kept going and Lil saw the perfect moment to return fire. She hadn’t any need to sight in with the weapon, having already done so through Pravde’s eyes.

  Her finger tightened on the trigger as Lil stood. The crossbow dispatched the dart down range with terrible haste. The bolt passed halfway through one of the men, the point visible as it emerged from his back. Rather than drop his rifle and fall dead to the deck, the Haimia’s finger tightened on the trigger. An expression of fierce concentration gripped his visage as he tried to remain standing. While he lost the struggle and dropped to his knees, he still managed to empty his clip.

  Lil threw herself backward away from where the rounds tore through the gunwale. The man missed hitting her, but Lil heard Dana cry out in pain. Her head whipped around and she saw that Dana had suffered a flesh wound as a stray round scraped the skin on the outside of her left shoulder. Despite the minor injury, fury caused Lil’s vision to grow crimson. She stood without regard to her own safety and began firing the deadly steel bolts in rapid succession. Her arrows all hit the mark. Two men fell into the water as the driver crouched and sought to evade the onslaught. Two more lay dead on the deck. Only the driver remained. He angled the cigarette boat on a collision course with the yacht. From where he cowered behind the wheel, Lil didn’t have a clear shot.

  With only seconds to spare, Lil directed a mental shout to her airborne companion. Pravde reacted at once, folding her wings and zipping into a dive. She headed toward the driver, zeroing in on him from behind. Lil witnessed the exact moment when some instinct told him he wasn’t alone. The Haimia turned his head and saw the owl. He flinched back in surprise and inadvertently yanked the wheel. The unexpected momentum flipped the man over the side and he hit the water with a splash. The boat veered slightly off course, now at an angle toward the yacht but no less threatening.

  “Hang on!” Lil yelled as the craft headed directly toward the yacht’s bow.

  She felt the shudder as the two vessels collided. Lil barely managed to follow her own advice, gripping the cleat on the upper gunwale as she was thrown off her feet. The crossbow clattered to the deck, but Lil’s body flipped over the side. Her formidable strength allowed her to hang on and after a second the harsh vibrations stopped.

  The air seemed unnaturally silent with the cessation of gunfire. Lil hung in place for a moment, attempting to get her wind back and push the quiver out of her face with her free hand. Pravde briefly touched her mind, assuring Lil of her safety.

  “Dana, are you all right?”

  She didn’t respond, but Lil could hear her rasping breaths. Lil considered that Dana might be even more injured that she thought. Lil pushed the quiver behind her and reached up to grasp the gunwale. She pulled herself upward, resembling a woman attempting a pull-up. When she could see over the edge, she froze in surprise.

  The captain of the ship, Shirazi, had his back to her. He was trying to get to Dana, but she kept the table between them. Sometime during the altercation with the Haimia, the captain had pushed up his shirtsleeves. Lil instantly noticed the cross carved into his forearm. It was the same as the ones carved into the faces of their attackers. In his other hand, he held a knife.

  “You want to hurry up here?” Dana asked sharply. She danced backward as Shirazi slashed out at her.

  Lil catapulted herself onto the deck and raced toward them. Shirazi heard her pounding feet and swung around just as Lil reached him. Lil had struggled with enough people in the past to know that in a knife fight, one was usually cut. That didn’t happen this time as they were too close. Shirazi hadn’t time to complete his move before Lil blocked his wrist with her forearm. She struck him hard enough that the knife went spinning away.

  Shirazi tried to kick her, but managed only to put his knee into Lil’s midsection. There wasn’t enough force behind the blow to do any damage. Lil grabbed Shirazi under the jaw and shoved him against the gunwale, pushing him backward.

  “It’s me you want,” Lil grated. “Why did you try to hurt her?”

  “She is with you. That is all the motive I require.” Conviction colored Shirazi’s expression, unblemished by any fear for his own death. “We will keep you from returning to the Garden. No matter how many of us you kill, you will fail.”

  “Captain,” someone shouted from below. “What are your orders?”

  Lil had precious little time to decide on her next course of action. The crew wanted to know how to react to the recent attack and Lil was faced with a choice. If she let the captain go, he would probably order his men to kill them both. She could translocate away from here, but wouldn’t be able to carry Dana with her. Lil refused to leave her behind. That left only one alternative. With a sharp, upward twist, Lil broke Shirazi’s neck. He slumped forward, but Lil held him up to keep the impact of his body against the deck from alerting the crew to her actions.

  “Lil! What the hell?”

  Dana’s harsh whisper couldn’t have carried to the crew and Lil spared her a quiet glance. Then she reached down and grasped Shirazi’s trouser leg. She pitched him backward over the gunwale and heard his body hit the water far below.

  Lil didn’t bother to look over the side. She walked over to the steps and looked down at the first mate. “The captain is dead. One of the bullets must have hit him. He fell over the side.”

  Concern visibly warred with philanthropic motivations. With the captain gone, the first mate no doubt realized he was now in charge. Lil didn’t wait for all of the ramifications of the truth to occur to him. Instead, she sought to distract him by reinforcing the fact.

  “The ship is yours.”

  He nodded and glanced away, clearly attempting to decide his next move. “We will return to port. The yacht now belongs to Shirazi’s brother.”

  The first mate, a man whose name she had never bothered to learn, had managed to surprise her. Lil expected him to make a more mercenary call. Apparently he had a larger sense of honor than she thought. Lil didn’t know how to respond.

  “That sounds like a good idea,” Dana said. Her voice trembled, but she didn’t hesitate. “I think we’re done out here anyway. How damaged is the yacht? Can we make it back okay?”

  “The damage is minimal. We will head back as soon as we can. I must ask you both to return to your cabin and not interfere with crew duties.”

  A polite way of telling them to stay out of the way, Lil thought. “We understand. Of course I’ll make sure you and your men receive a bonus for your trouble.”

  He merely nodded and walked away to begin issuing orders. Lil turned back to Dana, troubled by the expression she encountered. Lil couldn’t name whether it was fear, anger or disappointment. Strangely, the last of those possibilities bothered her the most.

  “I’m sorry, but I had no choice. He would have ordered the crew to kill us.”

  “And you think they would have?”

  “Without a question. The crew had sworn their loyalty to Shirazi.�
��

  “Well,” Dana said quietly. “I suppose we’ll never know.”

  Lil reached out to touch her shoulder, but Dana flinched away. She walked by Lil without meeting her gaze. In seconds, Lil stood alone on the sundeck. Somehow, she felt like she’d just lost something infinitely precious. Lil had never asked for a personal relationship with Dana and it surprised her when it happened. Now, it appeared she had irreparably damaged their connection in attempting to save Dana’s life. Lil couldn’t find it within her to regret that decision, no matter the cost.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lil was grateful she’d had the foresight to book the largest suite possible at the hotel in Faw. That wasn’t really saying much since Faw was a far cry from a big city like Baghdad, with only a fraction of the population. She was relieved to have a sitting area of any kind here, even if the room bore a close resemblance to a kitchen pantry with barely enough space for a small end table and a sofa. At least they had two bedrooms. After yesterday’s attack and the captain’s death, Dana had retreated into her room and closed the door.

  Lil sighed and refilled her coffee cup, disappointed that they hadn’t managed the planned dive this morning. She sipped the slightly bitter beverage and gazed out the balcony’s glass door. Sunlight glinted off the nearby water, promising another warm day. Lil tried to believe it was the lost opportunity to search for the Garden that left her feeling so melancholy.

  A door opened unexpectedly. Lil turned to see Dana finally emerge, carrying a freshly showered scent with her. Dana eyed the mug in Lil’s hand.

  “Any coffee left?”

  “I just made a fresh pot.”

  Lil kept silent, watching Dana putter around in the miniscule kitchen area. She wanted to ask any one of a hundred questions. Was Dana still angry with her? Was she ready to end their affiliation? Worse yet, did she regret ever meeting Lil? The unfamiliar sting of fear kept Lil quiet. If Dana did desire to return home on the first available transport, she’d have to initiate that conversation herself.