Suddenly out of nowhere, the sound of a major splash crashed behind me. Whatever it was that had stalked us just moments ago disappeared quickly, frightened by this new arrival. What did this mean? Were there two of them now? With some trepidation, I popped my head out of the water just in time to see Ramara emerging shirtless with expansive pale blue wings behind him. He was supernaturally handsome, and for a moment I completely forgot about Cruise. But then I would have to, now wouldn’t I? I wasted time thinking about this eloi in such a way. Besides, could I so easily dismiss the attraction between Cruise and my mortal self? It was known that Ramara had taken an oath of celibacy, which he had broken for the goddess Nemesis. He had only recently been accepted back into the Order. Would I really be the one to cost him his wings? Or his life? Still, as I watched him my attraction grew. This was also in my nature, not a remnant of my mortal personality. I had been remarkably shy and not free with my heart as a human. Cassander had beaten that out of me shortly after we married.
Ramara flew over us now, then landed on the rocks and looked around him, his fists clenched. His shoulder-length, wheat-colored hair flew in the night breeze, and he squatted as he scanned the periphery with his excellent sight. Seeing no danger and without saying a word, he reached down and extended a warm-looking hand to me.
“Thank you for coming,” I said. “Just a moment. I have to heal Meri.”
Excited at my words, Meri sent me at least a dozen of those love-waves until I told her to stop. “I can’t do this if you don’t stop, Meri.” I laughed at her as I swam beside her to the jetty. She slid up on the rocks, smiled at me and put a hand over her mouth as if that would stop her from sharing her feelings. I didn’t expect that it would. Mermaids had notoriously short attention spans. Like human children. I reached for a handful of sand and rubbed it in my hands. I whispered healing words and rubbed her scales with the glowing mixture. Immediately they took on their original blue and purple colors, almost iridescent. Meri tilted her head back and raised her hands above her head, her face the picture of perfect happiness. She touched the scales and clapped her hands delightedly. Love waves came toward me, and I accepted them.
“Go swim now, Meri. I must talk with Ramara. All is well.” She gave me a questioning look. “Yes, it is safe.”
With a happy smile she splashed around, showing off her strong healed tail. She reminded me of a little boy I used to know, one who used to love showing his mother how quickly he could run in his new sandals. “Look, Mama!” I shook my head, refusing to delve deeper into the painful memory. I had just emerged from my sleep; I could not do this now. I climbed up on the rocks and felt my gills begin to fade after the ocean water seeped out of them like two faucets. If the eloi noticed, he did not say anything. He was standing above me now, looking even taller and more handsome. Oh my. It had been a long time since I had made love.
What is wrong with you, Thessalonike? You act as if you have never seen a handsome man before. And he’s not even a man!
Trying to sound aloof and official, I asked, “Why have you come, eloi? Has the Order summoned me? Have they changed their minds? I have only just passed my testing.” I spoke with a defiance I really didn’t feel.
“I have come for you, princess. Faydra sent me. She says that Roxana comes, if she’s not already here. She will attempt to open the Sirens Gate. And you know why she has come. I don’t doubt it. A rage stalked you. Never seen her before.”
“Nobody calls me princess anymore, eloi,” I said as I crossed my arms over my chest.
“And most people call me Ramara, not eloi. Does anyone call you siren?” He did not crack a smile, but his voice was warm and deep, and I noticed a peculiar scent coming from his skin. Pheromones. He probably wasn’t aware that sirens were very sensitive to them. We were lusty creatures, after all.
“Call me Thessalonike, and I will call you Ramara. Tell me about this rage.”
“Black hair, blue magic, not tall, not short. I would like to see where you live so that I can determine how to protect you.”
Who could that be? I thought I knew all the rages, or at least their names. “I am not a novice at this, Ramara. I have all the skills and strength I need to guard the gate, or else they would not have left me here. Go tell Faydra that I am well protected and have many allies.”
To my complete surprise, he gripped my wrists savagely. I could see perfectly painted wings on his skin where his own wings had been a moment ago. “You do not command me. Now do as I ask.”
Meri splashed nearby, and I could feel waves of anger directed at him. I snatched my arms away. “What do you think you are doing, touching me like that? I did not give you permission to touch me!” I snarled at him.
Now he laughed. “Are you sure I shouldn’t call you princess? Call off your dog. I won’t touch you again.”
I stared at him hard, trying to pretend that I did not want to wrap myself around his waist and smell him all night long. I said, “No, if you are coming with me, it’s this way. Just a second.” I sent Meri a message.
Meri, I have to go with the stupid eloi. He thinks he can protect me. Ha! Stay close. Swim behind the house, and I will come see you as soon as he leaves.
She sent me a wave of love and swam away quietly around the jetty toward my beach shack. I wouldn’t have to show her the way. She’d been protecting me the whole time—that I knew. And now this eloi wanted to show up and be my hero? After all these years, I’d had enough of heroes. The supernatural ones always let me down, and my human lovers had other shortcomings. I could only outlive them.
I stomped away from him and walked down the road toward my small beach house. Hopefully he would get lost before we got there. I wasn’t sure I could trust myself to be alone with him. And I was angry that the Order would send him without first consulting me. I didn’t trust them, whoever they were. I never had.
A car passed by, and I suddenly remembered my date with Cruise. I wondered what Heliope had told him. Oh no, Heliope! She had probably destroyed my house by now. She was the messiest “supe” I’d ever met. Once when we stayed together for a short time in Malaga, about three centuries ago now, she’d managed to burn the place down. I jogged quickly down Chaumont Avenue, my soggy tennis shoes popping along the white gravel. The Crazy Cat Lady at the end of the street stared at us from her bedroom window. “Just going for a run, Mrs. Bannister,” I said with a wave. Pay no attention to the shirtless, barefoot man behind me. And don’t tell Cruise, I thought.
“This way,” I whispered fiercely at Ramara. We entered the back of the house, and I called for Heliope. I didn’t want her to hit us with her clumsy magic by accident. She did not answer, but I found her quickly enough. She was sitting in my bathtub—fully clothed, thankfully—with a ridiculous amount of water and soap bubbles on the floor. She’d drunk both bottles of my wine and was sleeping under the water. Not dead. She couldn’t die. But she was under the water nonetheless. Ramara came in behind me and groaned at the sight.
“So this is what a fallen goddess looks like? I’m not impressed.”
“Shut your mouth. She’s my friend and technically a relative. Now help me get her up and onto the bed. She can’t help how she is. She’s been a bit upset since she got tossed out of Olympus.”
“Move out of the way. I can carry her.” He slid his arms into the bubbles and picked Heliope up as if she were a feather. A drunken, soap-covered feather.
“This way. Let’s put her in my bed.” I flung throw pillows on the floor. “I’ll take Jack’s old room if I need to rest.” I patted Heliope dry with a soft pink towel and tapped on her cheeks for a few seconds, but she did not stir at all.
“Let her sleep it off, Thessalonike. You know how wine affects the gods—she’ll be drunk for days, I’m afraid. Unfortunate, since Roxana is here on the island now. That’s one fewer ally for us. We’d better talk about a plan.”
“So what do you know? I’m sure it’s more than I do. I just woke up.”
“And how
are you doing with that? Do you need anything?” As he spoke, his bronze hand touched his neck, as if he were looking for something. Then I remembered what he’d lost. What Nemesis had stolen from him. A single pearl on a golden thread. It was an ancient source of power that was as rare as it was lovely. At one time, the pearl had given him tremendous power and the ability to completely heal himself or another during extended battles, but it had been taken from him by his lover—a lover who had betrayed him.
“I am sorry about your necklace, Ramara. I am no friend of hers.”
He nodded and dropped his hand, looking ashamed that he had been caught reaching for his lost treasure.
I could read his face just as I knew my own mind. The heat from the betrayal was still fresh. And something else was there…he was determined to seek revenge. That was a dangerous place to be. People who sought revenge always made foolish decisions.
I wondered which one of us needed protection more.
Chapter Eight—Roxana
Always Remember
“Do you hear them, my love? It is your name that is upon their lips! How many thousands have declared you King of the World? It is well known that you are the greatest king who has ever lived. But alas, my warrior-king, this cannot last. Triumphs are forgotten. They carry us for only so long. You must be an Eternal King!”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. You have to find and drink the Immortal Waters. You were invited to do so! Then you—and I—will live forever. We will never be apart again, Alexander. Don’t you want that? Wouldn’t you like to spend the rest of eternity with me?” The golden coins of my dress tinkled like music as they bounced lightly on my hips. A blue stone hung on my forehead. I was a queen and dressed like one.
He had laughed—not at me, he never laughed at me—but at the idea of living forever. “I know that some men want to live forever, but I look forward to life after this one.”
“You talk like a poet,” I said, “Surely you are teasing me, Alexander.” I flew out of our bed and stood in front of him as he grinned, his golden hair around him on the pillow like a halo. With his golden skin and hair, he was almost all gold, except for his warm brown eyes. When I first saw him, I knew he would be mine. Even if it had not been arranged, Alexander would be mine.
Forever mine.
And he did find the Immortal Waters, but it wasn’t me he wanted to share those holy waters with.
That honor he wished to bestow upon his sister, Thessalonike. Those two always had an odd connection; I must admit, if only to myself at the time, that I suspected something else lay behind the sister-brother bond. Growing up, they weren’t so close that they could not part. In fact, Alexander barely gave her a second thought until he returned from Egypt full of new ideas about dynasties and bloodlines. He’d consulted the Holy Librarian in the city of Karnak and came to new conclusions about his own destiny. He came home to find his younger sister quite grown up. I quickly arranged her marriage to that awful man, Cassander, and just as instructed, her new husband quickly filled her belly with children. There was nothing my husband could do about the union, not unless he wanted to go to war with one of his closest allies. Three sons, she had. Now they were three long-dead sons. Like my own boy. I blamed her for that. I always would.
I stood in the crow’s nest of the lighthouse that overlooked the small barrier island. I sensed the ghost’s presence in the tower below me, but I had no fear of it. What could one lingering spirit do to me? Ghosts were usually very stupid. At least this one has enough sense to get out of my way.
If anyone had cared to look carefully, they would have seen me. But there was no light shining now, as the moon hid behind a cluster of clouds. I caressed the bag of bones beside me. “No, there is life in you, my love. You will live again.” My long dark hair and black gown whipped around me like a shroud. A breeze rose against me. Probably some weak magic sent by the Order. They had become weaker, hadn’t they? I had not communicated with them in centuries. Since I no longer slumbered, I did not need to pass their foolish tests. I was strong and nowhere near mad. I no longer observed their traditions and customs. I did not flock to their shores or seek them out. I rejected them completely. I twisted my hair with my fingers as I smiled. This wasn’t over yet. I would continue my quest until Alexander and I were reunited—and Thessalonike was dead, dead, dead!
I imagined her warm blood, feeling it flow over my hands—all of it. I fantasized that the last thing she would ever see would be my face. I even knew what words I would say to her. With the help of my new friend, I would have my fantasy. I would open this gate at the appropriate time and greet my husband as he escaped from the Land of the Dead forever. And with the blood of Thessalonike, the gate would have all the power needed to summon not only his soul but the Faithful too. And when that happened, I would pour the Immortal Waters in his mouth and he would live forever. I sat beside him, rubbing the silk that covered what remained of his bones and skull. Then I lay down beside him and caressed the fabric.
“It’s all right now, my love. We are close. This gate is a good one. This is the right one. I can feel it. Your sister will help us; she wants us to be together, Alexander. I know it. I feel it. All is well, my love. You will have your life again. Just as I promised.” Tears filled my eyes as I remembered my vow to him. I shut out the memory of his betrayal. He had been coerced into leaving me, taking another wife, abandoning his son and me for Babylon where he died. I chose to remember him as my lover, friend and soul mate. “I forgive you, Alexander.”
I ignored the musty scent of the wrappings and the feel of his light bones. How many years had I carried him with me around the world, looking for the Immortal Waters? In life he had refused to share the knowledge with me; it took hundreds of years for me to find them myself. I was nowhere near as clever as Alexander, but I was more determined. Always more determined.
Now here we are together, my husband, under the moon in a strange land far away from our beloved Macedonia. Another island, another gate. We will try again, and we must be victorious! Yes, look, Alexander. Even the stars are on our side. See the bright one there? That is a portent for us, my love. She watches and waits.
A voice behind me called my name: “Roxana!”
I sat up in surprise. “I did not summon you here, Faydra. Why are you here?”
“This is your one warning. Go back to your homeland. You do not belong here. I know what you want. You do not have permission to open the gate.”
“I will not leave, and I will have what I came for. Alexander will live again.” I added with hatred, “I do not need your permission.”
In Faydra’s current incarnation, she had dark skin and dark hair. This was not the true her, for I had seen her red hair and green eyes. She had been lovely then, but now she was weak, forced to “borrow” bodies to communicate with her lackeys. Pitiful. Now her eyes shone like two pale blue orbs. So empty. So dead. She gave me a crooked smile, further proof she was losing her grip. “Have you forgotten how that turned out the last time? Alexander is too old; he has been dead far too long to come back as he was. This is not his world anymore. He is king no longer. You will not have the man you want,” she said as if she knew exactly what she was talking about. I did not trust or believe her.
“Lies,” I whispered. “Her blood is all I need. How dare you abandon him now? You, of the Order, sent Alexander to find the Immortal Waters. You would deny him his prize?”
“His destiny is there.” She pointed toward the bundle of black silk beside me. “He had his chance to drink those waters with you, and he did not. He saved them for someone else. He chose his path.” She smiled. “Do yourself a favor and drain your own blood or go to your Eternal Sleep. It is time to end your miserable life, Roxana. You had no right to drink the waters.”
My anger raged, and I lifted my finger to her and watched as the flames leaped from the tip of it. Without a word or a look of fear, she blew them out. “Save your strength, Old Queen.
If you insist on pursuing this course of action, you will lose. And you will lose your immortal life.”
I laughed, slowly at first, then louder and more raucously. The idea that I could die. How many times had they tried to kill me? How many times had I been cut, drowned, starved and even boiled? Nothing could kill me. Let them drain me! I would live still! All I had to do was endure the pain, and I was quite good at that.
“That is quite a threat, Faydra. Perhaps you are only jealous because you must constantly possess and destroy humans to make your will known to your servants. I have the same body I have always had. I am still young, and I look as I always have. That must frustrate you so.” I stepped over Alexander and walked toward her. Faydra took a step back, no doubt unsure of what I would do. “Now, now, Faydra. Wouldn’t you like to have your own body back? Wouldn’t you like to sip the waters? I have hidden them somewhere. I wonder what you would give me in exchange for a drop or two. Maybe a certain Macedonian princess?”
I noticed Faydra lick her lips as if she were actually considering my offer, but she did not ask for the precious waters.
“Leave, Roxana. This is your last warning.”
I grew weary of her and no longer feared her. If she could do anything to me, she would have already done it. I lay down beside Alexander and put my arm across the bones. “No more of your warnings, Dying One. Do not get in my way.” She vanished, taking her stinking human host with her. So the Order knew I was here, what I intended. Good.
I hated to kill Thessalonike without an audience. This had been a long time coming.
Chapter Nine—Nike
Walk Home
We’d barely gotten Heliope halfway dry when the first scroll appeared in the air. I heard the sound first, a slight throb of notes, like an ancient lyre stroked ever so lightly. “Must be for you, princess,” Ramara said. I rolled my eyes at him. Would he always call me that? I accepted the scroll from the hand of the invisible delivery man and looked at the seal. “The Order,” I said to myself. Of course, who else would it be? I knew nobody else who delivered scrolls via invisible messenger. I pulled the golden silk ribbon and cracked the seal as I unrolled the message.
Blue Water (The Nike Chronicles Book 1) Page 5
