Goddess of the Sea gs-1

by P. C. Cast

  "And he didn't say when that would be."

  "No, but I will not allow him to put me off for long. I am a goddess and I will not be trifled with." Gaea's eyes flashed with suppressed power.

  "Speaking of being trifled with, Sarpedon has become more annoying," CC said. "Yesterday he possessed Andras again. Your amulet reminded him that wasn't a smart move, but while he was possessed Andras made some comments about knowing that I'm not pure."

  Gaea's eyes narrowed. "The merman is troublesome, but now that he has found you it seems that he is focusing his attention on the monastery. I know from your dolphin friends that he has been distinctly absent from the waters near Caldei." Gaea's expression lightened and she smiled playfully at CC. "That is especially fortunate because the dolphins report news of another merman, who is spending all of his time in the waters surrounding this island."

  "Dylan?"

  "Of course it is Dylan. Who else?"

  CC smiled sheepishly. "I know it's silly, but I just wanted to hear you say it."

  "This silliness, as you call it, is part of the magic of love. And remember love is the strongest magic in the world. It even has the ability to tame a goddess."

  "I want to be with him, Mother. Always."

  Gaea smoothed back CC's hair. "I know, Daughter, and tonight you shall be with your lover again. Feign exhaustion and retire early to your bed. I will summon storm clouds to obscure the sun so that you need not wait for full dark to go to Dylan." Gaea's look turned sly. "It is my turn to use Sarpedon's connection with the young knight. I will whisper dreams to Andras in which you figure predominately. Sarpedon will be kept very busy tonight trying to decide what is real, and what is fantasy. He will be much too busy chasing the ghosts of dreams to haunt the waters looking for you."

  CC hugged Gaea in gratitude, and the goddess's laughter filled the chapel.

  "All will be well, Daughter. With just a little more patience, all will be well. Do not forget, you must return to the monastery when the bell tolls for morning mass."

  "I won't forget. Will you be at the shore tonight?" CC asked.

  "Tonight I will leave you to your lover. You see, I, too, will be concentrating on calling a lover. Lir will not long be able to resist."

  CC wondered how Lir could resist the goddess at all. Even in the dimness of the chapel, Gaea's beauty was awe-inspiring, and when she mentioned her lover the light that always shone within her intensified until CC almost felt the need to avert her eyes.

  CC grinned at Gaea. "Lir's a goner, and he doesn't even know it—yet."

  "Oh, he knows, Daughter. He knows."

  The cheery yellow glow of the candles that surrounded Mary's statue blinked and quivered in response to the women's laughter, filling CC with a sense of well-being. How could anything go wrong as long as Gaea was beside her?

  Suddenly, the expression on Gaea's face sobered and before CC could speak the goddess's body dissipated into hundreds of tiny golden lights, which pulsed once and then faded. Her disappearance was followed by the sound of a deep, male voice.

  "Good afternoon, Undine," Andras said.

  CC looked warily at the knight, half expecting his eyes to begin to glow, but there was no sign of anything unusual in his appearance.

  "Hello, Andras." She took a breath and decided there was no way she could avoid the subject. "You look like you feel better today. Did you and the abbot figure out what happened yesterday in the courtyard?"

  The knight's welcoming expression flattened. "Abbot William is diligently praying about the event. He remains confident that an answer will be found."

  "Well, I'm just glad to see that you've recovered. I'm sure the abbot's prayers will be helpful." She kept her voice light.

  Instead of meeting her eyes, the knight's gaze slid away and lit on the statue. "You have done an excellent job here. It is good to see that you are taking such an interest in religion. A woman needs to be grounded in the structure of the church so that she can know her proper place as wife and mother."

  His face had relaxed and his smile was genuine, even if he words were patronizing.

  "I'm not restoring the Holy Mother's statue out of religious zealousness or piety; I'm restoring it out of love," she said, reminding herself that it wasn't his fault that he was a medieval man. He probably thought he had just paid her an enormous compliment.

  "Exactly." Andras sounded pleased. "Love of the church."

  "No," she automatically corrected him. "Love of the Mother."

  Confusion spread over his face. "Is there a difference?"

  "I think so. I think there is a world of difference between devotion to man and devotion to the divine."

  "Do you not believe that man can be divine?" Andras's chuckle said that he found it amusing that he was discussing theology with a woman.

  "Truthfully, I haven't found much evidence of it."

  Andras squinted his eyes at her, as if he wasn't sure he'd heard her correctly. Then he smiled indulgently. "Undine, I find your sense of humor refreshing, but the reason I need to speak with you requires us to be serious. My squires have relayed to me several reports of an unusual nature."

  "Unusual reports?" she prompted when he just stared at her and didn't continue speaking.

  "Creatures have been seen in the waters off the coast."

  She forced her expression to be one of mild curiosity.

  "Creatures? You mean like whales and dolphins? That doesn't seem very unusual to me. You and I saw a dolphin very close to shore just a couple of days ago."

  "I do not mean creatures that were fashioned by God. The fishermen talk of abnormal beings, half man and half fish, that have been seen inhabiting the waters surrounding this island."

  "And you believed the fantasies of those poor people? That surprises me, Andras. They are, after all, peasants." She hoped that she was using the right buzz words. Andras was a knight, which meant he was a part of the nobility. Hadn't he been raised to look down on the working classes? At that moment she fervently hoped so.

  "You are correct. They are peasants. I simply find their sightings interesting, especially because they seem to coincide with your appearance on our shores."

  CC laughed. "Are you saying that you think that I am half fish?"

  "Of course not."

  "Then what are you saying?" she asked. At the mention of the sea, the longing within her sprang painfully alive, wearing away at her ability to be cordial to the overbearing knight.

  "I know of your love for the sea. I am saying that you should be content with observing it from afar, and save excursions to the shoreline for quieter times."

  CC squeezed a tight smile on her lips. "As always, I appreciate the concern you show for my welfare, but I'm sure it is nothing but foolish superstitions worrying the fishermen. After all, I was blown ashore by a storm. It's only logical that other sea creatures were blown off course, too."

  "Other sea creatures?" Andras pounced. "You sound like you are a saying you are a creature of the sea, too."

  "Do I look like a creature of the sea?" she asked with a teasing smile.

  "I ask that you give me your word that you will not walk by the shoreline alone again."

  Andras's voice had an unmistakably hard edge to it, and CC's ability to be polite was rapidly unraveling when Isabel's grainy voice quivered across the chapel.

  "It is well after midday and you have forgotten to eat again, Undine." The old woman limped toward them. She paused when she neared the statue of Mary, crossed herself and curtseyed reverently. Then she nodded respectfully to the knight.

  'Thank you for reminding me, Isabel. Now that I think of it, I am very hungry."

  "The mutton stew that will be served for this evening's meal is ready. Just this morning I harvested a fresh crop of mint," Isabel croaked happily.

  "I promised to meet with the abbot and share with him the news I received from my men, but if you can wait I would be pleased to have an early evening meal with you, Undine," Andras said.
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  "I wish I could wait, but I think I should hurry and eat so that I can get back to work before the chapel is needed for vespers. I wouldn't want to create an inconvenience for the abbot."

  Before he could argue Isabel chimed in. "Princess, I think it wise that you eat immediately." She shared a con-spirators' look with Andras. "We must be certain the princess takes care with her health."

  "Of course I would not put the princess's health in jeopardy. Perhaps we can take in the air this evening, Undine?"

  Andras reached for her hand to kiss. Laughing nervously CC pulled it out of his reach.

  "Oh, you don't want to do that. My hand is filthy." She made a big show of wiping her hands on her dirty robe. "A walk would be nice, if I'm not too tired."

  "I will come to your chamber this evening after vespers, where I will pray that you are not too tired." His look was intense.

  CC felt her face flush. Could he not just leave her alone? Thankfully, Isabel spoke up.

  "Sir Andras, you need not trouble yourself. I know how you enjoy your chess games with the abbot. If the princess is not too fatigued, I will come with word from her." She looked quickly at CC. "If that is agreeable to the princess."

  CC hurried over to Isabel. "Yes! There's no need for you to interrupt your time with Abbot William if I'm asleep on my feet. Thank you, Isabel. That was a wonderfully considerate idea." She linked her arm through the servant's and began walking with her toward the door. "I hope you have a good evening, Andras, and if I don't see you tonight I'm sure we'll be able to spend some time together tomorrow."

  Andras stood silently in the shadowy church, watching the women disappear into the gardens. His expression was introspective and his full lips were turned down in irritation. Had she begun to avoid him, or was it only maidenly shyness coupled with her newly discovered devotion to the Holy Mother that seemed to be keeping her from him? The knight felt a stirring of anger as he pondered the question. His anger coupled with something else, something that whispered hypnotically deep within his mind. Andras's hands trembled, and he balled them into fists. Images flashed through his mind. Undine naked and slick with sweat… Undine on her knees before him… Undine crying his name aloud as his seed exploded within her…

  Overwhelmed by the visions, Andras felt himself harden. His breath was ragged. He raked a hand through his hair. What was happening to him? He had never before experienced anything like his growing obsession with the princess. Perhaps the abbot was correct. His eyes narrowed so that the silver glow that stained them was almost unde-tectable. Sorceress or not, she was only a woman. When she belonged to him, he would purge the pagan taint from her soul, then he would satisfy his desire for her. She had no choice.

  "Thank you," CC whispered as soon as tltey were out of range of Andras's hearing. "He doesn't seem to be able to take no for an answer."

  "You are most welcome, but you must realize that few women would tell Sir Andras no," Isabel whispered back. "Are you quite certain that is your desire?"

  "Absolutely. I don't want a husband who has to rule over and control me."

  "So you have said before, but I still believe that there are few men of any other kind." Isabel looked closely at her. "At least not in this world."

  "If there's not, I won't have any husband at all. I'm a human being, not a piece of property."

  "So young and headstrong," Isabel clucked.

  "Where I'm from we call it having good sense and a backbone."

  Isabel's look was clearly disbelieving.

  They were halfway across the voluminous gardens before CC noticed how murky the day had become.

  "Is it really that late? It looks like the sun is setting already."

  "It is late for your midday meal, but the sun is not yet setting. There is a storm coming." Isabel squinted up at the rolling clouds. "It is odd, normally my leg warns me of a Storm long before I see clouds. Today it did not. It is almost as if the change of weather was suddenly conjured."

  Not wanting to travel down that line of thinking, CC asked, "What happened to your leg?"

  Isabel looked surprised at the question, but she answered without hesitation. "I was born with a twisted limb. My fa-ther wanted to dispose of me on the hillside, but I was the only girl child my mother had born, and she was quite old. She would not part with me."

  CC was shocked at the matter-of-fact way Isabel spoke of something so horrifying.

  "That's awful."

  "A girl child with a twisted limb is of no use. My father knew no man would marry me." Isabel shrugged. "It is a blessing that I have a certain skill with cooking. When my youngest brother's beautiful wife gave birth to their fifth healthy child, she said there was no room for a crippled sister in their home. My other brothers felt the same. It was fortuitous that the monastery needed a cook. They took me in. I have been here since."

  "Do you ever see your family?"

  Isabel shook her head. "My mother and father are long dead, and my brothers do not visit. My family is here."

  "The monks?" CC asked.

  Isabel cackled and patted her hand. "Goodness no! The other women. We are all each other's only family now."

  "I don't really have any family here, either," CC said.

  Isabel paused on the threshold to the kitchen, where homey smells and sounds enveloped them. She turned to CC and smiled warmly at the younger woman.

  "You do now, Princess."

  CC paced and paced and paced. She had already pulled the dresser under the window. For what felt like the zillionth time she hitched up her chemise and climbed on top of it. She studied the fading evening. Gaea's clouds were rolling in from the west, directly over the tumultuous ocean. They were low-hanging and reminded CC of a giant gray comforter being pulled over the sky. The setting sun was certainly obscured, but was it dark enough yet? She didn't think so. She could still see most of the way down the side of the cliff, which meant if anyone happened to be looking seaward, they would be able to see her if she was making her way down the side of that cliff. And she couldn't be sure that Andras wouldn't be looking seaward after the fishermen had aroused suspicion in him.

  CC sighed and rubbed her temples. It seemed her heart pounded there in time with the distant crashing of the surf. Her body was a throbbing shell of need; she ached for the waters and for her lover.Dylan. Just thinking his name sent a shiver of anticipation low in her stomach.

  Patience, she told herself firmly. Just a few more minutes and it'll be dark enough. She turned and sat on top of the dresser, resting her head against the windowsill. She'd lasted this long, she could certainly wait a little longer.

  At first the day had felt like it would never end, so CC had been shocked when the Brothers began filling the chapel for vespers, and she realized that it must be late evening. Quietly, she had piled her cleaning supplies in a shadowed corner, wiped her hands on her very grimy robes and slipped out the side entrance before Abbot William or Andras could accost her.

  She had stopped at the kitchen long enough to grab another bowl of Isabel's excellent stew and a goblet of wine. The ladies were at their busiest, cleaning up the evening meal and beginning preparations for the next day. It took some doing, but she persuaded Isabel that she really didn't need any help bathing and undressing. The old woman obviously didn't like it, but when CC promised that she really just wanted to get out of her dirty clothes and crawl into bed, Isabel acquiesced, assuring CC that she would make her excuses to Andras.

  CC knew that the circles under her eyes had darkened to bruises; the need inside her was making her feel weak and nauseous. But after she had washed the filth from her body, she forced herself to eat all of the stew and drink the entire goblet of wine. The wrenching ache was still there, but a full stomach made her feel less nauseous and dizzy.

  A sound turned her attention back to the view outside the window. CC smiled. "Thank you, Gaea," she said.

  Rain was falling in the comforting patter of a gentle mist, swallowing the last of the evening light
. Quickly, CC sat on the windowsill, found her toehold, and dropped quietly to the soft grass below the window. Gaea's rain was a cool caress against her feverish skin, and for a moment she stood on the edge of the cliff with her arms held straight out and her head thrown back, letting the water of the goddess soothe her body and soul. Keeping the image of Dylan's dive from the side of the cliff in her mind, she balled up her chemise with one hand so that her long legs were free to run, then she moved with unerring certainty down the winding sheep path.

  Dylan! She used all of her mental strength to call to him. I'm coming! Please be there!

  Rocky ground gave way to sand and she ran to her familiar log, pulling off her shift with shaking hands. She kicked off her slippers and hurried to the shoreline. When her feet touched the water she paused, suddenly unsure.

  "Do not make me wait, my love." Dylan's voice carried over the waves, surreal and disembodied.

  "I can't see you." At the sound of his voice, CC's breath caught and her stomach tightened.

  "But I can see you. You are a white goddess of beauty, fashioned of long, curving lines and softness. Come to me, my goddess," Dylan said.

  With two quick steps CC ran and leapt, diving into the surf. Before her outstretched hands touched the water she felt the exquisite burning begin at her waist and shoot down through her legs. A rush of power followed the burning as the inhuman strength of her tail propelled her forward and then up. She broke the surface laughing.

  The merman materialized out of the mist in front of her. Tonight his long, dark hair was free, and it fell in a thick, damp wave around his shoulders. Dylan's exotic beauty and the erotic sense of maleness that surrounded him struck her, and she felt a thrill of excitement at his nearness. He drifted close.

  "I have missed you, Christine."

  "You were just with me last night," she teased.

  "I have discovered that the more I am near you, the more I want you. You belong at my side, and I at yours." His voice reminded her of dark chocolate—rich and sensual.

  She reached up and wound her arms around his neck, loving the way his boyish smile made his lips curve when he took her in his arms.