“Why did your people send me away? Why wasn’t I allowed to stay and—”
“You were sent away to save your life, just as you and the others must leave very soon. You cannot stay in Oseye. It is not safe for outsiders to remain on Umi.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
Sebak was silent for several minutes, then he paused and faced Emery. “Here on Umi, we live a long, healthy life filled with peace and contentment. We have good food, sweet music, happy days of work and nights of pleasant sleep.”
“You live in paradise,” Emery said.
“Yes, paradise.” Sebak’s brow wrinkled. “There are several villages spread out over the island, all similar to Oseye, but the high priest and his scholars, along with their elite brigade and their families, live in the center of the island, atop Mount Kaphiri.”
Emery’s heartbeat accelerated as excitement flushed through his body. A high priest. An elite brigade. Brilliant scholars.
“I must meet with your high priest,” Emery said. “I must see everything here on Umi. Meet everyone—”
“No!” Sebak clamped his hand over Emery’s shoulder. “The only contact we have with the priestly tribe is when the Eshe is distributed every year to the villagers.”
“I don’t understand, if you grow the Eshe, why is it not available to you—”
“The Eshe does not belong to us. It belongs to our high priest. He and he alone harvests the crop each year. We are given enough Eshe for the entire village ….” Sebak paused, then his gaze locked with Emery’s. “We exchange the life of one villager for the Eshe. Usually the oldest person in the village volunteers to go with the elite brigade.”
At first Emery was uncertain that he had understood correctly what Sebak had told him. Surely he did not mean that a villager’s life was given in exchange for the Eshe. Perhaps the person simply went into some type of servitude.
“What happens to the person who is taken?”
Sebak said quietly, “This person is sacrificed by the high priest to appease the gods.” Sighing heavily, Sebak released his hold on Emery’s shoulder.
The truth hit Emery hard. This incredible paradise, this magical island that he had spent his life pursuing was ruled by an order of priests who demanded human sacrifice in exchange for giving the villagers long life and good health.
“Outsiders do not understand the ways of our world,” Sebak told him.
“Have very many outsiders found Umi?”
Sebak nodded. “Many? Over thousands of years, quite a few have been brought to Umi. When the island is visible for one month every ten years, the sea brings visitors to our shores. In the past, long ago, the high priest ordered their deaths, fearing the world would learn of Umi. But we are not killers. We do not wish harm to anyone. We, the people of Umi’s villages, send our unwanted visitors away whenever we can, before the elite guard learns of their existence and takes them to the high priest. This is what was done for you fifty years ago.”
Emery grabbed Sebak’s arm. “Can you help us leave Umi as soon as possible?”
“Yes, of course. The elite brigade will not make their rounds to Oseye for three weeks. We are the last village on their route.”
Clutching Sebak’s arm tightly, Emery asked, “And you will give me some samples of the Eshe plant to take with me, won’t you?”
Sebak flung Emery’s hand from his arm. “No, you cannot take any of the Eshe plants with you. It is forbidden for anyone to cut the Eshe plants except members of the elite brigade. We are allowed only to scatter the ashes of our loved ones in the fields to nourish the roots of the Eshe plants.”
“But how would the elite brigade know if I took only a few plants.”
“The Fields of Eshe are guarded day and night by the power of the high priest. If one plant is removed, Lord Baruti would know.”
“I don’t believe this. It’s simply something you’ve been told to prevent you from harvesting the Eshe yourselves.”
“The high priest does not lie to his people. It is blasphemy for you to say such a thing.”
Realizing he must reassure his host, the man in whose hands his fate and the fate of his party rested, Emery said, “Then I apologize. I meant no offense. I will, of course, abide by your laws.” Yes, he would apologize. He would try to make things right. He would say whatever was necessary to reassure Sebak. But in the end, no matter what, he would not leave this island without a sample of the Eshe plant.
Gwen woke warm and safe in Will’s strong arms. When had he come to bed? What time was it? Why was she in his arms? Coming out of a restless sleep, she opened her eyelids, then closed them when Will’s lips pressed against her neck. She shouldn’t be lying here enjoying this moment. She should still be angry with Will. They had argued last night. She had been so furious with him that she had walked away from him, to end an argument neither of them could win. She had gone to bed, fully clothed, leaving him standing by the fireplace. She had lain there for hours, waiting for him to come to her, to apologize, to tell her that he understood her need to support her father, that he would stand by her, come what may.
But she had fallen asleep waiting.
Will nuzzled Gwen’s ear. She shivered. All he had to do was touch her and she unraveled. She hadn’t meant to fall in love with Will. After all, she knew only too well that he wasn’t in love with her.
“Still mad at me, brown eyes?” he whispered as he eased his hand down over her belly and slipped it between her thighs.
Her femininity clenched and unclenched, longing for the feel of his fingertips without the restriction of her slacks and panties.
“I might still be a little upset with you,” she told him.
“Tell me what I have to do to make things right.” He nipped her neck as his thumb stroked her through the barrier of her clothing.
“Mmm-mmm. Please don’t do that. I can’t think when you touch me.”
He flipped her over onto her back and straddled her hips. Gazing down at her, he smiled. “It’s not necessary for you to think. Just feel.”
He kissed her throat, then nudged his way to the V-neckline of her blouse. She quivered as his hot breath fanned over her skin. And when he opened his mouth and brought it down on one breast, she gasped. He suckled her through her blouse and bra, making a damp mark on the material.
She bucked up, bringing her mound against his hard sex.
“We’ve got on too many clothes,” he told her, then lifted himself up and off and quickly removed all his clothes.
She unbuttoned her blouse and removed it, then discarded her bra, slacks and panties. When he came back to her, they were both naked and aroused. She held open her arms to him.
“Do you have any idea how much I want to be inside you?” He rubbed himself intimately against her.
She grasped his shoulders and lifted herself against him, joining him in the undulating dance. “I want that, too, but we can’t.”
“Yeah, I know.”
When he kissed her and his big, hard body covered her, she longed for any excuse to succumb to temptation. They were trapped on an island that wasn’t supposed to exist, in a world that neither of them understood. Weren’t the odds against their ever escaping from Umi? If they were forced to remain here, she would continue to be Will’s woman, wouldn’t she?
As his hands caressed her, aroused her, and his mouth tormented first one breast and then the other, all rational thought ceased to exist for Gwen. She was ruled by her needs, by the primitive longings urging her to mate with Will.
As her hands covered his body with enticing caresses, her desire grew stronger. “Make love to me.”
“That’s what I’m doing,” he mumbled against her breast.
She circled his erection and urged him between her thighs, opening herself for him, inviting him in.
“Are you sure?” he asked, his voice a husky groan.
“I’m sure.”
He didn’t wait for her to have second thoughts. He sli
pped his hands beneath her, cupped her buttocks and lifted her up to meet his downward lunge. He shoved into her; she expanded to take him completely. Nothing had ever felt so good, so right. She wanted to shout, “I love you.” She wanted to hear him say that he loved her, too. But as soon as he began moving inside her, in and out, increasing the tempo ever so gradually, she didn’t need words any more than he did. All she needed was Will. Buried inside her. Making passionate love to her. Filling her world so completely that nothing and no one else existed.
Her release came first, in a frenzy of sensation. And then, as if her climax triggered it, his came seconds later. They moaned and shivered with pleasure. And when Will collapsed on top of her, she wrapped her arms around him, capturing him, keeping them joined as the aftershocks of release rippled through them. Minutes later, he rolled over and off her, then pulled her to his side and kissed her.
Neither of them spoke for a good while afterward. They just lay together enjoying those lethargic, sated moments after sex.
Will caressed her naked hip. “Are you okay, brown eyes?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “No, I’m better than fine. I’m wonderful.”
Will chuckled. “We’re good together. You know that, don’t you?”
“Yes, I know.”
“When we get off this damn island, I’m buying you some red panties and a red bra and we’re going to spend a week in bed at some swanky hotel, doing nothing but making love.”
“A whole week, huh?”
“Yeah, at least a week, then we’ll—”
A loud banging on the hut’s single wooden door interrupted Will midsentence.
“What the hell?” he grumbled.
“Will. Gwen. It’s Cheryl. Jordan sent me to get you two. The Professor is back and he’s talking crazy, saying all kinds of wild things about high priests and human sacrifices.”
“We’ll be there in a minute,” Will said.
“Hurry, will you? Jordan’s trying to calm The Professor, but he’s not having much luck.”
Will and Gwen rummaged around on the floor and the foot of the bed searching for their rumpled clothes. After gathering up their garments, they took turns hurriedly washing up, using water from a clay pitcher sitting on the hearth. They dressed and left their hut, intending to go next door to the hut Jordan and Cheryl shared. But once outside, they heard Jordan and Emery Arnell arguing, then Gwen’s father came storming out of Jordan’s hut.
“Daddy!” Gwen called to him.
He stopped and stared at her.
“What’s wrong?” She went to him, took his hands in hers and forced a smile, hoping to reassure him. “Please, tell me what’s going on.”
Jordan and Cheryl emerged from the hut, but didn’t approach Emery. Will glanced at Jordan who shook his head.
“Jordan refuses to believe me. He thinks I’ve lost my mind,” Emery said.
“I’m sure that’s not true.” Gwen glanced at Jordan. “Please, tell my father that you don’t think he’s crazy.”
“I didn’t say he was crazy,” Jordan said. “I told him that he was talking crazy.” Jordan focused on Emery. “Tell them what you told me. About the high priest and the human sacrifices and—”
“It’s true,” Emery said, his eyes wild. “Sebak told me. There are villages all over the island, but high atop the mountain is a city where the high priest lives, along with his scholars and an elite brigade. Although the villagers are kind to visitors from the outside world, the high priest orders outsiders to be killed. He will not let them leave the island.”
They all listened as The Professor rambled on. His tale of the sacred Eshe plant, human sacrifice, a diabolical high priest and a murderous elite brigade seeming far-fetched. But the more Will listened, the more convinced he became that Emery Arnell was telling the truth, that Sebak had shared this crucial information with him.
When Emery finished talking, he leaned against the hut, obviously exhausted. Gwen put her arm around her father and hugged him.
“I believe him.” Gwen glared at the others.
“So do I,” Will said.
“Have you both lost your minds?” Jordan asked.
“There’s one way to find out,” Will told them. “I’m going to speak to Sebak. If what Dr. Arnell has told us is true, we need to get off this island as soon as possible. Today.”
“No!” The Professor cried, “I will not leave without a sample of the Eshe plant.”
“Then you stay here and risk your life,” Will told him. “The rest of us are leaving today. We’d be better off floating around in the Atlantic, hoping to be rescued, than waiting here on this island, knowing we were going to wind up as human sacrifices.”
“I agree with Will even though I wanted to find this island so desperately,” Jordan said. “But if Sebak backs up The Professor’s story, then we must leave the island today.”
Will looked at Gwen. “Talk to your father. Make him see reason. I’m going to find Sebak.”
Before the sun rose high overhead, Will returned and gathered everyone together, including Mick McGuire, inside his and Gwen’s hut. His gaze went around the room, studying each person for a brief moment.
“Dr. Arnell was telling the truth,” Will said. “Sebak thinks we will be safe here for a few days, possibly another week or two, but the longer we are on the island, the greater the odds that the high priests’ elite brigade will discover that we’re here. If there was only one of us, it would be easier for them to hide us. But there are six of us.”
“Then I say we leave the island as soon as possible.” Jordan glanced at Emery.
“Leaving here sounds good to me,” Mick said. “But just how do you propose we do that? Our cruiser was destroyed in the storm and you said your boat’s motors aren’t working.”
“Sebak told me that my boat will take us to safety. He explained that when the high priest lifts the cloaking spell from around Umi, that act creates freak storms and disrupts everything within a hundred miles around the island. It’s some sort of weird magnetic field. Sebak feels certain that the Footloose’s engines will work now. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s our only hope.”
“And you believe this crap?” Cheryl asked.
“I’m going to take the lifeboat that Gwen and I left on shore, row back to the Footloose and check the engines myself,” Will told them.
“Won’t that be dangerous?” Gwen looked at him with great concern.
“How do we know you won’t make it to the boat, find out the engines are working and go off and leave us?” Mick got right up in Will’s face.
Will tapped Mick in the chest, warning him to move back, which Mick did. “I’d like to leave your sorry ass here on Umi and let the high priest’s elite brigade take care of you, but there’s no way in hell I’d leave the others.” Will looked directly at Gwen. “I’d die before I’d leave you behind. You know that, don’t you?”
Gwen’s heart lurched, tightened by a combination of joy and sorrow. How did she tell him that she couldn’t leave her father, who would not leave Umi without a sample of the Eshe plant?
“I trust you,” Jordan told Will. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”
“Just look after Gwen while I’m gone.”
“I can take care of myself,” she said.
“In our world, you probably can,” Will told her. “But not on Umi. I’ve told Sebak where I’m going and that I’m leaving my woman under Jordan’s protection. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand, and I’m sorry that I let my feminist instincts surface,” Gwen said. “You have enough to worry about right now. I promise that while you’re gone I’ll behave myself and not get in any trouble.”
“I won’t leave here without samples of the Eshe plant.” Dr. Arnell spoke up loud and clear, reiterating his intentions.
Gwen patted his hand. “Now is not the time to discuss this, Daddy. First, Will has to make sure the Footloose’s motors are working. Once he does that, we can make pla
ns to leave.”
“As long as you understand—all of you—that I must have samples of the plant to take with me,” Dr. Arnell said.
Picking up his backpack, Will motioned to Gwen, who followed him outside the hut. He cupped her chin between his thumb and forefinger, then kissed her. “While I’m gone, don’t take any chances. And do your best to keep your father from going off half-cocked.”
He kissed her again, then strapped his knapsack to his back and headed toward the road that would take him through the jungle back to the beach. Gwen stood and watched him until he disappeared from sight.
Cheryl came up beside her. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
“Oh, yes. I’m most definitely in love with him.”
“What are you going to do?”
“About what?”
“About choosing between your father and the man you love. The Professor won’t leave this island without a sample of the Eshe plant, and Will Pierce won’t leave this island without you.”
Chapter 15
Will returned to Oseye before nightfall and gathered everyone together inside his hut, where Gwen was waiting with the others. During Will’s absence, she had tried again and again—unsuccessfully—to make her father see reason.
“I will not leave Umi without samples of the Eshe plant,” he had told her repeatedly.
No matter what tactic she took, no matter what she, Jordan or Cheryl said to him, he refused to change his mind. In the end, Gwen knew what she would do, what she had to do for her father.
When Will entered the hut at twilight, Gwen ran to him, relieved that he had made the journey and returned safely. If anything had happened to him …
He lifted her off her feet and hugged her fiercely, then set her in front of him and smiled. “Good news, brown eyes. I can’t explain it, but the motors on the Footloose are working just fine. The radio is still out, but with the cruiser operational and the instruments online, we can leave this place first thing in the morning.”
Ready for Anything, Anywhere! Page 17
