Carved in Stone

by Stein Willard

  “Ah, now that I want to see. You plan on going to the dig in a suit? I doubt the media would buy that.” Aeron took a long pull on her beer.

  “That’s their problem. The real stars of the show will be too irresistible to ignore,” Harry said.

  ***

  Aspen’s head jerked up when a plate of soup was placed before her. She grimaced at the smell that waved up from the bowl. Her appetite had deserted her since Sadik’s visit to the island.

  “I made your favourite soup.”

  “I’ll eat later.”

  Aka planted her hands on her hips. “You’ve been saying that for the past three days.” Aka’s eyes were dark with concern. “I’m worried, Aspen. You can’t go on like this.”

  Aspen reached for the spoon, but her hand stopped halfway and instead went for the photograph lying on the table next to the plate. Her eyes hungrily took in the features of the woman.

  “Leave me be, Aka,” she said quietly. “I’ll eat when I’m hungry.” When the other woman didn’t move, Aspen looked up. Aka’s chin was pushed out in defiance. “I’m not hungry now.”

  “You will fall ill if you don’t eat, Sultana. You need to be strong and healthy when Sadik brings her here.”

  Aspen’s stomach clenched. “When exactly is he bringing her?”

  “Soon.”

  Swallowing hard, Aspen looked at the picture again. “It’s killing me to know she could be this close and yet so far.” Out of the corner of her eye she saw Aka taking the seat next to hers where she sat on the terrace facing the sea.

  “I have a proposition for you. You want to hear what it is?”

  Aspen reluctantly lifted her gaze from the picture to meet Aka’s dark eyes. “Tell me.”

  “If you finish your soup, I will go with you to Ankara tonight.”

  Blinking rapidly, Aspen stared at Aka. “You’re not serious.” Doubt and excitement warred inside her as she pondered Aka’s proposition. The other woman looked dead serious. “You’re serious?”

  “I am. I can call now and have the jet ready. We could be in Ankara in less than two hours.” Aka said as she pushed the bowl toward Aspen. “You decide.” She came to her feet and placed her hand on Aspen’s shoulder. “I’m just as eager as you to see her for myself.”

  Aspen’s eyes followed Aka as she walked away then slowly turned to look at the bowl of soup. With a deep sigh, she reached for the spoon. She was surprised when, after the first spoonful, she realized how hungry she really was and dug into the bowl with relish. She was unaware of Aka standing behind her, looking at her with shimmering eyes.

  ***

  Sadik was in the process of taking a sip from his water glass when his phone rang. He quickly reached inside his jacket to retrieve it. His cell phone was rarely used by anyone but his mother, his wife or the Sultana.

  “Hello.”

  “Sadik, I’m bringing Aspen with me to Ankara.”

  “What?!” Sadik quickly placed the glass on the desk to avoid a spill. “Why?”

  “Because you’re taking too long and in the meantime she’s starving herself,” Aka snapped.

  “But…but…” Sadik shook his head. This could ruin his plans. “I have everything planned. It’s just two more days to Friday.”

  “I doubt she’ll last two more days. We’ll be staying at the penthouse. Expect us around eight.”

  “Tonight? Mother, I don’t think this is a good idea,” Sadik said quickly. “This might jeopardize all our plans.”

  “I’m bringing her and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll make sure our trip is not in vain.”

  “But…”

  “Just do it, Sadik.” The line went dead.

  Sadik considered throwing the cell phone to the floor and trampling it. Why were mothers so obstinate? Instead he placed the phone in his pocket and pressed the ‘talk’ button on the intercom. “Amara, please get me the Turkish Heritage Association on the line. Ask for the Director.”

  ***

  “How come the place is deserted? I thought it would be crawling with people considering how hot it is today.”

  Aspen grinned as she pressed her naked breasts against that of the warrior. She loved the feel of Phage’s nipples brushing over hers. “As their Queen, I’ve given them all free use of the public baths.” She leaned closer and drew Phage into deep open-mouth kiss. “I wanted you all to myself.”

  “In view of anyone who’d care to spy?” Phage asked.

  A soft groan sounded when Aspen’s hand disappeared below the water and made contact with Phage’s slit.

  “I don’t care who spies on us this eve, warrior. I’m more concerned with celebrating my wife’s safe return from a very perilous journey.”

  Phage hissed as she threw her head back offering Aspen more sweet skin to torment. “I will not stop you, my Queen.”

  “You better not,” Aspen murmured and sucked on Phage’s earlobe. “It would be very disappointing if the guest of honour would be distracted while the feast is for her sole benefit.”

  Aspen tapped with her finger the swollen nub and she smiled when Phage’s hips jerked up almost unseating her.

  “Would you like anything to drink, Sultana,” a soft voice said from her side and Aspen almost jumped out of her skin at the unexpected intrusion. She quickly shook her head and watched as the airhostess moved on to where Aka sat.

  The night was quiet expect for an owl hooting in the distance. Aspen was stretched out on the muscled frame of her dozing lover. She lovingly studied the beautiful face, aching to touch that which her eyes so lavishly caressed. But Phage was tired and was also recovering from a slight injury to her shoulder. Her warrior needed her rest. They have so many more years together to make love and create timeless memories.

  A soft sob escaped Aspen’s lips as she swallowed back the tears which threatened to escape. Had she known then what she knew now, she would’ve stirred her lover to wakefulness and ravished her until they were both too exhausted to move. Two months after their romantic rendezvous by the stream, Phage was dead. Aspen would never forgive the gods for what they’d done. She had to survive for 3 000 years on memories created in a meagre five years. Each and every moment she’d spent with Phage had ran like a loop through her mind for the past thirty centuries. The one thing that she couldn’t hold onto was Phage’s unique smell. The warrior always smelled like rain and Aspen loved to hide Phage’s worn clothes and wear them just so she could be surrounded by the scent when her warrior was out leading Galatia’s army. That was the one thing that beset her the most. Will this woman who looks every bit like her Phage smell the same too?

  She felt eyes on her and raised her head to meet Aka’s. “It will be okay. I promise.”

  Aspen gave her a faint smile. She wished she was as optimistic as Aka. Strange how naïve humans could be, she was like that too many, many years ago. But having lived as long as she had, she’d become jaded. She’d seen the good, the bad and the ugly in her long, solitary life. She’s been so shocked and saddened by events and people that she had gladly parted with her naivety. It was better to expect the worst and be surprised by something better. That was how she’d survived all these millennia. But it doesn’t mean that she didn’t find such naivety refreshing in humans.

  “We’ll see what happens, sister,” she said softly. Too many things counted against her. She hated leaving the island, her home for the past five hundred years. The mainland had become too busy, prompting her to buy up land along the most remote coastline of Lesbos. She always felt out of sorts when she was on the mainland. Another thing was her fear of how to accept it if the woman wouldn’t remember her. She prayed that Aka had enough optimism for the both of them.

  CHAPTER 8

  Aeron gave herself one last look in the mirror. She rarely applied make-up, but the meeting was important and the THA Director had asked her at the last minute to sit in. She brushed her hair back with her fingertips and reached for her purse. The Director should be here any mom
ent now to accompany her to the hotel. He hadn’t said much over the phone except that he had an important dinner date with an investor and that he expected her to attend. Aeron looked down at her black pantsuit and golden silk blouse. She really wanted to make an impression. With her tenure running out in the next six months, landing a huge investor for the THA would look incredible on her resume. She glanced at her watch. Mustafa Osman was always punctual and it made working with him very easy. In their line of work, it wasn’t always easy to keep time, since everything that happened was determined by whatever the earth decides to give up. She heard a car honked outside and quickly made for the door.

  “You look wonderful,” Mustafa said as soon she’d settled in the passenger seat and fastened her seatbelt.

  “Thank you. You clean up pretty well too,” she teased.

  The man’s dark eyes sparkled. “In our line of work we rarely have the need to dress up, so when the opportunity arises, my wife loves to dress me up.”

  “And she does a really good job too.”

  “I will tell her you said that.” He steered the car into traffic and only spoke again when they were part of the flowing traffic. “I’m sorry for letting you know on such short notice about the dinner meeting, but I wanted you to be present. You’re such an intricate part of the THA and you are also the best person to advise an investor on how and where to invest.”

  “It’s no problem at all, Mustafa. I was anyway planning on returning to museum to see how far the students got with the cataloguing and to work on my monthly report.”

  Mustafa’s head snapped in her direction. “Do you always keep such long hours?”

  Aeron shrugged. “I like what I doing.”

  “That is good and well, but I would hate for you to burn out. You are too valuable to us. The Board is already nervous about letting you go at the end of your contract.”

  “You need not worry that I’ll burn out. I keep a healthy balance between work and private time. About my contract, well, I’ve been away from home too long.”

  Mustafa grimaced at that. “That is true, but it will be a sad day for us when you leave.”

  “I’ve checked the CV’s of potential applicants and I will make sure to recommend the best ones for you to review,” Aeron said, warmed by the fact that she seemed to have made a lasting impression on her bosses.

  “We would appreciate that greatly. Ah, here we are.”

  Aeron looked out the window for the first time since she got in. A valet stepped forward as they approached the curb in front of the Sheraton Hotel. She rarely, if ever, ventured beyond the suburbs that she stayed and worked in. She took a deep breath. This was one of, if not the richest, addresses in Ankara. She thanked the young man when he opened the door for her and waited for Mustafa to join her.

  “The investor was mum on what he wanted to discuss except that it had to do with a recent find at one of our digs,” Mustafa said as he buttoned up his suit jacket. “I’ve not heard of anything. Have you?”

  Aeron frowned slightly as he faltered in her footsteps. “I met with Harry…uh…Dr. Klimt this afternoon and he showed me a tablet and a coin they found two days ago. I was going to discuss it with you tomorrow morning.”

  This time it was Mustafa’s turn to frown. “What era?”

  “He hasn’t confirmed the exact origins yet and they still needed to date the artefacts, but I believe it makes a strong reference to Amazonian culture.”

  Mustafa’s eyes bugged. “Amazonian? Are you sure?”

  Aeron shrugged. “I’m afraid Dr Klimt will only begin the verification process in the coming weeks and then we’ll know for sure. But yes, the tablet depicts Amazonian inscriptions as does the coin.”

  “If this is what the meeting’s about then I understand why they wanted to talk to us. This could be an incredible breakthrough.” Mustafa’s face was alight with excitement. “This is incredible news.”

  “It is,” Aeron noted quietly. “There are, however, a few things that need to be clarified before we go to the media with this.” She saw Mustafa deflate before her eyes. After years of working together, he had come to trust her when it comes to her gut feeling. From his dejected mood, she also knew that he wasn’t expecting good news. “I spoke to Harry about it too.”

  “What is it?”

  Aeron bit down on her lower lip. “I question the context of the find.”

  “But not the find itself?”

  “No. It’s probably a little premature to say this, but I believe the find is genuine,” Aeron said quickly.

  That seemed to perk Mustafa up again. “That is good. You have no idea how happy I am to have you here now. Let’s go find out what they want to talk about.”

  ***

  Sadik was worried. He also felt guilty for having doubted his mother’s word. Aspen really didn’t look well. There were dark circles around her eyes and she looked a lot thinner than last he saw her. He glanced at his mother and found her giving him a sharp look.

  “They will be here any minute,” he said as he leaned over to kiss his mother’s cheek. “I have set up the monitor and you will be able to watch as we conduct the meeting.” He walked over to where Aspen stood at the window and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry for not realizing earlier how important this was to you.”

  Aspen smiled without taking her eyes off the nightscape that was Ankara. “How would you know if I didn’t tell you?”

  Sadik was quiet as he looked at her profile. She was right, but at least he should’ve anticipated that something like this would happen. Upon their arrival, when he saw the change Aspen’s body had undergone, he’d felt like kicking himself. As a matter of fact, he still does. He squeezed her shoulder gently.

  “I will make it right. I promise.” With his promise ringing loud in the quiet room, Sadik left. He had just entered the lounge when the doorbell rang. His eyes sought out the camera which covered the whole room, hoping Aspen was already seated in front of the monitor. He went to answer the door for his guests.

  “Welcome and thank you for accommodating at such short notice, Mustafa,” he said to the director before turning his attention to the tall blonde who looked surprised to see him. “Doctor Whittaker, we meet sooner than I thought. Please come in. I took the liberty of having the chef prepare us a late dinner since I wasn’t sure if you had already eaten,” He said as he closed the door and led his guests into the lounge. He made sure to point Aeron to a chair which would give the camera an unobstructed view of her. “Will that be fine with you?”

  Mustafa looked at Aeron and back at Sadik. “It is very thoughtful of you, Mr Sadik. Dinner would be nice, thank you.”

  Sadik turned to Aeron, smiling charmingly. The archaeologist looked quite good in the formal attire. “Shall I get you something to drink while we wait for the food to arrive?”

  “I’ll have tea, Mr Sadik.”

  “Please, since this is an informal dinner meeting, I would like it if we could drop the formality. Call me Sadik,” he said quickly.

  Aeron smiled. “In that case I would like for you to call me Aeron.”

  Sadik grinned. “Aeron it is then. What shall it be for you, Mustafa?”

  ***

  At the sound of the doorbell, Aspen stiffened. She heard Aka moving around behind her and turned. Aka was smiling.

  “Come see her.”

  Aspen touched her shirt pocket where she kept the picture. She was scared. What if the picture was simply a fluke? She wouldn’t put it pass the gods to want to twist the knife some more. Aspen turned back to the window. She could make out voices coming from the speakers of the monitor. She could make out Sadik’s voice as he welcomed the guests. Reluctantly, she turned from the window to look at the monitor. Aka was looking intently at the monitor and curiosity finally won out. Aspen came to look over Aka’s shoulder. Her eyes immediately zeroed in on the blonde woman and she gasped softly. Aka quickly looked at her and it must’ve seen something on her face because she quickly v
acated the chair.

  Aspen froze when the woman looked up. It was almost as if the blonde knew she was being watched. Their eyes met and Aspen felt her insides shift as she stared into the golden gaze.

  CHAPTER 9

  Aeron’s eyes took in the room. It spoke of money, very old money, from the looks of the expensive paintings and furniture. Her eyes landed on a small security camera in the corner of the room and she frowned. The hair in her nape rose. Was she being watched? She looked away, but her eyes strayed back to the small black eye again. Who was on the other side? She turned to look at Sadik and found him also looking at the camera. He must’ve felt her eyes on him for he turned a piercing, dark gaze on her.

  “Please think nothing of that, Aeron. Considering the pieces on display, we had to take the necessary precautions to keep my employer’s possessions safe.”

  “I would’ve done the same had I been fortunate enough to own such beauties.”

  Sadik smiled as he took a sip from his wine glass. “Indeed. Tell me, Aeron. If you had the chance to acquire or own these pieces here, would you go for it?”

  Aeron, who was in the process of taking a sip from her tea, coughed softly to hide her surprise at the question. She glanced at Mustafa. He too, looked interested in her answer. She licked suddenly dry lips.

  “I don’t know. It would depend on what I had to do to get this rich. Although I must add that that has never been a priority for me.”

  Mustafa grinned. “Ah, but we all want to be rich, is it not?” He smiled at Sadik. “At least I wouldn’t complain having a few extra millions in my bank account.”