Carved in Stone

by Stein Willard

  ***

  Phage blinked as she took in the interior of her tent. The air was heavy with the smell of roses as petals were strewn from the entrance of the large tent to the partition which she used as her sleeping area. For a moment she was torn between her curiosity to see what lay beyond the petal-strewn path and her irritation that someone had had the audacity to distract her from the battle. The latter won out and she turned, pushed the tent flap to the side and bellowed the name of her general.

  The man quickly came running to her tent. “What is all this?” she snapped. He peered into the tent and blinked too.

  “I…I have no idea, Commander. But I can have it removed.”

  Phage cocked her head to the side as she studied her second in command. “You have no knowledge of this?”

  “Yes, Commander. Your tent is off limits to everyone. Please let me remove it for you.”

  “You will both be in great trouble if you destroy my hard work,” a calm voice said from behind the flap which divided the general room from the sleeping area. The hair on Phage’s arms stood up at the sound of the husky, familiar voice. She quickly spun the general around and pushed him from the tent opening.

  “I do not want to be disturbed, General. Make it abundantly clear that anyone who dares to venture close to my tent this evening, risks decapitation.” She didn’t wait for the man’s reply; instead, she began to secure the tent flap. She cursed softly when the tying took longer than usual, but knew that her shaking hands were the reason for her clumsiness. Phage almost cried with relief when the task was done and she quickly made her way to the sleeping area.

  The sight that greeted her eyes was that of long, tanned legs. Long, naked appendages shifted slowly to reveal a dark triangle. Phage’s eyes didn’t stray from the sight.

  “Come, warrior, drink your fill.”

  Grasping at her shift, Phage was glad that she’d allowed her page to help her out of her blood-stained leathers earlier. With a hungry growl, she tore the shift off her own body and reached for her queen. Hot, hungry kisses down a smooth leg brought her to the most coveted prize. Phage drew in a long breath, inhaling the unique musky scent. Using the tip of her tongue she carefully parted the slick lips before taking a long hungry lick of the weeping slit.

  “Oh, warrior…” Aspen gasped and Phage felt a tremor coursing through her wife’s slender body. “More. Take as much as you want. Take everything.”

  With the tip of her tongue, Phage circled the protruding nub, causing Aspen to lift her legs and throw them over Phage’s broad shoulders. The action offered even better access to Aspen’s sex and Phage pounced on her lover’s dewy mound with renewed hunger.

  Aeron threw her head back as a ragged shout of pleasure tore from her lips. Shaking like a leaf, she rolled onto her side, her eyes blinking open. It took but a few seconds for her to realize what had awakened her. She slowly sat up and grimaced at the wetness between her thighs. She’d had another sex dream and it had brought herself to a thundering climax even while she was still fast asleep. She dropped her face into her hands. What was happening to her?

  She swallowed hard as she looked at her fingers. On shaky legs she stumbled to the bathroom. At this rate her landlord will probably begin to charge her extra for the vast amounts of water she used.

  After a quick refreshing shower, she strode back into her room. Her eyes fell on the alarm clock. It was 2:30 am. With a wary look at her rumpled bed, Aeron went to sit at her desk and booted her laptop. As she waited for the computer to boot, her thoughts returned to the dream. Why was she having dreams about a strange warrior? Once her computer had booted, she opened a search engine and began to type. She needed to get to the bottom of this and fast before she lost her mind.

  She typed dream interpretations into the search and flitted through a few searches. She finally stopped at one quoting Sigmund Freud. According to the psychiatrist, the imagery and contents of a dream could be related to wish fulfilment. Aeron sat back after reading that. Wish fulfilment? What did that mean?

  The shrill ringing of the phone startled her from her thoughts. She glanced at the alarm clock before reaching for the phone. Who would call her at 3:30 am?

  “Hello.”

  A long silence greeted her.

  “Hello. Who’s there?” she asked again. She didn’t hang up. It could be her parents since there was always a slight delay during international calls.

  “Are the dreams keeping you awake too?” a husky voice said.

  Aeron almost dropped the phone at the soft and unexpected query. She felt a trickle of unease course down her spine. Who was this and how did they know about the dreams? She swallowed hard as she brought the phone back to her ear.

  “Who…who’s this?”

  “You will know soon enough …Warrior,” came the quiet reply.

  Aeron shuddered, her eyes wide. It was suddenly all too clear now. “It’s…it’s you. You are the woman in my dreams.”

  A soft chuckle sounded. “And you are the passionate warrior in mine.” Aeron waited with bated breath for the woman to continue and was again greeted by a long silence.

  “I don’t understand this,” she whispered finally. “Why am I dreaming about you? I would’ve known if we had met before.”

  “We have… a very long time ago, Warrior. You just don’t remember me… anymore.”

  Aeron was stunned by the utter sadness she heard in the voice. Strangely, it resonated with something deep inside of her, something she couldn’t name. She was not that old and she was sure she would’ve remembered the woman if they’d met. With the woman’s sadness still echoing inside her, Aeron made up her mind.

  “I want to meet you.”

  The silence on the other side of the line stretched for a few long moments.

  “And so you will, my warrior.” The line went dead.

  Aeron struggled for a few long moments to bring her breathing under control. Warrior. It immediately conjured up hazy images of sweat-slicked bodies gliding over each other. Rubbing over her eyes, she looked at the screen with unseeing eyes.

  “Face it, Aeron Whittaker, you’re in lust.”

  CHAPTER 11

  “Doctor Whittaker?”

  Aeron’s head jerked up from where she’d been studying the hieroglyphs on the tablet Harry brought in earlier.

  She blinked at the man standing in the doorway and quickly took off her glasses. “Mr Sadik?”

  “We are seeing quite a lot of each other lately,” Sadik teased as he entered the room. Dressed impeccably as always, the business man came to stand at her desk. He waved her down when she made a move to rise. “I won’t be long. Is that the new piece?”

  Aeron looked down at the tablet. “Yes. I was studying it before we had the press conference.”

  “That’s the reason why I’m here,” Sadik said, not taking his eyes off the artefact. “There won’t be a press conference today.” He looked at her. “Your probe about the location and timeframe hold merit and the Sultana wants us to eliminate every possibility before we go public with the find.”

  Inwardly, Aeron sighed in relief. It seems the Sultana was as wise as she was rich. “I fully agree with you. We wouldn’t want to run the risk of diminishing the artefacts’ value and credibility.”

  Sadik nodded, seemingly pondering her remark. “I want to thank you for bringing it to our attention. The Sultana offers her gratitude.”

  Aeron blushed. “I…I was simply doing my job.”

  “You are good at what you do and I hope you will consider my job offer.” He didn’t wait for her reply; instead he bowed and left the workroom. Aeron stared after him, her eyes wide. She had completely forgotten about the job offer. Aeron wondered what her mother would say to this. She glanced at her watch. It was still too early to call home. Maybe she would call in the evening if nothing else came up. She picked up the magnifying glass and pushing the visit of Sadik to the background, quickly became engrossed in the hieroglyphs.

  “G
ood evening, Bruiser.”

  Aeron’s head snapped up. Harry stood in the doorway, a huge grin on his face. She glanced at her watch again. It was almost eight.

  “Hi yourself.” She sat back in the chair and rolled her stiff shoulders. “I lost track of time.”

  Harry shrugged. “It’s known to happen, especially in our line of work. Have you eaten yet?”

  At the thought of food, Aeron’s stomach let out a deep growl, causing Harry to grin.

  “I take it that means ‘no’. Let me stick you for dinner.” Harry came to stand at the table. He looked at the tablet. “You found anything ground-breaking?”

  Aeron stifled a yawn as she came to her feet. “This thing will stir up more dust than my thesis did.”

  “Do tell, Doctor Whittaker.”

  “Over dinner, Hairball. Where’re you taking me?” Aeron looked down at her chinos and button down shirt. “Will I need to chance?”

  Harry snorted. “Dream on, Tigress. With your gigantic appetite I will not be stupid to take you to an expensive place.”

  “Cheapskate.”

  “I know, and don’t think for one moment that I feel insulted.” He stifled a yawn. “That beergarten close to your place would do for tonight. Get your stuff and let’s go. As you can see, I’m way past my bedtime already.”

  ***

  Sadik looks up from the document in his hand when his office door opened. He had sent his secretary home hours ago and was under the impression that he was the only one left in the building except for the night guards, Alarmed, he approached his mother when she entered. Aka dropped her purse on a chair and sunk into the other.

  “Mother? Is everything alright?”

  Aka shrugged. “It depends on whether you know where Aspen is?”

  “She’s not with you?” Sadik quickly walked over to his desk and reached for his phone.

  “I’ve tried to call her numerous times, but she’s not answering. Maybe you’ll have better luck.”

  Sadik hesitated for a moment before punching in the number he knew by heart. Please, answer! When the call went directly to voice mail he cursed under his breath. “When did you see her last, mother?”

  Aka sighed deeply as she rose to her feet. “I haven’t seen her since she transformed earlier this evening.”

  Making quick calculations, Sadik felt his heart rate slow down. “That’s like three hours ago. She’s not…”

  “I don’t know how, but she’s found a way to transform earlier,” Aka bit her nail. “She doesn’t know that I know, but I’ve seen her wandering around the house on the cameras while the sun’s still up.”

  Sadik dropped his head until his chin rested on his chest. “I think I have an idea where she might be. Let’s hope we’re not too late.”

  ***

  From where she stood in the dark doorway of a curio-shop, Aspen’s eyes hungrily roamed over the face of the young archaeologist. She was breathtakingly beautiful, a true feast to her hungry gaze.

  A solitary teardrop made its way down her cheek and into her neck. Aspen took a shuddering breath as she pushed deeper into the shadows. The familiarity between the couple was disconcerting. Could it be that Phage was in love with that man? Sadik hadn’t said anything about the woman being romantically involved with anyone. As she looked on the man leaned over and brushed a kiss over Aeron’s cheek. Aeron in turn threw her head back and laughed. She looked happy. A solid stream of tears coursed down her cheeks as she regarded the couple.

  “You promised…” she murmured softly. “You promised me that we’ll continue our love.”

  Her breath caught in her throat when the blonde head lifted and eyes she knew to be a burnish gold looked in her direction. From her shadowed hiding place, Aspen held the golden gaze, knowing that it was impossible for Aeron to see her. A long moment passed as their gazes held. Aeron only broke the connection when her companion touched her arm.

  Sighing in relief, Aspen closed her eyes. When she’d slipped out of the penthouse to wait outside the Heritage Museum, all she wanted was to have a glimpse of Aeron before she left for Lesbos later tonight. The moment the tall blonde stepped out of the building, Aspen’s heart stopped for a brief moment as she watched Aeron stood on the top step, stretching her imposing body. Just like the first time, she’d seen Phage, Aspen was entranced. She simply couldn’t bring herself to walk away. It was such a delight to see Phage, alive and full of zest.

  When she opened her eyes again, it was to her shock to meet Aeron’s intense gaze. It was disturbing having the woman looking at her even though Aspen knew that Aeron couldn’t see her. Her lips parted slightly and her eyes widened when Aeron slowly came to her feet. The blonde’s eyes were still focussed on the doorway where Aspen was hiding.

  Aspen scanned the area for a quick getaway. She heard a shout and returned her attention to Aeron. Aeron’s companion was calling after her as Aeron waded through the tables and diners to the exit of the beergarten.

  Aspen knew it was now or never and lowering her head she stepped out of her hiding place and briskly made her way down a dark alley. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears making it difficult for her to hear if Aeron was in pursuit. Exiting the alley, she spotted a taxi and quickly made her way over to it.

  ***

  “You okay?”

  Aeron stiffened when a hand fell on her shoulder. Reluctantly, she dragged her eyes away from the dark alley where the mysterious person had disappeared. She could swear that the person was watching her. She turned to look at Harry and then back at the alley. With a frown she turned to Harry.

  “I’m fine.”

  Harry peered down the alley and back at her. “Looking for something?” He scanned the dark alley again. “Trouble, perhaps?” He chuckled at his own joke, but stopped when he noticed that Aeron wasn’t enjoying his attempt at humour. “Come on, let’s go back. Our food should be ready by now.”

  Aeron stood there for a while longer. Harry was already halfway to the restaurant, obviously thinking she was right behind him. With a sigh she turned away from the alley, her eyes zeroing in on the place where she’d first felt eyes looking at her.

  Since leaving the museum with Harry earlier, Aeron couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. A few quick glances over her shoulder had offered nothing, nor did anything look out of the ordinary. The feeling intensified when they were sitting at the restaurant. Aeron could feel a burning gaze on her. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the dark doorway of a shop opposite the restaurant. She couldn’t make out anything. But she also couldn’t dispute the fact that someone was hiding in the dark, looking at her. Not once in the two years she’d spent in Ankara had she felt unsafe. The people were friendly and very upfront, saying and making their feelings known immediately. Even tonight, as she’d felt those eyes on her, Aeron didn’t feel unsafe. There was nothing sinister about the look. Instead, it had spoken to a very primal part of her.

  It had aroused her.

  “Hey, Aeron, come on!”

  Aeron threw a glance over her shoulder at Harry, who stood at the entrance of the restaurant.

  “I’m on my way,” she called back. Aeron had seen the tall shadow slip from the doorway to the alley. She hadn’t imagined that. Someone had been spying on her.

  The THA was robbed about a month before she arrived in Ankara. Interpol set a trap for the thieves and they were caught in Vienna trying to sell the artefacts to a wealthy Swiss businessman. It came to light much later that one of the museum’s technicians had been used by her ‘so-called’ boyfriend to gain access to the museum. The robber who posed as the girl’s boyfriend had been following her for months before approaching her.

  Aeron hoped it wasn’t the case. For whoever the person was, they had her number. She walked to where a frowning Harry was waiting for her. Just as they took their seats, their food arrived. Her appetite suddenly gone, Aeron picked at her favourite dish.

  “You not hungry anymore, Airhead?” Harry asked around a mout
hful of fries.

  Aeron threw a quick glance at the alley and back at her plate. “I think I’m just tired.”

  Harry’s eyes roamed over her face and Aeron quickly looked away. Harry knew her too well. He would know she was lying.

  “It was a woman.”

  Aeron’s head snapped up. “Excuse me?”

  “It was a woman. I didn’t see her face, but I could see it was a woman just before she slipped down the alley.” Harry took a sip from his beer.

  Not knowing what to say, Aeron could only blink at Harry. A woman? She didn’t know many women here, except for the few she worked with. But they were all married with children and wouldn’t be hanging around this late hiding in doorways. Unless…

  Aeron felt the air stuck in her throat. No, it couldn’t be. She surged to her feet causing the other patrons to stare at her in surprise. If it was her, then she had to find her. Maybe she wasn’t far from her. She looked at Harry and found him clutching his throat, his face a bright red colour.

  “Jeez, Harry.” She moved behind him and practiced the Heimlich on him. A small piece of meat flew from his mouth and landed on the walkway opposite the restaurant. She quickly handed him her glass of water which he chucked away. “Hairball?”

  Harry’s eyes were closed as he gulped for air. Aeron waited patiently for him to recover. When he did, the first thing out of Harry’s mouth was a cuss word.

  “Harry?”

  “You almost killed me jumping to your feet like that! What the hell did you do that for?” he snapped at her. His blue eyes were still a little watery behind his glasses.

  “I’m sorry, Harry.” To show her remorse, she gently rubbed his bony shoulder knob. “I’m really sorry.”

  Harry took another drink of water and blew out a slow breath. “It’s okay. I’ll live. What was that all about anyway?”