The Mandala Maneuver

by Christine Pope

  “Thank goodness,” she replied, and then paused in consternation. Damn it — they’d left the blankets on the ground when they fled that monster, and now she had nothing to put between her and the cold, hard rock.

  Somehow seeming to understand the source of her hesitation, Lirzhan said quietly, “My robes are very warm.”

  Oh, she guessed they probably were. She almost retorted that she was just fine without the blankets and without his help, but stopped herself. It would be foolish to decline his offer simply because she didn’t exactly fancy spending the night snuggled up against him. Actually, now that she thought of it….

  “Thank you,” she told him, then watched as he settled himself on the ground. She paused for a second or two, gathering her nerve, before she, too, sank to the rocky floor of the cavern and then scooted over next to him. He’d thoughtfully spread out a fold of his long, heavy cloak so she could sit on it, and she situated herself with care, making sure none of the rock was actually touching her.

  Quietly, he lifted his arm, and she moved closer, leaning herself against him, feeling him pull his robes around both of them so they were wrapped in a cocoon of warmth. All right, this wasn’t so bad. He held her close, allowing her to rest her head on his chest. His heartbeat was slow and strong, reassuring in its regularity, drawing her down toward sleep.

  Crazy how comfortable she was like this, how relaxed and easy. It felt right to be here, her head pillowed on his broad chest, which rose and fell beneath her cheek. His soft, steady breaths and the rhythm of his heart blended to make quite an effective white-noise generator, and she let herself fall into darkness, secure in the knowledge that he was there to keep her from harm.

  She slept, her hair coming loose from its elastic and gleaming across the dark fabric that covered his chest. It seemed to glow in the light from the lantern, pale and lovely, so unlike the hair of a Zhore. He wished he could bend down and kiss the crown of her head, but he knew better than to take such a liberty. Enough that she should have agreed to share the warmth of his robes, had actually dared so much physical contact.

  His need for her was an actual physical ache. He forced himself to breathe in and out, to focus on their surroundings, although all seemed quiet and still. There had been no talk of taking watches this time, probably because she was so weary that the thought hadn’t even crossed her mind. No matter; he sensed they were safe enough here. Even so, he would remain awake for at least another hour, just in case.

  He took a deep breath, tasting the flavor of the rock, noticing an increased level of humidity in the air. What that meant, he wasn’t sure. He heard no sounds of an underground stream, or even dripping from the rocky roof overhead. Perhaps it was just the density of the air down here. At least he smelled nothing beyond the gritty aroma of stone and a faint sweet scent from Alexa’s hair. No predators, none of the noisome odor of the slug-creature.

  It was better that he occupied himself with such things, rather than the feel of Alexa’s head against his chest, or the curve of her body as it snugged so perfectly up to his. Desire was not an emotion he had much experience with; among the Zhore, one only felt desire for one who was sayara, in which case it was reciprocated. His people had no long courting periods, because they knew from the beginning if they were compatible. Before Alexa, he’d had no conception of how this wanting could be a physical torment, a gnawing, cramping hollowness somewhere in his breast.

  He would have to ignore it. He certainly could not act on it, not before he knew whether or not she would be receptive to such advances. Certainly she’d given no hint up until now that she felt any attraction toward him. Rather the opposite, unfortunately.

  Frowning, he took in another breath, and then shut his eyes. If anything untoward should occur, he knew he could be awake in a millisecond. But he needed his sleep as well, or he would not be effective the next day, with whatever it might bring. So he held himself still and let oblivion wash over him. If he were very lucky, he might dream of Alexa, although he couldn’t imagine any dream being better than this, with her asleep in his arms.

  If he dreamed, he didn’t recall any of those dreams when he awoke some five hours later, the woman he loved still a warm sleeping weight against his shoulder and chest. Very gently he touched her hand and whispered, “Alexa.”

  Her eyes fluttered open at once, wide and worried. “What is it?”

  “Nothing. But we have slept a good while, and I think it’s time we ate and pushed on.”

  She nodded and blinked, obviously attempting to rid herself of the last dregs of sleep. “Got it.” And then she pushed herself away from him, unwrapping his cloak and standing. One hand went up to her loose hair, and she frowned. “Have you seen my hair band?”

  He hadn’t, but he felt around on the ground next to him and located it a few seconds later. “Here.”

  Taking it from him, she pulled her hair back into a sloppy tail. A little pang went through him at that, for he thought her lovelier than ever with her long hair cascading over her shoulders. But he supposed it would get in the way. He definitely knew better than to mention that he liked her hair better loose.

  They ate and drank, and used a little of their water to splash their faces and hands. And then it was time to go, heading toward the far end of the cavern where it narrowed down into a tunnel once more, the lantern showing more of the same rough floor and walls and roof as the passageways they’d traversed the day before.

  The way continued to slope downward, and Lirzhan frowned within his hood. Surely at some point it must begin to rise again? But that was only hope, not knowledge. And they could not go back; whatever happened, they must press on.

  Now the air began to feel damp as well as taste that way. It smelled moist here, too, and in the reflected bluish glow of the lantern he could see the stone walls around them gleaming with wet.

  Alexa sensed it as well. Her head cocked, and she sniffed the air before reaching out to touch the wall of the tunnel, bringing away fingertips covered in the moisture. She rubbed her fingers together. “Seems like regular water.”

  “Smells like it as well,” he replied. “Perhaps there is an underground stream, or fissures in the rock that go all the way to the surface and let in rainwater.”

  She nodded, saying, “Let’s hope it isn’t anything bigger than a str — ” And her words broke off as the tunnel opened up before them, revealing a cavern vastly larger than the one where they’d encountered the slug-creature.

  They’d found the source of the moisture. It wasn’t an underground stream, or even a river.

  It was a lake. It stretched out in all directions, appearing to touch the cave walls to either side. There did not seem to be any way to walk around it. They would have to swim.

  “I guess I shouldn’t have opened my mouth,” Alexa managed after a strained pause.

  “I believe the lake would have been there regardless of what you said.” He made sure to keep his tone light, but he could feel his heart rate accelerate. If they were to swim for it, he could not do so garbed as he was. He would have to take off his robes, for once they were waterlogged they would weigh him down far too much.

  And that meant she would see him.

  A Zhore only revealed himself to his mate. She of course would have no idea how significant such a gesture was among his people, but he would.

  “Can you swim?” she asked, and her voice sounded a little shaky.

  “Yes,” he said. “There was a lake near the house where I was born. My mother used to call me her little treska — similar to what you refer to as a ‘tadpole’ on Gaia.”

  “‘Treska,’” Alexa repeated. “I like it.” The faint smile she’d been wearing faded, and she said, not looking at him, “Lirzhan, I’m afraid I don’t know how to swim.”

  The Zhore did not normally curse, but Lirzhan suddenly found himself understanding why the practice was so popular among the other humanoid races of the galaxy. “You don’t? But so much of Gaia is covered in wat
er.”

  “Not where I grew up. Oh, there were rivers and small lakes, and municipal swimming pools, but my — that is, the people who raised me didn’t think it was worth spending the money on lessons. So I never learned.” During this little speech she continued to stare down at the dark rock beneath her feet, as if by looking up she’d somehow sense the condemnation in his posture, even though she couldn’t see past the hood.

  “It is no matter,” he told her, keeping his tone as reassuring as possible. “I can support you. Once you’re in the water you will be buoyant, and the extra weight should not slow me down terribly much.”

  She did not look all that convinced. “You’re going to swim across that lake carrying me and wearing those?” And she pointed to the heavy robes he wore.

  “No,” he replied, trying to keep his tone light, as if what he was about to propose did not go against everything he had been taught. “They will only weigh me down. I will fold them up and put them in the emergency kit. Luckily, the bag is waterproof.”

  “You’ll — ” The words broke off, and she stared at him with unbelieving eyes. “But a Zhore never goes out in public without his robes.”

  Oh, yes, I know that. “True, but this is not so public after all. It is only you and I here.”

  Because he knew he would have to do it now, before he lost his nerve, he set down the lantern, and reached up and undid the clasp at his throat. Then he grasped the edges of the heavy fabric and pulled it away.

  Six

  Alexa thought for sure he must be making some kind of macabre joke. She couldn’t believe for a second that Lirzhan would actually remove those robes. They were like armor or something for the Zhore.

  But his gloved hands gripped the heavy fabric and pulled it away, hood falling back even as he drew off the bulky garment, sliding free of the arms. He lifted his head, and gazed calmly at her.

  And she — well, she could only stand there and stare. Incongruously, she almost wanted to laugh. So many rumors and stories about the Zhore’s ugliness. Because really, what other reason could they have for covering themselves from head to toe, never allowing any off-worlders to get even a single glance at them?

  He wasn’t ugly. Far from it. Humanoid, not human, skin black but with a faint iridescence that she realized came from thousands of tiny scales, far finer than those of the reptiles on her own world. Fine, strong nose and beautiful planes of cheekbone, forehead, and chin. Beneath straight, expressive black brows, eyes of a startling green stared back at her. His hair was long and black, possibly even longer than her own, caught away from his face in some sort of clasp.

  The silence was deafening. She couldn’t think of what to say, except maybe something along the lines of, You’re doing the women of the galaxy a grave disservice by depriving them of the opportunity to see that. But that was too casual, too flip. She somehow sensed that what he had just done was very, very difficult for him.

  Instead, she said quietly, “Thank you,” and smiled.

  He remained still for a few more seconds, gazing down at her, and then he smiled as well, a beautiful smile, with white human-looking teeth…although she thought that perhaps he had a few more than she. Then he sobered. “You will need to take off your boots, and your jacket. I will take off my boots as well.”

  For the first time she focused on what he had been wearing under the robes — a high-necked black tunic and close-fitting black trousers tucked into high black boots. The ensemble revealed what could only be guessed at before — that he was slender but well-built, with broad shoulders and a nice, wide chest.

  That chest had felt awfully good when she rested her head on it the night before.

  But that realization began to lead her thoughts in directions she wasn’t sure she wanted them to go. Anyway, they had more important things to worry about right now. Like getting across that lake.

  “Got it,” she replied, and eased off one boot, then the other, followed by her stockings, which she rolled up and put in the boots. The rock under her bare feet was icy cold, and she wondered what the temperature of that black water before her must be. Definitely not spa temperature, she guessed. How long did it take to be affected by hypothermia? If she’d ever known, she couldn’t recall now.

  She hesitated a second or two before reaching up to undo the buttons on her jacket. Silly to be acting prudish right now, especially when Lirzhan had just done the Zhore equivalent of getting naked in front of her. Yes, the camisole she wore under that jacket was pretty skimpy, but she thought he probably had more important things on his mind than looking at her chest.

  However, she understood his reasoning for wanting her to take off the jacket. By stowing it in the emergency bag, it would remain dry, and so she’d have something warm to put on once they got to the other side.

  If they got to the other side.

  “How far can you swim?” she asked, not precisely meeting his eyes as she folded up her jacket, then handed it to him.

  “Far,” he told her, taking the garment from her and stowing it in the emergency bag before gathering up her boots and stuffing them in as well. “Once I swam almost ten kilometers, although I do not think we have nearly that far to go.” He paused, elegant head tilted to one side as he appeared to listen to the lap of the water on the rocky shore. “It is very faint, but I believe I can hear the echo of the water splashing on the other side. Perhaps it is no more than half a kilometer.”

  That was good news. Surely if he’d once managed ten kilometers, then less than a tenth that shouldn’t be any problem at all.

  If it was even safe. “Maybe we should try the water testing kit before we dip our toes in, so to speak.”

  “Excellent idea.” He rummaged around in the emergency bag, presumably having to push past their discarded clothing and boots to locate the little plastic tube.

  As she took it from him, Alexa forced herself not to stare up into his face. It was more difficult than she thought, because some part of her wanted to keep looking and looking, to finally put features to the voice she had been hearing for the past few days. Since she didn’t imagine he would be particularly pleased with such an inspection, she somehow refrained and pushed her attention back to the black water. It seemed quiet and calm enough, with no sign of any fish or other creature she could see. Of course, that didn’t mean the slug-creature’s aquatic cousin couldn’t be lurking somewhere in the depths….

  She gave a shake of her head and told herself not to manufacture problems. Making sure to hold the tube by her fingertips at its very end, she dipped it into the water and watched as it turned a cool, serene blue, almost the color of Gaia’s skies. “Looks all right.” Well, chemically, anyway. She was still worried about the temperature, so she stuck one finger into the water. It was cool, but not the shocking cold she had expected…more like a bath that had gone tepid. “That’s strange — shouldn’t it be a lot colder than this?”

  In reply, Lirzhan also knelt at the water’s edge and drew off one of his gloves before plunging his entire hand into the lake. He moved his fingers back and forth several times, then withdrew his hand and wiped it off on his trousers. “It does seem rather mild. Perhaps it is fed by warm springs coming up through the rock.”

  She supposed that was a plausible explanation, especially when taking the volcanic nature of this mountain range into account. All she could hope was that it wouldn’t decide to blow while they were still down here. “Maybe. I’m just glad I won’t be doing a Titanic survivor impersonation in freezing water.”

  “Titanic?” he repeated, brows lifting.

  Probably it was a bit much to think he would be familiar with that particular footnote to Gaian history. “A ship that sank in the North Atlantic in the early part of Gaia’s twentieth century. People died because the water was below zero Celsius.”

  “Oh. That would be tragic, but it is not likely here.” He straightened, then asked, “Are you ready?”

  Not really, but…. “Yes.”

  �
�I will go in first, to test the depth, and then you can follow me. Do you think you can hold on to the lantern with one hand while I swim?”

  Oh, hell yeah. Going out into that dark lake would be nearly unbearable without being able to shed some light on the subject. And she hadn’t even thought of the depth, that maybe the ground would drop away immediately once they left the shore. If that were the case, Lirzhan would have to begin treading water right away. “Okay.”

  He stepped into the water, paused, and then took a few more steps and stopped again, the water now up to a little above his knees. “It seems gradual enough. Come in.”

  Sucking in a breath, Alexa put one foot into the water, then the other. The surface under her bare feet felt rocky, just like the shore she’d just left. But it was only cool, not cold, and better that it be rocky than slimy mud. Another step, and she was only a few inches behind him.

  “Reach over my shoulders,” he instructed. “Hold there, but don’t obstruct the movement of my arms. Understand?”

  She nodded, then realized he probably couldn’t see the gesture, since she was standing directly behind him. “I understand,” she replied, and reached up and wrapped her arms over his shoulders, standing on her tiptoes to do so.

  “All right. I’m going to go all the way in now. Are you ready?”

  His tone was gentle, as if he recognized her fear and didn’t want to push too hard. Irritation with herself boiled up from within, at lacking such a basic skill as knowing how to swim, even though this was the first time in her life it had really mattered to her one way or another. Somehow this planet had reduced her to the sort of helpless female she normally despised, and she found she really didn’t care for it too much.

  “I’m ready,” she said, her voice surprisingly steady.