“The bio-chelation chemicals do not flow into the pool until they sense there is one within in it who is in need of cleansing,” Cerulean explained in a soft voice. “You must therefore strip and climb into it in order to be immersed in its purifying waters.”
“Strip? I have to strip?” Kate looked at the dark hole in the floor mistrustfully and crossed her arms over her breasts. “Uh, can’t I have a bathing suit to wear or something?”
“This one is afraid that may not be,” Cerulean said regretfully. “Every inch of your skin must be bathed in the waters of Purification in order for the treatment to be effective.”
“Okay, well…Can I at least have some privacy? I mean, I don’t need you guys watching me while I do this for it to work, right?” Kate cast a glance at Rone and he knew what she was thinking—she didn’t want him seeing her naked. Never mind that he had seen and touched and tasted every inch of her sweet, luscious body in the past, she couldn’t remember a bit of it and so she was shy, all over again, just as she had been when they first met.
He would have been happy to give her the privacy she asked for, although it hurt his heart to do it, but he didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone to get into that strangely ominous stone hole all by herself. The thing reminded him of an empty, toothless mouth, just waiting to be fed and there was an odd, chemical tang in the air around it that burned his sensitive nose.
The Celestial, however, appeared to have no such misgivings.
“This one will be pleased to grant you privacy,” he/she said bowing obsequiously. When you have stripped, simply climb into the pool. It will sense your presence and begin to fill. Remember, though…” He/she leaned forward and pointed two long fingers for emphasis. “Whatever you do, you must not leave the pool until every inch of your skin has been bathed and the water has drained, taking the fear toxins it leaches from your body with it. Do you understand?”
“I think so.” Kate nodded. “Take off my clothes, get in the pool, and don’t get out until it drains. I can do that—I’m a strong swimmer.”
“Perhaps in water, you may be.” Cerulean gave her a pitying look. “However the Purification chemicals are something else entirely. But keep calm and do not let fear get the better of you and all will be well.”
That sounded ominous to Rone but Kate was nodding again, clearly eager to get into the pool and get on with the process.
“Got it,” she said confidently.
“Very well. Then this one will leave you alone. I will come again later to see how your Purification went.” Cerulean steepled his/her long blue fingers together and made a deep bow. Then the Celestial turned and flowed smoothly out of the Purification Chamber, disappearing through a small wooden door on the far wall.
“Well?” Kate looked at Rone who was standing there. She had her hands on her blouse, clearly ready to take it off. “Aren’t you going to go too?”
“I don’t think so,” Rone growled, frowning. “I’m sorry if you’re feeling shy, Kate, but there’s no way I’m leaving you alone to crawl into a strange hole and be covered with the Goddess alone knows what kind of chemicals.”
“I don’t want to take off my clothes in front of you!” she exclaimed, crossing her arms protectively over her breasts. “And don’t tell me again how you’ve seen me naked before—I know you have but I can’t remember it so it still just makes me really uncomfortable.”
Rone felt the hunger stir in him again.
“I haven’t just seen you naked, baby—I’ve licked and kissed and caressed every inch of your body,” he growled. “From the crown of your head to the tips of your toes, there’s no place on you that I haven’t tasted and stroked. But fine—I’ll turn around. Will that make you happy?”
“I guess it’s better than nothing.” Kate glared at him, her cheeks flushed.
For a little while there, when he’d joined her in the shadowed part of the hall, Rone had almost felt like they were growing closer. Now he felt the distance open between them again and sighed inwardly.
She doesn’t trust me, he thought. Doesn’t trust me because she doesn’t know me—not anymore.
But there was nothing he could do about it right now. Nothing but try and keep her safe and hope that the treatment of the pool worked and his mate would remember him soon. He turned silently, giving her his back, and waited.
* * * * *
Kate waited until he had turned around, showing his broad back and shoulders, before she started undressing. God, this was awkward! She kept hearing his words ringing in her ears— I’ve licked and kissed and caressed every inch of your body, he’d said. Had he really? She supposed that since they were married he must be telling the truth. But still, it set her nerves on edge and made her heart pound uneasily to hear him saying it out loud.
We must have been a really kinky couple, she thought to herself as she shed her clothing. I wonder what other things I let him do to me… Then she decided that didn’t bear thinking about.
When she was down to nothing but her birthday suit, she walked over to the lip of the pool. She stood there for a moment shivering—it really was cold in here without clothes—and wondering how she was going to get down into it. There was no ladder that she could see—no way to climb in or out of the deep stone hole. She had no wish to jump—it looked like a long way down and she could just see herself twisting an ankle. She supposed she could scramble around until she was holding onto the lip of the pool and then just let herself drop but it was still going to be a three foot drop to the stony floor of the pool below—she wasn’t looking forward to that.
As if he was reading her mind, she heard Rone’s deep voice behind her.
“Do you need help getting in?”
“No. No, of course not,” Kate said hastily. She turned her head and saw that he still had his broad back to her but his head was half-turned to speak. She wished she had something to cover her back—she hated having her scars exposed like this!
“Are you certain? Don’t hurt yourself just because you’re too proud to ask for help, Kate.”
“Don’t be silly,” she said defensively, sitting down on the lip of the pool—damn, the stones were cold on her bare behind! “I can get down all by myself, just fine. And besides, I couldn’t touch you anyway even if I did need your help—which I don’t. That’s the whole reason I need the fear toxins leached out—remember?”
He sighed deeply. “I just thought I could wrap my sleeve around my hand so that our skin didn’t touch and lower you down that way.”
Kate thought about it for a moment but then she imagined herself dangling from his hand, naked and with everything on display, as he lowered her into the pool. No—she had no wish to do that. It would be better just to scramble down herself somehow.
“No thanks,” she said, trying to keep her voice light even as she was turning to grasp the lip of the pool and trying to inch down slowly. “I’ll…be…fine.” Her voice sounded a little strained since she was trying to get down into the vast stone hole but she thought she managed it all right. Finally she was hanging from the edge of the pool with her toes dangling several feet above the bottom.
Well—here goes. Letting go of the edge, she let herself fall, trying to land lightly on her feet.
She did land but not exactly lightly. She stumbled on the rough stones and went to her knees, scraping them both raw.
“Ow!” she gasped involuntarily.
Immediately, Rone was at the lip of the pool, looking down anxiously.
“Kate? Lalli? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine!” Kate stood quickly and did her best to cover herself with her hands. “Look, do you mind? I’m still naked here, you know.”
“You’re not fine.” His nose wrinkled. “I smell blood—where are you bleeding?”
“I’m not—” Kate looked down at her knees. Sure enough, there were trickles of blood running down her shins—she must have hit the stone floor even harder than she’d thought.
“Come back
up,” Rone said, frowning. “I need to heal you.”
“Heal me? What are you talking about?” Kate demanded. “Do you have a first aid kit with you or something that I don’t know about?”
“No, with my tongue,” he said impatiently. “I know you don’t want me touching you but it will only take a few licks to seal those wounds. At least let me do that.”
Kate frowned. “So you can heal me just by licking me?”
“Of course. I always have—you’re my mate. It’s one of a Wulven Kindred’s abilities.” He looked really upset and agitated. “Please, Kate— I can’t bear to see you injured.”
“I’m fine—it’s just a couple of scrapes on my knees.” Kate was still trying to cover her breasts and sex with her arms. “And besides, I have to stay down here until the bio-chelation chemicals come up and bathe every inch of me—remember?” She looked down at her feet. “If they ever come at all…”
“I don’t like the idea of you going through that process with open wounds,” Rone said stubbornly. “You don’t know what might happen if those chemicals get into your bloodstream.” He knelt by the lip of the pool and extended one hand to her. “Come on, Kate—let me pull you out and heal you first. Please.”
The worry in his piercing blue eyes was so intense that Kate almost did as he asked. But then she thought of taking his hand—touching his skin—and remembered the panicked fear that had rushed through her when he grabbed her at the mall. Her heart started pounding and she hung back, not wanting to go through that awful feeling of being trapped and helpless again.
“I don’t know—” she began but just then there was a rushing noise and the stone blocks below her feet began to bleed water.
At least Kate thought it was water. It was clear and it bubbled and gushed up from the cracks between the stones as though some hidden jet was forcing it upwards. It was cold against her feet and before she knew it, it had surged up to her ankles.
“Kate, come out of there—that stuff smells fucking toxic!” Rone was looking even more anxious than before.
“I don’t smell anything,” Kate said stubbornly. “Look, I have to do this—it’s the only way to get back my memory. Don’t you want that?”
“Not at the price of your life. I have a bad feeling about this!” Rone raked a hand through his hair in agitation. “Lalli, please!”
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him again. “It’s just a little cold, that’s all.”
Cold was an understatement. The clear liquid which was now up to her shins, felt like liquid ice. Kate wrapped her arms even more firmly around herself and tried to keep from shivering. She noticed with some concern that when the chelation chemical liquid touched the rivulets of blood running down the front of her legs, it bubbled and foamed, like hydrogen peroxide.
What if Rone’s right? she thought uneasily. What if it does something to me? What if—
Just then the clear liquid reached her scraped knees—it stung like fire.
Kate inhaled sharply and clenched her hands into fists. She clamped her jaw shut to keep from screaming. Her knees felt like she’d dipped them in acid!
“You’re in pain.” Rone was still watching her with worry in his eyes. “I can tell it!”
“It just…stings a little. That’s all,” Kate grated out, trying not to show how much agony she was in. God—it was like rubbing alcohol times ten! She could see the chemicals bubbling like crazy around her wounded knees, the bloody foam rising as the liquid level rose as well. And then, alarmingly, the crimson color of the foam began to spread. Thin, bloody rivulets began to spiral through the clear liquid, swirling in strange patterns over the surface of the bio-chelation chemicals.
“What in the Seven Hells is going on?” Rone demanded, clearly noticing as well. “Why is it turning red?”
“I…I don’t know.” Kate shivered as the bloody-red liquid reached her upper thighs.
“I don’t like it!” Rone growled. “Come out!”
Kate didn’t like it either, to be honest. The liquid in the pool was now completely red—it was like taking a bath in ice-cold blood. But by now, it was up to her waist and still rising fast.
Maybe Rone is right—maybe I ought to get out of here.
But if she did, how would she ever get her memory back? Sure it was unpleasant being covered in the bloody-looking liquid but if she could stand it just a little while longer, she would be rewarded—she would get back the years she had lost. She would finally understand what had happened to her mother and to Rone and—
Her thoughts cut off abruptly as the red liquid climbed to her breasts and turned dead black.
“Oh my God,” Kate whispered uncertainly, looking down at herself. Tar—it looks like tar! It felt like tar too—the formerly clear liquid was now sticky and dense. When Kate raised one hand from it, the stuff hung down from her arm in gluey strings.
“What the fuck is going on down there?” Rone roared.
“I don’t know!” Kate tried to move her legs but it was hard—the black, tarry liquid was so thick it was like moving through glue. It was up past her shoulders now—up to her neck.
Oh my God, it’s going to cover me! It’s going to go over my head in a minute!
Her determination to stay in the pool until her memory came back wavered abruptly. She could have stood having the plain, clear liquid flowing over her head. She loved to swim after all and had no fear of the water. But this…stuff…this black oozing ichor the clear liquid had become was something else entirely. Kate didn’t want the gooey black tar coming up to cover her face and head. She could barely move in it, let alone tread water. She would drown!
“Rone!” she gasped, forgetting her fear of touching him as the terror of being drowned in the weird tar-pit the pool had become overcame her. “I…I don’t like this!”
“Come here.” He stretched out a hand for her again, trying to reach her.
The black slime was up to Kate’s jaw now. She could feel it seeping into her ears and soon it would cover her mouth and then her nose. Panicked, she began trying to get to the big Kindred’s hand. But moving through the tarry liquid was like trying to move through quicksand or mud. Kate felt like she was stuck in a bad dream—the kind where you’re trying desperately to run away from the evil monster pursuing you but you can only move in slow motion.
“I…I can’t—” she gasped and then some of the foul, tarry liquid rushed into her mouth making her choke and gasp. It was bitter—so bitter and foul she started to gag. But she knew if she opened her mouth again, it would fill with even more of the disgusting, sludgy liquid. Lifting her chin high, she stood on her tip-toes, trying to keep the ever-rising black slime away from her face as long as possible.
It was a temporary measure at best. Kate knew what was going to happen—the tarry liquid was going to cover her and then, when she couldn’t hold her breath any more, it would rush into her mouth and nose and drown her.
Rone was right, she thought as the stuff surged up past her grimly shut mouth and seeped into her hair. I shouldn’t have done this. Should have listened to him. Should have—
“Fuck this,” she heard Rone say. And then there was a flat splash in the gooey liquid beside her and he was at her side.
Kate wanted to ask what he was doing but she knew if she opened her mouth she would choke on the filthy slime. Besides, it became apparent what he wanted the minute he reached her.
“Here.” He grabbed her, putting both big hands around her waist. He was so much taller that the black slime wasn’t even halfway up his broad chest. Lifting Kate as though she weighed no more than a kitten, he boosted her towards the side of the pool.
“Rone?” she managed to gasp and he pushed her up. “What—”
“Grab the side,” he ordered grimly. “You’re getting the fuck out of here.”
Kate wasn’t in any position to protest. She grabbed for the lip of the stone pool and dragged herself out. Rone helped by boosting her up, his large hands fitting neatly u
nder her bottom to give her a shove. Then he reached for the edge and lifted himself clear of the liquid too, his massive shoulders and arms working and the muscles bunching as though he was doing a push-up.
Kate lay on her side, shivering and covered in slime. Her hair was a sodden mess. The only parts of her that weren’t completely drenched in the oily black liquid were her nose, eyes and forehead. Everything else felt like she’d been dipped in a mixture of motor oil and mucus.
“Kate, baby—are you okay?” Rone knelt beside her anxiously. He was pretty messy too but he’d only had time to take off his shirt before he jumped in to save her so at least his trousers had protected his legs.
“F-f-fine,” she stuttered out and then burst into tears.
“Kate…Lalli…” Rone hovered over her uncertainly. It was clear he was dying to gather her into his arms and comfort her and just as clear that he didn’t dare to touch her.
Kate wasn’t sure how she felt about that. On one hand, she was shivering and cold and wet and miserable—she could have used some comfort. On the other hand, she still didn’t know him—not like he knew her, anyway—and she wasn’t sure if his touch would still cause a panic response or not. She’d already been panicking when he lifted her out of the pool and it was hard to say what had caused it—his touch or the fact that she’d been sure she was about to drown in the inky black stuff.
Also there was a little voice inside her—a voice that had been there since early childhood—telling her that Rone wasn’t to be trusted. That no man was. Growing up without a father, she’d learned that quickly enough. Encounters with men in high school and college had driven the lesson home. She balled herself tighter and hid her face.
“Kate…”
“Just go away,” she whispered. “Just…just leave me alone.”
“But—”
“No, no, NO!” The escalating shout came from across the room, on the other side of the pool. It shocked Kate out of her tears and made her sit up, trying frantically to cover herself although she doubted anyone could see anything through the black slime that covered her.
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