AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But she held her tongue, knowing that the right decision would come in its time. Though she might be young by comparison with his long life, she knew enough to give herself the space she needed. If she was going to stay, to forge a chain-bond with Marius, her commitment had to be one hundred percent.
As he started down another hall, she heard a distant sound that at first she couldn’t place but soon realized was a fairly strong waterfall.
He marched ahead of her, his shoulders tight. She felt his frustration like a stinging sensation on her skin.
She rubbed her thumb over the chain on the inside of her palm, feeling a need to apologize—but for what? For being human? For having needs beyond what the man in front of her wanted on her behalf? And that felt way too familiar. Her entire relationship with her adviser had been built on how much more important his projects, his interests, even his sexual satisfaction was more than anything she needed.
Maybe that was why she resisted. She wanted a say in what mattered in her life, her journey, her chosen path, no matter whether lives were at stake or not. On an essential level, she wanted to know that she mattered in the scheme of things.
The stone hallway opened up to a massive cavern, a waterfall, and a stream, part of which flowed through a natural adjacent pool. “You swim here, don’t you?”
“I do.”
Vampires swimming, another new, surprising reality.
She stood staring at the water dumbstruck all over again.
To the right, an alcove had been dug out of the stone wall and fitted with a bar and a poolside lounging area. It was so strange to think of how this fit with her own world’s images of vampires as pale, statue-like creatures surviving only on blood and living primarily to kill people.
Marius was the exact opposite, flesh-and-blood, caring, and hoping to save his world.
The repeated patterns in the stonework along the back wall of the alcove caught her eye. Had to be cuneiform. How much she’d like to stay in this world just to study these patterns and
see if she was right that this was the written form of an ancient language.
He turned to her, frowning slightly. “What is it, Shayna? You seem all lit up.”
She released a long sigh and moved toward the pattern, running her finger over it. She told him what she believed it was and asked him what he thought.
Marius shrugged. “I really don’t know. It’s familiar enough in our world. I guess I always assumed it was a carving design. A lot of the patterns have names. This one is called ‘Waves of Lines.’ Descriptive enough, but hardly an indication that it has meaning beyond the variations in each group of lines.”
“You’re right. The name only describes what it looks like.” Many of the lines were slanted and grouped so that they occasionally gave an appearance of waves.
On the opposite cavern wall, across from the alcove, was yet another image of a hawk, this time on a massive scale. She was reminded again how well she could see in the dark.
She also saw the same stone carving, more prevalent than ever, rows and rows of Waves of Lines.
The chain wrapped around her wrist began humming against her skin, stronger than before. The more she stared at the wall opposite, especially the carvings, the stronger the vibration became.
“Shayna, what’s going on? My chain is practically singing against my skin.”
She met his gaze but shook her head. “I don’t know. I just really feel drawn to the carvings beneath the hawk.” She gestured across the river. “There, on the opposite side. Can you carry me over so that I can have a closer look?”
“Do you think it’s another vision?”
“I don’t know.”
He drew close and opened up his right arm.
As if she’d been doing this for years, she stepped onto his right boot and slid her arm around his neck. He pulled her against his side and at the same moment levitated to carry her quickly across the swirling pool and the stream. He landed on a shallow ledge from which the craftsmen must have worked to carve the image.
When he set her on her feet, she slowly walked the length of the carvings about twenty feet. “I’m still amazed by the level of artisanship and I’m feeling the need to put my hands on it.” She glanced at him. “But first, Marius, I need to know you’ll support me no matter what happens here, no matter what I decide. Can you do that?”
He dropped his gaze for a moment and released a breath that carried an almost hissing sound. The chains told her he battled within himself, but finally he said, “Yes, I promise you, I will. I’m desperate, that’s all. But we’re a resilient species, and if you feel you have to return to Seattle, I’ll figure things out. Again, I just have a tremendous sense of urgency, which is why I pushed you.”
“I get it. I really do.” She felt his sincerity and knew that despite his frustration and even his anger, he’d stand by her.
She turned toward the carvings once more, knowing that once she put her hands on it, something would happen, maybe even another vision. “I think I’ll need you to hold me steady.”
