Secret Worlds (313 page)

The mid-afternoon sun was occasionally shaded by clouds pushing on beyond what my eyes could see. But, the sun shone bright across the land having yet to be shaded by the clouds. We were high enough I could pick out villages nestled in between mountain peaks, where I learned the dwarves lived, and forests far off with trees in tight clusters, where the elves lived.

Marren said, “The place we are standing was made by the dwarves, including Raden. I saved his life once. To return the favor, he turned this mountain into a series of rooms and halls. They connect underground with his people. We only use them when necessary.”

Marren stood with his arms crossed over his bare chest. I had difficulty restraining myself from leaping and tackling him to the ground. He glanced at me from the corner of his eyes as if he heard my thoughts. The corner of his mouth pulled up into a crooked grin, but his eyes held sadness.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing, why?”

“Your eyes say otherwise,” I said.

He faced me slowly, seeming as though he struggled too, keeping his arms wrapped around his torso, and his lips pressed together in a firm line. “Do you remember the story I told you last night?”

“The one about how traditions are important to your people because of what they had to already lose?”

“Our people, and yes, that one.”

“Well, sort of. I think I fell asleep and dreamed what you told me.”

He took in a deep breath, opening his mouth to say what I thought weighed on his mind. His eyes held a fear and sadness in them, and I thought for sure he would tell me we made a mistake, and I wasn’t his heart song. But a male guard, dressed with a thick, heavy vest and leather pants ran up from within the mountain. His skin was darker in tone than Marren’s with a little more coppery red. And his hair was shorter, sticking up in points along his head.

“Master Marren, a matter needs your attention.” He glanced at me while he spoke the word “matter” and then back to Marren.

I raised an eyebrow.
What are you planning?

His smile suggested more than I would find out at the moment. He gave me a quick kiss on my cheek. “Lead your lady to the steaming pools. Tell Okelo to sit with her.”

Who is Okelo?

My new second in command. I think you two will get along well. Gvgeyu.

I sighed, watching Marren’s back fade into the darkened hall. I shifted my attention to the guard standing off to the side, patiently waiting for me to follow him. I grinned and started stepping after him.

I followed the guard, who made little to no attempts to carry on a casual conversation with me—despite my efforts—to the steaming pools. Marren had made a gross under-estimation of the stench. The powerful sulfur made my stomach clench as we got closer. At one point, I retched into some bushes off to the side of the dirt path. The guard seemed unsure of what to do, judging by how wide his eyes were. I assured him I was fine and continued on the path until we reached a boundary of trees and bushes that gave way to a small ring of grass and flowers just before the pool itself. The waters were murky, making the depth unclear. I didn’t know if I had to wade in the pool or swim.

“My lady, Okelo approaches,” the guard spoke, bringing my attention to him from the pools.

A few feet up the path, came a woman carrying a large sack on her back. I started forming reasons for her not to bathe me. I knew Marren meant well and wanted to pamper me, but I couldn’t take the guilt. I couldn’t do much for him, and he seemed so turned off by my body for some reason. The last thing I needed was for something else to make me feel awful.

The guard excused himself, giving a slight bow to me then stood straight and tall toward Okelo, not moving until she nodded toward him, giving him permission to leave. She was Marren’s new second in command. I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to his old one. I didn’t want to be jealous of the fact Okelo was a woman, but I couldn’t help it.

She was beautiful, with full curves and perfect, smooth skin. Not a flaw, not a scar, which made me wary of taking off my clothes. Even her long hair held sheen mine lacked. I wanted to pout and throw a fit. More importantly, I wondered if Marren was trying to make me jealous.

“My Lady Relena. I’m Okelo.” She moved to untie the bag on her back.

“Before you do that, I want to tell you I am perfectly capable of bathing myself.”

She paused and gave a smile that threw me off.

“Of course, my lady,” she said and continued to move the bag to the front of her body.

The bag moved, and I thought a little hand stuck out. Then a grunt, and realized the bag wasn’t full of soap but a bag full of a baby. A beautiful and completely human looking baby.

My eyes shifted between the baby and Okelo several times before I said, “I thought that was a bag of soap.”

She giggled while gazing at her child, then her eyes shifted back to me. “This is Serid. He’s quite the handful. Would you like to hold him?”

“I—uh, I don’t have experience with babies.”

She shrugged. “That’s not a problem. If you don’t mind, I will feed him while you soak.”

“Of course,” I said and undressed then stepped into the pool. I was surprised at how warm the water was and how deep it quickly became. The reeking water went up to my shoulders, and I wasn’t even at the deepest point yet. The odor got stronger, and my stomach clenched, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected. I relaxed as my muscles soaked up the warmth and soothed away the aches and stiffness.

I kept finding myself get pulled toward Serid, which was difficult to understand, but my curiosities got the better of me. I couldn’t help myself. I needed to know more about the child.

“Who is the boy’s father?” I admit that was the wrong question to start out with, but I didn’t want to believe he belonged to Marren.

A darkness clouded Okelo’s face. I knew then just how grave of a mistake I had made by asking that question. She seemed to force back tears while staring at her son. She cradled him in her arms and used the thumb on her hand to gently stroke his temple. He laid still, though his eyes focused on his mother.

“I’m sorry. That was rude of me to ask.”

“You are all right. I thought his absence would get easier with each day and I would be able to speak of him without pain.” She sounded as though the pain made her words harder to push out. I was foolish for acting jealous in the first place. The poor woman had been through a lot.

“You don’t need to tell me, of all people.”

“Why not?” The pain was gone, replaced with confusion.

I opened my mouth to say something intelligent and heartfelt, but only air escaped.

She smiled, gazing at her baby. “He died right before Serid’s birth, during a journey that is traditional of our people. The man leaves on a quest to prepare himself for entering fatherhood. When he returns, he helps the mother deliver her child and creates the first bond—the strongest bond—between the three of them. He never returned. I gave birth alone. It was hard, but I managed just fine, I think.”

She shifted her attention to me and smiled. “I assumed my mate’s position as Marren’s second—also tradition—though usually the son takes over, but you can tell he’s still a bit small.”

“I can’t imagine losing Marren. The idea nearly kills me.”

“Well, that’s because you will if he does. Heart songs are powerful in that and other ways. But my mate and I weren’t and for the better. I couldn’t take the thought of Serid growing up alone.”

“That would be awful,” I said and climbed out of the pool to get dressed again, and then took a seat next to Okelo.

“Are you sure you don’t want to hold him?” she asked.

My eyes met hers. I had been caught staring at the child too long. “I know this must sound odd, but I have a strange pull toward him. I can’t explain it.”

“Here,” she held him toward me, “Support his head with the crook of your arm and his weight with your forearm.”

I followed her directions, taking the child in my arms, shocked by how heavy he was.

“See? Not so bad?”

I couldn’t help the smile that came to my face. “No, he’s quite amazing!”

“You’re going to be a wonderful mother,” she said.

“That is kind of you, but I’m afraid that won’t happen for quite some time.”

“He didn’t tell you, did he?” she asked.

“Tell me what?”

“My lady, you are already with child,” she said.

The world filled with an impenetrable silence, so thick the air was harder to breathe, and my heart struggled to continue beating.

“That’s impossible,” I barely whispered. Serid started to squirm and fuss, so I handed him back to Okelo.

“No?” She smiled, taking her son. “Tell me, has he lain with you recently?”

“Um, no…Not for a week or so, why?” I wasn’t all that sure about their customs, much less the way girl talk was supposed to go, but I figured she was friendly enough; couldn’t hurt to open up a little. At least I hoped.

“That is when you conceived. Our people believe being with your mate may be harmful to the development of the child, particularly in Ancient offspring. That belief isn’t so much so now-a-days, but still a tradition that our people cling to.”

“Traditions don’t define who you are.” I still didn’t want to believe that I had conceived and was grateful for the change of direction the conversation took.

“But they speak of who we were,” Okelo said. “They are important because we’ve lost so much since crossing over. Which also makes your arrival reason for a celebration. You being here symbolizes our hope of returning home and rejoining the two realms once more.”

“You make it sound so simple,” I muttered.

“Is it not?” she asked, as though everything was clear to her.

“Not when you consider every step I’ve made since Marren rescued me from a fate worse than death has brought me close to death more times than I care to count. Besides, Marren wouldn’t keep something like that from me.” And yet when I spoke the words, I couldn’t help questioning them.
Would he?

She shrugged and wrapped her son back up. She strapped him to her back and stood from the ground. “We better head back. The sun will set soon. We’re going to have a special dinner in your honor!”

The walk back up the path, to what I referred to as a city in the mountain, remained silent except for the wind blowing through the leaves of the trees, the rushing water of the rivers and waterfalls, and the sounds of bird songs filling the air, carried along the breeze. Okelo walked in front of me with Serid strapped to her back, sound asleep. His head flopped forward and a small stream of saliva dripped down his chubby chin. His cheeks were puffy, and his dark hair laid straggled in chunks of waves along his head. He seemed so perfect and so small.

I wondered about what Okelo had told me and if it would excuse being rejected by Marren. A lot remained to this world I had yet to discover, and these customs his people cling to so desperately, seemed so farfetched and ridiculous. Having a child would seem like means for celebration, not seclusion and abandonment. What’s worse was to find out from Marren’s second and not him. I had already considered he’d been keeping something from me, but he should have thought better than to think I would shun any part of him I could have.

The path opened up to the larger one leading to the main gates. Before reaching the giant doors sealing the inside of the rock city from the outside world of the immortal realm, Okelo turned abruptly and stared off behind me, over my right shoulder. I lifted my hand to touch her and ask if something happened, but she blinked and smiled at me.

“I need to warn you…” she began.

“About what?” I couldn’t hide the worry in my voice no more than I could control the way my heart reacted with Marren around.

“It’s about the child you’re carrying…don’t mention it, especially to the other Ancients. It may make their position regarding you shift in the wrong direction. The best thing to do is to keep it to yourself for now. You’re walking along a delicate line in an even more delicate balance. Be careful of who you trust.”

I blinked and slowly nodded. I wanted to ask questions to further my understanding, but she turned around with a smile and proceeded to walk to the doors that opened as she approached. I shut my mouth, figuring it was better not to stir murky waters. I needed to find Marren to get some answers. Answers I would get, else he wanted to spend the next two hundred years of his life sleeping alone. I followed Okelo inside and where I turned left, she turned right.

I followed the hall to another werewolf and asked if they would take me to the room, somewhat ashamed I didn’t remember the way, but my mind remained too stubborn to allow me to think of anything but the remaining secrets Marren still kept from me. Lucky enough, the werewolf seemed happy to oblige. I decided on a whim before we reached the door to the room, to ask him where Marren was.

“He’s having a counsel with some of his commanding officers. I can send a message to him if you would like?”

“No, I hoped you would take me to him?”

“I’m sorry, my lady, but he’s given strict orders to make sure you don’t go running around. I need to make sure you remain comfortable in your room.”

I stopped, turned sharply toward the werewolf, and raised an eyebrow to symbolize my seriousness with the matter. “You can deliver him a message. You can tell Marren if he wants me as a prisoner, he’ll need to fight me. I’m not going to sit around and be held captive in a room anymore. I can help, and he knows it.”

“My lady, I’m sorry, but if you don’t go to your room, I will force you.”

A glint of fear shone in his eyes. He even swallowed hard. I sighed. “I’m sorry as well. I’m no prisoner, and I don’t expect to be treated like one without due explanation.”

I turned around, stomping off in an aimless direction, with the idea of opening every door until I found Marren.

***

I stared at the back of the door on the inside of my room. My arms crossed over my chest and my legs crossed at the knee. I bounced the top one furiously while sitting in the wooden chair that adorned the room. I glared at the door, hoping it would burst into white fire and scorch the guard on the other side—who, along with a few others—was all too willing to help the werewolf I mistakenly asked for help. The other ones, I can forgive. But this one and I have a score to settle.