Tell Me I'm Dreamin' (33 page)

Melanie knew the dagger had been used as she had planned. She could not bring herself to kill her own brother, but she could not allow him to destroy her plans by harming Nadine Clayton, with her brownish-jade eyes, and the necklace presented to her by the cliff dwellers at the rum still. She had known that Basil would take action against the American today. It was the only day he could. She was scheduled to leave the island early tomorrow morning.

Melanie cut dark, disdainful eyes toward Rodney as he sat beside her. He had vomited behind the group of trees as he watched Salinah plunge the dagger into his brother's back, several feet away. Everything happened so quickly that Rodney had frozen with fear. But Melanie had watched with expressionless features, and chastised him for his weakness, saying he should be glad. Now he would be the owner of Sharpe Hall.

A strangely accented voice rang out in the cavern, calling Melanie back.

“So you would have us to believe that this is the dark one that is spoken of in the legend?” the second-ranked cliff dweller asked in English.

“Yes, he is,” Melanie responded with conviction. “As you can see he is the proprietor of the Five Pieces of Gaia as is required by the prophecy.”

“Yes, it is required, but from what my eyes can see you are the proprietress of the ancient stones, and he is simply here to do your bidding.”

Three sets of perceptive eyes assessed Rodney who was now visibly trembling from the cliff dweller's candid words.

“It is not true,” Melanie answered.

“Then if it is not,” the female interjected, “let him speak for himself.”

Glancing into his sister's piercing eyes, and thinking of Basil's untimely death, Rodney found his voice, albeit a shaky one. “I—I am the dark one spoken of in the legend.”

“This man is lying.” A loud, clear voice interrupted the gathering. Ulysses walked toward them.

Chapter
28

Rising out of the well of unconsciousness, Nadine's eyes fluttered open. They focused on a spherical object with shiny points suspended from a ceiling.

As her sight adjusted to the soft light around her, the sphere transformed into an intricately carved lotus flower with eight scalloped petals. The pistil was created by an entourage of yellow citrine stones that twinkled incessantly because of the torches.

Slowly, the evening's events unfurled in Nadine's clouded mind: the unkempt man with the note from Basil, her arrival at Sharpe Hall, being told she was expected at the workers' settlement, Basil's lifeless eyes staring up at her from a small clearing beside the path. She shuddered at the image, then realized she must have fainted from the shock of it.

Still feeling woozy and aware of her nakedness, Nadine rose up from a bed of skins enclosed in a translucent net. She held a soft cover against her as she focused on her surroundings. Nadine's movements drew the attention of a female cliff dweller who had been waiting patiently not far from her bed. Swiftly, she went to a container submerged in a tiny pool of water near the center of the room, and opened it. She poured the golden contents into a goblet, then brought the object to Nadine.

Nadine took hold of the cup as she stared at the woman. Was she dreaming? The cup was real enough. It felt cool to the touch. No, Nadine determined, she was not dreaming. The contents had been kept cool by the convenient reserve of water. Her parched throat constricted at the thought of the smooth liquid, and she gazed at it longingly. But the memory of a strange smell assaulted her, and she knew the scent had kept her unconscious. Nadine was afraid the drink would render the same effect.

The female waited momentarily, then understanding surfaced in her eyes. Nadine watched her pour another glass of the amber liquid and drink it. After she emptied the contents of her glass she nodded in Nadine's direction.

Nadine was satisfied the drink was safe. She drank the liquid and passed the empty container back through the gossamer net.

Finally, everything was beginning to come together. Nadine realized the strange dreams she had experienced were no dreams at all. She had been literally carried in several pairs of strong arms, and then given over to a group of women who had tenderly bathed her. All of the people were cliff dwellers.

Nadine reached for the necklace the cliff dwellers had given her, and found the tablets had been replaced with a more elaborate strand. She looked down and saw a large tablet suspended below the rest. It carried the cliff dwellers' symbol with a pink rose quartz adorning the center.

Nadine raised one of her painted arms and studied the delicate designs of lotus blossoms, spheres, and half crowns. The succession of white symbols also appeared on her other arm, her legs and thighs. Despite the signs of reality about her, Nadine still found it difficult to believe what was taking place. The translation, the vision, and the necklace had all linked Lenora to a strange fantasy world of legends and prophecies. But in her mind she had never completely accepted that she was linked to this mystical being.

If this is real—she gazed about her—then I, Nadine Clayton of Ashland, Mississippi, am very connected with this Lenora. Somehow her purpose and my purpose for being born are a continuation toward a collective goal. The thought alone was mind-boggling, but it was evident the cliff dwellers believed every word of it.

Nadine knew the young female watched her with eager, covert glances, quickly averting her gaze if Nadine looked directly at her. Her clothing was like that of the first female cliff dweller Nadine had direct contact with at the rum still, except this one was dressed totally in white. The symbols that embellished Nadine's arms also adorned the woman's top and skirt, stitched in a precise pattern. Her thick black hair hung about her shoulders, held neatly by a decorative headband.

The ceiling of the room in which they sat was slanted, rounding off at the edges as if they were in a cave; the walls were a rich chocolate-brown. Nadine noticed stalactites and stalagmites of various sizes present throughout. The elongated forms of the latter had been carved into functional pieces such as stools and tables, or hollowed out to serve as storage spaces for a vast array of things.

Nadine was amazed at the imagination and craftsmanship displayed by these carvings, like the decorative flower which hung above her, carved from a huge stalactite. The objects teemed with color from years of mineral deposits coming together in streaked multicolored forms.

As she looked about her, Nadine realized the cliff dwellers' jewelry was crafted from remnants of larger carvings, like the ones she observed now. The earth-tone tablets of orange, brown, slate-gray, and beige had been taken from the natural formations on the floors and ceilings of the cliff dwellers' homes.

Nadine was startled by two females speaking rapidly, and casting furtive glances in her direction. On light, silent feet, the woman who had attended her uncovered one of several storage receptacles and retrieved a garment very similar to her own. As she brought it closer, Nadine could see how the now-familiar symbols were designed on the white material by arranging and attaching tiny gemstones of various colors. Fringes surrounded the bottom of the robe-like garment which had a high collar covered with gems.

Nadine watched the women holding the robe in readiness as the third assisted her in rising from the pallet. They all helped her place the splendid garment about her slender frame. White sandals were produced for her and Nadine was silently beckoned to follow their lead.

She knew her evaluation of her surroundings had been correct; she was in a cave, and was being led through a maze of well-lit tunnels branching out from the cavern.

The walls were covered by the hieroglyphics Nadine had seen on the papyri and on the onionskin document that uncannily presented itself in the office on Barbados. These were the same symbols that she had seen in the vision.

The women approached an opening to what Nadine assumed was another cavern. It was covered by the same fabric the cliff dwellers seemed to favor, a heavy linen. One of the women slipped inside.

Nadine thought she could hear her heart pounding as she stood outside the opening. The walk through the tunnels had allowed her time to gather her thoughts, and fear grew deep within her. She had no idea what would happen next. She tried to remember some of the passages from the translation. They had mentioned a man involved with the debt she had to pay. She had assumed it meant going to Basil and saving Ulysses and Sovereign from his greedy intentions. But that was not possible now. Basil was dead.

No matter how she tried she could not imagine what lay ahead. So far the cliff dwellers had treated her with extreme kindness, but what would they expect from her now?

Nadine could hear loud voices coming from inside the cave. They sounded vaguely familiar although she could not understand what was being said. Then the woman who had left returned, and ushered Nadine and her attendants inside. To her astonishment, Melanie's angry voice was the first thing she heard.

“This man is the one who lies,” she spat back at Ulysses, pointing an aggravated finger in his direction, her voice rising in pitch with each word.

Seeing Ulysses, Melanie, and Rodney gave Nadine a jolt back to reality. Melanie's anger stunned her. This woman was nothing like the Melanie she had come to know.

Ulysses, his eyes narrowing with speculation, was even more stunned by Melanie's malicious outbreak. He watched her as she pointed a threatening finger while Rodney knelt obediently beside her. Ulysses had not known what to expect when he decided to follow Nadine to the cliff dwellers' settlement.

In light of all that he had seen, and what his aunt had told him, Ulysses still remained somewhat skeptical that his aunt was speaking the truth. He had to admit his main concern had been for Nadine's safety, although he knew the cliff dwellers better than anyone else on the island, and knew they were a peace-loving people. There was one thing about them that Ulysses knew very little. The cliff dwellers' spiritual rituals. That was one aspect of their lives they had not shared with him. It was taboo to speak of the rituals with outsiders.

Ulysses tore his eyes away from Melanie to focus on Nadine. She was frightened. He could see that. But Ulysses wondered if her fear came from being brought to the cliff dwellers' caves, or had it been magnified as a result of seeing Basil dead? Ulysses' jealousy gripped him. Was Nadine heart-broken over the murder of her would-be lover? He considered the possibility that the killing had occurred before her very eyes. Yet Nadine still appeared devastatingly beautiful to him, even now when he knew she had betrayed him.

The soft material of the cliff dwellers' ritual robe clung to her. The slender fringes at the bottom of the robe began high on her toned thighs and fell softly about her sandaled feet. Evenly spaced slashes had been made at the top of the garment above each breast, allowing tempting strips of her cinnamon-brown skin to show through. The remaining strands were decorated with sparkling, colorful gemstones. Ulysses could feel his blood coursing hotly through his veins and he knew he wanted her, regardless of her intended infidelity.

Frightened brownish-jade eyes focused on Ulysses' stony features, and her full lips formed to call his name. No sound came forth as she took in the loathing in their depths. In a matter of seconds Nadine's sudden rush of hope, that Ulysses had come after her out of love, plunged in the dark recesses of his eyes.

They were pitch-black and hard as obsidian stones. With the weight of her circumstances pressing on her, Nadine was numbed by this last blow, and her body reflected her resignation.

Now all eyes' like Ulysses' were upon Nadine, and her own gaze traveled to the three figures seated near a large, blazing fire. She watched as the female rose to her feet, walked over to her, and offered her hand. Taking it like a child in need of guidance, Nadine allowed herself to be led to a place near the elders.

She recognized Ulysses' bronze case sitting beside a wooden container. The head cliff dweller opened both lids and examined what appeared to be identical pieces inside each one, except Ulysses' case did not contain a jade slab.

Nadine watched as the oldest cliff dweller looked at Melanie, Rodney, and then Ulysses. There was no anger or even surprise on his lined features; to the contrary, he embraced them all with an understanding gaze.

Slowly, he rose from his seat and approached the three of them. He extended his knurled fingers and placed his leathery palm upon each one of their unsuspecting heads. As if on cue several cliff dwellers who were seated silently along the walls began to play a slow melodious tune on reed instruments, while others lit braided sticks of unusual twine, creating a light, sweet cloud of smoke within the cavern walls.

The melodious, soothing, high-pitched notes vibrated in the night air like a ghostly reminder of things of which only the cliff dwellers knew the true meaning. One by one sparks of light ushered forth from several lines of participants holding objects like lighted candles, their flames appearing to sway to the melody of the soul-searching tune.

It was apparent to Nadine that even though she, Ulysses, Melanie, and Rodney had not known the evening would end with all four of them gathered together like this, somehow the cliff dwellers had known.

Without saying a word the elderly man held out his hand to her, calling her forth. What else was there to do but to consent to his request, and Nadine found herself seated by Ulysses' side. Strange words began to pour from the cliff dweller's withered lips. They had a rhythmic sound, a calming sound. Soon he was joined in his chanting by the woman and the man seated upon the stand, and then their voices were joined by many others.

The cavern was filled with cliff dwellers, and those who could not fit inside chanted outside under the stars, their voices joining together, low and raspy, but beautiful all the same. In a strange way the cliff dwellers' unity made mockery of the outsiders' anger and distrust.