“Well, you haven’t made love to me since…the test.” She swallowed. “Do you still want me...like before?”
“Of course!” he said. “I will always desire you! I just don’t want to hurt you or the…the baby.”
“No. That’s not how we’re doing this,” she said.
“No?” he asked, and then laughed for the first time all week, the corners of his mouth turning up in the way that she loved.
Valeria shook her head. “No,” she said, and then kissed his chest. “I’m not so fragile, and if I’m nearly four months along, that means that all of our honeymoon activity hasn’t hurt the baby at all.” She brought her face to his. “Alex, I want to,” she said, as she brushed her hand over his chest and then stared into his eyes, “I need to make love to you.”
He stared at her for a moment and pressed his mouth gently to hers, and then with all of the fear and anxiety suddenly removed. With a deep need, he pulled her into him and they made love.
∞
She must have drifted off because, when she opened her eyes, it was early morning and she was in their bed. She looked around, but Alex was nowhere to be found. She jumped up and then nausea overtook her, causing her to run into the bathroom. In an instant, Alex was there.
“It’s all right,” he said, rubbing her back. “It’s all right,” he soothed as she wretched. Then she rocked back onto his lap as he carried her back to bed.
“You need to eat something. Maybe a strawberry kale shake?” She nearly gagged at the thought. Alex measured her expression. “Toast?”
“Where were you?”
“I’ve been storing everything. We probably won’t be back here for a while.” He studied her face and realized that she was upset. He sat down on the bed next to her and looked into her eyes.
“Val, I am a very selfish man. I simply cannot bear to see anything but joy on your beautiful face. But more than that, I wouldn’t want to live in a world without you. So if there is anything that can be done to protect you...I have to try.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said softly, still battling nausea. “Not if I can help it.”
The dark cloud seemed to have lifted as Alex made breakfast for them. Valeria pouted when Alex suggested that she nix the coffee. Finally, he gave in and poured her a small cup.
“But we’ll have to find some natural decaf once we get settled,” he said.
Then they finished packing up their honeymoon home and took off for Puerto Rico, where they would transfer planes and head to Italy.
With their brown contacts, and Valeria’s darkly tanned skin, she easily fit in with the locals. Instead of transferring to the large international airport, as they had four months before, they were shuttled in the beat-up Ford Escort to a mid-sized jet.
Camille, Lars, and Mani were already aboard. Lars reported that the rest of them had headed out the day before to prepare the equipment.
Daphne was keeping Paolo distracted, although Camille and Lars insisted that no one believed that Paolo was a danger. But he was still a member of the council, and would certainly be interrogated. The less he knew the better. Valeria felt there was more to the story, but she was weary and slept almost the whole flight, curled up with her head on Alex’s lap.
The flight landed on the southeast side of Italy in the coastal city of Brindisi. A limo was waiting for them and drove them a short distance to a large home that looked a bit dated.
“We needed to find something quickly in this location that wouldn’t attract a lot of attention,” Alex explained apologetically.
“Besides, we won’t be staying long,” Camille added.
It was a single story home about 3,000 square feet with plain brown wood siding and tan bricks. There was dirt instead of grass that led down to a dock. There Caleb, Ava, and Tavish were working on an impressive-looking yacht and what looked like a pontoon boat.
Ava jumped off the yacht and approached them.
“Storm’s coming in. It looks like it’ll clear up by tomorrow,” she said.
“We’re already a day behind,” Alex said nervously.
Valeria hooked her arm through his. “It’ll all work out. You’ll see.”
Caleb ran up to see them and stopped short again. “Are you guys really having a baby?”
Valeria nodded and Caleb continued, “If I’m very careful can I hold it?”
“Of course, buddy! But it has to be born first—and you’ll have to wear your suit.”
Lifting his fist, he pulled down and said, “
Sweet!
”
Valeria noticed that Alex couldn’t quite get into the spirit of the congratulations. It would take him some time to get used to the idea, and he was still trying to get past his fears.
They walked down to the boat dock and Valeria saw that what looked like a pontoon boat from the distance, was actually a boat with two large vents covered with gauze. Tavish had a wood saw and a large piece of plywood that he was cutting.
They walked inside the house and it was actually quite nice. There were dark wood floors and earth tones throughout.
Camille evaluated Valeria’s face and said, “I think you need to sleep.”
“I slept on the plane,” Valeria said.
“You never really sleep on planes,” Alex added. “We’re just going over the details.”
“Then I’ll stay up,” Valeria said rubbing her hand over her eyes.
As Tavish brought in the whiteboard with their plan, Lars began to explain. Ava’s boat would tow a specially designed barge that was made to look like a pontoon. Caleb would continue to kayak as the divers kayaked into the cave offshore from Paxos, towing the flexible, triple-insulated, lightweight tubing.
Shinsu would provide the entrance past the adamantine gate and into Delos and the River Styx. The wall remained closed when the council was not in progress, and always during the day—except while Shinsu was there.
Once in the caves, Ava, Lars, Alex, and Mani would use night vision goggles. As they reached the door to Delos, they would tie the kayaks off and Ava and Alex would swim the River Styx, pulling two hoses, with the divers secured to a rope to prevent them from drifting down the river of death.
Shinsu would work on “official business,” in case any of the dribs or other council members
were in Delos. She would be in direct communication with Tavish via hidden microphone—who would communicate with the divers to begin or cease excavation of the underwater depositories.
Hose A would bring in the water and sediment vacuumed from the first depositories back to the pontoon—that was actually a barge. It would be deposited into bin
A, that would act as a filter and keep all the sediment while draining the water. Alex and Ava would lead the diving portion. Lars and Mani would swim the length of the lines to eliminate kinks or problems of any sort. Caleb would continue to kayak between the boat and the cave and assist anywhere needed. Tavish would stay on the barge once they were stationary, and handle any issues or corrections with either boat until all the crew returned.
Once the first depository was empty, they would seal off the first bin on the barge and then use the second hose, hose B, and bin B. Ava and Alex would close the end of the hoses and swim back to the kayaks, and Tavish would notify Shinsu. Once the swimmers were out of Delos they would kayak back to the yacht and then they would all return to the house at Brindisi.
The debris would be loaded into a truck and driven back to Morgana. Alex and Valeria would head toward Rome and a flight to parts unknown.
The debris would be mixed with sand and deposited on the grounds of Morgana. As winter was approaching, huts had already been constructed for the potential new inhabitants. They would need to be taught modern languages and history before leaving Morgana. It was with some regret that their best teacher, Alex, could not be there.
Lars went on to explain that, from the count of known executions, there could be as many as ten oracles recovered. These oracles would require food, clothes, some kind of housing, bathing and toilet facilities, and some kind of orientation. Lars had arranged for three outdoor showers and two porta-potties to be brought to Morgana via the back road. With any luck, they would have Myrdd back with them within a few days and he would provide the answers they needed.
Valeria’s birthday was now only four days away.
Caleb was excited about the expedition and laughed gleefully at the thought of another adventure. He had been in hiding at Shinsu’s since the fire.
The next morning came and, as promised, Alex had secured Valeria her favorite coffee in water-processed decaf. It had been several days and, although she missed the wonderful jolt of caffeine, she was happy to have the taste.
Camille, who had insisted on coming with them, and also insisted that she would
not
be in the water, would stay with Valeria on the yacht. The two of them would play the part of sunbathing tourists and serve as a distraction if needed to onlookers.
They both wore their bikinis, although Valeria felt somewhat self-conscious of her changing body. Alex wore his swim trunks and a T-shirt. They curled up in the back of the yacht while it sped out toward Delos, with Ava at the helm. Valeria vomited off the back of the deck—and this time, she felt no shame when Alex held her and pulled back her hair. Camille brought out soda crackers and Valeria felt better.
Just the act of moving toward Paxos and Delos brought on such negative emotions in Valeria that she wondered if there would be a
time when she could be here and not feel anxious. Then she realized that, at least this time, Alex was her husband.
Alex, Mani, Lars, and Ava put on their wet suits, minus the hood, and loaded their tanks and masks. With his fins in one hand, Alex pulled her into his arms as his lips moved to hers. Without looking back, he went to the ladder, she brushed her lips with her fingers...and, yes, his kisses still lingered.
“Don’t worry—I’ll be safe! I promise.” He lifted a finger to his lips and blew her one last kiss and said, “I’ll be back before you know it!” Alex glanced at Caleb. “I’m counting on you to protect her, okay?” Caleb nodded.
They loaded into their kayaks. Then Ava said, “Remember guys, roll the kayak in and out at the cave entrance. Otherwise, we may need to search for
your
head!” The guys nodded, and Alex and Mani towed the hose, between their kayaks.
As soon as Valeria couldn’t see them anymore, Camille took her arm. “Come on, let’s be sunbathers.”
Fortunately, it was a gloriously warm day. Although most of the tourists had left, the warmth was drawing out some of the locals. Camille and Valeria sat on the back deck of the yacht and both coated their skin in sun protection. Camille gave Valeria a large container with lemonade in it as Caleb paddled around them.
Camille said, “Don’t watch the entrance. If anyone is watching us they’ll know something is up.”
Valeria put on her sunglasses, so she could glance toward the caves without being spotted. “Camille?” Valeria asked and Camille lifted up on her elbows. Valeria thought for a moment and then said, “Do you think they’ll be all right?”
“I do. If Alex felt that there was any risk, I assure you, he wouldn’t have permitted you to be here!”
“You think it will work?”
“I don’t know, but I hope so,”
“I…I couldn’t take…” Valeria gulped, and Camille sat up and raised her sunglasses.
“It will all be fine in just a few hours. You’ll see.” She
slid her glasses back down and took a sip of her lemonade.
“I don’t want to intrude, but can I ask you about Jonah?”
“Sure, what do you want to know?” she said, settling into her lounge and closing her eyes.
“What happened to him and why did you decide to stop the search”
Camille became thoughtful for a moment, then she rolled over onto her stomach so that she could face Valeria.
“When Alex found you last year, and Ava came home to help, it was the first time that Ava and Lars had been together for an extended time in over thirty years. I saw how much fun they had together and I realized that it was just selfish of me to keep them apart. Of course, I had to balance that with my feeling that I was abandoning Jonah—but I think, for now, it is the right thing to do,” Camille said.
“That must have been a difficult decision for you—and for them.”
“They tried to tell me that they could keep the search going. They said how Ava likes her independence. I think Lars does, too.” Camille looked dreamy. “But I could see the look in their eyes. They want to be together and Lars doesn’t want to live on the boat.”
“Well, I guess that makes them perfect for each other. When I was with David, I always thought we were independent people—then I met Alex.”
“Exactly!
Being with your symbolon is a whole different ball game,” Camille said, as she adjusted the shade over her.
“What—are you saying that Lars and Ava aren’t…
” Valeria said.
“They don’t seem to have marks like the rest of us. The mark you and Alex share is the most distinctive that I’ve ever seen. Still, Lars and Ava love and enjoy each other.” Camille added, “Val, you’re staring at the caves again.”
“Sorry,” Valeria said as she took in the vision of Caleb on his kayak. It was fortunate that it was such a gorgeous day—unlike the day before, or the day she and Alex had escaped from Delos. She would never forget how violent that current could get against the cliffs.
It was the last week of October and the tourists were gone. This allowed Shinsu to access the cave during the day so that she could open the adamantine gate, allowing the
divers access to Delos. Tavish appeared to be napping on the pontoon with his hands behind his head. Valeria had watched the occasional bubbles that rose to the surface and was glad the water was calm.
She needed to keep her mind occupied. “What happened with Jonah?”
“I’ve told you this, haven’t I?”
Even with her deep tan, Valeria saw that she was already turning pink. She sat up and adjusted the shade so that it would cover her face, and then lathered more sunscreen on her shoulders and chest. “I’m burning all ready.”
From behind them, Tavish yelled, “I never worry about sunscreen!”
“He heard us?” Valeria asked.
“I have excellent hearing!” Tavish shouted back.
“He’s been listening to us,” Valeria whispered.
“You’ll have to do better than that if you want to keep your secrets.”
Valeria rolled her eyes but she really couldn’t stay mad at Tavish.
“It doesn’t matter, Tavish has heard the story.”
“That I have! But don’t let me interrupt you lasses.”
Camille sat up and said with irritation, “We won’t, if you stop interrupting us!”
Tavish shrugged and seemed asleep again.
“Jonah and I were living on the west coast of Africa. I had always been able to avoid Aegemon’s attacks because my visions were typically early enough that we had time to move. But one day, Jonah had to make a day trip down the coast to do some trading. He was gone over four hours when the vision came. I packed us up and tried to reach him before he could return home. I was almost half way there when I had another vision of someone abducting him.” Camille swallowed. “I…ran up and down the beach ten miles there and back for days.” Camille looked down. “I was never certain who took him. It could have been Aegemon, or he could have been captured by the slave trade.”