The Sheik and the Siren (Elemental Series) (5 page)

“Yes,” she answered, but said nothing more.

“Can you see the future as well in this crystal dolphin?”

“Put it back,” she said. “Please. And the tide is coming in, so you need to leave now.”

 

Ace put the precious piece back into the center of the barrel sponge, only because his head hurt too much to see straight any more. Plus, it seemed to upset the siren and he
needed not to anger her if he wanted to reclaim his sword and his goods.

“Can we get back to the shore before I drown?” he asked, hoping that it was possible.

“Aye,” she answered. “If we go right now and I call my dolphins to our aid.”

“Then let’s do it.”

Ace tried not to look at her standing there in front of him waist high in water, her two beautiful breasts staring him in the face. It was getting hard to concentrate because all he wanted to do was to finish the so-called ‘dream’ he was having earlier.

“Don’t you have clothes?” he asked, looking the other way.

“Does it bother you that I’m naked?”

“More than you’ll ever know.”

“My clothes are on the shore. I’ll don them when we get back. Now follow me and take a deep breath before you do.”

Before he could say anything, she was off and swimming like a fish through the coral cave. He took a deep breath and dove into the water, hoping to hell he could make it back to the shore before he needed to breathe.

Ace felt his lungs burning by the time they’d reached the entrance to the coral cave. He knew it was a long way up to the top and he already felt consciousness slipping away as he fought with all his might, telling himself not to take a breath. She noticed his discomfort and came to him and putting her hands on his shoulders, she pressed her lips up to his. When her tongue parted his lips, he understood why. She’d breathed the air of life into his lungs, enabling him to stay under the water longer.

Then the most amazing thing happened. Dolphins surrounded them on all sides, smiling if he wasn’t mistaken. They looked so happy and so playful, and Ebba-Tyne smiled at him and motioned for him to hold on to one of their fins, demonstrating by her own actions. He reached out and did the same, and the dolphins took off through the water faster than an arrow being released from a bow – and pulling them along with them.

He relaxed immediately, now having extra air and also the means to get to the surface quickly. They swam through a beautiful multicolored garden of coral of all types that he never new existed. He saw schools of small fish moving together as one as they shot back into hiding among the coral and algae-covered rocks. The sun broke through the water, lighting it up in iridescent hues, making him feel as if he were in a foreign world far from the one in which he lived.

She pointed to a swarm of jelly
fish, wriggling and floating up to the surface, glowing as if they were illuminated from the inside. Then she pointed in another direction, and he turned his head in time to see the spiky fins of the beautiful but poisonous lionfish dart away into a crevice.

He wondered how she could stay under the water so long without breathing, as his lungs were beginning to burn again. And as i
f the dolphin knew he needed to breathe, the little sightseeing adventure was over as it broke the surface of the water, bringing him the precious air he needed.

He coughed and gasped for breath, finally being able to breathe. He released the dolphin’s fin and it circled around him.

“Thank it,” she said, nodding toward the dolphin.

“What?” he asked. “Talk to a dolphin?”

“You can do it in your mind. The dolphins are able to hear it.”

“All right,” he said, then thought
thank you
. The dolphin, smiling as always, went vertical in the water, slapping its fins, making it splash, then took off under the water so fast he didn’t even see it leave.

“That was amazing,” he cried, but realized suddenly that while they were under the water, the weather had changed drastically. He looked over to where he’d left his boat, but it was gone.
He couldn’t help but notice his hose and shoes were missing also. The trees of the island were bending over far in the wind, and the waves just the other side of the cove were nearly twice his height.

“What’s happening?” he asked, seeing the rain in the distance coming down in torrents now, though it wasn’t raining around them.

“I guess I caused this,” she said, “when I became upset by what I saw in the crystal dolphin.”

They made
their way to the shore, and when they emerged, he saw her take her clothes from behind a rock and don them. Just a short shift again, but at least it hid her nakedness from him, and for now – he was glad.

“My ship,” he shouted, running to the far north shore to see around the cliffs of the island, w
here he’d left Boots and Bear with the Paradigm. And to his horror, the ship was gone. He strained his eyes to see it far in distance, barely a speck on the water. “Damn,” he ground out. “They must have left because of the storm. Tho I can’t blame them. Those waves could have smashed them to pieces with one hit against the sharp rocks.”

“So, you’re stranded,” she said.
“And basically naked.” She eyed him up and down. Since he had ripped up his tunic to wrap his head, he wore naught but a wet pair of braies.

“Make this weather stop!” he commanded. “Stop it anon and do
something to make my ship and crew return.”

“Nay, a fae does not take commands from anyone. And if they left you, mayhap they tired of your company or just didn’t care.”

“That is not true. They would have stayed if they weren’t so frightened by Death’s Door, I know that was the reason. And I’m sure they’ll return just as soon as you stop this damned storm.”

“I can control the water and the rain from the sky, but not always the wind, as that is another elemental’s domain. Her name is Portia-Maer,
and she is the elemental of the air.”

“Then call to her and tell her to stop this immediately.”

“It doesn’t work that way,” she told him. “Now stop your complaining and follow me.”

“Where are we going?”

“To my father’s castle on the other side of the island.”

Ace knew which castle she spoke of. He’d seen it in passing several times,
but he thought it deserted, as it was overgrown with weeds and vines and the walls were starting to crumble as well. He couldn’t imagine anyone really lived there. Nor was it in any shape for defense of any kind.

“Would you
r father be happy to see me, or want to take off my head like the rest of your merry men?”

She stopped so quickly, he banged into her, putting out his arms to catch her shoulders and keep her from falling. She looked angry by his question, and somehow he’d managed to stir her emotions once again.

“Neither,” she said. “But I can guarantee his men would want to take off your head without a doubt.”

“Well, I would make a good impression on your father then, and get him to like me.”

“Nay, you won’t, you pompous fool. Because my father is dead!”

Chapter 5

 

 

Ace followed Ebba up the hill to the other side of the small island. She’d refused to stop the harsh weather on the sea, but the sun shone brightly directly above the island. She stopped in her tracks when she got to the drawbridge that was down. He looked at the despair upon her face and could see why.

At one time this looked to have been a prosperous castle and demesne. But now – now it was in shambles and the remnants of a past war still showe
d in the surroundings. Dark ash-laden walls of the outer bailey proved that there was a bad fire there at one time. The chains from the drawbridge were broken and jangled in the breeze, and the wood of the structure itself was rotting away.

Charred, leafless trees surrounded this side of the dry moat. Dead fish and
a swampy stench drifted to them on the breeze. Bones picked clean by carrion were scattered through the field, never having been buried. And the remnants of tattered pennants with what looked like two dolphins crossed over each other fluttered aimlessly in the breeze.

“What the hell happened here?” he asked.

She didn’t answer at first, and he knew that past memories were being dragged to the surface. Unhappy memories if he wasn’t mistaken. Then the realization hit him. When she’d handed him the crystal dolphin, he’d seen a man’s face as he’d died within. That must have been her father.

“Ebba,” he said, using her name and liking the way it felt. “That man I saw dying in the crystal dolphin. That was your father, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” she answered, heading over the drawbridge. He followed cautiously. “I haven’t been back here since the day I buried his body just after the battle.”

“Who attacked you?” he asked, looking around at the inside of the courtyard. It was in just as
bad shape as the outside. Shattered arrows and discarded bent or broken swords littered the blood-stained cobbled stones beneath his feet. There was a well that held a bad odor and he figured it either was poisoned by the enemy or perhaps dead bodies were thrown within and forgotten about years ago.

They made their way to the great hall, pushing asid
e vines covering the door in order to enter. Once inside, he saw the dozen maimed men sitting at his overturned boat using it as a trestle table on which they had scraps that looked like apples and nuts from barrels that lined the walls that looked a lot like his missing cargo.

The men jumped up, and one
huge man with an eye patch and a scar across the side of his face ran over and held a sword to Ace’s throat. Ace’s stolen sword, if he wasn’t mistaken.

“Leave him be
,” Ebba commanded. “He means us no harm.”

“Nay,” shouted the man with
only one arm, holding a dagger and running over to join the first. “He’s here to take back our food and supplies. We’ll never survive without them.”

“I said – put down the weapons before I get mad.”

The men looked around cautiously, obviously having seen the damage she could cause with water at her command. Ace waited until they lowered their weapons, then reached forward, retrieving his stolen sword, and holding it to the man’s throat.

“Don’t anyone move or I’ll kill this bastard!”

“What are you doing?” she asked. “I just told them you meant us no harm.”

“I’ve come to claim what is rightfully mine,” he said,
“starting with the sword in my hand.”

“Put down your sword,” she told him. “These men are no threat to you. If you haven’t noticed, they are in no shape to win a fight against a skilled warrior such as yourself.”

Ace didn’t know if she meant it, or was just trying to please him by calling him a skilled warrior, even if she’d told him on the ship in so many words that he was pathetic. It didn’t matter. He lowered his sword but kept an eye on them.

“And that’s my dagger as well,” he said looking toward the other man.

“Give it to him,” she commanded, and the man did so, but reluctantly.

 

Ebba was in shock but what she saw inside the castle walls. She’d had no idea things had gotten so out of hand. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to return to the castle after seeing her dead father. But now she knew she needed to carry on in his place. This was her castle too, and she needed to continue in the manner that would be considered proper by her father.

“I’m going to be staying at the castle from now on,” she told the men. “You would answer to me now, as I take the place of my deceased father.”

“We need someone to be able to protect Castle Varusa,” said one of the men.

“Aye,” agreed another. “How ‘bout you, knight? You seem eager to stab someone through the heart. If that damned
sheik returns, you can kill the bastard for us.”


Sheik?” asked Ace. “Are you telling me someone from another land did all this damage?”

“Aye,”
shouted another man, “someone who looked a lot like you. Let’s get him,” he said, rushing forward, and the others followed.

“Stop it!” The door to the great hall banged open and a wind blew in rain hitting the men in the faces. They covered their heads with their arms and retreated.

“All right, Ebba-Tyne, enough already.” Her father’s captain of the guard, Sir John came forward. His right arm was missing from the elbow down, but he extended his left arm out to Ace.

“I am
Sir John. Once captain of the guard to the fair and just Lord Marcus of Castle Varusa, the only ruler of Dolphin Island. As you can see we’ve all been maimed and demoralized, though at one time we were proud knights such as yourself. We are now naught but pathetic, broken men, who have to turn to pillaging ships to survive. And only because there is no one else on the island, or we’d be begging at the castle gates instead.”

“I am sorry
to hear of your mishaps,” Ace told him. Then, to her surprise, he held out his arm and clasped it with John’s in a form of acceptance.

“I am Willis,” said the man with the peg leg coming forward as well. “I was steward of the castle.”

Ace just nodded then pointed to the man’s tunic with the tip of his sword. “I believe you are wearing my favorite tunic,” he said. Willis looked over to Ebba, and she just nodded.

“Give it to him,” she said. “And whoever has his hose and shoes, please return them as well.”

The man started to remove his tunic, but Ace stopped him with his words. “Nay. Keep it, I don’t want it back.” Then, through the crowd, his hose and shoes were passed to the front of the line, and Willis handed them over. “These I would take tho,” he said, donning them quickly.

“Thank you, men,” she said with a smile.

“I am Arthur,” came a voice from the back of the room. Then her father’s head cook used a long stick to tap the ground, making his way toward them. He handed Ace’s weapon belt out for him to take. “Everyone just calls me Cook. I was the head cook, but can cook no longer as I have been blinded in both eyes.”

“God’s eyes,” swore Ace, “I had no idea.”

Ebba looked over to him and shook her head, not at all pleased with his choice of blasphemy while talking to a blind man.

“I would introduce you to the others as well, but for now I need to tend to the wound on your head,” she said. “You can stay here tonight, until your men return. You can use my parents’ solar.”

“What happened to your mother?” Ace asked her.

“She was
taken by that bastard over a year ago and no one’s seen her since,” Willis answered for her.

“Who was this man
who caused all this damage?” asked Ace curiously. “Did he have a name?”

“All we know is that he came from across the sea,”
Sir John told him. “From the land of sand and sheiks.”

“I see,” said Ace, his head throbbing and starting to bleed again. “Let’s get my wound tended to and then let’s all see to a good meal.”

 

* * *

 

Ebba-Tyne watched in
humble admiration as Ace sat stood there bare-chested and instructed the others in helping him clean the fish she’d brought forth from the ocean for their meal. She’d asked the sea for volunteers, and the fish willingly gave their lives so they could all eat.

She walked throug
h the kitchen, seeing the fire on the hearth, and the pot hanging over the top filled with wild roots and sea vegetables as well has herbs from around the island all bubbling together in what Ace called a sailor’s stew.

“Cook,” hand me the tarragon will you? Actually, just throw so
me in the pot with a little black pepper. It really brings out the flavors.”

The exotic spices they’d stolen from Ace were now sitting in small bowls in front of Cook who sat at the table looking forlorn.

“I can’t see to know which is which,” the man complained.

“You don’t need your eyes,” Ace told him. “Use your nose to smell them, and if you can’t do that, than taste the damn things. You are far from helpless, now you just need to believe it too.”

She watched in amazement as Cook felt the table in front of him, smelling several of the dishes of herbs and tasting them as well. “Here are the two you asked for,” he said, pushing the bowls forward.

“I’m a little busy at the moment,” said Ace, “just go put some in the pot.” He stood there with his arms crossed doing absolutely nothing, and the other men just looked up, but didn’t say a word.

“I . . . can’t,” he said.


Why not?” asked Ace. “It doesn’t seem to me that your legs are broken. Just do it, damn it. You need to start pitching in if you’re going to be part of this castle. Everyone needs to pull their weight. Now get up off your ass and do it!”

“Ace, I’ll get the spices,” Ebba said, starting forward, but Ace put his hand on her arm and stopped her. “Let him do it or he’ll never gain back his confidence,” he said in a low voice.

She watched in awe as Cook got up and took the bowls carefully into his hands. Then he walked slowly toward the fire, but Ebba could see he was about to bump into the barrel from the spices right in his path. She opened her mouth to warn him, but Ace stopped her.

“You’d better take the stick to guide you until you get familiar with the room,” Ace said.
Sir John handed him his guide and Cook put both bowls in one hand and used the stick in front of him, tapping it against the ground and hitting the side of the barrel, alerting him that it was there. He walked again toward the fire, and once again Ace called out.

“You’d better damn well know how high those flames are before you reach across them unless your looking to burn the hair off your arms,
but then you’d look like a wench, so I wouldn’t suggest it.”

The men all laughed and so did
Cook. He used his stick to bring him to the edge of the hearth and then put out his hands to feel the heat – the height of the flames. Then he sprinkled some herbs into the pot and turned around with a smile as he spoke.

“You bastards better not mess up my kitchen or I’ll
have every one of you down on your knees cleaning the floor.”

That broke the serious mood in the room and the men continued cooking, talking and drinking the win
e they’d stolen from Ace’s ship. This scene reminded Ebba of the happy times between her father and his men - of the way things used to be.

“Let’s go for a walk,” Ace
whispered into her ear, then led her out into the courtyard.

“That’s a wonderful thing – what you’re doing for the men,” she said.

“I’m not doing anything but helping them gain back their self-respect. No man can call himself a man if he feels as helpless as a woman.”

She glared
up at him and his face lit up in a wide smile, showing his white teeth against his bronzed skin. His eyes were a warm brown that lit up his entire face when he laughed. She felt attracted to him, and was now glad he’d come back to her island after all.


I didn’t mean it like that,” he said. “After all, you are one woman who is anything but helpless.”

They wal
ked through the burnt and demolished courtyard, and he led her up the stairs to the top of the battlements.

“Have you ever been up here?” he asked her curiously.

“Aye. Once. When I was a child. But my father told me it was not the place for a girl. I think it’s just because he wanted me away from the guards who tended to drink and play cards atop the battlements.”

“There’s nothing wrong with drinking and playing cards.” He ran a hand over his hair as it blew upward in the wind. “I’m pretty good at both if I must say so myself.”

“Is that why you are named Ace by any chance?”

His smile disappeared then as he looked out to the sea. “That isn’t my real name. But I don’t want to be reminded of who I am, so I choose instead to go by a name of who I’ve become.”

“What is your real name?” she asked. “And from where exactly do you come?”

He stayed quiet for a moment and then turned and faced her. “It no longer matters,” he said. “Sometimes we are better to forget our past so we can live in the present.”

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