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  Liu, the Freeber leader, turned and beckoned her forward to walk at his side. Together they emerged from the tunnel onto a wide ledge.

  Sherise gasped at the sight laid out before her.

  The cavern was immense. The rock walls glowed with a luminous sheen giving off a dim light; enough for her see the openings of many more tunnels from which staircases chiselled into the cave sides wound down to the floor below.

  ‘We call this area the Hall,’ Liu said, a wide smile beaming like sunshine across his face. ‘It is our main gathering place. The other tunnels you can see lead to various living quarters and storage caves for food and animals. Come, I know you are keen to see to our wounded but first you must replenish yourself.’

  ‘Thank you, but I can wait. Please take me to the injured.’

  Liu inclined his head. ‘As you wish. I will go first to guide your steps.’ He hurried to the side and descended the stairs.

  Sherise hastened after him, gripping the hand holes in the rock wall for purchase. Climbing or standing near the edge of sheer drops did not bother her, but for some odd reason, descending anything higher than her shoulders always caused her heart to pound. Sweat prickled her spine and her stomach squeezed, but at least the steps were deep and the descent an easy angle. By the time she reached the bottom, her muscles felt as limp as overcooked protein.

  She mastered her expression, forced a smile, held her head a little higher and wobbled off in the Freeber’s footsteps. It took several seconds for her to notice how the people crowding the Hall moved quickly out of her way, their eyes averted. Their faces were pinched tight with fear, their shoulders rounded as they scurried out of the way.

  ‘’Tis your men’s armour.’ Liu had noticed her questioning glance. He sighed, sorrow darkening his eyes. ‘The sight brings forth wary memories.’

  Sherise quirked her eyebrows so high, they almost reached her hairline.

  By the good goddess Cercis! ‘I don’t understand. Do you mean there are others here on this planet with technology similar to us?’

  ‘Our Elders speak of how the demons wore armour,’ he said.

  Maaka had spoken of demons. But Sherise had dismissed his words as myths. Could they be rooted though, in fact?

  ‘Our wounded rest beyond in a smaller cave.’ Liu quickened his step, reached the far side of the cavern and disappeared into a small tunnel.

  She hesitated at the entrance and peered down the narrow passageway.

  ‘Kondo, you and our men will wait here.’ She waved a hand in the general direction of the cooking area where she saw the glow of several fires, the crackling cheerful and welcoming. Women strolled around bearing platters and pots and casting furtive glances at the newcomers. Of Maaka, there was no sign. She compressed her lips, irritated at how her thoughts lingered far too often on him. ‘Take your ease.’

  ‘I will accompany you. It is my duty to see to your protection.’

  Sherise snapped off the angry words forming in her throat and took a deep breath, inhaling the tangy scent of wood fires with an underlying whiff of soothing herbs. Oh, how she wished some woman would take this warrior on and bring him to his knees. She spied Bree peering into one of the cooking pots. ‘I am giving you an order, Kondo, not a request. There is no need to protect me here. Look at these people. They are not a threat to us.’ She tacked on a smooth smile. ‘Allow me to help these people so that we can leave as soon as possible. In the meantime, learn what you can.’

  The warlord scowled, his expression reminding Sherise of someone who had eaten a mouthful of sour bancy fruit. If she didn’t have so many worries on her mind she would have laughed out loud.

  The passageway was long, with only one turn at the end and Liu had disappeared from sight. She hastened after him. A group of women emerged from a narrow tunnel on her right. They nodded with warm friendliness as they passed, their demeanour giving Sherise the impression of tired but happy workers after a long day. Curious she peeked into the narrow opening as she walked past. The torches within sputtered and died, casting the cave into darkness.

  She hurried along. Ahead, the tunnel opened into another cave, far smaller. As she entered she studied the area, taking in the beds of rushes and leaves covered with furs, on which reclined the injured. Some were Freeber and others Lycaneans, evident by their build and the clothes they wore. Torches set in braces wedged into the rock wall formed dancing shadows, the rock glimmering with that strange sheen of light that had illuminated the Hall. Five fires glowed in fireplaces inset into the walls of the cave and warmed the cool air. In the middle of the room there were three large slabs as high as her waist; on one lay a warrior, silent but tense. Two women hovered over him, one of whom conversed in low tones with the Freeber leader.

  Impressed with the cleanliness and order, she hurried around the room, her eyes sharp as she studied the number of injured and the horrifying extent of their wounds. She turned to find the Freeber women watching her. ‘Please, it would be helpful if you could give me a report on each of these men and what manner of beast caused these injuries.’

  ‘No beast, lady. It was the Half-dead. If we cannot heal the Lycaneans, then in two and a half seasons’ time, they will turn.’

  Chapter 13

  Exhausted, Sherise slumped against the cave wall, her legs stretched out in front. She wriggled her cramped toes inside boots that felt as if they had shrunk in size and longed for her cleansing tube.

  ‘I don’t think the guy on the slab is going to make it,’ Bree said, her voice low and heavy with sadness.

  ‘Yes, I fear you are correct.’ Sherise stared glumly at her idle hands and repeated their frantic actions over and over in her mind. She’d hoped to keep him alive until the shuttle returned. But even if they had a medie tube here, she doubted they could have helped him. His injuries were too great. She closed her eyes but the image was burnt indelibly on her brain. The poor warrior’s stomach had been sliced open. He had a kidney missing, and his intestines, one hand, and an entire portion of his thigh all looked as if they had been chewed or bitten off. And that did not include the deep slashing wounds to his back and legs. She quickly snapped open her eyes as a heaving retch spasmed through her. She pressed her hand against her queasy belly, glad she had forsaken any food.

  ‘You don’t look so good.’

  She lifted a hand that felt as heavy as metal planking but it was too much effort to do any more than allow it to fall back into her lap. ‘Only tired. This day has been a little stressful.’

  Bree snorted. ‘You’re telling me.’ She nodded in the direction of the women. ‘They know their stuff, though.’

  ‘Did you notice the different plants and potions they use?’

  ‘Yeah. The contents of one of the vials smelt exactly like antiseptic. I wonder where they got it from?’

  Sherise remembered where she’d first seen Maaka and beckoned Bree closer. ‘I saw Maaka in the Central Fortress. He was in the hospital. I thought at first he must have been undergoing the cleansing ritual, but now I believe he was there for a different purpose.’

  ‘Pinching medical supplies?’

  Sherise nodded. ‘A Puridean nurse appeared to be helping him which makes me wonder how many others of his kind are sympathetic to the Lycaneans’ cause.’

  Bree rubbed her forehead. ‘Sounds like trouble in paradise. Let’s hope a revolution isn’t in the wind. Did you notice how the women keep kissing the men?’

  ‘I did.’ Sherise looked over to where one of the Freeber women was assisting a Lycanean to his feet. ‘See that man? When we first arrived, he could hardly move. Now he is walking.’

  ‘Maybe they heal fast.’

  ‘Yes, but I remember something Maaka told me. He said that the Freebers possess a trait his people don’t.’

  Bree looked at her. ‘A healing agent?’

  ‘Possibly in their saliva.’

  ‘That does explain the kissing. But why would they need medical supplies?’

  ‘I’m
not certain.’ Sherise leaned her head against the stone wall. ‘Unless, the saliva has limited healing properties. It may only work in specific circumstances.’

  ‘That turning thing is pretty creepy.’ Bree shuddered. ‘I can’t imagine anything worse than ending up as one of those zombie creatures.’

  ‘I agree. Perhaps that is what the Freebers’ saliva wards off.’ Sherise rubbed her forehead.

  ‘Why don’t you get some sleep? You always work harder than anyone else. About time I pulled my weight.’

  ‘You have worked just as hard as me. You need rest too.’

  ‘Nah, I’m good for another coupla hours. Go on. I’ll wake you when the shuttle arrives or if we need you.’

  Sherise smiled at her friend. ‘Always, you have been by my side. I doubt I would have survived, if not for your support.’

  ‘As if! You’ve got balls of steel, Sherise.’ Bree grinned at her astounded look. ‘An old earth term, it means you’re a strong person.’

  ‘Actually, it sounds painful.’

  Bree laughed.

  Sherise smiled back. It was good to see the sadness gone from her friend’s eyes, even if only for a little while. She sensed Maaka’s gaze and glanced up.

  He stood in the entrance, feet braced arrogantly apart, lids lowered over the deep hue of his eyes. His tension reached across the small expanse, prickling her nerve ends into life. A blackish haze intermingled with dirty yellow shimmered briefly around his body.

  Her blood hummed in her veins and just like that, her energy levels lifted.

  His glare swept the room, pinning the attendants with a lethal accusation. They ducked their heads. ‘Why have you worked her so hard? Can you not see she needs to rest?’ He stalked across the cave.

  Sherise pressed a hand against the wall and scrambled to her feet, sternly repressing her instinctive grimace as she straightened her aching back. ‘There is no need to bark at them in such a way, Maaka. No one gives me orders.’

  ‘So I have noticed.’ He reached her side. ‘Your actions reveal a great deal about you.’

  Silenced, she bit her lip and flicked a sideways glance towards her friend, but Bree had hastened to the bedside of a wounded soldier who’d called for water. Sherise didn’t miss the grin on her friend’s face before she bent over and offered the man a drink from a tankard.

  Surely it was normal for a woman not to bow and scrape? It did not necessarily mean that she was a person of consequence. Bree, for instance, often took command when the occasion demanded it. Neither were the Freeber attendants backwards in giving orders where their charges were concerned. No, it was not possible he had guessed her status.

  Maaka pinched her chin until she met his gaze. She swallowed over the sudden constriction in her throat. He took his time examining her face, his lips sternly compressed.

  With a suddenness which made her squawk, he lifted her into his arms and carried her from the cave. Behind her floated the sound of Bree’s laughter.

  ‘There is no need to carry me.’

  Maaka grunted.

  She persisted, ‘I am quite capable of walking. Please put me down, immediately.’

  ‘Nay.’

  Sherise kicked her legs, fully aware of the feebleness of her effort as exhaustion sank into her bones. Bree and Maaka were right. She needed to rest. She sighed and allowed herself to relax, rested her head on his chest, relishing the tickle of soft hairs against her cheek, the warm strength of his arms holding her so close. ‘First you will eat, and then you will sleep.’

  ‘I would prefer to bathe,’ Sherise grumbled, imagining the cleansing wash of water over her grubby body. She frowned. For a moment she could actually hear the rush of water; or perhaps it was merely her fevered imagination.

  ‘Then we will bathe.’

  She gulped. ‘We.’ Images blazed to life in her mind. Despite her fatigue, a restless surge of energy zipped through her and she tensed with anticipation. His grip tightened, then she was lowered to her feet. She stared at the wall of chest in front of her eyes, noting the faint sheen of sweat nestled amongst short, curly hair of his pectorals. Her hands clenched where they rested on his ridged abdomen while she battled her desire to taste the tiny droplets with the tip of her tongue, wishing away her obsession with this man with every fibre of her being.

  ‘Behold,’ his voice rumbled, causing her to tremble.

  She lifted her gaze. A smile deepened the grooves at both ends of his mouth, softening the hard edges of his face, his royal blue eyes scorching with a tenderness and hunger that devoured all her misgivings. It ate at her resolve until little was left. His white teeth gleamed as he parted his lips. Sherise thought she would dissolve into water vapour, but he clasped her shoulders and spun her round.

  ‘Oh!’ She gaped, her mouth dropping open. At the other end of the grotto, a curtain of water gushed with noisy abandon down the wall, splashing into a deep pool. She walked over pale golden sand until she stood on the surrounding rock ledge and stared into the jewel green depths. As Maaka followed her, the torch light wavered from the stirring of air and sent shadows dancing over the water’s surface.

  ‘This cave and pool are my quarters. No one will disturb us. Do you wish to eat first or bathe?’ He turned his head.

  Sherise followed the direction of his gaze, her eyes widening at the laden platters and jugs resting on a saffron coloured cloth covering the smooth surface of a large boulder. A spray of delicate pink flowers lay beside one of the plates, their sweet scent lingering in the cool air. The petals so dark, they bordered on crimson.

  Her favourite colour.

  Deep inside her essence, something shifted.

  Gave way.

  ‘Did you organise this?’

  Maaka cleared his throat, shuffled his feet, and then folded his arms across his chest. His gaze skittered away from hers. He shrugged, staring at the wall above her head as if uncaring of her reaction.

  Her eyes welled with tears. This man. This primitive specimen from a war ravaged planet had done something not one warrior from her technologically advanced civilisation had ever done.

  He had picked flowers for her.

  She placed shaking hands either side of his face, stood on tip toes and pressed a soft, lingering kiss onto his stubbled cheek. Her lips tingled.

  ‘Thank you.’ She moved quickly away toward the pool, desperate to hide her reaction from his far too piercing gaze. So this was what he had been doing while she had tended the injured. Her bodyguard’s warnings echoed inside her head. She thrust them aside. No matter Maaka’s objective, the flowers spoke of a sensitive side she would never had guessed existed in such a war-like man. She would accept the gift at face value and worry later over his motives.

  Besides, it wasn’t as if she didn’t have any ulterior motives at being here.

  Sherise gathered her hair into a bunch and shook out the long strands. She tossed a grin over her shoulder.

  ‘This will be sheer bliss. Do you know how long it has been since I have felt actual water against my skin?’ She hugged herself. ‘But first, I need to …?’ She hesitated, unsure how to communicate her desperate need.

  ‘Aah. This way.’ Maaka strode across to the opposite side. She hurried after him, peering around his body when he stopped before the entrance to a small, shallow cave.

  ‘Ugh.’ Sherise surveyed with grim resignation the hole in the rock floor, the pile of fresh moss beside it. Left alone, she entered and made use of the primitive facilities.

  When she returned to the pool, she found Maaka standing on the edge of the pool beneath the waterfall, eyes closed, back arched, his arms outstretched, enjoying the pulse of water pounding down the glorious length of his naked body.

  She took a long minute, drinking in his pagan stance, knowing she would carry it with her for the remainder of her days.

  He dove beneath the surface and emerged, blinking the water from his eyes, relaxed. He smiled.

  She needed no further invitation. Sherise p
lunked down onto a nearby boulder. She tossed her medie satchel to one side. Soon her boots were off, her belt, her compu armlets. With her fingertip, she touched the intricate gold pattern that bordered the neckline of her tunic and hesitated. If she removed it she would be left wearing her skin suit. Once wet, it would leave nothing to the imagination. Or she could go in wearing nothing at all! No, that was not an option. She dragged the tunic over her head, shimmied over to the edge and slipped into the pool.

  Cool water engulfed her grimy body.

  It surged over her head, drifted through her hair, relieving her aching, tired body. It embraced her like a gentle lover, easing the despair she carried and gifting her with a brief respite from her cares. She reached out and grasped the ledge, taking a deep breath before submerging and swimming a few strokes underwater to re-emerge an arm’s length from Maaka who floated on his back. A smug grin wreathed his face, blurring the hard edges. With his eyes closed, it gave him the expression of a predator content to lazily bide his time before springing on his prey.

  She knew where this was heading and she still hadn’t made up her mind; accept the temptation of a few stolen hours easing the needs of the flesh, or retreat and spend the remainder of the night alone.

  She rolled her eyes, aware that a smile tugged at her mouth and retreated, relishing the silky glide of smooth liquid against her skin. A tentative probe with her foot at the sand beneath revealed she could stand without drowning, the water lapping below her chin.

  Sherise leaned against the smooth rock sides and smothered a yawn. The cave was quiet and dim, engendering the illusion of peace and safety. Her eyelids were growing heavier by the minute and she shivered, the coolness of the pool beginning to chill her flesh.

  As if he had sensed her discomfort, Maaka rolled over, dived under the water and emerged at the side of the pool. One lithe movement and he stood dripping, proudly naked, on the ledge. Unable to withdraw her gaze, she stared as if gravity held her captive while he closed the short distance between them. He crouched and reached a hand towards her.