Bound by Sin (17 page)

“I know, Kino. I know.” Jileana leaned forward and kissed one of those leathery cheeks before looking at Jaykun and winking. “Come on. There isn't much time. We have to get you somewhere…safe.”

That was when he realized, with no little surprise, that for the first time in as long as he could remember, he had forgotten the time of day, lost track of it, been completely free of the knowledge of his curse. It astounded him. Ever since the curse had begun he had spent every waking moment fully cognizant of it, always aware of it and aware of the time of day. Always plotting exactly where to go that would be safest and farthest away from everybody else. For these past minutes he had been free of that weight.

But now it came crashing back into him and he felt a rising sense of panic. He didn't know where he was, didn't see any kind of beach that would be a safe distance from everyone else. His curse would begin and all of these people would see him burn. It was the last thing he wanted.

Jileana dived back into the water and slipped away from him, going down deeper this time. He took a breath and followed her even though a visceral part of him was saying they were going in the wrong direction. He needed to be isolated on land…else he would have to burn in the water in the middle of the ocean. Burn and drown at the same time. Burning was bad enough, but to drown on top of it? It was more than he thought he could bear. True, that was exactly what he would have been forced to do as they crossed the oceans in his armada—swimming safely away from the big wooden ships—but he had not come to terms with it in his mind, had not yet prepared himself for it.

He followed the woman who darted and danced through the water as if she had been born for it, and he supposed she had been. She swam almost as fast as she had in her seal form, or so it seemed to him as he tried to keep up with her. He was a strong swimmer, but she was stronger. She had to stop and wait for him on more than one occasion. Finally, she brought them into one of the coral caves, and taking his arm, she pulled him up into a pocket of air. He gasped for breath and she smiled at him.

“Only a little farther in,” she said, beginning to swim toward the back of the cave. Then, after a moment, he began to see a glowing light. Not that there were fires, he realized as they drew into what looked like grand private living quarters, but the walls themselves were phosphorescent. Jileana pulled herself out of the water and onto a shelf, then she reached out a hand to him and helped him to do the same. He was beginning to realize why she was so strong. If the people of Serenity swam and climbed constantly in order to get from one place to the next, it only made sense that they were fit creatures.

She stood up and walked to the rear of the cave, leaving him with little choice but to follow. He was beginning to feel itchy, though, itchy with the worry of the setting sun. The cave seemed isolated, but then he saw a woman at the back of the cave.

She had hair as red as blood and it was braided down her back in a thick rope that reached the backs of her knees. There was a circlet of golden wire braided into it around the crown of her head. She was nude except for a small sarong knotted at her hip. She was tall and slender, as fit as Jileana was—as everyone seemed to be—and as she turned to look at them, he was instantly struck by the fact that she was nearly Jileana's twin.

“Mother!” Jileana greeted the woman, her bare feet slapping against the cave floor as she hurried into her mother's eager embrace.

“Jilly, you naughty child! Your father is beside himself! You know he forbade you to go to the Overworld. When he realized where you had gone he was furious!”

“I'm surprised he didn't come after me,” Jileana said as she hugged her mother.

“Creasus couldn't afford to be away. The grots have been grumbling with discontent. He sent Lalo after you, but in the end, it was the clutch that kept an eye on you. After all, you came back every night where they were able to see you.”

“The grots are sea creatures that live in a small settlement nearby. The clutch is the collection of seals and morari sitting on the jetty of the cove,” Jileana explained to Jaykun. Then she turned back to her mother. “It was one reason why I returned to the cove each night. I knew the clutch would report back to Father that I was well.”

“That was not all they reported,” Jileana's mother said as her attention turned to Jaykun. “Is this the man who burns?”

“Yes, Mother, it is. His name is Jaykun. Mother, we don't have much time. He must burn every night from dusk to juquil's hour. It is a curse. I was hoping that you could help.”

“Oh no, dearest. This is obviously a curse of the gods,” she said as she inspected Jaykun carefully. She shook her head. “I cannot touch it.”

“I didn't think you could. But I was hoping you could help him stay below the waters.”

“Oh! Yes, of course I can. Come here, young man.”

Jaykun lifted a brow at that. He was not a young man by any stretch of the imagination. True, his immortality had frozen him in the prime of his life and looks, but he was over two centuries old, most of that spent chained to a star in torture. There was nothing young about him.

Still, he moved closer to her.

“My name is Ravi. I do not want you to be afraid.”

“He is a very brave man, Mother.”

“He would have to be to gain my daughter's respect and trust. Jilly would not bring just anyone into our world. There are strict rules about that, Jaykun.”

“Then I am honored,” he said.

“He is an ambassador, Mother. He wishes to speak with the empress.”

“Ah. Well, that should be very interesting. But first let us make it so you can move freely about amongst us.”

Ravi then placed both hands on Jaykun's chest and closed her eyes.

“We haven't much time,” Jaykun said, tension ratcheted up in his voice. “The curse is coming.”

“Yes. I feel it,” she murmured. “You will feel a tingling sensation, Jaykun, in your chest. That only means the spell is working.”

“Spell?”
he asked tightly.

Then, as promised, his chest began to tighten and tingle. Suddenly a jolt of energy jumped from Ravi's hands and into his chest. Startled, he stepped back, away from her.

“There. It is done.”

“What is done?” he demanded to know.

“It is an osmosis spell. From now on your body will draw air from the water. You will no longer need to breathe as you would on land,” Jileana said, reaching out to put a comforting hand on his arm. “Now you can choose any spot on the ocean floor to burn without drowning as well. You can move freely from land to water like the rest of us do. You can hear and speak beneath the water. You can live in my world.”

Stunned, Jaykun didn't know what else to do other than to thank her with a murmur of politeness.

“I believe your friend is a bit shocked by all he is seeing and hearing. But you haven't much time. Take him to the juna cave. There will not be anyone there and that should protect everyone from the burning.”

“How did you know…?”

“Mother is a sea witch.
The
sea witch. There is no one more powerful. My magic is nothing compared to hers.”

“
Your
magic?”

“Oh, minor spells,” Jileana said breezily, waving the query off. “Like the one that made the trunk lighter and waterproof. Now follow me. We better swim fast.” She gave her mother a swift kiss on the cheek. “I will be back later!”

She ran away and leapt into the water. Jaykun hastened after her.

The first thing he noticed was that he could draw in a breath as easily as if he were on land…only he wasn't breathing through his mouth and nose. It seemed to enter him from all around him, as if his entire body was breathing. Then Jileana turned and said to him, “This way!” and he heard her as clear as if she had been speaking to him above the water. He was stunned and fascinated, but he didn't have time to enjoy the new experience. They were just swimming into a large cave some distance away from everyone else when the burn began in the center of his chest. He shouted out in warning to Jileana, and she hurriedly swam away to a safe distance. Within moments the water around him was boiling with heat and his body was wrenching and burning just as badly as ever. The pain was extraordinary. Blinding and searing.

And so, once again, the curse was fulfilled.

O
nce Jaykun was able to swim again with only a modicum of pain, Jileana led him back to the surface. It seemed the selkie city extended as deep below the surface of the water as it soared above it, making the city quite vast indeed. Even though now it was dark and quite late, there were many selkies moving about. Jileana led him to the cliff face of fossilized coral, and using the porous surface for handholds and footholds, she began to climb up as easily as though she were climbing on the rungs of a ladder.

His hands and feet were still raw with burns, and this made it difficult because the coral was quite rough. But he did not complain. There was nothing to be done about it so complaining served little purpose, in his mind. He had suffered much worse agony and this was light in comparison.

Jileana led him up to a level of the coral that was quite a healthy distance from the water's surface. On this level the coral had been smoothed to create a surface for walking normally. There was a ledge about the width of a road that ran the entire length of the cliff face. Along this road was a series of caves—some completely dark, and he was unable to determine what was in them; others had light glowing warmly within that showed selkies sitting or sleeping or in leisurely pursuits. One selkie he saw was reading; another was working fibers to make a net. It seemed so normal, so homey, just as what one would find in the many rooms of a castle, only here there were no doors and all was on display for anyone to see who might be passing, so long as the light was on, that is.

The source of their light seemed to vary. Some used candles, some lanterns. Small fires built close to the entrances of caves shed light nearly to the back of the caves; it all depended on the size of the cave in question.

However, most of the caves were lit from what seemed like the walls themselves. When Jileana led him into one of the larger ones, he was able to touch the wall where it glowed.

“It is a phosphorescent ink,” she explained. “It comes from the ink glands of the kilmari fish. We catch them and milk the glands, then paint the walls as you see. The ink only needs to be refreshed about three times within a full turning. It is what most of us prefer to use. The fires are fueled by charcoal, not wood; as you can surmise, wood is in short supply and becomes too damp here to be useful. The coal is mined from enriched caves a bit farther down on this side of the island.” She took his hand and led him deeper into the cave. “This is my home. Or rather, my father's home. This entire ledge houses my father, my brothers, and their families. My mother lives below the water's surface. She and father have not been together since my birth. She is the most powerful sea witch ever to live,” she said with obvious pride. “And my father is the greatest warrior.”

Jaykun chuckled at that. “You are their child. Of course you would think that.”

“Perhaps,” she said with a sly smile. “But any one of the selkies will tell you the same. My father is commander of the empress's army. Many great warriors follow him.”

“I thought Serenity was immune to invading forces. Why would you need an army?”

“We are immune from human invaders,” she qualified. “We have other enemies who are constantly nipping at our heels like rabid little mongrels.”

There was true venom in her words and he felt it eddying off her. The selkies clearly had some troublesome enemies.

And oddly enough he felt the urge to help her…to help them. He didn't know anything about these enemies and he barely had a clue as to how to navigate in her world, but just the same, the urge to be of some kind of help to her was overwhelming. The desire, as powerful as it was, confused him, so he shoved it away from his most ready thoughts. Instead he tried to focus on where he was, on all the things he was seeing and learning.

In the end, it was not hard to do at all. He felt like he had the eyes of a child, dazed with wonder at everything he saw. She brought him deeper into the cave and he saw it went back much farther than he'd first thought, taking a turn before ending in what looked to be a bedroom. He assumed this because on the floor was a pallet. At the base was a six-inch thick layer of sand, presumably to add softness. Covering the sand was a woven mat of some kind. Then there were layers of soft animal skins. He crouched down and fingered one of the skins thoughtfully.

“So you hunt on the island, then?”

“We do, but rarely. Only for what we need. We rarely eat the meat of the animals, so we mostly hunt them for their skins.”

“I know you don't eat the meat. You were so fascinated by the foods we eat, it was clear you didn't experience food from game or grain. So what do you eat? As we speak of food I grow hungry.”

“Of course! You didn't eat this night. For that matter neither have I. I had almost forgotten. Here, let me show you how we eat.”

She took him back out to the main body of the cave. She picked up a container. The hollow drumlike object seemed to hold bones or stones in its center. When she shook the drum, it rattled loudly. Shortly after she put it down, a young girl appeared and dropped to her knees before Jileana, bowing her head.

“What may I do for you, my mistress?”

“Sana, this is Jaykun. He is my guest. You are to get him anything he needs if it is possible. He knows little of our ways and you are to help him become acclimated to life here. For now, we are hungry.”

“Yes, my mistress. I will prepare a meal for you.” The young girl stood up and hurried away.

“Sit. Relax. We have had a long day,” Jileana said invitingly as she sat down on the smooth cave floor and patted the floor beside her. Jaykun took her invitation readily, taking the seat beside her. She was smiling at him, looking soft and beautiful to his tired eyes. There was something decadent about having her completely naked all the time. He could reach out and touch her any way he liked at any time he liked. There was no confining clothing to get in his way. He had free access to all of her dark and beautiful bare skin. He quickly tried to quell those compelling thoughts because his lack of clothing allowed it to be all too obvious when he found her arousing. Still, his restraint came too late and she leaned into him with a chuckle. Her hand came to rest on his chest, her fingers drifting silkily down his breastbone.

“Food first,” she admonished him. “Then we will settle all other appetites.”

He gave her a low, short growl. “I cannot help it if you are so unbelievably delicious to my eyes. Especially if you run about indecently lacking in clothing.”

“Clothing is highly overrated. It weighs a body down and tangles it up. It is impractical.”

“Yes, I can see that, considering how you live. But you have spent the past few days learning and adapting to living in my world. Now I will be given the same opportunity in yours.”

“And are you looking forward to that?” Her gaze drifted from his. “I know I offered all of this to you without any warning. I must say, you have taken very well to it.”

“Before I was cursed by the gods, I roamed this world with my brother, doing what I am doing now, only voluntarily rather than being indentured to it as I am now. I traveled far and wide, and in those travels I saw things, many wondrous and magical things that you could never imagine. The adventure that gained me my immortality alone is quite a story. It taught me long ago to be aware and to be flexible. I should have known there was something about you…something different and magical. Actually, I did know. I simply was so taken with you that I didn't allow myself to see what was right before my eyes.”

“It was not my intention to trick you. I didn't know what you would think of me. I had to protect my people. The Krizans know of us, but no others, really. We are mostly thought of as beings of myth or legend. It is best that way. Almost none know of the portal. Fortunately, the portal between our worlds is only open for the span of the week of the full moon. The three nights waxing, the day of the full moon, and three days waning. As soon as the moon wanes three nights the portal closes until the next moon.”

“That's why we had to go tonight. It was going to—” Jaykun took a breath in harshly. “Are you saying the portal is closed now? Closed until the next full moon?”

“Why, yes. Is there something wrong with that?”

He reached out and grasped her arm, giving her a little shake. “I was only supposed to be here a few days! You mean I am trapped here until the moon turns full again?”

“Trapped? This is no prison, Jaykun,” she said sharply, her eyes attaining a wounded appearance. “You will be treated as my honored guest. I don't think you appreciate the rarity of the invitation I have extended to you. I warned you…tonight or a month from tonight. I said it more than once.”

It was true. She had said it more than once; he simply had not understood her. Had not understood the limitations involved. From her perspective they had been obvious.

The truth was, he should never have come in the first place. He should have remained focused on his newly won city. He should have focused on getting his brothers home to their wives. Instead he had foolishly and selfishly chased a woman into another world. Looking back now he couldn't understand why he would do something so headlong. Why? Why had he done it?

He looked at Jileana and he knew why. Because he had been unable to reconcile the idea that she would leave him so soon after he had just gotten to know her. He had not been ready to let her go. He couldn't explain it, but he had not been ready.

And now his brothers would suffer for it. It would be a waning now before they could leave for their homes, forcing them to travel in the growing colder weather. That and they would worry about him when he did not return after the few days' time he had told them he would be gone. The term “worry” was perhaps an understatement. They would be aggressive as they searched for him, taking ships into the storms that surrounded Serenity, not realizing that the island was magically protected against all human intruders.

“Is there no other way out of here?”

“There are only the moon portals to the Overworld. Your world.”

“That's what you call it? The Overworld?”

“Yes. And the ocean is the Underworld. Serenity lies between.”

“And no ships can ever make it through the storms?”

“Never,” she assured him. “Ships that try are either turned back or completely destroyed. It's madness to even try.”

“How many moon portals are there?”

“There are several throughout the oceans, but to go through them would mean traveling a distance from here. The portal we went through is the closest one to the actual Isle of Serenity. Ah. Our supper,” she said when Sana returned with a plate of multicolored food on it.

“Wonderful. I have missed this,” Jileana said with eager anticipation. “Your food is delicious—don't get me wrong. But this is so much more delicate and varied.”

“What is it?”

“It's fish of course,” she said, reaching for a yellow fleshy strip of meat. That was when he realized it was raw.

“You…you don't cook your food?” he asked, trying hard not to sound horrified.

“No. We simply debone it and eat it as nature intended it to be eaten. Try it. I promise you, you will like it. Try the orange one. It is delpi fish, a sweeter, fattier fish. It simply melts on your tongue. Go on, try it,” she urged him. “If you like, you can wrap it in seaweed or kelp. Like this.” She demonstrated, rolling the fish up in the seaweed and then popping it in its entirety into her mouth. “Mmm.”

With a brave, steady breath, Jaykun imitated what she had done, and after only a moment of hesitation, he popped the fish into his mouth and began to chew. To his surprise a burst of salty sweetness washed over his tongue. He had never eaten raw fish before; he had never realized it could actually taste good. Fish had always been one of his least favorite dishes, the flesh of it always so dried out from cooking, in his opinion. But prepared like this, it was lush and juicy and so surprising.