Olivia (107 page)

“I need to go away for a little while and think.  Can you take some things to a cave I know, and…and can you keep it secret?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation.  “Lead on.”

Olivia took him by the hand and led him through the maze of uninhabited passages to the cavern she used to meet with the Great Spirit.  She could hear Doru fumble in his belt pouch and an instant later she was shielding her eyes as he explored it with a flashlight.

“My, this is out of the way, isn’t it?” he said mildly.  “What do you need?”

“A bench,” she said.  “Some furs, I think, or some other kind of bedding.  A cooler full of food that won’t spoil.  Enough water for, say, a week.”

He was nodding.  “Easily accomplished.  Give me one hour.  If you mean to isolate yourself tonight, you’d best go and tell Horumn.  I’ll be done when you return.”  He touched her shoulder, running his thumb along the curve of her neck.  “Is it… what happened last night that troubles you?”

“God, no,” she said, and laughed a little.  “I needed you last night.  You have no idea how true that is.  But there’s something I have to do…and this is the way I have to do it.”

“As you like it,” he said, and that was all he said as he went to find her supplies.

Olivia went to the women’s tunnels as he had suggested and found Amy giving Liz a tummy massage.  “I’m leaving,” she said.

“For good?” Amy asked, glancing up.

“No, but for a while.”

“Okay.  Bye.”  Amy returned her attention to Liz.  “I’m not a bit surprised, might I add.”

“Me, either,” Liz agreed.  “I’m sorry about you and Sudjummar.  He seems like a nice guy.”

“He is a nice guy,” Olivia said bleakly.  “And he doesn’t deserve this and neither do I.”

“Tough nipples, baby,” Amy said bluntly.  “If we all got what we deserved, I’d be living in a tower of gold with ten horse-hung harem boys licking butterscotch topping off my clitoris every hour of every day.”  She wiped off her hands, looked thoughtful and added, “Well, that or in jail for excessive lewdness.  Either way, I’d be gettin’ some.”

Olivia came to her friend and hugged her.  Amy hugged her back, patting her as though comforting a child.  Olivia said, “Sudjummar is keeping Somurg.  I…I’m not allowed near them, or it’ll cause problems.  Please!” she said, as Amy started to make her awkward sympathies.  “I need you to nurse my baby for me.  Even if it’s just once a day.  Please.”

“Sure, I guess.”  Amy drew back slightly, troubled.  “Dare I ask why?”

“I can’t answer that right now.  Please, just do it.  I don’t know how long I’m going to be gone, but I’m not leaving the mountain.  If something happens, tell Doru.  He knows where to find me, but he probably won’t act like he knows.  Okay?”

“Okay.  Heap Big Secret-Keeper.”  She held Olivia out at arm’s length, smiling faintly.  “Take care of yourself, kid.”

Olivia returned to her meeting place at nearly the same time as Doru entered, bearing a solid stone bench on his broad shoulders.  He had already brought the furs and provisions, as well as three lanterns and a 2-liter pop bottle filled with oil.  He set down the bench, draped a thick fleece over it, and stood back, rubbing his neck.

“Thanks, Doru.”

“Feh, it wasn’t hard.  Bam, as Tobi would say.  I only hope you find what you’re searching for.”  He gathered her up and kissed her thoroughly, then stroked her hair and left her.

Alone, the first doubts crept in.  The Great Spirit was the only one she could think to ask for help in breaking Logarr’s hold over her, and it seemed she’d lost the ability to call him to her.  If she wanted to talk to him, she’d have to stay here until he lost his patience and his temper and came in person to collect her.  This, so soon after she’d ordered one of his sacred sons castrated.

Olivia sat down on the bench to wait.  When she was tired, she lay in a sleeping bag on the floor.  When she was hungry, she ate.  When restless, she paced the confines of the little cavern.  She did not mark time.  She did not know days.  She tried not to think beyond the moment of now.

Olivia waited.

7

An explosion of light and sound shattered her sleep.  The Great Spirit took two swift strides towards the tunnel mouth, flames filling in the footprints he left behind him, then sensed her and swung around.

“
Again you have lied to me!
” he roared, advancing.

She leapt up and shouted, “I
tried
!  I called for you and you weren’t there!”

“
You
—” He stopped, looked at her intently.  Without warning, he lunged, seized her brutally by the chin and yanked her up to stare deep in her eyes.  The molten gold of his own began to darken until she stared into empyreal pits of blood.  The mountain rumbled beneath their feet.  “
Who has done this?
” he asked quietly.

She started to babble out a reply, but he had no patience for it.  Reaching out one claw, he tapped her hard on the forehead.

Her jaw snapped shut as she felt his presence enter her mind, invade her memories, and read them.  When he withdrew his hand, she sank back onto her knees and shivered, looking up at him.

“
She knows
,” he murmured, gazing at the empty wall.  “
She knows everything
.”

“How could she?  How could she know where to come?  And how could she do what she did to Sudjummar?”

“
Questions
.”  He cut her a swift, not unkind glance.  “
You ask too many.  Why should you need to know these things, when I am here to protect you
?”

Her temper snapped before she could catch her tongue.  “You’ve done a fuck-lousy job of it so far!  Where were you when Logarr took me that first time?  Where were you when this could have been stopped?  Don’t you dare pat me on the head and tell me not to worry when she could have killed Sudjummar!”

He seemed taken aback by the vehemence of her words, but had altered his tone and demeanor before making a wary reply.  “
Undoubtedly, there is one like this Logarr in every tribe of my people.  She is connected to them through that power she placed inside them; when she felt it being used, she knew at once where to go.  As for how she may have arrived, the world is full of rivers.  Perhaps her essence was absorbed into the skies, released as rain upon this mountain, and melted down into the waters of your baths
.”

“She had a physical form when she came to Sudjummar.  How did she do that?  You told me she was powerless!”

“
Powerless to an immortal.  This I told you also
.”  He looked slightly annoyed with her.  “
I hardly think the how of it is important.  She entered his body because she believed he would enter yours when next he saw you, and while her power is not great enough over my children to do him harm, you are her daughter.  If you had not suffused yourself with power enough to see her there and bite her out, she would be wearing you now like ill-fitting clothing
.”

“She did Logarr plenty of harm!”

The Great Spirit shrugged.  “
She gave him only dreams until he gave himself wholly to her.  If she had made the same effort with your metal-maker, yes, I suppose she might have had the power to harm him, yet your Sudjummar is not the fool this Logarr would seem to be.  He might have fought her back and allowed some warning to come to you.  By taking your form, Bahgree was able to seduce him without enslaving him, but without resistance either.  A calculated risk.  We are fortunate it did not go in her favor
.”

“What do we do now?  How can we fight her?”

“
Fight her?
”  The Great Spirit cocked his head curiously.  “
You will fight her at the Binding Place, mortal
.”

“But Logarr will want me again!”

“
Then go to him
.”

She shook her head, frustrated with him.  He had touched her, he was supposed to understand!  “I can’t do that and you must know why!  He says he’s blinding you!”

“
He has already done so
,” the Great Spirit replied, unbothered.  She started to protest and the Great Spirit silenced her with a wave of his hand.  “
She knows I have chosen you to be the vessel of her immortal power.  By blinding me to you, she thinks you will not have enough of my essence to defeat her when we come to the Forgotten Waters.  She means to kill you.  She would have done so already if not for my influence
.”  He shot her a glance that Olivia read easily as
And this is the thanks I get
.  “
But Bahgree can take only so much of my sight.  I will always be able to see you when I stand in my own flesh before you.  I see no reason why you should not finish with her servant
.”

“But he’s stronger than I am!” Olivia cried.  “He could be doing anything to me!  I can’t fight him!”

“
Do not fight.  Give the River Woman her little victory.  You shall have your vengeance when you hold her essence
.”  He regarded her without sympathy.  “
You asked what you should do and I told you
.”

“Right, go to Logarr,” she snapped, blinking back angry tears.  “When he’s finished with me, then I suppose you’ll ask me to come back to you.  You’ve got a few days before Urga comes into season, and you can always count on me for a good time, is that it?  You’re a pig, do you know that?  You’re a horny bastard and a lousy excuse for a god!”

He had been surprised by the explosive violence of her rage, but the more he listened, the angrier he got.  When she stopped to catch her breath, he filled the silence with his rage.  “
You humans are all alike
!” he spat.  “
From the time your kind first crawled out of the water, you have subjugated and killed all other beings solely to further your comfort!  You are no different!  You resist this Logarr to spare yourself having to open your legs, and why?  What does it hurt?  It hurts your human heart
!”

He flung out one arm and pointed out through the door, his rage flaring out from him in a visible aura of flame.  “
My children are dying
!” he roared.  “
The son you bore is dying, and you, who can save them all, whine at me because the means are unpleasant to you!  My children are the verge of extinction, but if sympathy were spit, you could not fill a cupful
!”

“You want sympathy?”  She spat a wad of runny saliva at his feet.  “That’s more than you and your whole fucking race is worth!”

He swung his arm and his palm cracked across her cheek with the sound of a thunderclap.

Olivia staggered back, struck the wall and stared at him, one hand pressed to the side of her face.  He waited, unmoving, as she sank to her knees and pressed her face against the floor, sobbing herself hoarse.

“
I forgive you that outburst
,” he said at last.  “
And now I will remind you of your oath to me and demand your obedience
.”

She shuddered against the rock.  “What do you want me to do?”

“
Stand and face me
.”

Her hands drifted over the stone; she pushed herself upright, and got first to her knees, then to her feet.  She looked at him with numb resignation.

He studied her in silence for a while, apparently finding no trace of deception or defiance.  “
Go to Logarr
,” he ordered.  “
Do what you must and be rid of his influence, and then return to me.  No mortal could survive what he plans for you tonight.  Had you not lain with two, you would have killed your last lover
.”

“I’ll die,” she said bleakly, and his expression turned dark and formidable again.

“
If you do, it will be of pride, woman
,” he shot back tersely.  “
When he is done with you, return here.  I will remain
.”              He paused to eye her, plainly expecting a furious response.  When there was none, he continued.  “
I will learn the end of Logarr’s tale, and advise you further.  But know this, Olivia, and swallow it:  Your time here is nearly ended
.”

She nodded once, submissive as a child.

“
You are dismissed
,” he said formally.  He folded his arms over his chest and watched her withdraw from the cave.

8

Olivia went to the baths and had both a long soak and a good cry.  When she was done with both, she went to the commons, arriving at the same time as the returning hunting party.  She heard her name muttered in tones of surprise, and then Doru’s strong voice hailed her with his usual good humor.  He and the other hunters fanned out towards the females, laden with satchels of meat and other, less pleasant but equally practical, animal remains.

Doru muscled an older male out of the way before that other could take more than two steps towards her, and unslung part of his burden for her carry.  “For you,” he said.

“Mighty hunter,” she said wanly, trying on a smile.  “What did you bring for my tribe?  An elk?  A bear, perhaps?”

“Greater prey than that, beautiful Olivia.  For you, I have stalked and slain the rare and perilous gulla-eating mountain hare.”

“And I helped,” Bodual called.

“He did,” Doru agreed.  “He tripped me with his spear so that I could fall on it and kill it.”

“I didn’t mean to trip him,” Bodual protested, coming up on her other side with another rabbit.  “I was trying to stab him.”

“Doru?” Olivia asked, feigning surprise.

“No, the rabbit.  Fortunately, he hopped out of the way.”

“The rabbit?” she echoed obediently.

Bodual gave her an exasperated grimace meant to disguise his delight at her apt delivery of her cues.  “No, Doru.”