Once Upon a Caveman (13 page)

Lucy
was following the conversation with a suspicious frown.  “Are they trying to
turn you against me?”

“Yes.”

“Is
it working?”

Rhawn
studied her worried face.  “No.”  He said quietly.

She
let out a relieved breath.  “Good.”

Lucy
did not seem all-powerfully evil.  In fact, mostly, she seemed very delicate to
him.  A small, fragile being cast down among the hardened creatures of the
island and trying to stand up to them.  When he’d kissed her earlier, she’d been
soft and warm and so damn
welcoming
.  It had been like the dreams, only
better.  For a heartbeat of time, she’d responded to him and everything had
been… perfect.

Then
she’d panicked.

He
felt the moment Lucy began to worry about their size difference.  She’d pulled
back from him, feminine caution in her eyes.  The fear that he would overpower
her and take more than was offered.  The fear that he
could
.  Even as
he’d soothed her, Rhawn had known that her reaction was wrong.

Why
would a goddess be frightened of a man, no matter how big?

Why
would she win the
Ardin
with a rock and not her colossal, unstoppable
magic?

Why
was she so concerned about getting off the island in
ragan
, when she
could ascend back to her homeland of Newyork?

None
of it made any sense.

…Unless
the woman was far less powerful than she let on.

Intelligent
people didn’t question.  Didn’t push.  They accepted what was right in front of
them.  He
knew
that.  And still he looked at this woman and his
instincts told him she was different than the Destroyer of legends.  Given
time, he could talk her out of her plan to sink the island.  Lucy had a
kindness in her.  He just needed to keep her safe until she stopped her wicked
scheming.

Rhawn
weighed his options and decided to stall.

It
was the best way to keep Lucy safe, especially if she was somehow weaker than
she let on.  “The Destroyer wishes for more
ragan
.”  He told Notan.  “She
believes they will help us escape Uooloa.  Have the men make them and she will
be satisfied.  At least for now.”

“I
agree with Rhawn.”  Anniah interjected.  “We should give the Destroyer a chance
to do something good, before we condemn her.”

“Is
that Anniah girl on my side?”  Lucy asked, still trying to follow the
conversation.  “She looks like she’s on my side.”

“She
is grateful you spared Warren’s life and is now convinced we should give you
the benefit of the doubt.  She is urging the others to build the
ragan
.”

Lucy
snorted.  “Maybe she’s not as dumb as the rest of the
Croods
.  Except
for her crush on Warren, of course.”

“How
can
ragan
help us?”  Skoll demanded.  “What is the Destroyer planning?”

Rhawn
shrugged.  “Does it matter?”

“No,
it doesn’t.”  Notan swiftly agreed.  “We must placate the Destroyer while we
wait for our chance to overthrow her.”  He turned to the other men and started
barking at them to gather
um’nah
trees.

“Do
I even want to know what they were saying about me now?”  Lucy asked.

“No.”

“Wonderful. 
So glad we’re wasting our time to build life rafts for those clowns.”  Shaking
her head, she started down the beach.  “A couple hours as leader and already my
loyal followers want me dead.  Well, we can just add them to the ten thousand other
threats hanging over my head.”

“No
one will harm you, Lucy.  I will not allow it.”

She
sent him a half smile.  “Forget it.  I can deal with angry villagers wanting to
burn me at the stake.  I’m already moving on to the next problem.”  She pointed
at the sea.  “Which way do we go?”

“Only
the Savior can lead us from this island.”  Rhawn wasn’t sure why she still didn’t
grasp that, because it seemed like he’d explained it many times.  “We cannot
leave this place.”

“We
have to or we’ll be Pompeii-ed.”

His
eye narrowed, suspecting that she was mocking him.  “I understand your language
well enough to know that is not a word.”

To
his surprise, her mouth curved.  “Yeah, you’re right.  I made it up.”

“To
trick me?”

“No!” 
She looked surprised by the accusation.  “See, there was a volcano above a
place called Pompeii.  When it erupted, it destroyed everyone in its path.”

Against
his will, Rhawn glanced towards Uooloa.  Smoke poured into the sky, the ominous
color growing blacker by the hour.  Could
Lucy
really be causing all
that?  Could this small woman control a mountain?

He
suddenly doubted it.

“Pompeii
wiped out
everything
.  Generations later, when we began digging up the
ruins, we found voids in the hardened ash.  Just these odd-shaped holes in the
rock.  No one could figure out what they were.”  She crouched down to grab a shell
and some sand.  “Then someone put it together.”  Rhawn watched as she pressed
the shell into the damp sand so it left an imprint.  “They were
people. 
The
voids were the negative spaces left by the citizens of Pompeii when their
bodies were covered in ash.”  She held up the handful of sand, so he’d
understand.  “Anyone who stays here will just be impression in the dirt.”

He
considered that, staring at the ridges the shell left behind in the wet grains. 
“Even if what you say is true, the Clan will never follow you into the Infinite
Sea.  They fear it too deeply.”

“More
deeply than a
volcano?
”

“Of
course.  There are
jigons
in those waters.”

“Which
are?”

“Monsters.”

She
rolled her eyes and brushed her palm off on her leg.  “Well, monsters or not,
the other members of your Clan are getting in the boats.  I’m the god around
here and I’m going to save their lives whether they like it or not.”

“Why
do you wish to
save
lives?”  It went against everything the Destroyer
stood for.

“What
do you mean ‘why?’  You told me you wanted them saved, didn’t you?”

“Yes
and you agreed very quickly.  You are not an agreeable woman, Lucy.  I believe
you would have aided them, regardless of my wishes.”

She
made a face.  “Yeah, well, alien cave-dwellers or not, I’m going to try to keep
those losers breathing.  Maybe I don’t always play well with others, but I’m
obviously going to help people in trouble.”

Rhawn’s
head tilted, studying her.

She
winced as if remembering she was supposed to represent all that was dark in the
world.  “I mean… I’m going to help them and then…
not
help them.  It
keeps all of you off balance about my villainy.”  She cleared her throat,
nervously twisting the green beads of her necklace.  “Right.”

Rhawn’s
expression softened.  “The Clan is yours now.”  He told her in a reassuring tone. 
“You should try and win them over, so they will not revolt.  Show them that you
care and they will follow you.”

“Except,
I
don’t
care.  I’m a bitchy, antisocial person.  Ask anyone.”

“You
pretend to be.”  He corrected.  “But I
know
you, Lucy.  You are
difficult, but you care far more than you let on.”

She
stared at him for a beat and then she looked away from his steady gaze.  Clearly,
she wanted a subject change.  “Let’s refocus, alright?”  She skipped the shell
out into the waves.  “If you had to pick, which way would you sail to reach
land?”

“I
would stay where we are, because there is no other land out there.”

“So
you’ve said.  Let’s pretend I’m crazy enough to try.  What’s your best guess on
a direction?”

Rhawn’s
mouth tightened.  Why did she not understand?  “You could pick
any
direction
and it would simply circle you right back here.  There is nothing. but.
water.”  He spaced out each word.

Lucy
digested that for a moment.  “How do you know?”  She finally asked.

“How
do I know that we are alone in the Infinite Sea? 
Everyone
knows this.”

“And
you don’t ever question it?”

Rhawn
hesitated.  “Intelligent men do not question the truth.”  He temporized.

“Right.” 
She seemed skeptical of that bedrock tenet of Clan belief.  “Didn’t you once
tell me you thought you were stupid?”

His
shoulders straightened with pointless dignity.  “Yes.”

“Because
you question?”

“Questioning
is a sign of doubt.”

“Smart
people don’t question and doubt?”

“Of
course not.”

“Right.” 
She pursed her lips.  “Tell me, if no one ever questions or doubts, how is
anything ever going to change?”

“Why
would we want anything to change?”

“Because
you live in caves and worship
Warren
, maybe?”  She guessed.  “Seriously,
this isn’t the best of all possible worlds, Rhawn.  You say you dream of New
York.  Now --granted-- it isn’t paradise,
either
, but at least we have electricity
and toilet paper and shoes.”  She pointed down at his bare feet.  “You know how
we accomplished all that?”

He
shook his head, mesmerized.

“We
started by assuming that every idea labeled ‘impossible’ just hadn’t been done
yet
.”

Rhawn
blinked.  “Your world celebrates doubt?”

“If
you don’t doubt, how can you ever know what you truly believe?”

He
swallowed.  “Of course you say that.  It’s your
job
to inspire doubt.”  Allowing
himself to believe otherwise would damn him.  He may have Chosen her, but he
had to remain on guard.  “You hide the truth behind lies men want to hear.”

“You
want
to hear you’re doomed if you stay on this sinking rock?”

“No,
but…”

“So,
help
me then.  I don’t care what your stagnant Clan thinks. 
I
think you’re the only guy here who
isn’t
a moron.  That means you’re
helping me.  I’m a god.  You’re recruited.  Deal with it.”  She jerked a thumb
at the ocean.  “Now, which way is off the island?”

“I
don’t know.”

“I’m
betting you know
something
.”  She pressed.  “Take an educated guess.”

He
stared out over the waves, thinking.

“Rhawn,”
her tone went serious, “I know it seems like a bad idea to just set sail and
hope we hit a continent or something.  But, whatever the risks out there, it’s
better than staying
here
.  We have to go.”

Rhawn
was
not
swayed by the way she said his name.  He barely noticed that her
foreign accent caressed the word and made it beautiful.  Not even he was stupid
enough to be so stupid.

Damn
it.

Lucy’s
head tilted, maintaining eye-contact when he would’ve looked away.  “Please,
Rhawn.”  She persisted.  “Help me.”

Rhawn’s
resistance disintegrated like a pile of sand under the force of a wave.  “On
this side of the island, there are sometimes purple flowers.”  He said, unable
to stop himself.  When she looked at him with that bottomless green gaze, he
lost all commonsense.  “They wash up on the shore.  It happens rarely, but I’ve
seen it.”

“Purple
flowers?”

“Yes.”

“And
this matters because…?”  Her voice trailed off in a question.

“We
do not have purple flowers on this island.  So, I’ve occasionally wondered
where it is they
do
grow.”

Lucy
gave a slow smile.  “Stupid, huh?  Shit.  I
knew
I was talking to the
right guy.”  She eagerly looked around.  “Which direction do they float in
from?”

He
lifted a shoulder in a shrug.  “It’s hard to be sure.”

“But
you have a pretty good idea, don’t you?  You’ve been out in the water.  You
know the tides.  Tell me.”

“Telling
you means you will drag me out to sea.  Why should I give you information that
will lead to my death?”

She
crossed her arms over her chest.  “Because I’m a god.”

“What
are your powers?”  The words were out before he could stop them.  It was often
that way with him.  Rhawn thought thoughts he knew were wrong and he said
things he knew he shouldn’t say.  He couldn’t stop himself, though.  He always
had to push.  He had to
know
.

“It’s
none of your business what my powers are!  Just understand that I can
completely
kick your ass.”

Rhawn
stared down at her perfect face.  Challenging the Destroyer was just more proof
of his mental defect.  He’d somehow survived defying the Savior and now he was
antagonizing another god.  What was wrong with him that he didn’t stop?  “I’ll
tell you about the flowers…”