This Battle Lord's Quest (26 page)

Chapter
Thirty-Eight

Renewal

Initially, Yulen thought she would lead him toward
the falls when she’d claimed he needed a bath. Instead, she was taking him back
to the village. A minute later, that expectation was dashed when she angled to
the right and began to follow the cliff side, which curved behind the cluster
of trees and old buildings where the Lanta tribe made their home.

He gripped her fingers more tightly. She looked
back to give him a warm smile and squeezed in return. This was the closest they
had been since that moment behind the storehouses when he’d grabbed her by the
waist and boosted her onto the roof. As it had then, he felt his groin tighten
up. He could sense the heat building in his blood, until beads of sweat popped
out on his face. He stumbled along behind her like a teenager with his first crush,
hoping she was taking them somewhere where they’d have a little privacy.
 
Privacy, and maybe a chance to indulge in
some serious lovemaking.

Up ahead, there was a triangular crack in the rock
wall. A small stream of water splashed over it like a miniature waterfall. The
water collected in a narrow pool, which meandered into a shallow rivulet. Yulen
eyed the perfectly clear flow where it kept to the edge of the cliff, nearly
invisible, until it disappeared in the direction toward the falls.

Atty brought him to the aperture and released his
hand. “This way,” she whispered, then ducked and entered. Obediently, Yulen
bent over to join her.

The hole was deep and long, like a rock-walled
tunnel. And dark. The sunlight faded behind them as they proceeded further into
the mountain’s interior.

Atty suddenly stopped and appeared to be doing
something. It was impossible to tell what, as he was directly behind her, and
the corridor was too constricting to see around her. He soon got an answer as a
bright blue glow filled the space. Before he could ask what was giving them
light, she plunged ahead, making him hurry to catch up.

By this time there was only the sapphire-colored
beam preventing them from moving around in absolute darkness. They traveled
almost in a straight line within a space not even wide enough for him to walk
facing forward. He was forced to keep one shoulder in front of the other, to
where he sometimes walked sideways.

The rock walls didn’t appear to be getting higher
or wider, although Yulen thought he spied evidence of tool marks and scratches
on the stone, as if someone had tried to keep the path wide enough to travel.

He knew he didn’t suffer from claustrophobia.
Still, after so many minutes within the confined space, he had to pause to take
a deep, calming breath. There was a strange odor in the air. Not unpleasant,
but unusual. He sniffed again, and Atty paused to look back at him. “We’re
nearly there,” she promised.

“Really? How can you tell?” he asked drolly.
Despite their closeness, their voices are almost completely muted.

She chuckled and kept going. He realized there was
something she wanted to show him, but he was at a complete loss as to what it
was, or even where they would end up. He’d lost all track of time, and his
sense of direction was skewed.

Suddenly, Atty stopped. Yulen halted, and realized
she no longer had a head. His heart somersaulted with fear, until he understood
she was standing at the opening to a larger area, and the top of the tunnel
they’d been using came to her shoulder level. She stepped aside and bent over,
motioning with one hand for him to join her.

The place opened out into a huge cavern, so large
it was impossible to tell how big the place was. The ceiling and walls beyond
the blue light were swallowed in darkness, and every breath they took echoed
through the vastness. Yulen sniffed again. The odor was stronger.

“What is this?”

“It’s a big-ass hole in the mountain,” she answered
with a touch of humor. “This way. Stay behind me, and try not to wander. Some
of these rocks are slippery as hell.”

By now he could see what was giving out the odd
aquamarine light. It was a rock of some sort, inside a little, clear glass
case. The entire thing was no bigger than his fist, and it was suspended on a
short rope. Atty held it up like a lantern, and every so often he noticed she
shook the case. The rock rattled inside its transparent cage, making the glow
intensify.

They were walking on sheets of rock that had been laid
out in a path-like walkway. Small pools bubbled or gurgled along the edges, and
some monolithic formations of sediment and limestone jutted from the
foundation. Yulen also noticed the air was getting warmer.

They passed a staged landing surrounded by a set of
metal handrails. From there a roughly cut stairway lead upward. Moving closer,
he tried to see where it went, but the steps vanished in the blackness. Yulen
turned to give Atty a quizzical look.

“Does that lead where I think it does?”

“Uh-huh. All the way up to the ledge. Where these
people refer to as the fallen heavens.”

“We scoured that ledge, looking for your trail, but
we didn’t find it.”

“The entrance up there is well hidden in the
mountain’s side. You have to know exactly what it looks like and where it’s
located to find it.” She threw a thumb to indicate the way they’d come. “You
wouldn’t have known that little crack would have brought us here, would you?”

He admitted she was right. Now he knew how she had
made her way to the village days before he and the others arrived.

“How long did it take for you to make your way
down?”

“Two days, but that’s because Paas had to take it
slow because of my injuries. It’s over a thousand steps.”

He stared again at the carved stone flight of
steps. “That would be hellacious to climb.”

Atty gave a bark of laughter that rang in the
chamber. “No shit. And it would take more than a couple of days, I’d bet.”

“Did you sleep on the rock?”

“There’s some wider ledges every couple hundred of
yards or so. We spent one night on one of them. But you have to know your way
around, and which trail to take, or else you could go missing for days and most
likely die.”

“What do you mean?”

“This place is where the tribe took refuge when the
Great Collision occurred. They lived here for years before emerging out into
the open. During that time, they carved a bunch of trails all through this
mountain. It’s awfully easy to get lost in this place if you don’t know how to
read the routes.” She waved for him to keep moving. “Come on. We’re almost
there.”

“Where are you taking me?”

She winked at him. “You’ll see.”

 
The pathway
sloped downward, and they had to duck underneath an outcropping of rock as they
passed through another opening. Stepping into the new area, Yulen was struck by
the heat and humidity, as well as the stronger presence of what he’d been
smelling ever since they first entered the caverns.

“Take off your clothes,” Atty ordered, and began
stripping herself. He watched in fascination as she stepped over to one of the
steaming pools lying a short distance away from the path, and stuck her hand in
the water. “Ah. Perfect. Come on, Yulen. Join me.”

“What is this place?” he asked, peeling off his
sweaty and bloodstained garments. Sitting on the path to remove his boots, he
found the rock was warm beneath his bare buttocks. Cautiously, he tread the wet
stone and eased himself into the hot water. The jolt to his system made him
suck air in through his teeth. “Is this a natural hot spring?”

“Paas says it’s a mineral water hot spring. The
tribespeople come here to bathe when the weather turns too cold to use the
falls.”

Yulen paused to listen as the pool swirled around
his shoulders. “Are we alone?”

She laughed. “You don’t pay attention to me, do
you? The people take their baths in the evening, usually around dusk or later.
Trust me, if there were others in here, you’d hear them.”

That’s what he’d already assumed, since every sound
they made carried, and there appeared to be no other noise coming from other
parts of the cavern.

The water felt incredible, despite the slight
stinging in the few cuts he’d suffered during the battle. He could easily touch
the bottom, but to fully immerse himself, he had to bend his knees. Atty
watched him from the other side of the pool. In the almost cobalt gleam, her
wet hair shone with a heavenly aura.

“You like?”

“Yeah. It’s almost better than our tub back at the
compound.”

A puzzled expression crossed her face, and for a
second Yulen wondered if that memory eluded her, until she smiled.

“Why almost?”

He moved closer to her, his eyes riveted on hers as
he advanced. As the distance lessened, he wondered if she would let him do what
he’d been needing to do from the moment he saw she was alive.

Stopping inches away, he met her face to face. He
watched as her gaze roamed over him, finally resting on the scar that marked
him for life. Tentatively, she raised her hand and touched the skin with a
moist finger.

“Why almost?” she repeated, so softly, the words
never reverberated in the chamber.

“It’s too damn big. I prefer you closer.”

He leaned in to kiss her, to taste her wet lips, to
have her kiss him back. More than anything, more than making love to her, he
missed her kisses. Kisses she gave to him at the oddest times, often in the
most public of places, and sometimes when he was so damn angry at her, she
couldn’t resist, just to see how he would react. Atty’s kisses were pure Atty,
and he cherished every single one.

To his shock, she swam away at the last second. He
stared at her as she watched him open-mouthed from the other side of the pool.
“What’s wrong?” Did he push when he wasn’t supposed to? Was wanting to touch
her, to hold her, to kiss her, being too forceful?

“I didn’t bring you here just so you could bathe.”

He couldn’t read her, so he waited for her to
continue. In the meantime, the water was heating him to the marrow of his
bones, and the pole of flesh between his legs began to throb for release.
Restraint was robbing him of his sanity, but he had no other choice.

“Then why did y―”

“I have to know...if I still love you.”

The pain that tore into his heart was almost
unbearable. Yulen winced and bowed his head over the water. “But you said you
were ready to go back with me,” he reminded her in a tight, controlled voice.

“I am, but I have to know how much I love you,
Yulen. I accept the fact that you’re my husband. But, for the sake of our
child, I need to know if I’m happy when I’m with you.”

He ducked beneath the surface and came back up,
wiping the water from his face. He needed the moment to think. More than that,
he needed the moment to collect himself.

She didn’t hate him. She didn’t dislike him.
However, that last little bit of indecision continued to rankle her, which
explained why she was being cautious. It also explained why she had avoided him
after the battle and during the day.

“Atty...Atrilan.” He glanced over to see what
saying her full name would do. He never used it unless they were in a private
moment, and always in a loving moment.

She bit her lower lip but said nothing.

“Atrilan, of all the memories that have come back
to you, have any of them been unhappy?”

She nodded slowly. “Yes.”

“Was I the cause?”

She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. The seconds
ticked by with infinite slowness. “No,” she whispered.

“Now think of happy times. Think about laughing.
Was I there?”

She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her
wrist. “Sometimes, yes.”

Cautiously, he moved closer to her, flowing as one
with the water, barely making a ripple in the steaming liquid. He was afraid
she would retreat again, perhaps even climb out of the pool. The only thing he
was sure of was that she wouldn’t leave him here alone. She would never abandon
him. Not here. Not physically. But she could leave him emotionally.

He stopped directly in front of her. “Let me make
love to you, Atrilan,” he whispered. If he had to beg, he would. When it came
to Atty, there was nothing he wouldn’t do to get her back.

How ironic. I came all this way, and my most
difficult journey is these final mere inches.

Under the water, her hands reached for him. Her
fingertips touched his arms, tracing the muscles to his elbows, then up to his
shoulders. He loosely grasped her wrists, allowing her enough leeway to pull
away any time she wished, and bent down. She didn’t withdraw, but neither did
she raise her lips to him. Gingerly, almost fearfully, he pressed his lips to
hers. He gave her the softest of caresses before he lifted his face.

He watched her expression. Her eyes remained shut,
as if waiting for another brief contact. When it didn’t come, she looked up at
him. The request was unspoken but clear.