Chapter Thirteen
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
Once 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?