Chapter 33 Eluheed
ELUHEED
Eluheed held Tamira's hand as they walked through their new home, checking it out room by room, but for different reasons. Tamira was admiring the decor and imagining them living there, while he was looking for listening devices.
Not that he knew what to look for.
He wasn't technologically savvy, but he'd heard about cameras the size of a fly and listening devices the size of a mosquito. Those could be hiding anywhere.
"This is lovely." Tamira ran her hand along the back of a comfortable-looking sofa in the seating area of the bedroom. "I can read here. There is so much natural light. I wonder if they have a library in the village."
"Mm," Eluheed agreed, his attention focused on the large flat screen mounted on the wall above the fireplace. There was one in every room they'd checked so far.
Any of them could have a camera hidden behind the black glass or whatever material they were made from.
"Are you listening to me?" Tamira tugged on his hand.
"Sorry. I was distracted by the television. That's a large screen for a bedroom."
She followed his gaze. "It is. I guess it's so it can be viewed from the bed. This is a large room."
"Yeah, that makes sense." Eluheed looked around the frame for anything suspicious.
"Let's see what is in the closet," Tamira said.
"I'm curious about the things Amanda ordered for us.
I hope she got me better shoes because these are terrible.
" She looked down at the white tennis shoes that had been delivered to Safe Harbor with the jet, along with what she had on. "They are squashing my toes."
"Then we certainly need to check that out first." He walked into the closet.
It was full of clothes as promised, with practical things that people were wearing around there. There was nothing even remotely resembling the elegant gowns Tamira had worn in the harem.
His clothing occupied a small section, but he really didn't care what Amanda had gotten him. Instead, he kept looking for anything that seemed out of place.
"You're making me nervous," Tamira said quietly. "What are you looking for?"
"Listening devices," Eluheed admitted. "Cameras. Ways they might be monitoring us."
Tamira's expression shifted, understanding dawning. "You think they're spying on us?"
"I don't know. Maybe. We're strangers here.
Unknown entities. It would be foolish of them not to keep some level of surveillance, at least initially.
They take security very seriously here, and they've just allowed a bunch of strangers into their sanctuary.
Tula can vouch for you and the other ladies, and they know about Tony's past because of Kaia, but they know nothing about me. "
A shadow crossed Tamira's eyes, and she looked like she wanted to say something, but then she changed her mind and continued the exploration in the bathroom.
It was spacious and done in soothing cream and brown colors, with a large tub and separate shower.
Even here, a small television was mounted on the wall, ostensibly for entertainment while bathing.
Or for watching whoever was bathing, but that would be perverted rather than related to security, and he believed that these immortals were better than that.
"Do you think we can have a private conversation in here?" Tamira asked, echoing his thoughts. "With the water running to mask our voices?"
"I don't know if even that is safe." Eluheed studied the fixtures, the backlit mirror, the seemingly innocent decorative items. Any of them could hide surveillance equipment.
"We're not in the harem anymore, and you don't have years of testing to see if what you say privately finds its way to whoever's listening. "
Tamira used to test the boundaries constantly, saying offensive things about Navuh in the privacy of her room to see if he retaliated in some form.
His reaction would have revealed that he'd been listening.
He'd never reacted, and yet they had both been careful about saying anything truly incriminating out loud in her room.
The bathroom had been the only safe space, and since no one had confronted them about their escape plans, their gamble had proven correct.
Things were different here. They had no idea who might be listening.
"So, what do we do?" Tamira asked.
"We test, just like you did in the harem."
She looked conflicted. "Where can we talk?"
He looked out to the backyard through the expansive sliding doors. "Out there should be safe if we get away from the house. Do you want to go outside?"
She nodded enthusiastically. "I would love to.
The weather out here is just perfect. I think that the last time I enjoyed cooler temperatures was when we were living in what is today called Lebanon.
That was where Mortdh's stronghold used to be.
We lived there for a long time, even after his and the other gods' deaths.
It took centuries for Navuh to decide to move to a different location. "
Eluheed opened the sliding doors, and they stepped outside onto the wraparound porch.
"I'm not sure I want Navuh to survive," Tamira said quietly.
Eluheed turned to look at her. "I think we are all conflicted about that."
She nodded. "It feels like wishing him dead is a betrayal of Areana.
She loves him, and she's been, still is, our unofficial leader.
She was kind and supportive, and I have nothing but praise for her.
" She trailed off, seeming to struggle with what she needed to say next.
"But I can't help thinking the world would be a better place without him.
" Tamira's grip on his hand tightened. "Is that terrible? Does that make me a terrible person?"
"No." Eluheed lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "It makes you someone who's survived five thousand years of captivity. Your feelings are valid."
She shook her head. "I'm not even thinking of myself and my sisters when I say that. It's not a vendetta. I just know that he has done terrible things to countless people, mostly humans but also immortals. Without him, there will be less suffering in the world."
"Navuh's death will not solve the problem of human suffering," he said. "Nature abhors a vacuum. Someone else will take his place. Some other big bad wolf. There's never a shortage of them."
Tamira pulled her hand from his, turning to face him. "So, what you're saying is that it's better to keep the evil we know than take it out because an even bigger evil will take its place?" Her voice rose. "If that’s true, how are good people ever supposed to triumph?"
It was a fair question. One Eluheed had asked himself countless times over his long life.
"Sometimes they don't," he said honestly. "Sometimes evil wins and good people suffer. That's the way of the world, Tamira. It always has been."
"That's a depressing philosophy."
"It's a realistic one." He reached for her hand again, and she let him take it.
"But sometimes good triumphs as well. Light pushes back the darkness.
Justice prevails. That happens less often than we'd like, but since balance is mostly preserved, we have to conclude that good people win as often as they lose. "
"That's still depressing." She pursed her lips. "I want good to annihilate evil forever. Is that even possible?"
He smiled. "Not with the players nature chose to play her games with. When times are good, humans get bored and invent reasons for strife. Revolutions start for real or manufactured reasons, and evil gets a new foothold. It's a never-ending cycle."
She sighed. "So, which will it be in this case? Which outcome leads to good triumphing, Navuh's death or survival?"
"I don't know." Eluheed wished he had a better answer. "I'm a shaman, not a prophet. I see only glimpses of the future, but they are limited. I never see the big picture, and that's where it's at."
He hadn't seen the results of the war that had sent him and the other shamans fleeing all over the universe.
He didn't know how many of their people had survived and whether the other shamans were still stranded like he was.
His charges were not enough to restart things back home.
The others were needed for that as well.
Tamira grew pensive, and for a long moment, they just walked the inside perimeter of the fence, holding hands and enjoying the crisp winter of the Pacific coastline even though it was several miles away.
"Are you going to tell them?" Tamira suddenly asked.
"Tell who what?"
"Annani. Kian. Whoever's in charge here." Tamira turned to look at him. "If you want their help, you will need to tell them the truth about yourself. About what you are and why you're here."
"I don't know if I can. If it's safe."
"You have to. They won't help you unless they know what this is about.
You need to explain what you need and why.
They're not going to help you mount a costly search for mysterious items without an explanation.
You must realize that. You can't just say that you need to dig under Mount Ararat and expect them to hand you a shovel. "
He understood, but he also needed more time to get a feel for these people. What he had seen and sensed so far was encouraging, but he hadn't survived for a thousand years by being rash.
"I'm sworn to secrecy." Eluheed kept walking, needing to move, to do something with the nervous energy building inside of him. "I took an oath. They will want to know how I got here, and I can't reveal that."
"Then tell them what you can and explain why you can't say more, the same way you told me. I accepted that, and they might as well."
She was right. He had tried to do it on his own for decades and had found no way to do it. The clan was his only hope.
The thing was that even if they knew the truth about how he'd gotten here, it wouldn't betray his people because Annani's clan couldn't do anything with the information.
The same was true for him, though. Even if he could get to Mount Ararat, even if he could find the exact location where his charges were buried, what then?
He had no way to get home.
Still, he had a sacred duty to watch over his charges, and he had failed.
Letting go of Tamira, he covered his face with his hands. "It's hopeless. I can never go home."
"No, it's not." She gripped his wrists and uncovered his face. "You're standing in the backyard of a beautiful little house in a safe village with someone who cares about you, and you're free."
"Free and purposeless."
"Free and breathing," she corrected. "Purpose can come later. Right now, just let yourself breathe. You can worry about everything else tomorrow."
Nodding, he drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly, drew another one, and tried to focus on the present moment instead of the impossible future.
"Better?" Tamira asked.
"Not really. But I appreciate the effort."
She laughed, and the sound was so unexpected and so beautiful that Eluheed had to smile.
"I love hearing you laugh. Now that you are free, I hope to hear it more often."
"I promise to laugh as much as I can." She stretched on her toes and kissed his lips lightly. "We're going to be okay. I don't know how yet, but we will be. I will find Darien, you will find your sacred charges, and you will find a way to deliver them to your home."
"Your confidence is either inspiring or delusional."
She laughed, and it didn't sound forced. "I'm choosing to believe that we weren't set free only to fall apart and give up."
"Fair point."
The doorbell ringing interrupted them, and Eluheed tensed, but Tamira squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Let's see who it is. It's probably one or more of my sisters."
They walked back into the house, and Tamira opened the front door to reveal Wonder standing on the front porch, holding a basket.
"Hi," she said with a warm smile. "I hope I'm not interrupting. I brought some things from the café to tide you over until you can prepare a meal."
"That's very kind," Tamira said, accepting the basket. "Would you like to come in?"
"I don't want to intrude on your first evening in your new home, and I have more baskets to deliver.
" She motioned to the golf cart behind her.
"Today should be all about resting and getting acclimated, but I figured that would be hard to do on an empty stomach.
" She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a card.
"There are vending machines behind the café, so if you get hungry in the middle of the night because your stomachs are still operating on a different time zone, you can get a snack there. Use this card to make purchases."
"Thank you." Tamira put the card on the entry table.
When Wonder departed, Eluheed picked up the card and examined it. "Do you even know what it is?"
She frowned. "I lived in seclusion but not under a rock. I know what a credit card is. I've seen them in movies and read about them in books."
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her lips. "You de facto lived under a rock, and you were allowed only glimpses of what lay beyond it. Now the rock is gone, and you can see the entire world."