CHAPTER NINETEEN #2
After divesting myself of my cloak, gloves, and a good deal of my undergarments, earning Alad’s full attention again, he hoists a large stone and places it on top of the pile.
“Safe enough, I think.”
“You don’t wish to leave the sacks as well?” But my eyes are busy devouring him. Even in human form, he’s stunning.
Hoisting the bags over his shoulder, he holds out his hand to me. “A warrior never leaves his armaments, and right now, food, water, and gold are ours.”
But no pistol. No sword. We’re in a strange land, different from his time, and I’m suddenly very glad of his powerful physique, even in his Fourth Form.
We march towards the river and population over terrain growing increasingly flat.
A five minute’s stroll puts us in shouting distance of a man moving a stone in circles over a large piece of leather.
He looks up and smiles. He’s young, no more than twenty years old, and dressed in torn trousers and a long baggy shirt.
Before I can worry over the fact that his greeting, as such it must be, is spoken in a tongue we don’t share, Alad replies.
When he sees me looking at him, he winks. “Brushed up on my Arabic last night after you fell asleep. Lord Peterson suggested it. Handy fellow to have around.”
He returns to questioning the young man who suddenly bobs his head and runs off towards another thatch and mud dwelling.
When he returns, he’s accompanied by an older man who slowly pecks his way towards us.
Once more, Alad begins speaking. At first, the older man waves his hand, gesturing we should leave.
However, when Alad digs in his sack and withdraws a gold coin, matters shift.
With a nod, the elder pockets the gold within his dusty cotton robe and motions for us to follow him. We don’t travel more than a city block before he stops and points to the other side of the river.
“He says the tomb of Gilgamesh is rumored to be there, closer to the bank.”
“Does anything look familiar?”
His gaze rakes over the terrain. “No. The topography has changed too drastically, but I trust the man knows much from legend. He claims there’s a tomb of a giant that must not be disturbed, as it’s cursed. That sounds much like Gilgamesh.” Alad focuses on me. “Will you wait for me here?”
“Why? Where are you going?” I grab for his arm, suddenly afraid. I don’t speak the language. I don’t know these people or their customs. And I don’t much trust the old man.
“Into the river.”
“What? I thought…”
“That the river would have magically dried up for me? No, though it seems smaller than I remember. Ibaad, the older male, has agreed to keep you safe while I dive. If I find Gil’s tomb—when I find Gil’s tomb—I won’t stay long.
He’s either there, or he’s not.” But he frowns, the thought of having come all this way for nothing clearly upsetting.
But of course the legendary Gilgamesh isn’t alive and waiting for Alad beneath the muddy waters. How can a rational mind believe it to be so? The entire quest has been an invitation to disappointment from the outset.
And danger. An overwhelming urge to keep Alad with me, to keep him safe, fills me. Hunting for his so-called friend who cursed him into stone never seemed wise. Now, with him preparing to dive into who knows what, it appears nothing short of madness.
“Don’t let him take you from me,” is all I can manage.
His kiss doesn’t feel like goodbye. I still feel like it might be.
Kicking off the shoes he despises and shucking his clothing, Alad stalks to the river without a backward glance.
I watch him tense for a moment, his gaze raking the scenery, before steadying his shoulders.
In an elegant dive, an arc of a magickal creature, he slides through the air and breaches the water.
And disappears. Only bubbles and ripples remain.
The old man gestures I should follow him back to his hut, but I wave him away, though I try to temper my gesture with a smile. I need to stand watch. I don’t know how long Alad can hold his breath or even whether he needs to breathe, but I want to be the first thing he sees when he resurfaces.
What if I’ve helped return him to this land, only to have this land grab him back from me?
I don’t pace. Much. I do wring my hands. Alad has left the packs and his clothing with me, and from time to time, I look at where he laid them at my feet, but honestly, if he doesn’t reappear, I’ll have no need of them. And if he returns, I don’t care about silly things like food, water, and gold.
As the minutes tick by, I become more and more tempted to throw myself into the waves. I don’t know how to swim beyond holding my breath underwater and crossing from one side of a pond to the other. Will that be enough to save him?
I don’t know if he’s been gone five minutes or five hours, but when the surface breaks around his beautiful head, he spews a waterfall of water into the air.
“Did you find him?” I ask.
He swims to the side, climbs the bank, and shakes off water like a dog.
“I found an elaborate monument filled with wall reliefs that tell Gilgamesh’s history incised in the old marks.
A grand sarcophagus is lodged within an interior chamber to the back.
I…” He breaks off, his eyes shutting. “I had to resume my Second Form to have enough strength to lift the slab and look within.”
“Did you find him?”
Slowly, he nods, a simple and abbreviated jut of his chin.
“Yes. Not dead, but in stasis. The Epic is wrong, though I suppose humans might not realize…” He sighs and opens his eyes, swiping at them.
“He looks much as he did when last I saw him. I’m sorry I took so long.
I had matters to say, and even if he didn’t respond, couldn’t respond, I needed him to hear me. ”
“Do you think he did?” I wrap my arms around his waist and hold my head pressed against his stomach, giving him whatever small support I can.
“No god killed him, so he lives, but perhaps whatever curse took him worked as his did upon me.” He pauses. “Would you like to meet him?”
“Would I…?” I glance at the river. “I can’t hold my breath long enough, Alad. I’m sorry.”
“It’s but a short swim to the entrance. The river has shrunk.
The tomb is constructed in such a manner that water doesn’t breach the chambers.
It’s actually a marvel of engineering. You’ll arise within a contained pool.
The air within the structure is stale, but good enough.
It must be piped in from higher on the hills. In any event, you needn’t be afraid.”
But I back away, my body reacting of its own accord. I shake my head. Climb into an underwater tomb? It’s like asking me to climb into a coffin and agree to be buried.
Alad holds out his palm. “Trust me, Charlotte. You must know I’d never allow anything to hurt you?”
True. I do know that.
“Trust me.” He extends his palm further.
I just look at it and bite my bottom lip. “This means a lot to you?”
“Yes.”
The simple answer leaves me without room to object. And so, I’ll go.