Beneath the Hallowed Hill (34 page)

Pleione ruffled her hair. “Oh, all right.”

After her mother left, Megan decided to walk off her restlessness. She discovered the alcove she found on her first day at the Crystal Matrix Chamber house and sat, looking up at the stars. A fountain splashed in the dark, keeping her company. The birds that bathed there that first day now slept in the thick branches of the wisteria or farther away in the orchard. Even though her fellow Atlanteans went about huddled in their woolen cloaks, Megan was enjoying the warmth. The scuff of a sandal in the dark made her draw deeper into the shadow. A man walked up to the fountain. He leaned down to the water, and the seashells braided into his hair clinked together.

Megan’s breath caught. She sat as quiet as the birds in their nests, taking in his broad back, his muscled arms, his long fingers as he filled his palm with water and let it drip into the pool again.

Govannan tensed. “Is someone there?”

Megan sat forward. “It’s me.”

He turned. “Megan?”

“I’m sorry. I should have told you I was here.”

“No, I’m glad to run into you. I hoped to speak with you before we left.”

“My mother tells me I’m traveling with you because I’ll sing opposite you in the Matrix Circle one day. She says the Sirians want to teach you something for the new times. I’m sorry I’m just a beginner.” She forced herself to stop talking.

He took a step toward her. “Is that what you think?”

“Isn’t it true?” She blushed, then stood and shook out her skirt. “I’m sorry to bother you, sir. I’m sure you need to gather your thoughts before we leave tomorrow.” She turned to go.

“Please, stay.” His whisper was husky. His voice reverberated through her body, pulling her back to him. She stopped and turned back, but didn’t dare look up at him.

Govannan walked toward her and sat on the bench, then patted the seat next to him. His vitality radiated across the space and warmed her flesh. Megan perched on the opposite edge of the bench, far away from him.

“It’s just that…well…” Govannan paused for a long moment, time enough for her to catch her breath. He chuckled, but it was a sad laugh, ironic. “Let’s just say I had quite a day.”

Megan stirred. “Then you need your sleep.”

“No, I need—” He stopped himself from saying something. “I’d appreciate it if you’d stay and talk with me. Your company is soothing.”

“Oh,” she said. His company, on the other hand, disturbed her in deep and delightful ways.

He sighed. “How much did Rhea tell you?”

Megan schooled her voice to neutrality. The Lady would be proud. “Just what I said, that we’d be leaving tomorrow for Sirius to receive special training. Is there something more?”

He shook his head and the seashells shifted against each other, making their intimate music. “It would seem Atlantis is falling out of full consciousness and we are in for a time of—” He didn’t finish and sat silent, studying his hands. Lines were etched at the corners of his eyes.

“My mother said it was a shift.” Megan wanted him to talk so she could sit there in the dark and feel the sensations his voice arose in her.

He sighed. “Yes.”

Disturbed by his sadness, Megan said what she thought her father would say. “The Sirians are one of our father civilizations. Surely they’ll teach us what we need to know to restore people to health.”

Govannan didn’t answer immediately. “I’ve always liked this garden,” he finally said.

“Me, too. I found it the first day I was here.”

“Really?” He chuckled. “We are a matched set, you and I.”

Startled, she asked, “Why do you say that?”

He hesitated and she cursed herself for blurting things out without thinking.

“For one, we love this little alcove.” Govannan seemed to be smiling, but his face was in shadow and she couldn’t be sure. “Surely you’ve felt it, Megan.” The words seemed to have escaped against his will.

“That first day, I heard a song that matched yours, which means I’ll work opposite you in the circle.” She waited. “Is that what you mean?”

He reached out and touched her hand. She shivered. “Are you cold?”

“No,” she whispered, not trusting her voice.

Govannan stroked her arm. “That day… it felt like I waited for you a long time.”

She tried to see his expression in the dark. “You sent me away,” she whispered.

He stroked her cheek. “It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done…at least before today. I thought we would have time to get to know each other properly.” He bent down and kissed her, a chaste peck on the cheek he just stroked.

Megan turned her face to him and their breath mingled.

“We mustn’t—” He brushed her lips with his own, tentatively, asking permission.

She captured his mouth before he could pull away. The kiss lit a spark that blazed up into a bonfire. He took her into his arms and kissed her deeply…then he jumped up to his feet. “I’m sorry.”

Megan surged up into his arms, finding his lips again. She waited too long, watched too many others satisfy their desire under the blessings of the Goddess while she thought of him, trying to remember his face, the curve of his jaw, always hearing his voice. She wondered how he felt, if he remembered her, if they could ever be lovers. Now a miracle happened. Now she knew that he wanted her.

Govannan swelled hard against her and her own body answered in a flood of desire, but he grasped her elbows and pulled her back. “Megan?”

“The first time I heard your voice, that night in the dark. I knew then.” At his questioning look, she said, “In the Poseidon Temple, at the party after our Emergence Ceremony. I was there, hiding behind a column. I’ve been thinking of you ever since.”

“Thank the Mother.” Govannan looked down at her, his expression torn between tenderness and passion. She moved closer. “We must wait, dearest. Tomorrow is your first real transport. Your energy must be clear.”

Megan leaned into him, inhaling his natural deep musky scent laced with sandalwood oil. “I will be longing for you all night,” she murmured.

“Yes, but it’s best this way,” he whispered into her ear. He nuzzled her neck, then took a deep breath and broke contact. “I am not in control of myself tonight.”

Megan’s stomach lurched. “I thought—”

Govannan took her hand and pulled her into a pool of moonlight. “I’ve wanted you since I first heard your voice in my mind. You were only a child when I first saw you, but I sensed you might be the one. I’ve waited longer than you.” He shook his head. “I want to do this right. I want to watch you learn and wait until you’ve grown into a priestess. I want to show you all of Eden, my favorite restaurants and gardens. I want to hear the best concerts with you and swim with the dolphins. Finally I want to take you up into the stars.”

“We are going to do that,” she said.

“This damn mess has me off balance, and I’ve blurted out what should have slowly come up to the surface.” He shook his head again, the clinking shells singing to her.

“We’ve both waited long enough.” Megan stroked his face.

He laughed and kissed the top of her head. “Trust me, dearest. Tonight I cannot properly modulate my energy. The transport must be right for you.”

“How can I sleep?” she asked.

“Ask our Thuya for one of her magic potions. Come, I’ll walk you home.”

* * * *

After walking Megan to the villa that served as the home of the Crystal Matrix pod, Govannan turned away from his own bed and headed over to Evenor’s office. He wanted to know how things went.

“I have to tell you this. Some of the experiments were moved before the soldiers reached the facility.” Evenor ran his hand through his hair. “You know what that means.”

“That one of us warned them? I know that to be impossible.” Govannan’s jaw clenched.

“It means that you were seen, dear friend.” Evenor straightened his already tidy desk. “We’re searching every nook and cranny of the New Knowledge Guild’s buildings.”

“Search their members’ private compounds as well,” Govannan suggested.

Evenor shuddered. “Surely not.”

“Anyone who would do what I saw…” He left the sentence unfinished. At least since the ambassador’s healing he could think of the atrocities calmly.

“We have arrested the Guild Master, along with his staff. We’ve taken them to the Temple of the Oracle.” At Govannan’s double take, Evenor explained. “We want the best sensitives to question them. I’m sure they will attempt to dissemble.”

Govannan shook his head at Evenor’s delicate words. Too bad the man hadn’t seen what he had…maybe the others wouldn’t be able to truly grasp the situation until they saw for themselves. “What do they say?”

“They deny any wrong doing, of course.”

Govannan shook his head. “That could mean they don’t think the experiments were immoral.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

Govannan stood up. “It’s time for me to go. I don’t know when I’ll return.”

“Surely the Sirians won’t keep you long.”

“They experience time differently than we do, but I’ll remind them of our need.” Govannan left the Governor sitting behind his ponderous neat desk. Evenor’s stooped shoulders and his hesitancy to send the soldiers into the New Knowledge Guild homes worried him, as did the predicted fall in consciousness. If that led to the abuse of other creatures in the beginning, who knew what else might develop? Try as he might, Govannan’s mind kept turning back to Megan. They would finally have some time together. His step quickened.

Chapter Nineteen

The next morning, Megan waited in the large foyer of the Crystal Matrix Chamber, fidgeting with the unfamiliar robe of the guild. She kept reaching for her travel bag, only to remember she didn’t have one. Thuya told her the night before that she couldn’t take anything inert through the transport.

“Only living beings. Stones and plants can go through since they’re conscious. On Sirius you won’t need anything, but the ambassador sent word you should bring the crystal from the Lady of Avalon.”

Megan looked down at herself. “I won’t have any hands.”

Thuya chuckled. “The ambassador also sent this.” She held up what looked like an ordinary gold chain. “He said it will transport. It adjusts to the shape of the body no matter how it coalesces on the other side.”

Megan turned the chain over in her hand. “Neat trick.”

“Let’s get the crystal smith to put a hook on your little tabby.”

“Will that transport?”

“Don’t tell the ambassador, but we have the same material in Eden.” Thuya winked.

Megan went to her unfamiliar room to lie in her unfamiliar bed. She crawled under a shawl she brought from her room at her mother’s house, but that didn’t help. Her body was alive with Govannan’s kiss, her mind busy imagining more and thinking of the coming journey. After tossing and turning for a couple of hours, she took Govannan’s advice and asked Thuya for a sleeping potion. She woke the next morning from a night of deep rest and clear dreams, but felt none of the grogginess the herbs she knew about would have left. Her new necklace lay on the desk in the outer room. She slipped it on under her robe and walked to the Crystal Matrix Chamber, deciding not to risk breakfast.

The workers finally began arriving in twos and threes, greeting her cheerfully and introducing themselves. A priestess named Daphyll invited her to come watch the preparations.

“Is it all right?”

“You’ll have to learn eventually,” Daphyll said.

Megan followed her into the chamber, but when she caught sight of the gigantic crystal she stopped in her tracks. It soared up toward the selenite dome where the six gleaming flanks met in a translucent point.

Daphyll waited for her. “Sort of takes your breath away, doesn’t it?”

Megan nodded. “I thought maybe I just imagined it was this big.”

“Wait until you work with it. The power is even more amazing. We’re the luckiest people in Atlantis.” Daphyll smiled, her brown eyes dancing in her coppery face. “Come on.”

Megan followed her to the far wall, where the priestess flipped a switch. A sharp metallic clang answered her, and the selenite petals of the ceiling began to pull back with a smooth whirring sound. A wisp of wind flowed into the chamber, lifting Megan’s hair.

“The crystal operates at a harmonic of the Earth’s basic frequency. As you’ve probably noticed flying in, the Chamber itself is at the end point of a long logarithmic spiral. It starts at the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacán. Various temples are built on the vital spots, of course. You’ll learn all about them. They’re used more when we balance the grids.”

Daphyll walked the perimeter of the circle, checking the outer ring of comparatively smaller stones, each about six feet tall. “These sentinels vibrate at different frequencies to create a spherical container in all levels of manifestation. It’s more complicated than that, of course.” She put her palms on one sentinel. She seemed to listen for a few moments, then she nodded.

Megan was reminded of the Lady of Avalon teaching them to clear the stones at Avebury.

Daphyll continued around the circle. “The star gate we create is a circumscribed tetrahedron, but we need a runway for the energy to flow down.” She jutted her chin toward the long aisle of the temple. “Once the energy enters here, it flows down to those three points, which amplify the frequency until it enters the heart of the Fire Stone, and then boom, the vortex opens.” She threw her hands up.