Oasis of Eden (15 page)

The ravenous crowd went insane.

Jade pinched the bottom of the flower so that the blue nectar dripped into her mouth. The entire stadium rose to their feet when Jade bit down on the flower’s base. She made a great show of chewing and swallowing. She licked her lips, turned to Havliah and smiled sweetly.

Elydian pressed his lips together, repressing laughter due to her theatrical antics.

She tossed what was left of the blossom back into the jar and swept off her hands as if it had been dusty and her dirty job was complete.

From where he stood, Elydian could see how white Havliah’s face had gone. Without hesitation, she reached into her jar, once again extracting the scorpion.

The crowd held its collective breath.

In the same manner Jade had lifted the poison blossom over her mouth, Havliah did the same with the scorpion. Suddenly, there came a screech from the arena floor. Havliah’s scorpion had stung her. She dropped the insect and fell to the ground.

In almost that same instant, Jade collapsed as well.

Chapter Eleven

Elydian hit the floor of the arena before Jade’s head came to rest upon the sand. The shouts of his former guards faded in the roar of the crowd behind him. He reached Jade, but before he could speak to her, the head physician ordered everyone back, while another physician attended Havliah. Elydian complied; the man could assist Jade much more quickly than he could. After a few dozen pounding heartbeats passed, the physician summoned a group of men to his side. Sooner than Elydian could inquire about Jade, they carted her off and into an examination area.

“You cannot enter the tent, Omari, until the physician sees her first.”

Falk
.
The guards were back.

“That’s a citizen of my camp in there.”

“We are well aware of that, but the rules state that no one, not even an Omari, is allowed inside.”

Clenching his damp fists at his sides, Elydian stalked away from the guards before he did them harm. He threw himself onto a bench, close enough to hear them call for him when Jade could be seen.

Was the flower they chose to put in the jar truly a poisoned one and the blossoms in his oasis where not of the same variety? Each moment eked painfully by like a festering sun blister upon his heart. Two of the physician’s assistants flew from tent and went in opposite directions.

Elydian bowed his head, his face pressed the palms of his hands. If Jade died, he’d kill Lothar-Canute the second he returned to camp—and damn the consequences. The rat had done this on purpose. Lothar had been jealous of him since he’d earned the position of Omari—and it had only gotten worse when Lothar was denied Jade’s body for his pleasure.

Falk the very air that man breathes!

He slammed his hands down onto the bench on either side of his thighs. If they’d only give him some sort of sign that Jade had not perished, he wouldn’t be so agitated. Elydian peered at the entrance to the tent, but all he witnessed was an eerie stillness.

His stomach knotted. How much more could he take of this waiting?

Just then, the physician exited the tent.

Elydian jumped up and came to a halt in front of him. “How is she?”

The look in his eyes made Elydian’s heart stop. “I can’t really say at this time. I need to look in on the other victim.”

Victim
?
For a learned man, he sure didn’t know how to choose his words wisely. He stepped around Elydian and continued on.

His attention turned to the guards, fully intending to beat them senseless if they tried to deter him from seeing Jade. However this time, they didn’t stand in his way.

Elydian didn’t waste a second. He quickly slipped into the tent.

The announcer babbled on about something or other to the crowd outside, while Elydian’s eyes adjusted to the low light. When he could finally see, he found his beautiful Jade across the room lying deathly still upon a long table.

His breath hitched and his heart, he was sure, had stopped beating. In two steps, he arrived at her side. Her breathing appeared to be even, but terribly shallow.

“Zsa-ninah,” he whispered. Tears formed in his eyes—but he didn’t try to stem the flow. He stared down at her in blurry pain.

For a moment, it looked as though one of her eyes opened half-way, but the dim light and the moisture about to drip from his lashes made it difficult to tell. When the other eye opened, Elydian sucked in a breath.

“Are we alone?” Jade asked as quiet as a breeze.

“Yes,” Elydian choked. “Are you well? Are you in any pain?”

She lifted her head and sat up. “Of course not, silly.”

A sob escaped from deep within his chest. “What? How?”

“You didn’t think I could give away the fact that the dreaded poison blossom law was a sham, did you?”

Pride burst within his chest. Relieved and heartbreakingly thankful at the same time, Elydian had no idea how to respond.

“Why, I couldn’t live with myself if I were responsible for a population explosion.”

Elydian gathered her in his arms. “I love you so much.”

She giggled. “Oh, you doll. I love you, too,” she murmured and snuggled closer. “Am I finished here? Can we beat it now? You owe me a one way trip to that oasis of pleasure, bub.”

They burst out of the tent together—Elydian carrying his beautiful Jade in his arms. He gazed down at her while she waved to the spectators, pretending to be weak as if the poison still affected her.

A tide of cheers wrapped around them. The physician popped his head out of the medical tent opposite them, clearly irritated that Elydian had removed his patient.

“Here now! What do you think—” He trailed off when the physician saw that Jade lived. He acknowledged both of them with a nod, and the announcer seized the opportunity to name the winner of the game.

The announcer, who’d been calling for challengers the entire time, had apparently come to the end of his list. “And because no one has offered to challenge the winner of the final game, Jade of Omari Amun has won by forefit, making Omari Elydian Amun our new Vizier Omari of Eden!”

The crowd’s cheers were deafening. Elydian nuzzled Jade’s cheek. “Interested in taking a tour of all the oases of Eden?”

“Baby, I’d follow you to the ends of the universe and back.”

Just outside the arena, Elydian set her down. Hand in hand they ran to where his transport awaited his leisure.

“We are finished here,” he said and waved the drivers over from where they sat under an awning.

“There are issues between us that need to be addressed,” he whispered and handed her into the litter.

Jade settled into a corner, her brows drawn as if deep in deliberation.

Soon the entourage began the trek back to Omari Amun. Elydian shifted on the cushions and addressed Jade, unsure if he should intrude upon her thoughts. “So, what will you do, now?”

“I’ve been contemplating that very question. I mean, once I go home, what do I have to look forward to, a teaching job? I don’t think I’ll ever meet anyone’s moral requirements for a position like that.” She glanced up at him and then away, once again lost in reflection. She gnawed gently on her lower lip before lifting her gaze to his. “I was rather hoping you might…”

“Yes?” He would give her one of the moons if she were to but ask. Falk. Both.

“Well…um…” She suddenly frowned. “Hey, you big palooka, it should be
you
askin’
me
what I’m doin’ for the rest of my life, not the other way around!”

Elydian’s shoulders began to shake. And although he couldn’t tell if he was laughing or crying, he leaned forward and pulled Jade into his arms. Her hands slid up his chest to tangle in the hair at the nape of his neck. “Jade.” His lips grazed her temple. “I have fallen so in love with you,” he breathed, “I can’t think when you are near.” Her body practically melted into his. “Will you be my Zsa-ninah in the truest sense? Will you be my Omari-Nah until our time on Eden is finished?”

She pulled away enough to gaze up at him. “Gads, yes. I thought you’d
never
ask!”

He let her pull his face down to hers for a kiss that sealed their bargain.

* * * *

“And so Ageit, I want Jade to be named my Omari-Nah in a marriage ceremony.” Jade sat next to Eli as he told his friend about their time in Anuk-die as well as their future plans, their hands clasped together, their fingers entwined.

“I am so happy for you both. You know, as a student of science, I shouldn’t get so giddy about a bond between man and woman, but I can’t seem to help it. It must be my soul rejoicing as well as my flesh.”

Jade smiled. “But as a student of science I would think that you didn’t believe we have souls.”

“Oh, yes, the Planetarians told me explicitly that souls exist.” He smiled. “Had they not spoken the truth at all times, I wouldn’t have completed another doorway.”

“Of course, the doorway.” she murmured then released Eli’s hand and stood abruptly. She made her way to the opposite side of the tent as she thought. If she got through Ageit’s doorway, one could speculate that anyone could come to Eden from Earth. She glanced up at Ageit and Eli and, unable to bear their curious scrutiny, she turned away. Jade knew her Earth history well not only from U of C, but from observing her father’s digs her entire life. It was a human characteristic for the stronger people to invade someone else’s land and either force them to conform to their way or perish. Her hand slit up to cover her forehead. Just as she had refused to be responsible for a population explosion, she could never allow the people of Earth to invade Eden and its delicate ecological system. Her hand slid down her cheek and came to rest at her side. Something must be done with the doorway so that this kind of thing could
never
happen to Eden. With determined steps she returned to stand before her hosts. “Ageit, I think I’d better see this doorway of yours.”

Before Ageit could answer, Eli cut in. “You are serious?”

“Entirely serious. Just think what could happen if that doorway was used to do harm to Eden—”

“I am certain we could defend ourselves if that time ever came.”

“That’s just what the Mayans probably thought, and then the Spanish invaded,” she mumbled. “Look, I think you’re doing swell with your planet and all, but I must do my part—I must go back to Earth if only for a short time to see that—”

“What makes you think we can’t fight off people from your planet? If everyone is as short as you are, they would end up the conquered ones, not Eden.”

Jade sighed. “This is not about whether or not you are capable of fighting, Eli.”

“Then what
is
it about?”

Why do men have to be so obstinate
?
“Look, bub, I don’t expect you to like the fact that I need to go back. There is something I must do before we can begin our life on this planet together.”