Harvest of Dreams (The Gods' Dream Trilogy) (10 page)

He pushed the case back. “Keep it. I don’t deserve it.”

“Indaran!” she protested.

“I’ve watched you, Daria. You’re a natural leader.
You
should be the reigning queen.”

Horrified at the thought of ruling, Daria strove to make him understand. “I belong with Khan in Withea’s land. Besides, there
isn’t
a Seagem.”

He firmed his mouth. “If we win this war, there will be. And I intend to step aside so you can be queen.”

“But why?” she asked, bewildered.

Indaran took the necklace from her limp fingers and dropped the chain over her head, gently lowering the case to rest against her chest. “It wasn’t your fault Seagem was destroyed, little bird. It’s
mine
.”

Puzzled, Daria stared at him. “What do you mean?”

“I was vainglorious and ambitious…restless. I had to go chasing after a myth, ignoring all the indications that told me not to go. Even Yadarius advised against the voyage, although He told me He’d support me.”

“I doubt Yadarius knew how strong Ontarem had become.”

He narrowed his eyes. “How do you know that?”

Daria tried to figure out how but couldn’t. She shrugged. “Just a feeling.”

“The last of the memories Ontarem violated was the one of you visiting me on the ship in our othersense dream. That’s how the Evil One knew about you—how strong you are. He destroyed the city to get to
you
. Somehow, He used Thaddis as his instrument.”

“Thaddis told me that after the news came of your death, he didn’t believe it. He sailed to find you.”

Indaran sucked in his breath. “He must have been captured, too. But instead of being held, he was sent back to Ocean’s Glory.”

“He returned with a mistress, Lady Pasinae.”

Indaran swore and smacked the rail. “Ontarem’s priestess. She and her two brothers rule…once ruled in Penutar as the Trine. Now there are only two of them.”

“Do you think Thaddis acted willingly?”

“The Thaddis I knew would never have killed his foster father and brothers. I’d like to think Ontarem took him over…but maybe not. Maybe greed or something else motivated him to fall in with the Evil One’s plans. Although if that’s so, I doubt Thaddis knew the extent to which he’d be controlled.”

Indaran fisted his hands, then shrugged. “Enough of Thaddis. We have fighters struggling to work through the pas-sa-ra with no instruction. Let’s go practice with them, for they’ll need all the preparation we can give.”

~ ~ ~

Khan watched his wife and her brother walk away from him and Jasmine.
Thank you….
He paused, not sure to which deity to give the credit.
Maybe all of them—the good ones at least. Thank the Gods and Goddesses that Indaran is alive and free and reunited with Daria. Thank the Gods and Goddesses that Jasmine is free and healed and in love. Thank you, Gods and Goddess, for my wife.

He glanced up at Shad and Shir perched on the rigging. The pair obviously enjoyed swinging in the wind. Jasmine’s monga had curled up in a coil of rope, napping in the sunshine, his lime-green fur bright against the hemp color.

Jasmine brushed the wind-whipped tendrils of hair out of her eyes and stared at Indaran and Daria, a loving look on her face. “Those two are so beautiful. Look at how they walk, strong and proud. You can tell they’re royal, just by the way they move. Seeing them together, so alike, takes my breath away. I can only imagine how the whole family must have appeared when they were together.”

Khan smiled at her. “Daria told me they commissioned a family portrait not long before the invasion, although she doubted it survived the sack of the city. But maybe someone hid the painting, and someday, we’ll find it.”

“Do you think we’ll have a
someday
?”

“All we ever have is right now, Jazy. And we almost didn’t have that because of Amir.”

A shadow crossed her face.

Shame coursed through him. Khan took her hand. “I’m so sorry, Jazy. I didn’t protect you. I should have sent you to America. Should have hidden you so Amir couldn’t find you. I…” He couldn’t go on because of the emotion balling in his throat, the hot prick of tears he wouldn’t allow himself to shed.

Jasmine gave his hand a squeeze. “It wasn’t your fault, Khan. It was Amir’s. As I told you, Withea healed me—not completely, but mostly. I think for me to heal entirely, the Goddess would have to take away my memories, and I wouldn’t want that. Because of what happened to me, I could help the women in the slave camp in a way that I wouldn’t have been able to before. I
understood
their pain and shame. For a woman, feeling understood is an important part of her healing process.”

“Good to know.”

“I’m not saying I’m glad it happened. I’m not. But if it weren’t for Amir, I wouldn’t be here now.
You
wouldn’t be here,” she said, her tone becoming fierce. “I wouldn’t have found Indaran. You wouldn’t have loved Daria. I wouldn’t have come into my healing powers. The people from Seagem would still be enslaved in Ontarem’s land. I’d pay the price all over again to have what we have now.”

As she spoke, Khan could see wisdom radiating from her thin countenance. Jasmine had matured from the girl he’d known to a woman, one who’d found her calling and her place in life. Pride in her made his shame seep away. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “You are a strong, courageous woman, Jasmine, and I’m honored to be your friend.”

She gave him an impish grin. “
Sister.
”

He rolled his eyes. “My
sister
,” he echoed her. “You always were like a little sister to me. I’m glad we’re family in truth now.”

Jasmine’s blue eyes turned dreamy. “Our children will be cousins.”

For a moment, Khan let himself be caught up in her fantasy. He could see the four of them as a family, children playing at their feet. But then he thought of all that lay before them.

Only if we live.
“Jasmine.” He put some urgency in his voice to bring her back to the present. “Have you and Indaran learned how to combine your energy? How to work together with it?”

“Yes. Just…” She stopped, brows drawn together. “Was it really yesterday?”

“Then I think the next step is for you and I to give it a try. I think we’ll be in need of the power of we four combined.”

She twitched her nose. “The blending of my power with Indaran’s is so wonderful, I wish we just needed it for good…like healing.”

“We’ll certainly need it for healing, but also defense…maybe even offense...fighting, killing. Do you think you can do that?”

A vulnerable look leaped into her eyes. “I don’t know,” she whispered.

Khan cursed, although he didn’t say a word. Gentle Jasmine would always have had a difficult time with physical aggression, but after what Amir had done to her… He wished his brother were still alive so he could kill him all over again—slowly this time. He took her hand. “Let’s not worry about
how
we’ll use our combined othersense and just focus on practicing together. Do you think you can do that?”

She nodded, although her eyes looked solemn.

“How about if we just jump in, fumble to connect, and see what happens?”

Her smile looked strained. She gave him her other hand. “It might be easier this way with both our hands connected. Let’s try with our eyes closed first.”

Khan took her hands in his and reached inside for the othersense he’d recently cultivated. He visualized the blue energy swirling around his center, flooding up his chest, down his arms, and into his hands.

Jasmine’s reddish energy flowed into her hands and, when they touched, their powers combined.

Khan felt the connection melt together, no strain or fumbling like he’d expected. Instead, their lifelong friendship, all they’d ever said and done together, manifested in an othersense bond that felt comfortable and good. He experienced Jasmine’s power differently from Daria’s. His wife’s warrior strength showed in her steely othersense, while Jasmine’s felt thick and rich like dark amber honey.

They stood together for a few minutes, bonding, healing. Slowly, they pulled their energy back into their bodies and disengaged.

Khan opened his eyes and rolled his head to stretch his neck, feeling how the tension had seeped away. As he gazed into the face of his dear friend, he saw a familiar light in her eyes. The sight relieved a knot inside that he hadn’t realized he’d carried. “We did it, Jazy.”

This time her smile looked real. “The connection felt wonderful, Khan. Different than with Indaran.” Pink rose in her cheeks.

“Ours lacks the passion of the bond we have with our mates,” he said, holding back the impulse to tease her. “Our othersense link is more companionable.” khan sobered. “We’ll have to practice more…make sure we can maintain the connection under…stressful conditions.”

Hopefully, we can work as well under attack.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Sadie drove the Jeep deeper into the desert, following the medallion’s lure. Beside her sat her Bedouin guide, Azab, recommended by a friend of a friend of Bubby’s when she’d called him from the village on the edge of the desert. No matter how strong the pull of the medallion, Sadie wasn’t foolish enough to brave the desert by herself, nor trust an unknown man with her safety.

Azab’s family had lived near the desert for generations. His father, who had a broken leg, claimed his son knew almost as much as he did about the area Sadie wanted to travel. Azab seemed a little older than her, a quiet man with a handsome, narrow face and long-lashed liquid brown eyes.

In the Jeep, Sadie carried two extra cans of gas, as well as plenty of water and a spare tire. She eyed the gas gauge. Soon they’d be beyond the mileage limit she’d set for the trip. If she didn’t reach the place where the medallion wanted her to go within the next hour, she’d have to turn around.
If I can.
The compulsion had become so strong it was almost an ache in her heart.

Azab pointed. “Look,” he said in Arabic. “Something is there.”

Sadie squinted. Even with her sunglasses, she struggled to see against the glare. She aimed the Jeep at distant dots on the horizon. As they drew closer, she could see what looked like the sand-scoured remains of structures. The force pointed her toward the biggest one—a small, round building with a domed roof made of bricks the same color as the desert sand. She drove to toward it and then slowed until the Jeep barely moved.

A breeze, like an unseen hand, brushed across the ground, sweeping sand out of the way. The gust uncovered a worn brick road, then abruptly died. Sadie exchanged a startled glance with Azab, took a deep breath, and steered toward the road. She parked in front of the…
shrine
was the only word that came to her mind.

As the motor silenced, the stillness of the desert settled over them. She studied the shrine, then looked around, noticing the difference between the intact building and the worn bits of wall she saw here and there, and wondered what this place was and why she’d been drawn here.

In the pocket of her jeans, the medallion burned her hip, although the heat didn’t cause her pain.
This is the place all right.

“Have you been here before?” she asked Azab.

He shook his head, then burst out in a torrent of Arabic that was almost too fast to follow. Something about legends.

She tilted her head toward the shrine. “Shall we?”

He nodded, although his eyes looked apprehensive.

Sadie climbed out of the Jeep, her body stiff from travel. She straightened and stretched, trying to get the kinks out of her legs and back. As she walked, sand crunched under her tennis shoes. A breeze, carrying a hint of dampness unusual in the parched air, danced playfully around her legs and bounced the grains off her jeans.

Azab followed behind her, his robe flapping.

Up close, Sadie could see the worn brick of the shrine. Although the little building looked ancient, it was far more preserved than it should have been given the state of the surrounding ruins. She stretched out a hand to touch the rounded wall, but before her fingers made contact, a portion slid aside to reveal a dark passageway. The movement startled her, and she jumped back, almost bumping into Azab. Light shone on the floor where the brick of the road continued inside, the edges sharp, unworn by the sands of time.

Alarm skittered shivers up Sadie’s spine. She gaped at the entrance for a minute, then turned to see a similar stunned expression on Azab’s face.
Legends indeed!

She should have felt apprehensive, but as Sadie stood there, the compulsion faded, replaced by a feeling of peace, of welcome. She wanted to step into the shrine…to follow the brick path, but she hesitated.
If I go into this, there’s no coming back.

That thought broke the spell.
Why did I think that?
She gave her body a shake, kind of like a wet dog, then turned and walked back to the Jeep, climbed inside and sat, thinking.

The compulsion had stopped, and somehow Sadie knew she was supposed to make up her mind willingly. She sensed a great need on the other side of that passage, and that appealed to her. Since Bubby’s death there was no longer any one who needed her. Nor anyone, besides her teammates, who cared about her. She’d focused too much energy on her training to have time for social activities and relationships. Plus, she never lost sight of the fact that her friends on the team were also her competitors.