Isela's Love (17 page)

“Bullshit. I can describe it in one word. Love.”

Isela looked stricken. “Love? We haven’t known each other that long. Just because to people engage in...doesn’t mean it’s love.”

“Deny, deny, deny.”

Isela’s lip trembled. She dropped her gaze to the floor. “It can’t be love, Mae. Guarros would never allow it.”

Mae grabbed Isela by the shoulders. “Guarros doesn’t have to know. You two have been fairly cool up to this point. You’ll just have to keep it up.”

Isela smiled at her friend. “He really was wonderful, so tender and caring. The way he held me, I could’ve died in his arms and it would’ve been fine.”

“It sounds terribly romantic...and judging by your previous proclamations of a life of celibacy, I’m guessing completely unexpected?”

“Completely. Maybe I do love him,” Isela said quietly.

“C’mon,” Mae said, “I got so caught up in your torrid sex tales I forgot about work. You get dressed, and I’ll meet you in the parlor.”

Isela dropped the sheet, washed up in the basin on the dresser, threw on her clothes, and left without even making the bed.

****

Isela worked through the day gliding on air. She smiled at everyone, offering to help anyone who needed it. When Keeri came into the parlor, Isela actually hugged her. Keeri stiffened.

“What the fuck, Isela?”

Isela merely smiled at her. “Just for being you,” she said sweetly, thinking about how it was Keeri who helped enable Brendan’s visit.

Mae approached her just before she went into the supply closet. “You may want to tone it down a bit, little Mary Sunshine. I thought you were going to break into song back there.”

Isela smiled smugly. “I just might.”

Mae walked away, muttering, “New lovers...yuck.”

Laughing, Isela opened the closet door and grabbed her supplies. She glanced around remembering the day Brendan had ambushed her in this same supply closet, bringing a whole new round of smiles to her face.

Isela kept glancing around for Brendan throughout the day, but she never saw him. At first she hadn’t been concerned, but it had been three hours since lunch and still not even a glimpse. She began to worry. Had the guard seen him return to his cell? Had Guarros figured out where he’d been? What they’d done? Isela began to panic. She rushed into the washroom to get a hold of herself. She pumped some water into her hand and splashed it on her face.

“Breathe,” she told herself.

Behind her, the door opened. She spun around to see Brendan standing there grinning at her. “There you are,” he said as he turned and clicked the lock. Taking a step toward her, he grabbed her by the hand, drawing her to him. “I’ve missed you today.”

Isela sighed with relief. “I missed you too. I started to worry when I didn’t see you all day.”

“I made it back without a hitch. I fell into bed and passed out.” He grinned again. “You wore me out, babe.”

Isela giggled. “Tell me about it. I’m sore in places I’ve never been sore before.”

Concern masked Brendan’s perfect face. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, Brendan. You should take that as a compliment.”

He blushed.

“Oh my God, are you blushing?”

He laughed nervously. “I’m sorry. It’s just...I’ve never had...It’s never felt like that before. Much as I’d like to take responsibility, I think it was more us than me.”

She gave him a shy smile. “Even better.”

Brendan kissed her deeply, then pulled away, slowly, lingering inches from Isela’s face, staring at her lips. “I couldn’t wait one more second to kiss you.”

Isela gazed up at him, her eyes half-mast, her lips pouty from his kiss. “Lucky me,” she whispered huskily.

Just as Brendan attempted to reclaim the kiss, a pounding on the door jolted them both.

“Hey, open the goddamned door.”

Keeri. Isela gasped. Brendan held his finger up to his mouth, shushing her. He pointed to one of the stalls. Isela nodded, immediately understanding.

“Just a minute,” she sang out. She waited until Brendan had gone into the stall and concealed his presence. Then she opened the door.

“What the hell is your problem?” Keeri demanded. “Why did you lock the door?”

“I’m sorry. I got sick. I was embarrassed.”

Keeri rolled her eyes. “You are such a baby. Toughen up for Christ sakes.”

She shoved Isela out of the way and locked herself in a stall. Silently, Brendan climbed down out of the crouch he’d been doing over the toilet and hurried out of the bathroom, managing to steal a quick kiss before Isela shoved him out the door. Luckily, this particular restroom was around a corner and down the hall, so people weren’t milling around.

Keeri flung the stall door open and stomped out, glaring at Isela. “You’re acting weird. Why?”

“I’m just in a good mood. God, is that so strange?”

“For you? Yeah, very. Know that I’m watching you. I will figure this out.”

Isela shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

****

After the dinner dishes had been washed and put away, Mae and Isela, as well as the other servants assigned to that task, returned to their rooms. Isela yawned as they turned down their hallway.

Mae looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “That’s what you get for staying up all night engaging in hot, steamy sex.”

Isela smiled. “And I’d do it all again,” she sang out.

Mae stopped, nudging Isela. She pointed down the hall. “Looks like you might.”

Isela looked up to where Mae pointed. Brendan was jogging down the hall toward them. He glanced over his shoulder a couple of times and then broke into a smile when he saw Isela.

When he reached her, he kissed her on the forehead. “Hi,” he said as if the two of them were the only ones standing there.

“Are you insane?” Mae asked bluntly.

Brendan flashed her a grin. “Hey, Mae. How’s it goin’?”

They all bustled into Isela’s room, Mae shutting the door behind them. Isela threw her arms around Brendan, laughing. “How did you get out again?”

He chuckled. “Apparently, Keeri reeeeally likes that guard. And clearly he’s impressed with her as well.”

“No way...
again
?”

“Ugh,” Mae said. “That’s what I’ll be saying about you two.”

Brendan winked at Isela. “I hope so.”

Rolling her eyes, Mae threw her hands up. “That’s it. I’m out. You two are officially nauseating. There’s so much sexual tension in this room, I’m going to gag. Have fun, kiddies.”

She opened the door a crack, peered out, but then shut it again. Turning around, she said, “Please be careful...both of you.”

She reopened the door and made her exit.

****

Brendan and Isela spent that night together and the night after that. Neither of them could believe their luck as far as the guard was concerned. The more they got to know one another, the closer they became.

The third night, after making love, Isela lay in Brendan’s arms, a place she was finding more and more comfortable.

“Isela?” Brendan asked softly.” Are you awake?

“Mmm hmm.”

“When we were talking the other night, you started telling me about Guarros and your mother. You never finished telling me what happened. Do you mind talking about it?”

She propped herself up on her elbow. “No, I’ll tell you. I want you to know.” She paused, stroking his finger with her own.

“After three years of being raped repeatedly and otherwise physically abused, I think it dawned on my mother that Guarros had the same fate in store for me. She begged him never to touch me. When he didn’t ease her fears, I think she challenged him. The next thing I knew, viocomen had torn her apart right outside the gate.”

Brendan ran his hand over his forehead, through his hair.

“My God, Isela. I don’t know what to say. It’s obvious you don’t think she committed suicide.”

Isela narrowed her eyes. “I know she didn’t. Not that I have any proof.”

“Then how do you know?”

“I woke up one morning to find my mother pacing the floor, wringing her hands, babbling about how she wasn’t going to let him do this to her baby. I, myself thought she was crazy at first. Then I realized. She finally understood what he was about.”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard her begging him to promise not to ever touch me one night. He laughed in her face and then slapped her. He asked her what right she had to ask anything of him after all he’d done for her. I was only thirteen, but I swear, Brendan, if I’d had the means, I’d have killed him right then. Maybe if I had, my mother would still be alive.”

“No, Isela, don’t do that to yourself. You were a child. You were powerless against an entirely different kind of monster. There was nothing you could’ve done.”

She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. “I just wish...”

He cradled her in his arms, holding her against him. “I know, baby, I know.”

Isela pulled away, sitting straight up. She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. “There were no witnesses to her death, you know. Not one.

“This place is nearly impossible to get out of. So tell me how a frail woman could just waltz out the door and wander away without being noticed, with all these guards and locked doors.”

“It doesn’t make sense that no one saw anything.”

She pointed her finger at Brendan. “Exactly. None of it makes any sense. My mother finally found the courage to give him some trouble, so he threw her to the viocomen without a second thought. And whichever of his minions know about it, they’re too scared to speak up.”

“Or didn’t live to.”

“I still remember when he told me. He had me summoned to his office. I sat down, wondering what I’d done wrong this time, when he just said it. ‘Isela, your mother’s dead. She killed herself. She ran out through the gates and threw herself to the viocomen.’

“I stared at him, wide-eyed, waiting for more...some kind of explanation, some comfort...I don’t know what. Nothing. He went back to his paperwork and then after a few minutes he said, ‘I’m sorry, child, is there something else? No? You’re dismissed.’”

“Jesus. I can’t...I don’t...” Brendan found himself tearing up. How Isela could have endured the things she had at this bastard’s hand, and still turned out to be sane, confounded him. “I wish there was something I could say or do.”

“No, it’s okay. Looking back, I’m glad Guarros didn’t pretend to be all loving and sympathetic. It only helped to harden me.”

“Harden you?”

“Yeah. I decided, at that moment, in his office, I would never submit to him. I would’ve died first. I still would. I needed to toughen up, to gain the strength and skills to fight him if I had to. So, I asked around. Who could help me do that?”

“And?”

“Some of the old-timers were impressed that I’d figured things out at such an early age. Most of the girls in here don’t. They hooked me up with Bashua.”

Brendan’s breath caught. That was the guy he was supposed to make contact with regarding Isela’s father. “Who?”

“Bashua. He’s like one of the original prisoners or something. Rumored to be quite the scary guy, but between you and me? A real softie. Anyway, he was one of the first of the elite hunters, kind of like the one you saved on the loading dock.

“Something went bad. He won’t talk about it, but whatever it was, it landed him here. I went to see him, told him my theories.” Isela smiled. Clearly she had affection for this man. “He laughed at me at first. Told me I had big balls talking about Guarros that way.”

“What did you say?”

Much to Brendan’s delight, Isela’s mood lifted a little. Smiling, she covered her eyes with her hands, as if embarrassed, and answered. “I stood there with my hands on my hips and yelled, ‘Fuck Guarros!’”

Brendan laughed. “Now there’s a picture.”

“I know, I know. Not my proudest moment.”

“So what happened?”

“He offered to train me.”

“Train you in what?”

“He called it martial arts. He learned it in the other world.”

Brendan gave Isela a raised eyebrow. She rolled her eyes.

“Oh, c’mon. You can’t tell me you haven’t heard of the ‘other world.’”

Brendan bit his tongue. So much he wanted to say about the other world, but couldn’t.

“Maybe a little,” he said.

“Don’t you believe in it?”

“Yes, definitely.”

“I’d love to be able to go there,” she said, her eyes lighting up.

Brendan promised himself to get her there at his earliest opportunity. “Maybe someday you will. You’re a native of Celio.”

“So?”

“The way I hear it, if you’re a native, you can come and go between worlds whenever you like.”

She grasped Brendan’s wrist. “Oh my God, Brendan. That would be wonderful.” She sobered and the light left her eyes. “If I could only get out of here.”

Brendan lifted her chin with his finger. “Look at me, Isela.”

She met his gaze.

“I will get you out of here. And we’ll go to the other world together.”

She hugged him.

“So did this Bashua teach you anything?”

“Yeah, I learned a few moves. I can hold my own.”

“I have no doubt.”

She fought a grin. “Yeah, I think he was worried my mouth might get me in over my head. He gave me the skills to defend myself in case that happened.”

“I’m sure that wasn’t his only motivation.”

“No, he knew what kind of twisted individual Guarros is.”

Brendan touched his finger to the tip of her nose. “Sounds like you were lucky to have him in your corner. I’d love to meet him.”

“I’ll introduce you. But you should know, he really loves to hear himself talk.”

“I’m sure he has a lot to say.”

Isela smiled. “That’s the kind of thing my mother would have said. I think she’d have really liked you.”

“I’m sorry I never got to meet her.”

“You know, I’ve never really talked about this with anybody except Mae, but even she doesn’t know everything.”

“Why not?”

Isela sighed. “Mae likes things to be as they seem. She doesn’t question things. She accepts them. It’s her coping mechanism. Me? I question everything. That’s mine. She’s never known anything but this prison.”

“Even as a child?” Brendan sounded surprised.