Once Upon a Caveman (8 page)

Rhawn
frowned, not understanding the question.

She
gave up on the idea of walking off into the forest, a dazed look on her face.  “Do
you know what year it is?”

“I’m
unfamiliar with this word.”

“What
word? 
Year? 
You don’t know what a
year
is?”

He
shook his head, ashamed of his stupidity.

“How
do you keep track of time here?”  She pointed to the sky.  “With the sun or
something?”

“We
count the moons’ passages.”

“Right. 
Good.  So what is today on your calendar?”

“The
third cycle of the red moon adjoining the yellow in the ninth rotation of
Tnatun.”

Lucy
looked frustrated by that news.  “Great.  Very helpful.”  She sighed.  “I guess
that explains why you’d tell me we had the dream on the same day every year and
I’d say we didn’t, huh?  We’re on different schedules here.”  She rubbed her
forehead.  “Let’s try this an easier way.  Do you know what CNN is?  Peanut
butter?  Converse sneakers?  Mickey Mouse?  Anything that even
hints
of
the modern world?”

Rhawn
perked up.  “I’ve seen the Mouse King in my dreams.  He is worshipped by children
who sing.  I suspect he is luring them into his lair to devour them.”  He
nodded, thoughtfully.  “As I said, rodents are deadly creatures.”

The
Destroyer closed her eyes and seemed to brace herself.  “Do you know what
Earth
is?”

“Yes.”

“You
do?”  She exhaled in relief.  “Thank God, because…”

Rhawn
kept going.  “It is the distant land of the gods.”  He gestured towards the sky
and the far off world where they dwelled.  “It is part of Newyork, I think.”

“Aw…
shit.”  She whispered in defeat.

He
hated the feeling of dread that crawled through him.  “This is the wrong
answer?”  He guessed dismally.

“You
have no idea how wrong that answer is, caveman.”

Rhawn
wasn’t surprised.  He looked down at his meal.  Why couldn’t he be smarter?

“Hang
on… What are
you
eating?”  She demanded suddenly.  “Is that lobster?”

Uh-oh
.

“The
food on the island is running low.”  He defended, used to the criticism, but
not wanting her to think less of him.  No one else in the Clan would eat from
the Infinite Sea.  It was forbidden.  “I am bigger than the others and I need
more than the rations Notan provides.”  He was the largest one on the island,
something Skoll hated.  “It serves no purpose to starve when there are
plentiful resources…”

The
Destroyer cut him off.  “So, you give me
this
,” she gestured towards the
precious bowl of meat, “and you’re eating
lobster?
  For real?”  Green
eyes bore into his, accusing and beautiful.  “You’re a hell of a host, you know
that?  I get rancid mammoth and you get
fresh lobster!
”

It
took him a moment to realize she was angry at him for giving her the better
meal.  Rhawn had no idea why.  Hesitating for a beat, he took a chance and held
out his bowl of shellfish.

“
Thank
you.”  She grabbed it for herself, still looking pissed.  “Unbelievable.  Why
don’t
you
eat that gross stew?”

Rhawn
blinked.  She wished to switch food?  Unsure of what would please her, he
picked up the mammoth and popped a piece into his mouth.

“No!” 
She leaned forward to smack the bowl from his hand.  “God, don’t seriously
eat
that!  It looks terrible and smells worse.  Here.  You take the mutant-sized
lobster back.  I was just making a point.  I don’t even want this.”  She tried
to return it to him.

He
shook his head.  “It is good.  You should eat it and keep your strength up.”

“No
thanks.  I’m a vegetarian.”

“That
word is unfamiliar to me.”

“It
means I don’t eat meat.”

“You
do not… eat…
meat?
”  He repeated slowly, trying to make sense of the
words.  It was useless.  They were pure nonsense.

“Well,
I’m not --like--setting fire to steakhouses or anything crazy militant.  I just
prefer to skip the part where cute, fuzzy things die for my dinner.  I like
animals too much to kill them.”

He
squinted.  “What if the animals are trying to kill you?”

“Why?” 
She shot back sarcastically.  “Did this lobster attack you or something?”

“No. 
I did not give it a chance to.”

She
glowered at him.  “Look, let’s just sit here and silently think of reasons why
none of this can really be happening, okay?  It’s just an incredibly strange
and vivid dream.”

“I
do not think it is.  I have many dreams, but none of them are
this
strange.”

“Did
I ask for your opinion?”  She watched him break open a lobster claw and
frowned.  “I don’t suppose you have any sesame bagels around here, right?”

“That
word is unfamiliar to me.”

“How
did I
know
you were going to say that?”

“Hey,
caveman?  You okay?”

Rhawn
forces his eyes open, although he is unsure how he could have closed them inside
a dream.  His whole body hurts.  The
boga
bite will kill
him.  He’s sure of that.  The rodent’s fangs always mean an agonizing death. 
But something is pulling him from the waiting darkness.

Something
important.

He
tries to focus on the voice calling him and is so grateful when he sees it’s
the woman.  He would not want to leave this world without seeing her again. 
This is why he’s been fighting so hard to stay alive.  Because he knew she
would come this night and she is all that he cares about.  All that he regrets
leaving behind.

“Are
you sick?”  She demands, looking concerned.  “What happened?”

He
ignores her questions and tries to tell her what’s important, but his thinking
is so muddled he cannot recall any tender words in her language.  He’s trying
to learn it from his dreams, but it’s difficult.

“Vando.” 
He mutters instead.  She will not understand the Clan’s tongue, but he needs
her to know how he feels.  He has so little strength left.  “Vando.”

“Huh?” 
She looks worried.  One cool hand presses against his forehead.  “Geez, you
don’t look so good, sweetie.  Your skin is all greenish.”

That
is one of the symptoms of a
boga
bite, so he is
not surprised.  The green hue is a signal of death and pain.  There is nothing
that will stop it from claiming him, now.  His eyes drift shut and he forces
them open again, frightened that she will disappear if he falls asleep.

Except,
can
you sleep in a dream?  That makes no sense, but he is so tired…

“Caveman?” 
She lies down beside him, looking scared as he begins to drift off.  “No! 
Don’t do that.  Don’t sleep.  Keep looking at me.”  She pulls the furs around
his shivering body.  “You have to concentrate.  How can I help?”

“Stay
with me.”  He whispers.  That is all he wants.  If she is here, he can fight
the darkness for a little while longer.

She
hugs him, her gentle hands smoothing back his hair.  “I will, caveman.  I’ll
stay right here beside you.  You just stay with
me
.”

Lucy
and Rhawn’s Dream- Twelve Years Ago

Rhawn
stared at the rising sun.  He’d been standing at the entrance of his cave for
hours, waiting for someone in the Clan to come looking for the woman.  It only
made sense that they would try to defeat her while she slept.  At least, it
made sense to
him
.  Why not try to catch her unaware?  Obviously the
others were more interested in feasting with the Savior than launching a
surprise attack, though.  Not even Skoll had returned to continue their fight.

The
Clan was so confident that Warren would win that they were already
celebrating.  No one had bothered Lucy all night, which should have given her
time to regroup.  For once, Rhawn was glad he thought differently than the
others.

All
the teachings of his life told Rhawn it was imperative that Lucy fall, but a
much deeper instinct was screaming inside of him to protect her.  It told him
to keep her safe, no matter the consequences.  He did not accept that she was
evil.  She couldn’t be.

Shit,
maybe he really was an idiot.

Rhawn’s
eyes drifted over to the Destroyer.  She’d fallen asleep on his bed.  Her knees
were pulled up to her chest as she huddled against the cold.  Apparently,
Newyork was warmer than the island, because she didn’t seem accustomed to this
weather.  Frowning, he headed over to pile more furs on top of her.  The early
morning temperature was mild, but she was so delicate.

Rhawn’s
palm brushed her hair as he rearranged the pelts.  Had he ever touched anything
delicate before?  He didn’t think so.  Gods, he wanted to touch her everywhere,
finding every delicate spot on her delicate body.  Her bones seemed half the
size of his.  Her skin soft and easily bruised.

He
was going to have to be so careful when he took her.

Green
eyes fluttered open, catching his, and Rhawn promptly lost the capacity for
thought.  He could not even drag air into his lungs.  She was the most
beautiful creature he’d ever seen.  Every beat of his heart was for her.

His
mate
.

Stupid
or not, he believed it with an unshakable conviction.

“This
isn’t another dream, is it?”  Lucy said.

Rhawn
frowned, uncomfortable that she’d woken up and found him staring at her.  Mate
or not, revealing weakness to this woman would be a huge mistake.  It was
impossible to even imagine all the wicked things she could do to him.  …Although
the more salacious recesses of his mind were certainly coming up with some
interesting options.

“No,
it’s not a dream.”  He ducked his head, so he wouldn’t have to maintain eye
contact.  “You are awake.”

“Wonderful.” 
She rolled onto her side, so she faced away from him.  “And of course you look
like you just stepped out of a Tarzan movie, while I don’t even have a
toothbrush.  I just… can’t.”

His
frown grew deeper at her listless voice.  Lucy had sounded that way when they
finished eating the night before and told him she was going to sleep.  Well,
she’d briefly showed a flair of emotion when she’d told him to spend the night
on his side of the cave.  Rhawn had seriously considered arguing that point, but
Lucy watched him with so much apprehension that he’d feared she might bolt if
he said the wrong thing.

Even
for someone who was chronically dumb, it seemed far wiser to say nothing at
all.

Rhawn
had silently settled against the far wall, trying to look as harmless as
possible.  Lucy had nodded in satisfaction at his acquiescence, feeling in
control.  Lucy
liked
to feel in control.  He knew that it was important
to her, so he willingly provided it.  She’d pulled her own clothes back on and
settled down on his bed, secure in the knowledge that he wouldn’t touch her.

And
he didn’t.  Any other man would have pushed his mate for more, but no other man
had a mate like Lucy.  She was a difficult woman.  With her, things were never
going to be normal or easy.  And so a girl half his size took over his bed,
like she had every right to it and fell quickly asleep.  Trusting him to
protect her.

It
was baffling.  No one had ever trusted Rhawn to protect them before.  Like so
much else about Lucy, the wonder of it slipped past his defenses.  He still
wasn’t sure how to deal with such a strange being, but the last thing he would
ever do was harm her.

…Even
if she was evil.

Rhawn
studied her back and had no idea what to say.  “You are still upset.”  He finally
surmised.

Lucy
gave an incredulous scoff.  “No kidding.”  She pulled the pelt up over her
head.  “Go away.  I plan to
stay
upset until the twenty-first century
rolls around, so try to keep it down, okay?”

“You
should awaken and prepare for the
Ardin
.”  He pressed.  “It’s vital.” 
If Warren caught her off guard, he could defeat her without a fight.  Even if
the woman was destined to lose, the battle should at least be fair.

Rhawn’s
jaw ticked.

He
couldn’t tolerate the idea of Lucy being defeated.  For so long he had dreamed
of having his woman and, now that she was here, he was desperate to keep her by
his side.  Evil or not, she was
his
.

What
was he going to do?

“I’m
not preparing for anything except maybe a psych evaluation.”  Lucy muttered. 
“Either the whole world’s gone crazy or I have.  I’m not sure which I should be
hoping for, but I’m staying in bed until I decide.”

Rhawn
wasn’t completely clear on what a “psych evaluation” was, but he understood
that she was distressed.  “You should not give up before you even begin the
fight.  That does not seem like you.”

“Because
you know me so well, right?”

“Yes.” 
The word was certain.

She
was quiet for a moment.  Then she turned to face him again, looking more
serious.  “I don’t think anyone’s ever known me.”  She told him, sounding very
small.

“I
know you.”  Rhawn said firmly.  “I look in your eyes and I
know
you are
a part of me.”  He shook his head, frustrated that he couldn’t articulate his
feelings.  He didn’t know the right words to describe the connection he felt to
this woman.  Not in any language.  “You know me, too.  I
know
you do.”

She
stared up at him and gave a tiny nod.

Relief
washed over him at the admission.  “And you can be saved.  If you simply forsake
this path, all will be well.”  If she wasn’t evil, the Savior wouldn’t kill
her.  She could stay with Rhawn and he could finally be…

Happy.

Gods,
this woman was the only being in the universe who could ever make him happy. 
He saw that so clearly.

“I
think it’s gonna take a little bit more than some kind of born-again thing to
turn this mess around.”  Lucy sat up, pushing the hair back from her face. 
“Look, I have to get out of here.  I
have
to.  You have no idea how
close I am to a complete freak out.  I can’t deal with this shit.  I’m not
supposed to
be
here.”

“Of
course you are.”  Her presence was the only thing that made perfect sense to
him.  “From the moment you and I were born, we were fated to be in these
spots.”

She
squinted at him.  “You seriously believe that?”

“I
know it.”  To Rhawn, there was simply no other explanation.  Her being here with
him was exactly the way it was always meant to happen.  Now he just had to
figure out how to keep her alive and save the world from her wicked schemes.  “Here.” 
He held out a bowl full of
shanee
that he’d gathered for her.  “You must
eat.”

She
hesitated, clearly not recognizing the delicacy.  “What are they?  Some kind of
flowers?”

“They
are a fruit.”  He jiggled the bowl enticingly, so she’d take one.  “Please.  I
do not want you hungry.”

“They’re
food?  You’re sure?”

“Yes.” 
His mouth curved.  “Food that is not meat.”

That
made her smile, as he knew it would.  She obligingly popped some fruit into her
mouth, without even demanding that he eat one first.  He liked that she trusted
him.  Given her difficult nature, he’d expected far more resistance.  “These
are good, actually.  Kind of like …” She stopped short, her eyes falling on the
wall like she was seeing the art for the first time.  “Is that a hand glider?”

Rhawn
turned to look at the drawing that had caught her attention.  “I don’t know the
name you have for it.  I saw it in a dream.”

“It’s
a hand glider.”  She glanced at him.  “You
made
a hand glider?”  She
gestured to the drawing beneath it, where he’d been working out a building
plan.

“I
am gathering the supplies to create one.  Yes.  The sail of you
han-d gly-der
is difficult to create, though.  I find that the skins are too heavy to…”

“You’re
building a hand glider
.”  She interrupted incredulously.

Rhawn
had no idea why she was so interested, but he nodded.

“Jesus. 
You’re like a prehistoric
inventor? 
Is that it?”

His
brows drew together, unsure if that was an insult or praise.  “What is an
inventor?”

“Someone
who has ideas and then builds them.”  Her eyes traveled over the cave walls,
taking in the other drawings he’d done.  “My God.  You really do dream about
Earth every night, don’t you?”

“Every
dream I’ve ever had has been of you and your Earth.  Sometimes I feel like I’ve
spent more time in your world than in mine.  The rest of the Clan often
despairs of it.”

Lucy’s
gaze met his.  “I’ve never really fit in anyplace, either.  People are always
telling me I spend too much time reading about the past and not enough time in
the present.  Then, I tell them to shut up and I buy some more books.”

He
couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t love Newyork.  “If I lived in your world,
I would do nothing but explore its wonders.  You are surrounded by so many
amazing things.”  He waved a hand around to indicate the walls full of
pictures.  “Every day there is something new to experience.  On this island, we
endlessly see the same rocks and trees and sand.  But, you could do so
much
.”

She
glanced back at the drawing.  “Sometimes there so much we
could
do, that
we don’t do much at all.  New York can be a very lonely place.”

He
hesitated, struck by her sad tone.  “You have no Clan?”  He knew what it was to
be alone and he didn’t want that for her.  Of course, he didn’t want her
surrounded by others, either.  Well, other
men
.  The idea of it bothered
him deeply.