Revel (18 page)

The man inclined his head to acknowledge Mikos but said nothing.

“She looks weak,” announced the woman, Dona. She considered me with a pout of her arched red lips and dabbled her toes in a rivulet of water that ran at her feet. “And small,” she observed. “Even for a Lander.”

With this comment she seemed to dismiss me and turned her attention to running a jeweled comb through her cascading hair.

Lukus stood up. He was impressively tall. Thick cuffs of silver encrusted with jewels circled his muscled arms. “This is an unusual step for this Council, to address a Lander face to face. But these are unusual circumstances, and I wished to see you. The Council suffered you to come to Trespass without permission and live.” He spoke in a ringing voice made even more powerful by the echoes in the huge cavern. “Yet now you have interfered with a judgment of the First Ones.”

I shivered from fear as well as the cling of damp clothes to my skin. “It was dying. I only tried to help.”

“Silence,” Lukus said, his tone icy. “I did not ask you to speak, Lander.”

If the Glaukos standing behind the First Ones had any understanding of what was being discussed, or if they cared, they gave no sign of it. They stood so still they looked like statues, or some kind of macabre Halloween decorations.

“My lord,” said Mikos. “Jax was there, aiding the human. He set the slave free.”

“Really,” said Lukus, his mouth set in grim lines. “No wonder he doesn’t dare show his face. Jax grows more distant from this clan every day. Xarras.” He addressed the older man beside him. “I will leave you to manage your son.”

“Adopted son,” murmured Mikos beside me. Softly but distinctly.

I looked at Mikos’s bent golden head and for some reason felt like punching him.

Xarras cleared his throat almost apologetically and spoke
to me. His gaze was shrewd but not unkind. “Did Jax harm you, girl?”

“No,” I answered. My voice was steady, which surprised me. I didn’t feel steady. My wet clothes clung to my skin uncomfortably. I wrapped my arms around myself.

“Well,” Xarras said, letting out a sigh. “That is something, anyway.” He looked at Lukus. “I apologize, my lord, for the shame Jax brings to the house of Aitros. He is passionately headstrong. It has always been his great failing.”

“It is not your shame to bear, old friend,” said Lukus.

“My thanks,” said Xarras, bowing his head.

“But now we must decide about this girl.” Lukus regarded me. “There’s been discontent among the Landers over her. And now she interferes with a punishment ordered by the Council.”

“Tie
her
to the rocks,” said Dona. She splayed her toes like fingers, displaying the delicate white webbing between the digits. “And let the crabs and the sea stars feast on her flesh.”

Lukus gave her an affectionate smile and chuckled. “You have always loved the old ways, my dear.”

This is not happening
. My knees felt as if they might crumple any second. I looked around. Screaming wouldn’t help. No one on the island could possibly hear me. There could be hundreds of feet of rock over my head. And even if they did hear me, what could they do? I thought of running. Mikos might have only been trying to frighten me into submission with his talk of mazes. I looked down the long flight
of steps, toward the dark openings to the tunnels. I couldn’t even be sure which of those he’d led me through. And I had no desire to test the land speed of the Glaukos. I had a feeling they might surprise me.

Meanwhile, Xarras watched me. “They tell me she was born of a Lander from Trespass,” he remarked. “A woman who fled years ago. After the Revel.”

For some reason this comment seemed to surprise the others.

Dona sat up straighter, her eyes flashing. “Show me.”

Mikos turned to me and, before I could react, lifted my shirt.

“Hey!” I clutched the material and wrenched away from him, but not before he had run cool, hard, probing fingers over my belly, as if searching for something.

“Lander,” said Mikos, releasing me roughly. His voice held an unmistakable tinge of contempt.

“Of course she is,” said Dona, sitting back.

“You are the eldest of my counselors, Xarras,” said Lukus. “What punishment would you suggest?”

Xarras sighed and tented his fingertips together before him. “Let us not act in haste, my lord,” he replied at last. “Our community is a fragile one.” He leaned forward and spoke to me directly. “Listen to me, girl. Your people and ours need each other, do you understand?”

“No. Not really,” I answered, still angry and flustered by Mikos’s sudden strip search. Or whatever that was.

Xarras smiled. “I enjoy honesty. But as you get older you
will learn that sometimes silence is better.” He regarded me for a moment and added softly, “I am curious, though, as to the interest that my son Jax has shown in you. That is something unusual.” He turned to Lukus. “The Revel is coming. In my humble opinion, we should not create discord with the Landers at such an important time. I think the girl can serve our needs alive more than dead.”

Lukus nodded, eyeing me. “Yes,” he said. “I believe you’re right, Xarras. She will pay tribute at Revel, along with the rest.” He waved a hand toward Mikos. “Take her back.”

Mikos took my wrist in a grip of cold steel and brought me back in the same maelstrom fashion as before, storming across the sea within a corridor of water before setting me down on the beach. I sank to my knees, feeling nauseated. The speed and tumult of traveling that way wasn’t good on my nerves, or my stomach.

“There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he said, a smile lighting his eyes mischievously. With sun sparkling on his gleaming skin and away from the gloom of the sea caves, he looked as spectacular as before. Like Mr. July from the Greek gods calendar.

I pushed his hands away. “Thanks. Next time I want to be abducted, I know who to call.”

His smile broadened. “My pleasure. Goodbye for now, little oyster. I will see you at Revel.”

That smile frightened me, but I didn’t want Mikos to know it. “Goodbye,” I said, hoping that my voice sounded calmer than I felt.

CHAPTER 13
 

“T
his isn’t good,” said Gran. She paced in long strides across her porch, the boards creaking beneath her while I sat on a wicker chair.

I’d just finished telling her about my encounter with Jax and Mikos and then with the other First Ones in the sea caves.

“Having the First Ones take an interest in you is dangerous enough.” Gran rubbed the scar on her neck in a nervous, repetitive motion. “Offending them is worse. I should’ve told you not to interfere with that Glaukos on the beach. There was nothing you could do to help the poor creature. And you might have been killed. Whatever possessed you?”

“I just couldn’t stand seeing it suffer like that.” I pulled my knees up and curled myself deeper into the sagging embrace of the chair. “Or hearing those cries. It was horrible.”

Gran looked at me with warmth and sympathy in her eyes. “I know,” she said. “You’ve got a good heart, bless you, child. But you’re impulsive, just like your mother. Be careful taking things into your own hands like that. The tide can turn on you awful fast.”

“If something is wrong,” I argued, “Mom raised me to do something about it. Not sit by and be quiet.”

Gran sighed and leaned against the corner post of the porch. “Sometimes it’s not so clear what’s right and wrong. You mustn’t be too quick to judge.”

There were some things that my grandmother and I might never agree on. Maybe the fact that I wasn’t raised here would prevent me from ever really understanding the way of life on Trespass. I changed the subject.

“Tell me what the First Ones meant about Revel, Gran. What is this
tribute
I’m supposed to pay?”

Gran stopped her movements and became very quiet. “I’d hoped that you wouldn’t be involved with that. At least, not this year.” She passed a weary hand over her eyes. “Let me think on it a bit, Delia. I’m awfully tired. We’ll talk about it later.”

A few days after my encounter with the First Ones, Sean invited me out to lunch. We were supposed to meet Zuzu and Reilly at the Snug, but they hadn’t shown up yet. We’d been
sitting together over bowls of savory clam chowder and slices of corn bread. Sean seemed quiet and distant. His brown eyes were as warm and attractive as always, but there were shadows beneath them, as if he hadn’t slept well.

“I really like you,” he said, looking at me suddenly.

I smiled and felt warmth color my cheeks. “Thanks, Sean. I like you too.”

“I wish you’d never come here.”

“Okay.” I coughed to clear my throat. “Let me explain the whole concept of a segue. You say something leading into a topic. Usually the next thing is sort of related to that
same topic
.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry.” Sean dropped his head back and blew out a frustrated breath. “That came out wrong. It’s just that I can see how hard things are for you here and I feel bad. You must be homesick, right?”

“Well, yes,” I said. “I guess so.” I picked up my spoon and swirled it in the milky broth of the chowder. “I miss some stuff. Going to the movies with my friends, shopping at the mall,
not
getting swept into underground sea lairs. That kind of thing.”

Sean nodded, the corner of his mouth pulling into a crooked smile. I’d told him about facing the First Ones in the sea caves.

“But I’m fine,” I told him. “I’ve done a lot of exploring around the island, and I’ve been helping Gran with the gardens. And building a pretty impressive shell and sea glass
collection. I made this.” I lifted a necklace from my throat and leaned forward.

The necklace was made from the piece of blue sea glass he’d given me, entwined in silvery wire. But if Sean realized it, he didn’t show it or comment.

He only nodded. “That’s pretty.”

“So what about those fishing lessons?” I asked, letting the necklace fall back into place.

Sean grimaced apologetically. “Sorry. Things have been kind of crazy these last few days.” He stared at his chowder. “Work and stuff.”

“Why don’t you tell me about it?” I asked. “Look. I know you’re doing more than just fishing out there, Sean. I mean, your boat is fitted out with all those weapons, and you’re out there at times when the other fishermen are all back with their catches. Are you hunting the Icers?”

“That’s part of it,” he said. He looked reluctant to say anything more, and I didn’t want to push. These people were raised on traditions of secrecy.

“Just be careful, okay? Please? I think you’re the only guy around who’s brave enough to be near me when I’m holding a fishing pole. But there’s no rush on the lessons.” I smiled. “I’m not going anywhere, right?”

“Right.” Sean picked up his spoon but dropped it and it clattered under the table. “Damn it. No, it’s okay, I was done anyway.”

“But you’ve hardly eaten anything.”

He straightened up and leaned over the table. “I need to tell you something,” he said in a low voice. He spoke fast, as if he wanted to get it off his chest. “Things are different here, ever since you came. Before, everything was on an even keel, right? I knew where I stood. Now …” He rubbed his hands over his fatigued-looking eyes. “I’m not so sure.”

This conversation was
so
not going the way I had expected.

“I don’t understand,” I said. “Have I done something to upset you?”

“It’s just …” Sean hesitated, seeming to search for the words. “You seem to think you can live your life any way you want.”

“Well, yeah,” I said. “Hence the name
my life
.”

Sean didn’t smile. “You can’t
do
that here. We have to think about how our actions will affect everyone.”

“But I haven’t done anything to hurt anyone,” I said in a low voice, hating how it suddenly trembled. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“I know you wouldn’t, not on purpose,” said Sean. His voice was gentle. “But what about that guy from the mainland? The ticket agent. He died because he helped you get here and then came snooping around. He broke the rules and got killed by an Icer. We still haven’t figured out how the Icer got into our waters without the Glaukos intercepting it. And Ben is lucky that the First Ones didn’t do more than rough him up a little and ruin his boat.” He leaned over the table. “And what about interfering with the punishment
of that Glauk? The First Ones could have killed you, Delia. And I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if that Glauk had gotten loose and cut you with its tail.”