Shadow Borne (13 page)

The man and woman in the wing-back chairs
gasped and Megan Roberts started with a glance toward Mark's
mother-housekeeper. A wide grin broke across my face and I threw my
head back and laughed before gliding across the room and throwing
my arms around Marta's sturdy shoulders.

"Hi to you as well." I murmured, still
smiling.

"I don't suppose you've eaten breakfast?"
Marta sniffed.

"Not yet." I stepped back and bent to ruffle
both girls' hair before rising to face Claire's shocked parents and
sister.

"Well, then you had better stop at the
kitchen before you go back outside with the heathens."

Claire put her hands on her hips and shook
her head as Marta took the laundry basket from the top of the
dresser and lured the little girls from the room with promises of
cookies. "Marta is very plain spoken." Claire coughed and ducked
her head to hide a smile.

"You get used to it." I added, holding a
hand out to the woman first before attempting to shake hands with
Claire's father.

"Mom, Dad, this is Aries."

"It's wonderful to finally meet the two of
you." I lied. It wasn't wonderful at all; it was nerve wracking and
I wished it were already over. I felt like a bundle of raw, nervous
energy when Mr. and Mrs. Roberts inclined their champagne blonde
heads and regarded me in silence, completely ignoring my
outstretched hand.

I had fought side by side with both rebel
factions and professional soldiers. I'd helped search out and
rescue hundreds of desperate, displaced, regular people. And that's
what I tried to convince myself that Claire's parents were–regular
people–but they didn't seem that way at all and I was beginning to
feel more than a little foolish, standing there with my hand
extended to the open air, for all the attention they were paying
me.

No, that wasn't quite right, I amended,
refusing to give in to the urge to cringe; they were looking at
every part of me but my hand. Confused, I glanced down at myself,
not seeing anything out of place, but Claire's parents–Mike's
parents–pointed gazes were hard to miss. I gave myself another
quick once over while Claire hurried to explain that I was a close
friend 'more like family, really'.

And I tried to see myself objectively, as if
through a stranger's eyes. It took only a few moments to realize
how I must look to the elder members of the Roberts family; an
almost-tall young woman with smoothly toned muscles, a dusky
complexion, hips and breasts that flared to a level just shy of
decent...but it was my face that truly set me apart and classified
my kind as different.

I had the same classic features that readily
identified me as a nymph; the large, bright, slightly slanted eyes,
the thick black lashes and thin, straight brows. The same smallish
nose, and lips that took after my breasts and hips–a shade too
plump to be inconspicuous, to blend in. While there wasn't anything
to be done about my face and form (not that I'd ever really thought
there was anything wrong with it, other than the irritation of
being so recognizable) it probably would have been a good idea to
unstrap my dagger before I'd entered the room. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts
finally nodded and decided to grace me with faint smiles that,
while they weren't exactly the epitome of warmth and goodwill, at
least weren't mocking. That was a start. Pleading the worst case of
jet lag imaginable, Claire's parents wandered down the hall toward
their own room for a nap.

"I'm sorry, Aries." Claire grimaced and
turned with me to face her sister. "That was rude, I know. They're
still getting used to...everything, I guess."

"It's okay." I shrugged. "They're tired and
it's one of those days."

"One that makes you want to go back to
bed?"

"You said it." I smiled faintly. "Do they
know about me? I mean that your brother and I were...close,
once?"

Claire shook her head and lowered her voice
as we approached Megan's bed. "No. At least, I don't think so."

Great. That was bound to be even more fun
than this had been, I reflected with an inward sigh. A more naïve
woman might have made the argument that the rest of the Roberts
clan wouldn't have to know anything at all about my past
relationship with Mike. But who was I kidding? Mike wouldn't give
up the chase so easily and after that very public kiss on the porch
last night, I felt safe in assuming he would be fairly obvious in
his intentions. Idly, I wondered how Megan Roberts would react to
Mike's uninvited courtship of me.

It was hard to imagine
Megan reacting to anything; at the moment, she looked pretty out of
it. Claire and I stopped at the foot of the bed, perching on the
edge to stare down at the quiet woman who seemed to blend in with
the peach and linen bedroom. Not even the glow from the fire across
the room in the hearth or the red eyes did much to make her look
human.
A doll
, I
realized with a start,
she looks like a
very sad, living doll.
She was so small,
well, except for her protruding stomach, and so vulnerable that my
heart immediately went out to her.

Claire's obviously did, too. She sank onto
the mattress at the head of the bed and touched her sister's
shoulder. "Megan? This is my best friend Aries. She's come to meet
you."

Megan turned her head a little to the left,
away from the window she didn't care to look out of anyway, and let
her eyes rest on my face. They seemed to focus then, widening; her
lips parted on a startled gasp and I got the distinct impression
that she was truly seeing me now.

"Hello, Megan." I smiled warmly at the woman
but didn't offer to shake hands.

"Oh! You're–" she swiveled her head to look
at Claire. "She's–wow."

"Yes, she's very pretty, isn't she?" Claire
smiled.

"She doesn't look real." Megan murmured and
then flushed brightly when she realized what she had just said. "I
mean, she doesn't look like us."

"Aries is a little different, Megan."

"She looks like the other ones. The ones who
met us in the woods at the...at the..." She gulped.

"Portal." Claire helpfully supplied. "Yes,
they're woodland nymphs, too. Like Aries."

"Oh." Megan shook her head and took a deep
breath. "But she's..." Megan Roberts paused and stared directly at
me then. "You're even prettier than the ones I saw yesterday. I'm
so sorry. I'm being terribly rude it's just that...my life is crazy
right now." she ended on a shuddering breath and tears filled her
eyes again. "This is insane, all of it." She gave a bitter little
laugh and made a gesture toward the window. "All of this is..."

"Hard to take?" I correctly guessed.

"Yes, and–"

"Mom!" Two small, loud voices chorused from
the hallway.

"Coming!" Claire hollered back. "I'll be
right back." She gave her sister's shoulder a quick, reassuring
squeeze and then she was gone, leaving Megan and me alone in the
room.

"You probably already know my husband left
me." she sniffed.

"The others might have mentioned something
about that." I hedged, unsure of what to say next, of how much
Megan felt comfortable with me knowing.

"I guess it was for the best." she sighed,
curling her arms around her middle and looking even more despondent
than before, if that was possible.

"If this place is full of women who look
like you, he would have left anyway, eventually."

"Hey, you're very pretty, too." I reached
out to take her hand. "I'm sorry about your husband, by the
way."

"Which one? The cheater? Or the one that
tried to kill me?" Her lower lip trembled.

"Oh." I exhaled. "Yes, I heard about that
too."

"Who hasn't?" She flopped back against the
mountain of white linen pillows at her back. Lately, my life is one
big, tawdry open book. The murderer is an ex-husband, by the way.
At least I realized my mistake early with that one and came to my
senses. I divorced him. But Juan..." she sighed. "I didn't see that
coming."

"His leaving?"

"Yes. Although, I probably should have. He'd
been different for months before we dropped the whole alternate
universe ex-husband-issued-hits bombshell." Abruptly, she covered
her face with her hands and began to sob. "Oh God, it even sounds
crazy."

"Not so crazy." I smiled ruefully and moved
to sit beside her. With one arm slung around her shaking shoulders,
I hugged her and began to smooth the tangled blond hair away from
her tear dampened face. "There now, you've got to try and calm
down. All that crying isn't good for the baby."

"The baby. Oh God, the baby." she gasped.
"What am I going to do? I've got no job, no home, no money, my
husband left me."

Releasing her, I moved to sit in the center
of the bed. Facing Megan now, I took her hands in mine and forced
the nearly hysterical woman to look at me. "You and the baby and
the rest of your family will be fine. I swear it."

"But my home, my–"

I shook my head. "From what Claire has told
me, Terlain is your home now. It isn't safe to go back to your
world."

"It isn't. It won't ever be again. Mike and
I screwed everything up." Her lower lip quivered again and fresh
tears filled her eyes, threatening to spill over onto her pale
cheeks. "We ruined it for everybody with-with his exploring and
m-my bad choices in men."

"Don't think such things." I commanded,
gently. "Ruminating is pointless. Trust me. Look at me, Megan.
Nothing is ruined, you'll see. Terlain is a wonderful place. It's
beautiful and full of magic and warmth. It's a wonderful place for
a child to grow up. Usually." Parts of it. But I didn't think Megan
needed me to emphasize that she and her family had landed smack in
the middle of a war. If one managed to get past the danger, Terlain
was a wonderful place to be. And most of us were used to a little
danger, to having to be a little more careful in some spots than
others.

"Really? But what about the...fighting?"

"We are in a war." I admitted. "Right now.
But life must march on. And besides, you're safe enough here.
Everything will turn out right. You'll see. When will you have your
baby?"

"Huh? Oh, um...three weeks. But it could
happen anytime now. I suppose this room won't be so bad." She
glanced around the large space.

"For what?" I frowned.

"To have the baby." Her eyes began to
glisten again.

"Well, okay." I took a deep breath. "But
wouldn't you rather go into town and have your baby at the
hospital?"

Her eyes grew enormous and she sat up.
"There's a hospital?"

"Sure. That's where most women choose to
deliver babies. Isn't that the usual way in your world?"

"Yes!" She laughed a little, through the
tears. "Oh, thank God. I didn't think there were hospitals here, or
doctors."

"There are." I assured her. "Claire thought
Terlain was a pretty strange place when she first came here." I
smiled. "I have the feeling you'll have a lot of adjustments to
make. But you will make them. And you're safe now, from the people
who were hunting you, anyway. You'll like it here." I nodded.

"You really think so?" She looked skeptical,
but she wasn't breaking down in tears again, at least not yet. "But
what am I going to do?" she moaned.

"Take one day at a time." I advised. "You'll
have everything you need. And your new brother-in-law commands the
largest army in Terlain; you're well protected here. And if you
don't mind my saying so, there will be plenty of men around."

Startled eyes flew up to mine and I grinned.
"You won't be lonely for long. Unless you want to be." I shrugged.
"And there's plenty of work to be found, when you feel ready to
tackle that part of your life again. After the baby, of course." I
smiled. "What did you do before?"

"In my old life?" She tried out a tremulous
smile.

I nodded.

"I worked in an office. Maybe it's...time
for a change, though?"

"Could be."

"You make it sound so simple."

"Never that," I held both hands out, palm
up. "Although, parts of it will be easy enough. But it will be an
adventure. Who knows? You might even find yourself walking toward
something better than all that you left behind. But you must be
brave now and move forward."

"I-I'll try."

"Have you left this room yet today?" When
she shook her head, I held out a hand to help her rise. "Maybe
you'd like a shower? Then you could go and have breakfast with
me."

"I've already eaten." she protested, on her
feet now, but digging her heels in.

"Then you can sit with me while I eat."

"But–" she paused beside the window. "What's
going on down there?"

I backtracked a few steps and followed her
wide-eyed gaze to the lawn below. Mark's voice carried slightly on
the breeze, but as far up as we were, it was difficult for Megan
and I to make out the words above the constant, low din of the
crowd. "Mark is addressing the army–most of them, anyway."

"There are more soldiers?"

"Oh yes; not everyone could be here for the
meeting this morning, not unless we wanted to pull everyone off of
patrols."

"Oh, well no," Megan blinked. "That wouldn't
be a good idea."

"No." I agreed.

"They all look so different." she murmured,
inching closer to the open window. "Who are they?" she asked,
pointing to a cluster of tall, muscular women.

"The women in the dark green loincloths and
off the shoulder tops?"

"Yes, the ones carrying the spears."

“Woodland sprites. They live near the woods
bordering Lerna, not far from my native home."

"They're so big, for women. They look like
Amazons."

"That's what Claire said, too." I grinned,
remembering the legend of the Amazon that Claire had regaled me
with over popcorn one dark, stormy night several months back. "See
over there?" I pointed, leaning closer to the window and catching
Megan's enthusiasm for the multitude of people below. "Those are
Mark's men. Yes, the shirtless ones," I confirmed at her look.
"Marta calls them the naked heathens; they're called the warriors
of the ruins. They came from the tribes near the mountain villages.
After Claire and your brother and Ashley had gone, Mark presumed
them to be dead, killed, and vowed his revenge. That's when he took
to the ruins at the top of the mountain and began to form his army.
And over there, the men in the animal skins, those are the Mikhalu
tribal men. They don't live far from the dome, either."