Stolen Dreams (15 page)

 

"Right."
She secured the belt around her waist and put the notes into her bag.
As she turned to go outside, Gabriel grasped her arm.

 

"Not
that I
don't trust you," he said in a tone that hinted otherwise, "but my
historical knowledge and journeying experience are no longer the only
reasons you need to take me with you."

 

It took her a moment to
understand that he was referring to the fever. Ignoring the warmth that
flooded her system, she lifted her chin in defiance. "I'm counting on
the time-hop to eliminate that particular necessity. But even so, I
wouldn't abandon my worst enemy to this place, and I think it's horrid
of you to imply that I would."

 

She turned away from him so
that her
eyes could not reveal the truth. For a brief moment, she had considered
leaving him. She had never had such a wicked thought in all her life,
and she only felt slightly guilty about it.

 

Shara had thought
he'd
been exaggerating about packing up the tent in sixty seconds, but he
actually managed it in less than that.

 

This time they knew
what to expect during the hop and without the fear, the journey seemed
to go much faster.

 

Shara
felt the warm sunshine even before the tinkling sound of wind chimes
drifted away. They were in a fragrant place of fruit-bearing trees and
rolling hills covered with tiny multihued flowers.

 

"Welcome to
paradise," Gabriel said, surveying the area. "It's hard to be certain,
but I think we're at least in the same location we were before. We
definitely managed to pass over the planet's rebirth and, considering
the lack of construction in the area, I'd guess we didn't overshoot our
target date of 5750, either."

 

Shara shielded her eyes as she
noted
the sun's position in the sky to get her bearings. The white ring
around the large, fiery sphere suggested they were still on Norona.
"From what I researched, the administrative center of First Province
was approximately twenty kilometers east of where our ship docked. If
we're anytime near when I wanted to arrive, the rebels should be
amassing in that area."

 

Gabriel extracted a triangle-shaped
mirror
from the left breast pocket of his jumper. "Beauty, record," he said.
Then, holding one corner, he raised it above his head and turned in a
full circle.

 

"An audiovisual recorder?" Shara asked with open
interest.

 

"Recorder, computer, confidante," he replied, and
tilted the mirror toward her face. "Smile for the camera."

 

Instead
she smirked and reached for the device. "May I?"

 

He
handed it to her. "Ask whatever you wish to learn. It will respond to
the voice of whoever is holding it." As she examined the mirror, he
decided it might be quite nice to have some recordings of her that he could play back sometime in the future,
when he was far away and very alone. "Look at your image as you speak."

 

Shara
thought that seemed a bit odd, but she did as he instructed. "Where are
we?"

 

INSUFFICIENT DATA

 

"Oh!" The printed words on the
mirror's surface surprised her. "It doesn't use a voice?"

 

"It
has one, but I prefer—"

 

"Silence," she surmised. "Did I
understand you correctly? You call it Beauty?"

 

Gabriel grinned.

 

Shara
thought of a biting retort, but instead she looked at her own
reflection and said, "All right, Beauty, based on your analysis of the
environment, plant life, and atmospheric conditions, could we be in
First Province on the planet Norona?"

 

AFFIRMATIVE

 

"Obviously,
you didn't program it for friendly chatter," she said to Gabriel.
"Beauty, what is the date?"

 

15761.52 noronian

 

That
was the date in their own time.

 

Gabriel
explained, "Its internal clock wouldn't have been affected by our
time-hop." He took the recorder back and asked, "Is there a
concentrated group of life-forms in the area, evolution level five or
above?"

 

YES

 

"Locate."

 

19.8 km

 

A
flashing arrow appeared
below the numbers. Gabriel held the mirror parallel to the ground and
slowly turned clockwise. When the arrow stopped flashing, he halted and
pointed at a hill in front of him.
"That's where we want to head. But we need to change clothes first. The
object is to try to be as inconspicuous as possible. Any minor
differences can be gotten over by claiming we're travelers from another
province. Beauty, show me the style of clothing worn by the average
male and female rebels on Norona in the year 15750."

 

Instantly
a
holographic image of a man and woman appeared before them. They were
both wearing lightweight material draped loosely from the left shoulder
to about midthigh and gathered with a braided rope at the waist, and
sandals with toe and ankle straps. Gabriel asked Shara, "Did you bring
anything that you can make look like that?"

 

After her lack of
preparation for the Frozen Era, she was proud to show him that she had
made some provisions. She opened her bag and pulled out a length of
thin white fabric bunched together in the middle by a gold brooch. "I
did do some research."

 

"Good. Now put it on." The mere fact
that the
temptation to watch her change was almost overwhelming convinced him to
turn his back while he unearthed his own garment and put it on. He
attached Beauty to a thin strip of leather and hung it around his neck,
then transferred the paralyzer rod from his special jumper to the
hidden sheath he'd designed into a fold of his tunic.

 

Since
the
tempometer belt might attract too much attention and was too bulky to
hide beneath either of their tunics, Shara buried it beneath her
clothing in the bag.

 

Shara thought that the simplicity of the
covering seemed appropriate to the goals of the rebels, but she was
used to covering more of her body even in the
privacy of her own residence. Accustomed as she was to wearing long
pants and shirts or full bodysuits and jumpers, she felt uncomfortably
exposed. After tying a length of gold braid around her waist, she
rearranged the material to shield her sides, but she still felt
underdressed.

 

Gabriel turned around and gave her a look of
approval
that had more to do with his being a man than a historian. His grin
would have made her nervous even if he'd been fully dressed. As it was,
she was staring at an awful lot of perfectly developed male flesh and
it was impossible not to think about how it felt pressed to hers.

 

He
picked up her bag and strapped it to his floating satchel. "It sounds
like we have quite a hike ahead of us. No sense in carrying a burden
when you don't have to."

 

Ignoring the jittery feeling in her
stomach, Shara said "Thank you" and they started toward what they hoped
was civilization. After a few minutes of silence, she asked, "How do
you feel?"

 

He glanced sideward at her. "Fine. And you?"

 

"Fine.
No
noticeable aftereffects." They walked a bit farther before she asked
the question that was really on her mind. "How long do you think it
will be before we, uh, can tell whether or not the, uh . . . the
problem was taken care of?"

 

Gabriel had the devilish urge to
make
her explain the problem just to see her blush again, but since her
blushes tended to stir his desire to touch her, he asked for her
scientific evaluation instead.

 

As long as he put it that way,
she
found it somewhat easier to discuss the subject that was making her so
abnormally nervous. She just wished she could stop tripping over her
tongue every time she tried
to say anything remotely personal. "Based on the timing of the two . .
. incidents . . . following the first .. . coupling, it should be safe
to assume that if twenty-four hours passes without any, uh, significant
metabolic fluctuations, the fever has been neutralized." She felt her
cheeks flush in spite of her attempt to pretend she was speaking of
someone else's body.

 

Except for his offer of a Caress, neither
of
them attempted to maintain a conversation during the subsequent hours
while Beauty kept them on course. Even when they had a meal break about
four kilometers from their destination, their individual thoughts
remained private. A short time after that break, they were standing
atop a high ridge looking down on a peaceful valley.

 

There was
only
one concentration of life below, and it appeared to be a small but
productive farm. Several large wooden buildings were surrounded by rows
of crops. Cows, goats, woolies, and horses grazed together in one
fenced area, and pigs, chickens, and farbits were in pens near the
buildings. A number of people were performing chores outside.

 

"Record,"
Gabriel said, touching Beauty. "Note the absence of any mechanical
equipment or vehicles."

 

Shara
had simply thought the idyllic scene was pleasing to the eye. Gabriel
was working. As they descended the grassy slope, she accepted the fact
that it would be to her advantage to follow his lead until she became
acclimated.

 

Several men and women stopped what they were doing
when they caught sight of Gabriel and Shara approaching. Gabriel raised his arm in a friendly
greeting.

 

Instead of any return wave of welcome, two arrows
cut into the earth, centimeters ahead of their toes.

 

 

State your business," a female voice shouted
at  them.

 

Shara
traced the order to an attractive young woman with curly blond hair,
who was perched on a high branch of a tree a short distance away. She
was dressed in the traditional rebel garb and aiming a bow and arrow at
the two trespassers.

 

"Hello," Gabriel called back. "We are
weary
travelers seeking a new way of life. We heard that we might find
Friends in this place."

 

The dozen workers to whom Gabriel had
waved
formed a circle around him and Shara. They were a fit-looking group of
adolescents, several of whom held long-handled tools that could double
as lethal weapons. Shara thought Gabriel seemed awfully relaxed under
the circumstances.

 

A tall woman with masculine features
stepped
forward and scrutinized Gabriel's face and body. She wore a leather
helmet over her hair and an owl was perched on a leather pad on her
shoulder.

 

"Artemis," the woman called to the archer in the
tree. "Do you know this man?"

 

"No, but he looks familiar,"
Artemis replied.

 

"I would think, so, since he could pass for
your twin brother." The woman with the owl turned back to Gabriel. "I am Athena, mentor of this commune.
Are you of Artemis and Apollo's family?"

 

Gabriel
smiled at the woman. "Not that I'm aware, though I have been told
before that I bear a resemblance to that distinguished man, and I'm
flattered."

 

As soon as Shara had heard the names Artemis,
Athena,
and Apollo, her heart picked up its rate. From her studies she knew
they were three of the leaders in the Noronian rebellion. She and
Gabriel must have made it to the correct time!

 

"My name is
Gabriel, and this is Shara, my mate-to-be."

 

Shara's eyes
widened. Why would he say such a thing? His next words were even more
surprising.

 

"We have vowed not to be joined until the cause of
freedom is won. Have we found the Friends we have heard so much about?"

 

Athena's
expression remained stern. "If you heard so much, then you must know of
a sign that would identify you as a true Friend."

 

Gabriel
tapped his
left breast with his right fist two times, then extended that hand,
palm up, toward her. After she repeated the gesture to him, he lifted
Beauty off his chest, turned in a full circle, and said, "To
friendship, peace, and love."

 

Everyone around him reached into
the
tops of their tunics and brought out triangular-shaped pendants made of
a variety of stones and woods. "To friendship, peace, and love," they
all returned to Gabriel and Shara, as smiles replaced their threatening
scowls and their postures relaxed. Athena introduced each of them and
told of their contribution to the commune. Though most of this group
tended the crops and small animals, others not present
were shepherds, smiths, and hearth tenders.

 

"Have you traveled
far?" one of the younger boys asked.

 

As
Gabriel related the background information he and Shara had previously
decided upon, she had to admit once again that having Gabriel along was
to her advantage. Despite her studies of the period and his numerous
stories, there were still small details, like the hand sign and
three-sided pendants, that she hadn't known about. She wondered how
many other important pieces of information he had forgotten, or
neglected to mention, in all their talks. Could he have left them out
intentionally to ensure her continued need of him?

 

She felt
her
heart begin to race from the anger that instantly surfaced. He had no
right to— She cut off her own thoughts as she realized what a strong
reaction she was having to such a small thing. It had been her
responsibility to be prepared, not his. There was no logical reason for
her to be so upset about it. But logic seemed to have abandoned her
lately.

 

Cold fear stabbed at her stomach. Was that overly
emotional reaction a sign that the fever was still with her?

 

The
group was most interested in how the newcomers' baggage remained in the
air. Gabriel showed them the degrav and modestly told them it was the
only antigravity device of its kind because he'd invented it.