Stolen Dreams (42 page)

 

They dismounted quickly and Jarad gave Elo
one last
order. "Go to Noe, Elo. He has a mate for you and will take you both to
safety." Jarad then turned to Gabriel and Shara and bowed to them.
"Thank you for saving Rebekah."

 

Shara gave all three of them a
hug. "And thank you for everything you did for us."

 

The ground
rumbled beneath them, warning that time was up. They wished one another
safe journeys, then went their separate ways.

 

As
Gabriel and Shara approached the beach, they were shocked to see huge
waves crashing onto the sand only a short distance from where their
raft was hidden. They wasted no time getting into position and
preparing for the hop forward in time.

 

"We are going home this
time, aren't we?" Gabriel asked as Shara worked the front crystal of the
tempometer belt.

 

She tilted her head back, gave him a sweet
smile, and sent them on their way.

 

 

At
least the water was calm this time. Calmer than Gabriel. "What was that
smile supposed to mean?" he demanded.

 

She
laughed. "I was only teasing. I swear, the adventure is over. I agree
with what you said about the risk of running into ourselves if we tried
to backtrack. According to my calculations, we should have arrived here
on the same day as it would be if we'd never left. In other words, the
same three weeks we've spent hopping have passed in our own time. Based
on Lantana's notes, I figured that was the safest way to avoid a
paradox of any kind." She opened her bag and pulled out her special
ring. "In a few more minutes I'll have us in Innerworld, and we'll get
your body repaired."

 

He put his hand over hers to stop her
from
programming the ring for transmigration. "Not yet. We have a few things
to discuss first."

 

She turned to face him. "Oh?"

 

"I
want to know exactly what you did to help Rebekah escape."

 

"Almost
nothing," she replied with a shake of her head. "I had every intention
of breaking her out of that cell, but she got out on her own.
Considering the fact that Ester and Jarad were on their way to get
her, I think it would be safe to assume she would have been rescued
without my assistance. So you can rest easy. I did not alter history."

 

"Fine.
Then I have something for you." He reached inside the cloth wrapped
around his chest and handed her a dark brown hair. "This is from a
nobleman named Daniel." Gabriel told her about what happened to him on
the slave crew, his rescue by Daniel, and their subsequent
conversations.

 

"It doesn't sound like the Ruling Tribunal had
a hand in Atlantis's destruction after all."

 

"No,
but I can't prove that they didn't orchestrate it, either. Fortunately,
Daniel and his group had made arrangements to escape in case the end
came without the promised saviors showing up. I hated to disappoint
him, but I had to tell him the truth about who we really were. I hope
he made it."

 

Shara looked at the hair in her hand. "What made
you get this?"

 

He
shrugged. "Something about his eyes reminded me of you, and I thought
maybe it was his ancestor you were looking for. That exile s name was
Willem."

 

Shara knew that was one of the names left on the
list. As
she pulled out the microputer, her hands began to tremble. "Whether
this is the one or not, I thank you. It means a lot that you would do
this for me." She leaned forward and touched her lips to his. Holding
her breath, she fed the hair into the microputer and ran the analysis.

 

She
exhaled when no match with Khameira showed up.

 

She pressed the
next button and stared at the miniature screen, willing it to come up
with a match for herself.

 

Gabriel
felt her anticipation. Then her dejection. There was no match. "I'm
sorry, sweetling. I was hoping that was your answer."

 

She
sighed. "I guess I wasn't meant to know."

 

"Go ahead and test
the other one. I'd rather you do it in front of me than behind my back."

 

She
forced a smile for him. "Can I do yours first?"

 

"Mine?"

 

"You
and Apollo looked an awful lot alike. Aren't you curious?" Although he
made a face at her, he pulled out one of his hairs.

 

She
ran the test, then punched a few more keys. "Well, well. It seems you,
Apollo, and Artemis do share an ancestor, but it wasn't Zeus or anyone
else I've tested. Undoubtedly their mother remained on Norona and mated
with another man."

 

"Very interesting," he said. "Now run the
other test."

 

She
had such a strong feeling that Jupiter and Khameira would match up that
she hadn't wanted Gabriel to see the results, but he was right. He'd
find out eventually. They may as well have their final argument now as
later. She found Jupiter's hair in her pouch and threaded it into the
microputer.

 

Seconds later, all doubts were removed. Khameira's
memory molecule contained matches with Jupiter, his father Saturn, and
his grandfather Poseidon. If Poseidon had not been exiled to Terra, he
would not have mated with the native women and would never have begun
the line through which Khameira descended.

 

Before Gabriel
could
begin a lecture on not altering history, she defended her position once
more. "You personally experienced the horrors perpetrated
by Jupiter, and his father was almost as bad. One day in the future,
Khameira will cause the destruction of this planet, and who knows what
wretched dictators came from the same line in between? How could
eliminating such evil be a bad thing?"

 

Gabriel took a deep
breath. "Before I answer that, press the other button—the one for
yourself."

 

"It's not—"

 

"You're a scientist, Shara.
Run the analysis."

 

Just
to prove it was a waste of time, she pressed the button . . . and
gasped. It had never occurred to her to test herself against Khameira,
but the ugly truth was staring her in the face. Though she descended
through a different line, Poseidon was her relative as well.

 

Gabriel
quickly pointed out the only conclusion possible. "If you stop Poseidon
from being exiled to Terra, not only do you prevent Khameira's birth,
but your own."

 

Shara weighed the alternatives, then lifted her
chin
in a brave manner and said, "Millions of people die because of
Poseidon's earthborn descendants. What is my life worth against all of
theirs?"

 

Gabriel grasped her shoulders. "What is your life
worth?"
He was so upset by her words, it took him a moment to form a coherent
argument. "Think harder! What about all the other decent people you'd
be eliminating? What about your own mother? Are her contributions so
worthless that you would erase her life with a wave of your hand?" He
felt her horrified reaction to the idea of eliminating her mother.

 

"You're
confusing me," she said softly.

 

"Good! Because I'm so confused
right now, I don't know
if the rest of what I have to say is going to make any sense, but here
it is anyway. If you still believe that you should go back and stop
Poseidon from being sent to Earth, then you'd better find that ancestor
Apollo and I share and prevent her from starting the line I descend
from, too."

 

Shara frowned at him. "I don't understand."

 

"If
you're not going to be born, I don't want to be, either." She gaped at
him in such surprise, he released her shoulders and stroked her cheek.
"You're my shalla, destined to be my soulmate. I truly believe that
now, and I've been hoping that one day you would come to believe it
also. The last thing I want to hear you say is that your life has no
worth, when it means everything to me."

 

"I ... I'm not sure
what to say."

 

"Then don't say anything. Just do me one favor.
Open your mind. Completely. Let. me see what you've been hiding from
me."

 

She closed her eyes and knew the truth of his
declaration. With joy filling her soul, she lowered the last wall
between them.

 

As
her love poured over him and into his mind, he pressed his mouth to
hers. I love you, sweetling. There's only one way I ever want to be
alone again, and that's alone with you.

 

His thought sent a
thrill of
pleasure racing through her and she returned his kiss with a loving
thought of her own. Our coining together wasn't the way I dreamed it
would he, hut loving you and having that love returned is better than
any dream I ever had.

 

A strong wave lifted the raft, reminding
them that they couldn't afford to get too demonstrative.

 

Gabriel
held her away from him and looked into her eyes. "Can I assume this means I finally found
a way to convince you that the past should not be tampered with?"

 

She
nodded. "Yes. You were right, and I was wrong. However, I am not
convinced that nothing can be done about Khameira. I intend to come up
with something better than the Tribunal's solution of leaving warnings
for future generations."

 

He gave her a hug. "Fine. Just give
me a
chance to prepare before you set your next plan into action. And
speaking of plans, I picked up that ridiculous notion in your head that
I would consider journeying without you." He pulled her to him and
kissed her with a hunger reminiscent of the fever. "If that's not
enough of a reason for traveling together, you've ruined me for
journeying alone ever again. Besides the way you fit into my sleeping
pouch, I've grown accustomed to having you to talk to, have meals with,
work beside. I'd even miss our arguments."

 

His compliments
made her blush. "We do make a pretty good team."

 

"We
make a perfect team," he corrected, stroking her cheek. "My work has to
be done in the field, but it seems to me that you could do your work
anywhere, as long as you had your equipment. It would only necessitate
a bit of customizing of my ship. I can't promise you'll always have the
most luxurious surroundings, but I'll do my best to keep you comfortable."

 

She
gave him a deep kiss equal to the one he had given her. "I can't think
of anything more comfortable than sharing a sleeping pouch with you in
it." She sat back and wrinkled her brow in thought.         

 

"There's just one problem. I hope you weren't
planning on us embarking on a journey anytime soon."

 

"Why not?"

 

"There
is no way I'm going to be able to tell my parents about everything I've
done, then take off immediately afterward. I can't begin to imagine
their reaction to my being joined with someone they've never even met."

 

Gabriel
grinned. "After what we've been through in the past few weeks,
explanations to your parents should be a breeze."

 

"Hah!" Shara
said with a laugh. "You don't know my father."

 

"Under the
circumstances, then, I suggest we both dress more appropriately for my
introduction."

 

As they donned jumpers, Gabriel insisted he
could postpone medical treatment until after they reported in with her
parents.

 

A
raft appearing in the middle of their living area was the last thing
Romulus and Aster expected that evening, but definitely the most
welcome sight they'd had in a long time.

 

"Shara!" Aster cried,
and rushed over to her. "We've been worried sick about you!"

 

"You
must be the historian," Romulus unsmilingly stated to Gabriel.

 

Gabriel
extricated himself from Shara and their baggage, then rose and held out
a bandaged hand. "Gabriel Drumayne, Professor of History and Chief
Procurer of Antiquities for Norona."

 

Romulus extended his
hand, but the shake was anything but friendly.

 

Shara quickly
stood up and gave each parent a hug. "We'll explain everything, but
first, what's the date?"
Her mother told her and she smiled at Gabriel. "You see? I told you I
could hit it right on the nose if lightning didn't interfere."

 

"Did
I hear that right?" Cattar exclaimed as she hustled into the living
room. "You figured out how to pinpoint the destination date?" At
Shara's bewildered nod, Cattar said, "Quickly, give me the belt and
show me what you've done. We don't have a moment to spare."

 

Shara
handed the strange woman the tempometer, but looked to her father for
an explanation.

 

Without
giving every detail, Rom and Aster filled her in on the catastrophic
situation the tempometer had caused. With each word, Shara's knees grew
weaker until she gave in to the need to sit down. Nothing, not even the
news that a portion of Innerworld's people had already been evacuated,
was as devastating as learning that her selfish actions had eradicated
Mack's existence. How could she ever live with that knowledge"?

 

Gabriel
sat down and put his arm around her. "We'll fix it. There has to be a
way."

 

"That's
right," added Cattar. "And your returning with the tempometer was the
first step. If you truly figured out how to arrive at a specific time,
that's the second. Now tell me everything you've done with the device
since you left, while we head for the science laboratory. Governor,
please notify the research team to meet us there immediately!"

 

On
the way to the lab, Shara and Gabriel gave the others an overview of
where they'd been, but the excitement of their adventures was quashed
by the problems they'd caused. Under the circumstances, Shara decided
to withhold the fact that she and Gabriel had been stricken by the mating
fever and joined. It was hardly a time for celebration.

 

When
Shara revealed that she had not only found Khameira's ancestor but her
own as well, and how she had been unable to go through with her
original plans, Cattar rolled her eyes skyward and said, "Thank you,
Supreme Being!"