Two
As we walked farther into the city, there was a small clearing that was excellent for impromptu sporting events, then the main body of the valley of Groos.
I stopped and sucked in a deep breath. The air was so chilly it singed my nose hairs, but the view… Log cabins arranged in a grid surrounded a glorious blue lake, which dominated the snow-laden area. The shriek of a playing child reached me. Smoke rose from the chimneys. It was so picturesque, it almost didn’t seem real.
“It takes my breath away.”
“Good,” Marin said from behind me. “I hope it always will, just like you take mine.”
Aww, how cheesy. I rolled my eyes at him over my shoulder.
He winked.
Given the weather conditions, I advocated stopping in section two to rest with Clan Orin, but Marin was having none of that. We pressed onward as twilight started to fall.
The trail leading to my current abode was a wide, well-worn forest path. It was a peaceful climb that meandered up from the lake area to a cliff region that forked. Left led down to Mirror Lake and right led up the house. We took the right path, and after another fifteen minutes or so of walking, it opened up into a large meadow in front of a rare two-story building with a large open porch, surrounded by manicured gardens. Right now those gardens were covered in white, but in full bloom they were spectacular.
I currently resided in that house with Marin and his brother, Zanth, although I tried to ignore Zanth as best I could. I should move out and get my own place, establish myself separate from Marin, but he wouldn’t have any of it. He was taking to the monogamous portion of our relationship with barely suppressed glee and vigorous enthusiasm.
I keened in relief when we reached the door, kicked off the excess powder and detached my boots as Marin did the same. Once we were relatively snow free, we entered the house and took off our outer coats.
“I’m so glad we’re home.”
The front foyer had marble-like floors and smooth gray wooden walls covered in a shiny resin of some sort. Portraits lined the entryway with doors leading to the library, meeting rooms, and kitchen. At the end of the foyer was a large staircase up to the second floor. I marveled at the architecture; it reminded me of my real home on Earth and less of a log cabin, like most of the lodging here. I turned and found myself marveling at Marin as well.
He’d closed the door behind us and turned to me with a smile.
“What?” he said as he noted my stare.
His dark hair reached past his shoulders. He’d been growing it out because I’d told him I liked it long. He was taller than my own five foot two by close to a foot, and his eyes, those fierce, intelligent eyes. They were the first thing I noticed. Light brown and sharp, they drew me to him then, just as they did now. I gazed into those eyes and knew he would keep me safe no matter what. This was not a guy someone wanted to fuck with, well, except for me. Wait. My cheeks heated.
He tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. “Is there a problem, Elizabeth?”
“No, I was thinking how lucky I am.”
His eyes grew soft. He gathered my shirt in his hands and tugged me up onto my toes. His nose rubbed mine, as he walked me back against the wall. The feel of the cool wood against my neck and warm flesh in front of me caused my breath to shudder out.
I gave a token resistance and brushed my hands against his chest while my breathing picked up. This looked promising.
His kiss scorched my senses. He dragged his tongue along my lower lip, demanding admittance. He tasted like cherries, and male, and mine. My Marin. Mmm.
The moment seemed to last forever until with a groan he straightened, bracing his forehead against mine. His hands traced down the sides of my face. With that touch, he let me know he cherished me, that I was his world. God, I don’t know why I had doubts about this amazing man in front of me.
But I did.
“That was a bit chilly,” Marin said as his hands continued to travel up and down my arms.
“That wasn’t chilly, that was cold. I hate the cold, you know this,” I griped as I buried my nose into his chest, lifting up his shirt to slide my frozen fingers along his ribs.
He pulled away. “No.”
Oh, he knew better than that. I stalked forward, intent. Marin raised his brow then ran for cover. I caught him inside the door to the library. He dodged my hands with a laugh.
“No. Be good.” He wagged his finger in my face.
How rude.
“I’m being good. And I want to be better. Come here.” I grabbed his shirtfront, mirroring his earlier gesture, and tried to pull him close.
Marin shook his head, backing farther into the room. “Later. Right now, I want to research something about that rock. We need to learn more.”
Marin disengaged my hands, stole another quick, hot kiss, and tugged me to shelves of overflowing, antique, handwritten books. The smell of old parchment filled my senses.
I, for all intents and purpose, lived in this library, and I still didn’t know how it was organized. There was no Dewey decimal system here. I had to rely on Marin to get whatever book I needed on a topic. I’d only seen one other place in Groos that had more books. That was the home of my original sponsor, he of the mesmerizing twinkle, Ute, the clan historian and magic buff.
“I think it might be iron,” I said
“What is iron?” he asked, as he pulled two large books off the shelf and handed one to me. I sat in the nearest chair, pulling my legs up under me to read.
“It’s a metal,” I said shortly, and waited for his response.
He glanced up with narrowed eyes.
Ha. Knew that would get him.
“It’s the main component used to make steel on Earth, one of our strongest metals. We use it in most of our buildings, machines, and weapons. If that is what this is, that would be good. You could etch the runes on it more easily than you can the flint, copper, or bronze weapons you use now. There are techniques to smelt iron and develop it into steel. I know a little bit about it because I grew up in Steel City on Earth, but I don’t know the process of how to make it. I just know what it is.”
As I said this, I thought of the E’mani. They knew what iron was. It was in their histories. They’d had cars and planes. I found it so odd sometimes that the Fost didn’t, though they kept the books that detailed the E’mani advances. The Fost culture as a whole seemed strange to me, a weird blend of sophistication and barbarism. It surprised me every day that they churned butter, but had complex gearing.
“What books do you have on mining?”
“What do you think I handed you?” He raised his eyebrows at me.
“A book on puppetry?” I quipped.
He grinned and leaned down to growl at me. I threaded my arms around his shoulders, yanking him down on top of me. He braced his hands on the back of my chair. His lips brushed mine, lightning spreading in its wake. Marin closed his eyes and turned his head, spearing his tongue between my lips. So good. I sighed and tried to pull him all the way down into my lap.
He nipped my lower lip, murmuring, “Not now. Later, I promise.”
I pouted, but he remained firm in his resolution and yes, there too.
Marin sat next to me on an adjacent chair. I leaned to the side and ran my hand up and down his thigh then we both started to read.
The book I read did have a small section on iron. I’d no idea how to go about identifying the metal, but I was pretty sure that was what we had. If we could turn the iron into steel, and add that steel to the flint or copper or bronze weapons we had at our disposal, it would be epic. Our weapons would be stronger and the iron would make them hit harder. We could craft arrows and spears from it as well. Now that would help us immensely with the upcoming war. For there would be a war, it was inevitable.
My pulse sped up at the thought. The E’mani tended to fight a long distance battle, which the Fost had trouble countering; they were more of a hands-on fighting force. With this, we had a chance.
“Do you think when they attacked the mines and I asked for help from the land, this was a part of it?”
Marin nodded. “Maybe. It would be good if it is as strong as you suggest. I need to talk to Stein, he is the expert.”
“Talk to Stein about what?” A voice rang out.
Marin twisted to peer at the entrance. I copied him.
Of course, Stein stood there, holding up the door jamb. There was no give in his expression and no joy in his heart. The months since his daughter Lara died had only hardened him. He no longer weathered well; he scarred. And when he smiled at me, the malice in his expression was clear to read. He still blamed me for her death even though she was the traitor. Oh, joy. This would be fun.
At least Marin appeared comfortable. “Hello, Stein. We just got back from the mines and we were discussing the new metal. Elizabeth thought it might be iron.”
“What is that, an Earth thing?” Stein’s lips curled making the word seem dirty.
“No, a geology thing.”
I smirked and Stein’s eyes narrowed.
Marin sighed. “Stop it, you two. There is a section here in this book, Stein. Come look.”
And a clearer indication to leave, I’d never heard. “Yes, while you two are looking, I’m going to head up to my room and change. I am still wet.” I gave Marin a deliberate glance, to which he grinned, and bolted out of the room.
As I fled I heard Marin murmur, “I will be back.”
Marin snagged me at the bottom of the stairs and cuddled me close. “Dinner will be in a few minutes. Hurry back, and, uh, I put a dress out for you for dinner.”
“We are dressing up? That sounds nice.” And completely new. Dinner was usually a casual affair eaten on the go. Hmm. “Why?”
“No reason. We have the house to ourselves for once. I figured we could have a nice supper.”
Oh good, Zanth wouldn’t be joining us. I preferred when he didn’t. We had an uneasy impasse going right now. but that could end at any moment. Lara’s death hit him hard as well.
“Okay,” I said.
He guided me up the stairs. At the top, he steered me to my room.
When we reached the door, I twisted in his arms to face him. “Want to help me dress?”
He groaned and clutched his chest, staggering backward to the top of the steps. “We will never eat if I come in and help you, and you know it.”
I giggled and darted into my room. It was true, we were so much better at getting each other out of our clothes than into them. We still maintained separate bedrooms. That was my idea. I used mine for storage. Not that I had much stuff.
When I entered the room, I moved toward the dresser. I hesitated over the top drawer, then dropped my hand and opened the lowest one instead.
The E’mani shivat—their uniform—was folded inside. I reached out my right hand and grazed the fabric, remembering.
Damn, my head hurts. I looked around with a grimace.
The room I was in was made up of some murky stone, cool to the touch. I caught a faint impression of movement from the other side of the wall. A streak of red light pulsed deep in its depths.
Where the hell was I? And more importantly, why was I naked?
On the floor in front of me was some kind of uniform, dark gray and shapeless, the fabric soft and shiny like satin but tougher.
This uniform. My hands slipped off the material. My memories of my time with the E’mani were coming more easily now. And none of them were good.
It still surprised me that the Fost let me live after I wandered into the miners wearing the E’mani shivat and speaking of different lands. They should have killed me.
The races had been neighbors. I wouldn’t go so far as to say they were friends, but they’d shared a border, they’d shared a land. Until the E’mani science advanced so far beyond what they knew that the Fost grew fearful. The E’mani were not a kind race. The Fost knew what they were capable of. They saw the power the E’mani gained from technology and it scared them. They couldn’t combat it and they didn’t try. They did the opposite.
The Fost, as a people, de-revolutionized. They let the E’mani have their gadgets and their inventions. They cut off trade. They shunned them and closed their borders to begin a simpler life. It worked too, for a little bit. The E’mani left them alone. Until the day the Fost developed powers, abilities that were ever so interesting to the E’mani.
A centuries-long war followed that discovery. Despite how it sounded, they were evenly matched. Then the E’mani unleashed their ships. They took to the air and to space, and the war was over. The tide turned and the E’mani drove the final nail into the Fost’s coffin, biologic warfare. They developed diseases and illnesses, and set them loose on their enemies. The Fost weren’t the only ones they targeted, but they were the only ones to survive, as far as they knew.
Among those dead was the Fost Clan Chief. The new leader deduced they couldn’t win against such odds, sick as they were. He favored running, and so the Fost fled into the mountains and ended up in this valley and have remained here ever since.
The fact that they distrusted me when I arrived was understandable, and they were right. The E’mani followed me there. The magic messed up their machines, but good old treachery helped them find me. Lives were lost, Gia, Linc, Luc, Jon, and Lara. Lara, who believed the E’mani lies and betrayed her race.
Now the Fost could no longer pretend the E’mani went away, that the E’mani forgot about them. They prepared for war and I prepared with them, chafing at the delay.
I should tear up this uniform, but I couldn’t. It helped keep my hate alive until the day I could get revenge on the E’mani for the destruction of my world.
“Elizabeth,” Marin called out.
I sighed. Best not to think of that now, I had a dinner to prepare for. My heart ached when I turned and saw the dress laid out for me on the bed. It was a navy blue maxi that reached my ankles. I put it on and twirled just like I had before my first dinner date with Marin all those months ago. And also like before, a few bottles lay next to the dress on the bed. I rubbed some lotion on my skin. The scent of peaches surrounded me as I brushed my hair. A smile slid across my face, the bad memories replaced with the good, until I turned and caught my reflection in the glass of the window with the darkness behind it.
I didn’t look like me anymore, not the me I remembered. My hair was a deeper, richer red that fell almost to my waist now in thick curls Marin loved to run his hands through. My eyes were a velvety blue, my lips red, and my cheekbones rosy. I’d been born with a confluence of freckles, but they’d faded with time and were now only a light dusting across my nose. The dress brought out my hips. I used to bemoan those curves, but now, I reveled in them.
When I was younger, the word used to describe me most was cute. I wasn’t cute now. I was beautiful, and it was damn weird.
My eyes burned. Who was this person in front of me, because it wasn’t little Beta Camden. Not really. Not anymore. What had the E’mani done to me and why? What was wrong with me that all I seemed to want to do was cry?