Part 30 (1/2)
”Never a child, madam, always a man,” he answered with a flirtatious smile. It was a role he played, a role he'd inhabited most of his life, and with pleasure, but now he wanted to smile in such fas.h.i.+on at London alone. He would only fulfill the promise of his smile with her. Still, the Nereids didn't know that. He hoped London did.
Urging her dolphin to swim a little closer to the caique, the diadem-wearing sea nymph stared up at Bennett with heavy-lidded eyes. ”How do we know your intentions at the Black Temple are honorable?”
”You've but my word. And I don't give it lightly.”
”Is there anything you do do give lightly?” asked the Nereid. ”A kiss, perhaps?” give lightly?” asked the Nereid. ”A kiss, perhaps?”
Bennett thought he heard London's growl. A tigress. Oh, he had such plans for her later. For now, though, he had to concern himself with these rather trying nymphs. He used to like the game of seduction. Now, he was impatient, wanting to be finished so they could go about their business, so he could be alone with London.
”My kisses are given to only one woman,” Bennett said, and he was glad of it.
”A pity,” sighed the Nereid with the earrings. ”What of your handsome friend? He sings well.” She looked at Kallas.
The captain flushed, then cast a glance at Athena. The witch turned away, feigning interest in the grain of the wooden deck. Kallas seemed to wait for an objection from her, but she said nothing.
”Kallas men leave women sighing in ports across the sea,” the captain said, turning back to the Nereid.
At once, the Nereids began to chatter amongst themselves, some kind of heated debate. It reached a crescendo, then the sea nymph in the diadem silenced her sisters with a wave of her hand. Her sisters looked supremely irritated.
”It is decided,” she said, addressing Bennett and Kallas. ”I shall tell you how to find the Black Temple. But there is a price.”
”And that price is?” Bennett asked.
”A kiss for me, from each of you men.”
Shocked noises of outrage from both London and Athena as Bennett inwardly grimaced. Why must magical women have such a taste for mortal flesh?
The Nereid's green aquatic eyes moved over both Kallas and Bennett, a suggestive perusal. ”My sisters and I have met so few mortals that intrigue us, hardly any since Odysseus and Jason crossed these waters.”
”My heart belongs to another,” Bennett said.
The nymph dismissed this objection with a toss of her head. ”I ask not for your heart. Only your kiss.” She guided her dolphin closer to the caique, so that she was a foot away, and tilted up her face with regal expectation.
Before Bennett could respond, London muttered in English, ”It's all right. Kiss the b.l.o.o.d.y sea strumpet.”
With an inward sigh, knowing he hadn't a choice in the matter, Bennett leaned over the rail to place a quick, fraternal kiss on the Nereid's mouth. Her lips were cool, beaded with seawater. He tried to pull back, but the nymph's arms came up and locked behind his neck, almost tugging him overboard. Her kiss became more insistent, her tongue pus.h.i.+ng at the seam of his lips to force them open. It felt a little like kissing an amorous octopus.
Bennett managed to disentangle himself from the Nereid's arms and leaned back. He barely resisted the impulse to wipe his mouth on his sleeve as she pouted.
”Now, you,” the sea nymph commanded Kallas.
The captain did as he was ordered, but, with no word of protest from Athena, his partic.i.p.ation was a h.e.l.l of a lot more enthusiastic than Bennett's. The Nereid clutched at Kallas as they kissed deeply, and a flush crept over her body while her sisters sighed with envy.
While Kallas was so occupied, he didn't see Athena's fierce scowl. It looked as though she was on the verge of either planting a foot in the captain's behind or committing nymphicide. Bennett suspected it was extreme force of will, and dedication to the mission, that kept the witch from unleas.h.i.+ng her fury.
Finally, the Nereid released Kallas. The captain moved back, completely dazed.
”Delicious,” the nymph said. ”While your your kiss,” she said to Bennett, ”left much to be desired, they both revealed your inner truths regarding your intent for the Black Temple. I may disclose to you its location without fear.” kiss,” she said to Bennett, ”left much to be desired, they both revealed your inner truths regarding your intent for the Black Temple. I may disclose to you its location without fear.”
”Many thanks.” Bennett spoke because Kallas seemed incapable of rational thought. Kissing immortal maidens had that effect on most men.
”A day's sail north. Three islands shall you pa.s.s, each a fortress. The fourth is what you seek. The Black Temple is beneath the Black Temple. You must bring the Oracle's Daughter, else the secret shall burn you.”
Ah, another riddle. But it was one he and London would solve together.
From her sheltered spot at the bow, hidden by a large crate, London sat and watched the evening descend like a silken cloak. She had her knees curled up, her chin propped on her knees, her arms around her legs. Wind blew across her face with the scent of salt.w.a.ter and possibility. Athena had wrapped an herbal poultice around the wound on London's arm, so that its pain was hardly felt, the healing already commencing. There might be a faint scar, however.
Even if the symbol she had carved into her arm faded completely, she would never lose the mark upon her heart. How did one go on, knowing that her parent sought her death? She thought of Abraham and Isaac, the venerable patriarch willing to slay his son for the sake of his faith. Somehow, London's father had convinced himself that he must sacrifice her for the betterment of England, if not merely himself and his reputation. What if Isaac leapt up from the altar to s.n.a.t.c.h the knife from his father's hand? How would the world be different?
She was orphaned, never to see her mother again, and to her father she was dead. She could have nothing further to do with him. Or he must die. The thought made her shudder, even as she acknowledged the truth. Even though she had broken the Bloodseeker Spell, she was not free of her father, not free of the Heirs. Not until either she or her father were dead.
Which meant it had to be him. She had found love where none was expected. Her life now was far too precious to surrender without a fight.
London waited for Bennett to finish his s.h.i.+ft at the helm, unable to sit below. Tomorrow they would reach the Black Temple. Tomorrow might see their journey end, and how it was to end, she had no idea. Any number of possibilities ran through her mind, some wonderful, some terrible. It was not a night for confined s.p.a.ces. She needed the sea and the sky around her, almost as much as she needed Bennett. While she could not have one this very moment, she could have the others.
”Kallas, a word.”
London stiffened when she heard Athena's voice on the other side of the crate.
”What is it, witch?” The captain's voice was unusually restrained. Perhaps an aftereffect of kissing a Nereid.
For a moment, Athena was silent, and London could feel her friend's tension in that weighted silence. London debated as to whether or not to announce her presence, but the atmosphere between Kallas and Athena thickened with intimacy. If London let them know she was nearby, it might ruin the fragile moment. So London said nothing.
Finally, Athena asked, ”Do you have many memories of your childhood?”
If the question surprised the captain, he did not say so. ”Mostly of my father and his boat. Laughing. He laughed a lot. Showing me how to weigh anchor. The anchor was almost as big as I was, I nearly went over the side with it.”
”I have few memories of my youth.” Athena's voice was soft, ruminative. ”I was always in such a hurry to grow up. My mother and grandmother were good to me, but I wanted to be an adult as soon as I could and join them in the world of decision-makers. They warned me, Yaya and Mama, that I should enjoy the pleasures of childhood freedom. I never listened. In that way, I was like all Galanos women. Stubborn.”
”Headstrong,” Kallas corrected gently.
Athena's chuckle was rueful. ”I do have a particular recollection. A name day celebration at some friend's home. A boy my own age. There were sweets to eat, and I remember these two pieces of baklava, golden with honey and fragrant with walnuts and cinnamon. I stared at them for a long time, trying to decide which one I wanted. One of the pieces had more walnuts, the other, more honey. I just stared and stared, thinking, considering, unable to make up my mind.”
”Why not take them both?”
”That would have been greedy.”
”You were a child. Children are allowed to be greedy. I used to stuff myself sick on loukoumades loukoumades when we'd get to port, and my father let me. A treat and a lesson.” when we'd get to port, and my father let me. A treat and a lesson.”
”Even if my mother said it would have been all right, I wouldn't let myself.”
”So, which piece of baklava did you take?”
”Neither. I spent so much time deliberating and thinking, some girl ran up and grabbed both pieces for herself. I wound up with nothing.”
”I'll bring you as much baklava as you want when we get back to Piraeus.”
”Many thanks, but no. I did not tell you that story because I had a craving for baklava.”