GABRIEL (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 4)

by Marilyn Campbell

  "Rebekah, I want to help you, if I can. Do you understand why you have been brought here?"

  "Oh, yes. I have been tutored on many things since I have been here so that I will not displease the gods or King Jupiter during the ceremony. I must do everything that I am told and I must not cry or make noise of any kind, even if something hurts."

  She sniffled. "Being a virgin sacrifice is a very great honor. You see, I am a woman now and only little girls cry." Her voice cracked, and she sniffled again. "The first part of the ceremony does not seem so bad, but I have very bad dreams about the second. I am most afraid that I will cry out and shame my family."

  Shara desperately wanted to reach through the little door and pull Rebekah out so she could give her the hug she obviously needed, then run off with her. "Your parents would never be ashamed of you, no matter what you did, and they do not consider losing you an honor. I promised them I would try to save you but I need your help. Do they allow you out of here at all?"

  Rebekah shook her head. "I will only be taken from here on the seventh eve."

  "Have you been told anything about the ceremony? You mentioned two parts."

  "Do you really think you might save me?" Rebekah asked, hope brightening her features.

  "If I have to fight the king himself, little one."

  That made her smile. "I was told that when the seventh sun of the gathering sets, I will be taken to the court and placed on the altar before the statue of Poseidon. I am to make my body ready for King Jupiter while the nine princes castrate the bulls they have brought to sacrifice to Poseidon. Then each one drinks a cup of their animal's blood that pours from the wound so that the bull's power flows into its master. Then the king will take my virginity."

  Shara tried not to react but Rebekah saw her concern.

  "It will not be too bad," she reassured Shara. "A man and woman have given me many lessons in how to prepare myself and how to please the king. I am not afraid of that." Her little mouth twisted back and forth. "Well, not too afraid. But I do not believe that what he will do to me will end my life. That is left to his bull."

  Shara felt the meal she had eaten churning in her stomach and fought down the nausea. "I'm sorry to ask you to speak about it, Rebekah, but I need to know as much as possible if I'm to be of any help."

  "I understand. When the king is finished with me, each of the nine princes will take pleasure from my body. Then I will be put into the pit with the last bull—the one that belongs to the king. It will already be upset by its confinement in the pit. My virgin blood should excite it even more. I must not make it too easy for the bull to take my life. If God is pleased by how I behave with the nobility and the bull, He will make sure I pass on the first time I am gored by the beast's horn. I pray that is the way it will be because after the sand passes from the top to the bottom of the timing vase, the pit is set on fire and the bull and I will go to Poseidon together. The other nine bulls follow behind us. I know it is very childish but I am most afraid of the fire."

  The horror of the child's words was magnified by the fact that she had been told the gruesome details, so that she could dwell on it for days before her execution. The way she spoke of it however, told Shara that she was repeating the words, yet not fully connecting them with herself.

  No plan came to mind immediately but she hadn't had a plan to get the hair samples either. Now she understood why none of the higher nobility came for her spell. They couldn't promise to abstain from sex for a week when they had to perform in two nights before an audience. Perhaps circumstances would simply work themselves out again. In the meantime, she would stay as near to the girl as possible and take advantage of the first opportunity that came along to free her.

  "All right, Rebekah. I will do whatever I can. I have a friend named Gabriel who might be able to help also. He's a very tall, handsome man with light hair. You can trust him. Go on back to sleep now. I'll try to talk to you again tomorrow."

  She closed the pass-through door and went to the mat Odette had pointed out. The urge to lie down and close her eyes was difficult to resist but the lure of testing the hair samples helped give her the impetus she needed to stay awake a little longer. She got out her microputer and the samples and went to work.

  Right after beginning her work, she felt another sharp pain in her head that slowly settled into a throbbing ache. Once the pain lessened, she realized it wasn't her head that was hurting. It was Gabriel's.

  Gabriel? What's wrong? She felt his mind clearing and opening to hers and she helped him block the pain.

  I made a mistake.

  I don't understand.

  Gabriel abruptly remembered why he had erred. Sweetling, are you all right? Did that cretin hurt you?

  She smiled as his sincere concern flooded through her. I'm fine. I talked him into a week of celibacy instead. He was so pleased with my sorcery, he recommended me to his friends.

  I don't like you taking such risks! With effort, he stopped himself from lecturing her. Any matches?

  No, but I haven't tested them all yet. Why does your head hurt so bad?

  When I thought you were in trouble, I tried to get back to you. As near as I can figure, that soldier was an expert with a rock and slingshot. Got me in the base of the skull with one try. I've been out for hours.

  Where are you now?

  He sat up and looked around, careful not to move his head too quickly. Holy stars! Can you see what I see?

  Shara closed her eyes and concentrated on seeing through his. He was in a large field, cleared of all trees, and at least a thousand other men were lying on the ground around him. The moon appeared to be a giant spotlight placed in the universe for the sole purpose of illuminating Jupiter's nearly completed monument—a pyramid of gigantic proportions.

  That one's larger than the House of Spiritual Renewal in Innerworld, Shara thought.

  And all the pyramids in Outerworld's Egypt put together, Gabriel added.

  Shara recalled what both Jarad and Odette had said about the monument. Gabriel, the slaves working there are beaten and killed. You've seen the monument. Now get back here.

  He asked Beauty to give him directions and distance to Poseidon's temple. I'm only about a kilometer away, just outside the royal city walls. But that's not the problem. My ankles are chained to the men's ankles next to me and they're chained to the men beside them and so on. It looks like I'm here for the night.

  Dear heavens! What are you going to do?

  I'll let you know as soon as I figure it out. Just stand by in case I need to borrow your power of suggestion. For now, though, why don't you finish your tests so we can both get out of here as soon as I'm free? Beauty is picking up severe ground disturbances all over the continent.

  He stayed with her mentally while she checked the rest of the hair samples and felt her disappointment grow with each failure. When she was finished, she had checked off all but seven names on the list Misha had given them, the most notable of those being Poseidon. She had no idea how many other names he had not told them or how many of the ones left had remained among the nobility. There was also the possibility that the two descendants she was looking for were among the women, since she hadn't gotten samples from any of them yet.

  One more day, Shara. That's it. Gabriel sensed her pulling away. What is it? You may as well tell me.

  I saw Rebekah.

  He knew he wasn't going to like this. And?

  She's just a little girl! She's acting very brave but she's terrified. She let him know what Rebekah had told her.

  He was sickened by the account but it didn't change his attitude. You know how I feel about this.

  Yes, I do, and you know how I feel. I'll help her escape if I can, without your assistance. She lay down on the mat and mentally turned away from him.

  Gabriel started to do the same but the movement caused a wave of dizziness to wash over him.

  Are you going to be all right? Shara asked instantly.

  Gabriel figur
ed out how to position his head on the ground for the least discomfort. I'll live. I'm just not up to an argument with you tonight.

  She sighed. Neither am I.

  I could really use that massage you promised me. He could feel her smiling and it made him feel somewhat better.

  You'll have to come back to me to get it.

  May I at least have a kiss good night, then?

  Shara needed no further encouragement to set aside their difference of opinion for another night. In her mind she pictured them as they had been the last morning on the ship from Norona and invited him to remember with her.

  She imagined bringing his face closer to hers and pressing their lips together. Mentally, her hands roamed over the body she now knew as well as her own. She felt his body hardening as his mouth moved to her breast and her desire for him swiftly ignited.

  Take me inside of you, sweetling. That's it. Hold me tight.

  Yes! I can feel you.

  Sensations of dreamy pleasure floated back and forth between their minds, carrying them out of their physical bodies to a shimmering place they had never been before. They hovered there together and discovered the unique sense of oneness that could only come from a spiritual and mental joining. Their release came not in a burst of physical energy but in gentle waves of peace and contentment.

  Shara drifted off to sleep, feeling his arms wrapped protectively around her.

  Gabriel gazed up at the stars. He couldn't sleep after such an incredible experience. Having sought solitude for so long, it was extremely difficult to believe how sweet it was not to be alone anymore. He didn't understand how it had happened, but Shara was now as much a vital part of him as his own heart. As far as he was concerned, it no longer mattered that they had not willingly joined. He needed her in his life and he wanted to remain a part of hers.

  But he knew she was still holding certain thoughts back from him. Was it simply that he sensed her continued intention to alter history regardless of everything he'd said or was it more? Did she still harbor an underlying resentment for having her romantic dreams destroyed?

  He couldn't change the fact that they were joined in such an unusual manner, and he would never allow her to interfere with history, so there didn't seem to be any way to convince her to open herself to him as fully as he wanted her to.

  Until she did that, he couldn't shed the gnawing fear that she would one day leave him and he would be forced to return to his silent, lonely world again.

  The rising sun was accompanied by the rattle of chains as the slaves were roused. Gabriel was very relieved to discover that the chains were unlocked so they could move about somewhat freely. He discarded the serving robe and rewrapped the material of his tunic around his hips in the same manner as the other slaves. His paralyzer rod and Beauty were neatly concealed, yet accessible.

  Breakfast was a bowlful of gray, tasteless mush and a cup of water but his empty stomach and parched throat were grateful nonetheless.

  The ache in his head was impossible to ignore, though the painful stiffness in his muscles distracted him a bit. He hoped Shara stayed asleep until he got control of the pain on his own.

  A loud crack sounded behind him, and Gabriel turned to see a soldier holding a long whip. All the men around him instantly hurried toward the monument. The second it took Gabriel to comprehend cost him. Before he could start after the others, the soldier cracked the whip again, only this time it landed across Gabriel's back.

  Shara awoke with a jerk. The burning pain across her shoulders brought tears to her eyes. Gabriel?

  Gabriel blocked his pain from her and assured her he was fine as the soldier ordered him to stop.

  "You are new here, are you not?" he asked Gabriel.

  "Yes. I was just reassigned," he replied, humbly bowing his head.

  "The first crack of the whip orders you to get to work. Quickly. If it is necessary to strike you again, I will not be so gentle. You appear to be strong. Go over there and help place the blocks."

  Gabriel followed his direction and was put to work with a crew of men. Their task began by tying four long ropes around a large block of marble. With twenty men pulling each rope, they hauled the block up the side of the pyramid on a ramp, the center of which was constructed of logs that rolled in place. The trick was for the men to balance themselves on the stationary sides of the ramp. Gabriel was given a pair of sandals with metal studs on the soles and shown how to use them to secure a foothold on the steep slant.

  Once they started up the ramp, no one man could afford to relax, let alone slip, without endangering everyone else, and the higher they climbed, the more precarious the trip became. Gabriel was afraid to use his levitation power with so many people involved, so he pulled his weight along with all the others. By the time they reached the top and pushed the block into place, Gabriel's muscles were vibrating from overexertion. They were given a short spell to catch their breath before going back down again.

  From that higher vantage point, he could see the royal citadel in the distance and he discreetly withdrew Beauty to get a recording to the entire area. It may only have been a kilometer away but it was all open space from the monument to the royal city, with a small army of soldiers in between.

  Escape was not going to be easy.

  The crew was cautiously descending the ramp when a rumbling sound warned of approaching danger. The ground quaked and the entire monument trembled. The men on the ramp crouched down and hung on to the sides as the tremor ran its course.

  Suddenly one man lost his grip and tumbled off the edge. His screams pierced the rolling thunder as his body plummeted to the ground. When all vibration ceased, a soldier ordered that the slave's broken body be dumped into the new crevice that had opened in the ground not far from the base of the monument.

  * * *

  Shara had seen enough. Gabriel had to get away from there this second! She was about to order him to do so when Odette knelt down beside her and captured her attention. At the same time, she felt Gabriel preventing her from seeing any more of what was going on at the monument.

  "You are to come with me," the girl said. "Hurry."

  Be careful, Gabriel thought, reassuring her that he was not blocking her out of his mind completely.

  You just get yourself back here, she retorted. I'll be fine.

  Odette led Shara up endless flights of stone stairs and down a corridor to a richly appointed room. Seated on colorful pillows on the floor and lying on plush divans were a dozen noblewomen. Odette bowed and left the room, closing the door behind her.

  A petite, gray-haired woman sitting in the only chair in the room snapped her fingers at Shara. "Has no one trained you? Bow to your betters!"

  Shara imitated the low bow she had seen Ester and Jarad perform.

  "You may lift your head but do not rise. You are much too tall for a woman and I never look up at a slave."

  "Are you really a witch?" an adolescent girl with heavy kohl around her eyes asked.

  "Hush, Mirabel," scolded the elder. "I will determine the truth." To Shara she said, "Our menfolk could not pleasure their spouses last night because of a witch's spell. Was that your doing?"

  Shara tried to choose the answer that would get her in the least trouble. "My spell will increase their desire for their spouses a hundredfold but in order for it to work, the men must avoid all sexual activity for a time."

  The spokeswoman pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. She was clearly unconvinced.

  "Perhaps there is something I could do for you," Shara offered.

  The woman glanced at the others in her group then said, "We are bored this morning. Tell us our fortunes."

  Shara had the distinct feeling that this one woman could do her more harm than all the men she'd met last night, but it also seemed as though another key had just been handed to her. "I will need a hair from your head and the name of any ancestor of yours that arrived on Atlantis with Poseidon."

  Most of the women appeared excited by
the prospect of having their fortunes told but the eldest continued to look skeptical, even as she handed Shara a hair and said, "Penelope."

  Shara had already checked off that name but she knew she had to be convincing to this woman to get samples from the others.

  "I must communicate with the spirits in private for a moment," Shara said. "May I go behind that screen?" Given permission, she slipped behind the divider in the corner of the room and quickly ran a test on the hair as a double-check. No matches.

  Since Gabriel was first to construct a partial wall between them, she didn't feel all that guilty when she did the same thing to keep him from seeing exactly what she was doing. He had enough problems where he was without fearing for her safety as well.

  She came out and knelt at the older woman's feet. "The spirits told me of your great wisdom. They know you have not always been treated with the respect you deserve but they asked me to tell you to be patient awhile longer. What you deserve will be given to you before the next royal gathering."

  The woman was delighted and encouraged the rest of the noble ladies to cooperate. Shara stepped behind the screen each time she got another hair, tested it, then made up a vague fortune for each, based on their appearance and demeanor. One was told of a secret admirer, while another was warned of an accident to one of her limbs that could be avoided by taking care when she climbed stairs.

  In the end, they were all satisfied but Shara. She had eliminated three more names from her list, yet still had no match for Khameira or herself. The worst of it was that there were only four names of exiles left on Misha's list, but thirteen rebels' names remained on the original list recorded in the history texts. Added to that was the fact that most of the people on Atlantis did not survive to continue their line.

  She had no choice but to face the strong probability that she had missed some Friends at Zeus's commune. With the way her luck had gone on this mission thus far, if she had an ancestor among the rebels, it had to be one of the people she'd failed to test. On the other hand, considering the evil strain that ran through Poseidon's descendants on Atlantis, it seemed quite likely that Khameira was located somewhere farther down on his family tree.