Carnelian

by B. Kristin McMichael

  “Marcella Navina, will you marry me?” Seth asked. He wasn’t on one knee. He wasn’t holding a ring. But he was giving me the most sincere look I had ever seen from him. I could feel it in his stare and in the words. It hit me hard to realize this was not just a ploy to keep me safe. Seth truly wanted to marry me. In another lifetime, in another place, I would have had to think more, but that moment was just right. I knew exactly why the goddess sent Seth to find me. We were just meant to be.

  “Yes,” I replied.

  After we told his father that I agreed, Seth and I went back to the tent to sleep for the night. It was a good thing, too, as I was getting more and more sleepy. Time travel was more exhausting than I thought it would be, or it had been the hours across the desert for all I knew. While I was exhausted, Seth told me he would sit with me until I fell asleep. There was something else about celebrating with his men, but I was too tired to care. I was happy to just close my eyes and drift off until morning.

  “This means we can be together forever?” I asked him, as I sleepily curled in his arms.

  “Yes, Mari. I’ll never let you go,” Seth replied into my drowsy ears. His touch was the last straw to staying awake. As he caressed my face, I drifted off for my first night in the past.

  Chapter 14

  Going Back Home

  When I finally woke the next morning, my head was pounding and my eyes were glued shut from sleep. Alcohol was not my friend. I remembered I was in the past and remembered the night before. The beer must have been stronger than I thought it was, and the ground felt rougher. I tried to sit up as the world bounced beneath me. Yep, I really drank too much or maybe the beer was stronger than Seth said. I was a lightweight after all, as my experience with alcohol was very limited. I wondered how Seth was faring, since he probably had a lot more while celebrating last night.

  “I think she’s waking,” said a familiar voice, but it wasn’t Seth. I immediately tried to push myself up and found my hands were bound together. Using my forearm, I rubbed my eyes to get the sleep out of them. Opening them I regretted what I saw: desert, making way into rocky cliffs, and only three men as company, not an army. It was already dusk as we entered hills leading to who knows where.

  “We need to stop,” the voice said from the other side of the donkey I was slung across.

  The man leading the donkey grumbled something, but did as the first one asked. The first man easily lifted me off the donkey and stood me on shaky legs. When he pulled back a few feet to see if I was steady, I saw his face.

  “You traitor, Dee,” I went to say before he silenced me with a hard stare. This was not the Dee I met in the future. While that Dee was not always happy, he was never outright mean. I don’t think I even saw a serious look from him in the months I knew him.

  “Here is some water,” Dee said, handing me a bag. “Take small sips.”

  My mouth was terribly dry, and I gulped down the water despite his warning. I regretted it immediately as I felt it come back up. I fell to my knees and puked. When I was done, Dee had a hand out, waiting to help me stand. I knocked his hand away and pushed myself up on my bound arms. I glared at Dee as the other two men joined him.

  The man in front was olive skinned like Dee. His clothing matched Dee’s and the man behind us, all three from the military. I looked closer at the man and couldn’t tell who or where he was from. These men I assumed had been in the Egyptian army camp, but I had no idea which group they had been from as I had passed too many faces on our walk to the general’s tent.

  “We should go a little further,” the man behind said. His voice was higher than I expected for a guy almost Dee’s size. His skin was darker brown than Dee’s olive skin and his eyes just as dark. He wouldn’t look directly at me, but kept referring to the man in the front. “The canyon up there will make nice cover for the night.”

  I looked into the sky, and it was already almost night-time. Whatever had been given me to knock me out was effective. I stood and waited to see what they planned to do next. Dee easily picked me up and placed me on the donkey. At least this time I got to ride sitting up. If he had thrown me across the back again on my stomach, I probably would have puked everything I just drank.

  The men continued their march into the hills, and I was left their captive. None of them spoke as they marched. After at least another hour or two, we finally stopped. When they deemed the spot good enough, they all broke to their duties without a word. I was left sitting on the donkey. It had been years since I had gone riding, but that didn’t matter much to me. With my hands bound, I slid off the donkey. I looked around. It was too dark to make my escape. I didn’t know where I was or why they even took me, but I was safer with them than without them for the moment. This was not my world, and no matter what harsh looks Dee gave me, I knew Dee. I trusted that I was safe with him at least physically.

  The men built a small fire and pulled out military rations. I was correct. The men were from the military camp. As they handed me some bread and dried meat, I sat down near the fire. It was sizzling as ever during the day, but the nights were colder than I expected them to be. I sat and watched the guys. The olive skinned one had shifty eyes and kept looking around the camp as if we were followed. I doubted that much as we were the only one for miles in the sand as we traveled that last hour. The dark skinned one just sat and stared at the fire, lost in his own thoughts. Dee stayed near me, but he didn’t look my direction at all. I sat with the three men in silence. When everyone was done eating, the dark-skinned man stood.

  “I’ll take the first watch,” Dee offered. The man nodded to Dee, and the olive-skinned one turned to me.

  “You will sleep there,” he pointed to the ground near Dee. He wasn’t a man for many words, therefore I’d do exactly what he said. He looked almost as menacing as the man across the fire. “Keep her tied to you. When we switch, we will tie her to the next person.” I looked across the fire to the last man with the shifty eyes. I had a feeling I didn’t want to be tied to him.

  “Keep watch for the others. They should arrive by morning, but they may be here at any time,” the man told Dee. Dee nodded.

  Dee tied my leg to his and sat down away from the fire a little. There was enough slack to let me sit near the fire while he sat back. I tucked my arms beneath my head, and I turned my back to the fire. I didn’t want to see the two other men. They worried me a little bit. None of the men had spoken yet to give me an idea of what they wanted, and I had no clue what they would to do to me. Dee sat and stared out into the darkness. I reached down under my dress and pulled a little at the line tied to me. It was safe to stay with Dee, but now knowing I’d be left alone and tied to either of the two other men, I was a little worried. I didn’t trust the other two men in the least.

  After an hour, I had the rope mostly untied. I didn’t fake sleep, I just laid and continued to stare at Dee. He was not watching me. In fact, he looked like he was trying not to look at me. Maybe he felt guilty for what he was doing. The fire was a bit lower, and I was sure the other men were asleep. One was already snoring loudly. I slipped my foot out of the rope. Dee didn’t even notice. I looked into the darkness for direction. I really had no clue where I was or where to go, but I had to leave. I had to be able to do better than being left alone with these men. My hand began to tingle. I glanced back into the darkness and knew exactly which direction to go.

  When Dee next stood to throw brush on the fire to keep it going, I took my chance. I ran fast from the makeshift camp toward Seth. It didn’t matter if I was running into a dark desert. It didn’t matter if it was maybe a crazy decision. Seth would protect me. A few feet into the darkness was enough for me to know I had done the right thing as Seth’s hand reached out and grabbed me.

  “Mari, don’t. It’s not safe out there,” Dee called into the darkness as he chased after me. The rustling behind me told me we were being followed as Seth led me away. The other two men shouted as they pursued Dee. All three men were following us. We
had to run to get away.

  We kept going for quite a while, walking and running in the darkness. It felt like we had walked in circles and back again, but we had to be sure we were safe. Soon the pursuers were no longer heard, but Seth kept leading me through different paths. We slowed our pace a little, but not much. Seth was familiar with the area it seemed, and it was a good enough night to have some moonlight to run by. As we rounded another corner into the canyon, we began walking up instead of down. I thought we were trying to make it back to the desert and Seth’s men. Up was not going to get us there.

  “Seth,” I said between breaths. “Where are we going?”

  “I have a hiding place we can go to not far away,” Seth replied, still leading me away.

  After a decent hike up the hillside, Seth took a new path. Good thing he knew where he was going, as I was completely lost by now. After many twists and turns, I viewed a crack of light. Seth led me toward it. It was faint as we drew near, but it was coming from inside the rock wall we were walking against. As we neared it, Seth pulled me inside the cave. After walking through the cave a little, the light grew brighter.

  Ty was sitting at a fire and jumped to his feet when he saw us. He examined me for any scrapes or bruises. After he was sure I was fine, he gave me a big hug.

  “Where’s Dee?” Ty asked as if Dee was part of their group, and not someone that had just kidnapped me.

  “We had to leave without him. I hadn’t signaled to him before Mari already knew I was there. I should have known she would have escaped somehow,” Seth replied. Ty looked worried about their friend who just kidnapped me the night before. “He knows enough to meet us here. We will give him a day to meet up, otherwise we will head back without him.” I looked between the two men.

  “Are you guys crazy? Why would we wait for him? He took me and god knows what they planned to do with me. Yes, I escaped because it wasn’t safe staying with those guys,” I complained, looking between the two men.

  Seth didn’t let go of my hand, and used that to pull me closer. He laughed a little, with relief and at my ranting.

  “Ty heard the slaves talking about how to keep the army from heading home. The longer we’re at war here, the longer we don’t fight against other enemies. That’s what he was telling me about. Dee joined them on my request to keep track of them, and I’m grateful he did,” Seth replied, looking me over for any marks now also.

  “Dee isn’t working with them?” I asked. I felt bad that I even doubted him. Seth, Ty, and Dee had gone to the future and back to save their country. Why did I think Dee would try to undo what they did?

  “No,” Seth pulled me close again. “We will wait one day for him and then we will go back to my father where it’s best to be. I promised you that I’d keep you safe. It’s here with my father now that we’ve flushed out the dissenters.”

  Seth pulled me down near the fire, and we sat near the warmth. Seth pulled my head down to his lap to be a pillow. I was really tired, and he could see that much. He stroked my head as he played with my hair.

  “We will go back to my home as soon as this war is done and be married. I plan to spend my life with you and show you my world. I’ve seen yours, now I can’t wait to show you mine.” Seth leaned down and kissed my temple.

  He sat for a little bit longer, just holding me before he began to talk with Ty. Seth and Ty talked softly, but I ignored them. I stared at the flames of the fire. I had no clue what I had gotten into, but Seth was right. He was always there to save me.

  Before I knew it, dawn came. I don’t know if I dozed off or just vegged out, but the sun on the horizon was noticeable from our spot. We waited in the cave while the sun rose and then turned to noon and afternoon. Dee didn’t come. Ty and Seth anxiously waited for our friend. I didn’t think before I left whether he would be punished, but now I realized he might have been in trouble for letting me get away. I should not have doubted Dee. He was Seth’s best friend. As we ate the meager supper Seth and Ty had brought, Ty stood outside the cave and looked for Dee.

  “He’s here,” Ty called from the mouth of the cave.

  Dee stumbled into the small space behind Ty. He was wheezing for breath as he tried to talk. He apparently had been running for quite some time to get to us. I didn’t even know how far away this cave was after the circled run around the hillsides last night in the dark.

  “We can’t leave,” Dee finally said. “There are at least fifty slaves out in the canyon looking for Mari. She was our bargaining ticket. We can’t make it out of here without them giving chase.”

  Ty shrugged. “We stay here until they leave or the general sends men to find Seti. You know he completely trusts Seti, but he’s a bit overbearing and always doesn’t let him get too far away for too long.”

  “And then what will you do if they find us in the mean time?” Dee asked. “They are running around this hill right now as we talk.” Outside the cave we heard voices. Dee looked at us as he moved back outside the cave. “They want Mari. They won’t hesitate to kill you or Seti if they can have her. We need to go further into the cave.”

  Seth took my hand, and we followed Ty into the darkness of the cave. Dee took the rear and kept a look out for our pursuers. I didn’t think it was exactly safe to wander around a cave, but the chance of Ty, Dee, and Seth fighting over fifty men and surviving didn’t sound good either. We had to make a choice between two bad choices. Seth’s time was turning out to be harder than I thought it would be.

  My hand pulsed, and I stopped walking. It was a message from the goddess. I knew it.

  “Mari, what?” Seth asked, stopping alongside me.

  “Didn’t you go to some cave to pray to the goddess?” I asked. Ty stopped and turned around, our faces only lit by the fire.

  “Yes, why?” Seth asked.

  “My hand is pulsing. Maybe it’s our way out of here, or there might be a stone to the goddess that way,” I pointed in a direction away from where Ty was leading us. Ty looked to Seth. Seth nodded, and off we went through the cave. I didn’t know why we needed to go that way, but we did.

  I heard voices behind us. Men had entered and were following us in the caves. I didn’t know if they were following us deeper into the cave, but we couldn’t be sure where they were because the sound echoed. We had to keep going to stay safe. I directed the guys, and we turned a few more times. When we reached a dead end, all of the guys stopped first. It looked like an ordinary cavern to me, just like the last one we passed through, but to them it wasn’t. The voices were still behind us and we couldn’t afford to stop. I had no idea what the guys were all doing. Seth moved over to a spot on the floor and bent down. He picked up a stone at the same time as Ty and Dee did as well. Each guy held a stone in their own hands.

  “How’d you know to lead us here?” Ty asked.

  “I don’t know,” I replied. The voices behind us echoed as they got closer. The three guys all looked around the cave in awe. They had absolutely been there before. Déjà vu was written all over their faces.

  “I don’t doubt the goddess on this one,” Seth answered. “I think we’re supposed to go back to your time. I don’t know why she would want us there again, but I think that’s exactly what she wants.”

  “I agree,” Ty and Dee each replied.

  “You really want to go back now that your father has said we can stay together?” I asked, turning to Seth. We couldn’t be sure the people were actually following us since the caves echoed voices in general, and jumping to the future seemed like a rash decision.

  “Mari, it doesn’t matter where I go or what time I’m in, as long as I’m with you. All I want is to spend my life with you, here, there, wherever we find ourselves,” Seth wrapped his arm around me as he spoke. Tipping my head back, he kissed me and then smiled as he pulled back that he had convinced me easily. I didn’t want to admit it, but his words did convince me. “I’ll keep you safe forever, just let me stay by your side.”

  “Fine,” I replied, pre
tending that it wasn’t that easy to get me to do something with just a kiss. If we needed to go back to my time, then we would. The guys were probably right. The goddess wouldn’t have led us to this spot unless we were to do something.

  Ty and Dee exchanged glances, and finally Dee came up to me. Maybe he had a second thought about going to the future with someone who didn’t believe him.

  “Dee,” I said quietly. “Sorry I called you a traitor.”

  “That doesn’t matter now. What matters is that you need to get out of here,” Dee replied. “They are specifically looking for you, and I know I can’t protect you once they have you. It would be fifty against one.”

  “We all need to get out of here,” I corrected, trying to be sure he knew that I wanted him there with us.

  “And there’s only one way for us all to get out,” Dee replied. He took my hand and placed a cool, round object in it before closing my hand around it. I went to look at it, but he was already talking. “Guys, I’m going to leave and try to stall them. We don’t know how long it will take for you to go back through time, and you might need the extra time stalling if they decided to come this way.”

  “You can’t,” I replied. We were all meant to go together. If they found out he was betraying them… I doubt it would end well for him.

  Ty and Seth didn’t seem to see the danger in it, or they weighed their options and decided it was best that Dee protect us. Seth nodded and grasped Dee’s arm. They didn’t say anything, just nodded. Ty did the same to Dee. Dee smiled at me and grabbed the makeshift torch.

  “Stay safe, Mari. I don’t think we even know the beginning of why we were sent to find you,” Dee told me before he turned to go. If Ty and Seth wouldn’t stop him, I doubted I could. I reached forward and grabbed his arm before he could go.