The Uncharted Series Omnibus

by Keely Brooke Keith

  The return of Mandy’s temper exacerbated his frustration. He stood in response to her challenging demeanor but kept his voice low. “I have gone to great lengths to protect you, and I will continue to do so.”

  “For how long, Levi?”

  “Until Felix and Harvey return.”

  “And what if they don’t?”

  “They will.” He pushed his hand through his hair. Though she was no longer intentionally provocative, she had not lost the ability to move him. “And when they do, I want to know you are somewhere safe. We have to stay prepared.”

  “By making me hide for the rest of my life?” Mandy’s volume increased, giving her voice its old, familiar fullness. “I’m a person, Levi. You cannot expect me to remain locked away all the time. I feel caged by all the doors and locks and guards. I haven’t forgotten what happened to me. I think about it every second of the day, but I cannot live like this any more!”

  “I just want to protect you.”

  “You want to control me!”

  Levi opened his mouth to form an angry response, but he stopped himself and bit back his words. He turned to the door and took a steadying breath, hoping to settle his nerves. He was tired and frustrated, and he did not want to fight with her. He remembered how broken she was after the attack—he had wanted her restored and strengthened. Somehow he had forgotten with her strength came a fiery independence. He loved her—even the fervor embedded in her nature—but he did not see how he could protect her without her cooperation. He rubbed the back of his tired neck as he turned to her. “I want to keep you safe. If I’m trying to control you, it’s only for your own good.”

  Mandy narrowed her eyes. “It’s not your place.”

  Her words stung, and he tried to conceal his hurt. No matter how he felt, it was true: she was not his to protect. “You’re right, Amanda… you are still under your father’s protection—he is responsible for you. I wanted you healed, and now that you are, you no longer need me.”

  Mandy looked down and pressed her thin fingers into her forehead. A few stray curls fell forward. Then she dropped her hands and looked at Levi. “That’s not true. I do need you.”

  Levi’s pulse pounded in his throat. He swallowed hard and stepped closer to her. He watched her face, waiting for some sign she needed him—not for protection—but because she loved him. He stood near her in the dimly lit shed, overwhelmed with the need to hear words from a woman he used to wish would be silent. The low light of the lantern barely illumined her, and the anger had dissipated from her face.

  Her voice sounded soft again. “I have not forgotten what you did for me. You saved my life. I could never repay you.”

  “Repay me?” Levi blew out a breath. “Is that all that’s between us—your gratitude?”

  Mandy flinched and Levi immediately regretted his tone, but he wanted more from her. He had declared his love for her once and she had rejected him. He would not do it again unless he had some assurance from her that it was what she wanted. When she did not answer, he took a step closer. “Should I assume your silence means your friendship is only an attempt to repay me for saving you? How about the time we spent working in my house? That felt right, Mandy. It felt right having you there with me. Is there nothing more between us?”

  “Of course there is.”

  “Then say it.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Yes, you can.”

  “What do you want to hear? That you’re the only man who knows my secret? That you have the power to shame me and my family in front of the whole village? You promised you would never bring that up. You promised, Levi!”

  “And I’m not bringing it up now.”

  “But that’s what you mean, isn’t it? I’m a whore! I’m a whore and I have to live alone the rest of my life because of it. Well, I’ve accepted God’s forgiveness and I’ve made peace with the life I have to live, but I don’t need you reminding me that my secret lies between us.”

  “That’s not what I meant at all.”

  “I know you’ve taken on the burden of watching over me as a favor to my father, but I don’t need your protection if it’s going to cost me my dignity.”

  “Your dignity?”

  “Yes.” Mandy pointed her proud chin toward the door. “I’ve healed from what happened and I’m determined to carry on, but you want to keep reminding me—”

  “Only of the danger you are in, not of your past. I want to forget that as much as you do.”

  “So it does bother you then?”

  “Of course it does.” As soon as he said it, Levi knew he had been trapped by her captious question, but it was too late to take it back. He looked away and raked his fingers through his hair. After a moment of icy silence, he blew out the lantern then walked out of the shed and waited by the door for Mandy to come out. “It’s time to go inside.”

  After she moved past him, he closed the door and lowered the latch into place. Even in the dark of night, he could feel her anger. He put his hands into his pockets and kept his eyes on the house as he walked toward it.

  Mandy walked beside him and, after a few steps, he felt her hand slip beneath his arm. She was still more frightened in the dark than she had admitted. The dignity she had claimed only moments before had already crumbled. Somehow it was his fault. Now she was touching him. Though her vicissitude left him reeling, her gestures were no longer the obviously flirtatious actions they used to be. He respected her for it, but her subtlety only left him confounded.

  When they got to the house, Levi held the back door open for Mandy. His father and Samuel were sitting at the kitchen table discussing the satellite debris with Connor. Mandy moved straight through the kitchen and into the parlor. Connor glanced at Levi, then Mandy, then back at Levi. Levi caught Connor’s questioning expression and held up a finger to let him know he would be right back. He stepped through the kitchen and looked into the parlor as he walked to the stairs. Bethany, Everett, and Lydia were reclined on the rug playing cards, while Isabella sat in her chair nearby. Mandy had already curled up next to her brother and appeared unaffected by what had happened in the shed. Levi caught Lydia’s eye, then he climbed the stairs, taking the steps two at a time.

  Levi rounded the upstairs landing and walked down the hallway and into his bedroom. He closed the door behind him with more force than he intended. He needed to change his sand-caked shirt and go back downstairs where the men were discussing the satellite debris, but the argument with Mandy repeated in his mind and distracted him. He tried to focus on the routine task of changing clothes and stepped to his dresser to retrieve a clean shirt. As he did, he imagined Mandy in the shed—first pleasant, then bellicose, then silent—and wondered how any man could keep up with such volatility. He slipped his arms into the sleeves of the fresh shirt and sat on the edge of his bed while he buttoned it. As he reached down to remove his shoes, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He glared at the door. “What?”

  The door opened a few inches and Lydia tilted her head into view. “I thought you looked upset when you passed through the parlor. Are you all right?”

  “No.”

  Lydia stepped into the room, leaving the door cracked slightly. He pointed to it and Lydia closed the door all the way.

  “I thought something had changed between me and Mandy, but I was wrong. I don’t know what she wants.” Levi looked at his hands as he spoke. He rubbed the scar on his palm with the thumb of the other hand. Whenever he looked at it, he thought of Mandy. “She came out to the shed to see the debris and we got in an argument.”

  When Lydia did not respond, Levi looked up at her and saw his sister was smiling. His problem was not funny. “Are you amused by my agony?”

  “Levi, she didn’t go out to the shed to see the debris—she went out there to see you.” Lydia sat beside him on the bed. “If you knew Mandy loved you, would you give her a second chance?”

  Levi snapped his head toward his sister. “If you know something, you must
tell me.”

  “I cannot tell you anything.” She spoke slowly as if giving a secret message. “Just answer the question: if you knew she loved you, would you give her a second chance?”

  “If I knew she loved me?”

  “Yes. If you knew she loved you, would you court her?”

  “No.”

  Lydia drew her head back. “No?”

  “No—if I knew she loved me, I would marry her.” He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “But she doesn’t want that. After the attack, she said she never wants to be desired by any man ever again. Then things changed between us—we started responding to each other differently. We worked together yesterday—in my house, hanging cabinet doors—and I loved every minute of it. I can honestly say that was the best day of my life. I was awake all night thinking about it… thinking about her. I thought something new had formed between us, but I was wrong. She is just grateful I saved her and she thinks I’m protecting her to help her father.”

  “You cannot give up on her so easily.” Lydia’s smile returned.

  “Don’t encourage me with encrypted signals.” He chuckled out of frustration rather than amusement. “I don’t need another woman trying to confuse me.”

  “Then I will advise you plainly: if you don’t know what she wants—and you truly love her—you must ask her.” Lydia stood and walked to the door. Before she opened it she glanced over her shoulder at him. “I am bound by friendship to remain silent about her feelings, and she is bound by tradition. You are the only one who is silent by choice. Perhaps you should rethink that choice.”

  * * *

  After Lydia left the room, Levi sat motionless on the edge the bed. He would have no peace while his mind churned as it did. He was in love—beyond intrigue—with a woman who claimed she did not want to be loved. She had said so herself, but he no longer believed her.

  He thought about Lydia’s insinuation that the choice was his. He certainly did not feel like he had a choice in the matter. If Mandy loved him but was disregarding her feelings, his choices seemed limited. Lydia had said Mandy was bound by tradition. He wondered what that meant. He could not imagine why she would forgo his affection if she felt the same way, unless she believed he would not have her because of her past. Though the traditions of the Land dictated he should shun her, he would not reject her. Surely Mandy knew he would never reject her. If she did not know, he understood how that fear could compel her to silence.

  The realization sent a sudden jolt through his core. He stood to pace the small bedroom that he had slept in his entire life. He did not care about any tradition that would keep him from the woman he loved or that would cause her shame. She had confessed and changed—he could think of no further demand any tradition should place on a person. She had said no good man would have her now, but he would—and not conciliatorily to avert a life alone, but with the honor of redeeming a precious treasure.

  In his mind Levi answered Lydia’s question again—if Mandy loved him, yes, he would indeed give her a second chance. But first he would have to find a way to marry her without the village’s tradition exposing her past and shaming her family. He charged out of his room, renewed in hope, and shuffled down the stairs into the empty parlor. Confused by the vacant room, Levi stepped into the kitchen. Connor stood at the stove drawing a ladle full of stew from a large pot. The back door was closed.

  Levi walked to the stove. “Where is everyone?”

  Connor emptied the ladle into a bowl. He held the bowl of stew out to Levi. “The Fosters went home. Someone needed Lydia, and since I hadn’t eaten yet, your dad was kind enough to go with her to her office. Bethany and Isabella went to their rooms, last I knew. What’s up?”

  “I wanted to be in on your meeting with my father and Samuel, but it looks like I’m too late.” Levi accepted the bowl of stew. Connor picked up another bowl for himself then filled it and went to the table.

  Levi had not realized how hungry he was until he began to eat. As the nutrients replenished his energy, he thought of his day’s work. He lifted his chin toward Connor. “So what did my father and Samuel have to say about the debris?”

  “Not much. They were hoping I had the answers, but I haven’t come to any conclusions yet.” Connor leaned back in his chair and picked up his water glass. He took a drink and lowered the glass to the table but did not let it go. His usual positive demeanor clouded over when he spoke of the potential the threat of the outside world. He scowled at the glass and swirled the water around and around as he formed his thoughts. “I mentioned the coincidence that part of a satellite landed in the exact spot at the exact time of the year I landed here and the founders’ ship ran ashore here.”

  “What did they think of it?”

  “Your dad was concerned, but he agreed that’s all it is at this point—a coincidence.” Connor set the glass down. “I still believe there is some kind of atmospheric phenomenon that makes the Land undetectable to the outside world. That’s my best guess simply because as an aviator I flew over the South Atlantic Ocean many times and never saw land here. The Land is not visible on satellite images or apparently by search crews. I know the Unified States Navy would have searched for me after the jet crash, but we never saw any of that activity from here. Still, undetectable doesn’t mean impermeable. I’ve considered the possibility that whatever protects the Land is weakened somehow at the equinox, but that can’t be confirmed by only three arrivals in seven generations. And all three entries were in March—the autumn equinox here on the Southern Hemisphere—so that makes me wonder if the earth’s orbital position matters also.”

  Levi kept eating while he listened. He was amazed he had learned enough from Connor in two years to follow what he said.

  Connor leaned his elbows on the table and rubbed his thumbs across his brow. “I want to be able to say confidently what is happening and how we can protect this place, but all I can do is speculate. I still chart the stars every clear night, and by the patterns during the last two years I’m certain the atmosphere over the Land is altered, but how and why—I can’t say. It’s like there is a protective bubble over this place—or at least I really want there to be. I’ve lived out there. The world war made the planet almost unlivable two years ago. I can’t imagine what life is like out there now. But I promise you this: we don’t want whatever is out there coming in here.” He sighed and dropped his hands to the table’s edge. “This place is my home now. I have a wife and we’re trying to start a family. Believe me, I want to have the answers for the elders… more than answers, I want to have a plan to protect the Land.”

  Levi pushed his empty soup bowl away and drummed his fingers on the table. He understood the threat brought by the fallen debris but had no idea what they could do about it. He trusted his brother-in-law’s judgment and would agree to whatever Connor decided in the matter. “What kind of a plan do you have in mind?”

  “That’s just it, if a sailboat runs ashore with a few guys on it, I think we can manage—depending on their weaponry and attitudes. But if an aircraft carrier with a crew of five thousand pulls up ready to take over…” He raised both hands.

  “Do you think either of those scenarios is likely?”

  Connor shrugged. “I truly believe the Land is undetectable. The founders were on the only vessel ever to arrive by sea, and that was a total accident. But if another vessel was positioned in the right place, at the right time, maybe it could run aground here too.”

  “What could we do to defend the Land?”

  Connor shifted in his chair then grinned confidently. “I know what you would want to do.”

  “Fight?” Levi chuckled. “Yes, but even I know when I’m outnumbered.”

  “Your dad wants a plan that begins with diplomatic attempts.”

  “Of course he does.” Levi smirked.

  Connor lifted a finger. “He’s a peacemaker. That’s just his nature.”

  Levi’s stomach drew into a tight knot. “His peaceful nature k
illed my mother.”

  “No, Felix killed your mother.”

  “My father did nothing about it.”

  Connor raised a palm. “He says he regrets it.”

  “That’s not good enough.”

  “He has apologized to you. What else do you want him to do?”

  “There’s nothing he could do to make me forgive him.” Levi looked away. He wished he could be like Connor and everyone else and see his father as a noble widower—a good man who lost his wife, but he could not let it go, and he was tired of talking about it. He leaned back in his chair. “So what if someone from the outside world did find the Land? What do you think we should do?”

  Connor looked at his water glass. “In the case of a large scale invasion, my first thought is to have an evacuation plan for the whole village.”

  “Where would we go? Inland?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know how reasonable it is to ask seventy families to load up their wagons and drive their livestock toward the mountains. Then there are all the other villages to consider. Even if Good Springs is the point of entry for the Land, modern land vehicles could make it all the way to Southpoint or Northcrest in a few hours. The enemy would get to the other villages before we could warn everyone.”

  Levi shook his head. “Very few people in Good Springs understand how you got here and what the outside world is like. You saw the looks on the people’s faces today when you told them not to touch the space debris. That’s how they would look at you if you told them to load up their families and leave their homes.” Levi imagined it and leaned forward. “Especially if you mention going toward the mountains. People are afraid of the mountains.”

  “Because of Felix?”

  “No. Felix’s ancestors were sent west—or so the story goes. Father says they settled somewhere near the mountains, but they didn’t cross the mountains. Obviously, they live somewhere out there. I have never stopped Felix to ask him where exactly. But even before Felix attacked, people were afraid of the mountains. I always heard no one has gone over them and returned to tell about it.”