“Kat, that’s awful! You can’t let them do that to you. You have to get away from them!” Liv leaned forward, wishing she could reach through the viewscreen and drag her friend to safety.
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” Kat protested. “But first we have to find this rare flower—it only grows in a certain part of Twin Moons.”
“Seriously?” Liv raised an eyebrow at her. “You can’t come home because you and Lock and Deep are going to go flower picking together?”
“We have to. It’s the only way to dissolve the bond.” Kat sighed. “We’re going to bring it back to Mother L’rin and she’s going to make some kind of special bond breaking medicine or something.”
“Well,” Sophie said doubtfully. “I guess if that’s the only way you can get free of them…”
“It is.” Kat ran a hand through her hair. “Look, I told you it sounded crazy, didn’t I? But I have no choice. And I swear as soon as I get the stupid bond dissolved I’ll be on my way back.”
“Well, if you have to, you have to.” Sophie sighed philosophically. “Just try not to take too long. You do realize I can’t plan my wedding without you.”
“Or my baby shower,” Liv put in.
Kat shook a finger at them. “You’d better not!”
“Of course not.” Liv smiled. “So how are things otherwise? Are Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee behaving themselves?”
Kat shook her head. “I just don’t know. Lock is a sweetheart, as always. But Deep…well, Deep is Deep. And I mean that both literally and figuratively.”
Sophie frowned. “Meaning what—that you two are still fighting?”
“We have what you could call an uneasy truce right now,” Kat said. She looked behind her and then leaned closer to the viewscreen and lowered her voice. “But I found something out about him. Something he did—”
“Kat,” a deep male voice said from somewhere off screen. “The ship leaves very soon. You need to hurry.”
“Just a minute!” Kat looked harassed. “We have to leave on the flower hunt tonight and the guys are waiting outside the shuttle so I can talk to you two privately. But I guess they’re getting impatient.”
“Forget about them,” Liv said. “Tell us what you found out. Is he an axe murderer? A gigolo?”
“No,” Sophie cut in. “She said it was something he did. What did he do, Kat? Was it awful?”
“Kat!” said the deep male voice again. “We have to go now.”
Kat sighed. “Sorry, I guess I’ll have to tell you later. But believe me, you will never guess in a million years. Love you both.” She blew kisses at the viewscreen and Liv and Sophie did the same.
“Kat, just tell us—” Liv started to say but then the viewscreen went blank as their friend’s picture flickered out.
“Crap!” Sophie sounded disappointed. “What do you suppose she was about to say? What did Deep do?”
“I have no idea.” Liv frowned. “But knowing him, I’m guessing it wasn’t random acts of kindness. I just hope Kat will be okay.”
Sophie looked troubled. “I hope so too.”
Liv gave her twin a comforting hug. “I’m sure she’ll be home soon and then we can get the scoop directly from the source.”
“I guess.” Sophie didn’t sound convinced. “But I think I’ll ask Sylvan what he knows about Deep…just in case.”
Liv nodded thoughtfully. “I’m going to grill Baird too. And we can compare notes later.”
She just hoped she didn’t find out anything too awful about the dark twin’s past. If Kat was already halfway bonded to him, there was no telling what might happen to their friend.
Chapter Seventeen
“So we’re actually going to sail to this continent place on a boat?” Kat eyed the green wooden boat with the pale pink sail doubtfully. It looked very picturesque rocking on the golden water—but not very safe. And despite living in Florida all her life, Kat had never learned to like sailing—she was always afraid she’d fall off whatever boat she was on, into shark-infested waters. “Why can’t we take the shuttle?” she asked Lock. “We could just fly there, find the fi-fi flower, and be back in a couple of hours.”
“It isn’t permitted to take advanced technology to the continent, my lady,” he said, shaking his head. “The natives who live there are very superstitious. They might take it for black magic and want to kill us for offending their gods.”
“Wait a minute—there are natives?” Kat’s heart skipped a beat.
“Angry, hostile natives.” Deep, who had been loading their gear spoke up.
“Not if you don’t antagonize them,” Lock said quickly. “And honestly, there aren’t that many of them. Hopefully we’ll be able to avoid them all together.”
Kat shook her head. “I don’t understand. Twin Moons seems like such a civilized place. How can you have a whole continent of superstitious savages?”
“It has to do with the genetic trade,” Lock explained. “When the Kindred first came to Twin Moons, hundreds of cycles ago, they introduced themselves to the inhabitants of the islands. There are over three hundred islands of different sizes and shapes in the archipelago, you know. Anyway, the Kindred made their trade with the islanders. Being fishermen, traders, and explorers, they were more open to new ideas and to change.”
“I get it.” Kat nodded. “So the islanders got all the technology and advances…”
“Not to mention the genetic advantages of the Kindred,” Lock said. “While those who still lived on the continent—”
“Remained ignorant savages.” Deep smirked at her. “Ignorant and depraved if you can believe the rumors. It’s said they have the most barbaric sexual habits.”
Kat raised an eyebrow. “More barbaric than never having sex unless you have at least three people involved?”
Deep grinned. “Point taken. But no, they still have two males to one female—that’s normal. For our world, of course. I’m well aware it’s considered immoral and disgusting on yours.” He laughed, as though making a joke, but Kat could feel a wave of bitterness coming from him that belied his apparent good humor. It settled harshly on her tongue like a bad tasting medicine she couldn’t spit out.
“Over the years attempts were made to bring the natives into the trade, but they were put off by the change in our physical appearance,” Lock explained. “The Kindred genes make us much larger and more intimidating. And they changed our skin and hair color too, making us resemble the natives less and less each passing generation. Until at last, we are an entirely different race of people.”
“That’s kind of sad,” Kat said thoughtfully. “To lose contact with your roots that way.”
“Believe me, if you saw them, you wouldn’t think so,” Deep said. “They still live in grass huts and perform sacrifices to their gods on full moon nights. Some even say they practice cannibalism.”
“Ugh.” Kat made a face. “I really hope we can find the fi-fi flower and get back without running in to any of those guys.”
“That’s what we all hope, my lady,” Lock said soberly. “But the sooner we get to the continent, the sooner we can find the Moons blossom and come home.” He looked at Deep. “Are we ready?”
The dark twin nodded. “Everything’s loaded.” He stepped from the pier and over the side of the rocking boat. Looking at Lock and Kat he said, “Come on. Time’s wasting.”
“Very well—come, my lady.” Lock climbed aboard also and then held out a hand to Kat.
Kat looked at the swaying golden water uneasily. It was very beautiful, certainly. But who knew what it hid in its depths? Just watching the way the waves swelled and slapped against the wooden side of the boat made her stomach roll. Still, she had to get aboard. Taking a deep breath, she reached for Lock’s hand. But just as she was leaning over the narrow gap between the pier and the side of the boat, a wave of dizziness hit her.
“God!” She put a hand to her head, swaying and would have fallen if Lock hadn’t quickly grabbed her hand.
“My
lady?” he asked, looking at her with concern. “Are you all right?”
“Fine, I’m fine.” Kat blinked, trying to clear the bright spots that were dancing in front of her eyes. “Weak you will be,” whispered the voice of Mother L’rin in her head. “The pain…return it will.” But that couldn’t be happening yet, could it? She was probably just weak because she hadn’t eaten much today and her blood sugar was low. That must be it, Kat told herself. Please God, that has to be it. I can’t deal with this right now. I just need to be strong enough to go get this damn flower and get back again.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Deep was frowning down at her, his bottomless black eyes filled with some emotion she couldn’t read—it roiled inside him like a cloud of smoke, nebulous and confusing. “What happened, anyway?” he asked.
“Nothing,” Kat lied. “I just started to trip but Lock saved me. No big deal.”
“It had better not be. If I find out there’s something you’re not telling us…”
“Leave her alone, Deep.” Lock frowned at his brother. “Go make sure the boat’s ready to sail. We need to go if we’re going to catch the crosswind.”
“Yes, Captain.” Performing a mock salute, Deep turned to go. But not before he pierced Kat with another impenetrable look.
“So how long is this, uh, voyage going to take, anyway?” she asked, ignoring him as they got under way. “Not too long, I hope. This isn’t a very big boat.”
“It’s the sailing vessel our fathers left us,” Lock explained, doing something to one of the many ropes that were all around the boat. “We used to come out in it often before they died.”
“I’m so sorry,” Kat said. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“You didn’t,” Lock assured her. “It was a long time ago. And to answer your question, the trip to the continent is only a few hours with a good headwind. We’ll be there before you know it.”
“Oh good.” Kat felt relieved. “I was afraid we were going to be gone for weeks.”
“We might be,” Deep said. “The flower Mother L’rin is sending us to find is rare—some say it exists only in legends and fairy tales.”
“What?” Kat frowned. “Then how are we supposed to find it?”
“We’ll start in the hill region,” Lock said. “That’s where the legends that talk of it come from. And it’s only a day’s hike from where we’ll be landing.”
“Hiking?” Kat raised her eyebrows. “Nobody said anything about hiking. I know you guys have on boots but I’m still wearing these.” She nodded down at the dainty, strappy sandals Lock had gotten for her at the local bazaar. She had to admit he had good taste and was excellent at judging her size, but the sandals were hardly suited to days of rugged mountain climbing.
“Don’t worry,” Deep told her. “The continent is covered in belsh. It’s a soft, velvety moss that cushions your feet at every step.”
“It’s so comfortable to walk on barefoot that the natives have never worn shoes,” Lock explained. “The whole concept of footwear is entirely foreign to them.”
“Well…all right.” She nodded. “But if we’re going to be there awhile, where are we going to stay the night? I’m assuming there aren’t any Hiltons or Holiday Inns on the continent.”
“We’ll sleep under the stars,” Deep said. “And there’s a tent if it rains.” He raised an eyebrow at Kat. “Though it might be a tight fit for three.”
“Guess we’ll be hoping for clear skies then,” she said dryly. Although a night snuggled up between the two of them was probably exactly what she needed to keep from getting too weak to function. What I want and what I need are two different things, Kat told herself firmly. Besides, there’s no point in being worried over nothing. We’ll find the flower and come back in no time. I’ll be fine.
She hoped.
* * * * *
Kat thought later in her life that the trip in the little wooden boat over the golden sea was one of the things about Twin Moons she would never forget.
Because Twin Moons’ sun was a red dwarf, the sunlight had a golden-pink glow that sparkled on the water. It was so clear she could see fathoms and fathoms down to the ocean floor where rainbow colored fish flitted playfully among spiny corals and waving anemone-type creatures. There were larger creatures too, moving in the depths. Some longer than their boat and about twice as wide, with round, glassy eyes and rough purple skin. Lock told her not to worry about them, though. He said they were peaceful plant eaters that wouldn’t harm her even if she fell overboard. Kat planned to stay firmly in the boat anyway—she had no interest in finding out how “tame” and “harmless” the huge creatures were firsthand.
At last they landed on the sandy shore of a vast tract of land—the continent. Deep and Lock anchored their boat firmly in a natural cove they knew of and the three of them took off their shoes and boots and Kat hiked up her dark blue toga dress before they splashed ashore.
The pink, sugar-fine sand of the beach soon gave way to rolling hills covered in a soft green velvety moss that felt wonderful under Kat’s toes. It was sprinkled with yellow and periwinkle blue flowers which she gathered as they walked and wove into a crown to wear in her hair. It was a game she and Liv and Sophie had used to play—queen of the castle—and she wished they could be there to see her now and admire the scenic beauty of the land she found herself in.
To her surprise, Kat was actually enjoying herself. She was more at peace than she could remember feeling since before Liv’s wedding. Before I met Deep and Lock, that is, she told herself. But even the twins seemed to be feeling peaceful. Or at least, Kat wasn’t filled to overflowing with their angst and hunger for once. Everything was quiet here on the continent—even their usually overwhelming emotions. It was very pleasant, though she knew it could change in an instant.
The sky was a vast lavender-blue bowl above her head without a single scrap of cloud. Looks like our sleeping arrangements won’t be too crowded tonight then, Kat thought, gazing up at it. Good thing I’m still feeling fine. It was true she was a little tired, but a lot had already happened that day—it was to be expected that she would get somewhat fatigued, she told herself. Lifting her chin, she ignored the ominous beginnings of a headache behind her right eye, and kept walking.
“So what are we looking for, anyway?” she said after they’d been hiking for about an hour in silence. “I mean, what does this fi-fi blossom look like?”
“The Moons blossom has two flowers on a single stem,” Lock said. “One light and one dark, like the moons that fill our sky at night.”
“One moon—Dakir is always in the shadow of the other—Lanare,” Deep explained. “So Dakir shows up as a black disk in the sky rather than a white or light one like Lanare. “When both are fully visible at once, then it’s said the Moons blossom will bloom.”
“Is it a full moon night tonight then?” Kat asked, shading her eyes to look up at the sky. The large pinkish sun was already descending, dropping behind the purple peaks brooding in the distance.
“The moons are coming to their zenith tomorrow night,” Lock said. But they should be close enough to full tonight for our purposes. Legend says that the Moons blossom hides in plain sight—its stem blends into the belsh and the flowers don’t unfurl until the light of the moons touches their petals.”
“So…they could be anywhere and we’d never see them?” Kat asked.
“Not until the moons come out.” Deep frowned. “Actually, we should probably be finding a place to camp. There’s a likely looking copse of trees over there about a hundred yards away.” He nodded at the small area of dense vegetation which reminded Kat of the bushes and trees in the Healing Gardens. “We might as well get comfortable and find a place to rest since we’re going to be up half the night hunting for fi-fi flowers, as Kat calls them.”
“Very funny.” Kat put a hand on her hip. “But that’s as close to pronouncing that weird long name that Mother L’rin said. Come to think of it, my convo-pillar wouldn’t
even translate it. Why is that?”
Deep raised an eyebrow at her. “Possibly because it’s the biological equivalent of a shoddy piece of technological equipment? I believe in Earth vernacular you would call it a ‘piece of crap.’”
“Nice try,” Kat said. “But I’m not giving it up. I don’t like being dependant on anyone else to communicate for me.”
Deep put a hand to his chest. “It touches my heart, little Kat, that you’re so very trusting.”
Kat knew she shouldn’t let him get to her, but her head was really beginning to throb. “Maybe if you’d talk to me instead of keeping secrets,” she said furiously. “If you’d give me a reason to trust you—”
“Stop!” Lock frowned at both of them. “Kat’s convo-pillar couldn’t translate Mother L’rin’s name for the Moons blossom because it comes from the Elder Tongue.”
“The what?” Kat asked.
“The Elder Tongue,” Lock repeated. “It’s the root of all languages on Twin Moons and impossible to translate by biological or technical means. You have to study it for years to understand even a tenth of it.”
“And have you?” she asked. “Studied it?”
“Unsolvable riddles and obtuse, unlearnable languages are my dear brother’s passion,” Deep answered for him. “It’s one of the reasons he puts up with me so well.”
“Exactly,” Lock replied, smiling. “Because no one else in the universe speaks Deep’s language but me. Not really.”
Kat could well believe that was true, but it was interesting to hear them admit it out loud. So they know what they are to each other and how they appear to other people. Deep knows that he makes it hard for Lock and Lock forgives him and loves him anyway. Fascinating.
“Come here, Brother.” Deep grabbed for his twin and threw an arm over Lock’s shoulders, pulling him close for a brief embrace. “What would I do without you to translate for me?”
“You’d have died long ago. Most likely at the hands of an angry mob.” Lock grinned and hugged his twin back.
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