Black Rainbow

by Scott Savino

  “Why jealous?”

  They exchanged another look. This one softer.

  “We wanted to be each other,” Hi’iaka said, a sad look passing behind her eyes. “We grew up in the wrong bodies, and that’s one of the things that drew us to each other in the first place. Hating ourselves, hating how everyone addressed us. Hating the fight for recognition.”

  Adé cradled Hi’iaka’s hand in his. “We walked each other through the process. Came out to each other on the same day, traded clothes, and held each other up through everything when no one else would. Transition wasn’t easy, but there was nothing more important than seeing each other through the trials. Since then we’ve traveled the world, building our own tribe instead of letting society’s tribe define us on their terms.”

  Shayna felt the cool wet kiss of a tear as it slipped down her cheek before she realized she was even crying. “Oh my god, that’s so beautiful, and I’m so sorry you ever had to go through all of that.”

  Adé shook his head as they both smiled to her, each of them absolutely radiant. “We appreciate that, but our journey is what helped us discover something greater than ourselves and our circumstances, so we wouldn’t change a moment of it.”

  “Besides,” Hi’iaka added with a playful wink. “It brought us to you, and a world where we miss out on quality time with Shayna Singh is a world not worth living in.”

  Blush flooded her cheeks. She felt unworthy of their praise, especially since it seemed so sincere, and desperately wished she had somewhere to hide. But, sandwiched between two gorgeous people in the back of an SUV in paradise, she had nowhere to go.

  “Ah,” Adé said, shifting to better his view out the window before pointing. “Do you see that?”

  Shayna had to lean into his lap before she could see what he was pointing at. A huge white building nestled between the trees of the foothills above them. It looked like a private resort from the road below.

  “Uh-huh,” she nodded, suppressing a subtle gasp when she felt Hi’iaka’s hand against her back, brushing against the small patch of exposed skin between the bottom of her blouse and the top of her skirt.

  “That’s where we’re going.”

  “All the way up there?” She struggled to pay attention as attraction and anxiety battled each other for dominance.

  “Yep. We’ve got it for the whole week. We won’t be alone, of course,” Adé smiled down to her with a mischievous look in his dark eyes and Shayna felt a pang of panic; just how many people had she signed up to date on this vacation?

  “You’ll be meeting our tribe,” Hi’iaka clarified, her fingers gliding against Shayna’s skin.

  “Oh,” was all she managed, distracted by the touch.

  She hadn’t asked many questions when she’d contacted the couple about joining them on their trip—a fact she was beginning to regret—so she had no idea what to expect going forward. Especially now that a “tribe” was in the mix. What other little surprises awaited her?

  “Don’t worry,” Adé added, something pointed hiding in his tone, like fangs waiting for the right moment to strike. “They’ll eat you right up.”

  “Adé!” Hi’iaka chided him with a light smack on the black serpent tattoo twining around his firm bicep. Shayna couldn’t tell if Hi’iaka’s shock was for show or sincere. For the sake of quelling her paranoia, though (and because a modern tribe of cannibals was logically unrealistic), she chose to believe it was all for show.

  The “tribe”, for their part, were welcoming and friendly. They somehow managed to make her feel included without overwhelming her with attention, and that was a huge accomplishment in Shayna’s book. Especially since trying to decide what to order in a new restaurant could overwhelm her.

  Despite this welcome, she felt uneasy. Something she couldn’t put her finger on had her on edge. Maybe it was the way she caught them looking at her from the corner of her eye, or body language she couldn’t consciously identify. Whatever it was, it set off alarm bells in her mind and made her feel like prey.

  oOo

  That night, Shayna woke with a sharp breath, her heart racing from a dream she couldn’t recall, and blinked against the night. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as half-remembered phantoms fluttered at the edge of her awareness where the memory of living coils gliding across her body slowly faded.

  She felt compelled to move, to do something to shake the lingering sense of dread her dream had left behind, and rose to get a glass of water from the bathroom. As she passed the open window, she paused. Something in the moonlight caught her eye. Or was it her ear?

  She listened, turning her head to catch … was it singing? She couldn’t hear it well, but it sounded like singing. A lone voice, clear and pure. Beautiful. Surreal and enchanting.

  Part of Shayna knew it had to be her own imagination gilding the night with magic but the rest of her wanted to indulge in the fantasy. And hell, she was on vacation, wasn’t she? Why shouldn’t she find herself wandering barefoot in the garden at 3:00 a.m., in nothing but a thin robe and panties, following the most beautiful voice she’d ever heard?

  No reason, that’s why.

  As she neared the source, she slowed, not wanting to intrude upon the singer, but desperate to know who within the tribe was descended from sirens. Stunning bushes of fragrant night-blooming flowers—their mingling scents heady and intoxicating—gave way to reveal a fountain at the center of the garden, and there she found the source of the singing.

  Hi’iaka.

  Moonlight dripped from her body like molten silver as she rose from the fountain’s waters. What had once been a sheer white nightgown was rendered transparent against Hi’iaka’s dusky skin, drawing the eye to areas once hidden.

  Shayna’s breath caught at the vision, her legs trembling, suddenly weak with desire as heat spread through her.

  Hi’iaka smiled, still singing, and extended a glistening hand.

  Entranced, Shayna approached, and together they sat on the fountain’s edge as Hi’iaka finished her song.

  “Did you like it,” she asked when she was done.

  Shayna struggled to speak, but eventually found her voice. “I’ve never heard anything so beautiful.”

  She watched blush rise to Hi’iaka’s cheeks. “You know, I’ve been waiting for someone like you …”

  “Really?” Shayna couldn’t believe it. She almost never disliked herself—that is, as long as she took her meds on time—but even when anxiety, depression, and general insecurity weren’t gnawing at her soul she’d never considered herself the kind of person people waited to find. She’d always fantasized about it, of course, but had never really believed it would ever be more than fantasy.

  But Hi’iaka nodded, gently biting her lower lip.

  “I have something for you,” she said, her voice quiet. Almost shy. “I hope you don’t mind?”

  Shayna shook her head, still reeling that a woman as talented and beautiful and … naked as Hi’iaka would feel so strongly about her.

  She reached down, picking up something from the fountain’s edge behind her. A thin golden chain, barely more than a thread, glimmered between her slender fingers. Shayna noticed the delicate charm as Hi’iaka leaned in to clasp the chain around her neck.

  “A unicorn?” She didn’t know whether to be flattered or upset on principle.

  “I know, it’s basically a stereotype,” Hi’iaka said. “‘Bi-couple in open relationship seeks Hot Bi-Babe for fun times’, but it means more to me than all that. I mean, that’s not to say that isn’t something Adé and I are looking for, because who doesn’t want a Hot-Bi Babe for fun times? But the unicorn is special. Do you know much about them?”

  “Just the usual, I guess. Beautiful; made of magic; love virgins.”

  “Well, in the oldest stories, the unicorn represented change. Something good, something desperately needed. In Mesopotamia, the unicorn was a man. Enkidu. The courtesan, Šamhat, tamed his wild spirit, purified him and convinced h
im to accompany her to the city of Uruk where he met King Gilgamesh and became his most cherished friend.”

  “Wait, really?” Shayna frowned slightly as a memory tickled the back of her mind before drifting to the front. “That sounds so much like a Hindu story. Rishyasringa and Vaishali.”

  Hi’iaka smiled and nodded. “They’re virtually the same, aren’t they.”

  “It sounds like it. Except Rishyasringa was brought to the city by the king’s daughter instead of a courtesan, and he ended a terrible drought in the story I know.”

  “And in European tellings, the unicorn is enchanted by a virgin maid, who places a golden chain around its neck before taking it to the king.”

  Shayna’s hand drifted to the golden chain now resting around her own neck. “Does this mean you’ve captured me?” A playful, hopeful smile teased the corners of her lips.

  “Would it be too cliché if I said yes?”

  Shayna shook her head, grinning as her heart raced. Then an errant thought surfaced through the haze of tempestuous desire. “Wait. Does this mean you’re a virgin?”

  Hi’iaka laughed, the sound musical and inviting. “No.”

  “Thank god,” Shayna breathed, before embarrassment flooded her cheeks. “I mean—I don’t … I didn’t mean I expect—you know. Anything. I’m not—shit. Fuck. I’m sorry—”

  Shayna was silenced in an instant. Hi’iaka’s lips were soft and warm. They yielded against her own, contouring to hers until she couldn’t tell where one of them ended and the other began. When they finally parted, Hi’iaka placed a hand against Shayna’s cheek, sighing, “You’re wonderful.”

  Shayna wasn’t usually one for exhibitionist encounters, but she couldn’t deny her desire any longer. And with the way Hi’iaka held her, she knew she didn’t have to. They melted into each other’s arms in the soft grass beside the fountain.

  oOo

  “There’s something I want to show you,” Hi’iaka said as they basked in the afterglow.

  Shayna smiled, trailing her fingers along the warm skin of Hi’iaka’s stomach. “I thought you just did.”

  Hi’iaka laughed, kissing Shayna’s forehead. “Something else, then.” She rose and reached down to help Shayna up, not bothering to don her still-wet night gown, and Shayna was struck again by how like a goddess she was. Regal, powerful, beautiful and fierce, all in one moment. Shayna would have followed her to the ends of the earth, so following her through the gardens, clothed only in moonlight and musk, felt like the most natural thing on earth.

  “Okay,” Hi’iaka said as they passed through an ancient stone archway near what had to be the back of the estate. “You have to close your eyes now.”

  Shayna laughed. “Really?”

  Hi’iaka nodded with an affectionate smile. “You trust me, don’t you?”

  Shayna surprised herself a little when she realized she did trust her, so she closed her eyes and waited. Warm hands enveloped her own, leading her through darkness and uneven terrain with care. Each step was an exercise in trust, and for once in her life, Shayna had no fear.

  Eventually, the ground evened out. A breeze brought with it the sweet scent of smoke and a kiss of heat to caress her bare skin, sending a cascade of gooseflesh prickling across her body. The heat increased as they continued, though, and soon Shayna could hear the cheerful crackle of a fire.

  Something shifted ahead of them, tapping like metal against stone. She turned to look, but Hi’iaka was there, her gentle hand cupping Shayna’s cheek with a quiet “Shh, keep them closed,” as she guided her onward.

  When they finally stopped, Hi’iaka moved behind her, pressing her supple body against Shayna’s back with arms wrapped tight around her.

  “Okay,” she whispered. “Open them.”

  Shayna blinked, her eyes taking a moment to adjust to the bright orange glow of an enormous bonfire. It blazed at the top of a massive stone plinth twenty or thirty feet above them. The plinth looked ancient and intentional, embellished with faded engravings both primitive and forgotten. A strange figure of twisted metal burned in the center of the fire, towering above them like an offering. Beneath the blaze, level with the two of them, Shayna stared at the deep mahogany god that was Adésanya, every inch of him as exposed as they were.

  White clay marked him; a bright palm against the shadows of his face became a sinuous smear, trailing down his neck to twine around his body like a snake. He stood before a long stone slab, from which dangled iron chains, occasionally tapping it as they moved.

  “What is—” Shayna shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

  “You’re special,” Adé said, his rich voice sinister in the eerie light of the blaze above them.

  “I don’t—” Shayna said, trembling as tears welled in her eyes and a stark panic filled her body with lead. Her mind struggled to catch up with what she was seeing. How the night could have gone from enchanted bliss to something from a nightmare she thought had already ended. “I don’t want to be special.”

  A low hum rose around them.

  She barely dared to look, but her eyes moved first, and then her head. In the shadows, dark shapes took form: the “tribe” materializing before her as each voice joined with others around them to form one long, low note. They all watched her with intensely vacant eyes.

  “But you are special,” Adé said, pulling her attention back to him.

  “No,” she said, shaking her head in denial. No, no, no. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be real. Everything had been so perfect just a moment ago. Why was this happening?

  “Oh yes,” he said, his face lighting up with a mischievous grin before his gaze shifted to Hi’iaka behind her, the motion marked by a slight shifting of the fire in his dark eyes. “Has she been consecrated?”

  Consecrated? Shayna’s blood ran cold.

  “Of course, my love,” Hi’iaka breathed, pressing a kiss to Shayna’s neck where the gold chain lay against her. “At the base of the fountain, as Enkidu and Šamhat before us.”

  “Perfection, as always, my dear.” The glint of fire in his eyes shifted back to Shayna’s face. “Do you know what Šamhat was?” When Shayna didn’t answer, he continued, moving to the stone slab before him to unroll something dark and leathery. “Some accounts call her a courtesan, but she was really a sacred prostitute. A woman blessed with the ability to work magic through intercourse.” He glanced up and watched her with a wicked grin. “This was how they ‘civilized’ Enkidu, how they consecrated him, and in the most popular accounts it’s said she stayed with Enkidu for two weeks, bedding him the entire time. Can you imagine that?”

  Shayna could only shake her head, unable to move or break eye contact as Adé withdrew something long and silver from the leather pad in front of him. Firelight glanced from the blade as he turned it in his hand, inspecting the edge.

  “Fortunately, Hi’iaka’s magic is powerful. In the early days it might have taken her two weeks to purify someone like you, but she hasn’t needed more than half an hour for centuries now.” He paused, then glancing to Hi’iaka he added, “Of course, that hasn’t stopped her from taking her time.”

  Shayna felt Hi’iaka shrug against her back. “What can I say? She’s an absolute dream. Responsive, intuitive … generous.” Shayna could hear the satisfaction in her tone. “Though, I would have liked to play with her just a little longer.” Hi’iaka nuzzled against Shayna’s neck with a disappointed sigh. “As she is, I mean.”

  Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as a dreadful certainty settled in the pit of her stomach.

  “Please,” she whispered, but if they heard her plea they both ignored it.