He could hear the bittersweet agony of her memory. She'd both loved and hated her father. It was a dichotomy Arik barely understood. He held no feelings whatsoever for his parents. But then he'd never really known either one of them. Morpheus had too many children to pay attention to any one and Arik's mother, Myst, couldn't be bothered. She was a carefree goddess who held no real affinity for anyone or anything. At least nothing he knew of.
It wasn't that he was angry over it. He was truly ambivalent. It was how things were in his world, so there was no feeling there for his parents whatsoever, not even while he was human.
But it made him wonder what it would be like to love the way Megeara loved. To feel that pain of betrayal when the person was no longer there. To have that surge of joy when the person was...
He helped her anchor a corner. "So which story was your favorite?"
She tugged the line to make sure it was taut. "Orion. I always thought it was cruel and tragic that Artemis loved him, and that her own brother tricked her into killing him because Apollo was jealous and hated the fact that she was in love with a mere mortal."
"That's only one version of the story. The other is that Artemis killed him because he raped one of her handmaidens."
"I've heard that one, too, but I believe the first one."
"And why is that?"
"I don't know. It just seems right."
She was astute and part of him wanted to confirm it for her, but he didn't dare. She'd spent her whole life studying the gods and ancient civilizations, looking for corroboration that they'd all existed, and here he was, living proof, right beside her. He wondered what she'd do if she ever learned that he was one of the gods, along with her friend "Kat."
It might be a little too much to expect Geary to take it in stride.
Geary was a bit nervous as she finished securing the hammock to the hooks. It hung about a foot above the deck. Not too high, but not so low it wouldn't be comfortable. Her only concern was that he might catch a chill even with blankets.
Would that worsen his condition? Not that she knew what was wrong with him, but still the last thing she wanted to do was take even a moment of his life away with more illness.
Which begged the question of what was wrong with him? She wanted to know but didn't want to remind him of how short his life would be. It seemed somehow wrong.
Instead, she gestured toward the hammock. "All yours."
He tsked at her. "I really wish you were talking about you and not the hammock."
"Yeah, I'll bet you do."
As she started past him, he pulled her toward him, and before she realized what he intended he kissed her. She moaned at the sweet taste of him, at the hunger of his embrace. For the first time in her life, she wished she were more like Thia. She wouldn't have a bit of trouble taking him to her bed. But Geary wasn't like that. She'd never been a one-night-stand woman. She preferred a relationship before she got naked with someone, which was why she seldom even dated. Her quest had left her very little time for anything else in her life.
But Arik was seriously starting to bring her ethics into question.
Pulling back, she picked the blanket up from the hammock and held it to his chest. "Good night, Arik."
He let out an exasperated breath as he took the blanket from her with a grimace. "Good night, Megeara.
May the dream gods be good to you."
A tingle went over her at the way he purred those words. It was as if he knew she'd been dreaming of him.
Putting that thought out of her mind, she left him and headed below, but as she reached the stairs she couldn't help looking back at him. He was already lying in the hammock, watching her.
In the darkness, his eyes seemed to glow.
She swore she could hear his unspoken request for her to return to him. It reminded her of the same disembodied voice that kept beckoning her to the dig site-only that voice was definitely female. And it called out to her even now to find Atlantis and set her free.
I am losing my mind. Maybe she should see someone about schizophrenia...
But she knew better than that. This wasn't schizophrenia. It was merely her quest calling to her to fulfill her promise. She understood that. What she didn't understand was this odd connection to Arik. Why she heard and saw him even when he wasn't around.
Go to bed, Geary, and forget it.
Waving good night to him, she went to her room to find Tory already in her nightshirt and bed with Mr.
Cuddles tucked under her arm. Since Tory's glasses were on the nightstand by her head, she was squinting at Geary. "I wasn't expecting you to come back."
"What do you mean?"
"C'mon, Geary, I may be half-blind, but that man is the finest thing I've ever seen... blurry or not. If I were you, I wouldn't have come back here tonight."
Geary scoffed at her. "You're only fifteen, Tory. It's not like you've got a lot of experience under your belt to judge hot men by."
"Point taken, but it doesn't change the fact that he's gorgeous and he likes you. A lot. So why are you back here?"
"Because we have a four A.M. wake-up call."
Tory sighed and shook her head. "You're the only person I know who's more pathetic than I am. I'm an orphaned kid, Geary. You shouldn't have to be alone all the time."
"Oh, hush, and go to sleep before I kidnap Cuddles. And speaking of furry things, where's Kichka?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen her. Maybe she's stuck in the hold again."
As if on cue, Geary's cat came running in the open door to rub against her leg. A Bengal cat, Kichka had been Tory's Christmas present a year ago, but the cat had taken such a liking to Geary that all of them had finally given up and just let Kichka own her.
"There you are." Geary picked Kichka up from the floor and set her on the bed while she undressed.
Before Kichka curled up on her pillow to clean one paw she meowed loudly at Geary.
Tory turned over and gave Geary her back.
Her thoughts on Arik, Geary turned off the lights, tucked herself into the bed, and closed her eyes while Kichka moved from the pillow to sleep on the small of Geary's back. Within seconds, the cat was purring, Tory was snoring, and the gentle roll of the boat was lulling Geary away from all her problems.
And before Geary knew it, she was drifting to sleep.
ARIK HAD NEVER SLEPT AS A HUMAN BEFORE. THE WEIGHT of his body was odd, especially combined with the swinging motion of the boat and hammock. But it didn't take him long to lose himself in the realm of dreams.
It was strange to be back where he lived. His dreams were misty and cold. At least in the beginning, but after a time they began to clear and he realized something.
His powers were back.
Arik paused, unsure if what he felt was real. Floating above the ground, he held his hands out before him and conjured a swirling ball of flames. The heat was warm but not painful as he built the ball with his mind to a dangerous height.
Invigorated, he threw it into the darkness, where it exploded even brighter than the sun. Harmless pieces of ember rained down around him as he threw his head back and laughed.
Oh yeah, it was good to be a sleeping dream god. He had emotions and his powers.
Which left him with one goal.
Megeara.
It was time to find her. But that proved to be easier thought than done. True, he had his powers again, but he didn't have the strobilos and finding her without it proved to be rather tricky. He was also lacking Wink's serum to keep Megeara asleep. If he found her, she could wake up and leave him all over again.
I'll kill her. But even as he thought it, he knew that was an empty threat. He'd never hurt the very woman he craved.
For several minutes he cruised through the subconscious realm, drifting through dreams of naked musicians writhing in money and Jell-O shots, a toy poodle attacking a Doberman, a woman who bore a strange resemblance to a lollipop who was singing with cows, and one curious incident of a hemorrhoid chasing one woman around a block of cheese until it exploded...
Yeah, people were very odd beings.
No wonder he left these dreamers to the other Skoti. He much preferred sexually creative women.
Arik paused between dreams to take a deep breath. This was wasting time, and since Megeara was planning an early morning, he needed to find her quickly.
Closing his eyes, he felt the ether around him... listened to it as it breathed and whispered through his being. She was out there.
And then he heard it. The faint sound of her laughter. Honing in on it, he willed himself to her dream.
She was on the beach again, dancing in the surf to music only she could hear.
Arik froze at the sight of her there with her damp hair flying around her face. Her white dress clung to her body, showing him every lush, delicious curve. Every inch of flesh that he wanted to taste.
Unable to stand it, he dropped to the beach and walked toward her with a predator's intent.
His breathing ragged, he came up behind her and touched her shoulder.
She turned on him then and what happened next absolutely blew his mind.