Page 1 of Dark Shaman: Eternal Hope
1
TAMIRA
As Tamira trekked through aisles of uninspired, practical clothing, searching for something to catch her eye, the lights flickered, went off, and then came back on. Since power generation had been impacted during the rebellion that had torn through the island just two days ago, the lights had been going out quite frequently. Still, they'd all gotten so used to the outages that she hardly noticed them anymore.
The island's clothing store seemed untouched, though, miraculously escaping the destruction that had leveled entire buildings in other areas of the island.
Perhaps the rebels hadn't targeted this section because it served the humans, whom they deemed irrelevant. After all, they were nothing more than indentured servants, slaves to the immortals who ruled this Fates-forsaken place.
The irony was that the lives of most of the immortals here were not much better; they were also regarded as property of Lord Navuh, and that included Tamira and her fellow harem ladies.
Some would argue that their status was elevated because they lived in luxury and didn't suffer the hardships others who lived here were subjected to, but the truth was that the harem was much more restrictive. At least the humans and immortals could routinely enjoy large open spaces, including access to the island's beaches and the ocean. The harem inhabitants had only been allowed out in recent days because their home had been flooded, and they had to be evacuated.
"Why do they use such cheap fabrics?" Raviki ran her fingers along a rack of sundresses, ignoring the flickering. "Is this what humans are wearing these days?"
"This store sells clothing to the service personnel," Sarah said. "That's why it's all simple and cheap."
"What about the visitors?" Raviki asked. "Passion Island is an exclusive location, and only the rich and influential can afford a vacation here." She turned to Tamira. "Can anyone with enough money book a vacation, or is it by invitation only?"
Tamira shrugged. "How should I know? I assume that the right people find out about the island from others like themselves, who have already been here. But we all know why people come here, and it's not something that would attract female visitors. Very few women, if any, come. It's mostly men, and they can shop for fancy things in the hotel store."
"I wish they had quality clothing for women in the hotel." Beulah pulled out one of the dresses and crinkled her nose while draping it over her front. "I have a new appreciation for whoever got us dresses from this store. They chose the best it had to offer."
Areana wasn't looking at the meager selection. Instead, she gazed out the front window at the buildings across the street. "We are lucky that it's the monsoon season. Imagine trying to explain the revolt to a bunch of tourists. I doubt it would have been possible to thrall all of them to forget the explosions. Trauma is not easy to erase."
Tamira narrowed her eyes at Areana. "The types who come to this island to enjoy the deviant pleasures it offers would have deserved to be haunted by the sounds of explosions in their dreams for years."
"Not all of them are deviant," Areana said. "Many just want to be with young, beautiful women who are eager to please them. That doesn't make them monsters. Just weak."
Did Areana truly believe in what she'd said?
She couldn't be that naive.
She'd probably spoken for the benefit of the people working in the store and the cadre of guards that were trailing her and the other ladies to keep them safe.
Tamira had heard the horror stories from the maids who'd been sent to work in the harem. No longer young and pretty enough for the brothel, they'd been thralled to forget most of what they'd endured; but, after years of service, that wasn't really possible, and they still had nightmares about their time there.
"It feels strange, doesn't it?" Areana held a blue one-piece swimsuit up against her slim body. "I've never shopped in an actual store. Back home, I had seamstresses who created my dresses, my maids shopped for everyday things, and merchants delivered goods for me to choose from. It wasn't much different in the harem."
Tamira's memories were similar, even though her family had not been royal or noble. They had been simple immortals but wealthy enough to lead a privileged lifestyle.
"I haven't either." She walked over to the display and chose a modest one-piece in black with white stripes.
There were no other customers in the store, and Tamira had a feeling that was intentional. Other than the ladies and their cadre of guards, there was only the shopkeeper, a nervous-looking human woman who kept glancing at the door as if expecting trouble, and her assistant, who was doing most of the work.
"This one would look lovely on you." Areana held up a deep purple suit with elegant cutouts along the sides.
It was nicer than the one Tamira had chosen, but it was too revealing for an outing on the beach with numerous guards watching. "Perhaps Raviki would like it." She walked over to the men's clothing section. "I need to get swim trunks for Elias."
Lord Navuh had generously allowed the men to join their beach excursion, probably because he was in such a great mood following his victory.
Half the island lay in ruins, and all the planes and boats had been destroyed, and yet Tamira had never seen Navuh so upbeat.
It was more terrifying than his usual cold austerity because it was such a significant deviation from what Tamira had been used to seeing during the five thousand years she'd known the lord. Surely he wasn't that happy about the destruction or even about winning. He must have discovered something that would advance his ultimate goal of global domination.
"We have more men's swimwear in the back," the shopkeeper's assistant said, pulling her out of her thoughts and bringing her attention back to the task of finding a nice pair of swim shorts for Eluheed.
As Tamira followed the woman, she tried to guess what size would fit him. He was such a handsome man, lean and muscular like a runner or a swimmer.
