Page 60 of Dark Shaman: Eternal Hope
Not that she knew for a fact that was what he had done, but she suspected it. Navuh had little regard for human life, and if it were more expeditious and less complicated to kill them off rather than let them go and compel their silence, he would have killed them with no compunction.
Naturally, that wasn't as easy to do these days as it had been then, and crews disappearing wouldn't go unnoticed, so he would have to compel them this time.
"You don't look that good." Raviki frowned at Tula. "Are you sleeping okay?"
"Not really." Tula's response was clipped. "I keep having nightmares and can't sleep. I'm tired and cranky."
That sounded like a reasonable explanation after what they had all been through, but Tamira had a feeling that Tula was lying to cover the real reason for her bad mood and exhausted appearance.
The sound of the dining room door opening had Tamira look up, and as Eluheed walked in, she welcomed him with a bright smile.
"You're late," she admonished.
"I know." He pulled out the chair next to her. "Lord Navuh summoned me straight from the herb garden, covered in dirt and sweat, and I returned only a short while ago, showered, changed, and rushed over here, hoping to still grab something to eat. I'm starving."
"You look exhausted." She took his plate and started piling it with food. "What did he make you do?"
He cast her an apologetic look. "I can't really share that."
She'd forgotten that those kinds of conversations needed to wait for them to be alone.
"Of course." She put the plate in front of him. "My apologies."
"Thank you." He accepted the plate with a grateful nod and attacked the food with gusto.
Unlike Eluheed, Tula was still shoving food around her plate, and Tony kept shooting concerned glances at her. His obvious worry made Tula withdraw further, focusing intently on cutting her meat into increasingly smaller pieces without eating any of it.
"You've done a beautiful job in the indoor courtyard." Liliat looked at Eluheed and then at Tony. "I sat on the bench during our break today, and everything looked so real that I could almost forget that I wasn't outside, and that the sunlight was fake." She chuckled. "The illusion stuttered when the light flickered again. It happens so many times during the day that I barely even notice it anymore, but the indoor garden doesn't have emergency lighting, and I sat in the dark. Luckily, Raviki had forgotten to close the drapes in her suite, and the emergency lighting from her room cast a little light on the garden. The outage only lasted a few seconds, but it was a reminder of the artificial environment we live in."
"Nothing here is real," Tula murmured. "I mean the fake sunlight never looks real."
"The plants are real," Tony offered, trying to be helpful. "They grow and bloom just like they would aboveground."
"Are you sure about that?" Tula's voice carried an edge. "Wouldn't they bloom better if they were out in the real world? Perhaps they can't reach their full potential because they aretrapped underground with lamps coaxing their growth instead of real sunshine."
"Are we still talking about plants?" Liliat asked.
"Plants adapt," Eluheed said quietly. "They find ways to thrive even in artificial environments. Life is remarkably resilient and persistent."
Tula let out a breath. "Ignore me. I'm cranky and tired."
Tony reached for Tula's hand, but she pulled away. "Excuse me. I need to take a nap before I destroy everyone's mood." She didn't even wait for Tony before she bolted out of the dining room.
An uncomfortable silence followed her exit.
"Should someone...?" Raviki started.
"Give her time," Sarah advised. "You know how she gets sometimes. The more you try to talk to her, the more her mood will sour. She needs to be alone."
Tony stood. "I should go to her."
"No," Beulah said. "We've known her for much longer than you have. Tula needs her space. She'll come to you when she's in a better mood.”
Tony sat back down even though he could have gone to his own room. He and Eluheed still had their own rooms even though they rarely stayed there, so it wasn't as if Tony didn't have somewhere to go.
The rest of the meal passed in stilted conversation, everyone pretending not to notice Tony's distress.
When they finally retreated to their rooms, Tamira let out a breath as soon as Eluheed closed the door behind them. "That was awkward."
