Page 80 of Dark Shaman: Eternal Hope
TAMIRA
Tamira pushed a piece of melon around her plate, the clink of her fork against porcelain joining the symphony of morning sounds—the soft conversations of her sisters, the gentle scrape of cutlery, the rustle of napkins.
"Are you eating that thing or painting with it?" Raviki said from across the table.
"I'm eating." Tamira speared the melon piece and brought it to her mouth.
The fruit was perfectly ripe, sweet with just a hint of tartness, but it might as well have been cardboard for all she tasted.
Two weeks had passed since that night in the gazebo when they'd laid out their insane escape plan. They'd been gathering information, with Tony and Eluheed visiting Hassan's office under various pretexts and poring over building plans.
And what had they learned?
That the surveillance system wasn't on any blueprint because it had been installed years after the original construction. They'dalso learned that the island's infrastructure was held together by patch jobs, and after the devastation of the rebellion, so much of it needed replacement that it was almost like building it all from scratch.
Hassan was excited even though most of the work would be done outside the harem, and that was excellent for gathering information because he was eager to share the news with anyone willing to listen. That's how they knew that the main power generator was being replaced, but they didn't know precisely when.
Chances were that it would involve an island-wide outage, which would provide the guys a perfect opportunity to examine the surveillance in the tunnel while it wasn't active.
"The eggs are so good," Sarah said, though her own plate showed she'd barely touched them. "The kitchen must have gotten fresh ones. I wonder if those ships that bring building materials also bring groceries to the island."
Tamira's jaw tightened.
Just the other night, Tony had revisited the idea of sneaking aboard one of the vessels that arrived almost daily, bringing construction materials and work crews. But every angle they'd examined had led to the conclusion that it was impossible. They couldn't even figure out how to pass the double fence around the harem and evade the patrols, which were manned by Brotherhood soldiers, not mere humans like the harem guards. Then there was the issue of scrutiny at the docks. It would be suicide to attempt it.
"Tula dear, you should try to eat something," Beulah said gently. "Even if you're not feeling well."
Tula, who sat three chairs down, had been staring at her untouched toast with an expression of barely concealed revulsion. Her hand drifted to her stomach—a gesture that had become more frequent and more noticeable with each passing day.
"I'm not hungry," she said. "Just thirsty. Can someone pass me the orange juice, please?"
At least Tula had an excuse for her moods, her distraction, her occasional sharp responses. Tamira had to smile and engage in conversations, pretending that nothing was troubling her and that she wasn't mentally cataloging every item they'd managed to secrete away and what more she could pilfer.
So far they had two flashlights, stolen from the maintenance crew working on the pumps down in the bowels of the harem, a sharp knife from the kitchen that no one would miss, some rope from the garden shed outside, and a pair of wire cutters that Tony had claimed were broken and needed to be disposed of.
It was such a pathetic arsenal for such a monumental undertaking.
The men had departed earlier to check the supply room again to see if there was anything else they could add to their meager collection.
"You have to try the bread." Liliat passed the basket to Tamira. "It's really good."
Tamira accepted the basket, selected a roll she had no intention of eating, and passed it on.
"Is Areana joining us this morning?" Raviki asked, glancing at the empty chair at the head of the table.
"Later," Sarah said. "Lord Navuh hasn't left yet."
He was so unpredictable, sometimes leaving early in the morning before their breakfast even started, and sometimes staying late and keeping Areana busy until long after breakfast was done.
On those days, the goddess needed more time to recover, and Tamira wondered if Navuh was exhausting her with lovemaking or with his mere intense presence.
Not that it was any of Tamira's business, or that Areana ever shared with them what she and Navuh did in private. She was just glad that the goddess wasn't there. It was harder to pretend when those perceptive blue eyes were studying her, seeing through her façade with the wisdom of five thousand years of reading people. Tamira had a feeling that Areana knew something was going on, but so far, she hadn't confronted any of them about it.
When the dining room door opened and a man in uniform entered, Tamira's heart seized for a moment, terrified that Eluheed and Tony had been caught red-handed stealing from the supply room.
But if that was the case, it wouldn't be the engineer delivering the news. It would be one of the harem guards.
Letting out a breath, she forced a smile at Hassan that was the appropriate expression for his surprise visit.
