Page 23 of Dark Island: Rescue
Her eyes were trying to communicate something. She wanted him to help her. But how?
Suddenly, with a flash of recognition that nearly brought him to his knees, he knew who she was.
Tula.
Wonder's little sister, whom he'd last seen as a child. She'd been a spitfire even then, all knobby knees and defiant chin, following Gulan around, but while Gulan had been quiet and reserved, Tula had been more like Annani, too brave for her own good and happy to join in the most outrageous shenanigans the goddess had come up with.
Five thousand years had passed, and the child he remembered had become a beautiful woman.
Tula was with Areana on Navuh's island; he knew that much. When the goddess had left for Mortdh's stronghold, she'd taken young Tula with her as a serving girl.
Wonder had told him about Carol's rescue attempt to get Areana and Tula out of Navuh's harem. They had both refused, Areana because she loved Navuh, and Tula because she loved Areana and didn't want to leave her. According to Carol, they had both been fine, living a pampered life in the harem and content with their lives.
Thewoman in the vision didn't look content, though. She looked desperate. And pregnant—Fates help them all, she was pregnant on that island of monsters.
Then, as suddenly as it had come, the vision ended.
Esag found himself back in his workshop, gasping as if he'd run a great distance, sweat beading on his forehead.
He looked down at the figurine still clutched in his hand, and understanding crashed over him like a wave. He hadn't been carving Wonder at all. His hands, guided by some force beyond his conscious control, had been shaping Tula's face. The determination in the expression, the subtle differences in features—it all made sense now.
He'd carved three figurines of a woman he'd known as a girl five thousand years ago, a woman whose desperate situation had somehow reached across the distance to find him.
Did Wonder know? Did she have any idea that her little sister was pregnant and scared?
He knew that Annani talked with Areana once a week, so perhaps Areana had told her sister, and Annani had in turn told Wonder. Perhaps Wonder had even gotten to talk to Tula directly.
What were they going to do about it?
How were they going to save her?
Esag wrapped the nearly completed figurine in soft cloth and tucked it into his pocket. The other two he left on his workbench—he'd deal with them later. Right now, he needed to talk to Wonder, and he knew where to find her.
She was at the café, which was justa short walk away.
His mind raced with questions and implications. How had Tula reached out to him? Was it conscious on her part, or had desperation somehow triggered a connection? And most importantly, what could they actually do to help her?
Navuh's island was a fortress. The clan had managed to get Carol in and extract her, but that had required months of preparation, and Carol had assumed an incredible risk. Could they do the same for Tula, and in time before her baby was born?
The smell of coffee and baked goods announced the café before he turned the corner. The usual afternoon crowd was enjoying refreshments and conversation, and Wonder was behind the counter, smiling at a customer and handing him a pastry.
Esag paused at the café's entrance and watched Wonder work for a few moments. She looked happy, and he hated being the bearer of bad news. Not that becoming an aunt was bad, but having her niece or nephew born on Navuh's island with all that it implied wasn't good either.
9
TULA
Tula woke with a gasp, her silk nightgown clinging to her sweat-dampened skin. The dream lingered like smoke in her mind—vivid and disturbing in a way that made her angry.
What the hell was damn Esag doing in her dream?
Even after five thousand years, she would recognize that flaming red hair and those green eyes anywhere. He looked exactly the same as he had when he'd broken Gulan's heart, except that in her dream, he looked sad rather than cocky.
Good. He deserved nothing but misery, in this life and the next, for the grief and heartbreak that he'd caused Gulan and their entire family.
Tula pressed her palms against her eyes, trying to scrub away the image, but it persisted. Why him? Why now? Oh, right. He was in the village now, somehow having been found in Egypt of all places, and Wonder had forgiven the bastard. She didn't know all the details because Areana hogged the communicator and rarely letTula speak to Wonder. What she knew about Esag was what Annani had told Areana, and it hadn't been much.
"Tula?" Tony's voice was thick with sleep. "What's wrong?" The mattress shifted as he rolled toward her, his hand finding her shoulder in the darkness. "Another nightmare about the rebellion?"
