The Mask of Tamirella Read online

  At the fire, Marjordan had a snack ready for the returning team and Cait ate gratefully. Jen didn’t have to be told to eat this time and that seemed to please the healer. Digging had eased some of Cait’s sore muscles but she began to stiffen as she sat. After her last bite of food, she moved her head and shoulders around in an attempt to ease some of the stress. Hands gently massaged her shoulders and she groaned with both pleasure and pain.

  “You’re a knotted mess, girl,” Marjordan said as her deft hands probed the tight muscles. “I’ll mix up a rub for you and the others.”

  She nodded and attempted to pull away from her primary’s irritating fingers.

  Marjordan gripped her shoulders with gentle firmness. “Let me loosen the muscles. I know this hurts but you’ll thank me later.”

  Soon, despite the pain, her muscles felt better. In fact, she found herself nodding off after a while.

  “I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” Ianandy said, pulling her from her light sleep.

  She looked up at the warrior. He had his sword drawn.

  There was an apologetic grin on his wide lips. “I promise not to work you too long today.”

  Marjordan patted Cait’s arms. “Go and practice. I’ll massage you afterwards.”

  She stood and thanked her primary before she retrieved her sword and focused on sparring.

  After noonmeal, she and Jenellen were on dig shift again. The hole was beginning to look like just that, a large hole in the ground. They were careful to stay on the ledge while slamming picks and shovels into the soil below. Cait’s short arms had to stretch in order to reach the pick that far down. She guessed the hole was at least three feet deep now, but they still hadn’t broken through to the cave. Her harness chafed with each swing of the tool, despite the cloth strips Marjordan had added for comfort.

  Ian had gone down the hill to camp to retrieve more water, leaving the two women to their jobs.

  “This isn’t working,” Jen said irritably. “We need to be closer.”

  Before Cait realized what was happening, the woman jumped into the hole and plunged her shovel into the dirt. “What are you doing?” Cait said in a sudden panic. “Get out of there.”

  The finder’s fierce eyes glared at her. “Mind yourself, Striker, or someone else can take your shift.”

  She ignored the woman, remembering her primary’s orders about Finder’s Fever. “Come out of there. It’s not safe.” She reached down and grasped the woman’s arm.

  Jenellen jerked away. “Stop that, Striker!”

  “Please, Jen. The Fever’s got you.”

  “Either help me or go back to camp.” She dug furiously.

  Cait decided to take the last suggestion and wriggled out of her harness. She ran down the soggy hill and lost her footing halfway, falling onto her backside. Loose rock and wet dirt propelled her the rest of the way down. At the bottom, she rolled to her feet and bolted, ignoring her stinging knees, hands and elbows. She almost plowed into Ian as she rounded the hill to camp.

  “Jen’s in the hole,” she frantically told the man. “She’s digging and I can’t get her out.”

  “Get Marjordan,” he ordered and took off.

  “P-Marj! P-Marj!”

  “What’s wrong?” The woman pushed her spoon into Whit’s hand and sprinted to her.

  “It’s Jen. The Fever’s got her bad. She’s digging in the hole. It’s too dangerous. I couldn’t get her to come out.”

  Marjordan grabbed Cait’s arm and the two ran around the hill and up the slippery path.

  Ian was talking to the finder in an attempt to persuade her out. “Jenellen,” he said firmly. “This is nuts. Come out of there.”

  “Let me.” Marjordan pulled the man back and took his place. “Finder, look at me.”

  Jenellen kept digging. “I’m busy.”

  “Finder! You look at me now!” The two women’s eyes met and Marjordan continued. “You get your backside out of there right this minute. There are better ways to do this. I’ll not have stupidity create injuries on my dig.”

  The finder shook her head and continued digging.

  “I speak to you as a healer, woman.” Marjordan’s tone was threatening and Jen studied her. “You don’t want to challenge me.”

  “Damn,” the finder said, and she tossed the shovel up. She began to climb out, reaching for Ianandy’s outstretched arm. Just as he pulled her up, the ground shook and she slipped. She screamed and clutched Ian’s arm with both hands, legs dangling into the hole. The dirt below gave way to create an opening into the cave and Jen’s body followed, but the warrior kept a grip on her, despite the harness she still wore.

  Cait spread her feet apart to retain her balance and watched in horror as Ian struggled with Jen’s weight. The two looked as if they would topple into the darkness at any moment. When the shaking stopped, she and Marjordan joined Ian, gripping his waist to provide support. He groaned and pulled. All four ended up on the hilly ground, Jen on top of Ian.

  The finder rolled off the man and scrambled to her feet. “That was close.” She gazed into the darkness of the hole.

  The others got up. Marjordan stepped to the younger woman, yanked her back from the edge of the hole, and slapped her hard across the face. Jen lost her balance and nearly fell to the ground again.

  “Get out of that harness,” Marjordan ordered. “You and I are going back to camp.” Jen gave the healer a look of pure astonishment. “You heard me, Finder.” Hard eyes penetrated the younger woman’s gaze.

  “Yes, Healer.” She removed the harness. Her second leg was barely free when Marjordan hauled her down the slippery hill, stumbling and tripping the entire way, and back to camp. Ian and Cait followed closely behind the two women. This time Cait stayed on her feet. When they reached the fire, Marjordan continued behind some nearby trees and brush, taking the finder with her.

  Ian joined Paulucas near the horses. Cait sat with Nat and Sam as Whithelen added logs to the fire. A slap echoed from the trees followed by Marjordan’s angry voice. Cait knew her primary had been pushed too far.

  “Ow.” Nat winced. “What happened up there?”

  “I would suggest,” Whit said in a low voice, “you not inquire about that.”

  “Oh, right.” Nervous eyes glanced at the trees then back to the fire. Nat concentrated on cleaning her tools.

  Paulucas made his way to them. “Cait, you take a break. Sam and I will check out the dig site.” The two left.

  Marjordan soon made her way to the fire with Jen on her heels. The younger woman rubbed at her reddened cheek and kept her eyes down. She made a beeline for a nearby stool and sat.

  “Paul and Sam are checking out the site, P-Marj,” Cait said in her best official voice. She had no intention of antagonizing the woman further.

  “Thank you.” Marjordan inspected Cait’s arms and legs from her fall down the hill. “Just a few bruises. Nothing serious. You and Nat go with Ian to exercise the mounts. I’ll put a salve on you when you return.” Whithelen started to move with them but the healer glared at her. “You stay. You’re in no condition to ride.”

  “Yes, Healer,” Whit said with disappointment.

  The girls went out with Ian until the horses and pack mules had been exercised. When Cait dismounted, her legs felt like watery dough, her bruises were tender, and her feet itched like crazy. She looked forward to Marjordan’s rub and salve. As she unsaddled her mount, she wondered how Jen was coping. Her mind drifted to the hole and she hoped she’d get the chance to retrieve some of the remaining artifacts. Finder’s Fever pulled at her again and, as she headed toward the fire, she contemplated facing Marjordan’s wrath for a chance to find the Mask.

  “What’s wrong, Cait?” Natjulie said. The girl must have sprinted to catch up with her.

  “Just anxious to get back to work.” When she reached the fire, Jen was missing.

  Paulucas and Sam sat on stools and nibbled on tubers, while Marjordan prepared water for a stew.

&
nbsp; “When’s the next shift?” Cait said to Paul. “Nat and I are small enough to go down in the harnesses. We have plenty of daylight left. We should see if anything’s retrievable.” She knew her primary eyed her but she ignored the woman’s gaze.

  Nat stared in disbelief and her mouth dropped. One hand went to twirling her hair.

  “Well,” Paul said, glancing at Marjordan. “The site seems fairly stable now. Sam and I can spot the girls. What do you think, Healer?”

  Marjordan narrowed eyes on Cait and her heart sprinted. Suddenly, her bravery waned and she swallowed quickly several times.

  “I want to be there, just in case,” the healer said. “You two eat something first. Whit. You and Jen can prepare nighmeal.”

  “Yes, Healer,” the warrior said.

  It was Cait’s turn at amazement. She gaped at her primary then let a slow grin find her lips.

  “If you want to work—” Marjordan pointed a long arm to a bowl of fresh tubers. There was a slight amused expression on her face.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Cait scooped up a fistful of tubers. Chewing seemed such a waste of time since she wanted to get into the cave as soon as possible, but she forced herself not to swallow too much at once. Choking would definitely get her primary’s attention. The wrong kind.

  “You too,” the healer prompted Natjulie.

  The other girl followed Cait’s example and the two ate a hearty snack. All the while, Cait’s anxiety rose and she fought the urge to bolt to the top of the hill and jump feet first into the cave.

  Chapter 21

  The Buried Room

  Paulucas and Sam lowered Cait slowly down into the hole. She kept one hand on the rope while gripping a lamp with the other. When the movement stopped, she glanced around.

  Paul’s voice rang out from above. “What do you see?”

  Disappointment met her eyes and she sighed. The entire area had been buried under rubble from the last cave-in and Jenellen’s latest indiscretion. Even the supports had disappeared under the massive mounds of debris. Suddenly, the rope shook, dropping dirt onto her face. The movement was brief but enough to rattle her nerves, and the lamp slipped from her hand into the darkness below. She tugged on the rope. There was no need because someone was already pulling her up. Her primary took hold of the harness and yanked her to solid ground. She fell into the woman’s arms before steadying herself.

  “Out,” Marjordan said as she tugged the harness. She didn’t have to tell Nat, who stood nearby waiting a turn. The other girl shed her harness quickly and gave a worried glance at Cait. The healer’s deft hands probed Cait’s body.

  “I’m not hurt, P-Marj.” She coughed and spit onto the ground. “Just got a little dirt in my face.”

  Worried eyes studied her. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” She looked to the hole and frowned. “Everything’s buried. It’ll take weeks to get through all the rubble.”

  “No, it won’t,” Marjordan said with finality.

  Cait studied her primary’s face and her spirits fell. “Please—”

  “I’m ending this dig. It’s too dangerous.” Marjordan was within her rights as a dig healer.

  Cait opened her mouth to protest again but Paul stepped toward them. “I agree,” he said. “We already lost a healer on this dig and too many have been injured. We’ll lose someone else if we continue. This area is weak and unpredictable, especially since the rains.” He peered at the hole. “Though it appears stable, I now think this entire ceiling will collapse eventually.”

  “We haven’t found the Mask, yet,” Cait pleaded. Panic rose. “Please, we have to find it. We could widen the hole, uncover the entire room, then nothing would be left to fall.” Even as she said the words, she knew it was over.

  “No.” Marjordan held her firmly by the arms.

  “But our payment?” Tears broke free from her eyes and her throat threatened to close up.

  “We have enough.”

  She tried to pull away from the woman’s grip but Marjordan held her fast. “There will be no more digging here.”

  “Please, P-Marj.” Tears quickened down her hot cheeks. “The Mask.”

  The woman simply shook her head and pulled Caitlanna close.

  She could no longer keep her composure as she sank into her primary’s embrace and cried. “The Mask,” she managed between sobs.

  “Be still,” Marjordan said gently, and she sat, pulling Cait to the ground.

  Her primary’s rocking made her feel like an infant but she didn’t care. Comfort was what she wanted right now. By the time her eyes were dry, the two sat alone atop the hill. Marjordan silently looked out toward the late afternoon sun. Cait allowed her primary to continue rocking her. This woman was the only mother she’d ever known. Somewhere inside was a little child needing comfort and she burrowed into the warm lap.

  Marjordan stroked her hair. “I never told you this,” she said longingly. “I had a sister. A twin.” Cait was silent but she listened with interest. “At first, no one suspected anything was wrong. But as we got a little older, Mother realized my sister had no hearing.” Her primary sighed and hugged Caitlanna closer. “She was given to the forest. I wondered if I would ever see her again. And every time I passed a mutant forest, I wondered what her life was like. Mother had made special necklaces for us, matching necklaces.”

  Cait sat up and scooted off her primary’s lap to study the woman’s face. She wiped her wet cheeks on her sleeve.

  Marjordan’s eyes moistened. “That’s what Ian found on the painted-face woman. My sister’s necklace.”

  “That woman was your sister?” Gooseflesh ran up Cait’s spine and down her limbs and all her thoughts about the failed dig melted away as she studied her primary.

  “Yes. Ian removed her paint before burial. I checked and, except for a few scars, she looked just like me.”

  “I’m so sorry, P-Marj.”

  “She was a mutant. Yet we shared a womb.”

  “All mutants are someone’s sisters and brothers, someone’s sons and daughters.” Funny how she’d never dwelt on that before now.

  “We can’t think that way, Cait. It’s too dangerous. We need to send them away to survive. We have to keep our people healthy. Didn’t you learn anything from your history lessons?”

  “Yes. I know the ancient weapons caused mutations in future generations. But that was so long ago.”

  “And yet, mutants are still born today.”

  She nodded, then her stomach tightened as another thought hit her. “Did I have a sister or a brother?” she uttered, almost afraid to hear the answer.

  Marjordan gave her a motherly smile and touched her cheek. “No, my Cait. You were the only one.” She cocked her head. “Are you feeling better?” There was gentleness in her voice, the voice of a mother.

  “A little. But—” She looked to the hole.

  “Don’t dwell on that which can’t be altered, Caitlanna Mullen. The Mask is gone now. You’ve done well.”

  “The elders only promised the supplies if I found this Mask. And I want to be a finder, P-Marj.”

  “You will be a finder. Someday. I have no doubt about that, my Cait.”

  “But I want the title now.” Her voice was a bit more forceful than she anticipated. “That way I can provide more for us.”

  Marjordan chuckled and Cait gave her a startled look. “Oh, girl,” her primary said. “You have so much patience with a trowel in your hand. I know you’re disappointed. You’ll have to learn patience in life, too. And sacrifice.” She patted Cait’s leg. “If we don’t get to the fire, the others will certainly eat without us.”

  The smell of fish soup wafted their direction. Cait hadn’t eaten in several hours but she still wasn’t hungry. She pushed away her disappointment about the dig and allowed her primary to pull her to her feet and down the slippery hill to the lake. They washed their faces and arms in the cool water, getting the streaks of dirt off their tanned skin, then headed to camp.


  Whithelen stirred nighmeal and gave them both an understanding smile.

  “Sit here and rest.” Marjordan urged Cait onto a stool next to Samcoty then crossed to the pot and tasted the meal. “You’re getting better, Whit.”

  “Why thank you, Marjordan. But what’s it missing?”

  “You know me too well. I’ll get some herbs.”

  “I thought you would.”

  The two chuckled as Jenellen walked up from the direction of the horses. “Marjordan, may I speak with you?”

  Cait’s mind flashed to the finder’s disobedience just hours ago.

  “Of course.” Marjordan led the younger woman to a makeshift tent someone had resurrected after the rains stopped.

  When they returned, Jen looked content, and Cait guessed the finder had apologized for her earlier behavior and had been forgiven.

  “Sam, go get the men,” Marjordan told the boy.

  He didn’t hesitate to follow her orders and soon everyone was gathered around the fire eating nighmeal.

  Cait didn’t care whether her slight appetite displeased Marjordan. The dig was over and there was no need to impress the healer.

  ****

  They’d decided that Paul and Jen would ride to the Elders with the sour news, but storms forced them into the cave for the past three days. They kept near the exit. This front area still seemed stable, though the rains caused another foot or so of the ancient room to collapse. The riders planned to set out to the Elders as soon as it was dry enough.

  “Ha!” Cait cried. “I win again!” She tossed her last pebble onto Samcoty’s sticks.

  “I think Nat taught you how to cheat,” the boy protested.

  The girl crossed her arms and frowned at him. “I don’t cheat.”

  “You just can’t stand that I’m a better player than either of you,” Cait said. She felt unusually competitive now that she had no dig to occupy her time.

  “Caitlanna,” Marjordan said from her stool. “Don’t gloat.”

  When she grinned up at her primary, she saw something in those eyes, something that told her to back down. “Well,” she said as she turned back to the game. “I’m lucky sometimes.”