Page 25 of Dark Shaman: Eternal Hope (The Children Of The Gods #100)

TAMIRA

T amira walked the familiar route—left at the tapestry, down past the arch where the plaster still wore a water stain.

She passed two maids sharing gossip and smelling of cleaning solution.

They bowed and scurried past her, then resumed their excited conversation as if it had never been interrupted.

She let their chatter wash over her. It steadied her.

As she opened the doors leading to the indoor garden, she found Areana sitting on a stone bench, the fountain's music filling the silence with sounds that couldn't replace what nature sang aboveground.

"Care for some company?" Tamira asked.

"Yours? Always," Areana said.

It was such a nice thing to say, but Tamira doubted Areana meant it, especially after the spat they had over Darien and whether Areana knew that Darien had escaped with her son.

"Thank you." Tamira sat down. "We should head to the library soon."

"Yes," Areana acknowledged. "I just needed a few moments alone here."

She usually had breakfast with Navuh in their apartment, and after he departed, she often came here or joined the other ladies for breakfast, sharing a cup of coffee with them.

Navuh was intense, so Tamira could understand Areana's occasional need to recuperate and center herself after spending time with him.

"I wish we could have birds here," she said, just to start the conversation. "But I wouldn't want to do that to the poor creatures."

"No, I guess not." Areana glanced upward, acknowledging the watchers without mentioning them. "Did you come just to keep me company, or do you have something you wanted to discuss?"

Tamira sighed. "I feel anxious all the time. Ever since the rebellion, even the harem doesn't feel safe. I can't fall asleep, and when I finally do, I can't stay asleep. I keep waking up."

Areana smiled knowingly. "You have a handsome male sharing your bed. I'm sure he has something to do with your lack of sleep."

"He distracts me as much as he can." Tamira leaned back. "But when he sleeps, I'm left alone with my thoughts and fears."

It was true, but she knew Areana would interpret that as Eluheed's human need for many hours of sleep and Tamira's reduced need.

"What are you afraid of?" Areana asked.

Tamira canted her head. "Isn't that obvious?

The enhanced soldiers. I know that they are being contained, but fears are not rational.

I was so terrified in Lord Navuh's basement that I haven't managed to return to normal.

I jump at every noise. Elias can't defend me from these enhanced warriors, and it's up to me to defend both of us, but I have no training, no weapons, and I feel helpless.

" She leveled her gaze at Areana. "You probably don't feel any of that because you have a powerful compeller sleeping next to you at night.

You don't feel the danger as acutely as I do. "

Areana nodded. "I fear too, but not as acutely. Having Navuh sleep next to me helps, but he's not there every night."

That was something Tamira hadn't known. "How come? He never goes off island, so what reason can he have for not spending the night with his truelove mate?"

"Sometimes he works late at night, communicating overseas across many time zones, and then he just spends the night at the mansion."

That was the opportunity Tamira had been waiting for to ask what she came for.

"The ladies and I have been wondering for years how Lord Navuh comes to you at night and leaves in the morning without anyone knowing.

We are guessing that he has a secret tunnel leading between your rooms in the harem and his mansion. "

Areana laughed. "I wondered when one of you would have the guts to ask me about that."

Tamira widened her eyes in pretend shock. "So, there is a tunnel?"

"Of course. How else do you think he gets to my rooms? Flying on a magic carpet? Even that could not bring him underground."

Tamira leaned closer to the goddess. "Have you ever been in that tunnel?"

Areana shook her head. "I know where it is, and I know how to open the secret passage without triggering the alarms, but I've never actually stepped inside of it. Navuh told me to use it only in an emergency, when the harem is attacked or on fire."

So, Eluheed was right, and the entrance to the tunnel was rigged.

Tamira assumed an offended expression. "That kind of information should be shared with all the ladies. What if there is a fire and you are unconscious from smoke inhalation, and we can't evacuate you through that tunnel because we don't know where it is? What if you leave and we remain trapped?"

Areana had the decency to look uncomfortable.

"You are right. I've never thought of it that way.

Knowing how to open that door could be lifesaving.

I guess I could show you how to open it without showing you how to disable the alarms. Navuh would have my head if I did that.

But in case of an emergency, you can just use the escape route and trigger the alarm.

If there is a fire or the defense parameters are breached, all the other alarms would be blaring anyway. "

That was less than ideal, but maybe Areana would open the passageway for Tamira to see, and she could memorize what needed to be done to disarm the alarm.

"So, Lord Navuh has to disarm that door every time he enters or leaves?"

Areana nodded. "He uses an application on his phone. But since I don't have a phone, I use the manual sequence."

"That's another thing I wanted to ask you about. Why don't we get phones? They can be for on-island communication only, but they could also be a lifesaver in an emergency."

Areana looked exasperated. "Don't you think I know that?

Don't you think I tried to get us phones or even walkie-talkies with just one channel?

Everything is an endless negotiation, and I need to be careful not to press too hard or he shuts down completely.

It's a delicate balance, and every little concession is a victory. "

"I understand." Tamira put her hand on Areana's arm. "I'm sorry for dumping all of this on you at once, but we were all wondering about those things, and you are the only one who could get us those concessions."

Areana nodded. "Do you want to see it now?"

"The entrance to the tunnel?"

"Yes. We can stop by my suite before we head out to the library."

"What about the others?"

Areana smiled indulgently. "I'm not about to lead a guided tour. One at a time is better, and since the other ladies are at the library already, this is the perfect time to show you."

"Then lead the way." Tamira pushed to her feet.

She followed Areana through the corridor and then the staircase to the first level, their footsteps muffled by the thick carpets. The opulence here always made her slightly uncomfortable—not because she envied it, but because it felt like a gilded cage within a cage.

Areana's suite was sprawling. They passed through the sitting room with its silk-covered walls and entered the bedroom, where the massive four-poster bed dominated the space.

Tamira's eyes went immediately to the shallow bookshelf Eluheed had described, built into the north wall.

Then her eyes darted to the ceiling, and the ornate drapes covering the doors that led to the balcony overlooking the interior courtyard.

"There are no recording devices in here," Areana said, noticing Tamira's scan. "Navuh values our privacy."

Tamira nodded and smiled, but she wasn't convinced. Navuh could have easily installed devices without telling Areana, turning them off only when he visited. But she kept that thought to herself.

Areana walked to the bookshelf and ran her fingers along the spines. "The sequence is important," she said, positioning herself so that her body partially blocked Tamira's view, or at least it appeared to do so. "I must do it exactly right, or the alarms will be triggered."

As Areana moved through the disarming sequence, her positioning was carelessly ineffective. Tamira could see everything clearly, as if Areana were only pretending to conceal it.

"First," Areana said, pressing down on a specific spot on the floor with her heel. A soft click sounded. "The pressure plate beneath the rug."

Her foot hovered over the spot long enough for Tamira to memorize the exact location. It was the third pink rose from the left in the pattern, about one-third of a meter from the wall.

She moved to the bookshelf. "After the plate comes the books." She reached for a leather-bound volume on the second shelf and as she pulled it out halfway, another click sounded.

Herodotus's Histories , Tamira memorized, wishing she could write it down.

Areana repeated the same process with Plato's Republic on the third shelf, then Marcus Aurelius's Meditations on the first, and finally, Ovid's Metamorphoses on the very top shelf that required her to stretch on her tiptoes.

But this one she pushed rather than pulled out.

A deeper click resonated through the wall, and a section of the bookshelf swung inward on silent hinges, revealing darkness beyond.

"The pressure plate resets after thirty seconds," Areana continued, still making a show of blocking Tamira's view while actually demonstrating everything perfectly.

"So, the book sequence must be completed quickly.

On the way back, it needs to be done in reverse.

The books first and the pressure plate last."

Tamira committed it all to memory: the third rose, a third of a meter out.

Herodotus, Plato, Marcus Aurelius, Ovid.

Pull, pull, pull, push. It wasn't difficult to memorize the classics, but the sequence was a little trickier.

She would have to devise a mnemonic. H, P, M, O.

Three pulls and then one push. Heroes Plot Military Overthrows.

That needed work, but it would do for now.

"What if you make a mistake?" Tamira asked.

"The alarm sounds throughout the complex. Guards converge from every direction." Areana's expression was serious. "Navuh would assume an intruder, and because it's in my quarters, the response will be fast and forceful."

Tamira peered into the darkness beyond the opening. "How far does it go?"

"All the way to the mansion. Navuh told me that it's wide enough for a compact vehicle. The tunnel has emergency lighting that activates with motion, and in an emergency, I'm supposed to just run and get as far away from the harem as I can."

Tamira peered into the darkness but saw nothing, even with her enhanced immortal vision. "Haven't you ever been tempted to explore it?"

Areana shrugged. "Not really. I'm not a fan of spiders and other creepy-crawlies that I have no doubt this tunnel is full of.

And speaking of those unsightly creatures, I'd better close this door before any get in.

" She went through the sequence in reverse.

Ovid pulled out, then Marcus Aurelius pushed back in, Plato, and then Herodotus.

Finally, she stepped on the pressure plate again—not the same spot, but a different rose in the pattern, the fifth from the left, same distance from the wall.

"That locks it again," she explained. "Without that final step, the door remains accessible to anyone who pushes on it."

Tamira nodded, her mind running through the sequence again. When the time came, she could get herself and Eluheed through, but the guilt of abandoning her sisters sat heavily in her stomach.

"Thank you for showing me," she said. "This could save lives one day."

"Indeed." Areana smoothed her dress. "We should get to the library before the others send a search party for us."

As they left the suite, Tamira wondered if Areana knew exactly what she'd done. The goddess was far too smart and cautious to accidentally reveal such crucial information. But whether it was a gift, a test, or a trap, Tamira couldn't say.