Page 49

“Where is she?” Zakira was coming down the cobbled street from the palace, his expression alight with eagerness.

Then he saw Celine and he stopped short.

“She is not what she should be.” He gazed accusingly at Caldwell.

“This isn’t the woman you showed me in the photo, Caldwell.

My people should not see her like this. What kind of symbol would she seem to them?

She’s filthy and almost… ugly. I’ll not even have her in my village.

Get rid of her, Caldwell.” He turned to Eve.

“You are not to make the mask to resemble this creature. Do you understand?”

Unfortunately, Eve did understand. Zakira had no foresight or imagination as far as anything connected to Queen Folashade was concerned.

There was only intense resentment bred by his upbringing and the stories told him about his ancestors.

She saw Celine start to open her lips to speak and quickly shook her head.

She could see what direction she’d have to go if she was to have a chance at keeping Celine alive even for a short time.

“She’s not as ugly as you think. She does have potential and only needs to have a talented professional artist to bring it out. ”

Zakira’s eyes were suddenly narrowed on Eve’s face. “And you’re that artist?”

“You chose me, and you’ve been pleased with my work so far. I’ve barely started on the sculpting, and I believe you can see the progress I’ve made.”

“I admit I was impressed,” Zakira said slowly. “I thought I could see signs that I might have a mask that everyone would compare to that of Tutankhamun, the boy-king.”

But he was still looking skeptical, so Eve added quickly, “Yes, and I can give you what you want now that I have a model to use to help me get through the basics. Just allow me time to do the work and get her in shape so that she looks like a queen and not an uncivilized gutter slave. Caldwell obviously doesn’t have any idea what you really want in the mask. ”

“Yet he tried to convince me that he did,” Zakira said. “I wonder why?”

Eve shrugged. “I have no idea. That’s between the two of you.” Time to insinuate a thread of suspicion? “And I also have no idea why he decided to hand my son over to you when you wanted a queen to show your power to everyone who doubted you. Does that make sense?”

Caldwell was cursing beneath his breath. “The boy was just a temporary fix for a bad situation. Don’t listen to her.”

Zakira stared thoughtfully at Eve for a long moment.

“But I think I should listen to her. I’m a reasonable man, and she’s offering me what I want—while you appear to be failing miserably at it.

So I’ll give her the time she needs.” He turned back to Caldwell.

“I’ve decided you don’t have to get rid of that woman yet.

We’ll keep her around and let our sculptor do what she does best. Just make certain she’s well guarded. ”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Caldwell said. “I’m just as eager as you to prove that our Celine will prove a success for you.”

Eve said quickly to Zakira, “Of course, I’d be a fool if I didn’t understand about the guards. But I can’t promise success unless you let me work with her without interference from Caldwell or his men. They’re a disturbing influence. Naturally, your presence will be welcome at any time.”

Zakira chuckled. “Did you hear that, Caldwell?” He turned away and headed back toward his palace. “Cease to be a disturbing influence until I tell you it’s needed.”

Eve took advantage of his departure to shove Jossland aside, put her arm around Celine’s waist, and help her into her quarters. “You heard him, Caldwell. Keep Jossland away from her and send someone with soap, a bowl of water, and a decent antibiotic right away.”

“Do you think that you’re going to get what you want?” Caldwell asked. “Zakira can change his mind a dozen times a day. I’ve known him for a long time, and I’ve seen him do it. All I have to do is wait.”

“But at the moment, you’re not on his list of favorite people. Maybe he’s looking for a replacement. I thought I’d volunteer.”

She slammed the door shut behind her and turned to Celine. “Bastard,” she muttered. “Sit down before you fall down.”

Celine dropped down on the cot. “Willingly. I’m a bit weak in the knees at the moment. Though Jossland was concentrating on doing more damage to my shoulder. He was royally pissed off because I put his own arm in the way of those guards’ bullets while I was getting away from them.”

Eve frowned. “How bad is your wound?”

“Not too bad. It’s only a flesh wound. It would have been a lot better if I’d been able to treat it and rest it, instead of having to go on the run from half the soldiers here in Shafira.

” She smiled wearily. “But then I guess that’s what I have to expect when I have the reputation of being an uncivilized gutter slave. ”

Eve frowned. “You know I was just trying to make it safer for you here.”

“I knew exactly what you were doing,” Celine said quietly. “And I’m forever grateful. I wasn’t thinking too clearly after they dragged me here from the mountain. It was a great relief to have you in my corner today.”

“How could I do anything else?” Eve asked simply.

“You helped Joe and Kontara get my son away. I hope I would have done it anyway, but there was no way I could turn my back on you after that.” She smiled.

“I’m sure that we’ll have plans to discuss in a little while, because neither of us is going to be content to let those bastards get their way in this.

But right now, I’d like you to close your eyes and try to rest. You’ve had a long, hard time.

I’ll wake you when Caldwell sends his errand boy with the antibiotic and water that I requested. ”

“It was more like an order,” Celine said.

She found herself yawning and tried to fight the exhaustion.

“Again, thank you very much, Eve. When I attended your lecture last year, I would never have dreamed that I’d be here saying that to you.

You can never tell where fate is going to take you, can you?

” Then she could no longer battle against the weariness.

She closed her eyes and let the darkness flow over her…

It was two hours before Eve woke Celine gently but firmly.

“Sorry about this, but Caldwell took his time about sending you that antibiotic and I didn’t want you to have to wait any longer before you took it.

” She handed her the medicine vial and watched her examine the ingredients carefully.

“From the limited experience I’ve had with wounds, I don’t think the bastard was trying to poison you,” she said dryly.

“I wouldn’t put it past him.” Celine made a face.

“But he’d probably be more likely to give the job to Jossland as a reward for services rendered.

That seems to have been his modus operandi since he came into my life.

” She lifted the vial in a toast to Eve.

“But this time he seemed more concerned about pleasing Zakira, so I think I’m probably safe for the time being.

” She swallowed the antibiotic in the vial and handed it back to Eve.

She smiled as she gazed down at her hand.

“I believe you’ve been doing a little cleanup.

When I passed out a couple hours ago, I remember thinking that I looked so filthy dirty, I couldn’t blame Zakira for wanting to toss me on the nearest trash heap.

” She turned her hand appraisingly to the left and right.

“Now it’s pristine clean and you’ve even given me a manicure.

I suspect you couldn’t stand seeing me like that? ”

Eve shook her head ruefully. “I couldn’t do much because I was afraid of waking you, but I thought you might rest better if I could get off a little of that surface dirt. You’ll have to use my shower to get rid of the rest.”

“I can’t wait,” Celine said as she swung her legs to the floor and braced herself to get to her feet. “Where is it?”

“Far side of the hut.” Eve helped her to get across the room. “I’ll help you undress and turn on the shower. Do you need me to help you with the shower itself?”

“No.” Celine moved stiffly until she was underneath the spray of the shower, and then the heat was a cure in itself. “But you can lend me something to wear and help with bandaging my shoulder again. I’ve got to make sure it’s totally clean.”

“Coming right up.” Eve disappeared for a moment, and then she was back. “Are you sure you don’t need any more help? I’m something of an expert at reconstruction, and I don’t usually get a chance to use my skill on live subjects.”

Celine chuckled. “I’m sure. No one knows better than I do what an expert you are. But I’ve got to get my strength back, and I can’t do that if I let you wait on me. Just give me a towel and help me over to the cot, and I’ll let you bandage my shoulder.”

Eve handed her the towel. “If you insist, but I do have to remind you that I’m the one who owes you a debt. You helped my son, and I’ll never forget that.”

Celine shrugged. “We were both caught in the middle, and neither of us really had a choice. We just have to remember who was responsible for putting us there and how we can help each other to survive it.” She met Eve’s gaze. “Agreed?”

Eve hesitated and then slowly nodded. “Agreed.” She helped Celine to sit down on the cot and then moved closer to bandage the wound.

“Now hush, and let me do this. If I’m not mistaken, we’re going to have a good many more difficult things to handle together than this wound.

I want you to be strong and capable. Let me finish this task and then we’ll try to come up with a game plan. ”

Celine nodded. “Any suggestions will be welcome. Now I believe I’ll stop pretending to be so damn tough and take a few deep breaths while you finish bandaging my shoulder. It smarts a little.”