Chapter 339 Chapter 339
Konner leaned against the tree, his eyes never straying far from the building that Terah was in with the doctor. Pulling his phone out, he dialed his aunt’s number. Hopefully, she answered without hanging up on him this time. Modern technology and Alviva Flores did not go well together.
“Konner?”
He grinned, “yes.”
“Did you find some? I had one of my feelings.”
He could barely hear her, “Auntie, hold the phone closer to your face.”
“Is this better?”
He winced, now she was screaming in his ear. “Much.”
“Did you find some?”
“One, Auntie, she was in very poor health…”
“A female. That’s marvelous. Have you been in the water with her yet?”
Konner sighed softly, so she wouldn’t hear him, “no, Auntie, I’ve just met her. My team recovered her a few weeks ago.”
“Recovered?”
The door opened, making him pause and watch. A young boy came out. Leaning back again, he debated on telling her everything right away or waiting until he was there with her. “Yes, from Aiden Tomas.”
“Someone needs to burn that cur at the stake.”
He smirked, if his aunt had her way many would be burned while staked to the ground. “She was born in captivity, Auntie, her mother was taken when she was pregnant.”
“I know of two that disappeared while carrying young, Konner, was she one from our clan?”
It pained him to hear the anguish in her voice. “I don’t know yet, Auntie, I’ll speak with her after the doctor is done checking her.” He cleared his throat, “it’s going to be a slow trip back, she needs the water often.”
“You do whatever you need to bring her home, nephew, she needs to be with her people.”
He nodded, “she’s going to need time to adjust, she knows nothing of clan life, or even life outside a tank, Auntie.”
“We’ll embrace her and help her, you know that.”
The door opened again; this time Terah came out. She stopped outside the door and raised her face to the sunlight and his breath got caught in his throat. She still had the swimsuit top on but was now wearing a long flowing blue skirt. “I need to go.” He said softly, “I will call when we are on our way back.”
“Kenna friðr, Nephew.” She hung up before he could tell her to also feel peace.
Sighing, he tucked the phone in his pocket and went over toward Terah, who still stood there in the sun. It was fall here, the air was chilled, snow would soon be covering the ground, freezing the lake, but she’d never had the simplest thing like sunlight before. If she wanted to stand there all day and feel the sunlight and fresh air on her face, then he had no problem standing beside her.
She gave him a quick once over and then looked up at him.
“Everything go well with the doctor?”
She smiled slowly, “yes, she says it is a miracle.”
Konner grinned back at her. She had no idea how much of a miracle she was—to him, to his clan. He motioned to the path, “I need to go up and move my van to the cabin, would you care to walk with me?”
She nodded, “yes, then you can talk to me,” she paused, her nose wrinkled in as she thought, “that is why you are here?”
Konner nodded, “you are the only reason I’m here.” He smiled at her and watched the tension in her face ease.
“Yes. Let’s walk and talk.” She looked at the slip-on shoes in her hand. “I have trouble walking in these.”
Konner glanced at the path, “we can take a different route, that won’t hurt your feet if you like.”
He was rewarded with a bright smile. “Okay.”
At this point, he would have walked the entire area to make sure she was comfortable. The walk was slow as she stopped to look at things and touch them. He was fascinated watching her touch a plant and then put her finger to her tongue to taste what she’d hand her hand against. It was common for their kind to rely on taste rather than scent. Once in the water, their nostrils didn’t have the same ability as they did out of it. In the water, taste, sight, and the vibrations of the atmosphere around them replaced the simple ability to smell.
He watched her do it again with a weed, then make a face from the taste of it. Going over, he plucked the weed from the ground held it up to his nose, and inhaled slowly, showing her.
With a focused, cautious look, she leaned toward it as he held it in front of her nose. She sniffed briefly and then stopped and slowly took the scent into her system. Her nose wrinkled and she hissed from the smell of it. “I do not like that one.” She swatted it away from her face.
Konner chuckled, “above water, the scents of things can be very offensive at times.”
“There is so much.” She said looking around. “I don’t know what any of it is.”
“You will learn.”
Clasping her hands around the shoes she carried, she glanced at him from under her lashes, “I won’t go back in a tank ever.”
“No, you won’t.” He cleared his throat, “I will make certain of it.”
She studied him for a moment and then nodded. “Okay.” She started walking again.
“Did you think that was why I was here?”
Shaking her head, she didn’t look back at him. “No. Rayne told me someone was coming here soon that would take me somewhere that the fish don’t run out.”
Konner grinned, “that’s true, but there are other things to eat than just fish.”
Stopping, she turned and gave him a startled look. “I like fish.”
“They are good.” He agreed and started walking again.
“You like fish too?” She slowed to walk beside him.
It occurred to him that she hadn’t realized yet that he was like her. He had assumed she would know by his scent or his eyes. Cursing inside his head, he put his hand in front of her, so she’d stop.
“Do you hear that?” She whispered and looked into the trees.
Konner stilled and listened. It sounded like someone crying.
Terah dropped her shoes on the ground and went into the thicker growth of the tall weeds.
Konner jolted and followed her. She shouldn’t be wandering in that without something covering her feet.
She squatted down in the growth and was talking softly.
He caught up to see a small child curled up and crying.
“Hello.” Terah leaned right down, her face almost on the earth. “I’m Terah, what’s your name?”
The little girl stilled and looked at her. “Kavi.” She sniffled and wiped her eyes. “I don’t have a mom and daddy now.”
Terah scooped her onto her lap and brushed the blonde curls back from her face. “Mine is gone now too.”
“Really?” The tear-filled brown eyes looked up at Terah. “Does it make you sad?”
Terah nodded and wiped her cheeks off with the material from her skirt. “Yes.” She hugged her to her chest. “Would you like to walk with us?”
The child nodded.
Terah stood up, holding her in her arms, and started walking back to the path.
Konner followed and picked up her shoes.
“It’s all right.” Terah’s rasping voice whispered to the girl.
He was just about to ask where she was supposed to be when Terah began humming to her. It wasn’t the type of humming that one-forms made, it was the song of his people. It was a magical melodic sound that he hadn’t heard, out of water since he was a child. It was a calming peaceful song, and it settled the little girl in her arms. She rested her face against Terah’s chest and took sighed in a ragged way.
Konner was stunned, could barely form a complete thought. His kind had different vocal cords, ones that allowed them to communicate underwater, mostly with various vibrations in a range of pitches, but no one, except his Auntie, hummed out of the water now. He wasn’t even sure if the others knew how to do it out of the water. He frowned; he wasn’t sure even he could.
He continued up the path toward the house, not speaking. He didn’t want the melody to end. Had her mother taught her how to do this? He needed to know who her mother was, and where her family was from.
As they rounded the corner to the path leading up to the main house, a woman came running toward them. “You found her.” She gasped to catch her breath, “I’ve been searching everywhere.”
Terah looked down at the little girl. “She was mourning in the trees.” She gave her a small smile, “she is much better now.”
The woman held out her arms, “thank you.”
Terah placed Kavi in them. She brushed the curls back from her face again and then stepped back.
The woman turned and looked over at the guard, “tell them we found her.” He nodded and opened the door. She turned back to look at Terah and then Konner, “thank you again. She just wanders off in stealth mode on me.” She turned and walked down the path.