“Please continue,” he urged.
I cleared my throat and continued on. “When we left the ship we headed for the forest where we found some purple water that had some strange effects on us. Is there something special about the water here? Do you drink the river water or should we have avoided that?” I noticed Tarak’s eyes were purple as well, which made me think he and his dekes did drink the water here.
“Special about the water?” He furrowed his brow. “I don’t think so. There are stories about our gray-eyed ancestors, but there’s no mention of special water.”
Interesting, I’d have to file that information away for later. Maybe Fatima with her anthropology background would have some insight on these ancestor stories.
“Well, after that we found a den, which is where one of your fellow Sirrets snatched my friend and carried her off.”
“Was this den well stocked with food, like baskets and baskets of food?”
“It was, actually.”
Tarak nodded his head. “That’s what I thought. You found Orsu’s moon den, and it was my hunter Orsu who took your friend. He had been traveling with me to seek out a strange scent when he started acting strange. He ran off and I failed to keep up with him.
“I am sorry, Gab-bae, if I had known the rest of your dekes was in his den I would have brought you back to them instead of taking you to the mountain, but I can assure you that his den is a safe place for them to stay the night and we will get to them by tomorrow afternoon.” Tarak had a pained look of remorse on his face.
“You didn’t know what you didn’t know.” I reassured him. “I trust you. We’ll find them tomorrow.” At least I hoped so. It sounded like as long as the women stayed hunkered down in the den, they’d be fine.
My thoughts drifted to Julie and I asked, “Has Orsu stolen a female before?”
“No,” Tarak shook his head, horrified. “No one in my dekes has broken the rules. We have stayed away from all females that are outside of our dekes.”
“Rules? What rules?” The Sirret culture was getting more and more interesting by the minute.
Tarak looked down with shame written all over his face. “We once belonged to the other dekes but we were exiled. They would only agree to give our annual offering to the goddess if we followed the rules laid out by their Savrix.”
“Why were you exiled?” Every piece of information Tarak gave me left me with more questions than I’d had before.
“It’s not important. Let me show you around the caverns.” Tarak got up, signaling the end of the conversation. I would most definitely disagree about the importance of why he was exiled, but I wasn’t going to push the issue. Tarak was being exceptionally generous by feeding me and keeping me safe; I didn’t want to push my luck or wear out my welcome.
We left his small cave and continued to walk down the candle-lit passage until we came across a cavern about half the size as the main cavern I’d met everyone in. This place was dark and quiet, filled with hundreds of glowing worms that covered the walls and ceiling.
“What is this place?” I expected my voice to echo but there was so much moss covering the walls and ceiling that it absorbed all the sound.
“This is where my hunters can go when they’re feeling overstimulated. Axon, for example, has such keen senses that he can quickly become overwhelmed when he’s around more than two people in the enclosed spaces of the mountain. He finds comfort in the silent calm of this room. Here, there’s more.”
Tarak led me to the far end of the room where a bathtub made from a massive hollowed-out log rested on planks above a small fire pit.
“We filled this basin with salt from the forbidden waters and we keep it above room temperature by building a small fire underneath,” He explained with great enthusiasm.
“What do you use it for?”
“You climb into the water and float. With your ears under the water, and your body floating from the salt, it is easy to feel and hear nothing.”
“You made a sensory deprivation tank.” I was impressed. “Was this your idea?”
“I had the original idea for the quiet room for my hunters who find the world to be too loud like Axon and Jax, but the others built upon the idea from there. Drovo, for example, thought of filling the basin with water.” Tarak beamed as he spoke of his hunters and what they had accomplished. It was sweet.
“I see now why they made you their Savrix,” I teased and Tarak blushed a dark blue as he ran a hand through his hair.
“The elders that came with us, chose me,” he admitted as he looked down at the ground, looking as bashful as a tall blue alien shifter could.
“I think they chose well,” I brushed my shoulder against his and Tarak gave me a sheepish grin.
“Thank you, Gab-bae.” He looked at me with eyes full of joy and took my hand in his. I loved holding hands with him. My stomach filled with butterflies every time he did as if I were back in middle school holding hands with my first crush.
“Come, I have one more room to show you.”
