Page 44 of Dark Destiny: The Turning Of The Loom

Daniel's stoic indifference bothered him.

His thighs burned by the fortieth step and shook by the seventieth, but he ignored the pain. It was proof that his muscles were working and getting stronger.

The silence of the keep was oppressive. He even welcomed Areana's prattle just to break the silence. The lack of sound wasn't the problem, though. What irked him was knowing that his neighbors had gone to a better place while he was stuck in the damn dungeon.

Now there were only the three of them and the soft squeak of the walker's feet.

Even the clinic was deserted.

"Is anyone even using this place?" he asked Daniel. "Why keep such a facility if you are not using it?"

"It gets used," Daniel said. "You are here."

Getting any information out of the guy was impossible.

"Most of the clan lives in the village now," Areana said. "They keep this facility for emergencies, and right now there are none."

"So, it is a warehouse now," he said. "And we are what is stored in it."

"It is temporary," Areana said.

"Everything is temporary. It's not a consolation."

She sighed but didn't argue, and he was grateful for that. Areana was very good about letting him have the last word. Most of the time, she didn't really care to argue, but when something was important to her, she usually waited to bring it up when he was in a better mood.

She managed him, and he knew that and didn't mind.

As the elevator doors opened on the pool level, the smell of chlorine was like a greeting. Then, as they passed through the doors, the other, more subtle scents registered. It was familiar, a part of his daily routine, and since he had nothing else to look forward to, he was glad to have this one thing to break up his days.

There was now a chair at the shallow end with a set of steps beside it and a rail. Daniel sat in the chair.

Navuh parked the walker at the top of the steps, removed his robe, and draped it over the walker. He held on to the rail for balance but let his legs bear his full weight for a moment. They held with only minimal shaking. Then he went down the steps one at a time, until the water reached his knees, then his hips, and then he let go of the rail.

"Two laps," Areana said. She had come down the steps behind him, in the black one-piece suit she wore for this, and stood in the shallow end. "Then rest before you do another two."

"I don't need reminders, Areana. And if I have enough left over for a third lap, I will do it." He pushed off.

His arms were doing better than his legs, and in the water they were doing most of the work. His legs were almost useless. The length of the pool passed under him, one measured stroke after another, and as he reached the far wall, he touched it and turned around. By the time he returned to where he had started, his lungs were on fire, and his legs and arms felt like they were made of lead.

Two.

He hung on the edge and breathed.

Areana stood where he'd left her, the water lapping at her waist, and watched him with her usual patience. Everyone called her face angelic because she was blindingly beautiful, but that serene expression didn't fool him, and he loved her precisely because of what it was hiding.

"Come swim with me," he said.

She shook her head. "I told you. When I swim, I focus on the strokes and don't pay attention to what's happening with you. I need to keep you safe."

"Daniel is here. I'm sure he'll jump into the water to save me if I drown." He looked at the Guardian. "True?"

The guy nodded. "I'm doing my job." Which meant he didn't care whether Navuh lived or died, but it was his job to keep him alive, so he would.

It was good enough.

"Of course you are." Navuh smiled. "Who did you piss off to get this job?"

Daniel just stared at him, as stoic as ever, and didn't respond.