Cal moves closer, and they exchange words before she walks him over to the rolling cart, picking up a plate and selecting a few different things from bowls before handing it to him. All the trainees have loaded up their own dishes and now settle into two very distinct groups on the floor.
He doesn’t even look up and notice that I’m watching him. Instead, he moves around the circle so he can still see her as the three women complete their tasks.
Is there something about her that is appealing to him? Ever since his deep purple aura has reached out, it continues to dance along her body, letting me know more than any of his body language that he’s still watching her.
As the ladies leave, he sits up a little straighter, watching them wrestle with the cart on the uneven floor. One woman opens the door for the other two, and they all step out without a backward glance.
Then he gets up!
Without a word to anyone, he heads for the door they left through. Without me even consciously deciding, my feet are halfway down the stairs.
My mind is blank, and as I cut across the floor. My jumbled thoughts finally start comprehending what I’m thinking. But no.
No. He couldn’t possibly...
But as I stick my head out into the vestibule with stairs at each end, I don’t see any of them. Looking right and left, I listen, waiting for something. Anything.
Sure enough, my energy stretches to the left, down the stairs that take us to the underground chambers. Quietly, I walk that way, trying not to act obvious. I haven’t done any exploring. We all talked about the game plan for the next couple of days, and staying in the rooms below the Temple made the most sense.
Together.
Now as I descend the stairs, listening for Cal’s familiar grumbling voice, I wonder what’s gotten into him.
He was so adamant about staying here, too. Does he know this Orcleen female somehow? Was she someone he’s been with at the Roportorium?
I’ve never asked him or Luc, for that matter, whether the Orcleens bounce back and forth in the portal. Just what does the Offering Circle—what they call the Dishif or portal—do for both sides? Is it a trade?
So far, that’s all I’ve seen during my meditations. Crossing back and forth with goods.
When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I look up and down the hall. Did they carry the tray down here?
There are low murmurings to the right, so I head that way, knowing that I’m still walking in the right direction because my energy is guiding me. That’s about the only thing that is because based on how I feel, totally fucking numb, I’m not sure what I’m expecting to see.
I can tell he’s in this room. It’s the third door on the left. Even though I hear the occasional Orclan conversation off in the distance, Cal’s energy is seeping through the cracked door.
I can’t see in. Like all the rest of this place, there’s not a ton of light, just the dim recessed lighting at the top of the wall.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Pressing my back against the wall, I squeeze my eyes shut, frustrated. Clenching my fists, I dig my nails into my palms.
You’ve come this far. You have to follow through. Otherwise, what am I going to do?
Go back up and wonder? I can’t even question him right now. We’re all still on standby to get our translators from Serlo. He updated us first thing this morning and said he’ll be spending the bulk of his day after teaching morning classes on getting the languages transferred over to a prototype ear translator.
That all sounded good, but for now we’re at the mercy of Luc to translate everything. Cal knows a bit, and Serlo is trying desperately to catch up on sign language, but there’s only so much we can talk about that way with their limited communication.
Could Cal and this Orcleen just be talking? Maybe.
But what the fuck is it saying if I allow him to hide in another room where I know he’s with another woman?Oh, hell no.
Turning, I press my hand against the large slab, and it swings open silently. My mouth drops open as I get to the door just in time to see the Orcleen woman on the other side of Cal tug on her dress, splitting the material and letting it fall to the floor.
Smirking slightly, she turns around, climbing up on a bed in a slow seductive move. I’m so stunned, I only stare. Her large green body is totally hairless, and as she bends over, I’m given a totally unwanted look at her vagina.
Do they call it a vagina?
“What the fuck!” I finally got out. My heart’s beating so hard, I’m on the verge of hyperventilating.