Free ON EDGE (Decorah Security) by Rebecca York Page B

talk about themselves, but we knew they served a higher purpose than we can understand.”
    “You grew up in that . . . training school?”
    “Yes.”
    “What was it like?”
    “Like a temple in a park.”
    “Were your teachers good to you?”
    “They were kind to us.”
    “And they took care of you when you were sick?”
    “We didn’t get sick. We were always in excellent health. And it wasn’t all work. We played games and had entertainments. We had sports to keep our bodies fit. We learned about art and music.”
    He dragged in a breath and let it out, knowing he had to ask the question that had been in the back of his mind since she started talking. “And what year was it that you were taken to the temple?”
    “Long ago. I think you would say my family belonged to the ancient Roman era. But we did not worship the Roman gods. We lived to the east, at the very edge of the empire. Probably it would be Romania today.”
    He nodded, struggling to take it all in. “You have been alive all that time?”
    “In the other plane, time is not the same. But yes, I am very old.”
    Another man might have dismissed her story as a fantasy or delusion. But he had seen too much—experienced too much in the past few days—to dismiss it.
    “Where are the others who studied with you?”
    “We each live on our own.”
    “Is it forbidden for you to marry?” he asked in a voice he couldn’t quite hold steady.
    Her face took on a look of wonder. “You are thinking of that?”
    “Yes.”
    “I never considered that I could. I had my mission, which I love. It is a sacred mission, to protect those who cannot protect themselves. And I have my beautiful house where I can . . . recharge, I think you would call it.”
    He brought the conversation back to his question. “You can’t marry, even if you want it?”
    “No man ever came into the other plane with me before. And when I was in your world, I was always invisible.”
    “So it must mean something important that I saw you.”
    She answered with a small nod.
    “Take me to the place where you were trained. I want to ask the gods for your hand.”
    She stared at him in wonder.
    “You would do that?”
    “Yes.”
    “Most men would be afraid.”
    “I would dare anything—for you.”
    Hope and fear flickered across her face. “And if they say no?”
    “I will try to persuade them.”
    “I knew you had determination—and bravery—when I saw you attack Lilith the first time. But I think you do not know what you are facing.”
    “I’ll chance it. Can you take me there now?”
    “If that’s what you truly desire.”
    “Yes.”
    She climbed out of the wide bed, and it changed, along with everything else, so that they were back in the hospital room. He sat up and reached for his prosthesis.
    “You can have two legs there,” she murmured.
    “No. I want them to see me as I am.”
    He secured the prosthesis, then went to the closet and got out the neatly pressed dress-white uniform that had been hanging there, unworn. He put it on, with his Bronze Star, his Purple Heart, his Meritorious service Medals and service ribbons over the pocket.
    Then he squared his cap on his head. He worked his leg, making sure he was steady on his feet. When he looked in the full length mirror on the back of the closet door, he saw Ariel standing in back of him. She had changed from her sari into a simple white gown.
    “You look very handsome,” she said as her gaze moved over him.
    “And you’re beautiful.” He reached for her, pulling her into his embrace and holding tight for a long moment before easing away. “How do we do it?”
    “I can travel easily between the worlds, and I can take you with me. Grasp my hand.” She knitted her fingers with his. He gripped her tightly as he saw the room around them shimmer. From one second to the next, they were no longer in the Naval Medical Center. Or in the jungle where he’d landed last time.
    Instead they stood in a bleak landscape