Ellora's Cavemen: Tales from the Temple II (19 page)

She reached between his legs and laughed. “If it gets any shorter, I may have to go looking for it.”

“Hey, give me a break, at least you’re wearing fur.” A strong sensation of being watched crept over him. Cedric glanced to the cliff. “She’s up there…watching us.”

“I know…let her watch.” Kat drew closer, placed her arms around him, and gave him a long, seductive kiss. “She could have joined us if she had not been such a…”

“Bitch,” he finished for her.

“I am not familiar with that word, but it sounds right.” Kat snuggled him and playfully nipped at his ear.”

“You wish to share what we have with Zalorna?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to be that close to the half-sister. Yet once Kat placed the idea in his head, he didn’t find the idea revolting. Stupid maybe, but definitely something he could at least fantasize over.

“Why not?” Kat purred. “After all, she is my half-sister.”

“Humans don’t normally want to share what we have.”

“Ahh, but then we are not humans in the true sense, are we?” She let go and started for the edge of the pool. “The cold is finding its way through me as well.”

Cedric followed her and received a shower as she shook the water from her orange and black-stripped fur.

Kat sat on a large flat rock at the pool’s edge and began grooming her fur like any ordinary cat. As he watched her tongue glide over her body, he became aroused.

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“Does your cock grow from wanting me again so soon, or are you thinking about Zalorna?” She gave him a sly glance, lifted her breasts, and began to lick them dry.

“Do you want me to think about your sister?” Cedric sat beside her, stretched out on the rock, and ran his fingers through her coarse fur.

“Not while you are with me.” Kat lay back, scooted next to him, and turned onto her side facing him.

“It would be impossible to think about anyone else when making love to you.” He knew that in all sincerity, he wanted the words to be true but even now, he knew the question would always be in the back of his mind. Cedric closed his eyes.
What would it
be like if…?

He was brought back to reality as Kat’s tongue took a detour and licked the tip of his now throbbing cock.

“Still thinking about that black sister of mine?”

“No.”

“Liar,” she laughed and sat up. “I want you to think about mating with her.”

“Why?

“Then you will not be so quick to kill her when you meet.” Her fingers fluttered over his chest and caressed his cheek. “I would like for the three of us to live in peace on this island.”

“I want that too,” Cedric pulled her head down to his and kissed her, “more than you know.”

113

R. Casteel

Cedric sat on the edge of the bluff overlooking the small, protected cove. Kat lay curled up beside him contentedly purring while he stroked her soft fur. The site was perfect for their home.

With all his vast wealth, he could’ve had a mansion built, but there was something invigorating about working with his hands and building it himself. Besides, what did he need of luxury, when he had Kat?

She leapt to her feet and snarled. Every hair on her back stood, her tail lowered, and she crouched as if ready to attack anything that moved.

“What is it, love?” His body began to respond as her nervous awareness surrounded him.

“I…I do not know,” she growled. “Danger is coming. I can feel it. Run for the cave.”

She spun and charged across the partially cleared plateau.

Her sense of impending danger brought his dark side to the surface as he followed her. His heart kicked into overdrive and sent blood surging through his veins. With the force of a jackhammer, it pounded behind his eyes, and filled his ears with a roar. His fangs slammed into place with enough force to bring pain to his face.

A bright, blinding light exploded around him. A blast of intense heat swept over him like a steamroller, knocking him to the ground.

Oh, my God! A nuclear bomb!

Dazed and in shock, his perception and reasoning slowly returned. Kat crawled over to him and licked his face.

“What happened, Cedric? It is so hot I can barely breath.”

What the hell did happen?
The grass seemed to wither before his eyes.

“I don’t know, but we need to reach the cave.” He staggered to his feet. “We have to get out of the sun.”

“Cedric,” panic filled her voice, “look at the sky. It is on fire.”

Lifting his eyes, he stared in wonder and fear. What appeared to be tongues of flame rolled overhead like angry storm clouds. For as far as he could see, the heavens were burning.

“We must seek shelter at once.” Cedric forced his legs to carry him forward.

Further up the slope from the plateau, a dead tree burst into flames.
Is this the end?

his mind questioned.

They reached the relative safety of the cool cave. Dropping to the floor, Cedric forced his breathing to deepen and calm. If he stayed the way he was, if the blood-lust 114

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continued for much longer, he would need to feed the craving. Right now, he couldn’t allow that to happen. Kat was the only source of fresh blood and he would rather die first.

“I’m frightened,” Kat confessed.

Cedric looked out at the orange-red sky and watched as first one pine tree and then another, ignited and burned like a torch. He wasn’t frightened, he was scared to death, but he couldn’t let it show.

“Come here.” He lifted his arms to her.

Kat crawled into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Cedric rocked her as they observed their world going up in flames.

It felt like his skin was being removed, one layer at a time. He had been burned in the few minutes it had taken them to reach shelter. Blisters on his arms and chest gave testimony to just how lucky they had been to reach shelter.

Finally, after burning far into the next morning, the fire in the sky flickered out.

Tired, hungry, and parched with thirst, Cedric emerged from the cave with Kat walking beside him. The heat surrounded them, sucking the air from their lungs.

The trees that hadn’t burned had their leaves curled and shriveled. Overnight, the grass had turned brown. In scattered areas of the island many fires still raged. Walking to the edge of the cliff, he scanned the devastation below. Miraculously, his boat still floated in the cove.

Not knowing of Zalorna’s fate, Kat stood up, looking toward the tall mountain peak in the center of the island. His heart went out to her half-sister, but their own survival came first.

“Cedric, I don’t hear any birds.”

Suddenly, he heard it too…the sound of silence. It sent a foreboding chill up his spine, and he strained to hear even the slightest sound of life.

“I know.” Lifting his eyes to the sky, he looked for the ever-present sea gulls and found none.

Out on the horizon where the blue sky merged with the ocean, a line began to form.

He stood rooted in fear as it grew larger, stretching from the east to the west as far as he could see.

Cedric swallowed the panic lodged in his throat. “Kat, you have to find Zalorna just as fast as you can and bring her to the boat.” He started running toward the path leading down cliff.

“Why?” she asked as she fell in beside him.

“Trust me, Kat.” His lungs burned as the hot dry air filled his lungs. “There isn’t time to explain.”

She bounded ahead of him and was gone.

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There may not be any time left for us if I don’t save the boat.

Reaching the cove, he dove into the water and started swimming. There wasn’t time to haul the dingy to the water. Cedric reached the boat, scrambled up the ladder, and hauled in the anchor. Forcing himself to remain calm, he started lashing down and stowing away everything he could.

Finished with the topside, he glanced towards the beach for any sign of the females.

Seeing no movement on land, he went below and prepared the cabin for getting underway. He had to be ready, but if they didn’t make it back it wouldn’t matter what he did.

Back on deck, he saw Kat and Zalorna looking around as if wondering what to do.

Thankfully, the boat had drifted closer to the beach.

“Swim for it!” he yelled. “Hurry!”

They didn’t question but hit the water at a run. Time seemed to drag by while he waited. “Come on, girls,” he muttered. “Swim faster.”

Kat was the first to reach the boat and climb aboard. She collapsed on deck as Zalorna lifted her black head above the gunnels.

Loose portions of skin hung from broken blisters. He couldn’t imagine the pain she must be going through. There would be time to tend to both of them later…if they survived.

“Get below,” he pointed to the hatch leading to the cabin, “and brace yourselves.

It’s going to get rough.”

Cedric started the engine, thankful that he had a full tank of fuel. He gave the wheel a spin and opened the throttle. If he made it to the far side of the island, they might stand a chance, but even then, he questioned their odds.

He cleared the mouth of the cove and looked to the north and his heart sank. A wall of water bore down on them. With no time left, he spun the wheel, locked it in place, and dove for the hatch.

Kat was waiting. Her blanched face registered her fear as she slammed the door behind him. The stern began to rise and the small sailing yacht shuddered.

With the quickness of her cat instincts, Kat threw herself at him and locked her arms around his chest. They crashed into the bulkhead, bounced off the small kitchen counter, and then hit the overhead as the boat rolled over beneath the onslaught of the wave.

Time seemed to stand still. Everything moved in slow motion. Zalorna flew past them to crash into the forward bulkhead. Somehow, she managed to land on all fours, only to be lifted and slammed into the overhead.

It seemed like forever, but the boat slowly righted and popped to the surface like a cork. “Kat, Zalorna—are you okay?”

“Yes.” They answered with shaky voices. “What happened?”

“A giant tidal wave hit us.”

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Shaken and bruised, they had come through it alive. The engine had stalled. At least, he hoped that was all and nothing more serious had happened.

He opened the hatch and went on deck. The top half of the mast was gone. If he couldn’t repair it, they would be forced to rely on the engine for as long as the fuel lasted. After that, they would be adrift.

“The island!” Zalorna’s startled cry turned him around.

Water lapped along the edge of the cliff where only a few short hours before he had been building his home. The island had been reduced to a small ridge of land that even as he watched, grew smaller in size.

A chunk of ice, bigger than his boat, bobbed in the water nearby. He shuddered at the thought of what would’ve happened had they been hit by it while riding out the wave.

“What happened, Cedric?” Kat watched the ice floating past the boat.

“Only one thing could’ve caused this. The polar ice caps have melted.”

“Oh…what are ice caps?”

He suddenly realized the world that they were heading to would be so drastically changed that trying to describe the old world would be nearly impossible. “They were large areas of that stuff,” he pointed to the berg, “for as far as the eye could see.”

“And whatever happened yesterday…melted them?” Zalorna frowned.

“It’s the only answer I have for…this.” Cedric spread his hand out toward the island. Even as he spoke, he could see the land slowly disappear beneath the waves.

Starting the motor, he pulled back to the island. “Kat, see if there are tools stowed away for cutting wood.”

“Zalorna, can you jump into that tree?”

“Well, yes.” She had a funny, disgusted look on her face.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply you couldn’t…when I get close enough. I need you to tie a rope off higher in the tree.”

He broke out the anchor rope, removed the anchor, and handed her the end of the rope. Drawing closer to a tall pine that had miraculously not burned, he stopped the engine.

Zalorna jumped for the branches of the tree, clawed her way towards the solid trunk, and climbed towards the top.

“Okay,” he yelled. “Tie it off.”

Kat came back on deck with a small handsaw and campfire hatchet. Cedric reached for them but she backed away.

“I’m a better climber than you are.” She looked up the tree to where Zalorna sat clinging to the branches. “Tell me what you want done.”

How the hell do you argue with a woman when you know she’s right?

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“Clean all the branches from as far up as you can safely reach and work down. I’ll try to pull some of the branches aboard to use as shade. When I think you have trimmed enough of the main trunk, I’ll let you know.”

He brought out a small line and tied it to the tools. “When you reach the tree, pull the tools to you and whatever you do, don’t lose them. Without them, we don’t stand a chance.”

She got ready to jump into the water and he grabbed her arm. “Kat, be careful.” He pulled her into his arms and gave her a kiss. “I love you.”

“You are just now realizing that?” Kat gave him a big smile and jumped.

She reached the tree, retrieved the tools, and worked her way towards the top.

When she could go no further, she started back down, cutting branches as she went.

When she reached Zalorna, the two of them worked side-by-side sending wood chips flying and branches crashing into the rising water below.

“Okay!” he yelled. “That should be enough. Cut the main trunk off below the rope.”

Time seemed to drag by as the sun beat down upon them. The small saw handled the branches just fine, but on the bigger section of the trunk it was slow going.

He heard the wood crack and the top begin to sway. Zalorna gave a push and the top broke fee. She lost her balance and fell.

Cedric watched in horror as she clawed the branches fighting for a hold. She hit with a splash and resurfaced spitting water. With a triumphant smile on her face she lifted her hand in the air. To his amazement, she was still holding the hatchet.