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There was no way he d be able to let Syndi go.
81
Lorie O Clare
Chapter Eight
The large cave, there was no other way to describe it, hummed with activity. It was
damned hard not to stand there in awe, her jaw hanging open, as she stared at the
computers along the rock walls.
A large table in the middle of the room housed even more equipment. A couple of
men and one woman eyed her curiously, but looked away without staring too long,
focusing on their work.
Tor moved through the room and joined two people working on the far side. He left
a wet path on the rock floor and she walked through his footsteps, hating the insecure
feelings that knotted her gut.
Look what I ve found. The woman sitting, looked over her shoulder, smiling.
What is it? Tor stood behind her, focusing on the images on her screen.
His expression was intent, serious, as it had been since they d left his home. Having
turned all business, his new mood put Syndi at a disadvantage. Handling him when he
was the predator, the sexual aggressor, had been one thing. But now a leader stood
before her, intent on the affairs of running his nation.
Coming over here in his small tran-bus, listening as he d spoken on his phone,
watching while he d navigated the small two-seater ship through the water, he d
become a different person. He d glanced at her only once or twice, and both times had
appeared preoccupied.
She didn t know his mind, didn t understand his world, and it was making her
unsure of how to behave. Sexually, she d been confident. Now in the matters of
business she didn t know how to act, where to stand, whether to comment or ask
questions.
And there was nothing she hated more than feeling inadequate.
Oh wow. The woman stared at Syndi, turning her chair more to get a better look
at her. This must be the woman from the surface.
Syndi straightened. No matter that she didn t have a clue what was going on
around her, they would see her as intelligent and someone to reckon with.
She thrust out her hand. I m Syndi Stone. And you are?
Surprise appeared on the woman s face only for a moment. She stood, glancing
quickly at Tor before returning her attention to Syndi and accepting her hand. Her hand
was damp and cool, but her grip firm.
I m Fern Leek, she said.
82
Dead World
And this is Ben Osk, Tor added, gesturing at the man who stood on the other side
of him. They are both my computer specialists. Now show us what you have here,
Fern.
Syndi wasn t sure, but she thought Fern rolled her eyes at him. The young woman
turned, thrusting a short strand of sandy blonde hair behind her ear, took her seat
again, and moved her pointer on her screen.
Syndi frowned at the group of pictures on Fern s screen. Those are the images in
the tunnel, she said.
Yes. Tor had his hands clasped behind his back.
Looking up at his profile, the hard definition of his chin, the muscles that flexed
around his cheekbones, she could only guess at his thoughts. If she moved just a bit,
their arms would brush against each other. But he held himself tall, alert, his attention
completely on the screen in front of Fern. It was as if he didn t realize she stood so close.
Well, look what I found. Fern drew her attention back to the screen.
They look a lot alike. Syndi leaned forward, studying the pictures taken of the
paintings that covered the walls in the tunnel that connected their worlds.
Fern had pulled up several other pictures, images drawn on what appeared to be a
brick wall. The new images weren t taken underwater. They were from her world. Yet
she didn t recognize them.
The computer pulled them up as most possible match for being done by the same
artist, Fern explained.
Syndi shook her head, not wanting them to know she knew nothing about
computers. Like anyone in the village had exposure to anything electronic. The closest
she d been to anything like this was looking at it through store windows in the city as a
child. They wouldn t see her ignorance though.
She nodded. But they are taken from my world. Those pictures aren t in water.
We aren t in water right now. Ben Osk glanced around Tor, his look placid. It
says right there these images are housed in the Polk Museum in the East Passage.
He pointed at the screen and Syndi read the caption she hadn t noticed at first. The
date is 2144. They are only twenty one years old.
She wasn t sure why she d thought they would be older.
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