-Topaz Mountain -
Velori jerked awake, out of an uncomfortable yet deep nap. She had a crick in her neck, and her back hurt.
Stretching her muscles, she stared up at the tent ceiling. Absently rubbing her neck, she thought about how her sleep was dreamless. No freaky stalks of creepy seaweed and no dark caves filled with beautiful Geodes.
For a brief moment, she saw bottomless blue seas and crashing waves accompanied by a feeling of home. She smiled to herself at the thought but as fast as it came, it faded because Ben was standing right inside her tent door and had just cleared his throat for the second time.
Startling her out of her reverie, she turned and gave a glare of hatred. Ben only laughed as he brought up his hands to silently ask, "Well, I'm here, now what?"
"Thanks for getting here so fast.", she said.
"Nothing but curiosity brought me this quick, honey." Her scowl only deepened. "And, of course, seeing that drop-dead smile of yours. You know I'd never give up a chance to see that." His country drawl and bright eyes, brightened her glower into an unavoidable smile.
She walked up and stood on her toes, hugging him. Throughout their years as friends, feelings were nurtured into those that went past friendship, for Velori at least. And for a brief moment, they'd shared a closeness and tenderness that would have solidified it into something more. However, it wasn't the same for Ben, and hugging him now only chafed the still tender wound.
Asking him to come here had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. One she hoped she wouldn't regret. They hardly talked now, but he was there for her dad's funeral earlier this year and even though it was a sweet olive branch, an olive branch it was, nonetheless. He too had been close to her dad before the incident.
Losing him had cut them both, deep. Especially with how sudden it was. One day he was there, and the next, not. I mean seriously, who thinks they're going to be driving home one night and be the target of a drunk driver? Her gut twisted at the thought. He'd hated alcohol. He had his reasons, he'd always say, and the painful irony that it's what took his life, would always tear at her.
Ben's mouth grew into a large grin, as she was still hugging him, and he couldn't stop himself from saying, "You okay, darlin?" She drew her head back to look up at him.
Even on her toes, it didn't seem to be high enough. The top of her head met the bottom of his neck. He was a tall man with chestnut brown hair and a great sense of humor. As a plus, he was well built, with a large torso, strong arms, and an ass that fit perfectly into his jeans. He had to be fit to do the dirty business of the Archaeology trade. While most of their work was in the dirt and sand, his part was the heaviest and required the most muscle.
The fancier people with their money and know-how might find the graves and tombs but it was Ben and his crew that hauled the rocks and coffins out of the usually cramped areas. If something needed to be shipped, dug up, pulled out, cleaned up, hidden, you name it, Ben was the one to call. All for a hefty price, of course. There wasn't anything that he didn't offer or couldn't do for that matter. He had been one of her oldest and dearest friends.
Still in his arms, and with the biggest smile on her face, she said in a rush, "Ben, you're not going to believe what I've found. It's beautiful, no, it's magnificent and I have to show you."
She was so excited she was nearly jumping up and down in his arms. With some regret, she slipped out and giddily ran out of the tent, pulling on his arm as she went. She must have slept for hours because looking past the rock base, you could see the beginnings of night rise and the low glow of stars. On the wind, she could just make out the scent of cactus flowers. This place had been a crazy setup for her Archaeology crew but in that time, she'd grown fond of its beauty.
After she had mapped everything out and had the needed strings and ropes set in place, weeks had passed since her first arrival. It had also taken another week for her lawyers to finagle the landowner into approving the site. She knew how to work with the State but the landowner had rights to it and it caused an intense discussion. Velori had won her over in the end but the landowner required images of everything to be sent to her before she allowed it's permanent removal and transport.
However, Ben's crew had moved around her base camp which was made up of two large cream-colored tents and several smaller crew quarters. The larger one had hefty tables that held computers and excavating equipment and the other much slighter one was filled with containers, tools, and a mini refrigerator.
When they'd finally stopped, she'd all but drug him to the entrance. Normally she would say hi to his crew and play around a bit but with what was in this cave, she couldn't stop her excitement. "Okay, close your eyes."
What's she up to this time? Whatever it is, she's all riled up. His thoughts were visible on his face. He shrugged but being the good gentleman, he also closed his eyes.
She grabbed his hand once again and led him forward to where she wanted, and then gently pressed on his chest, telling him to stop. With a light noise from her, he opened his eyes.
It was marvelous. One of the most beautiful tomb he'd ever seen. Though there were only two rooms that he could see, the first one held a sarcophagi and as there hadn't been a discovery of any sarcophagi in the States, this was huge. They'd both seen their fair share of every kind of tomb out there, from Greco-Roman, Babylonian, and even Mayan. What was even wilder was this one looked similar to Assyrian. Which wasn't something found in the North American area.
He tried to get closer to the sarcophagus so he could make out what was on top when she grabbed at his arm again and tugged him into the other room.
I wish she'd quit yanking on me like that. He thought, but then he wouldn't get to touch her as much, his brain threw back at him.
"Obviously I want that taken back to my workshop in Colorado along with that tapestry but there's two more in here too. Come look!" She'd briefly pointed to the long covering on the wall, before once again grabbing his hand and tugging him into the other room.
She was going into explaining which two pieces she wanted when she noticed his gaze was fixated on the slab in the back. It had a fuller-bodied woman sitting with her feet to the left and her hands in her lap. She had a giant eagle with opal eyes perched on her right shoulder and she was surrounded by large eggs, baby eagles, and snakes. The happiness she held on her face made Velori's stomach tighten even more.
Velori couldn't help but remember her first time seeing the woman. As if from a memory, she saw herself running up and hugging her. She saw herself kissing her cheeks and laughing with her. On Velori's chest was a tiny scar, one she could never recall getting. It had started to burn as if she was being branded. She rubbed at it now, hoping to ease the pain.
"Yanna?" Ben said in a barely audible whisper.
She reached out and grazed his arm with her fingers. "Yanna? What's that? Are you okay? You kinda look like you've seen a ghost?"
His jaw was slack as he drew his eyes to her, yet his sight wasn't focused. "I'm fine. It's nothing." That was all he mumbled before stalking back into the front room and that's when he saw what was laying on the first sarcophagus. With a nod in its direction, he said, "Why does that gal look like you?"