“How can the Mother Stone heal me from such a…a serious problem?”
“With the help of your one, my dear friend.” Navii nodded at Bravik, who was looking distinctly uncomfortable. “Come, let us go out onto the sands and all will be made clear to you.”
“Out onto the sands?” Danni asked in confusion. But Navii only smiled and beckoned for them to follow her down the long corridor which led to the white metal pyramid.
Thirty
The inside of the pyramid seemed even bigger than the outside—if that was possible, Brav thought. And there was indeed sand—acres and acres of it spread across the floor of the pyramid as though it was a giant, indoor beach.
It was hard to say what color the sand really was—maybe white. But it appeared pink because of the only light source in the room reflecting off its shimmering surface—the Mother Stone itself.
The Mother Stone was a monolith—a giant pink finger of crystal poking out of the sands towards the cut-off tip of the pyramid. Its light pulsed and glowed, bathing the entire interior in a neon luminescence that was at once lurid and hypnotic.
“Oh my,” Brav heard Danielle breathe beside him. He could feel the wonder on his own face too.
The Mother Stone was clearly some kind of natural phenomenon, but it was obvious why the H’rakens treated it like a deity. It was a breathtaking sight, pulsing in the darkness and rising in a blaze of glory—a pillar of pink fire in the night.
“She is a beautiful sight, is she not?” Navii said softly. “Her wonder is ever-increasing. The longer you bathe in her radiance, the more you wish to remain always in her presence.”
“I can see how it would become…addictive,” Danielle murmured. “But how is it supposed to, er, heal me?”
Brav shot a glance at her, wondering if the curvy little Earth female really did need healing of some kind or if she was just putting on an act for the benefit of their hostess. Naturally, he couldn’t ask—not here, anyway—and probably not at all. If Danielle really was unable to have children for some reason, it would probably be a touchy subject—much like his own inability to bond. Better just to let it go—if she wanted to tell him, she would, in her own time.
“The Mother Stone herself will tell you how the healing is to be accomplished once the two of you step onto the sands,” Navii told Danielle.
“But…is it safe?” Danielle looked worried. “I mean, how close do you get?”
“That depends on how difficult your healing will be. The Mother Stone will tell you how closely to approach her. As you can see—she had various couples at different distances,” Navii said.
Looking around, Brav saw that she was right. The H’raken couples were scattered across the pink sands, most of them at a discreet distance from each other and not quite in the line of sight of the others. Maybe it was the Mother Stone’s way of offering a modicum of privacy.
And privacy was certainly needed. Most of the couples were sitting on loveseats and kissing or touching each other in very intimate ways—and all of them appeared to be making use of the slits in their Adoration garments.
“Come, my dear friends,” Navii told them. “Step onto the sands and let the Mother Stone guide you to the proper distance.”
“Um, will you come with us?” Danielle asked the other woman.
“Just this once I will, in order to interpret the Mother Stone’s communication to you,” Navii told them. “After that, you will be able to understand on your own and you will no longer need a guide. Come.”
She stepped from the wooden walkway, which surrounded the vast, sandy beach, down onto the pink sands and motioned for them both.
Brav exchanged a look with Danielle and shrugged. What else could they do but follow? She still looked a little frightened, he thought, so he held out a hand to her, though they had been trying not to touch too much. Even though the Goddess knew he damn well wanted to touch the curvy little female.
Danielle took his offered hand at once and offered him a grateful smile. Brav smiled back and squeezed lightly, a gesture that said—we’ll get through this together.
Then they stepped together from the walkway onto the sand.
At once the patch of sand in front of them rose up and became a giant hand, as tall as Brav was.
Brav immediately pushed Danielle behind him, ready to fight off the weird sand-hand tried anything. But it only beckoned to them and pointed towards the glowing pink monolith in the middle of the room.
“Ah, the Mother Stone has sensed that you need deep healing,” Navii murmured. “She is telling you to come closer. Simply follow her guide and it will lead you to the correct distance.”