Grasping his hands, she saw that they, too, were broad, square and strong. "Thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed, as she shook them. He answered in the most beautiful language she had ever heard, with the sound of water falling over rocks.

"So that is what they speak in Atlantis," Uncle Hubert happily exclaimed.

"Atlantis?" She sighed in annoyance as he uttered that fatal name. Of course, he would say that...he had almost gotten them both drowned in searching for that imaginary island. Now he only cared whether they had found it. To her surprise, her rescuer nodded happily.

"Atlantis!" he replied. "Atlantis!"

"All right, so Atlantis does exist," she admitted, as she dried her hair vigorously on a rough linen towel, matching the one she had wrapped around her. "Was it worth getting us both half killed to find it? And how will we ever get off it now?"

"Never, I expect," he answered cheerfully. "After all the trouble they have taken to make it seem like one more tropical island...and a very uninviting one at that...I doubt they will free us to tell the world about it."

Now she turned on him angrily, making no effort to hide her disgust. "So we will spend the rest of our lives in this cabin, staring at these log walls around us and that fire in the middle of the room, wearing these rough towels and just hoping someone replaces the bread, wine, cheese and berries we found in the cupboard." Her voice rose in fury as she went on, "You have satisfied your curiosity and you sacrificed me to do it. That's why you brought me on that cruise in the first place."

"Actually, I have only proven the first half of my theory, that Atlantis exists," he a.s.sured her, from beneath the rough wool blanket he wore. "I can only hope to prove the second part soon. It is true I brought you here to play a vital part in my experiment, but I do not believe you will regard it as a sacrifice at all," he went on, just as calmly. "Not for long, anyway. If my theory is entirely correct, then our handsome young rescuer should be bursting in here at any moment to claim you."

"What?" she demanded, dropping the towel in her hands on the packed earth floor. "Do you mean he will rape me?" For a moment, she imagined herself struggling vainly in his muscular arms. Angrily, she pushed away the thrill of desire that picture brought her.

"Not at all," Uncle Hubert a.s.sured. "He will make you his wife. If I am right about Atlantis, that is."

For a long moment, she could only stare at him. "You really are insane," she finally managed to say.

He opened his mouth to answer, but shut it quickly when the wooden door crashed down.

Their rescuer was standing behind it, grinning. As he came towards her, she could smell his sweat mingled with the leather of his short skirt and breastplate. She watched with awe as he untied the straps holding his garments together and let them fall onto the floor. Now he was revealed in all his naked splendor, his body glistening in the firelight.

His bright blue eyes gazed down at her and his powerful arms reached to embrace her. Without thinking, she raised her thin lips towards his full, firm mouth, barely noticing when the towel wound around her slipped to the floor. Instead of kissing her, he lifted her up and threw her on the bed, as though she were a feather pillow.

"I will leave you two newlyweds alone," her uncle murmured as he quickly walked outside. "I will make sure that no one else disturbs you, although I doubt very much that anyone will try. After all, it is his wedding night."

She hardly heard him as her rescuer pushed her onto the bed and used his knees to force her legs apart. Sternly, she willed herself to resist, but instead she felt herself surrendering eagerly to his complete maleness, his absolute dominance over her. She wound her legs around his thighs and reached up to clasp her arms around his neck.

But what kind of people could they be, who were wedded this way? Were they really humans at all? When he thrust himself inside her, a flood of desire washed all those questions away. As he pushed himself into her and pulled himself out, over and over, faster and faster each time, she felt herself closing and opening around him, drawing him further and further into her very depths. At last, when he could reach no deeper, they both exploded together in the final burst of ecstasy. Only then did roll off her to lie beside her on the narrow bed, one arm thrown around her shoulders.

Still gasping, he pointed to himself and said, "Hurk."

"Hurk? I am sorry, I do not understand..." The fact he up suddenly sat up, startled her and she jumped back.

"Hurk! Hurk!" he cried in frustration, thrusting his thick finger at his ma.s.sive chest.

"You mean, it is your name?" Knowing he could not understand her question, she pointed at herself and said, "Merilee."

"Merilee!" he shouted in triumphant, as he sank down beside her again. "Merilee! Merilee...gun mou."

Somehow, she knew he had called her his wife, in his own strange and beautiful language. At the thought, she snuggled against him, marveling at the hardness of his broad chest. "Mo...husband," she murmured. Feeling him stroke her damp hair, she looked up to see him smile and knew he had understood. For the first time since her parents had died, she felt truly at home again.

"Aner," he said, pointing to himself.

"Mou...aner," she breathed, burrowing further into his side. She did not know where he would take her...or if they would stay here together. It did not matter because this little hut was suddenly a palace to her. She only hoped she could do enough to keep it clean and cheerful for him when he went off to...wherever it was he went. But he would not go there tonight...no, they would surely have these hours together.

"Kalorizko!" At that cry, she hid her body hastily under the coa.r.s.e blanket. Another young man was leaning against the doorframe, grinning at them both. He was not as tall or handsome as her own husband...aner...she realized, but he seemed a nice young man, with his dark curls and that dazzling smile spreading across his wide, full lips.

"Kalorizko!" he shouted again, as he raced forward to grasp Hurk's hand.

"Zeno mou," Hurk said, turning towards her.

"The other young man is congratulating you both," Uncle Hubert told her, as he appeared in the doorway. "Your new husband is explaining that that young fellow is his friend."

"I can see that for myself," she answered dryly. "But, uncle, you might as well come in now. You can tell I am not angry any more. I only hope you and the zeno have someplace to stay tonight."

"I will stay here," he informed. "As for Hek, the zeno...he is here to take your sweetheart back to their barracks tonight."

"What?" she demanded, sitting bolt upright.

"You need not worry," he a.s.sured her. "Your husband will sneak off to see you as often as he can."

"Did Hek tell you all that?"

"He didn't have to. I figured it out for myself. It is all helps to prove my theory. Now we will see if I am right once again."

"I sure hope you are not!" she exclaimed. Her uncle only shrugged as the young newcomer reached out to her husband again. With a sigh, Hurk climbed out of bed and pulled on his garments.

"Some zeno!" she muttered. "But I suppose he is only looking out for Hurk. We couldn't have him going AWOL, even if it is his wedding night." Clutching the blanket around her, she sat up and reached up for his kiss. When he pulled away from her, she looked down in shame. Her blush turned to a smile when she found herself staring below his waist, at the long, thick hardness there. "I see you want to make love to me one more time at least," she said. "What kind of zeno would stop you from doing that?"

"The kind who is a very special friend," Uncle Hubert murmured. "But he will take care of the problem."

She was about to ask him what he meant by that when she saw for herself. The sight left her speechless...

...because her new husband was pulling his friend into his arms and kissing him hard on the lips, the same way he had embraced her so recently. They stood clutching each other until they heard her horrified gasp. Then her Hurk bowed to her with a glance of apology and pulled his friend out into the night.

Soon she could hear them behind the hut, moaning together as she and Hurk had so recently done. After a moment, the two men cried out together, just as she and Hurk had done at the last. This was different in a terrible way though because both of their pa.s.sionate voices were rough, low and unmistakably male.

Who is taking whom? She could not help wondering. Which is bending over the other one and pressing himself into his back opening? Her Hurk must be playing the man's role, she decided loyally, because he is so much bigger and stronger. She dared not even imagine the other possibility.

Even in the dim firelight, Uncle Hubert obviously saw her revulsion. "You have always been for gay rights, haven't you?"

"Of course I was!" she answered indignantly. "I mean...I am. But this is...different."

"Because it is happening to you?" he demanded gently. "Or because they do it practically in front of you, without shame? I can a.s.sure you that they find nothing indecent about it. Their society does not believe that either one is acting womanly. In fact, it would think the less of them if they behaved any other way. As it is, they are very fierce warriors...and this is one way of proving it. You need not worry though," he added with a smile. "He will also keep proving it with you as well."

"How can you know that?" she demanded.

"The same way I know everything else about them. I can't tell you how I know, though...at least, not yet. I can only a.s.sure you that you have nothing to fear from your husband's friend. Your Hurk is a one-woman man...and a one-man man, too. So you might as well go to sleep now."

"It has certainly been a busy day," she murmured, as her eyelids fluttered shut. Then they snapped open again. "But what am I supposed to do until the next time he sneaks off to see me?"

"I am sure someone will come to tell you that, too."

Before they left together, the two men had pushed the door back against the frame. Now she was awakened by the woman who was climbing carefully around it.

She was wearing a soft, sheer white gown and carrying a folded pile of identical garments. Dropping them onto the wooden chair beside the bed, she pointed at them and smiled, to show they were a gift.

"Gun Hek," she said, as she pointed at her own high, firm bosom. Her red-gold curls fell over her shoulders, framing her bright blue eyes. They reminded Merilee so much of her own husband, she was not at all surprised when the lady went on, "Adelpha Hurk."

"You are Hek's wife and Hurk's sister," she exclaimed, as she hastily climbed out of bed and reached for one of her new garments.

"That seems likely," Uncle Hubert agreed.

"I'll go put on this dress in the powder room," she told him, as she picked up the towel to cover herself.

To her surprise, the other woman followed her there. Knowing no way to object, she simply tried to ignore her. She grew even more uncomfortable when the newcomer kept staring at her steadily, still smiling, as she relieved herself. The stranger kept gazing as her hostess took wet rags from the wooden stand to wash her face and clean her teeth, then picked up a wooden comb. Quickly, she dragged it through her tangled tresses, not caring how badly it tore them, in her eagerness to be away from that room and the woman who shared it with her.

At last she pulled her new gown over her head, letting the rough towel fall to the floor. "Merilee," she said, pointing at herself, when they were back in the main room. Then she turned her finger towards her guest and spread her hands in a silent question. "Haln," her visitor said.

"I a.s.sume you want to serve your new sister-in-law breakfast," her uncle said. "We still have some food and wine left in this cupboard."

"Don't you want to eat with us?" she asked hastily, as her eyes silently begged him not to abandon her to this strange visitor.

"I have had breakfast already," he answered calmly. "I will leave you two ladies alone so you can get to know each other."

She stared desperately at the door as he made his way around it. Then she forced herself to turn back to her guest. Doing her best to smile, she gestured Haln towards the wooden table and busied herself serving her.

Apparently Haln, too, had already eaten her breakfast and was hungry for something else entirely. Before her hostess could sit down, the woman stepped quickly towards her, grasped her arm and kissed her hard on the lips.

Then the guest pulled down her sister-in-law's bodice and ran her tongue across each of her nipples in turn. At the same time, she pressed her lower body against Merilee's, through its sheer white draperies.

To her own horror, Merilee could feel her nipples growing hard in response as a flame of desire shot through her down to her very core. Still, she struggled furiously until she pushed the other woman away. Then she shook her head violently. Obviously, her guest had gotten her message, because she strode out angrily. Her relief soon turned to dismay as the frowning woman returned with Uncle Hubert in tow.

"It seems you have made her angry," he said mildly.

"I have made her angry! What do you think she did to me? I'll have you know she tried to kiss me and not in any sisterly way."

"No," he answered, with a faint smile. "I would not think so. But I believe you have realized by now that their ways are not like yours."

"Or like anyone's on Earth!" she gasped. "I believe they must be s.p.a.ce aliens. No wonder they are so attractive...those must be masks they wear. Who knows what they look like underneath?"

To her surprise, he laughed. "Well, that is one theory," he told her. "But wherever they came from, you have insulted your sister-in-law."

"I have insulted her?"

"Yes, and I think you had better make it up to her. One kiss won't hurt, will it?"

In fact, it did not hurt at all. As Merilee forced herself to approach the other woman, she saw Haln close those bright blue eyes that were so like her brother's. When she pressed her own thin lips against her husband's sister's open mouth, she felt another flood of longing. She would have forced herself to pull away if her sister-in-law had not wound her arms around her and pulled her close. Pressed against those full, firm b.r.e.a.s.t.s, she felt a longing she had never known before.

It is only because I am lonely for my husband, who looks like his sister, she a.s.sured herself. Otherwise, no woman could ever arouse me, no matter how beautiful she was. That thought gave her the strength to free herself gently from the other woman's grasp. To her relief, Haln seemed satisfied...for the moment, at least. When her sister-in-law reached out for her hand, she did not take it away. Instead, she let the other woman lead her out into the bright daylight.

As they walked down the wooden path, they saw men and women reaching up to pick berries off the trees. Wearing only coa.r.s.e garments that reached their knees, these workers kept their gazes turned carefully upward as the two women pa.s.sed. Their eyes flickered down towards the two women though, until a sharp rebuke from Haln made them quickly turn away.

They are afraid of us, Merilee realized. They want only to look at us, yet we have made them too terrified to do it. What kind of people am I living with? Where on Earth could they come from?

From nowhere on Earth, she realized. The thought stopped her dead in her tracks. Just as I suspected, my hosts must be aliens from another world. They have abducted these poor people to serve as their slaves. That is why the men live together in their barracks...to keep the Earthlings under control. I must be careful to show that I accept their ways, or they will force me into slavery, too.

So she kept following Haln obediently, smiling at everything the other woman pointed out to her...which was usually another work gang. It was a welcome relief when her sister-in-law led her into her own house, which was very much like Merilee's own.

Two little girls were playing with women who were dressed like the other servants. The children stopped their game when Haln and Merilee entered and ran to greet them. As their mother lifted the smaller child into her arms, her guest realized there were no boys here. In such a warlike society, Marilee suspected that they probably started their training at an early age.

She could barely wait for their day to end when she could tell her uncle what she had discovered.

"Very good," he told her.

"So you think I am right?"

Again, he smiled faintly. "Half right, at least." Despite her urging, he refused to reveal which half that was.

She forgot her annoying uncle when her new husband came to her that night. She even forgot to wonder what kind of s.p.a.ce monster he might really be. But when she reached out her arms to him eagerly, he gently took them from around his neck and led her outside. Her uncle followed behind him.

Hek and Haln were waiting from them there. From the eager way Hurk led them, often turning back to be sure they were following, they were obviously headed for some sort of amus.e.m.e.nt.

Merilee smiled and nodded as eagerly as she could, hiding her disappointment. She had been hoping for an entirely different pastime that night. She was even less pleased when the two men left her alone with Haln in the stone amphitheater and went off to join the other soldiers.

Still, the event promised to be entertaining. She could tell that from the excitement the Atlanteans showed as they took their places on the wooden benches. "Do you think we are going to see a play?" she asked her uncle. He smiled in his usual infuriating way.

"I doubt it very much, he answered. "For one thing, if I am right about these people, they do not approve of the theater at all. For another, look at those nine posts in the arena. That suggests some kind of athletic contest to me."

"Do you have any idea what it is?"

"Actually, I do. But I'd rather wait until you can see it for yourself."

A burst of cheering told her she would not have to wait long. Eight young men were marching proudly onto the field. Their bare chests glittered above their leather skirts in the light from the torches that surrounded the arena.

"What do you think their sport will be?" she asked uneasily.

"Not really a sport as we know it," he answered, with his faint smile. "Probably more like a graduation ceremony from military training to the army because they have just reached the traditional age of manhood, which is twenty-one. Don't worry though-there won't be any boring commencement speeches." He grinned more broadly as he patted her hand.

In horror, she saw that the eight were walking up to face the posts and gripping them hard. She could imagine only one reason they could have for doing so. Soon she realized she was right when eight older men approached them, clutching thick leather whips in their brawny hands.

The audience was silent now, leaning forward anxiously. Beside her, she could see Haln's bosom heaving with excitement. She thought she knew what they were listening for...the victims' screams. To her amazement, the men stayed silent, even as the lashes struck their bare backs. Again and again the leather whistled through the air and fell with a crash, raising angry red streaks on the lean, tanned flesh. Still they did not cry out.

Counting the whip strokes in her mind, she was astonished when the tally reached twenty-fine and the men were still silent. At thirty, one of them finally uttered a short, sharp cry. The punishment stopped as he slowly walked with his head lowered back to the waiting area below the ground. Haln shook her head and muttered with disapproval along with the other spectators, but they all soon turned back to the compet.i.tors who were left.

"What kind of people are these?" Merilee asked her uncle, tears filling her own eyes.

"Don't you know?" he gently asked.