Welch, D [Shadow People 02] Shadow Spies Read online

  She took both of his hands and placed them on her breasts. “Meanwhile, we can practice.”

  * * *

  Driving from Tabriz to Lake Urmia they descended to a basin bordered by snow-capped mountainous regions, spring had colored the rugged foothills green and meadows awash with wild flowers flashed by on either side.

  Shalizeth and Dorri sat close together in the back while Sanjar drove. Edward sat in the passenger seat. It annoyed Edward, because he wanted to be with Dorri, but he knew any other arrangement would draw attention to them.

  “Will Dorri and Shalizeh need to wear the chadors where we’re going?” Edward asked.

  Sanjar shook his head. “No. The unrest hasn’t spread to this part of the country as far as I know. The lake is a favorite destination for many secular Iranians and is mainly populated by Turks, so they’re used to a more modern, relaxed mode of dress. Shalizeh and Dorri might need to wear a headscarf though, when leaving the house.”

  Edward thought the term ‘unrest’ didn’t quite fit the riots that had occurred in Tabriz during January. Since that event, roving bands of militant thugs had been intimidating women who ventured out without coverings, so Dorri had flown to Tabriz wearing a chador with Edward hovering in close proximity, alert to any threat.

  The car turned along a bend and he got his first look at the lake. Brilliant turquoise, it shimmered in the morning sun. He couldn’t see the opposite shore in the far distance.

  Sanjar pointed to the road extending along the shoreline. “The bridge that is supposed to cross the lake is not completed yet. We’ll have to ferry across. We’re staying a little way outside Urmia, the city that is. I’ve rented a house there.”

  * * *

  The sun hovered above the horizon when they arrived. Sanjar parked the motorcar and Edward helped him carry the luggage into the small house.

  “We’ll settle in and have dinner. I’ve hired a woman who is reputed to be a good cook and I hope she matches her reputation. If not, we can find good restaurants in the city. The pool room is fed by a mountain spring and the pool is a large one, big enough for four people. At least, that’s what I’ve been told.”

  Edward raised an eyebrow. “A pool room?”

  Sanjar laughed. “Not what you think, Edward. It’s a room to cool down from the summer heat and usually there’s a fountain in the middle of it. It’s a place to relax, read or contemplate, although if it’s large enough you can wade in it. We’ll see.”

  The sleeping accommodations startled Edward. The house contained only two bedrooms. He and Dorri were expected to share one. He knew if they were in such close proximity, he’d be unable to hold out. His vow to abstain until they were married was about to be tested.

  They consumed the excellent dinner in relative silence because the potential topics of conversation were overshadowed by the events surrounding them. Afterwards, they moved to the pool room.

  The room resembled an amphitheater with granite seats surrounding a central pool of water. A fountain at the center sprayed and tinkled, the sound soothing to the ears, as they sat around the perimeter.

  Shalizeh broke the silence. “This nonsense has continued long enough, Dorri. Either you tell him or I will.”

  Dorri shook her head. “No, I won’t get Edward involved. The less he knows the better. It’s our burden, why should we doom an outsider, particularly someone we love?”

  Sanjar cleared his throat. “Shalizeh told me after we were married. I admit I didn’t believe it then and still have some reservations, but Edward should know.”

  Irritated that he was the topic of the conversation without being a participant, Edward spoke. “Know what? What’s so earth-shaking it would stop me from marrying Dorri?”

  Shalizeh cast a pleading glance at Sanjar and he covered her hand with his. “Edward, Dorri has told you about the Haft Khandan, hasn’t she?”

  He nodded. “The Seven Houses. Yes she motioned them, but in all my studies, the name’s only emerged once. There’s not much in the literature about them other than that they existed during the Parthian Dynasty and they supported the emperor, although only two are supposed to have remained to the modern era.”

  Sanjar looked to his wife for help. Shalizeh shrugged and continued her husband’s dialogue. “They didn’t disappear, Edward, all seven are still with us, only they’re not quite human, they’re Shadow Houses”

  Edward chuckled. “I could say that about a lot of people, Shalizeh. “It depends on your definition of humanity.”

  Dorri interrupted. “See? I told you he wouldn’t believe us! Now, drop it. It’s got nothing to do with the larger problem anyway.”

  “Dorri, you’re wrong,” Shalizeh said. “If he’s not warned, he’ll have no way to oppose them and they’ll kill him.”

  Edward’s confusion boiled over and he plead. “Will someone make some sense here? What’s all this to do with me marrying Dorri?”

  Sanjar leaned forward. “Let me try. –Edward, the Shadows are a branch of humanity, not a hybrid, a true offshoot. They’ve been around for hundreds of thousands of years. The reason you don’t know about them is because you can’t see them, but they certainly can see you and some can compel you to do whatever they want. They’ve been manipulating civilization and stealing from humanity since way before the construction of the Pyramids, and much of the current turmoil is likely due to their meddling.” He saw Edward about to speak and held out his hands. “Wait! Let me finish.”

  He stroked his beard. “I’m like you. When Shalizeh first told me, I thought I’d married a mad woman. That is, until I witnessed it with my own eyes. I don’t pretend to know how they’re able to accomplish what they do, but I’m convinced they exist and that their abilities are real.” He grimaced. “But that’s not the worst of it. The Shadows have thousands of spies on every continent. They know you’re a British agent and they’ll use Dorri to get to you.”

  Edward held out his hands. “Wait a minute. I’m no dammed James Bond. I’m just an analyst that happened to write a report. As for Dorri and I, we’ll just move back to Great Britain where they can’t touch us.”

  Dorri laughed bitterly “Right! Great Britain, where thousands of Shadows live. Face it, Edward, you can’t avoid them and you can’t see them. They’ve virtually controlled all of the major governments in the world at one time or another, and now it’s Iran’s turn. The Seven will see this country brought to ruin and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.”

  Edward closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. The whole conversation threatened to bring on a headache. He felt surrounded by demented people who spouted nonsense. Unfortunately, the nonsense surrounded the woman he loved.

  “I’m quite sure you three believe this, but I don’t see what it has to do with me marrying Dorri.”

  “Dorri can’t leave Iran, Edward,” Sanjar said.

  He looked at Dorri, who stared at the pool, refusing to meet his eyes. “Can’t or won’t?” he said, with a soft voice.

  She abruptly stood. Her fists clenched and tears brimmed in her eyes. “Enough! I’ve heard enough.” She ran from the pool room.

  Seeing her flee, Edward’s heart lurched. He rose to follow her.

  “Sit, Edward,” Sanjar commanded.

  Edward glared at him.

  Sanjar matched him. “You’ve hurt her enough. – Shalizeh. Go to her. See what you can do. –Sit, Edward, you need to hear all of it.”

  Wanting with all his heart to go with her, Edward sat and watched Shalizeh leave. He spoke through clenched teeth. “So speak.”

  Sanjar frowned, concentrating. “I need to make something that’s very complicated as brief as I can. Dorri’s family is one of the Seven Houses. Her father and brother are Shadows but her mother wasn’t. That makes Dorri, along with Shalizeh, a hybrid. The history’s complex but a few centuries ago, two of the Houses decided to become more visible. They began to intermarry with normal humans, trying to enter the mainstream of the human race. It
caused a great deal of tension between the two secular Houses and the remaining five, which sometimes resulted in armed conflict. Seven years ago, Dorri’s grandfather offered her to one of the Houses as a child bride, seeking to heal the breech and avoid confrontation. That’s one of the reasons why Dorri can’t leave Iran.”

  Edward tried to assimilate his words. It all sounded like typical Middle Eastern myth and superstition. Seeking a point of sanity, he seized on an incongruity.

  “Wait! You say Massoud is a Shadow. If that’s true, then why can I see him?”

  “Dorri’s father is the head of the House, an Adept. He possesses special Shadow gifts. One of them is the ability to become visible to normal humans.”

  Skeptical, Edward chuckled. “That’s very convenient, Sanjar.”

  “Ask him to demonstrate, Edward, and then you’ll believe. That’s how I came to believe it.”

  “Magicians disappear all the time, Sanjar, it’s just stage-tricks, trap-doors and mirrors. Dorri’s father could be an accomplished trickster.”

  Sanjar appeared frustrated, then brightened. “Have you ever seen Behrouz?”

  “Who is Behrouz?” Edward replied.

  “Dorri’s half-brother, he’s a full Shadow. Have you ever seen him?”

  “No, I haven’t. I assumed he lived elsewhere, not at Massoud’s house.”

  Sanjar nodded. “Well Dorri says he’s certainly seen you. In fact he’s hovered around you hoping you’ll let something slip that he can report to his communist friends. She also said Massoud had to order him away and forbade him to interfere with the two of you.”

  “Alright, then how can Dorri see him?”

  “Dorri’s half-Shadow, Edward. They can see each other.”

  Edward’s headache increased and he rubbed his temples. “You seem to have an answer for every question, Sanjar, but I’m beginning to think both the questions and the answers amount to nothing but superstition. My solution is simple. Marry Dorri and take her way from all this madness. Live in England, raise lots of babies, and forget Iran.”

  A look of anguish crossed Sanjar’s face. “I’d love to do the same with Shalizeh and my unborn child. Unfortunately, I only have Iranian citizenship and Shalizeh refuses to leave without me. I’d love to escape what’s coming, but you’ve a bigger problem with Dorri.”

  “I fail to see it,” Edward said.

  Sanjar stared at him with the beginning of tears in his eyes.

  “Edward –if Dorri leaves Iran, she will die.”

  Chapter 9

  Uirma – Spring 1978

  Dorri lay on the bed, weeping. As a girl, she’d never had much control over her life, continually at the mercy of her father’s or grandfather’s decisions. The time spent in Great Britain and America had awakened her to a world of life’s possibilities and her romance with Edward had stirred the deep passions that had slept within her.

  Now, it seemed that it was all to be denied her. She’d be stuck in an Iranian hell hole, relegated to second class status, having never known what real love could be.

  She heard footsteps outside the door and Shalizeh entered the room. She sat on the side of the bed and laid her hand on Dorri’s shoulder, massaging it.

  “It may seem hopeless now, Dorri, but as God wills it, things will get better.”

  Conscious of Shalizeh’s hand now massaging her neck, Dorri’s crying subsided. She and Shalizeh had always been close and her sister had helped her live through many bouts of depression. But this time she felt that nothing could help.

  “How? He doesn’t believe us and you remember what happened the last time I tried to leave Iran.”

  She relived the pain and sickness that had occurred. She’d returned from America and informed her father that she wouldn’t honor the betrothal. When he’d been powerless to break it, she’d used her British passport and left Iran, intending never to return. They’d brought her back on a stretcher, almost dead from starvation.

  “If I leave the country I won’t be able to eat or sleep and he won’t leave me here. It’s better to have an affair and just end it. At least I’ll have some memories to cherish.”

  “He wants you permanently Dorri. He doesn’t want a brief encounter. He wants you for his wife. Maybe you can live in Iran if the Shah survives and then Father can convince them to remove the pattern. The world of love opens a world of possibilities, Dorri. Why don’t you talk to him?”

  Dorri knew of the ‘pattern’ that Shalizeh referred to. Seven years ago after her mother died, she’d become a betrothed teenager. At an age when most American girls were contemplating their first date, a Shadow Adept had sealed the bargain by imposing a lock in her mind that prevented her from leaving Iran without the House’s permission and her father was not powerful enough to remove it.

  If she left Iran without removing the pattern, she wouldn’t be able to eat without vomiting or sleep without nightmares. But Shalizeh was right. Maybe they could find a sympathetic Shadow Adept in Great Britain, one powerful enough to remove or modify it. Then they could be free.

  Dorri smiled at her. “You always seem to be able to talk me out of my depressions. Are you sure you’re not an Adept?”

  Shalizeh laughed. “No, Dorri, I’m just a devout Baha’i who believes in God’s plan. You should try it.”

  Too many disappointments had clouded Dorri’s faith. If God had a plan it was surely a pain-filled one. Maybe later, when life was not so filled with despair she’d think about God again.

  A familiar voice came from the doorway.

  “Am I interrupting anything?”

  Dorri rose from the bed and saw Edward standing at the entrance, leaning against the sill with his arms folded. The sight of his warm smile and the intent gaze of his turquoise eyes sent waves of pleasure flowing through her body and she felt her face flush. She ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest.

  “I’m sorry, Edward. I’m so sorry.”

  His hand stroked her hair and his voice rumbled. “Hush, there’s nothing to be sorry about. Sanjar told me everything. I don’t pretend to believe it, but I’m convinced now that you do. I won’t ask you to do anything that could endanger your life.” She felt him lift her head and turn it so he could look at her. “But not marrying me isn’t part of the bargain. I don’t want you for just a brief time, Dorri. I want you for the rest of my life. Say yes. Say you’ll marry me.”

  “You realize we’ll have to live in Iran? – At least until Father can find a solution?”

  He nodded.

  “Then yes, Edward, yes! I’ll marry you and we’ll have lots of children.” She covered his face with kisses, and then seized his lips with hers, angling her head to provide the most contact. She wanted to burrow inside him in the most intimate way possible. She pressed her body to his, damning the clothing that separated them.

  Shalizeh’s voice came from the vicinity of the bed. “Ahem! Don’t you think you should get married first?”

  Dorri broke away from the kiss and turned to face her sister. “I don’t want to wait. I want him now.”

  Shalizeh raised an eyebrow. “Who says you have to wait? Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

  Dorri dragged Edward into the room, wrestled him to the bed, and resumed where she’d left off.

  Sanjar’s firm voice broke their embrace. “Before you get comfortable, we need to make this legal. Get off of the bed and stand.”

  Dorri broke off the deep kiss that had held her in thrall, and turned her head to see Sanjar holding some papers in his hand. She disengaged from Edward and blinked. “What do you mean?”

  Sanjar waved the papers. “I mean marriage. Right here –right now.”

  Edward joined her. “Really? We can be married now?”

  Shalizeh nodded. “Father prepared all the paperwork for a Baha’i wedding. He even convinced a sympathetic mullah to witness it so it will be as legal as he could make it. All you need to do is say the words with us signing as witnesse
s and you’ll be married.”

  Edward looked bewildered. “How do we do it?”

  “Stand up,” Sanjar replied. “Hold your hands out, palms up. Then say the words ‘We all verily abide by the will of God’.”

  Dorri stood alongside Edward and they recited their vows together.

  Sanjar grinned. “Congratulations. Sign the papers and you’re married.”

  Dorri’s face flushed. She could feel heat rise in her cheeks. Her insides felt molten as she contemplated the enormity of what had just happened. Joy threatened to overwhelm her. She turned to look at her new husband. Tears glistened on his eyelids and his astonished smile caused her to melt further. Before she could envelop herself in his arms and breathe the scent of his body, Sanjar interrupted.

  “You need to sign the papers and then I think I’ll adopt the Western tradition and kiss the bride.”

  In a daze, Dorri watched as Edward scribbled his name on the documents, being careful of how legible it was. She did the same, all the while marveling at the power of a piece of paper and a signature. When they’d finished, she barely registered Sanjar’s kiss and Edward’s and Shalizeh’s embrace, thinking only of the bliss that lay ahead.

  “We’ve laid out some refreshments and snacks for a small wedding feast,” Sanjar said. “It’s traditional so you’ll have to join us and then we can retire for the night.” He winked at Edward. “We won’t be too long, I promise you.”

  They descended as a group to the dining area. Shalizeh took a package from the table and handed it to Dorri. “It’s a small wedding gift. You can open it when you’re alone.”

  Dorri felt the package and blushing, suspected what might lie within it.

  Edward filled four glasses with pomegranate juice. “I think we need a toast.” He handed out the drinks. “To my new brother and sister, without whom we would be two lost and miserable souls.” Sanjar grinned and Shalizeh blushed again.

  They sat at the table and nibbled on the snacks.