The Eye of the Wolf by Sadie Vanderveen Page B

This
was where the treaty between the native Greek people and the Crusaders was
signed. Of course, that treaty is now housed in the Museum of History, but they
say it was once held by the head of the clans that founded this island until
the rebellion that pretty much decimated the entire island’s population except
for the Crusaders. Once the rebellion was quashed, the treaty went into the
hands of the king.”
    Will gestured to the east. “You
can see some of the small fishing villages that dot the coast if you look over
there.”
    Mikayla stepped through the
circle of stones to the edge of the cliff and looked over. A wave of dizziness
whirled in her belly from the drop before she forced it down and focused on the
sights. The land sloped away from her feet at a sharp angle and then leveled
out into tiny houses that dotted the sea coast. Small fishing boats bobbed in
the crystal blue water.
    Will’s voice drifted through
the air to her. “The people who live there still speak Greek. They follow the
laws of Amor, but they claim to be Greek citizens. Many of them are direct
descendents from the original inhabitants.”
    The villages were peaceful.
There were no electric or phone wires running to the houses. She could see
people moving about on the streets, going about their daily business, enjoying
their simple lives. A fishing boat set out to sea, ready to bring home the
days’ catch or to go without for another day. It cruised east, towards the
distant shore of Turkey that was just dark haze in the distance along the
horizon.
    “When I was a child, I used to
play with some boys from those villages. We explored every inch of this island
together.” Will smiled up at Mikayla as she sat down beside him on the blanket.
She folded her legs beneath her and took the cup he handed her. She sipped the
brown liquid and was pleased to taste iced tea with lemon and a hint of
raspberry. She grinned at him.
    “What happened to those boys
that you used to play with?” Mikayla asked as she popped a ripe strawberry in
her mouth from the Tupperware bowl open on the blanket. She had often wondered
about his past, who he was, what his life had been like other than being
educated in the United Kingdom. He had not talked about himself much, and
though she had tried not to, she had wondered.
    Will frowned as he peeled an
apple with his knife. He focused his attention on his task and refused to meet
her eye. His voice was soft, wistful,…sad. “I went away to school in Britain at
the age of 14. When I returned, I was 22. I never saw them again. Some of them
fled to Greece for a better life, and others…well, they were fishermen and died
in accidents at sea.”
    Will handed Mikayla a slice of
apple and then popped one in his own mouth. “Life here as a child isn’t as
great as it might seem. To become educated, you have to go elsewhere. To become
anything other than a fisherman or a member of the tourist bureau, you have to
have money. There are very few here who have the money needed to send a child
away to school.” He smiled slightly at her and looked through the veil of hair
that had fallen into his eyes. “I was lucky. Others are not so lucky, I guess.”
    Mikayla, unconsciously, reached
out a hand and brushed his hair from his face. It was silky and flowed through
her fingers, caressing the toughened skin that had developed on her fingertips
from years of researching and typing. It was downy, ill-fitting of the man who
sat next to her and annoyed her daily. Her fingers itched to weave into the
rest of his hair and let it slip through like a lover’s touch.
     Will watched her through
hooded eyes, watched emotions flit across her face. Emotions he couldn’t read,
but emotions he knew she didn’t like feeling. It was obvious she was
uncomfortable with anything other than business. It was obvious that she was
going to remain closed to him. It was obvious that he wanted her and he wanted
to know her, but that want was going to