New to On the Cusp of the Earth? Start from the beginning!
I woke up shivering. The room was cold, as if the heat had been turned off. I first noticed Ruel’s chest in my left peripheral, rising and falling in a calm rhythm. I moved closer to him for heat and pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders.
When my thigh touched against his, he murmured, “Good morning, Emma.”
“Oh,” I replied after a sharp inhale. Hearing him say my name so softly caught me off guard. “You were awake?”
“I was, but not for too long. Your thigh is freezing,” he said, turning towards me.
“I’m cold. It’s cold in here.”
He laughed after looking at me all wrapped up with the sheets to my chin. “You look like an enchilada!” he mused.
“Thanks,” I said, dryly. “If I was an enchilada, though, at least I’d be warm.”
“Come here,” he said, and pulled me towards him under the covers. He was naked. I realized I was as well. That was when it sunk in. Last night had really happened; it wasn’t just some beautiful dream. Ruel’s smooth body felt like warm velvet against mine. He shivered at the chill of my skin once we were pressed together and squeezed me tighter. I pressed my cheek into the crevice between his neck and chest. His lips fell into my hair and began kissing and smelling it.
Eventually, my body warmed up and he released his grip around me.
“Do you want to go sightseeing?” he asked.
“That could be fun,” I said. An entire day of hanging out with Ruel with no work and no time restraints sounded like pure bliss. “Do you know the city well?”
“Quite well,” he said. “I lived here.”
He said it so casually that I half expected him to go on about his childhood in Moscow, the Cold War, and how his parents had been in the KGB, weren’t actually dead, and were, in fact, his handlers making this whole thing a family affair.
Instead, he said, “After getting my Master’s Degree, I decided to take a year off to live abroad, just for fun. With the wall fallen a few years before, Moscow seemed like an interesting choice.”
“Oh,” was all I could say.
“You seem disappointed,” he said, laughing. He threw off his covers and got out of bed, heading towards the bathroom. The view was not disappointing.
“I’m going to change,” I called to him before he disappeared. He nodded back. I got up and pulled on my underwear, the shirt from the night before, and the polar bear boxers. I grabbed my room key, dress, and heels, and opened the hotel room door slightly. I peeked out to make sure there was no one in the hallway.
After slipping into my room, my focus narrowed in on what to wear. I opened my suitcase. I did not plan for this, which was silly, why wouldn’t I plan for a cute sightseeing outfit? I called Maria.
“Hello?” her voice croaked, thick with sleep.
“Hey, it’s Emma.”
“Oh, hey,” she said, waking up. “What’s up? Everything okay?”
I hesitated. Everything wasn’t really okay. We were all potentially in perilous danger of being kidnapped, tortured, and murdered, but that seemed a bit heavy for an early morning conversation. Besides, somewhere between brushing my teeth the night before, and telling Ruel I loved him, I’d come to the decision that he didn’t plan to hurt us and we were in Russia solely for work. Well, and some pleasure, apparently. I wondered how Maria’s night had played out and realized that the officer might be in her bed at the moment.
“Am I interrupting anything?” I asked.
“What?” she seemed confused. There was a pause. “Oh, no, not at all. That was, well, he didn’t stay the night. Anyway, what’s up?”
“Well, I’m going to see the sights with Ruel today, and I’m in a bit of a predicament.”
“A little more detail would be nice,” she laughed.
“I have nothing to wear,” I blurted out, slightly embarrassed at my insecurity. “Well, I didn’t plan for a cute sightseeing outfit anyway, and now, I’m just not sure.”
“So, throw something on and tell him you want to do a little shopping. When you find the right outfit, just change for the day,” she said breezily. I thought she might add a ‘duh’ to the end of the sentence to point out the obvious nature of the solution.
“Oh, well that’s brilliant,” I said.
“You know me,” she laughed. “So, what happened last night with you two? I want details. You owe me.”
“I don’t owe you!” I said, but decided I could give her some details. “Well, he’s definitely a good kisser.”
“And?”
“And…” I smiled. “He told me he loved me.”
“Um, what!?” Maria exclaimed.
I heard Ruel’s plumbing shut off.
“Oh, he’s done with his shower. I need to get changed,” I said quickly.
“Fine. I’ll just spend my day with Andrew wondering about the unfolding love story of yours,” Maria whined.
“Oh yeah! Well, have fun then. Maybe we’ll run into you guys somewhere, St. Basil’s or something.”
“Hopefully, then I can pull you into confessional and get the full scoop.”
“I think God would strike us both down with lightning.”
“Oh, that juicy, then?” Maria said with an excited voice.
“Not what I meant. Anyway, I really need to get ready. See you later, okay?”
“Yes, fine, I’ll see you later.”
We hung up, and I pulled on the warmest items I could find, including the thermal underwear I bought the day we arrived. Nothing could really keep my thin, Florida blood warm in this weather, though.
—
After buying a new coat, some snow boots, and better gloves, Ruel said I was prepared to see the best part of winter in Moscow and led me to the closest metro station.
“Oh, the underground? How fascinating,” I joked.
“It’s a magical transporter. Leave the shopping behind and come out in glistening world,” he said with a smile. I just laughed, wondering how much more glistening the world could become with a solid blanket of snow already covering every inch of it.
The ride wasn’t too long and my anticipation steadily grew. The signs couldn’t even give anything away since I couldn’t read them. When we climbed out to street level, we were greeted with an expected blast of cold air. I followed Ruel around the corner to face what might have been a grassy park on a nice spring day,though today it was covered in snow.
“Victory Park!” he announced. He looked back at me and said, “Come on.”
He led me down the center walkway, which ended at a giant circle with an obelisk in the center. I turned to my right and noticed a giant dragon leaping towards me, its scales glistening in the small amount of sun that had come out.
“Ice sculptures!” I exclaimed.
“The Chinese New Year competition,” Ruel said.
“This is marvelous,” I said, looking over the dragon. The attention to detail was impeccable. Intricate scales lined the torso and were all of slightly different shapes and sizes joining together at the tail. The mane of the dragon was also beautiful. I wondered how people could even sculpt ice in such an elegant fashion.
“There’s more than just the dragon,” Ruel said, laughing after noticing my fascinated expression. I turned towards him to find his outstretched hand. I took it, his touch only slightly less thrilling than usual through our thick gloves, and we began to stroll together.
Several castle walls, forest animals, and at least a dozen snakes later—2013 would be the year of the snake after all—I was more than ready to warm up. Ruel caught on before I could even mention it. “Ready to move on to something indoors?” He smiled and pulled me into a tight hug.
This time, the metro landed us in a more grandiose part of town. We walked quickly down a busy road until Ruel turned us down a quieter, more residential street leading towards a giant church. I wondered about the significance of this church and what exquisite history Ruel would tell me about it. He kept walking north through a park located behind the church and across another road to a snow-covered garden that led almost seamlessly into a slightly off-white tiled house.
“The Ryabushinsky House, or Gorky Museum,” he said as we walked through the front gardens. “Careful on the stairs, I’m guessing they’re a bit slippery.”
“So, what is this place?” I asked, while minding my steps on the icy stone stairs.
“It’s the art nouveau mansion designed by Fyodor Shekhtel. It was finished in 1900.” Ruel opened the door for me. “It’s also one of the few places with free entry in Moscow.”
The house was a lot to take in. Every inch held some detail that was an integral part of the overall nature inspired design, which was no doubt influenced by the surrounding gardens. The banister of the marble staircase mimicked the movement of tall grass blowing in the swift wind before a thunderstorm. The base of the railing formed a whiplash curve very characteristic to art nouveau.
The ceiling was covered in plaster molding that opened up to reveal murals of beautiful yellow-orange chrysanths set against a teal blue background, reminiscent of a floral sun against an impossibly bright sky.
Ruel and I toured the house independently for about an hour before my stomach began to grumble. I went in search of him and found him downstairs looking at the wrought iron design over one of the windows.
“This place is amazing,” I said.
“Yes, it is,” he replied. My stomach grumbled again as if on cue. He smiled and turned towards me, “Should we get something to eat?”
—
Just as the weather turned from overcast to an icy sleet, we ducked into a quaint pub that was on the way to Red Square. We decided to stop by St. Basil’s Cathedral after lunch. The pub was pretty full, so we had to sit at the bar, which was fine since it enabled Ruel to put his hand on my thigh.
Ruel ordered us pilsners, and I told him to go ahead and order my meal too.
“I trust your judgment,” I told him with a smile.
“Well, in that case, I’ll get you some monkey brain stew.” He grinned and I rolled my eyes. “But seriously, Emma, I want you to know that your trust means a lot to me. I really do love you.”
“I really do love you, too,” I told him, and he leaned in to kiss me lightly.
Ruel ordered us sandwiches with a side of potatoes that were covered in some sort of spiced herb sauce.
“Good?” he asked me as I took my second bite. I nodded and chewed. Then I noticed a somewhat familiar face on the television over the bar—Aleksy Kachurin, the president of Russia. He was giving some form of an address that must have been important since it interrupted the soccer game that was on only moments before. The pub crowd quieted and Ruel turned to look at the television. He frowned.
“He’s addressing the nation. It’s an emergency speech,” he told me.
“Not a normal thing, then?”
“No,” he said flatly. Ruel’s posture became straighter and his eyes focused on the screen.
Kachurin continued his speech; everyone was listening while looking solemn. He paused and looked down. When Kachurin lifted his face again, he looked even graver than before. He delivered his next line slowly, deliberately. Several gasps went up in the bar, then it went so silent that my ears began to thud.
Ruel stiffened.
“Ruel, what happened?” I asked in a low voice. Our faces were so close I could smell the beer on his breath prominently.
“Emma,” he said in a hushed, but stern, voice. His eyes were serious and his body still.
I gave him an inquisitive look.
He leaned into my ear and whispered, “Kachurin just announced that Russia is at war with the U.S.”
I couldn’t breathe. My body froze in place and I lost my balance nearly falling off the barstool. Ruel caught my elbow and secured me in place. My face mirrored the face of everyone else in the room. At war?
I could feel Ruel’s stare. I turned to look at his eyes. They were not scared; he was not scared. He looked at me with real concern, like I was the only person in danger, as though no one else’s safety mattered, not even his own. He shifted his eyes quickly towards the door, then back at me, raising his eyebrows. I hardly nodded and in seconds we were outside in the cold sleet, nearly at a run. I didn’t ask where we were going, it really didn’t matter. Ruel was with me, and I knew that he would keep me safe.
He was moving so fast that I couldn’t keep up unless I ran. When I did this, he abruptly slowed into a walk then glared at me. “Be inconspicuous,” he hissed. I could hardly see how his almost running pace could be considered inconspicuous, and besides, all the people around us were moving at a hurried rate. It was obvious that they were all rushing home to herd their families together. I realized that we must be, too. But where was our home? The hotel?
Ruel picked his speed back up, and I strained to follow en suite. Horrified of slipping in the snow and ice, I repeated over and over in my head high and firm. High and firm. I was glad Ruel knew the city so well, because nothing around us was familiar to me. He was cutting through jagged, medieval alleyways that were once roads. As we turned onto a broad thoroughfare, Ruel’s cell phone rang. He whipped it out of his coat pocket without losing his stride. “Andrew?” There was a pause when Andrew answered then Ruel continued hastily, “That’s where we’re headed. Stay there and wait in the lobby for us.” Another pause. “Five minutes or less.” There was a longer pause. “No, we’re on foot.” Ruel put the phone back into his coat.
“Where is he?” I asked.
“He and Maria are at the U.S. embassy.”
Of course! The American embassy. That was technically American soil. I didn’t say anything else and picked up my pace, lengthening my strides until I was almost doing splits on the sidewalk. It was only five more minutes after all.
Right before we rounded the corner of an austere, imposing building, Ruel stopped. He motioned to the ATM in the wall. “Take out as much as it lets you,” he said breathlessly. I obeyed, and he did the same. As soon as our money was tucked safely away, he grabbed my hand and dragged me around the corner. “It’s just a few more blocks,” he said, motioning forward.
After we had gone a bit further, Ruel didn’t slow or change course, and I wondered how far it actually was. Maybe he had underestimated to keep me moving at my top speed without running. That wasn’t my style. If we were ten blocks away, I wanted to know so that I could mentally prepare. We got to a crosswalk and the light was red. We hadn’t been stopping, but there was a heavy amount of traffic here and it would be too dangerous to try and dash across. I strained my eyes to look at the blocks ahead. Suddenly, about a half block away, the embassy jumped into view with the American flag flapping violently in the wind. Ruel looked extremely anxious. I wondered what was wrong.
“Ruel?” I said in a clear, demanding voice.
His eyes flickered around and then to the embassy ahead. The air suddenly seemed to stand still.
“Ruel?” I choked, terrified.
Faster than I thought possible, Ruel had picked me up and thrown us both into the deep doorway entry closest to the street corner. My body thudded against the marble ground bruising my tailbone and slamming my back and head into the wall. I was about to yell in pain, but then it happened. My whole body compressed into itself and then retracted back out. My right ear felt like it had been hit straight on. There was a silence so thick I knew that I must have gone deaf. The ground and the building I was pressed against began to tremble violently. Ruel pinned me against the freezing marble. His coat repelled water onto me, and the slush covering the ground seeped all the way through my layers to my pants. I realized then that I was shaking uncontrollably. Ruel pulled me into his body and held me there for what seemed like an eternity. Once I relaxed a bit, he pushed me away, grabbing my shoulders so that I was staring into his face. I watched him mouth, “Let’s go.” He might have said the words, but I couldn’t hear them. I nodded. There was nothing I wanted to do more than run away from that place.
We were running, and fast. I gave one look backwards. Where the embassy had stood seconds ago were thick clouds of gray smoke. People ran everywhere, covering their heads and screaming, though I couldn’t hear them. Ash poured through the air and fell like snow. I scanned the chaos for Andrew and Maria. My chest began to lurch in pain, and I realized I wasn’t breathing. They hadn’t made it out, I could feel it. They were dead. I started screaming. Ruel didn’t turn. I realized that he couldn’t hear either. I focused on my breathing. I didn’t want to see Andrew and Maria’s faces in my head. I looked straight ahead at the back of Ruel’s black, wool coat and ran.
Interested in pre-ordering this serial (or any others)? If so, just click here!
