Aris Rising: The Court of Vampires: AN INFINITY DIARIES NOVEL (9 page)

“Oh my Lord. What will Father do to you? What have you done? Can you be with child?”

“I do not know.”

Sounds of feet stomping on the stones of the great hallway making haste toward our chamber caught my attention. “They come, silly girl. What will you do now?”

“Oh Jane, I know not.” I hid my face in my hands as I sank to the hard stone floor. “I know not.”

The door burst open. My father yanked me from the floor, slapping me hard on my face. I had never been touched except in love and my heart was crushed with the blow.

“I know where you have been,” he roared. “It is over. Their wagons
are burned. They are turned off this land and if I see another gypsy they know I will strike him dead.” He threw her on the bed. “Gather your things. You go to court in the morning, position or no. You are no longer welcome in this house. You are a disgrace to me.” He spun on his heel, slamming the great door behind him.

I crumpled into a ball of sorrow and shame. My sister left me quietly to sob into the pillows of her virgin bed.

Tears poured from Sarah’s eyes as Bonnie slowly brought her back to real time. She stared blankly at the ceiling as Bonnie handed her a damp towel to wipe her face. “Come on honey, sit up and have a sip of water. You’ll feel better in a minute.”

Sarah swung her legs off the recliner, placing her feet flat on the floor. She was silent for many minutes before she spoke.

“Good heavens, Bonnie, what was that?”

“That, my friend, was a past life regression lived like reality.”

“I need some time to digest this, Bon. I think I’ll go home and we can discuss it next week. Is that alright with you?”

“Perfectly. Just be careful going home and if you need me for anything, call me. I’ll be close to the phone.”

Sarah stood, hugging her friend good-by. Buttoning her coat, she silently left the office.

C
urled on her sofa, the ritual mug of evening tea steaming in her hand, Sarah prepared to write in her journal. What in the world happened to her? Her session with Bonnie had been astonishing. She had fully expected to return in her mind’s eye as Elizabeth Wyatt, to meet and love Aris at Henry’s court, but a concubine for a wild, Spanish gypsy? Never would she have dreamed such a thing. Yet she did. Her whole body flushed white hot as she remembered it again. The passion of her dream. Never had she remembered there being such passion in her present life, such yearning. What in hell could it all mean?

Writing in her journal became a task that was impossible. Her mind was too wild and out of order to make one word follow another into even a semblance of a complete thought.

“Bed. Sleep. Tomorrow morning it will all make more sense.” Methodically running water into her mug then turning it upside-down in the sink, Sarah made for her bedroom.

As she clicked on the light, she caught sight of a blood red rose, once again on her pillow. “Enough! He promised!” Furious hands reached for the telephone as she dialed Aris.

After two rings she heard his voice. Without a greeting she
began. “What the hell are you doing? You gave me your word you wouldn’t sneak into my room again and you did it tonight. With me sitting right in the living room.”

His tone was shocked. “What are you talking about, Sarah?”

“You and your nighttime climbing up the side of my building. The red rose on my pillow. You gave me your word.”

“Sarah, calm down. Just calm down. I have not been in your home without invitation since the first time I came back to your office. And, I never left a red rose on your pillow.”

She gasped, then all was silent.

“Sarah, what is it? What has happened?”

“I don’t know. This is the second time it’s happened. I go into my bedroom and there’s a long stemmed rose on my pillow. I checked with security the first time and they didn’t show a record of anyone coming upstairs so I assumed it was you. You said you had been here without my knowing.”

“Yes, at the very start of my life as Carlos. To be close to you while you slept. I never came when you were not there. Are you in the apartment right now?”

“Yes.”

“Get your keys and leave. Go to the lobby and wait for me. I am on my way. Take your cell phone with you. Leave that apartment this instant.”

“I’m in my pajamas.”

“I do not care if you are naked, leave the apartment now, lock the door and wait for me in the lobby. I will be there as soon as I possibly can be.” She could hear the rustle of him getting into his jacket and closing his door. “Do it now, Sarah, do you hear? Now.”

Quickly she changed into the sweats lying on the chair by the bed. She rushed out the door. Shaking, she entered the elevator, watching the door close behind her.

“Tom,” her voice was shaking as she spoke to the security guard behind the desk. “Has there been anyone asking for me this evening?”

“No, Miss Hagan. No one I know of.”

“Someone has been in my apartment without my knowledge.” She took a few deep breaths to regain control of herself before she continued. “Is it possible to see the footage from the security cameras.” As a full security building, there were cameras trained on all the entrances and exits of the building at all times.

“I don’t know how it’s possible for someone to get past me. I was here all evening, Miss, but I’ll call my supervisor right away and get the okay to check the camera footage. You want to just stay here until I get someone to go through your apartment and make sure it’s safe?”

“Yes.” She shivered, not because she was cold. She was very frightened. “Yes, I’ll wait here. I have a friend coming over to stay with me but until then, I’ll just sit in the corner there and wait.” She pointed to the grouping of chairs near the elevators.

“I’ll get you some water.”

“No, Tom. I’d feel better if you just stayed within view until my friend gets here if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all, Miss Hagan. Not at all.” He helped her settle into a comfortable chair.

She felt a little more calm as she sat in the well-lit lobby with the well-muscled security man standing close to her. She would feel much more secure when Aris arrived and they figured out who or what had been in her apartment. She grinned sardonically at her thoughts. What kind of convoluted world did she live in where she felt less danger in the presence of the undead than she did alone? There was no sane answer to the question. Time seemed to stand still as she waited.

It took every bit of control she had to keep from crying out in
relief when she saw Aris come through the revolving door. He wrapped his arms around her protectively and she began to relax a little. “It will be alright. Everything will be alright. I am here now. You are safe. You will always be safe with me, Sarah.” He stroked her hair as she rested her cheek against his strong chest. “You are fine. No one is going to harm you, I will see to that.” He kissed the top of her head then settled her back into the over-stuffed chair. “Stay here. I’m going to talk to the guard.” He approached the man behind the security desk.

“You saw no one this evening?”

“No, sir. No one even came into the building after Miss Hagan. It’s been like a tomb here all night. I called my supervisor to get a release to go through the security tapes and to send someone over to go through her apartment. I’m waiting for him to call me back right now.”

“You needn’t send for anyone else. I am going to her apartment now. Please watch her until I return.”

“Glad to, sir. We all really like Miss Hagan around here. I don’t know what’s going on, but we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

“Thank you.” He returned to Sarah. Bending down, he spoke softly. “Are you feeling better?”

“A little.”

“Please, may I have your keys?”

Panic lit her eyes. “Where are you going?”

“To your apartment.”

“What if they’re still there?”

He tapped his chest lightly as he smiled. “Invincible, remember?”

“I hope so.” Her hand trembled as she relinquished her keys.

It was as if she was physically pushing the hands of the clock on the wall, forcing the minutes to tick by. At last the elevator door opened and Aris stepped out. He hurried to her side. “There is no
one there and no sign of any forced entry. Sarah, who has a key to your apartment?”

“Colleen and Maggie both do.”

“Let’s go upstairs. I’ll stay with you tonight. We’ll tuck you into bed and check with your friends tomorrow. Maybe one of them left you the rose as a joke and you didn’t notice it before.” She stood, taking his hand. “I’ll be with you. Nothing can happen to you as long as I’m there. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yes. I trust you with my life.” And she meant it.

#

When at last sleep found her, it was fitful. Her chaotic dreams were fragmented and frightening, leaving her with a semi-conscious feeling of being somehow threatened. Each time she called out, he was there, stroking her hair, speaking soft reassuring words to her. As the first light of dawn stole through the window she sat up. “Aris?”

“Right here.” He sat beside her in the chair by her bed. “Always right here whenever you need me.” He moved closer to her, fluffing her pillow and laying her back into it. He covered her to her chin with her soft blanket. “Relax. I’ll make you a cup of coffee. Just close your eyes. I’m right here.”

Familiar noises of coffee brewing came to her from the kitchen. When he returned, a wonderful aroma filled the bedroom from the steaming cup. Placing it next to her on the table, he sat close, taking her hand in his.

“It’s too early to call your friends. Enjoy your coffee; take a shower. You will feel much better after washing off the fright of last night. See?” He pointed toward the window. “The sun is going to be bright today.” He was silent a moment before he spoke. “Things always seem better in the light of day.”

#

He sat quietly, waiting until he heard the water in the shower
running. When he was sure she wouldn’t come out of the bathroom, he stood, crossing to the spot below the window that had caught his attention. There, just below the sill, was a dark smudge. It appeared to be from the heel of a shoe. He knew Sarah would never let a dirty mark remain on the wall. “Where did this come from? When? And most of all, who or what left it there?”

#

In the daylight, Sarah was able to deal with the phantom florist with a lot less fear. There had to be some logical explanation for the rose. Neither of her friends had any idea where it came from, but Colleen insisted Sarah stay with her and Bob until they could investigate. At first they thought it might be one of Manu’s gang members, however Bob did a thorough check and none of them had been around for months. It appeared they had all returned to Mexico. The security tapes showed nothing. No one entered or left the building who didn’t belong there. In complete denial, Sarah refused to think about it further and in spite of her friends cautioning her, she returned home. She waited for the holidays all year and she wanted to put the whole mystery behind her and simply “deck the halls.”

Aris didn’t write it off quite so easily. He watched over her from the roof of an adjoining building every night without telling her. He wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but there was only one kind of being he knew that could climb a wall. He didn’t want whatever it was alone with Sarah. Sarah alerted the security staff to be extra wary; she made arrangements so that Aris could enter without them checking with her first. Somehow, she was able to put it all out of her mind in a frenzy of holiday spirit. Besides, she had someone with “super powers” watching out for her. She knew he would never let anything hurt her and she couldn’t imagine anything that could ever hurt him. Her imagination wasn’t broad enough.

T
he fire in Sarah’s fireplace burned brightly; the flames leaped and bowed, adding to the colorful glow of the tiny lights that decorated the Christmas tree. They sat on the sofa enjoying a comfortable evening together. Sarah sipped from a glass of merlot she held in her hand, an untouched glass of wine sat on the coffee table in front of Aris. He could sip it if he wanted to but, at the moment, he had no need or any desire for either food or drink. He partook from time to time in social settings. Otherwise it was rather like breathing, a possibility rather than a necessity.

It had been difficult at first to understand that most of the legends about vampires that had been passed through the centuries were false. Fables. Vampires could walk out during the daylight. Sunshine didn’t burn them. Crosses didn’t frighten them. They reflected in mirrors the same as anyone else. Garlic didn’t bother them. They didn’t need to sleep in a coffin or out of one. They simply didn’t need to sleep. But they could. They could do all the things that human beings could do. Eat. Drink. Sleep. Breathe. If they chose, they could live in a human society without anyone ever knowing they were Immortal. Sarah had begun watching people on the street and wondering if they, too, were Immortals like Aris.

He had just finished telling her a story about a Christmas he had spent in the Tudor court with Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Sarah was mesmerized. She was always enthralled by his stories. Those stories were what had drawn her to him the first time he appeared during a session with Carlos.