Eternal Faith - Book 4 (The Ruby Ring Saga) (19 page)

“T
he
fire didn’t work,” Della said, stating the obvious. “Even more precarious, the
Immortals surely picked up on it with all of their fancy equipment. They’ll be
here any minute to take us back, but I-I just can’t go back there,” she
repeated, her voice wavering.

I
touched my stomach, choked by emotion on the deepest level. “I’m so sorry,
Alexander. I’ve never fought harder for anyone in my entire life. I love you,
and if you...baby, honey, if you do pass on, I just hope you know Mommy tried her
best.” A tear slipped down my face. “But my best wasn’t good enough...and I hope
in your little heart, you can somehow forgive me.” I met Della’s teary eye
gaze. “I love him so much,” I said, “so much it hurts.”

She
wept for Victor’s loss.

Wails
erupted from deep inside my soul. I was wracked with uncontrollable sobbing, as
I couldn’t bear the thought of living without my precious little boy, my
beautiful baby, my son, my life. “He’s my world!” I cried out, then began to
tremble. My world and life had been shattered, and I was sure I’d never get
over it.

A
sob erupted from Della’s throat, and there were more tears in her eyes. “I’m so
sorry, Sarah. I wish I could’ve done something.” She pulled me into her chest
and held me tightly in her arms.

I
cried so hard I couldn’t breathe. I’d never wept like that in a stranger’s arms,
but I couldn’t let go as grief washed over me like a tidal wave. “He’s coming,
Della!” I said, gasping in pain. I gritted my teeth as tears flowed down my
face. “My baby’s going to die out here.”

She
held me at arm’s length. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“You
have to help me deliver him,” I said.

She
wiped her eyes. “You must try to wait, Sarah. If we deliver him here, he’ll die
in minutes.”

“But
I-I can’t stop it.” Pain tore through me, and I let out a scream so loud it
echoed off every stone wall around us and scared a huge group of birds from the
remaining treetops.  

“I
don’t know what to do,” Della said in a panicked voice. “I am not a midwife
and—”

“Just
guide the baby out...and you’ll have to clamp the umbilical cord.”

“Clamp
it with what?”

“Use
your shoe lace. Clamp it three inches or so from the baby’s naval.”

“Then
what?”

I
gritted my teeth in pain, trying to remember everything I’d read. “I’m not
really sure myself, but you’ll have to cut the cord somehow, maybe with a sharp
rock.”

“Shh!”
Della said.

“Don’t
try to pretend this isn’t happening, Della, because—”

She
shook her head. “No, I mean...I hear, um...is that one of your flying machines? A
helichopper?”

I
listened closely and realized she was right. I could hear the familiar
hum
of the blades slicing through the air in the distance. “Helicopter!” I yelled.  

A
spark of hope lit up her eyes. “They must have seen your fire! They are coming this
way!”

Listening
intently, I could hear the noise of the whirlybird growing louder. My heart
leapt in my chest. “We’re saved,” I whispered, then touched my stomach. “Hang
on, baby boy. Help’s on the way!”

A
frown was perched between Della’s eyebrows.

“What’s
wrong, Della? Why aren’t you screaming and jumping for joy?” I asked.

“It
could be the Immortals,” she said. “We must stay hidden until we know.”

My
stomach clenched at the thought.

“No,”
I said. “If it isn’t the Immortals, we can’t take a chance on them missing us.”

Della
swallowed hard. “If they are humans who are working for the Immortals, we won’t
be able to compel them with our powers.”

I
blew out a breath and contemplated. “You hide. They won’t kill me. If it’s
them, I have no choice but to go and try to bargain with them. Staying here will
be a death sentence for my son. If they aren’t enemies, I’ll signal you or bring
back help.”

She
gripped my hand. “I do not want to leave you, Sarah. This is a gamble we chose
together. Let us see how the cards fall, shall we?”

I
stared into her eyes. “Is this...a truce?”

“Yes,”
she murmured.

I
jerked my gaze up. As the helicopter came closer, we waved and flailed our
arms. I screamed and shouted through all the pain, unwilling to let the
hoped-for opportunity pass us by.

“Do
you think they saw us?” Della asked, pushing sweaty strands of hair from her
eyes.

I
listened closely, trying to pick up their voices.

“This
is Sheriff Johnson. We’ve got a visual on two people stuck in the gorge,” the
pilot said. “We’re going in.”

I
pressed my palm against my chest as my heart pounded in my throat. “They see
us,” I said, “and they’re not Immortals. It’s a sheriff’s helicopter!”

Della
squealed in joy, leaning against a granite boulder. “If they were Immortals or
were working for them, they would know who we are.”

Another
cramp tore across my abdomen. “Whoever they are, I hope they hurry,” I said.
“I...we can’t hold out much longer.”

“Sit,
Sarah,” Della said, wiping the sweat from her brow. “I’ll wave them over to us.”

I
nodded as she stumbled into the vegetation. I was barely able to contain the
sudden burst of happiness inside me. I touched my stomach. “We did it, baby
boy. We did it!” As if on cue, I felt a soft kick, and it drew a smile from me.
Somehow, Alexander realized that I was doing all I could to save his tiny life.
I stared at the sky and breathed deeply, trying to stifle the cramps. Several
minutes passed before I heard footsteps crunching through forest, the greatest
sound I could imagine hearing in that moment.

“They’re
coming!” Della said.

A
gust of wind hit my face as a roaring helicopter swooped in and hovered in
midair by the clearing. It was the most beautiful sight imaginable: Two men
running toward me with a stretcher.

Letting
out a sigh of relief, I touched my stomach. “Alexander,” I whispered to my son,
“it’s time for our miracle.” I stood and brushed my hair behind my ears, but
the wind blew it around again and again. Taking a few steps forward, I was
overcome with emotion. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I wiped my face with a
trembling hand as the sheriff introduced himself.

He
leaned in and touched my shoulder. “Everything’s going to be okay, ma’am,” he
said.

The
best part was that I really, truly believed him. A tear streamed down my cheek
as my voice choked with emotion. “Thank you, sir. We can’t thank you enough.”

He
tilted his head to the side, regarding me. “You’re lucky we were even over here,
as we seldom ever venture out this far. I just came out to check out a lead
about a missing girl.”

I
cleared my throat, raising my gaze to the man who was about to save my child’s life.
“Thank you,” I whispered to him as he gave me a drink of water from a silver
canteen.

“What
are you doing on this mountain without proper hiking equipment, especially in
your, uh...delicate condition?”

I
moaned and doubled over as another wave of pains tore across my stomach.

“Perhaps
you can interrogate her later,” Della snapped rather snidely.  

“Um,
yeah. Of course,” he said.

As
the sheriff and his men lifted me onto the stretcher, I caught Della’s smile.

“We
did it,” she said victoriously.

I
couldn’t stop grinning, even though I’d never felt such intense pain before. It
was beginning to feel like a great white shark was using my lower half for a
chew toy.

“You’re
so blessed, Sarah,” Della said. “Your son is meant for something great. Best of
luck to you and your family.”

As
we neared the chopper, the wind felt good against my sweaty face, whipping
against my skin and reminding me of my favorite rollercoaster. Della and I had
already decided not to say anything to the police about the lab on the
mountain. By the time they assembled a proper search team, all the human captives
in the pods would be killed or moved to a secret location we’d never find. We
knew it was better not to stir the hornet’s nest, to keep it to ourselves until
we could tell Dr. Meyers about it; we were sure she would know what to do. For
the time being, their lives depended on us holding our tongues.

Della
held my hand and gave me words of encouragement all the way to the hospital.
Much to my surprise, she wasn’t really the ice queen I had encountered in the
bar the first time I’d met her. She’d only lashed out at me, I was sure, out of
jealousy; after all, I had everything she wished she could have. In fact, Della
was the bravest woman I knew. As much as she loved Victor, she was willing to
give him up because she refused to accept the heinous person he was at the
time. I wasn’t so sure I could have done that, even though it was the right
thing to do, since staying with a monster would be inexcusable. It took
hundreds of years, but that one act turned Victor into the wonderful person I
knew. If Della hadn’t dumped him, he may have never changed. He needed a wakeup
call, and Della gave one to him in a big way. Strangely enough, I had his ex to
thank for the amazing husband and man that he was in my life.  

As
soon as the helicopter set down on the landing pad, I was whisked away into an
ambulance and taken to the Immortal hospital run by Dr. Meyers. After the medic
gave me a shot, I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep.

When
I woke up, I was shocked to find my beloved holding my hand. “Victor?” I
whispered. I couldn’t help but notice the dark circles under his eyes from
countless hours of lost sleep. I traced the outline of his strong jaw. “I need
a kiss. It’s long overdue,” I said softly.

When
he softly pressed his lips against mine, I felt the stubble on his unshaven
face, far beyond a five o’clock shadow. “I’ve been so worried,” he said, tears
welling in his bloodshot eyes.

I
reached out and grabbed him in a tight hug. I let the tears flow freely, and the
back of my throat constricted with emotion. Hugging Victor was the best feeling
in the whole world. I started to sob uncontrollably. It wasn’t like me at all
to lose my cool, but I couldn’t help it. Just hours earlier, I’d thought I’d
never see Victor again.

I
squeezed him tighter. I didn’t want to be separated from him or any of my loved
ones ever again.

To Be Continued...

See cover on next page for book 5.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chrissy-Peebles-Fantasy-Author/351121651567296