Eternal Faith - Book 4 (The Ruby Ring Saga) (7 page)

“You
are so drunk.”

“Meh,
it’s just a binge, nothing I do all the time. I’m just...stressed out, going
through so many emotions.”

“I’m
sorry, Liz. I never realized how hard all of this has been on you.” She’d been
torn from her world as a teenager, thrown into a new culture and became an
Immortal for the sake of love. I wasn’t sure what an impact that had on her
life or her future, how it changed her, but now she was back in her original
world, and her Immortal husband didn’t want to be in California any more than
mine did. She was constantly trying to help Charles adjust. I noticed them
bickering and knew storms were brewing behind their loving front. Their relationship
was stressed, and Liz was acting out. I knew I needed to be a more
understanding, more compassionate sister.

Liz
cut into my thoughts, her voice wavering. “I-I’m falling apart.”

“You’re
not alone,” I said.

“I
was for all those long years before you found me.”

“Liz,
you know I did everything in my power to find you.”

“I
know, but I’d never felt so lost, so deserted, so alone. Even when Charles was
snuggled up to me, a piece of my heart was aching for my family.”

“We’re
together now, and that’s what we have to focus on.”

“I
know. Hey, Sarah...”

“Yeah?”

“You
know how I’m always making fun of you for being broken?”

I
let out a sigh. “How could I ever forget?”

“Maybe
I’m the one who’s broken, not you. Maybe I’m scarred for life and can’t just forget
about the past and move on. I’m gonna work on getting over all the hurt
and...Sarah, are you listening to me?” she slurred.

“I’m
here, Liz.”

“Oh
okay. Just checking. Anyway, I will resume my life with joy and ambition, all
with my fantastic husband at my side.”

“Sounds
like a plan.”

Suddenly,
our car screeched to a halt, and I was thrust forward and then back, giving me
instant whiplash.

She
glanced around. “Geesh, Sarah. Deer?”

“No.”

“Then
why did you slam on the brakes like that?”

My
breath came in quick, shallow heaves. “I didn’t.”

“You
didn’t?” she slurred. “Did it have anything to do with that man?” She pointed
straight ahead.

A
few feet in front of us, illuminated in eerie shadows by the headlights, a
figure stood in the middle of the road. I couldn’t make out his features
because a dark hood hung over his face. Frantically, I pressed the gas, but the
tires just squealed.

“I
think that guy has something to do with this,” she suggested, slurring the
obvious.

“You
think?” I squinted to get a closer look, and as my sight adjusted, I could make
out more details.

“Who
is he?” Liz asked in a worried tone.

I
gasped, my heart pounding a million miles a minute. “I’m gonna take a guess
here and say it’s an Immortal.”

He
was at least six feet tall, maybe six-two, with a strong physique that boasted
of regular physical activity. His feet stood apart, turned toward us, and his
hands hung by his sides, hidden beneath his coat.

Liz
opened her palm and tried to create one of her famous fireballs. “It’s not
working!”

“Blue-ringed
Immortals drain our powers,” I explained, looking around into the night. “We’re
no match against them.” I started to roll down the window for a closer look.

“What
are you doing? Roll that back up!” she said.

“That
man can shatter our windows in a heartbeat with one wave of his hand.”

“So
we can’t hide?” she whispered, staring straight ahead at him.

I
swallowed hard. “No.”

“In
that case, we can only face them. If they wanted us dead, they would have
killed us already.”

I
considered her words carefully and agreed with her. “You’re absolutely right,
Liz. Let’s go.” I opened the car door and stepped out. “What do you want?” I
yelled into the darkness. Out of the car, with the headlights no longer
reflected by the windshield, I could make out more details, and I noticed wisps
of fog swirling in the air.

Liz
gripped my arm. “Maybe we should get back in the car.”

“If
I can reason with wolves, I can reason with Immortals.” I remembered feeling
that same kind of fear in the forest, with the shape-shifters who had
surrounded me in a very similar mysterious fog.  

“Wolves?
And you’re calling
me
drunk,” Liz said.

“The
shape shifters back through the portal.”

“Oh,
why didn’t you say so?”

The
guy tossed back his hood and headed straight for us. His dark hair and light
blue eyes caught my attention before my brain registered his facial features.
My mouth gaped in sudden recognition when I realized he was the man from the minimart.

“Quit
playing games!” Liz shouted into the darkness as more frightening figures
emerged from the shadows.

I
spun in a slow circle, scanning the area, then stepped back, wondering what the
heck it was all about.
What do these people want from me?

“Hello,
Sarah,” Jackson said.

“Hello,
Jackson. I don’t like being surrounded like this. If you’re trying to gain my
trust, this isn’t the way to go about it.”

He
smiled. “I would have arranged a meeting, but I’m not much for those.”

“What
if a car comes?” Liz asked. “Have you even thought about that? You’re in the
middle of the road, and—”

“Trust
me, there will be no traffic.” He suddenly held out his hand to Liz for a
handshake.

“Liz,
this is Jackson,” I introduced.

He
met my gaze. “Your sister is quite the investigator,” he said to Liz, while he
was still looking at me. “How did you know my last name, Sarah?”

“I
have my sources...and a lot of experience researching, uh...odd things.”

“May
I ask who your sources are?”

“You
may ask, but I won’t answer.”

He
turned his gaze back on Liz. “I know Sarah, but I haven’t had the pleasure of
meeting you. Liz, is it?”

She
shook his hand. “Yes. I’m Sarah’s sister.”

He
smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise,”
she said. “You have the lightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Please forgive me if
I can’t stop staring. I’m simply mesmerized.”

“Just
let us go,” I pleaded. “And please forgive my sister. She has had a little bit
too much to drink and she is happily married.”

He
nodded, then shifted his stance. “How is your son?” he asked politely.

I
touched my stomach. “He’s fine. Thank you for all your help at that store, by
the way.”

“Oh
brother. Can we just cut the pleasantries and get on with it?” Liz said. “What
do you want?”

He
stepped forward. “I’ve come to warn you. You’ve been marked. If I were you, I’d
leave this town tonight.”

“Is
this your way of getting rid of us?” I asked.

“I
have no problem with you living in this town. My companions, on the other hand,
take issue with your presence here.” He motioned around him. “Do not blame me
or my friends here.”

“Who
are you?” Liz asked. “I’ve never seen you before. Are you some kind of Immortal
gang?”

“Yeah,
what’s your story?” I asked.

He
shifted his stance. “Just think of us as the good guys.”

I
noticed they were all wearing gold rings in the shape of eagles on their right
hand. “If you’re the good guys, prove it. Let us go. Our dinner’s getting cold.”

He
motioned to the car. “Feel free to go, Sarah, but if you want to live, you need
to take your leave tonight. Consider yourself warned.”

When
I blinked, he was gone. I glanced around and didn’t see any trace of his gang. I
reached for my phone, called Victor, and told him the entire story on the drive
home. Charles and Victor met us in the driveway, and I embraced Victor in a tight
hug.

“Should
we leave?” I asked frantically.

“He
was trying to warn us,” Charles said.

Victor
narrowed his gaze. “Perhaps it is a warning we should heed.”

I
pondered everything as Victor wrapped his arms around me, wondering if I was
going to have to go on the run again, away from my beloved parents and the
place I called home.

C
hapter
7

We
decided that staying in town with my parents was too risky, and the last thing
we wanted to do was endanger ourselves or them by creating waves. After a
family meeting, we packed up our belongings and left to start new lives an hour
away. Dr. Meyers gave Victor and Charles documentation for their identities so
they could get jobs and function in this world. That was a huge help. I had
Victor remember every single detail until it flowed naturally out of his
mouth. 

We
still hunted for Della every chance we got, but there was never any sign of her,
and we had no idea what had happened to her. I suspected she might’ve gone back
through the portal to be with William, but Charles was sure she wouldn’t have
done that without saying goodbye to him. None of us knew what to make of it, so
we just kept hunting for her.

I
was four months pregnant, glowing radiantly, and I’d never been happier. Dr.
Meyers became my private physician and examined me routinely. Not only did she
prescribe vitamins, but she also gave me pills to stop my energies from
surging. The headaches stopped, and that thrilled me. The good doctor kept our
secret as she promised and never told the others where we were. We kept our end
of the bargain and stayed out of the limelight, making sure never to use our
powers in public, at pool games or otherwise. She searched constantly for a
cure, with no success. So far the pills were working fabulously, and if I had
to be on pills for the rest of my life, that would have been fine with me.  

At
a block party, Victor and I met a man who owned a construction company. He
offered us jobs, me as a secretary and Victor as part of his crew. Victor was
the hottest construction worker I’d ever seen, and sometimes when I went to
take him lunch in the city, I noticed women staring at his muscular, sweaty
chest. He refused to even look at them and always gave me his complete and
utter attention; nothing could have felt more amazing than that. In essence, we
tried to maintain a normal life, and that meant other women were occasionally
going to whistle at my hot husband in a hardhat.

I
was sitting at the receptionist desk when Victor walked in, and the rage on his
face told me he was mad as hell about something. I assumed it was something
about the job, because it was difficult for him, as a king, to work so
physically hard for the equivalent of peasant’s wages. “What’s wrong?” I asked,
standing.

“The
boss let me go and said to never come back.”

“What!?
You got fired? Victor, we need that income.”

“I
will not be talked to like that, Sarah, not by anyone, regardless of his status.
That man is disrespectful.”

I
shook my head. “The man is not your servant. He is your
employer
.”

“He
called me a ‘dumb foreigner’. I’ve never been so insulted in all my life. If we
were back in Tastia, do you know what I would have done to him?”

“Execute
him?”

“No.
I’ve changed my ways, remember? I would’ve thrown him in a dungeon and given
him a lot of time to think.”

“Like
you did to me? If memory serves right, you threw me in a dungeon so I could
think about marrying you.”

“That
was completely different.”

I
laughed. “Was it?”

He
gripped my hand, not at all amused by my memories. “Let’s go.”

“No,
Victor. I’m not leaving. One of us has to maintain a job so we can pay the
rent. There’s no way we’re going to use our powers to get ahead in life. We will
work like everyone else.”

He
handed me a newspaper.

“No.
I already have a job. Seems it’s you who needs to be looking at the help wanted
ads.”

Without
a word, he opened it and showed me an ad he’d already circled in red, a call
for actors and actresses to audition for a local dinner theater.

I
lifted a brow and smiled. “This could work!”

He
kissed my lips. “I believe it might...for both of us.”

I
grabbed my purse. “Let’s go apply right now.”

As
we were driving, I felt a strong urge to go to the bathroom, so I pulled into a
fast food restaurant.

He
shook his head and smirked. “You just used the bathroom.”

“I’ve
gotta go again. It’s like the baby is sitting on my bladder.”

“I’ll
wait here, if you don’t mind,” he said.

I
bit my lip. “Uh, baby...”

“Yes,
My Queen?”

“I’m
kinda hungry too.”

He
cocked a brow.

“I’m
really
hungry.”

“Didn’t
you just eat?”

“I’m
eating for two.”

“Fine.
Get a burger if you want one.”

I
grinned. “How about a five-course meal?”

“Can’t
have you grumpy when we put in our applications now, can we?” He smiled and hopped
out of the car, then looped his arm in mine.

I
met his gaze and smiled, knowing I had the best husband in the whole wide
world.

* * *

A
fter
lunch, we headed to the theater.

Gripping
my steering wheel firmly, I smiled when I saw the castle turrets from the
freeway. “There it is!”

“It’s
really a castle?”

“A
dinner theater. Just remember not to use your brute strength when auditioning,
okay? You’re supposed to be
acting
.”

He
smiled. “Relax, Sarah. I, uh...I’ve got this.”

“Gosh.
You sound just like me.”

“I
learned that from you.”

Grinning,
I pulled into the parking lot. When we walked through the doors of the place, I
was transported back to the eleventh century. The medieval décor was
spectacular, with flags, banners, friezes, crests, swords, and coats
of arms. I was sure Victor felt right at home.