Apotheosis of the Immortal (5 page)

Chapter 8

W
hy couldn’t he
sleep?
Elijah’s eyes were heavy and his mind was weak; he couldn’t understand why he didn’t drop off to sleep immediately.

“Elijah, my prince.” Sara rolled over and was now lying on her side with her head propped on her hand. Her dark hair fell down her back and gently caressed the ground. As he looked at her, she filled his soul with love; in spite of all he had seen her do, he saw nothing but beauty.

“You rescued me again!” She smiled and crawled closer to him as she spoke.

Before he knew it, she was on top of him, straddling his waist. She slowly leaned forward. What was she about to do? Elijah needed to be wary; she was very fast and strong.

All of a sudden she went for his neck again, mouth open. But did she want to kill him or kiss him? Elijah’s instinct was to throw her off. He was strong enough, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He worried he might have made the worst decision of his life. Giving her the upper hand like this could get him killed… but then, where she had been gnawing just minutes ago, her soft lips and wet tongue stroked over the mending wound like healing rains.

Her mouth moved across his neck and then down to his collarbone. Elijah couldn’t move. He was frozen in ecstasy. Once again her lips caressed his skin, and her soft hair cascaded down around her face, tickling him a bit.

After taking a moment to regain his composure, he wrapped his arms around her and flipped her onto her back. Now he was on top; he was in control, and he continued to kiss her on the mouth and neck and then lower. Slowly, he ran his hand up under her gown, along the thigh of her bent leg.

They continued kissing passionately as he pushed her gown further up and she pulled at his tunic. In just moments, their clothes were off. As they began making love, Sara moaned out in pain and ecstasy, as it was her first time. Elijah moved to retreat, but she grabbed him, urging him on; her fingernails raked hard against his back. Elijah was inside of her as they rolled over once again and continued making love; her hands were now pressed firmly against his chest. Before that night they had both been virgins, together they had become something much different.

Once more she went for his neck, and once again her soft lips flowed against his skin. As need to once again feel her tongue on his neck built inside him, he was surprised by a sharp pain as she was once again sucking at his neck. It hurt, but he enjoyed it, and putting his hand on the back of her head, he pressed her face against his neck to let her know it was okay. It wasn’t the pain he enjoyed, but the closeness, and he realized then, due to his new condition, he was as able as he was happy to be her life-giving source.

Grabbing a handful of her hair, he pulled her away from his neck and pushed her mouth to his. As he kissed her, he could barely taste the blood on her tongue.

As the night lingered, her tenacious grip around his chest lost not a bit of fervor. He thought for a moment how drastically different his life had become overnight. He also decided that, until he could find a way to help her, until he could discover a more permanent solution for her hunger, she should use him as her only source of blood, and no more innocent people would have to die.

Neither of them could sleep. Curled up in each other’s arms, the two talked about many things. Despite the recent atrocities that had changed their lives, they were both finally where they had longed to be for years.

“We’ll need to go soon.” Elijah swept the hair from her cheek.

“Where are we going?” She looked up into his eyes.

“You’ve heard of Jaen; that is where we need to go. It’s to the south.” Elijah spoke with confidence as he laid his head back on the ground. “No more eating people, either. If you need blood, you will take mine, understood?” he stared into her eyes to emphasize his point.

“Understood.” She closed her eyes and ran her fingers down his face; she seemed happy.

Elijah knew, despite everything they had been through and the horrors they had witnessed, they were still the same people at heart. There were differences; they were no longer innocent children playing together, as they had years ago. Their childhood had vanished long ago, but only now had their innocence been taken from them.

Chapter 9

When they passed
other travelers on the road south, Elijah would pull Sara close to him. He lived with the constant fear that she would lose control.

The sun had just broken over the horizon when they first saw the city of Jaen. Just outside the city, he took her far from the path and removed his tunic.

“Here, eat.” He turned his head and gestured toward his neck.

“I’m not even hungry. I’ll be fine.” As she turned to walk back to the path, he caught her arm.

“Please, Sara, feed yourself. I don’t want to risk any more lives.” He pulled her close and kissed her before he turned his head and closed his eyes. He still wasn’t used to watching her feed; her distorted face made her look like a stranger.

After she was finished, he waited the moment it took for his wound to heal, then wiped off the blood and replaced his tunic and surcoat.

“I’ve got a good idea where to start looking. I know Solomon, and he couldn’t come to a place like this without visiting the temple.”

She nodded. She, too, knew of Solomon’s love for all things holy, which now seemed ironic, if not bizarre.

Elijah was mesmerized when they walked through the city gates. “I didn’t know men could build such things!” He stared wide-eyed at all the buildings within the city walls.

“That must be it.” Sara pointed towards the most beautiful and elaborate building Elijah had ever seen, and he knew she must be right. As they walked through the entrance of the building, Elijah saw a large group of men who all seemed to be moving and speaking as one. The language they were speaking was very similar to his own, but not exactly the same; still, he could tell they were praying.

A tall man with a thick beard immediately noticed them and began to speak as he walked towards them, although Elijah could only make out a small bit of what he was saying. He was obviously agitated and seemed to be directing Sara into a different room as he motioned for them to remove their shoes.

Elijah instructed Sara to wait outside while he quickly looked around for Solomon. He removed his shoes and sat them against the wall while she walked outside. This seemed to appease the man, because he quit talking and left Elijah alone.

“You are from the north.” Elijah turned to look at a man speaking in his own tongue.

“Yes, my name is Elijah, and I am here looking for someone.” Elijah went on to describe Solomon. The man immediately began to nod. He claimed to have seen such a man there just two days ago, but had no idea where he had gone.

“He came in and watched the men doing their prayers. He watched for quite a while. He seemed to be carrying a great burden and it looked as if he wanted to pray, but perhaps didn’t know how, so I walked over to speak with him. As soon as I reached him he politely excused himself and left, and I haven’t seen him here since. Excuse me a moment.” After speaking with Elijah, the man turned and began shouting at a couple of young boys who were wrestling.

Elijah recalled the pitiful, self-loathing look on Solomon’s face just after they had both watched their father murder their youngest brother, Malaki. He imagined that was the burdensome look the man had seen on his face a couple days ago, and it infuriated him. Solomon had
no right
to feel sorry for himself!

Elijah quickly left the mosque, feeling an urgent need to find Sara, worried about what she might do. He looked around outside the mosque, but didn’t see her or her hooded surcoat anywhere. He immediately thought the worst and a surge of nerves began to crash around in his chest. He didn’t want anyone to be hurt, but mostly he was worried about what might happen to Sara if she couldn’t control herself.

“Sara!” He shouted again and again as he searched frantically, looking in every dark corner he could find. Hopefully he would find her in time. As he rushed through the market square he spied a petite, hooded figure stepping out from one of the shops. He was filled with relief as the figure turned to reveal Sara’s beautiful—and still human-looking—face. He rushed over to her as he wiped sweat from his forehead.

“What’s the matter?” Sara’s smiling face quickly turned serious as she looked up at him.

He reached out and grasped her left arm.

“Oh, I see, you were worried I had run off to kill someone. You don’t have to watch me every second, Elijah. I’m not the monster you see every time you look at me.” She rubbed what seemed like a tear from the corner of her left eye as she spoke and then looked down at something she held in her hand.

Elijah began to feel raindrops, first only one or two on his hand, and then pelting down everywhere. As rain began to pour from the sky, he could hear people scurrying about, trying to escape it. In seconds it seemed as if they were alone in the square.

“I was worried about you!” Elijah shouted over the rain. “I don’t care about these people. It’s you; you are everything I have left and everything I care about. I know what these people will do if you lose control and they catch you… and I need to be there if that happens.”

He was now gripping both of her arms and staring intently into her eyes. “I love you! I always have, and I would do anything to protect you from them—not the other way around.” He pulled her into his chest and kissed her on the forehead.

“Always my prince,” she said softly as she wiped a wisp of hair from his cheek. “Give me your arm,” she said, smiling shyly.

“What’s this?” he asked as she tied something around his wrist.

“The man in the store said that if you turn it, it becomes the Arabic symbol for the number eight, but as it is, it’s the sign of a horse tether.” She grinned at the look of confusion on Elijah’s face.

“Why do you want me to wear a hor—” he began, but was quickly interrupted.

“I love you too, Elijah.” She finished tying the bracelet around his wrist and then folded his big hand inside of hers. “The past years of my life were miserable without you. I can’t be apart from you again, and this will ensure that.” She shifted her eyes up to his face, and then looked back down at the bracelet.

“We will be tethered together for all of eternity, as long as we wear these bracelets; so don’t lose yours! The man said that the strength of two tethered horses was far more than just the sum of their independent strengths. So, the way I see it, as long as we wear these bracelets, we remain tethered together… and as long as we remain tethered, there is no burden we can’t bear. And no one, not even your father, will ever be able to harm us again.”

Letting go of his hand, she fell into his embrace and gently propped her chin on his rain-soaked shoulder. “I don’t know if anything that man said is true, Elijah, but I do know that nothing makes me feel safer or stronger than being with you.” She had pressed her face against his ear as she whispered through the pouring rain.

Elijah gently pushed her back and placed a hand on each side of her face as he gently kissed her lips. He loved her more than life, and he knew she was right. Together they could do anything, perhaps even move on and leave this mess behind them. Feelings of hope and peace moved freely through his mind and body for the first time since his family was butchered.

He had no idea why Sara believed in him so strongly, but it filled him with strength and courage. He realized he had much more than just hate and revenge to live for. He had Sara. He had love, and he would protect her at all costs.

With her eyes closed, Sara stood breathless for a moment. Slowly opening her eyes, she caught Elijah’s gaze and smiled. Then she took a couple steps back and threw her arms in the air as she began to spin.

“Dance with me, Elijah!” She shouted. It had been years since he had danced. He had been with Sara then, too, and it had been raining just as hard. After a still moment of quiet reflection, Elijah took her hand and the pair danced beneath the rain.