Infinitas 1 - Warriors of Faith (24 page)

When Ruben was with her, she wasn’t nearly as afraid of encountering other people.
He made her feel strong and she loved looking at him and feeling him looking at her.
He’d saved her life when he carried her out of the burning bank and risked his own life in the process, which was something she’d never forget.
Until he found his true soulmate, she would be a faithful partner, after which she would have to let him go. But until then, he was hers.

»I lied too,« she whispered quietly to Ruben.
»Sunny gave me a blood bag earlier, so I don’t have to feed.
But when you said you’d find a tourist, I couldn’t let you go alone.
I was jealous.
As long as we’re together, I don’t want you to ever drink from another woman again.«

Ruben’s lips curled in to a smile.
»You were really jealous?« »You’re going to have to live with it.
It’s not something I can hide.«

Ruben pushed her slightly away and looked into her eyes.

»Well, it does limit me to some degree, but that’s okay, as long as you’re with me.«

She traced her finger gently over his cheek.
»Thank you. Now come and drink.«

Ruben looked into her big blue eyes.
»You know what that means, don’t you? You’ve already drunk from me, so that means we’ll be making a commitment to each other, a vow of faith.
Is that what you want?
Don’t forget that we’ll irreversibly be a part of each other’s consciousness.«

Phoebe nodded without a moment of hesitation. »Yes, that’s exactly what I want.
We’ve already exchanged blood anyway, when I drank from you.« Ruben remembered the drip of blood and that he’d cut her while nibbling on her lip.

He pulled her into his arms and in a flash, had removed her clothes.
There was a little corner of the lighthouse, which was protected where they wouldn’t be seen.
He carried her there and laid her down on her clothes so that she wouldn’t feel the cold.
Her body was breathtaking.
She was slim and had beautifully shaped legs.
Ruben was clinging to her aura running his fingers repeatedly over her body, as if he were exploring the contours of a map.
His fangs had emerged just from looking at her and he could feel the blood pulsing through her veins. He could hardly keep himself from immediately thrusting his teeth into her veins.
But he hadn’t yet satisfied his desire to just look at her.

Phoebe couldn’t take the feeling of his hands all over her body any longer.
It had started a fire in her, which was ablaze like a wild fire.
To hold Ruben naked in her arms was more than she had ever dreamt of.
She’d even forgotten about her horrible scar.
She felt beautiful and desirable, a feeling that she’d never felt before in her life.
She traced her finger along the tattoo on his shoulder and felt him tremble.
She loved the reaction caused by her touch.
When he lay down on top of her, she felt him pressed hard against her.
She opened up her legs to show him that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her.
He looked into her eyes just to be sure that she wanted to continue, and whatever her eyes seemed to say back, he’d already recognized the signs her body had given him.
He entered her with a deep thrust. Resolute, strong and unremitting, he gently nuzzled her neck with his teeth, sustaining a rhythm, which she willingly followed.

Phoebe’s fangs came close to his neck as well, and when she heard the rushing of his blood and inhaled his scent, she could no longer hold herself back.
With a low growl, she dug her teeth into his neck and passionately sucked like only a soulmate could.

Rain pelted against the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse.
Kilian Castaway was leaning against the window holding a whiskey glass full of blood.
He’d gotten into the habit of drinking his blood out of a glass since sucking on strange people necks had always disgusted him.
He could see the reflection of Philippe Orlandie in the window, sinking his teeth into a beautiful blond woman and greedily sucking the vital juice from her veins.
When he finished, he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and sent the woman away.

»Let’s take a look at the ruins of the house.
Maybe there’s some sort of clue as to where the warriors have disappeared to.« Castaway turned around and stared at Philippe. »My informant told me that they found three bodies with the police officer’s and the two Keane sibling’s DNA.
There’s no sign of the others.« »A sign that they’ve disappeared.
I don’t believe that Sara’s dead and I can sense that Sunny is still alive.
She transformed me so she’s inside of me and I’ll find her and get back at them all.« Kilian raised his hand in warning.

»We need the book. Everything else is secondary.
I have an informant I can trust who’s on their tail.
Let’s wait for his call and then go see what’s left of the house.
We’ll find them, there’s no doubt about that.
I want revenge too, for destroying my beautiful house on the ocean and for killing my hunters, but only after I have the
Diarium
in my hands
,« he shouted slamming his fist against the window.
Moments later, his cell phone rang.
He answered without saying anything, listened to what was being said on the other end and ended the call curtly saying, »Good work.
I’ll get back to you when I need more information.«

Grinning, he turned around to face Philippe. »I think you’ll be going home faster than you thought.
The Keane’s garage was also burned, but there wasn’t a single car inside.
My informant found out that four cars were shipped airfreight overseas under the name Channing McArthur and they are now ready to be picked up at the airport in Paris.
Pack your things. Our journey is about to begin.«

Phoebe was lying happily in Ruben’s arms playing with the dark curly hair on his chest.
He was smiling because it tickled, but he didn’t say anything.
He didn’t want the moment to end.

»How do you feel?« he asked accompanied by a deep, satisfied growl.
»Wonderful.« Phoebe turned around to face him, leaning up on one arm in order to get a better look at his dark blue eyes.
»Ruben, can you do me a favor?
Can we keep this to ourselves? I don’t want the other warriors to know about us.« He didn’t quite understand what Phoebe was trying to say.

»Why? There’s nothing wrong with it?«
»Well, it’s a fact that we won’t be together forever and I just won’t be able to bear all the sympathy from the others the day you finally meet your true soulmate and I have to stay behind alone.
Please, spare me that.
I can handle everything else, but I don’t want their sympathy.
Will you promise me that?«

Ruben thought about it for a minute and then kissed her intimately.

»Of course, I’ll spare you that.« He stood up and took her hand.

»Come on, let’s go back to the house before the others begin to worry.«

Channing was sitting on the bed scrutinizing the parchment pages for the thousandth time.
He read the words again and again, analyzing the papers looking for hidden clues as to where exactly they might find the book inside the cathedral in Cologne.
Sara was standing at the window looking out at the crashing surf.
»At least we have an ocean view.« She turned away from the window and sat down on the bed next to Channing.

»You miss Seattle, don’t you?« Channing pushed the pages aside and took her in his arms to comfort her.
»I know that it isn’t exactly what you were expecting in a home, but it’s safe and it was available.
No one will notice us here.
There are more tourists than locals.
As soon as things quiet down, we’ll look around for something else. Where ever you want.« »The home I want doesn’t exist anymore.
Now I understand how it feels not knowing where you belong and it’s definitely not a good feeling.« Channing lovingly ran his finger over her lips.

»I’ve found my home.
It’s there wherever you are and that’s such an amazing feeling.« He pulled her closer to him and kissed her passionately, trying to distract her from her sadness

»I’m going to ask Phoebe to get us some Kendo gear, so that we can set up a training room and begin to train.
All this sitting around is driving me crazy.
I feel like kicking somebody’s butt, preferably Shia’s.« »How about taking a little trip to Paris tomorrow? We can’t do anything until Phoebe gets us the helicopter.« »Paris?« she asked hesitantly.

»I could finally see my apartment.
What do you think?« Sara shrugged.

»I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.
Philippe knows your address and I’m sure he’s told Castaway.
Maybe he’s having the apartment watched.
It would be too risky.«

Channing nodded.
Ever since he’d started remembering pieces of his past, his thoughts had frequently returned to his old life and he was curious how it had been.
But Sara was right.
He’d be endangering the lives of not only himself, but of all the other warriors whom he now felt responsible for.

»You’re right.
It’s not a good idea.« She snuggled into his arms.
»I’m sorry that Shia had to erase your memory and I can imagine how hard it must be for you when you begin to remember little things.
We can visit your apartment another time after we’ve eliminated Castaway.« Channing nodded his head.
»Maybe it’s better this way.
Who knows what I’d find there?
I have everything I’ll ever need right here in my arms.«

Phoebe stopped in front of Ruben’s door and kissed him good night.

»Thank you.
It was an unbelievable evening,« she whispered quietly. Everyone had already gone to bed so there was no one around.
Ruben looked at her in disbelief.

»You don’t want to leave me hanging here, do you?«

»I urgently have to work on getting us that helicopter and I don’t want to be distracted.«

He had the feeling it was just an excuse so he put his hand on her cheek and said,

»Phoebe, don’t even try to lie to me.
I know it’s a pretext.
What’s really wrong?«

She looked down the hall uncomfortably.
»I don’t want anyone to know that we spent the night together.
I told you why.« Ruben nodded and let go of her.

»Okay. Then go, but it won’t work.« With that, he turned around and went into his room shutting the door quietly behind him.
Phoebe did the same.
Neither of them noticed the small figure standing at the other end of the hallway watching them.

Phoebe had barely shut her door when the adjoining door opened and Ruben poked his head into her room.

»So, whose room should we take, yours or mine?« he said with a smile.

High Cathedral

Chapter 18

T
he sitting room at the
Granit Rosé
was situated to the north with a clear view of the garden facing the coast and the direction of the English Channel.

The curtains were drawn since Phoebe couldn’t tolerate sunlight and the room was dark with a peaceful tension in the air amongst the warriors filling the room an electric buzz.

The helicopter Phoebe had organized could be picked up at the airport in Paris that night, as well as the cars, which had arrived by airfreight.

Jôrek, Shia, Maroush, Ruben and Channing planned on leaving around noon to pick up these important modes of transport.

In the meantime, Phoebe had downloaded a blueprint of the cathedral from the Internet and the warriors were discussing their plan of action on searching the church for the
Diarium.

»I think we need to take a good look at the church first.
They offer tours, but do you think that would help?« asked Shia shrugging.
Sara interjected, »Who knows. We might learn something that could be of help to us.
I think I should take a tour, plus it gives the impression that we’re just ordinary tourists.«

»You guys are never ordinary anything,« said Phoebe laughing quietly.
»You should definitely split up; otherwise you’ll attract too much attention.
Groups of twos would be better.« Sara nodded looking over in Eva’s direction.

»Are you ready to take in some culture?«
»Sure, you can count me in.«

Phoebe looked out the window concerned.
»Sorry, since I’ve been cursed with eternal damnation, I guess I’ll stay here and hold down the fort.« »Hey, that’s an important job, Phoebe.
We need someone like you to coordinate everything.
Could you organize tap-proof cell phones with untraceable owners and numbers for everyone?« asked Channing trying to cheer her up.
Phoebe nodded and smiled.
»I already ordered them.
You don’t think I’d let you go without being able to keep in contact with you, do you?« she said glancing stealthily at Ruben.

»Good.
Then everything is ready for tomorrow.« Channing nodded and started to stand up, but Ruben stopped him.
»Excuse me, everyone.
There something I want to say first ... I just wanted to let you know before it gets out.
Phoebe and I have made a vow of faith even though she doesn’t have my maxim.
I love her anyway and I will be her companion until the end of our days.
That’s all I wanted to say.« He said it loudly without breathing, then when he finished, he let out a deep breath as if someone had been choking him.
Everyone looked at the two of them in surprise, just as Phoebe took off out of the room as if a tarantula had bitten her.

»Well, I guess that mean she’s in love with me, too!« Jôrek said shaking his head.

»There’s too much love in this room for me.
I’m getting something to drink.« Aragón slapped him on the back in a brotherly fashion.
»It will happen to you, too, Compañero. Sooner than you think.« Jôrek shook his head.
»Most likely later.
What about you, my friend?« Aragón laughed slightly.
»My love belongs to God! There is no room for a woman.« As proof, he took hold of the large cross around his neck and kissed it.
Jôrek nodded.
»Yeah, you’ve probably made the best choice of all!«

The warriors arrived back at the coast late that night. Jôrek landed the helicopter in the extensive yard next to the house, but not without getting the attention of the locals.
They parked the cars in the large garage attached to the hotel, which had enough space for at least five more vehicles. To get a closer look at the cathedral in Cologne, the warriors planned on leaving for Germany at dawn,

Ruben found Phoebe in her little room in the basement where she was setting up the cell phones, which had been delivered earlier in the day.
She pushed a phone over to him without looking up.
»This is yours. The speed dial keys are the same.« He took it from her and stuffed it into the side pocket of his black cargo pants.

»You’re mad at me, aren’t you?« he asked trying to look her in the eyes, but she would not return his glance.
»I did what I thought was best. I’m sorry that it made you angry.«

Phoebe shook her head. »It’s not what you said Ruben. It’s the fact that you said anything at all.
How could I be mad at you for loving me? But I didn’t want anyone to know.
I explained it to you and asked you specifically to keep it to yourself and you agreed.
If you can’t keep a simple promise like that, how will I ever be able to trust you?«

Ruben ran his fingers through his short black hair.
»I don’t have all that much experience with stuff like this.« Phoebe had heard enough.
She slammed the cell phone she was holding down on the table and stood up so abruptly that her chair fell over.

»That’s the only explanation you have?
That’s nothing more than a cheap excuse. You’re supposed to be a warrior of faith, God damn it!« she screamed completely agitated pushing him in the chest with her hands, causing him to step back.
»And the first thing you learn as a soldier is that you keep your word, otherwise you can forget everything. Can you get that through your thick skull?«

She kept on pushing him with her hands so that he’d stepped back into the wall.

»Don’t you ever do that to me again,« she hissed and Ruben could see her fangs had emerged out of anger.
She stood there so small and delicate in front of him, but her outrage made her appear to be 6 feet tall.
»I have to be able to trust you.
If you really love me like you say you do, then we have to trust each other, otherwise ... « »What? You’ll bite me?« His wide smile made Phoebe even more furious.
She reached out and wanted to hit him, but Ruben was faster and stronger and was able to grab her hand just before she struck him.
He pushed her up against the wall, now as angry as she was, his sharp teeth poking out from under his lips.

»God damn it! If I didn’t love you so much, I’d tear you to pieces.
But I’ll have to save that for later.« He pressed his mouth to hers and knew right away that it wasn’t just anger forcing Phoebe’s blood so quickly through her veins.

»Whatever you think, vampire,« she whispered, managing to get the last word in again.

The door clicked quietly shut, and although Sunny had locked it, the slight click was a clear indication that the door had opened and then closed again.
She recognized who had entered by his scent. When no one approached, she looked over at the door and saw Maroush leaning against the door with his hands in his pockets.
He made no further attempt to enter the room.

»I can’t remember inviting you in.« Sunny was sitting on the bed with her legs stretched out in front of her.
»I wanted to see how you’re feeling.
Actually, we’d like to know if you’ve made a decision.
If you’re going to stay here with us and become a warrior or not.« »Who wants to know? You or your brothers?« Without answering her question, Maroush pushed himself off the wall and walked slowly into the room.
He sat down on the bed next to her without touching her.
»Would that make a difference to you? You know that we’d all welcome you if you stayed.
The only question really is if we can trust you.
Who’s to say you won’t betray us and go running back to Castaway?«

Sunny had him on his back in the wink of an eye and was sitting on top of him.
Her hand was gripped tightly around his throat.

»You think I’m a traitor?
Come on, say it!« She pressed Maroush down into the mattress with all her might. He stared up at her eyes without emotion, distracting her from what he was actually doing.
Only after Sunny felt the cold steel of the dagger on her throat did she loosen her grip.

»You are a lot of things to me.« He spoke calmly, but his body was radiating an intense heat, which gave him away.
With an expert move, he twisted Sunny around on the bed burying her underneath him.
»What are you afraid of? Do you think I would take you as my wife against your will?«

She tried to punch him in the chest with her fists, but he kept her playfully under control with one hand.
»So, what’s your answer?« They just glared into each other’s eyes for a few seconds and the air around them seemed to be vibrating.
Invisible sparks were flying, creating a realm, which contained only Sunny and Maroush.
When she ran her little tongue along her dry lips, Maroush couldn’t hold himself back and he lowered himself slowly to her lips and kissed them gently.

He remained in this position waiting to see how she would react.

Sunny closed her eyes and let him kiss her, trying not to fight against it.
The scent of him everywhere robbed her of her senses.
Without wanting to, she opened her lips and carefully explored his mouth with her tongue and arched her back to get as close as possible to him.

Maroush slowly let go of her wrist and ran his hand along her collarbone, returning her kiss without forcing her.
His tongue played with hers and it took everything he had to not passionately take her right there on the spot.
He could feel her hand playing with his hair and then, much too late, he felt the cold, sharp metal on his cheek.
When he opened his eyes, Sunny underneath him holding his own Dolch.
»Get off me!« Maroush lifted up his hands, rolled off her and then stood up.
She got up after him.
»Go!« she demanded.
When he turned around, Sunny pulled the sharp blade across his cheek with enough pressure that a drop of blood emerged from the wound.
»That’s for calling me a traitor.« In one skilled movement, the Dolch landed in the doorframe and without even turning around, Maroush pulled the knife out of the wood.

»
The sword the body wounds, sharp words the mind.
«

Upon saying these words, he left the room.

As Aragón walked through the main portal of the High Cathedral of Saint Peter and Mary in Cologne, he dipped his fingers in holy water and crossed himself, then bowed his head and genuflected humbly.
Sunny followed his example and then, after they had all entered the church, the warriors spread out so they wouldn’t stand out as a group.

Sara and Eva joined a crowd of Japanese tourists participating in an English tour.
Phoebe had organized landing the helicopter at the Cologne airport and from there, it had only been a stone’s throw to the cathedral square.
Shia and Ruben looked up in awe as they passed under the vaulted ceiling of the choir.
The early mass in the Chapel of the Virgin was just ending and some visitors chose to exit, while others continued strolling through the church.

»So, you and Phoebe,« commented Shia quietly while looking around.

»You don’t like the idea?« Ruben questioned and his tone of voice contained a hint of aggressiveness.
Shia waved off the comment.
»No, I’m the last person to judge you. I’m just worried.
I don’t want Phoebe to get hurt.
She’s a little unstable sometimes.«

»Believe me, my brother, the last thing I want to do is hurt that woman.« Shia stopped walking.

»It could still happen even if you don’t mean to.
Just like you can’t cover the rays of the sun, you can’t ignore the light of truth.
And you know she doesn’t share your maxim.«

Ruben looked him directly in the eye.
»Yes, but I love her and I can’t just ignore that.
I’d do anything not to hurt her, I’ve promised her that much.
But why would you be the last one to judge me?«

Shia looked around for a second.
»Eva doesn’t share my maxim either.
I was wrong.
But you’re right, I love her and no matter what happens, she’ll always be my soulmate.«

He said it so earnestly and in the place where they were standing, his words sounded so sincere.
Ruben seemed surprised.
»What’s her maxim?« Shia bit his lips sullenly.

»
It’s fortes fortuna adiurat – Fortune favors the bold.
No one’s got that one.«

Ruben thought about the maxim for a minute.
»Strange.
It doesn’t just refer to Eva really, but to more than one person – it’s plural. Otherwise it would be
the bold one
, don’t you think? Whatever that’s supposed to mean.«
Shia walked on nodding his head in thought.
He hadn’t even noticed that. What
was
that supposed to mean?

The cathedral was gigantic and even if you had an entire army, it would be impossible to get a close look at everything.
They all agreed that if the
Diarium
really was hidden there somewhere, then it would be somewhere less obvious.
Aragón sat down on one of the pews in the southeast end of the choir to take in the atmosphere.
He watched the people walking past him and tried to analyze the countless windows, but none of them seemed to point in the direction of the
Diarium
.