Aris Reigns (30 page)

In what seemed the blinking of an eye, we were at the forest's edge and he was pulling me from the saddle. He threw me on the ground, ripping at my riding skirt.

In that instant, I found my voice. As I opened my mouth to scream, he slapped me hard across the face. Fighting my way through the fog, I bit his hand as he covered my mouth.

“Bitch,” he cried as he lifted me by the front of my riding habit. He hit me again and again. My head swum and I tasted blood on my tongue. “I'll beat the fight out of you. In a faint or awake, I will have you today.”

Suddenly a loud, ferocious growl sounded just behind him. As he threw me back to the ground, my head crashed onto a sharp rock. I could feel the blood
rushing from the wound to saturate the ground around me before all went dark as I lost consciousness.

Yet I remember.
Her words were clear, strong, without fear as she told the story.
I remember. Yes, even through the blackness, I remember. It was a white wolf. It was Hawke. He raced from the forest, and slammed his huge body into Essex, knocking the knave from his feet, tearing at his clothes, his flesh. As Essex reached for his knife the wolf tore at his hand. A scream broke the otherwise silent morning as the great animal ripped his teeth through the arm and wrist of my attacker. A river of blood poured over his white ruffled sleeve. As Hawke lunged for his throat, Essex knew he was beaten. Jumping on his horse, nursing his wound, he rode away shouting curses over his shoulder.

The wolf watched me for a moment before slowly approaching me, whining deep in his throat. In my stupor, I felt no fear. His soft warm tongue licked my face. He tilted his head as if he were examining my wounds.

I must have been dreaming because he changed right there before me from wolf to man. A tall white-skinned, white-haired man with eyes the color of lavender flowers. He was nude and the morning light shown on his muscular body. He looked like a marble statue in the Queen's garden.

It had to have been a dream because he scooped me into his arms and ran like the wind itself into the forest. I know not how long or how far he ran until, at last, he stopped, laying me gently on the ground. We were in front of the mouth of a cave and he gathered grasses and branches to make a bed for me just inside the cavern entrance. When he had settled me, he once again transformed into the white wolf and rushed into the cave. I know now he could not have entered the Catacombs in his human body. I know not how he became aware of the Immortals or how he communicated to them to come to my rescue, to save my life, but he did. When he left me lying there, my world was dark and empty.

And there all memory of my human life ends. There is no other recollection except the torment of my changing. When I awoke, I was an Immortal. No more human and through no wish of my own, it was then I began my life underground.

Sarah sat quietly staring at the huge white animal resting on the carpet next to the bed. The wolf raised his massive head from his paws and stared back.

“What a strange feeling I am having.” Jane slowly opened her eyes once Sarah ended her hypnotic trance. “It is as if a veil has been lifted. My mind is clear, yet how can this be possible?”

“Just lie quietly and rest for a moment.” Sarah spoke as she moved toward the door to wet a cool cloth in the bathroom basin.

Jane spoke quietly from the sitting room. “Sarah, what do you make of it? Was I dreaming? How could a wolf become a man and then a wolf again? I must have been delirious to have such a vision.”

A strange deep male voice could clearly be heard through the open door. “You were not delirious. A wolf to a man. A man to a wolf. And now, a man once again.”

Sarah rushed through the door to see a tall white skinned man wrapping the bedspread around his naked hips as Jane lay on the bed, eyes wide and mouth hanging open in shock.

CHAPTER 40

“H
ave no fear. No harm will come to you.” He stood before them, a living representation of Michelangelo's glorious white marble statue of David. All except for his intense lavender eyes. Neither of the women could move or speak, frozen in time and space.

“Please.” He was perfectly still so as not to frighten them further. “Please, trust me.” He turned to face Jane and raised his hands in supplication. “I have protected and loved you for centuries. I am no different in this form than as your beloved wolf. Please, Jane, have faith.”

Sarah was the first of the two Immortals to speak. “Who are you?” Her thoughts were spinning. “How did you do that?” She shook her head to clear her mind. “What do you want?”

“I will answer all your questions. Just tell me you know I will do you no harm.” He stared into Jane's eyes as he pled for her faith in his assurances.

Her voice was a whisper as she answered, “I believe you.”

The three of them were silent as they sat in front of the fireplace. Sarah brought Hawke a robe belonging to Aris, Although Aris was
tall, the sleeves were several inches too short, his smooth muscular forearms exposed in the firelight. Sarah thought she had become accustomed to the beauty of the Immortals, but this man, this god among men, was more glorious than any living being, human or otherwise, she had ever seen.

“I have been watching over you, Jane, for centuries.”

“I knew you were some sort of magical creature when you did not grow old in your wolf form, but remained vital and strong throughout the ages. The Keeper of Records told me that many centuries ago and I accepted it. But what are you, man or wolf?” Jane's voice was barely above a murmur when she questioned him.

“My kind has been called by many different names throughout the ages, but in your time, I am known as a shape-shifter. I am and can be all animate things.”

“But where did you come from?” Sarah didn't think she could ever be shocked again after learning about the Immortals, yet here she sat amazed. Incredulous and full of questions, she realized just how wrong she had been. “Can you change shape at will?”

Hawke spoke slowly, thoughtfully. “First, from whence I came. A place on earth before recorded time.” He sat silent for a trance-like moment as he remembered his creation. “The two who created me were sorcerers, a woman and a man, my mother and my father. There are many recorded shifters throughout history who have been created through mystic means, yet I was the first of the albinos. The first and the last. The only one of my kind. A freak of nature even among wizards' offspring.

“My wicked creators had a plan when they conceived me, to use my shape-shifting ability to change my form to spy on the rulers of our land. They told me it was a game and so, to gain their praise and love, I became very, very good at it. A playful innocent, I changed into cats and dogs, roaming the palace and easily hearing all conversation without being noticed. Telling all that I heard, I enabled my foul
parents to wreak havoc on the land. The devils went on a killing spree the likes never known before or since.

“When I saw all that occurred, when I recognized I had been created as a weapon of evil, I fled the kingdom. Months and years I roamed until, at last, I found a forest that offered safety and peace. There I lived for centuries, eons on all fours, ages on the wing, becoming any creature I wished for as long as I chose. Yet always the pure white color of snow, always different than all around me.” He whispered. “An owl. A stag.”

Jane gasped. “You.” Each of the animals rescuing her from Lord Essex at Elizabeth's court had been white; she realized each had been Hawke. “A wolf,” she murmured. “And now a man.”

“Yes, a man.” Moving with caution, Hawke knelt next to her, touching her hand with the tips of his fingers. She shivered. Quickly he withdrew, lowering his eyes from hers. “I became your champion the first moment I saw you in the garden of the royal court. I watched you as you grew from an innocent child into the full beauty of a grown woman. I watched your loyalty to the Queen, your acts of love. How could I not pledge myself to you?”

As he lifted his gaze to hers, their eyes met in a sudden mutual, deep awareness surpassing any physical form they presented to the world, an awareness of the connection of their very souls.

Quietly Sarah slipped out the door, shutting it softly behind her.

CHAPTER 41

T
he troops waded through the mud created by the melting snow. The steady sloshing sound made by their boots muffled their voices as the Spanish warriors marched double-time to keep pace with their leaders. The soon-to-be-depleted human herd staggered in a daze behind them.

Oblivious to the cold and the great distance they had traveled, Mariska and Esteban covered ground quickly, never slowing their pace. An enormous sleek black wolf trotted easily on Esteban's right, completing the trio of decadent beauty.

Grumbling under his breath, Esteban kept pace with that set by his Queen. When at last he spoke, his words were clipped, accusing. “I did not think you would give in to DeMarco so easily. I thought you said there would be terms, a position for me in the high court.” His voice was low, sinister. “I still do not understand why I must step down from your side. We can kill him and take over his troops.” His words grew menacing. “Why do you persist in the thought you need him? Have you no faith in me?”

“Be still! Your constant hammering at me is driving me mad.”

“Do not speak to me as if I were a child.” He grabbed her arm, spinning her to face his threatening glare.

Her red lips curled back over her teeth exposing her fangs, which
had dropped. “Take your bloody hands off me if you want to stay whole.”

His hand dropped from her arm before the last word left her mouth. She was centuries older than he and that much stronger. He had no desire to battle her. He knew exactly what the outcome would be.

She turned from him and resumed their journey. He hurried to join her, matching his steps in time with hers.

When her anger had subsided, Mariska remembered how much she really needed Esteban, not just for the battle. It was imperative she have a strong-appearing male to rule as co-regent once they took the Catacombs. She would always be more powerful and she knew she could always outsmart Esteban. He was easily manipulated and she would always be in control He was perfect for the job once she had eliminated DeMarco. After a time of silence, she gave a long sigh and turned to him. “Esteban, I believe in you as a General. I have told you that time and again. But we are too few alone. We are but half the army we will be when we join with DeMarco's troops. Together we will have greater numbers than our enemies. We will be undefeatable. Without DeMarco's warriors, we will never even reach the Catacombs.

“We arrive at the castle at dawn. You will organize the troops while I placate DeMarco. We leave as soon as you have made everything ready to travel. Once we defeat the Immortals, I have no intention of sharing the Diaries with him. We will use him, kill him and his precious human and take the Catacombs for ourselves.”

“And who will rule beside you, Majesty?”

“Who but you, my General.”