Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (35 page)

“
So she would’ve arrived at
night,” Frank finished.

Sarah swallowed, unclasping the
necklace and putting it around her neck. “She had to be so lonely
and frightened. I hope that man is good to her, whoever he
is.”

Frank lifted her hair and clasped the
locket around her neck. “We’re going to find her and take her home.
Do you remember the man’s name, Father?”

The priest scratched his head. “His
name was Charles, and I believe he was from Ripteenia, north of
here. Liz never told me much else about him. She was a bit
secretive, that one.”

Sarah jumped as the front door slammed
open and Jules walked in, his eyes wide. “Two villages away, when
the sun sets, they plan to hang three people by the names of Beth,
Steven, and Adam,” he announced between labored breaths, as though
he had just run a marathon. “I heard they were dressed in odd
clothing, similar to those Frank was wearing when I met him. My
friend said they came through the forest of the Guardians, just
like you two. Do you know them?”

Sarah gasped. “Of course! That would
be my BFF, my lead researcher, and my cameraman.”

“
BFF?” Jules and the priest
asked in unison.

“
Never mind,” Frank said to
them with a groan. “Sarah, they followed you in? You’ve got to be
kidding!”

Chapter 12

Sarah stared at Jules, wide-eyed.
Three members of her team had made it through the portal, but now
they faced execution. She felt awful about that. Once again, it was
all her fault that people she cared about were in trouble. She’d
been in charge of the expedition, and she’d picked the spot where
they hunted for Bigfoot. Waves of guilt surged through her, first
over Liz and now over her friends, her team. If anything happened
to them, she could never live with herself. She grabbed Frank’s
hand, avoiding his apologetic gaze. “We can’t just let them die in
this place, Frank. We have to do something—anything! Let’s
go!”

“
What do you suggest we—”
Frank started.

Jules grabbed her shoulder,
interrupting Frank. “Where do you think you and Frank are going?
We’re in the middle of a big village crawling with knights. You
take one step out there, and it will be an execution of five
instead of three.”

“
He’s right,” Frank
whispered. “Besides, it might be a trap. They probably know we all
came from the same world and that we’re friends. They might be
trying to bait you out of hiding, Sarah.”

Sarah was trying to think logically,
but having more people on her conscience wasn’t an option. She had
done enough harm already. Shaking her head vehemently, she turned
to face Frank, her eyes ablaze. “I don’t care! They are only here
because they were loyal, trying to find me, and I’m not going to
desert them now. I’m going, with or without you.”

“
Sarah, you’re being
irrational,” Jules said. “I won’t let you go.”

“
And you care why?” Sarah
asked. “Last time I checked, you couldn’t wait to get rid of
us.”

“
You scammed King Victor
and dragged Mia into all your craziness. I might not like it, but I
promised Mia I’d keep you safe. I’m not going to just stand by and
watch you walk into death’s arms. Throughout this journey, I’ve
regarded your safety as my top priority because I will not break a
promise to my love.”

“
Walking out there is a
suicide mission,” Frank said. “Unless this Immortal nonsense can
also make you invisible, we’re gonna need a disguise and a smoking
hot plan…and a couple of Uzis really would have helped.”

The priest smiled. “I may be able to
help with the disguises,” he said proudly, walking over to a
peeling wooden chest. He pulled out two black cotton robes, frayed
where the hem had dragged over the ground. “Just wait a bit longer.
In one hour, hundreds of priests will gather for prayer and to
attend a short midday service. When they leave to return to their
villages, you’ll blend right in with them.”

Frank nodded, brows raised. “I love it
when a plan comes together,” he said with a smirk.

“
I think this will work,”
Sarah said, slipping into a robe, tying the hood, and then
adjusting the white belt cord. The coarse material hid her supple
curves, giving the impression of someone much leaner and less
feminine.

She turned her attention to Jules.
“Are you onboard with this or not?”

He seemed confused. “I don’t
understand. It is not necessary to use a boat, as we’ll be
traveling on foot.”

She rolled her eyes, more at herself
at forgetting the poor guy wasn’t accustomed with twenty-first
century slang. “Sorry. I meant to ask if you are in agreement to
help us with this. Can you guide us? We cannot find the village on
our own.”

“
I
said
we
’ll be
traveling on foot, didn’t I? And I know a shorter
way.”

The mention of a shortcut made Sarah
smile, in spite of the sarcastic tone in Jules’s voice. “Even
better,” she said, tossing him a robe.

The priest handed Sarah a staff, a
pair of glasses, and an oversized silver cross on a long leather
string. “You need the best disguise possible, considering you’re
their main target.” He squeezed a small bag of gold into her hand.
“Take it. Your sister would want me to help you, and you may need
this on your journey.”

For a moment, she struggled with the
idea of taking the old man’s money. His torn clothes and the
tattered condition of his church told her he needed it as much as
she did; however, she knew they might not make it without his
monetary support. Even though her throat constricted at the idea,
she held out her hand and grabbed the sachet, then hugged him
tight. “You’ve been a huge help, Father. Thank you,” she whispered,
vowing to come back and repay her debt.

* * *

Sarah leaned against the giant stone
pillar outside the back of the church. The beams of sunlight felt
good on her face. She wondered how her sister had dealt with the
drama of finding herself in a dangerous new world with no one to
protect her when she came through the portal at fifteen. The sudden
helplessness had to be world shattering. Not only had Liz lost all
of her friends and family, but this odd world was very different
from what they were used to, and one tiny mistake could’ve cost her
her life. Sarah jumped as bells chimed in the distance, jolting her
out of her thoughts. She straightened her back at the realization
that the church service must be over, and the time had come for her
to leave the sanctuary of the kind priest’s church.

Frank put up his hood and turned to
face her. “It’s time.” His voice came low and grave, too grave for
an easygoing man like him. It wasn’t like him to let his worries
take hold of his spirits.

“
Yep, I’m ready.” She
infused as much cheeriness into her tone as she could muster. At
least one of them had to keep up the good mood before they drowned
in their own pool of despair.

Smiling, Frank straightened up her
glasses. “There, you look perfect.”

“
Thanks for everything,
Father.” She turned to hug the old man. “And thanks for taking care
of my sister when she had nobody else to look after her. That means
the world to me.”

“
My doors are open to
anyone in need of refuge, as our heavenly Father would have it.”
The priest nodded graciously, and Sarah thought she might have seen
a tear in his eye. “Be careful,” the priest said. “I’ve just
received word that Ethano Milers is tracking you as we
speak.”

“
Who is he?” Sarah
asked.

“
He’s a very powerful
Immortal from the Cardashian Court. I don’t understand why they
would send somebody so high up to personally bring you in for
trial. Usually, they just send in an experienced and skilled
tracker. My prayers will go with you, child.”

Sarah shook her head. Obviously there
must be a reason. She officially had her third enemy. “They must
really want me.” She gave the priest one last hug, and this time,
there was a tear in her own eye.

Jules led the way through the lush
green grass to the front of the huge stone church. They blended in
with all the other priests in monk’s robes, exiting through the two
giant oak doors.

Sarah’s mouth dropped. Reality came
crashing down at the sight of hundreds of knights on horses, all
there with one mission: to behead her. Shudders rocked her body.
She couldn’t give in to her fear, though—not when her life and the
lives of so many others depended on her. She forced herself
forward, gazing only at the ground, trying to gain her composure.
She hoped that if she didn’t look, her heart would stop beating so
fast, but the closer she inched, the more her hands started to
sweat. Her nerves felt like they were fraying like the bottom of
her borrowed robe with every step she took.

The knights swarmed the place, waiting
for the moment she’d come out of hiding, as if they were cats and
she the mouse.

Taking a deep breath, she started
limping as she clung to the staff, hoping it might throw them off
her trail. Her heart pounded as she swerved between two knights on
black horses. A horse neighed, and Sarah nearly jumped out of her
skin. She wasn’t sure if her nerves could take another moment of
it. She took a deep breath and focused on seeing her sister’s face
again.

“
Sorry about that, Father,”
a knight to her right said.

She
nodded and tried to understand his logic. He was sorry his horse
had scared a priest, but he seemingly had no qualms about killing
an unarmed woman for no apparent reason other than identity
theft.
What kind of place is this? Is that
their idea of justice?
She hobbled along,
and in no time, they came to the edge of the city where knights
guarded the perimeter.

“
Halt!” a knight
ordered.

She peered up past the black horse to
the red tunic covering the guy’s chainmail.

“
Let us pass so we can get
more bread from the next village,” Jules said. “No one told us
about the extra guests.”

“
You intend to feed our
troops?”

“
Indeed,” Frank said. “We
just need a few supplies—some wine, bread, and potato
chips.”

Potato
chips?
Sarah nudged him. It was no time for
making jokes.

“
Splendid, Father.” The
knight lifted his visor, his brown eyes shining at the thought of
filling his stomach with a free meal and then plundering the
village.

“
What is your answer then?”
Jules prompted impatiently.

Sarah kept her head down and bit her
lip, waiting for the soldier’s answer, her heart pounding
hard.

The knight motioned his colleagues to
clear a path. “Let them pass to go for provisions!”

The others obediently took a few steps
back.

Sarah let out a tiny sigh of relief
and walked into the forest, taking swift but measured footsteps so
she wouldn’t look conspicuous. Either the disguise or the kind
priest’s prayers had worked—or maybe a little of both.

An animal snort, along with the sound
of thundering hooves echoed behind them. She spun around to see a
group of knights approaching, and her hands began to tremble. She
frowned.

The knight’s hand moved to the hilt of
his sword as he inched closer. “Wait, you.” His hard gaze focused
on Sarah. “Hello, Father.”

She swallowed hard, words frozen in
her throat. Sweat gathered across her brows, and her pulse started
to race again. Their plan was falling apart, she knew it, yet she
wasn’t about to go down without a fight, dressed like a clergyman
or not.

“
I’m sorry,” Frank chimed
in. “He’s a mute. I can translate for him if you’d like. I know the
language of hand signs.”

The knight didn’t tear his gaze off
Sarah. “Ask him why he’s wearing pearl earrings in his ears. Is he
blind as well as dumb?”

She took
in a sharp breath, marveling at her own stupidity.
Crap! How could I have forgotten to remove
those?

“
Oh. I am sorry, sir, for
the confusion, but it is our way of penance, a punishment to purify
a troubled soul and thoughts,” Frank said, unfazed.

“
Really?”
He let out a chuckle. “Ask
him
this. What is it like to be married to the most
evil man in the entire world?”

“
We don’t marry,” Jules
said.

“
Perhaps
you don’t, but I can assure you
she
does.” The knight dismounted. In two long strides,
he reached her and yanked down her hood and glasses. “We’ve finally
got you!” he hissed, the stench of his breath floating into Sarah’s
nostrils.

“
Get away from me!” she
spat, her anger flaring.

His hand clasped around hers, and his
eyes lingered on the ring. “She wears the mark of the Immortals!
Seize them!” Pointing at the others, he drew his sword out of his
sheath, his cold stare meeting hers once again. “My Queen, for your
crimes, you are hereby sentenced to death.”