Eternity (7 page)

The class was settled now and the teacher, Mr. Gomer, was approaching us by that point.

“I’m safe here,” I whispered quickly.

He shook his head again in frustration, this time at me, but he gave a courteous nod to Mr. Gomer and slipped out the door.

“Ms. Tanner,” said Mr. Gomer tightly. “Would you mind taking your seat so we may begin our study of the Spanish language?”

“Sorry,” I replied, swiftly moving passed him to the only open desk left.

Only after settling in and pulling my writing pad from my book bag did I notice that Bridgette sat directly beside me. She rolled her eyes at me and I knew that she’d either seen or heard about the incident in the cafeteria.

At that point, I wasn’t sure this day could get any worse.

As it turned out, once I was able to ignore Bridgette I found the class was nearly as interesting as Ms. Beedinwigg’s, though without the charismatic musings and regular strolls around the room. I actually began to enjoy myself by the time the end of class arrived, my excitement rising also because I was about to see Eran again.

He was waiting for me before the bell rang and the students could spill out into the hallway.

He was eager to talk, I could tell, but the number of other students in the hallway seemed to have doubled and prevented it.

Keeping close beside me, we strolled silently towards the West Hall. There was talk of prom night, college acceptances, and unbearable course loads. There was also talk of the cafeteria clash. More than a few students ducked their heads and whispered as we passed them, reminding me of the lab explosion last semester in which I became the notorious student with a reputation for causing destruction and injury. I was once again in familiar territory.

Eran seemed to have overheard because the only thing he said before leaving me at the door was, “Don’t pay attention. It’ll die down.”

I wasn’t so confident.

The last class, which happened to be another elective course in sculpting, was painfully long. It wasn’t because of the few students who sent frowns in my direction to condemn me again for something that wasn’t really my fault but the fact that no sculpting could begin until the clay arrived the following class. So, we spent the hour talking about the many different types and nuances of clay. It was a very long hour.

The only positive was that there were no Fallen Ones or Bridgette Madison’s in this class.

Most of the time, I spent cogitating on how to handle Eran’s determination that I leave the city. This was a logical option, I knew. Clearly, Fallen Ones were arriving and a fairly significant attack was on its way. However, there is a part of me, a rather large and vocal part, which adamantly detests running. Eran calls this trait stubbornness. I call it rational. Running only encourages and emboldens enemies, something I refuse to allow. By the end of the class, I had found no resolution that would appease my needs and Eran’s simultaneously.

The bell rang and I found Eran, once again, waiting for me outside the door. Despite the Fallen Ones arrivals and our disagreements on how to handle it, my interest in seeing Eran had not been tempered. I couldn’t stop the smile now lifting my cheeks nor did I really want to.

“Good last class?” he asked, cordially. He seemed far more relaxed than before.

“It’s good to see you,” I said.

Then my smile faded.

Out of the corner of my eye, a flash of blonde hair halted directly in front of Eran. Instinctually the muscles in my back tightened.

“Bridgette Madison,” she said, holding out a bejeweled hand in greeting.

Eran hesitantly reached for it. As slight as it was, he’d noticed my reaction to her and was therefore guarded.

Watching now as she gazed up at Eran through thickly covered eyelashes, I suddenly realized that I’d been wrong. Bridgette hadn’t rolled her eyes at me in class because of the cafeteria clash. I got the suspicious feeling she was interested in Eran.

“What can I do for you, Bridgette,” he asked, amiable but unsmiling.

“Well…we have a group planning prom night. I manage it,” she said with artificial modesty. “We wanted to know if you’d like to join us.”

“In going to the prom?” asked Eran, innocently.

“No, no. I’m…I’m not asking you to the prom.”

Clearly, I thought. She wouldn’t lower herself to break tradition. She was going to wait for him to ask her, and that annoyed me.

“I meant,” she continued, “in planning it.”

“In planning what?” he asked, retaining his oblivious expression.

I glanced at Eran, found that he was playing with her, and had to stifle my laughter.

“In planning the prom.” She seemed flustered. Evidently, she didn’t know her simple question would be so confusing for him. For good measure she added, “Would you like to join our group in planning the prom?”

Eran thought this over for a few seconds, though I’m certain it seemed much longer than that to Bridgette. He finally answered, “No, I don’t think so…but thanks for the offer.”

Her face contorted in to a mixture of confusion and offense. “Oh…all right.” Bridgette was rarely rejected and it showed.

Agitated, she finally turned to me and muttered with downturned lips, “Maggie,” before turning on her heels and headed down the hallway.

“She was flirting with you,” I said, between clenched teeth, trying to contain my anger.

“I believe she was,” Eran replied simply.

We didn’t speak again until we were inside the car, a fair amount of tension lingering between us – which was likely a combination of the looming argument to come and the flirtation I’d just observed. As we slammed the car doors closed, he didn’t move to insert the key into the ignition. The sound of rain hammering the roof enveloped us, giving the false notion of being concealed from the outside world. Eran was watching me, a slight, affectionate smile warming his handsome face. “I didn’t get a chance to say it earlier…” He intentionally waited until I looked at him and then his smile softened. “It’s good to see you too.”

My breath caught as he admitted it and my smile returned.

He started the car and pulled into traffic on the side street outside the school, leading us back to the house.

“If you still refuse to leave the city,” he stopped to sigh in frustration at my decision which he knew remained unchanged. “I have a solution.”

My head snapped towards him, excited that an argument wouldn’t ensue after all. “You do?”

“I do.”

“Well…what is it?”

“Oh…” A smile played on his handsomely curved lips. “You’ll find out shortly…”

My brow creased in curiosity. “When?”

“The moment you get home,” he stated.

From then on, until we reached the back door of our house, my eagerness increased exponentially.

CHAPTER FIVE: ALTERUMS

As Eran parked the car at the back of our driveway, I noticed two things at once: our kitchen light was on, glowing like a beacon against the darkness of the stormy day, and a stranger stood under the eaves against the window, frowning.

The man was tall with a slender build. His closely cropped bold white hair, silky smooth swarthy skin, and clear blue eyes stood out in direct contrast to each other. He would be hard to miss.

I didn’t sense any measure of panic so I determined he wasn’t an enemy. Eran didn’t offer any explanation but simply got out of the car and moved towards the man. I followed.

“Campion,” said Eran, genially.

“Sir,” he replied in a more submissive, respectful tone.

My curiosity was clawing at me from the inside.

“Enjoying the rain?” Eran held back a smile at some private joke.

“Not very much, sir,” Campion grumbled.

“Sir?” I inquired but it wasn’t until we were inside the kitchen with the door closed against the rain did Eran clarify.

“Magdalene, as your memory won’t allow it, I would like to reintroduce you to Campion, my first lieutenant.”

My eyebrows rose. “Your…” I heard myself trail off as I was left in bewilderment.

“Campion will be watching over you while I am away.”

“Away?” That thought I understood immediately. “You’re going away?” I asked a little too loudly.

“Intermittently.”

That didn’t help much.

“You’re leaving?” Ezra’s voice came from the doorway. She seemed nearly as distraught as I was.

“Ezra, I’m glad you are here. I’d like you to meet Campion.”

Campion stepped forward and extended his hand. Ezra took it, hesitantly. “What’s this all about, Eran?” Her ability to see beyond the situation was coming out.

“I’d like to explain it to Felix and Rufus as well.”

“Explain what?” Rufus said entering the kitchen. Unruffled at seeing a stranger standing in our house, he gave Campion a quick look up and down and a cordial nod. No introductions were needed with him. He pulled a soda from the refrigerator and popped the top before leaning against the sink intending to wait for Eran’s answer.

“We’ll need Felix-”

Rufus bellowed for Felix, prompting a shudder from Ezra and me. It worked and Felix fled down the stairs and into the kitchen, stopping just as his eyes landed on Campion.

“Well…” he said, surprised. “A dinner guest?”

“More along the lines of a new roommate,” said Eran.

That made everyone’s eyebrows rise.

“Shall we sit?” Eran offered.

We each took our seats and Eran went in to explaining that we’d learned of the Fallen Ones arrivals and of the impending battle, keeping his briefing in chronological order and succinct. Listening to him, I saw the military leader in him emerge, a persona he felt completely at ease in. It left me in awe.

In the end, Eran summed it up with, “I have strategically placed my army with you at all times. You won’t see them or hear them but they will be watching over you should you need their protection.”

Ezra was nodding her head thoughtfully. “So…you’ve given each of us our own guardian,” she summed it up.

“Correct.”

“Blimey…” Rufus leaned back with a distained scowl. “I don’t need a guardian. What I need’s a pint o’ beer.”

Felix rolled his eyes in response. “That’s…thoughtful,” Felix condoned. “Although it’s also unnecessary.”

Eran was not going to be dissuaded. “I’m sorry if you disagree. It is in your best interest. More so, it is done. They are in place and carrying out their orders as we speak. They will not be a disruption, I assure you.”

Ezra, Rufus, and Felix exchanged looks that conveyed their reluctant agreement.

“While I will watch Magdalene throughout the day,” Eran continued, “Campion will need to watch over Magdalene during the evenings. This requires him to take up residence here.”

Campion watched, slightly doubtful, of what their reaction might be and appeared relieved when Felix and Rufus shrugged, untroubled by the idea. Even Ezra agreed.

“I believe we have a cot in the downstairs closet we can prepare for you,” she offered.

“I would appreciate it,” said Campion graciously.

The discussion seemingly over, I leaned towards Eran and spoke softly into his ear. “Where will you be going?” I asked, nervous about what his answer might be. With his army watching over us, who would be watching over him?

“I need to gather intelligence, know who’s coming for us, how many, where they’re coming from, when they’ll be here. There are a lot of unanswered questions.”

His plans sounded treacherous. “Can I speak to you alone?” I whispered to him, unsure my voice could rise any higher.

“Yes,” he replied, as serious as I felt.

He then followed me down the hall and into the parlor where we found ourselves standing next to the hearth. A fire had been lit to warm the house, sending dancing shadows across the walls. I vaguely noticed that it gave the room the scent of cedar.

Eran stood close to me, far closer than usual. I soaked up the image of him and felt every inch of his presence just inside my reach.

“Stay,” I pleaded.

He drew in a shaky breath and then for the first time that day, Eran reached out and touched me. His hand gently pressed against my cheek, his thumb caressing me. It sent a shudder through my body so vehement that I had to close my eyes against it.

I was on the verge of tears, struggling to contain myself, when I felt his lips softly brush against mine. They lingered there, pliant and welcoming as I tilted my head to meet him.

Then our passion, all the weeks of tense distance, came roaring to the surface. He wrapped his arms around my waist in an iron hold, pressing me to him. My fingers dug into the contours of his back. Our bodies clung to each other, our lips crushing against one another.

The next thing I knew, he was holding me by my hips and the back of my head, my body limp against him.

“Did I…” I started, still getting my bearings straight. “Did I…faint?”

“You did,” he replied, bemused.

I was appalled.

“Don’t be embarrassed. It’s happened before…”

My humiliation deepened so he restrained his smile for my benefit. “You probably don’t remember it.”

I didn’t and I wasn’t interested in recalling it at this moment either. Instead, I concentrated on standing.

“Careful,” he warned. “You’re still ashen.”

I groaned, and placed my feet under me, but Eran kept his arms around my waist for safe measure.

“I’m sorry that I ruined…”

“You didn’t ruin anything,” he reassured me. “It was beautiful. It’ll keep me company while I’m away from you.”

“Do you really have to go?”

“You know I do,” he muttered.

“Can’t you send someone else?” I whispered.

Eran’s face contorted in insult. “Magdalene, this is my job.”

“I know but isn’t your job also to protect me?” I reminded.

“Protecting you is what I am doing.”

His arms were still around my waist, our hips intimately pressed together. He pulled me even closer. It was a significant and unfair distraction and he knew it. The grin on his gorgeous face told me so. Then he grew solemn. “I hate the thought of leaving your side. I know your safety won’t be in question, but it’s the fact that I won’t see your stunning face until the morning or be able to listen to the sounds of you getting ready in the evening.”