Love Immortal (31 page)

Art sat down. They had been rotating
surveillance over the past week, working in groups of two, always
following the girl in different cars. Two days before the incident
at IHOP, Kevin and Norman had seen the girl with one of her friends
at the aquarium. While finding the girl was not as direct an
approach as catching him, the general consensus among the group was
that they could ransom her to great effect.

Kevin and Norman had taken the initiative,
approaching the two young women, attempting to lure them away from
the crowds, but the girls made it clear that they were not
interested. The men had followed the women to an apartment complex
in Mandeville, confirming Edgar’s suspicion that she lived on the
North side of Lake Pontchartrain, but discovering little else. They
had not seen Collin during that surveillance either, which had been
typical of late.

When the group first convened a little over a
week ago, Edgar had described his observations at the hospital and
had shared the name of the man, Collin Sykes. He thought that the
woman’s name might be Jill, and he knew that she worked the night
shift in the ER at University Hospital, but had discovered little
else. Shortly after the group had arrived, security had been tight
at the hospital due to Edgar’s bungled attempts to locate Collin,
but over the past week security had diminished. The security
efforts of the hospital however, had provided important
information. The security was much tighter on the nights that the
woman worked, allowing the Obsidian Knights to determine her work
schedule. Her schedule consisted of two or three days on followed
by two or three days off. Over two weeks, the faction had
identified the pattern of her schedule. As the week wore on with
apparently no further threat, the guard at the gatehouse had
stopped carding people entering the garage, and the number of
guards on duty each night had gone from six to two. However, the
number of guards doubled to four on the nights that she worked.

The biggest problem was finding Collin. Up
until today, no one had even seen him. In fact, the group was
beginning to think that he had left the area, as their type often
do, but this recent sighting had confirmed that he was still in
town. The relationship between him and the nurse was difficult to
determine, though it was apparent that he was interested in her
regardless of her feelings toward him.

The gathered group was formidable. They had
been hand chosen for their abilities in detecting, hunting, and
killing the infidels. All had training in the use of a sword; many
having chosen to pursue training in traditional Japanese sword arts
such as Laido, Kenjutsu, and Kendo, while others had trained in
traditional European sword fighting techniques. This was important
because the infidels could be killed in only three ways:
decapitation, burning, or drowning. Decapitation was the only sure
method however as burning and drowning were less than reliable, and
often difficult. Decapitation was often more difficult and more
gruesome, but in the end, it was more reliable.

Of the thirteen gathered, Daniel, Matthew and
Alan were all active in mixed martial arts. Alan had been
specifically recruited because he was the youngest UFC champion at
twenty-one and continued to hold the title. Art had been in the FBI
for nearly two decades before going into partial retirement
recently and still had high level security clearance with the
government. Kevin was a private detective and Elliot held two PhDs,
one in European History, the other in Religion. Although Edgar only
had a bachelor’s degree, he had an extensive knowledge of the
Templar Knights and the histories of the Holy Grail. Other similar
groups existed around the world, but it usually took only one
faction to dispatch an infidel. In most cases, only a single
infidel was identified at a time, though even that was rare. Only
those that drank from the Chalice had the gift of eternal life.
Only those had the ability to rise from the dead. The secrets of
the Grail were closely guarded and very few had been able to steal
its gifts.

As the group discussed strategy, Edgar
daydreamed about the opportunity to hold in his hands the cup that
had been held by Christ. Perhaps, if the Holy Grail was found, the
Shroud of Turin and the Arc of the Covenant would also be revealed.
Simply knowing that he was working to preserve those holy relics
filled him with a sense of pride. He had not made his mark on the
world yet, but he would. Oh yes, he would.

Chapter 38

“I just don’t know what to do.” Collin
dropped his head into his hands, sighing despairingly.

“I can’t tell you what to do kid. It’ll rip
your heart out, whichever way you choose. Either way, you’ll break
her heart. There are no easy answers.” Percy looked at his nephew
sympathetically. “What you need to ask yourself when you make your
decision is whether you’re you doing it for you, or doing it for
her?”

Collin lifted his head and looked at his
uncle. “What do you mean, doing it for me or doing it for her?”

“Well, it makes a difference. If you’re doing
it for her, then it’s an easier choice. If you are doing it for
you, you’ll always wonder if you did the right thing. When I asked
Avelyn if she wanted to come with me, I told myself that I was
doing it for her. I wasn’t though. I was doing it for me. By the
time she realized she had made the wrong choice, it was too
late.”

“But, how do you know the decision you’re
making is for her, and not for yourself? What if it had been the
right choice? What if you hadn’t given her a choice but left,
thinking that you were giving her a chance at a normal life? But
after you left, she killed herself because she couldn’t live
without you?” Collin shook his head. “How do you know what the
outcome is going to be, either way?” Collin went on, his voice
becoming agitated. “Either way, I’m doing it for myself. Either
way, I’m trying to do what’s best for her, to mollify my own
conscience.”

“That’s why you can’t make the choice today.
You need to give yourself time, give her time. And most of all, you
need to stop stalking her. That’s just going to make it harder,
both for you and for her.”

“I know, but I can’t just leave. I need
her.”

Percy stood up, patting Collin’s leg
comfortingly as he did. “I know. I needed Avelyn too.” Percy left
the room, leaving Collin alone with his thoughts.

Collin could have been sitting there for five
minutes or five hours, he couldn’t tell. Nothing was clearer for
his efforts when Kendryck walked in.

“Shall we start training then?” Kendryck
pulled a chair up in front of Collin so that when he sat down, his
knees were only inches from Collin’s.

“I assume you’re speaking of my training in
telepathy?” Collin had turned serious, but his voice was weary. Too
much had happened today.

“Of course. You’re already years behind
thanks to your uncle. The sooner we start the better.”

Collin sighed. “I suppose we ought to start
then.”

Chapter 39

After nearly a month of surveillance of the
woman and no more sightings of the infidel, the group had split
into two distinct camps. The first, led by Elliot felt that the
hunt should be abandoned. It was clear that their only link to the
infidel was no longer viable. In addition, it appeared that the
infidel was no longer in the vicinity, taking it from their
responsibility. The second camp, led by Art, was more determined to
find and punish the infidel and believed that enough of a link
still existed between him and the woman that she could be useful.
Both groups agreed that continued surveillance would not bring them
results.

Days of arguing and debate was beginning to
wear on Edgar. He was with Art. He felt like something needed to be
done. He was among the most zealous of the group, having studied
the histories more intensely than the others. Edgar was often
brought in by other groups of the Obsidian Knights to lecture and
educate the other affiliates; not only for his knowledge, but for
his persuasive abilities. He sometimes thought that he would have
made a great televangelist.

Finally, the debate became too much for Edgar
to tolerate. He stood up and spoke to the group, “We have two
primary responsibilities as Obsidian Knights. First, we are to seek
out the relics stolen by the Templar Knights from the Temple of
Solomon, and to return them to the Church. Second, we are to
identify, and punish those who have either secreted these items, or
stolen their gifts. To identify an infidel, and to simply let him
escape because we ‘lost track’ of him,” he said these words with
disdain, “would be to abandon our duty. If we were to do that, we
would be no better than the infidel.”

Edgar paused, looking around the room. “Many
of you have daughters. If a man had raped your daughter, and you
knew who this man was but ‘lost track’ of him, would you give up?
Would you deny your daughter’s justice? Or would you hunt him down
by whatever means possible and make sure that he was punished?” He
paused. Angry whispers between the men indicated that the actions
these men would take would include everything from turning the
rapist in to the police, to punishing him in ways that would help
him to understand the pain he had put his victim through. “Is this
different? The Holy Grail, one of the most holy of relics has been
defiled, and we are going to simply give up because it’s too hard
to find this man who stole from the innocent?

“We have ways of finding him. We have the
woman.”

The men in the room nodded. Soon, excited
conversation broke out as plans were made for finding any
information they could on this man.

Within days, the group of thirteen men
gathered around a table studying maps, photographs, and information
relating to Jewell McKean. Because there was no information on
Collin Sykes, the group’s only connection to the infidel was
through her. She would lead them to the infidel.

Chapter 40

Collin sat on his bed, the book he was
reading lay open on his lap. He could almost feel his lips touching
Jewell’s. He could feel the fire, the electricity, the need that he
always felt when he touched her. He remembered her warm, soft lips.
The smell of honeysuckle drifted in through his open window, nearly
completing the image. He missed her. As each day passed, it was
getting more and more difficult to resist going to find her.

His telepathy lessons were helpful in
distracting him but he could only practice for an hour or two at a
time. It helped that his uncle had thoroughly hidden the keys to
his car. In fact, he had hidden them so well that even Gladys
couldn’t find them. This at least kept Collin close to home, but it
didn’t stop his thoughts of Jewell.

Collin’s uncle was aware of Collin’s angst
and worked to keep him occupied. While Percy usually wouldn’t let
Collin go anywhere on his own, they made frequent trips into New
Orleans. Spending a night on the town with Percy wasn’t exactly
Collin’s idea of a good time, though it was better than sitting at
home thinking about Jewell.

“This isn’t fair!” Collin shouted at one
point when his uncle had refused yet again to give him the keys to
the car. “If you hadn’t dragged me away, if you hadn’t interfered,
everything would have been different! You ruined everything for
me!”

“For you.” Percy said succinctly. “What about
Jewell?”

“But she’s not happy. Not like when she was
with me. I can feel it. While I’ve been practicing, sometimes I can
sense what she’s feeling.”

“Are you sure that you’re sensing her
feelings, and not imagining what you want her to feel?” Percy
reached a hand over and touched Collin’s leg. “Let her go kid. It
may be difficult now, but losing her gets harder the longer you’re
with her, and you will lose her. Spare yourself that pain, if you
aren’t willing to spare her. You have to let her be happy, even if
that means she finds that happiness without you; especially if she
can find it without you.”

Collin sighed. Maybe his uncle was right. “I
suppose then, maybe we should think about leaving. I don’t care
where we go, just as long as it’s away from here.”

Percy thought about telling him that that’s
exactly what he had done before, but gloating wasn’t going to help
Collin. “I think that’s a good idea. We don’t need to make a
decision immediately, though the sooner the decision is made, the
better, I think.”

Collin only nodded. He couldn’t speak through
the lump in his throat, but if this is what he had to do for
Jewell, he would. He finally realized that he loved her so much, he
was willing to let her go for her happiness, even if it cost him
everything.

Chapter 41

“We don’t have to work tomorrow,” Ashley
said, leaning in the passenger side window of Jewell’s car. “Did
you want to do something tonight?”

“Yeah, that sounds good. My dad won’t be home
until tomorrow morning at the earliest. Maybe you can spend the
night.”

“At your house? Yeah right! I need cable
girl! How about you stay over here?”

Jewell smiled. “Good point. I’ll swing by
here about six. We’ll grab a bite to eat and then decide what we
want to do.”

“Sounds perfect.” Ashley replied. “Right now
though, I’ve really got to get some sleep. We had eight babies born
last night! Unreal!” She stood up and waved as she walked towards
her apartment.

Jewell went through the drive-through at
McDonald’s on the way home. When she pulled into her driveway, she
didn’t notice the black Chevy Tahoe pull up behind her and park in
front of the house across the street. Not that she would have
thought anything about it if she had. She reached into the back
seat to grab her bag of scrub clothes and her shoes; then she
grabbed her McDonald’s bag and opened the door. She stood; bumping
the door shut with her rear-end and started walking toward the
house.