Spirit of the Revolution (36 page)

“Jolena—Jolena, I need you to stay here with me, my love. Please, please don’t go—”

****

Dreams meandered into her mind—strange dreams. She didn’t know quite what to make of them, nor could she recall them right now. Too much effort to remember. Mathias seemed worried. She could hear it in his voice, but she didn’t understand what he said. Thirsty—she wanted something to drink. Her throat burned. She sensed something cool against her lips then. Mathias urged her to drink. He gave her water. Did she ask for it? It didn’t matter. The liquid cooled and refreshed her throat. She took a little bit more and then opened her eyes.

“Mathias—”

He tilted her chin upward. “It’s about time you woke up, sleepyhead. How are you feeling?”

“Like I’m slipping away,” she replied. “To…somewhere…else.” The words tumbled out in response to his question, but she didn’t know exactly what she meant when she said them.

“No,” Mathias said as he cuddled her even closer to his body. “I need you to stay here, with me. You promised. I’m supposed to watch you get old and crotchety remember? You can’t go back on that promise. I won’t let you.”

“You…could just…come away with me…we could go off together…and stay together…forever…just like my parents,” she whispered. “You don’t have…to stay here. I think maybe, it’s…not so bad on the other side.”

“I know. We’ve had this discussion before and when the time is right, we’ll walk through the light together, hand in hand, I promise. But not right now, Jolena,” Mathias said as he shifted her body more toward him so he could look into her eyes. “Not now. You need to finish what you’ve begun. We need to take Matthew and Joshua out of here, remember? You don’t want them forgotten. What about all of the places we want to see and all of the things we want to do together. Please, Jolena—”

Jo suddenly tightened her grip around his fingers. Her body trembled of its own volition. “I love you, Mathias McGregor, firstborn son of…Adam and Tamar Davies McGregor…I think, I think I always have,” she said as suddenly, she drifted away. While she drifted weightlessly toward—something, she could see in panoramic vision, almost every detail of her life, even before it began.

Someone escorted her toward some kind of portal—a portal made of white marble and trimmed in gold. The most amazing garden filled with trees, bushes, flowers, and clear blue water surrounded the beautiful structure. Excitement filled her as she approached it. Her escort told her not to forget her violin or Mathias. What a strange thing to say. How could she ever forget either?

In a millisecond, her entire life passed before her eyes, her family, childhood, Carolyn, her teenage years, the college years, and the death of her parents. She revisited her struggles to make a place for herself in the music world, the friends she made, and the men she dated. The concerts, the places she traveled, finding her house, meeting her boys, and most especially, Mathias. Each precious moment she spent in his company, she relived.

Then as the memories ebbed, she suddenly found herself bathed in a brilliant light that sang to her soul. The enchanting beam encompassed every particle of her being, giving her a tremendous sense of love, peace, and serenity. She wanted nothing more than to touch it, to feel it, to experience it. But not without Mathias. Never without Mathias. As she turned around, away from the light she could no longer see him or even feel his presence. Darkness ruled outside the light and it frightened her. Panic set in. Where did he go? She needed him more than she needed anything else. Even the light paled in comparison.

“Mathias?” she called out. “Mathias!”

****

Jolena’s heart raced at an alarming rate. He could feel it beat against his chest and he could see she struggled for each breath she took. Helplessness overtook him, and as he clutched her body tightly against his, he bowed his head—and wept.

“I’m afraid she’s dying, Mathias. She’s now in the process of crossing over. Such is the reason you can feel her, and in turn, she can feel you.”

Mathias looked up at the ethereal being. The man stood near the entrance of the cave. He’d seen him before, many times throughout the centuries. His presence didn’t surprise him now. He shook his head. “No, not like this. You mustn’t allow it.”

“Despite what you think, this is not your fault,” he said.

“Yes, it is.” Mathias looked down at Jolena’s beautiful face, now so very pale. He stroked her hair. “I should never have asked her help. I shouldn’t have involved her. None of this would’ve happened if we didn’t go after the details of Jacob’s letter. And really, what difference did any of it make in the end?”

“She held the key to all your questions. Such was destined from the beginning. You now know the reason you sacrificed your life for your country,” he replied. “Surely this knowledge has great personal worth.”

“Not if it means she needs to sacrifice her life in return,” Mathias said.

“I don’t understand.” His visitor folded his arms against his chest. “She’s right you know. I don’t see why you can’t cross the threshold with her. You’ll find it a most amazing experience. What’s more, she’ll remain at your side for all time in a place void of sorrow and pain.”

“Not yet,” Mathias argued. “Not in this way. She has only just begun her life. Jolena is still so young, and she has so much left to give—so much to share with the world.”

“Share?” He shook his head as if understanding eluded him. “Share what? Are you speaking of her life or her talent?”

“Both,” Mathias replied.

“She won’t share her life with anyone but you. How can she? She now knows how much you love her, and she loves you just as much in return. She’s happier than you can possibly imagine. No one can question the depth of your feelings for each other. Therefore, as long as she’s in love with a ghost, she may as well come home,” he said.

Voices echoed throughout the maze of hallways. Jo could hear Mathias speaking to someone, but she couldn’t find either him or his companion. No matter which way she twisted or turned, she couldn’t get any closer to the sound of his voice.

“You can’t let her die, please—”

“Don’t be silly, Mathias,” she silently whispered. “I’m not dying.”

“I’m willing—”

Willing? What did he mean by that? She turned a corner and found yet another hallway.

“—if you’ll just—”

Jo stopped dead in her tracks. She could hear the raw emotion in the sound of his voice. Something caused Mathias intense pain and anguish. She needed to stop it somehow.

“Mathias,” she called out. “Mathias?”

“—love her enough—”

“You know I do— But I can’t—”

“—let her go—”

The voice she didn’t recognize interfered with her ability to locate Mathias. “Please!” she screamed out the word as she turned a complete circle, all the while keeping her gaze focused upward where the voices originated.

“
—
sacrifice—”

“Please,” Jo whispered the word as a single teardrop fell down her cheek.

“
—
allow me time—”

Nothing mattered at this moment, but finding Mathias. Something terrible happened. Jo could feel it. She no longer cared about the light or the visions she wanted to share with him, she just wanted
him
—

At that moment, the sound of gurgling water, tumbling forth from a fountain, entered her ears. She turned toward the sound, only to discover an immense hallway. A huge door, twice the size of any she’d ever seen before, stood at the end of it. Somehow, she needed to get to the door and taste the water that lay beyond it.

“—June—”

“—Done—”

How long did it take her to reach the elegant white door in a place where time didn’t exist? The voices and echoes fell silent as she took hold of the large golden doorknob, yet it didn’t diminish her need to find Mathias. She turned the knob all the way to the right, and opened the door with ease. The luscious fountain lay just outside and she drank deeply from it. The more she drank, the stronger she felt.

Without warning or logic, Jo found herself walking alone inside Laird MacNaughton’s castle. She tried so hard to find Mathias, but after checking through each of the rooms, the hallways and inside the bailey, she still couldn’t find him. Then it occurred to her—perhaps he waited for her up in the tower. She raced up the stairs, calling his name. But again, she found herself alone. She stepped toward the crenel they shared not so very long ago. Then, looking out over the vastness of the green fields and the beauty of the enchanting forest just beyond it, she suddenly remembered.

Mathias called to her then, and it was as if he called to her from a very great distance away. He wanted her to come to him. He waited for her now, just as he waited for her ever since the day he entered mortality. Joy filled her soul as she hurried toward the sound of his magnificent voice.

Mathias stood by the waterfall. She ran straight into his waiting arms and at once, he gathered her close and began kissing her tenderly, gently. In response, her arms encircled his neck, holding him closer still. She wanted nothing more than for his kisses to go on forever. His lips caressed her cheek as he whispered her name against her ear. She shivered with delight.

Jo slowly opened her eyes, and found Mathias kissed her in truth. She could feel the warmth of his lips against hers, just as she could feel them when she dreamed. He drew back and grinned. She could see the joy in his gaze. Yet at the same time, another emotion revealed itself, something she couldn’t quite name. In fact, she shied away from it. She didn’t
want
to name it.

“You called me to our waterfall,” she murmured.

“I hoped you’d notice,” he replied, as his lips grazed against the corner of her mouth.

“Is it a real place?” she asked while her fingertips brushed through his hair.

“Yes, it is.” He drew slightly away so he could hold her gaze. “And I want to go back to Scotland—soon, and show it to you so you can see it for yourself. I want you to hear me tell you, without benefit of dreams, just how much I love you, how much I’ve always loved you. How much I
will
always
love you. Promise me you will come, so I can do that. Promise me—”

She managed a feeble smile. “I promise—”

Mathias sought her lips once more, to seal the bargain.

Chapter 29

Jolena rested comfortably in his arms now, and her struggle to breathe eased significantly. She didn’t look quite as pale as she did earlier, either. Mathias had no doubt that she would regain her full strength and vitality. The knowledge gave him a measure of comfort, despite the intensity of pain and the cost that accompanied it.

“Mission accomplished. They’re here,” Sam said as he burst through the rock. “Jed is leading them in now, and they noticed Sanders’s car parked close to Jo’s.”

Mathias turned his head toward the sound of the voices on the other side of the mountain and listened.

“I don’t know. According to Jo’s directions, the entrance should be right here. Do you see anything?” he could hear Ray ask. His question filled Mathias with relief.

“No, but if she said it’s here, then it’s here somewhere,” Carolyn said.

“Look behind you and you’ll see the indentation in the rock, just look behind you,” Jedediah whispered the suggestion.

“In here, Ray. Look. She must’ve gone in here through this opening,” Carolyn said. “Do you think Paul followed her in?”

Alexander appeared next to Sam. “Jed is going to take them around to the front. He said we could get her out quicker this way. Sanders caused a lot more damage on the other side, so it will take them significantly longer to dig through if we use that route.”

At that moment, from the other side of the mountain, Jedediah coughed and sputtered as if exhausted and then he said, “Did you hear it too?”

“Hear what?” asked Ray, sounding perplexed.

“That explosion. Something happened in there a while ago, man. Dust and dirt flew everywhere. I think someone is in there, because when I jogged along the trail on the other side of the hill someone screamed. The sound was followed by gunfire or maybe even some kind of an explosion—or something.”

“Oh no, Jo! Ray, please,” Carolyn’s voice held panic.

“Did you go in?” asked Ray.

“As far as I could, but, it looks like a cave-in and it’s really, really dark the farther in you go. And I can tell you, it goes in quite a ways,” he replied, sounding anxious.

“Show us your exact location when all the commotion started,” Ray said.

“Who are you calling?” he could hear Carolyn asked now.

“I know someone who has a tractor. He doesn’t live far from here. If Jo is in there, we have to get her out quickly,” Ray answered. “I’m also calling 9-1-1.”

A short while later, Mathias noted the sounds of heavy equipment as the vehicles approached the mine entrance. Once the tractor began digging, a host of people gathered around the area. Soon, every emergency vehicle known to man converged onto the scene.

The lads continued going back and forth, offering suggestions to the rescuers. All the while, Mathias never relinquished his hold on Jolena. Not when he could still feel her in his arms, and not when he needed to take advantage of every precious moment at her side.

The teeth of the tractor bucket scraped along the rocky wall and with each bucket of debris, they inched closer to Jolena’s rescue. He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Not long now, my love,” he said.

Thirty minutes later, the tractor broke through. Mathias could see the crowd of people who stood waiting to enter. Ray and Carolyn huddled together as they waited and discussed Jo’s findings.

“If it’s everything Jo thinks it is, then it’s the most important discovery about the Revolutionary War in this century,” Ray said now.

“That pales in significance when it comes to Jo’s life, Ray,” Carolyn shot back, clearly annoyed.

“That goes without saying,” Ray replied in a tone of appeasement.