The Immortal Scrolls (17 page)

Andy’s heart was breaking to leave her. She was so much like Araceli, from her very mannerisms, her gestures, the way she worded her sentences, the way she always twisted her hair and draped it over one shoulder. Sometimes tonight he had even forgotten he was talking to another woman. Maybe she was his second chance at happiness. But he couldn’t think of any reason why he should deserve a second chance.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a collection of instruments. He hadn’t noticed them before because the armoire had always been shut. But tonight one door was cracked open. “Do you play?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said as she nodded her head. “I can play more than one instrument.” Skye got up and opened the armoire doors, revealing a variety of stringed instruments.

“You can play all of those?” he asked, impressed. There was a violin, a viola, a mandolin, a ukulele, a lute, a banjo, and a small harp.

“Indeed I can,” she said. “I had to leave my cello and my larger harp at home.”

“And what is that?” he asked as he pointed to a small case.

“That is a very old lyre,” she said.

“You can play the lyre?” Andy said, surprised. He found it unbelievable that both Araceli and this woman could play the lyre.

She nodded yes and picked up the case. “Would you like to see it?” she asked.

“Yes,” Andy replied, and he walked over to Skye. She started talking about where she purchased it from and its features. A flash of gold on a chain around her neck caught his eye. He wasn’t listening to her as he tried to remember where he had seen the pendant before. It was round, golden, and had a small red ruby in the center.

“Where did you get that?” he asked, interrupting her.

Skye looked down, “Oh, this. It’s just an old family heirloom,” she said trying to remain nonchalant, but Andy could sense some definite nervousness and a twinge of sadness on her part.

“It looks ancient,” he said. He knew he had seen it before, and it was driving him crazy.

“It is very old,” she admitted.

“Play it for me,” Andy asked, turning his attention back to the lyre.

“This one is too old for playing. Sorry,” she said. “But upstairs I have an acoustic guitar that I am learning to play. I could play something for you.”

“OK,” Andy said. He smiled and walked over to the couch to sit down.

Skye headed for the stairs. “Come on up,” she said. “All of my music is up there.”

Andy stood up and followed her up the stairs. He didn’t remember seeing a guitar up there the last time he had been inside. It must have been downstairs the night Marco came over. When they reached the bedroom loft, Skye went and picked up her guitar and sat on the edge of her bed.

“Have a seat,” she said, indicating on the bed. Andy could feel her get nervous all of a sudden.

“You wouldn’t be more comfortable downstairs?” Andy asked.

“No, this is fine. Sit down, Andy,” she said with a smile. Andy sat down a comfortable distance away on the bed. “What kind of music do you like?”

“Just about everything,” he replied.

“OK,” she said as she thought of something to play. Skye started to strum a song by Pink Floyd. She played pretty well with few errors. When she finished playing Andy clapped softly.

“That was very good,” he said politely.

“Thanks,” said Skye, and she laughed. “I am still learning. Would you like to hear something else I was composing myself?”

“Of course,” said Andy. He was surprised she had pursued a career in archaeology and not music.

Skye started to play a sweet melody. She had had the tune on her mind for centuries and had never been able to get it just right. But tonight it flowed from her soul.

Andy recognized it instantly, though it sounded different on the guitar than it did on the lyre. It was the music Araceli had composed for him so very long ago. Andy watched her play with a mixture of sadness and suspicion. He couldn’t let her finish the song before he asked her.

“Who are you?” he asked quietly.

Skye stopped playing and sat down the guitar. “What did you say?” she asked.

“You heard me. Who are you…really?” he asked again, a little louder and with more force. “Where did you learn that music?” He thought at the very least Amara somehow found this lookalike and trained her to be like Araceli just to torment him. Araceli had died in the eruption.

Skye stood up awkwardly. He could feel her discomfort. “I don’t know what you mean, Andy.”

Andy leapt off the bed and walked right up to her. He grabbed her forearms gently. “Who are you?” he asked a third time. He stared her in the eyes as if he was trying to peer into her soul. Her beautiful face seemed frightened. He relaxed his grip. Then her necklace flashed in front of him again. It suddenly hit him where he had seen it before.

“You could be one of the best,” Lucian had said to him. Androcles stared at his dominus.
He wore a strange necklace around his neck that looked meant for a woman. It was small, round, and golden with a tiny ruby in the center.

Andy saw the memory in front of him as if he were there in the moment. He came back to the present when he heard Skye talking.

“Andy! Andy, are you all right? You are really starting to scare me,” Skye said.

“Araceli?” he asked, bewildered.

Skye’s pulse quickened, and her heart start to pound. Andy could hear it.

He could feel the change in her. He could feel the recognition. But he could also feel her confusion. “Why did you call me that?” she asked shakily. “Why do you look at me that way?”

When she said that, he flashed back to the guard tower at Araceli’s villa. Skye was staring at him expectantly. Andy decided to alter Skye’s memory her for her own good.
She is not Araceli. Araceli is dead
, he told himself.

“You had too much to drink. You will go to bed. I left here after dinner. I am leaving to New York, and I came to say good-bye,” he told her. Skye was entranced. Andy gave her one last forlorn look, and then he left.

.

Chapter Ten

M
EDITERRANEAN
S
EA, 79
AD

I
t’s almost the full moon, Father,” said Lucian. “We should head for shore in the next day or two and make our way through the mountains.”

“We need to get to Britannia quickly,” said Tiberius regretfully. “But I agree. We cannot be aboard during the full moon.” Tiberius looked across deck to Araceli. She was keeping close to the rail.
She must be sick again
, he thought. Her belly was much more pronounced after these few weeks on ship. She was about five months along in her pregnancy. “What about her?”

“I’ll look after her,” said Lucian. He had been caring for her aboard the ship the entire time. They spent hours together, talking and enjoying each other’s company. Araceli didn’t have much to talk about because she didn’t have any memory whatsoever. But she asked him questions about himself and the world. Araceli didn’t trust anyone but him, if that. She also didn’t know about the existence of supernatural beings. Lucian didn’t want her to know about him for as long as possible.

Lucian strode over to Araceli. She looked up and gave him a weak smile.

“How are you feeling?” he asked her. Her pregnancy didn’t mix well with the rough rocking of the ship, and she had been sick.

“Bad,” she said and laughed.

“Come on. Let’s go below deck. You should lie down. I’ll find you a jug or something,” said Lucian. Araceli stood up slowly. She was shaky, weak, and dizzy. Lucian decided to carry her. He put his arm around her back and the other under her knee and lifted her.

“Oh, Lucian, you don’t have to do that,” she said.

“I don’t mind,” he said. His voice was deep and gruff, but he always spoke so softly.

Araceli admired his handsome, rugged profile as he carried her below deck. He had dark brown eyes that would flash amber at times. She always thought it was the light playing tricks on her. Normally, Lucian kept his hair short on top with the sides shaved close to the scalp and a smooth face. After a few weeks on ship, he had grown a short beard, and his hair was longer. Lucian walked carefully through the belly of the ship to a small room in the back. The men gave the room to Araceli without question. She was the only woman on board, she was pregnant, and the room had the only private bed in the whole ship. Lucian shut the door behind them with his foot, and then he went and lay Araceli down in the bed. She rolled over on her side and propped pillows around her belly. Lucian poured her a glass of water and handed it to her.

“Thank you, Lucian,” she said, sounding tired.

“You’re welcome,” he replied. Lucian felt bad that he couldn’t even call her by her name. He sat down on the edge of the bed, took her hands in his, and began to massage her palms. Araceli closed her eyes and began to relax. He rubbed her belly for a few minutes also. She opened her eyes and watched him thoughtfully for a few seconds.

“Lucian,” she said.

“Yes?” he asked.

“Are you my husband?” she asked him innocently. Lucian laughed. Araceli looked embarrassed and sad. “Is that funny?”

“No, my sweet lady,” he said. “I only laugh because you are far better than a man like me deserves.”

“But you don’t know anything about me. How would you know?” she argued.

“Because I know me,” said Lucian. His hand was resting on her belly.

Araceli found it curious he seemed so drawn to her belly. He was always touching it.

“Are you the father?” she asked him seriously.

Lucian moved his hand from her belly quickly as if he suddenly realized something. “No, I am not that either, my lady.” Araceli looked disappointed. He wasn’t sure if it was because he wasn’t her husband and father of her unborn child or if it was because he couldn’t provide her with any further knowledge about herself. He thought it was more the second. Lucian couldn’t begin to dream she would hold such feelings for him. “Can I get you anything else?”

“Just that jug,” Araceli said with a laugh.

Lucian smiled and turned to leave. She grabbed his hand and stopped him. He looked down at her hand in his surprise at how good it felt for her to touch him. They didn’t speak a word. Araceli smiled and let go. When he came back she had dozed off. Lucian set the jug down next to the bed. Then he bent over and kissed her ever so gently on her forehead. He left her sleeping and quietly shut the door behind him. Lucian caught himself smiling as made his way back to the deck. No woman had ever made him feel so good and needed. He felt his beard with his hand.
I must look like a beast
, he thought. Lucian went to his little spot on the ship where he slept and grabbed a knife out his sack. He sharpened it and carefully shaved his beard off.

Araceli was in a deep, restless sleep. It was always the same dream. She dreamt about a man whose face she could not see. All she could see were his piercing green eyes. He would make love to her. Then she would hear a woman’s voice chanting over and over, and the man would disappear. Araceli woke up suddenly. Her lusty dream left her body aching with desire.
Nothing I can do about that
, she thought. She sat up in the bed and looked around. The candle was still burning. The small room was hot and humid. She felt disgusting. There was some old seawater in the tub that she used to bathe. Araceli was too tired to haul down fresh water, and she didn’t want to bother the men.

Araceli propped a chair in front of the door and then removed her stola. She had only one gown when she came aboard ship, but she found a drawer full of gowns, oils, and other things for a woman. Lucian had told her they belonged to his father’s second wife, but that is all he would say about the woman. She stepped into the small, oval, wooden tub. The water was cool, which felt good on her hot, sweaty skin. Araceli ran the sponge all over her body. She soon got chilly and stood up out of the tub. After drying off with a spare cloth, Araceli began to rub her body with jasmine-infused oil. She combed her wet hair and then braided and twisted it up and out of the way to keep her cooler. Then she slipped on a cooler gown she found in the drawer with the woman’s things. It was most likely meant for sleeping since it was short, sheer, lightweight, and hooked around the neck. Araceli didn’t care how revealing it might be because she was so hot in the little room.
It’s not like I’m going on deck,
she thought. When Araceli was done, she was wide awake and couldn’t fall back asleep. She wondered what Lucian was doing, but she didn’t want to go bother him. Instead she grabbed a small stringed instrument and quietly plucked away.