The Immortal Scrolls (22 page)

“Skye,” Lucian said, interrupting. “That was not my child. It was Kara’s, but she was married to another pack member. Not me.” He moved toward her. “Oh, my love…”

A tear streamed down Skye’s cheek. “Oh, Lucian, I am so sorry. All the time we wasted for nothing.”

“Don’t cry, my love. We are together now, and I won’t let you go ever again,” he said. Lucian took Skye into his arms and held her tightly. He lifted her chin and kissed her softly on the lips.

Skye crushed her mouth against his. A rush of memories flooded her mind. She had missed him so much. She felt his hardness against her.

“I need you now, Skye,” he whispered.

“I’m yours,” she said.

Lucian ripped her clothes off. Skye laughed.

“Such a beast,” she said playfully, as if no time had passed between them. Lucian responded with a growl.

Lucian removed his clothes rapidly. Skye took in the sight of him. He hadn’t changed in all these years. Lucian picked Skye up into his arms and carried her upstairs. Then he threw her on the bed. Skye was excited by his roughness. He climbed on top of her and entered her without warning. Lucian pounded himself into her with the longing of centuries.

“I’m sorry, Skye,” he said breathlessly. “It’s been way too long.”

Before she knew it he burst inside her. He knew she was not finished so he removed himself and began stroking her with his fingers. Skye’s body writhed with pleasure beneath him, and soon her cries of ecstasy filled the room. When she was silent he leaned over and kissed her.

“But now we have forever,” he said.

“I have missed you,” said Skye. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said. Lucian rolled over and spooned her. “You have had other men while we were apart?”

Skye closed her eyes in shame. “Yes,” she said.

“I’m not mad. You thought I was with someone, so you moved on,” he said, to her surprise.

“And you?” she asked, not really wanting to know.

“No,” he said. “Wolves mate for life, remember?”

“I’m so sorry. I feel horrible,” she said.

“It’s in the past, my love,” said Lucian.

They slept until the sun went down. Then they were awoken by a loud banging at her front door.

“Oh no,” said Skye. “That must be Marco.”

“Who the hell is that?” Lucian asked with a twinge of jealousy.

“He was sort of my boyfriend. Didn’t end well,” she explained.

“Let me answer then,” said Lucian.

Lucian got out of bed and walked downstairs. Skye followed him, wrapped in a sheet. At the bottom of the stairs he slid on his boxer briefs and pants. He stopped and sniffed the air.

“Vampire!” he exclaimed.

“What? Here?” Skye asked nervously.

“Go back upstairs,” he ordered.

Outside the door Andy could smell a werewolf and suddenly felt fear for Skye. Amara was missing, and he knew she was after Skye. Could she still have wolf henchmen to do her dirty work? Andy bust down the door. Inside he saw his old dominus Lucian standing half dressed.

“You!” cried Andy.

“You!” exclaimed Lucian.

Andy pounced on Lucian. They fell to the ground, snarling and hitting.

Upstairs Skye could hear the commotion. She wanted to help Lucian and rushed downstairs. She saw Lucian and Andy rolling around.
Is Andy a vampire?
she asked herself.

“Lucian, stop! It’s OK. I know him,” Skye yelled.

Lucian stopped, and so did Andy at the sound of her voice.

“I thought you were in trouble,” Andy said staring back and forth between Lucian and Skye, who was wrapped in a sheet. He was troubled. “How do you know each other?”

“I think we all need to sit down and talk,” said a voice from the doorway. All three of them turned to see Tiberius. “Araceli, my child, come here and give your father a hug.”

“Araceli!” exclaimed Andy as he turned to look at her. He was so confused. She was too.

Skye walked to Tiberius and gave him a hug. She loved and resented him at the same time. “What did you call me?”

“Araceli,” he said. “I should have told you who you were and given you the whole truth. I am sorry, my daughter.”

“What the fuck is going on here?” yelled Andy.

“Sit down, and let me explain,” said Tiberius. He came in and shut the door behind him. “It is good you are here.”

“I’ll be right back,” said Skye. “I need to get dressed.”

Androcles looked pained. He knew she and Lucian had just been together. She had just been in a relationship with Marco. He couldn’t stand the thought of her with other men. He knew who she was now, but she didn’t know who he was. This was not the reunion he had hoped for. Still, he knew she had retained something over the years.

Skye came back downstairs fully clothed and saw the three men sitting on her couches. She sat next to Lucian. Lucian grabbed her hand in his. Androcles stared at them silently, his heart sad. He turned and looked at Tiberius.

“So explain,” he demanded.

“Skye, please listen to everything, and I will answer your questions after,” Tiberius said pleadingly.

Skye nodded her head in agreement.

“Your real name is Araceli. You are the daughter of a senator of Rome who was cousin to the Emperor Vespasian. Marcus was his name. You and Androcles were lovers at one time. You two were caught. He was your guard and was sold off to slavers instead of being executed. Your father married you off to the Legatus Antonius. I met you both at the amphitheater in Herculaneum shortly before the eruption. Androcles was wounded, and the woman we have been searching for, Amara, turned him. She found out about you and was consumed with jealousy, as she wanted him for herself, so she cast a spell and took your memory. We were locked together in a cell as the city was evacuating. Lucian came and saved us. We all went away. That is when we took you into our pack as one of our own. You know the rest. I am sorry I lied and said I didn’t know who you were. I am sorry I allowed Lucian to rename you. I am sorry I took you away from him. I see he has led a miserable existence without you. You see, Amara killed my wife. I had been in denial. When I realized the truth, I wanted so badly to destroy her. I needed you to help me find and destroy her. Forgive me, son. Forgive me, Araceli, for taking both lives from you,” said Tiberius sadly.

Lucian was silent. Araceli looked at her adopted father. “I forgive you, Father.” She turned to Androcles. “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember you. I don’t remember anything we had. I have read the scrolls. I know the story. But I don’t remember,” Araceli apologized. “I can’t even hear that story and see it as me. I have no feelings of it, no memories. I—”

“It’s all right, Araceli,” said Androcles interrupting her. “I thought you were dead. I thought you had perished in the eruption. I really don’t even know what to say right now. I love you, though. I always have. I haven’t felt alive all these centuries. Then I saw you and couldn’t believe it.”

Lucian and Tiberius sat silently and awkwardly. Androcles wanted nothing more than to take his love into his arms as he had longed to for centuries. He started to cry. A stream of blood ran down his cheek.

“Gross,” said Lucian.

“Sorry,” said Androcles, embarrassed.

Araceli stood up and walked over to where Androcles sat. She knelt down and wiped away his tears. “I wish I could remember you. We had something special, I know.” Araceli started to cry. She knew she was hurting both Lucian and Androcles right now.

Androcles reached into his pocket and pulled out her bracelet that he had kept all these years. “This belonged to you. I gave it to you. I want you to have it again.” He placed the bracelet on her wrist.

Araceli fell backwards with force. Her face clouded over. She looked pained. Lucian and Androcles rushed to her side. A floodgate of memories opened. Araceli accepted them. She remembered her parents and her life in Rome. She remembered being married. However, her memories were foggy and incomplete. She had no memory of Androcles.

“I remember!” she exclaimed. Androcles looked up with hope. “Sort of. I still don’t remember you. But I remember my family and Rome and Antonius. Oh my, everyone is dead!”
Of course they are. It has been centuries
, she thought, feeling stupid. But the loss of her family and everything she knew hit her hard. She looked around at her modern apartment. The time never bothered her much as the world changed. But now she experienced the loss of what she’d had for the first time.

Tiberius pulled out a flask of hard liquor and passed it to her. “Drink this. It will calm you down.” Araceli took a swig of it and coughed. The liquor was strong. Lucian and Androcles helped her to her feet.

“Did you know, Lucian?” she asked.

“I knew some. I too am sorry I never told you. I thought it was best. I never thought you would regain your memory. I didn’t want to cause you unnecessary pain,” he said.

“I understand,” said Araceli. She was a little mad at both Lucian and Tiberius. “So what do we do now?”

“Do you want your memories back?” asked Tiberius.

Araceli thought for a moment. She loved Lucian. She didn’t know what would happen if she got her memories of Androcles back. But she knew she wanted to remember. She felt incomplete.

“Yes,” she said.

Androcles looked happy, whereas Lucian looked sad.

“Then we find her,” said Androcles.

“And destroy her,” Tiberius said.

“But how? We have searched for centuries,” asked Araceli.

“Amara is here,” said Androcles. “She came to make sure I destroyed the scrolls. She doesn’t know who you are, but she did see your resemblance and is jealous again. Amara wants to destroy you. She wants me. I have avoided her for centuries. She will do anything to make me hers.

“So we need to make a plan,” said Lucian. “The pack is all here.”

“They are?” Araceli asked.

“Yes,” said Lucian. “We were afraid there might be trouble.”

“Lucian and I will go gather the pack. Then we will make a plan,” said Tiberius. “You will stay with Araceli and protect her.”

Androcles nodded. He was happy to be alone with her. Lucian narrowed his eyes at Androcles as if to say hands off. Then Tiberius and Lucian left. Androcles turned to Araceli. He stared at her. She shifted uncomfortably.

“I’m sorry. I just cannot believe it is really you, my love,” said Androcles. “Please don’t be afraid of me.”

“I’m not, Andy—Androcles,” she said.

Androcles walked slowly over to her. “Please…” he begged and hugged her. She let him but stood awkwardly. He leaned her head back and moved to kiss her. Araceli stopped him.

“Please don’t,” she begged. “I’m sorry. I’m just really confused.”

“No, I am sorry,” Androcles said, disappointed. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. I am sorry this happened to us. I will fix it. I promise.”

Araceli nodded her head. She still wasn’t sure. If she remembered him, what would happen? Would she have to decide between him and Lucian, or would she stop loving Lucian? Or would her love for Lucian overpower what she had with Androcles? She asked herself all these questions and decided it would be better not to think about that right now. “We need to think of a plan to get Amara and destroy her.”

“I have something in mind,” said Androcles with a devilish smile on his face.

.

Chapter Fifteen

H
ERCULANEUM, 2011

A
re you sure she will come?” asked Tiberius nervously.

“Yes,” said Androcles. “She will take the bait.”

The whole pack waited in secret at the excavation site at the ludus. Tiberius looked around at his whole home.

“This place hasn’t really changed, has it?” said Lucian.

“Not really,” replied Tiberius.

They had all armed themselves with weapons from the armory. All the weapons had silver, as they were used to kill werewolves. Both werewolves and vampires were susceptible to silver.

“No, it hasn’t changed at all. And neither have any of you,” said Amara. Her evil voice cut across the former training grounds. They all turned to look at her. She had a few vampire companions with her: her long-time companion Callixtus, his lover, and a few other vampires Androcles didn’t know. They had more wolves. Yet vampires could be more deadly. “Now what is all this, Androcles, my love?”

“Nothing,” he replied.

“I see,” she said in disbelief. “Just a reunion.”

“Amara,” said Tiberius.

“Tiberius,” she replied. Then it hit her. Amara realized that if Tiberius had lived, then so had the girl. “The girl. It is her then?”

“Yes,” said Androcles. “And we have come to make a deal. Return her memory, and I will go with you and be yours forever.”

“Alas, I cannot. The only way for her to regain her memory is to destroy me. And I will not let that happen,” said Amara coldly. Her fangs protruded. Her companions stiffed at the impending fight.

“So be it,” said Tiberius. Some of the wolves shifted, and others stayed human, wielding silver weapons. Amara laughed evilly into the night. The werewolves flew at the small group of vampires. Tiberius and Lucian aimed for Amara. Androcles flew at her too. She was ancient and strong. Araceli came out from her hiding spot in the cells. She watched the fight with fear. She had been hiding off in the distance. Araceli had covered herself from head to toe in silver armor. The wolves made quick work of destroying the vampires. Tiberius, Lucian, and Androcles had Amara. Araceli’s visible skin glowed in her fairy way as she walked toward Amara. She carried a heavy silver sword. It had been Androcles’s in the arena.
Could it be this easy?
she thought. No, it couldn’t it turned out. More vampires came out of nowhere ambushing the entire group.

“Look out!” Araceli cried as the vampires flew in and attacked. They tore at the throats of the surprised men. The rest of the men shifted into wolves. Amara grabbed something from her waist. It was too late to warn Lucian. Araceli screamed as Amara drove the silver knife through his heart. Araceli knew she would never forget the surprised look on his face and then the pain as he fell to the ground. Lucian held the knife and caught his blood as he spilled out.