The Immortal Scrolls (5 page)

Inside the apartment, Skye put down her bag and went to change. She noticed the light flashing on her answering machine and walked over to check her messages. She pressed the play button and heard the familiar greeting. “You have one new message. First message, Thursday, nine o’clock p.m. Ciao, bella! It’s Marco. I just wanted to say good night. I guess you are still at the lab. See you tomorrow.” Skye smiled. “End of messages.” She went to her room and got undressed. She grabbed a clean pair of underwear and went to take a shower.

Outside her apartment Andy was still waiting. He could hear the message with his super sensitive hearing. He was discouraged. He felt like the fates were mocking him, that a woman who looked exactly like Araceli should find his scrolls, and she would be involved with another man. He was tempted to use his powers to influence people’s thoughts and alter their memories in order to drive Marco away. But he wanted Skye to love him because she felt that way, not because he put suggestions for her to feel that way. He wanted it to be natural. He longed to have with Skye what he had with Araceli and hopefully end the misery he had been feeling for centuries.

He had bigger problems to worry about right now. Soon Amara would discover he had not retrieved the scrolls and was actually helping to translate them. She would be furious. He wasn’t sure if she would come and check on him or not.

He couldn’t ignore his thirst any longer, so he ran off into the woods to hunt.

The next morning Skye was busy working alongside Dr. Costa on the dig. She had been taking photographs of the new room they’d discovered. It was a fully stocked armory. It contained all the weapons and armor used by the gladiators. With a find of this size, it was probably just as exciting as the scrolls. These pieces could actually go to the museums for people to see.

It was a busy morning, and she had not gotten the chance to speak to Marco yet. It was getting close to lunch, and the battery was dying on the camera. Skye took this opportunity to excuse herself and sneak away. She went to the trailer that served as Dr. Costa’s portable office and put the camera’s battery to charge first. Then she went in search of Marco. He was standing by the gate talking to a few other interns. He saw her approaching and called out to her.

“Ciao, bella! Did Dr. Costa finally let you out of your cell?” he teased. Skye laughed. The female interns watched jealously as Marco bent over to kiss her hello.

“You want to go grab some lunch with me?” he asked her.

“Sure,” she said. Skye looked at the group of interns, feeling friendly. She didn’t know any of them too well.
If looks could kill
, she thought when she saw the female interns were not in as friendly a mood as she was.
Screw them
, she thought. She grabbed Marco’s hand and pulled him toward the gate. “Bye,” she said, smiling brightly at the group of interns.

Marco put his arm around her waist as they walked to the gate. “What are you in the mood for?” he asked.

“Italian,” she said flirtatiously.

Marco smirked. “I think I know where we can go,” he said. “Are we still on for tonight? Your place?”

“Yeah. I won’t stay at the lab as late tonight. I sort of dozed off last night while we were working,” she said.

Marco laughed. “You just need a weekend to relax. You are working long hours,” he said.

Andy had just pulled up in time to see Skye leave with Marco. He had come to check out the ludus. He had been putting it off, afraid of what memories it would bring back. He stopped at the gate to show the guards his pass giving him permission to enter the ludus, which he felt was a bit ironic. Then he decided to ask a group of female interns by the gate where Dr. Costa was. Lust radiated off the women when they saw him approach, and when he left he could hear them talking about him. He walked excitedly across the courtyard where he used to practice. It looked so different and yet the same.

Andy found Dr. Costa down in the armory. He was amazed at how much of the ludus they had already uncovered. As Dr. Costa was showing him the pieces, Andy searched for his own sword. He instantly recognized the large sword leaning against the wall in the corner. He walked over to it and ran his fingers over the hilt. Gripping the handle, he swung it through the air. Dr. Costa scolded him, and Andy put his sword down. Moving around the room, he also located his shield, dagger, and helmet. Andy decided he would sneak back to the ludus at night and take his belongings. He would just have to alter the catalogue and Dr. Costa’s memory.

Andy excused himself and went to go find his old cell. He could have walked those corridors blindfolded and still found it. The door was gone. He stepped inside to find an empty cell with a hole in the wall where the scrolls had been. Andy’s mind flooded with memories. He sat down against the wall and closed his eyes.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed by the time Skye returned. She walked into her favorite cell and was surprised to see Andy sitting on the floor in her spot.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Do you want to be alone?” she asked him apologetically.

“Skye! No, not at all. Come and join me,” he said.

Skye walked over and sat down next to him.

“What brings you here?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. I just like this spot,” she said, smiling and shrugging her shoulders.

Andy smiled at her. It was weird that she should feel drawn to his old cell. They sat there silently until she spoke.

“I sometimes think about what his life was like—what everyone’s life was like back then,” she said.

“Hmmm. His life was violent and beautiful,” said Androcles.

Skye thought about that for a moment. “Yes,” she agreed. “I want to get back to those scrolls and learn more.”

“Oh, about tonight. I won’t be able to get to the lab until Monday,” he said apologetically. “I have some business to take care of.” He needed to feed again and on something more substantial than small game. He hadn’t been satisfied last night.

“Oh, well, that’s OK. I sort of had plans this weekend anyway. This will give me an early start.”

“Good,” he said.

“Well, Andy, my lunch break is over. I’d better get back to the armory to help Dr. Costa with the cataloging. Have a good weekend,” she said, smiling.

Andy stood up and reached out his hand to help her up. “You too, Skye,” he said.
I might have to alter her memory of the items I plan to take as well
, he thought. He really hated to do that.

.

Chapter Five

N
APLES, 2011

S
kye was checking herself in the mirror. She had just taken a long, hot shower and shaved her legs. She dressed in a matching lacy black bra and thong. On top of that she was wearing a short black dress. The material was casual yet dressy without being overdone. She wanted to look great for Marco. She put the finishing touches on her makeup and smoothed her hair, which she had pulled back into a low ponytail and curled into one giant roll that draped over her shoulder.

Skye thought she heard howling, so she went out onto her balcony. The air was a little chilly. She looked out at the woods behind her apartment. They were still in the city, so there shouldn’t be any large wild animals in those woods. But she also knew that there were other things that lurked in woods. Her travels with her father had led her to believe in many things most people didn’t.
Maybe it was dogs
, she thought. She dismissed the howl and looked up at the sky. The moon was almost full. Her stomach twisted in a knot. The smile disappeared from her face.

Andy watched Skye from behind a tree. She looked beautiful in the moonlight. He loved how she draped her hair over her shoulder the way Araceli used to. She looked even more like her tonight. He watched as Skye’s smile turned into a look of dread. Andy moved behind the tree out of sight. Had she seen him? He peeked around and looked at her again. Her face was more relaxed. He reached out to see what she was feeling. She was anxious but not fearful. He decided she must not have seen him and let out the air he was holding in a sigh of relief. He didn’t need to breathe; it was just a habit. He had to make himself look normal in front of people, so he blinked, breathed, coughed, and scratched regularly.

Suddenly Andy heard a faint knocking sound. Skye turned and went inside. He felt her excited nervousness increase.
That must be Marco
, he thought angrily. He was tempted to rush over and break Marco’s neck and dispose of the body. But he would never want to hurt Skye if she really had feelings for the oversexed pretty boy. Andy saw her close the balcony doors, so he stepped out from the safety of the shadows. He levitated up to her balcony and checked the door. She left it unlocked, he realized excitedly. Somewhere in the distance he heard a howl. He looked back over his shoulder to the wooded area and smiled devilishly. He gave a low chuckle and quietly slipped into her apartment.

Skye was already downstairs opening the door.

“Ciao, bella!” Andy heard Marco say. Andy rolled his eyes. He peered down from the dark bedroom loft.

“Hi,” said Skye in a low, sultry voice.

Marco leaned over and kissed Skye. She put her arms around his neck. Marco kept his hands behind his back. Andy could smell flowers. They broke apart, and Marco brought one arm around.

“Um, these are for you,” he said, giving her a bouquet of random flowers.

“Thank you. They’re beautiful,” she said happily.

Marco stepped back through the door. “Yes, they are beautiful,” he said, kissing her neck. His breath was warm and made her skin tingle. “Like you.” He kissed her again. It pained Andy to see Marco touch her. “I brought this too,” he said, stepping back and producing an expensive bottle of red wine.

Skye laughed. “Nice!” She took the bottle from him and went to the kitchen to open it.

Marco shut the front door and locked it behind him. “Mmmm. It smells good in here,” Marco said as he smelled the food cooking. “What did you make?”

“Lasagna,” she said with a little shrug of her shoulders. “I don’t know how to cook many things.”

“I love lasagna,” he said. He looked over at the fireplace in the living room. “It’s chilly tonight. Do you want me to make a fire?”

“Sure,” she said as she poured two glasses of wine. She handed one to Marco, and they took a sip. He winked at her and then walked over to the fireplace. She had everything next to the fireplace that he would need.

Andy didn’t want to look at Marco, and he couldn’t see Skye in the kitchen from the loft because it was right below him, so he decided to have a look around her room. He ran his fingers over her bed, stopping to pick up her pillow. He put it to his face and inhaled deeply. A rush of memories flooded his head. He saw Araceli’s face and heard her laugh. Skye smelled similar to Araceli.
How could that be?
he wondered, frustrated.
Is this some cruel joke from the gods?
Andy put her pillow back into the same position. He noticed she did not have any pictures of friends or family up. He thought that was a bit odd. Maybe she kept it all on her computer? Andy walked over to her closet and stepped inside. He ran his fingers along the hangers: dresses, pants, shirts, sweats. He got to the end where there were a set of drawers and opened the top drawer. He didn’t know what he was looking for but wanted anything that would tell him more about her. Andy smiled when he saw the contents of the drawer: underwear, bras, lingerie. He looked up when heard Skye’s laughter and went to go see what they were up to.

Skye and Marco were sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace drinking wine. Their empty plates of food were pushed off to the side.

“It’s getting warm in here,” Marco said. He leaned forward and pulled his shirt off, revealing his perfect abs.

Skye looked at his body lustily. “What the hell are you doing in archaeology? You should be an underwear model or something,” she said, laughing.

“I am a model,” he said, smiling. He crawled over her and leaned in to kiss her neck. “I love archaeology, but modeling pays my bills.” He trailed kisses down her neck to her collarbone.

“Mmmm, I see,” she said.