The Last Oracle (11 page)

During their lovemaking, Valeria had discovered her own sensuality and confidence and it had been incredibly freeing. Alex had obviously taken notice.

The corners of his mouth turned up again. “You might have to wait a bit. I’m afraid you’ve about worn me out tonight.”

“Sorry. Well, not really...but this time, it’s for food.” She jumped up naked and walked into the kitchen. “Besides, I’ve heard that oracles recovery is legendary.” They both smiled. “Do you think there’s anything in here?”

Alex watched her. “My God,
you are
beautiful!” he said, his voice full of reverence.

Valeria suddenly realized it was the first time she had ever been so comfortable with her own nudity, and she loved how liberating it felt. “I think I could live with you like this!” she said.

“Yes, I’ve been thinking the same thing. That’s why I chose a particularly private location for our honeymoon.”

“We can’t stay here?” She opened the refrigerator. “Well, thank you, Camille!” she said as she strolled back in with a platter full of fruit and chocolate.

As she scooted her engagement ring back on the bedside table so that she could set down the tray of food, she noticed the candlelight playing off the crystal of her ring. It was a luxury to wear it, but after nearly scratching Alex with it several times during the night, she decided it was better to remove it for sleeping…and for other things. She’d kept her wedding band on though—which was a work of art in itself! The platinum band had grape vines delicately moving around it that joined the vines on the engagement ring when they were placed together. How Alex could have designed something so perfect for her, so long before he had actually spent any time with her, was remarkable. She assumed it was the magical understanding between symbolons.

Valeria picked up the framed photograph of the two of them—her favorite—it was their first picture together and it had been a gift from Camille. She set it back down, refilled their shared wine glass, and rolled back to her previous position on top of Alex. She picked up a strawberry and tasted its sweetness, as Alex sipped the wine.

“So, the million dollar question…” She said, as she playfully gave him a bite of her strawberry; she watched Alex as he sucked the piece of fruit into his mouth and bit down, his eyes never leaving hers. Alex handed Valeria his glass of wine and she sipped it, and then used his chest as a resting place for the glass. “How long can we stay?”

Alex thought for a moment. “If there isn’t any sign of trouble by tomorrow, we might be able to stay for one more night.”

“You don’t expect any trouble do you?” she asked, taking a bite of the decadent chocolate.

He gazed into the distance, and then shook his head. She knew better than to take his response at face value, but decided she wasn’t going to force a discussion—especially not tonight.

“So, where are we going?” she asked excitedly.

He shook his head lightly, amused at her energy, and then set the wine glass on the bedside table. “I was wondering when you were going to ask. But aren’t you tired yet?” he asked playfully as he rolled her over.

“I’m too excited to sleep,” she said.

He smiled and evaluated the look in her eyes carefully. “Hmm, my guess is that you’ll be asleep in less than five minutes.” He kissed her nose and crawled out of bed. “Be right back.”

Alex took the tray back to the refrigerator and then blew out the candles. When he returned, the corners of his mouth turned up—she was asleep. He raised his eyebrows. “Told you…five minutes,” he said softly, not wanting to wake her.

He stood there watching her soft breaths as the moonlight bathed her perfect face and shoulders in a mystical white goddess-like sheen. He felt the thrilling and overwhelming joy as he again realized that this extraordinary woman, who he had dreamt of and desired for an eternity, was now finally, and irrevocably, his wife. He blew out the last of the candles and crawled into bed next to her. Instead of facing away from her, as had been his habit to avoid temptation, he turned and pulled her tightly into him as their legs and arms wove their bodies tightly together and they both drifted into delicious sleep.

It was a delicious dream and Valeria curled tightly into her husband, wrapping herself in closer as she listened to the soft crackling of the fire. Alex’s arms responded, even in his sleep, brushing his hands along her hips and nuzzling his nose in her hair as his lips brushed her ear.

There was a moment of disorientation when she considered that the crackling of the fire must be a part of her dream, though she had a slight awareness of danger and something urging her to wake.

As she continued to battle her consciousness about the reality of the fire, there was a loud pop that broke through her dream, and she bolted straight up. Immediately, Alex jumped out of bed and quickly took in the situation. Flames crawled along the ceiling from the artist’s studio, next to the fireplace, filling the great room with smoke.

They sensed a new source of air that fanned the flames and watched as they quickly spread toward the entrance. Then they heard Mani’s frantic voice coming from the front door as he shouted, “Alex! Valeria!”

It took Alex no more than an instant to pull on his pants and lift a dazed Valeria from the bed and onto her feet. Reaching down, he grabbed the first bit of clothing he found—his shirt—and slid it over her. He buttoned a few of the buttons as she stared at the flames.

“All of your work!” she cried, as he pulled her into the great room and toward the front door. Then she saw the leather-bound books. As she reached to grab
Walden,
she saw her left hand and her lone wedding band.

“My ring!” she said, pulling free from Alex’s grip.

Suddenly, it began to rain flaming cinders in the great room as the blaze gleefully danced toward the bedroom and front door, devouring the ceiling behind it. From the bedside table, she reached for her engagement ring and the picture of the two of them that she loved.

“We have to go,” Alex said.

A loud hissing began, like a boiling teakettle. It evolved to a whistling whine that grew more intense by the second. Their eyes searched behind them and into the great room for the source of the sound...that seemed to lead to the door of Alex’s studio. A rumbling, combined with the whine, made Alex’s eyes grow wide with realization.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and quickly rolled them both over the bed, away from the direct line of the flammable art supplies in his studio. The whining had become a wail as they reached the floor; he covered her protectively as a deafening explosion shook her to the core.

When she opened her eyes, she looked up to discover a surreal world with missing walls and pages of books that had, moments before, been on the other side of a wall. Now they were floating...billowing down endlessly. She breathed in and began to choke. Alex took her face in his hands and examined it for a moment.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

She stared at him completely dazed. Everything had happened so fast—one minute she was asleep in his arms, and then there were explosions and fire and she couldn’t quite grasp it all. But she knew they needed to get out of their beautiful cottage…their enflamed cottage. She glanced at her hand and saw only the picture frame. The ring was gone. As her eyes followed a route, over the mess that had been their bed—now covered in debris—she caught site of the glistening blue stone sitting on top of a pile of fluffy down that had once been part of Alex’s pillow.

She saw Alex glance toward the window at the front porch and nod as in a non-verbal communication. Most of the glass was already blown out, but the panes remained. Then she saw movement from outside, although the state of her mind and the smoke made it difficult to think clearly.
 

“Stand back!” Mani shouted, and Alex pulled her face down into his chest and barred her again.

She heard a loud crash and the tinkling of glass. In an instant, Alex swept her up in his arms and, without a second thought, stepped barefoot over the broken glass to the window, passing her into Mani’s arms. Immediately, she noticed that she could breathe, and she could feel the cool wood of the porch under her feet. Mani continued to support her, sensing her lack of balance.

“Mani, please help Alex!” she said and struggled to stand on her own as she leaned on the outside of the window sill to stabilize herself, suddenly aware that she was shaking.

Alex leaned out the window and gave her a quick kiss. “Be right back,” he said.

Before she could object, he turned and shot chest first over their bed, reaching for the ring. Now, the ceiling in the bedroom was ablaze.

She stood voiceless in her terror and was suddenly aware that she was clutching their picture to her chest. The smoke parted and she saw that the other side of the room had crumbled, blocking the other window. Then she saw the blood and glass that gaped from the soles of Alex’s feet and she felt the air being sucked from her lungs. As he turned back toward the window, the roof of the cottage seemed to groan, and then released a fiery beam. Alex jumped back so that the beam missed him, but now he was trapped inside.

“Oh, Alex…
come out, please come out,” she said to herself over and over again.

“Val, it’s all right!” he shouted, attempting to calm her. She thought he was saying something else to her but she couldn’t hear it. Then, as the flames increased, he disappeared for a moment and then returned, shrugging at Mani as he tossed out Valeria’s engagement ring and his watch.

“She needs to leave,” Alex yelled over the crackling of the fire.

“No!”
Valeria screamed, reaching for Alex through the window. Mani grabbed her and pulled her back.

Leaning near the gaps between the beam and the window, Alex shouted out to her, “Val, you have to leave now! Do you understand me? You have to leave! I’ll meet you there,” Alex said.

“I’m not leaving you!” She heard him coughing and then he pulled back and disappeared in the smoke.

“Valeria…Alex is all right,” Mani said.

She kicked and tried to push Mani’s hands off from her. Just then, Alex returned to the window and she saw he had something in his hands and was trying to move the flaming beam. The material instantly went ablaze and his hands burned. Surrendering that location, she thought she saw him at the other window.

“We have to help him, Mani!” she cried, but Mani just held her.

Alex held up his hands and shrugged. Suddenly, there was a loud hissing sound—much louder than before. Alex stared toward the studio and then at Valeria in alarm and yelled, “Propane! Get her out of here!”

Mani lifted her off her feet and ran toward the woods as she kicked and struggled to get back to the cottage.

The ground rumbled angrily in an ear-shattering explosion and she felt as if she were airborne. The next thing she was aware of was the cool earth under her body and face. Suddenly, she was transitioned into a silent world with no loud fire and no shouting, only the shrill ringing in her head. It was a few seconds before she turned her face—stunned—and brushed the dirt from her mouth. She felt the rumble of Mani’s chest. Did he say something? Then she was lying on her back and Mani was kneeling next to her. She couldn’t quite focus but he seemed to be surveying her as his mouth moved...still, there was only the ringing.

In a daze, she reached her hand first to her hair, and felt that it was now tangled and entwined with pieces of pine and debris; then she moved her hand over her lower lip. When she moved her hand away, she saw the brilliant red of blood.

Rolling onto her side, she sat up and saw hundreds of tiny flames that blazed on the ground near them. Her eyes rose with horror to where her husband had been moments before. The porch was still there but there was a huge hole in the roof where the stone fireplace stood.

She tried to stand up but she was shaking so badly that she couldn’t find the strength. Instead, she began to scramble on all fours toward the cottage. She felt strong arms around her. Turning, she recognized Tavish. There was a loud crackling that broke through her wall of silence as a part of the roof caved in on their bedroom.

Her left ear did an angry pop and she could hear the roar of the fire—although it was dimmed by the still intense and shrill ringing—and another high-pitched sound. Then she realized, it was the sound of her own screaming.

 
Tavish clung tightly to her. He was saying something, but she was unable to make anything out. She fought him and cried out as the rest of the family arrived.

Everyone seemed to be more concerned that she was upset than the fact that her husband was burning to death inside of their home. It was an incongruity to her. No one was going to get Alex out except her. She continued to struggle to get free of Tavish’s grip. Her ears popped again and she heard Tavish. “He’s all right, Lass.”

“Why aren’t you getting him? He’s your friend! We have to get him out of there,” she sobbed.

She saw Caleb and heard him say over the ringing, “I’ll get him, Val, I know where he is!”

By then, Camille had arrived and, seeing Caleb running toward the inferno, she grabbed him by the shirttail so that he had to turn around. “Caleb! No! Your job is to stay by Val!”

Valeria screamed Alex’s name over and over in a voice that she could barely hear over the ringing in her head as she fought against Tavish’s grip. She knew she was hysterical—but no amount of reason could make her understand why their friends wouldn’t let her get him. Camille moved her face inches from hers.

“Val! Val!” Camille said calmly, her voice rising above the ringing. “Listen to me! You have to listen to me!” she commanded.

“Why aren’t the fire trucks here? Why isn’t somebody doing something?”
 Valeria screamed.

“Val!” Camille said, holding Valeria’s face for emphasis. “The cottage will be in ashes before the trucks can get here and we can’t let anyone on the property right now.” Valeria cried and continued to struggle. Camille raised her voice as she continued, “Valeria, listen to
me! Listen! Alex is immortal! He will be fine! But
you
are in danger and we have to get you out of here
now
!”

“I’m not leaving without him!”

“Lass, you must do what Camille says. We have sworn an oath.”

Mani walked back to Valeria and spoke calmly. “Valeria, an enemy has somehow broached our security. It is extremely dangerous for you to be here now. Alex will survive and will join you later.”

She shook her head vehemently; if she left without him, she was terrified that she would never see him again—and that was a risk that she simply could not take!

Pulling all her wits about her, she stopped struggling and forced herself to relax. Finding every bit of strength within her, she said, “
No one
is taking me out of here without my husband!” Her chest heaved heavily with emotion. “Do you hear me? Do you all understand me? I’m not leaving! Not without Alex.”

Tavish said sadly, “We will force you if we must.”

She had to calm herself so that they would listen to her. She drew several slow breathes.

“Yes, Tav, you could,” she said as she nodded repeatedly for emphasis, and then drew another deep breath. “But how long will you hold me prisoner? Because
I will
come back here as soon as I can get away.” Tavish nodded. “So, I want all of you to listen to me now! Are you listening?” she said, trying to keep the tears out of her voice. “I am not leaving here without Alex. So let’s figure out how to save my husband from this fire! Alright?” She looked around and bit her lip, and even through her fog, she grimaced as her teeth braised the cuts on her mouth.

Camille glanced at Lars who nodded, and with a resigned expression, he ran around to the back of the house and disappeared. There was movement through the flames and she knew Lars was inside. Valeria put her hand over her mouth and held her breath. A few moments later, Lars emerged carrying Alex over his shoulder.

Mani said softly, “I’ll get my bag.” Then he headed toward his home.

Lars coughed before laying Alex down on the ground. Valeria rushed to her husband and saw that his skin was covered in black soot and he was barely conscious. She touched the side of his face and
gently brushed her lips over his; with relief, she felt that the air was still moving through his lungs, although it was weak.

“You’re going to be fine now.” She kissed him again.

His mouth began to move in unspoken words and his eyes fluttered, as if he was trying to open them.

“Relax. Doc will be here in a minute,” she said, as calmly as she could.  

Lars issued rapid-fire orders, “Let’s revamp the escape plan. Mani can’t be a decoy—I want him to stay with Alex and Val.” Lars looked at the burns on his arms and hands. “I’m in no shape to drive for at least a few hours. Tavish, you’ll need to shave your beard—quickly. Where’s Daph?”

Valeria paid no attention. She was watching Alex struggling to breathe and obviously in pain. Mani returned and started to place a mask over his face and, again, Alex moved his mouth and fluttered his eyes. Mani glanced at Valeria from head to foot and then responded aloud to Alex’s non-verbal question. “No serious injuries that I can see.
A few minor abrasions. Nothing that will not heal soon.”

Alex sighed and nodded, and then moved his mouth again. Mani answered, “Yes, my friend, we will keep her safe...as agreed.”
 Then, Mani placed the oxygen mask over Alex’s mouth.