Under the Witches' Moon: A Romantic Tale of Mediaeval Rome
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CHAPTER XII
SUNRISE
The thunder clouds had rolled away to eastward.
A rosy glow was creeping over the sky. The air was fresh with thecoming of dawn. Softly they laid Hellayne by the side of a marblefountain and splashed the cooling drops upon her pale face. After atime she opened her eyes.
The first object they encountered was Tristan who was bending over her,fear and anxiety in his face.
Her colorless lips parted in a whisper, as her arms encircled his neck.
"You are with me!" she said, and the transparent lids drooped again.
Those who had not been slain of the congregation of Hell had been boundin chains. Among the dead was Theodora. The contents of a phial shecarried on her person had done its work instantaneously.
Suddenly alarums resounded from the region of Castel San Angelo. Therewas a great stir and buzz, as of an awakened bee hive. There wereshouts at the Flaminian gate, the martial tread of mailed feet and,as the sun's first ray kissed the golden Archangel on the summit ofthe Flavian Emperor's mausoleum, a horseman, followed by a glitteringretinue, dashed up the path, dismounted and raised his visor.
Before the astounded assembly stood Alberic, the Senator of Rome.
Just then they brought the body of Theodora from the subterraneanchapel and laid it silently on the greensward, beside that of Basil,the Grand Chamberlain.
The Cardinal-Archbishop of Ravenna was the first to speak.
"My lord, we hardly trust our eyes. All Rome is mourning you for dead."
Alberic turned to the speaker.
"With the aid of the saint I have prevailed against the foulest treasonever committed by a subject against his trusting lord. The bribed hostsof Hassan Abdullah, which were to sack Rome, are scattered in flight.The attempt upon my own life has been prevented by a miracle fromHeaven. But--what of these dead?"
Odo of Cluny approached the Senator of Rome.
"The awful horror which has gripped the city is passed. Christ rulesonce more and Satan is vanquished. This is a matter for your privateear, my lord."
Odo pointed to the kneeling form of Tristan, who was supportingHellayne in his arms, trying to soothe her troubled spirit, to dispelthe memory of the black horrors which held her trembling soul in thrall.
Approaching Tristan, Alberic laid his hand upon his head.
"We knew where to trust, and we shall know how to reward! My lords andprelates of the Church! Matters of grave import await you. We meetagain in the Emperor's Tomb."
Beckoning to his retinue, Alberic remounted his steed, as company uponcompany of men-at-arms filed past--a host, such as the city of Rome hadnot beheld in decades, with drums and trumpets, pennants and banderols,long lines of glittering spears, gorgeous surcoats, and splendid suitsof mail.
The forces of the Holy Roman Empire were passing into the Eternal City.
At their head the Senator of Rome was returning into his own.
At last they were alone, Tristan and Hellayne.
His companions had departed. With them they had taken their dead.
Hellayne opened her eyes. They were sombre, yet at peace.
"Tristan!"
He bent over her.
"My own Hellayne!"
"It is beautiful to be loved," she whispered. "I have never been lovedbefore."
"You shall be," he replied, "now and forever, before God and the world!"
The old shadow came again into her eyes.
"What of the Lord Roger?"
She read the answer in his silence.
A tear trickled from the violet pools of her eyes.
Then she raised herself in his arms.
"I thought I should go mad," she crooned. "But I knew you would come.And you are here--here--with me,--Tristan."
He took her hands in his, his soul in his eyes.
The sun had risen higher through the gold bars of the east, dispellingthe grey chill of dawn.
She nestled closer to him.
"Take me back to Avalon, to my rose garden," she crooned. "Life isbefore us--yonder--where first we loved."
He took her in his arms and kissed her eyes and the small sweet mouth.
A lark began to sing in the silence.
THE END