His hands folded over the handle of the shovel, his chin resting on the knuckles, as he probed his soul like a man exploring an infected tooth with the tip of his tongue. The pain would come if he kept forcing his way deeper, and that was what he wanted. He needed to feel death as human, not as an eater of souls.
The love he felt for Vega burned hot in his thoughts, the rising fear of what he faced turning the edges into wild sparks. Emotions swirled and bubbled like a lava moat all around the dark, angry void, but remorse was not among the melee. Zane turned his face to the sky, the corners of his mouth pulling downward as he forced himself to think of the spiritual consequences of all he had done and seen throughout his decades chained in Eurynome’s hell.
“If I survive this,” he whispered, “will I ever be forgiven?”
****
The sound of the car pulling into the driveway sent Vega scurrying to the door. As she peered out the small window, she breathed a sigh of relief. Covered in mud, shoulders slumped with exhaustion, and head hung low, Zane stalked up the drive. She knew it wasn’t the death eater controlling his body. The man carried himself as if the weight of the world stood on his shoulders, and the demon walked without a care in the world.
He looked up as the door opened, mesmerized by the light from within silhouetting her beautiful figure. He smiled as he admonished her, “I told you to keep the door locked until you knew it was safe.”
“I knew,” she countered, stepping out onto the stoop and into his arms. “I’m ready to go. I don’t want to spend another moment in this hell. Where’d you put her?”
Easing her back, he looked down at his mud-ridden clothing and dirty hands. “Don’t ask. I don’t want you to know. I don’t want you to think about it ever again. I’m ready to go too, but I need to clean up first, my love.”
“I already thought of that. I found you some of Bill’s clothes. They’ll be too big, but they will do until we can stop for more. They’re in the bathroom. I’ll load the car while you shower.”
A mischievous grin brought out the dimple in his cheek, “I’d rather you join me.”
Laughing aloud, she led him into the house. “I’ve had enough of that bathroom for one day. You go ahead. When we finally have each other again, I don’t want it to be here. Not in this house, not with these ghosts watching us, and not with the memories that are still so fresh that they wound me.”
Zane leaned in, gently kissed her on the forehead, and silently nodded that he understood. Internally, he wondered, And the ghosts inside of me? Do you fear those as well, Vega?
****
Less than a half of an hour later, Zane and Vega sat next to each other in the front of the VW. With her legs tucked up in the seat, she laid her head on his shoulder, and he slid his hand between her knees. The whole world stretched out before them in the form of a night sky and an open road.
“So where are we going, babe?” Vega asked.
“Back to where it all began.” He lapsed into a long silence, lost in the memories of his youth, before asking, “Do you remember that day clearly?”
“No. Not really.” Vega stared out the window as she watched the dark landscape speed by. “It comes in flashes.”
“We were happy. Just two kids, in love, and ready to be married.”
She could hear sadness in his voice, but she did not lift her head to see the haunted look she knew would show in his eyes.
“You looked so beautiful. Your hair was blonde then, as it seldom has been since. You were soft and silly, so easily amused. Yet, there was a fire in your heart, and not even the threat of war could make you tremble or run.”
Vega sighed. “I saw you when I was dying. It all came back to me then, but now it’s like a dream fading away. You looked a little different than you do now. Your hair was dark and your eyes were blue. You have always been strong, fierce, and handsome.”
The smell of salt and ocean filled the car as a cool wind blew in the cracked windows, and Vega took a deep breath. “Zane, I’m scared. What if we can’t find the demon’s name? What if we fail? This is it. Like you said before, there are no do-overs.”
He took her hand in his, bringing her fingers to his lips, and as he brushed a kiss across the knuckles, he smiled. “Together. We are together for the first time in so many many decades. I have to believe we will survive this.”
They drove off and on all night, taking turns behind the wheel while the other rested. In the darkness, they passed through small, obscure towns—the kind of places that boasted a grocery store and little else. Over a set of unused railroad tracks and down a long and dusty gravel road, the small signs of a dead civilization began to surface in the gray of the pre-dawn light. A rusty iron plow, mostly engulfed in tall weeds, rested along the side of a tree that had clearly grown up through the handles. Stone stairs jutted out of the overgrowth, a path to nothing because the homes had long ago perished.
Vega reached over, pulling Zane’s hand into her lap and squeezing it hard. Flashes, brief memories of her childhood, snapped against her mind like a hard whip. As they rose to the top of a hill, she glimpsed a recollection of how the town looked in its heyday, white washed, clapboard houses, muddy streets, and horse drawn buggies.
“Gone, it’s all gone,” she whispered, holding back the tears threatening to strangle all hope.
“It’s been gone for a very long time, sweetheart. It’s just a place to start, maybe someone, somewhere still remembers.”
The Volkswagen’s worn shocks squeaked in protest as Zane edged it down the rutted road. The jarring bumps and slight skids in the mud made him curse and slow the vehicle to a crawl, but Vega paid no attention. In the distance, on the rise of a tall hill, shadows formed gray arms reaching for the sky as it lightened with pastel streaks. Vega leaned forward, a memory tickling the back of her mind.
She strained her eyes, staring into the vague darkness, willing the shapes to become clear. With each lurching mile, they drew closer, the sky filled with more light and color. The shapes became clear, and the world around them seemed bathed in the majestic dawn. At last, Vega remembered.
“There.” The word was a hiss expelled between clenched teeth. “That was where the battle took place. It’s where Eurynome found us, and where I bargained away our lives.” Shame pierced her heart, the memory as fresh as an oozing wound upon her soul.
Zane glanced over, concern pulling his handsome features tight. “Looks like death never left that place. Those are tombstones on that hill.”
“I guess we know where to start.” Vega pressed her forehead to the window and breathed deep. She prayed for strength, because she could battle a demon, she could face death a dozen times, but she wasn’t sure she could face the place where her destiny should have ended.
After several long minutes of coaxing the small car up the slippery incline, they reached the top of the hill. The road to the graveyard had been well maintained much better than the main road. A wrought iron fence lined the twisting path, the dainty black roses rusting away from years of exposure to the elements.
Hundreds of graves filled the hillside, ranging from insignificant slabs to impressive marble statues. All were old and many were crumbling. The graveyard, like the road, had been cared for a great deal. The grass was newly cut, fresh flowers stood like lone sentinels in vases on top of the gravestones, and the main gates looked as if they’d been recently painted.
A large padlock rested on a chain that had been entwined around the gates, barring their way. On a poll near the entrance, a no trespassing sign stood. Riddled with bullet holes, the first edges of rust had begun to creep up the white paint like a cancer.
“Death. I’m so damn sick of death,” Vega muttered as she scanned the fence line.
“I know, babe.” Zane wrapped an arm around her shoulders and placed a kiss in her hair. “I think we can climb over it okay. I’ll go first and help you down on the other side.”
She nodded, refusing to give voice to the fear that rat
tled in her head. The graveyard was a risk, they both new it. If something triggered the demon inside him, he could kill her on the spot. The threat of being discovered also bothered her. With all that they’d done, all that she had done, they didn’t need the authorities to come.
She watched as Zane scurried up and over the fence, and then hesitantly made her own way up. At the top, she swung her legs over one at a time, but the morning dew had made the metal slick. Her foot slipped, and the weight of her body falling backward broke away the iron rose she had been gripping. Vega fell, a little gasp of surprise escaping as she tensed, ready for the impact of the hard ground.
Two strong hands caught her, breaking what might have been a nasty landing. Her body slammed into Zane’s, knocking him backward. His arms encircled her, squeezing tight, and his face hardened.
Vega placed her hands on his chest, feeling the short, rapid breaths rise and fall, and tried to push away. For a moment, the demon clouded his eyes, and she wanted to scream. Then as quickly as it had happened, Zane’s madness faded, and only the fiercely protective man remained.
“Zane?”
He blinked rapidly, and looked at her, a question in his eyes. “You alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go.” Vega tried to shrug away the fear and doubt, but it clung to her like a second skin as they picked their way through the graveyard.
The tombs dated back hundreds of years, names and dates that meant nothing. They wound their way between the stones, searching for some clue, anything that might point them in the right direction. The sun slipped farther up the horizon as they searched beneath the gold streaked sky.
Exhausted, Vega slunk down next to a tall crucifix, the marble Jesus looking down at her with sadness in his blank eyes. “I don’t know, Zane. I don’t think we are going to find anything here.”
With a sigh, he turned to join her, and froze. “Vega, baby, I want you to come here.”
“Why, I jus—”
“Now!”
The urgency in his voice made her scamper on hands and knees across the wet grass until she reached his legs. Zane’s strong hand yanked her up as a feral growl escaped his lips, and she tried to pull away, afraid the demon had risen to the surface. When he didn’t move his eyes to her, she followed his gaze, and screamed.
The apparition stood behind the cross, empty eye sockets staring from a blank face. He, for he had surely been a man when alive, wore a button down shirt and worn trousers. Even though his form was nearly transparent, the frayed material on his knees showed.
“What do you want?” Zane demanded.
The apparition stood still for a long moment, its ghostly countenance never changing. At last, with slow exaggerated movement, it turned toward the very top of the hill, and pointed.
Too afraid to move, the couple remained huddled together, their bodies shaking as they held tightly to each other. They watched as the mysterious phantom glanced back at them before fading into nothing once more. A cold breeze and the smell of roses brushed across the graveyard, gently swaying the trees. Vega shivered as she looked into Zane’s worried face. The question stood between them, unspoken in their fear. When he nodded his head to indicate he planned to follow the spirit’s direction, she resisted the urge to protest and gripped his hand a little tighter.
The morning sun lit their way, casting long shadows from the trees and taller tombs as they neared the peak. A small vault stood before them, the rusted metal door agape. The darkness inside seemed too black, as if the light could not enter there, and a deep chill seemed to leech outward from the entrance.
“I don’t think I want to go in there.” Vega hesitated as Zane took a step forward. “How do we know we can trust that thing?”
“We can’t, but what other choices do we have?”
Zane went first, and Vega followed close behind. The quiet morning faded into the sounds of birds chirping, insects buzzing, and the smoosh of their shoes on dampened grass. Vigilance waned into silent trudging, the long night weighing down on their shoulders and bowing their heads in exhaustion, they climbed farther upward.
Vega opened her mouth to complain, but clamped it shut again. Her eyes squinted against the sunlight as she looked down the way they’d come. With her head cocked sideways, she studied the graveyard below.
“Come here,” she commanded, holding her hand out for his.
He stepped up beside her. “What?”
“Look at the graves. We never noticed it down there, but from up here, do you see it?”
“It’s a spiral…and we are standing in the center of it.”
“You ever see something like this?
“No. Never.”
A shiver streaked across the back of Vega’s neck, and she knew without looking, the ghost had returned. When she mustered the courage to turn around and face the apparition, it stood at the door of the tomb, staring back at her with its gaping eyes.
“What?” Exasperation laced her voice. “Do you really want us to go into that creepy thing?”
“Vega!” Zane hissed through his teeth. “Don’t piss it off.”
“I’m tired of demons, priests, visions, dead bodies, and now ghosts. I get it, it’s trying to help us, or kill us. So why shouldn’t I just get to the point?”
The spirit seemed to frown, the dark gray lines around its mouth deepened as its brow furrowed. Without a sound, it passed through the doorway and disappeared.
Heaving a sigh, Vega threw her hands up. “See? Totally unhelpful. Let’s get this over with. If it’s some kind of demon trap, there’s little we can do about it. If it’s not, then we might finally get some answers. Right now, all I want is a warm bed and some alone time with you.” Her squinted eyes widened just for a moment, and a seductive smile turned up the corners of her mouth. “Because, this time, we’re not going to fade away into nothing at sunrise.”
Before he could reply, she laced her fingers with his, and stormed toward the vault. At the entrance, Vega peered in through the open door. “Pitch black. Wish we’d thought to bring a flashlight or something.”
Zane nudged her aside, digging the Zippo lighter from his pocket. With a flick of his wrist and a quick snap of his fingers, the little flame came to life—barely illuminating more than a few inches beyond the door. He leaned farther in, trying to discern what lay within.
“There’s a lantern on the wall. Let me light it, and then come in.”
“Zane Allistor, you are not going in there alone!” Vega shrieked, sincere concern lacing her voice. She wasn’t about to let him go, not even for her own safety.
With a shrug, Zane conceded. “Fine.” She may not clearly remember their centuries together, but he recognized the look of determination in her eyes. She wouldn’t budge, so there was no point arguing.
Together, they pushed on the heavy door to make a space wide enough to enter. The rusted hinges screamed in protest, but after several minutes, they had a wide enough space. The sunlight still seemed to be eaten up by the darkness within, but Zane’s lighter gave them enough illumination to fight the cobwebs to reach the lantern.
The tin lantern was rusted, but the glass was whole and a little fluid still sloshed in its base. Miraculously, when Zane removed the globe and touched the flame to the wick, it came to life.
“Oh,” Vega gasped and tightened her grip on Zane’s arm.
When he turned, the light fully brightened the room, and his eyes fell on a bittersweet vision. Two statues stood side by side, one female and the other male. She clasped a bouquet of lilies to her chest with one hand and gripped the male’s hand with her other. Their faces seemed solemn, thoughtful, and perhaps sad as they gazed down upon their observers with sightless eyes.
“It’s us,” Zane breathed the words in quiet shock.
Vega stepped closer, studying the face of the stranger who possessed a face that she knew had once been hers. “She’s beautiful.”
“You were, still are, very beautiful. You have been so in every lif
e. No matter how Eurynome tried to destroy you, he couldn’t take your beauty away.”
“Do you miss this face, the one I used to have?”
He heard the need in her voice, sensed the fright in the tension of her muscles. “No, baby. I loved you heart, body, and soul then, and I still do. No matter what form you take, it is you inside, and you that I love more than anything else in this world.”
She ducked her head, a smile on her lips and a single tear tracing down her cheek. “Whoa! Look. There’s writing here. You can barely see it.”
Zane shifted the lantern, the obviously hand-chiseled groves becoming more visible.
Άγνωστος
Ζούσαν, αγάπησε και πέθανε σύμφωνα με τις δικές τους δαίμονες
“What does it mean?”
“I have no clue. It’s Greek, I think.” Zane ran his fingertips over the stone, feeling the chill of the ancient marble run deep into his soul and wrapping an iron fist around the place where the demon hid.
Vega attempted to sound out the words. The last one stung her tongue as if it were a wasp. “Daimones…demons! I know that word means demons!” Pulling her cell phone out with one hand, she tugged Zane’s arm closer, illuminating the stone as much as she could. She struggled with the light and the camera until she was able to clearly document the inscription and even the statues their selves.
When she was satisfied at last, she gave one last look up to the hardened faces looming above them. “What a terrible way to spend eternity. Someone should tear this crypt down and let them into the light.”
Zane took her hand and led her away, silent in his own thoughts of an eternity spent drowning in darkness. The warmth of the sun felt wonderful on his shoulders as he stepped out of the door and turned to help Vega through. The heat radiated into his heart, a secret promise that he’d never again be chained in the dark.
Their fingers entwined. Their eyes grew as bright as the clear day, and their hope became so strong that it glimmered in the air around them. The lovers looked into each other’s eyes. In the haste of their reunion and the troubles they’d faced since, there had been no time for them to remember the passion that had always burned between them. They’d not had the opportunity to re-kindle the flame that had burned across time, space, and dimensions. The moment was not right, the place was all wrong, but nothing could keep them apart any longer.
Fated to Return (The Death Eater Series Book 3) Page 2
