The Immortal Scrolls

by Kristin Secorsky

  Chapter Two

  NAPLES, 2011

  Some other time had come. Marco had surprised Skye at the lab the night before with takeout. Skye was working in the lab now, waiting for Dr. Costa. One of his former colleagues was going to help her translate the scrolls. But Skye was distracted as she remembered the hot and heavy make-out session she and Marco had had right here in the lab. It was very uncharacteristic of her, but they had incredible chemistry. She’d had to stop herself from going any further. She couldn’t bring herself to have sex with someone on the first date, no matter how badly she wanted to.

  Marco came into the lab and tried to sneak up behind her. It was no use, though. She could smell his cologne a mile away. He put his arms around her and licked her neck, stopping to nibble at her ear lobe. “Ciao,” he whispered.

  Skye turned around to face him. “Hey, I didn’t know you were coming tonight,” she said, happily surprised.

  “I didn’t think I was going to be able to, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” he said flirtatiously. Marco leaned in to kiss her. Skye parted her lips, and he eagerly thrust his tongue inside her mouth. He held her close with one arm while his other hand explored the curves of her body. Their relationship was progressing at an alarming rate.

  Skye pulled away. “Marco, Dr. Costa will be arriving any minute now with the translator,” she said breathlessly.

  “That’s too bad,” he said. Marco returned his lips to hers and slowly backed her toward the break room. She did not resist him. When he reached the door, his hand reached around her to turn the knob. “A minute will have to do then,” he said. Skye giggled as he struggled with the door. When he finally got it open he slapped her rear lightly and led her into the dark room. They collapsed on the black leather sofa where they had been the night before. Marco kissed her lustily as he pulled up her shirt. He cupped her breast with his hand and removed it from the cup of her bra. Then he bent his head down to suck on her taut nipple while his other hand undid the button and zipper on her pants. Skye could still not believe how she let herself lose control around Marco. In the past, it would take her several weeks before she would feel comfortable enough to be intimate with a man.

  Marco ran his hand down her flat stomach and then beneath her underwear. Skye was happy she’d thought to wear a sexy thong today instead of regular briefs. He cupped her and then slid his fingers inside her. She moaned softly as he massaged her nub. Marco tugged at her pants with his free hand and pulled them down a ways. He leaned over and trailed kisses up her bare thigh. When he reached the top, he moved the small strip of her thong over and placed his mouth where his hand had been. Skye moaned louder. Her breathing turned into shallow gasps as her body jerked and trembled. Skye placed her hand in his hair. He stopped his tongue and brought his body between her legs. Marco kissed her mouth, and she could taste herself on his lips. Skye could feel his hardness pressed up against her as he kissed her frantically. She was hesitant to make love to him so soon. They barely knew each other, though their desire told a different story. Besides, she didn’t know if he had a condom with him or not.

  Skye rolled him over instead to where he was beneath her. Then she proceeded to unzip his pants. She reached her hands under his shirt and ran her fingers over his hard abs. Yummy, she thought. Skye moved her hand inside his briefs and grasped his hardness. Her hands pumped up and down for a moment, and then she removed his shaft from the confines of his briefs. She placed her mouth on his bulging head and sucked gently as she continued to move her hands up and down. She circled her tongue around the tip. She heard him groan softly. Marco grabbed her hair and thrust his hips. Skye heard him cry out, and he quickly moved her mouth off of him as he burst. His milky seed spilled on to her hands and his stomach. She removed her hands from him and looked around for a tissue or paper towel. There was a box of Kleenex on a table next to the sofa. Marco reached over and grabbed a few to wipe himself off with. He handed one to Skye. After Marco had cleaned himself, he pulled Skye to him and began kissing her.

  After a while there was a knock on the main door to the lab. Skye figured it was Dr. Costa and realized Marco must have locked the door behind him when he came in. She jumped off the couch.

  “Tell Dr. Costa I am in the bathroom,” she said as she ran off to the bathroom.

  Marco got up off the couch and pulled his pants up. He left his shirt untucked and walked out of the break room to the door. He unlocked the door and opened it to find Dr. Costa and another man much younger than the professor standing there.

  “Marco, I didn’t realize you would be here,” said Dr. Costa. “Is Dr. Morgan around?”

  “Yes, Dr. Costa,” said Marco as he stepped out of the way to let the two men inside.

  “This is Andy de Luca, the expert translator of ancient languages. Andy, this is one of our interns, Marco Sabatini.”

  Andy nodded his head at Marco. He caught a familiar scent in the air and realized that Marco and this Dr. Morgan had been doing something other than working. He tuned in on Marco’s feelings and could sense lust and irritation. He was probably irritated that we came and interrupted, Andy thought. He smirked at Marco. Marco gave Andy a puzzled look. “Nice to meet you,” said Andy.

  “You too,” said Marco. He heard a door shut and turned to see Skye walking from the bathroom into the lab. Dr. Costa and Andy could not see her yet. Marco gave her a lusty look, and she blushed. He then looked back at the two men discussing the scrolls. They were speaking rapidly in Italian.

  “Good evening, Dr. Costa,” said Skye as she walked into the room.

  Andy stopped talking. His face paled, and he stared at her in shock. She had dark brown hair with a hint of red to it, fair skin, and clear light blue eyes. She looked exactly like Araceli. How could this be? he wondered.

  Marco noticed how Andy was looking at Skye. Skye didn’t seem to notice. Marco thought Skye was exceptionally beautiful, but he still couldn’t understand the reaction Andy had when he saw her.

  “Good evening, Dr. Morgan,” greeted Dr. Costa. “Andy de Luca, this is Dr. Skye Morgan, the woman who discovered the scrolls. Dr. Morgan, this is your translator. He is an expert in ancient and dead languages as well as several modern languages.”

  “Pleasure to meet you,” she said.

  He realized her accent was American. “Call me Andy,” he said as he reached out to shake her hand. He saw his hand was shaking and tried to calm down. Their resemblance was eerie. But this is not Araceli, he told himself. She is dead. He was still holding onto her hand, and she was starting to give him an odd look. “I’m sorry,” he said, releasing her hand. “But have we met before? You look very familiar to me.”

  “No, I don’t think so,” said Skye. And she would have remembered. This guy was gorgeous. He was muscular and very rugged with green eyes, short black hair, and a tan she would die for. She felt guilty lusting after Andy since she was sort of involved with Marco.

  Andy ignored Marco now and tuned in to Skye’s emotions. It wasn’t like reading minds, like some others of his kind had the ability to do, but it was still a helpful gift. He picked up on the same lusty feelings as Marco, but no irritation. She was actually nervous, relieved, worried, and excited all in one. What a mess, he thought.

  “I look forward to translating the scrolls with you, Dr. Morgan,” said Andy, almost flirtatiously. He was starting to regain his composure. Inside he was ecstatic at the lucky card he had just been dealt. Another woman who looked exactly like her. Was this a coincidence or fate?

  “Oh, please call me Skye,” she said pleasantly.

  Andy turned to look at Marco, who was radiating with jealousy. He tried harder to block out Marco’s emotions.

  “Let’s go have a look at those scrolls,” said Dr. Costa, leading Andy away.

  “Are you going to stay, Marco?” Skye asked.

  “I’d better let you work,” he said regretfully as he looked back at Andy.

  “OK. I will walk you out,” she said, grabbing
his hand.

  Andy listened to Dr. Costa but was watching Skye leave with Marco hand in hand. It was his turn to be jealous now. He had to remember that this was not Araceli in order to keep himself from ripping Marco to shreds. He tried harder to focus on Dr. Costa, who was telling him about the scrolls. He knew everything about them already because he had written them. He also thought about how easy it would be to kill Dr. Costa and run off with the scrolls. But he had a sudden change of plans.

  His brief thoughts of drinking Marco’s and Dr. Costa’s blood were making him thirsty. He would need to feed later tonight. His throat was starting to burn unpleasantly, but he tried to ignore it.

  Skye was at the elevator with Marco now. “Do you want to get together tomorrow night?” he asked her.

  “Sure. Why don’t you come over to my apartment? We could have dinner and watch a movie,” she suggested.

  Marco smiled. “I like that idea,” he said and bent over to kiss her. “Good night, Skye.”

  “See you tomorrow,” she said, smiling.

  Marco got into the elevator and pushed a button. He winked at her as the doors shut. Skye smiled as she turned around and walked back to the lab. She saw Dr. Costa and Andy talking in Italian again. They were all polite to speak English in front of her because they thought her Italian wasn’t very good. She walked up behind them. Andy sensed her happiness and turned around. He smiled strangely at her. He couldn’t get over their resemblance. He wondered if she smelled the same. It was hard to tell right now because she smelled like Marco.

  He realized he would be working closely with her on the scrolls, if he wanted to. His original plan was to gain access to the scrolls, steal them, and take them to his safe. He couldn’t bring himself to destroy them. After all, he wrote them, and they were his memories. But still, he had a secret to keep. Many cultures had myths of vampires, werewolves, demons, witches, and other paranormal figures. No one truly believed in their existence because there was no physical proof. So he doubted his scrolls would bring about any big revelation. Maybe scholars would chalk it up to clever storytelling by a bored but educated slave.

  “Incredible, aren’t they?” Skye asked Andy.

  “Yes. They are on parchment, not papyrus,” he said, looking closely at the scrolls. Of course he knew that already, but she looked impressed. “It is amazing they survived in such excellent condition,” he commented. He really was surprised. “Are you ready to start translating?”

  “Yes,” she said excitedly. “They have been x-rayed and the images scanned into the computer. We were afraid to damage them by unrolling them. But the images are clear enough to decipher. I already figured out their order. Well, it wasn’t so hard because whoever wrote them numbered them.” And it helped she was fluent in Latin. But she couldn’t let anyone know that. It would expose her secret.

  “Interesting,” Andy said. He had lived most of his life without technology, so all these techniques and gadgets of the last century still fascinated him.

  “All right then. I will leave you to it,” said Dr. Costa, walking over to the lab door. “Don’t stay up too late now. I expect to see you bright and early tomorrow.”

  “Good night, Dr. Costa,” Skye and Andy said in unison.

  “Good night,” he said, and then he closed the door quietly behind him.

  “You must be really dedicated to work all day at the ludus excavation and then come here at night,” said Andy as he wheeled a stool over to the large table.”

  “Yes,” she agreed as she turned on the computer and waited for it to load.

  “But you must not have much of a social life,” he said, smirking. He felt her get defensive.

  “I have a social life,” she insisted as if trying to convince herself as well.

  “How old are you?” he asked.

  “Twenty-six,” she replied. “Why? How old are you?” She felt herself becoming defensive. Was he picking on her?

  “Oh, you just seem so young to have a PhD,” he said. She speaks like her too, he thought.

  “I pushed myself through college to finish as fast as possible,” she explained. He seemed satisfied.

  “Is that intern your boyfriend?” Andy asked, trying to sound casual.

  “Marco? No,” said Skye. She didn’t want to say yes because she wasn’t sure what they were. She also said no because she wanted to seem available to Andy. Skye was shocked by her own behavior. She felt herself start to get annoyed with his questions. Not because he was being nosy, but because she’d only started seeing Marco a few days ago. Their relationship was based on lust so far. She was a little ashamed of herself.

  Andy looked at her intently. He was not happy that she was involved with someone. What could he do, though? He didn’t even know Skye. They had only just met. But she looked so much like Araceli that he already felt that she was destined to be his. He sensed her embarrassment, so he stopped asking about her personal life. He could tell she felt judged, and that was not his intention. He fished around in his bag for his digital voice recorder and put it on the table.

  “Are you married, dating…?” she asked curiously, looking over at his handsome profile as she sat down on a stool next to him. She pulled out her notebook and pencil.

  He got very serious. “I was involved with someone, but she died a very long time ago,” he replied. He looked over at her face. All he could see was Araceli. He was waiting for her to start laughing at him and tell him it was all a big joke, that she was Araceli and she had survived the blast and had been searching for him for centuries. It was a nice fantasy. But that is all it was: a fantasy. This is going to be difficult, he thought.

  Skye felt sad for him. “I’m sorry,” she said softly.

  He snapped out of it. “Well, like I said, it was a long time ago.”

  She got the hint. Back to work. She opened the file for the first scroll. Andy pretended to study the lines for a few minutes, though he could have read it to her word for word from memory. But he had a show to put on. He pressed the record button and began to read aloud.

  “I am Androcles. I was born in Rome in 50 AD. I was reborn in 79 AD. I am a soldier…, a slave, a gladiator…a vampire,” said Andy slowly.

  “Reborn? A vampire? Seriously?” said Skye in disbelief. “Is this a joke?” She leaned over to read the screen. She read the lines and was stunned to see he’d translated correctly.

  “But this was not always so,” he continued to read. “I joined the Roman legion when I was eighteen years old. I stayed in for ten years until I was severely wounded. After, I went back to Rome to recover. When I was mostly healed, I started working as a guard for the family of one of Emperor Vespasian’s cousins,” read Andy. He paused for a moment and pretended to read some more. He looked over at Skye, who was writing notes in her notebook. She felt him staring at her and looked up from her writing. His green eyes stayed fixed on hers, and he said, “That was when I met my beautiful Araceli.”

  Andy looked so serious that Skye almost believed he was telling her, not translating for her. Andy looked back at the screen and continued with his translation. “I was assigned as her personal bodyguard. It was love at first sight. She revealed to me later it was the same for her.”

  Andy paused again. Skye leaned over closer to Andy to read the screen again. He smells really good, she thought as she breathed deep. Whatever cologne he used was intoxicating.

  “I loved her more than life itself,” Andy said softly. Skye turned her face to find his only a few inches away. He gazed into her eyes, and she felt herself become drowsy. “She was the most precious thing to me. She was the air I breathed.” Skye felt strange. As she listened, hypnotized, to his voice, she found herself transported in her mind to ancient Rome. She could envision every detail as if she were actually there. She let his voice take her farther and farther away.

  Chapter Three

  ROME, 79 AD

  Marcus was a proud, powerful man, not to mention the cousin to Emperor Vespasian. He sat in a lar
ge chair at a table in the center of the room. There were guards all around the room and at the door as well. Androcles was in awe of the size and wealth of the estate. He stood before Marcus, waiting for his daughter to come. He had been assigned to guard her. Androcles knew he got this position because his general thought of him like a son and was concerned about how Androcles would be able to earn money after sustaining such a terrible injury in battle. And the general was good friends with Marcus. He imagined Marcus’s daughter was probably a spoiled, rich brat.

  Androcles looked around at the statues that adorned the room. There was a bust of Marcus next to a woman Androcles knew to be Marcus’s wife. Then there were smaller busts of several children. Mixed among the family members were statues of the gods and goddesses. Androcles felt a stirring in his chest and tried unsuccessfully to hold back a cough. Marcus looked up at him sharply, his dark eyes narrowed, and then returned to reading over the documents on his table.

  “I have a very willful child. I hope you are up to the challenge,” he muttered.

  “Yes, dominus,” said Androcles.

  Suddenly the large wooden doors burst open, and in glided a petite young woman of maybe twenty years old. She had striking blue eyes the color of the sky, fair skin, and wavy dark brown hair that had a hint of red in it. She walked delicately and gracefully across the floor. She wore a flowing short-sleeved stola in a deep green over a white tunic with gold braiding just above her gently curving hips. Her neck, ears, and arms were all adorned with gold jewelry. Androcles stared at the breathtaking young woman as she moved across the room. His heart was thumping in his chest. This was the girl he was going to guard? He could see why her father needed a guard for her. Men had to be itching at the chance to have her. Their eyes met briefly as she passed by. The way she looked at him made his stomach knot up. He watched her walk over to her father and bend down to kiss him on his graying head.