“Does that mean you’ll be interested in more later?” Jennifer smiled, and Marcus felt himself starting to melt. This was crazy. He didn't love her anymore. He wondered for a moment if this is what Jacob had meant about old flames never really going out. He stood, backing away from her.
"This conversation's over." Marcus started toward the water, jumping off the giant boulder and heading through the sand.
“Are you leaving?” Jennifer called after him. Marcus turned a little as he walked.
“I don’t see any reason to stay. You’re trying to seduce me.” She didn't look to be denying it.
"I thought that's what you wanted," she said, her voice edging toward demure. Marcus let out a frustrated groan and headed up the beach. Jennifer grimaced and started after him. “I’m sorry. But when I came back, I figured that what we had was still in play." Marcus shook his head but kept walking.
"THIS . . . was never in play Jennifer. I already have a girlfriend. One that I love very much. I don't need a mistress. Besides, this all feels a little too surreal for me. I'm going back to reality." Jennifer didn't slow down. She quickened her pace, matching his path.
"I came back looking for the man I love. You said you’d be here waiting.” Marcus started down the beach again. This wasn’t the conversation he had intended to have.
“I said I couldn’t follow. And that’s what I meant. I can’t leave Littlefield. And I cannot leave my life. I told you this is who I am.” Jennifer caught up to him, but Marcus kept walking. “And I never said anything about things being the same. That’s some fantasy that you dreamed up.” Jennifer slowed for a second, watching him walk away.
“It’s the fantasy I want,” she said softly. Marcus slowed to a stop, cursing himself a moment. He looked back at her. Jennifer was looking at the sea, her eyes glistening with almost formed tears. She’d come all this way to start things up again.
“All I wanted was for you and I to be together. Your job-” she stopped. “Your faith was an easy excuse. I didn’t really care about all that. I got all sidetracked in other dreams, and I forgot the most important one.” Jennifer looked down at the sand and sniffed shortly. Marcus could feel himself becoming sorry for being angry.
“Life does that you know,” Marcus offered. Jennifer passed a hand through her hair, flipping her honey brown locks. Marcus looked away. He was staring.
“When I left, all I could think of was being back here with you. And this wasn’t what I expected.” Marcus felt an old twinge in that second. The old urge to hold her until she stopped hurting came back. But Marcus didn’t move. He didn’t dare try that. He wasn’t about to start down that road now.
“I’m sorry I can’t make things different.” He meant it as he said it. Jennifer didn’t look at him, but turned toward Strebor’s Rock, which was behind them now.
“We had our first kiss on that ugly old rock.” Jennifer’s voice stung Marcus with sad nostalgia. He remembered all too well. “You were so nervous. I thought you might just up and leave me there. But you took my hand and touched my face.” She stopped. Marcus looked away, not wanting to tempt his mind any further with those old images. The world was so different now. And he was moving on.
“Life goes on Jennifer. And you should too. Trust me. You’ll be all right.” It was a calloused statement. Marcus meant it to be. He couldn’t bring himself to do more. And doing more invited a whole different set of problems. Better she be mad at him now than the alternative.
“Maybe,” she said softly. Marcus looked up finally. What he saw, he didn’t expect.
“Jennifer, don’t move,” he said slowly. Jennifer looked at him like she wasn’t sure of what he was saying. Marcus put his hand on the hilt of his weapon and approached her slowly. For a second, she could almost believe he was going to do something she’d been dreaming of. But the look on his face was wrong.
“What?” she asked. Marcus grabbed her suddenly, pulling her away as the sand behind her surged forward. Marcus whipped up his blade, striking at the cascading dune. His aim was true, but the sand merely shifted beneath the steel. Marcus sheathed the sword quickly, figuring he didn't have any use for it against whatever this was. Jennifer stood from the beach and tried her best not to be frightened.
“This was a bad idea,” she said as she pulled herself in close against Marcus’s back. It was the first actual contact they’d had since she had come back to Littlefield. Marcus frowned at the distraction.
“The beach or the conversation?” he said dryly, looking for an escape route. But the sands seemed to be hedging up the way. No matter where Marcus turned, the dunes were rising to stop them.
"What is this?" Jennifer asked, shifting away from a rising dune. The air was becoming thick with dust as the dunes started to hem them in.
"Not sure. A Sand Specter maybe. I think someone may want to do one of us harm." Jennifer didn't look too sure of herself all of the sudden. She jumped a little closer to Marcus, avoiding what looked like a tentacle made of sand.
“You can get us out of this, right?” Marcus kept looking about, hoping for an answer.
“I’m working on it kiddo. Just stop talking for a second.” He needed to concentrate. He didn’t need her in his ear right now. A quick, almost wordless prayer filled his mind as the sands drew ever closer. He waited for only the barest of seconds for an answer, but found that the one he got wasn’t what he expected. His eyes saw a small blue stone sliding in and out of one of the rising dunes. He grimaced at the thought that crossed his mind suddenly.
“Well?” Jennifer asked, locking her hands around his waist. Marcus started moving. He pulled Jennifer’s hands apart and turned to face her. But his eyes remained locked on the stone as it tumbled about in the roiling earth.
“How long can you hold your breath?” he asked calmly. Jennifer’s face got a quizzical look.
“What? Why?” That’s when the sands shifted again. Marcus whipped up his cloak around them both with a flourish. There was a muffled scream underneath the surging earth. In a moment, the two both disappeared into the dunes. The whole of the beach was quiet and calm. Only the small waves of Ellen’s Landing seemed to make any noise. It was almost like no one had been there at all.
“MARCUS!” Ian called out, batting away tree branches as he headed for the beach. The landing opened up in front of him suddenly, and Ian looked around. The message he’d received from Marcus was brief, but it did tell Ian one thing. Marcus was in trouble.
“Ian?” Aiko said from down the beach. She hadn’t heard. Ian didn’t have time to explain. He started looking around. It had to be here somewhere. “What is going on?” Ian activated his Lacey and waited for a reading on Marcus’s last position. He had it in seconds.
“Over here!” Aiko followed, still unsure of what was happening. Ian ran for only a few steps, and then seemed to fall inexplicably into the dirt. He started shifting sand around with his hands, and Aiko could only watch as he searched around frantically for something she wasn’t aware of.
"What are you doing?" she asked, not seeing anything in the dusty earth.
“Searching," he said, not thinking at all about Aiko. "God let it be here,” he muttered. An instant later, his hand came across it. The sands shifted aside to reveal a small, smooth blue stone. He reached for it, and it moved. Ian grimaced as he reached for it again. But the stone seemed to have a mind of its own, doing its best to preserve its freedom.
“Come on!” Ian said through gritted teeth. He feinted at it, letting the rock jump. When it did, he pounced on it. The stone wasn’t much bigger than a handball. Ian felt it trying to escape his grasp, and clamped his other hand over it. The sand seemed to rise as he stood, trying to reclaim the small stone.
“What is that?” Aiko asked, her tone one of bewilderment. She wasn’t sure what Ian wanted with a blue rock.
“Now let’s see if I can remember how Marcus does this.” Ian closed his eyes and Aiko saw him tense. When he opened them again, he pressed his hands
together, and the rock turned to powder. Ian sagged a little at the effort, opening his hand and letting the blue dust filter through his fingers.
“What just happened?” Aiko asked. As if on cue, the sand beside them parted suddenly. Two bodies lay on the ground there, covered in a cloak. The cloak whipped aside suddenly, and Marcus coughed out a groan.
“Marcus! What the hell was that?” Marcus didn’t pay him any mind yet. He looked at Jennifer, who was lying on the sand beside him. He touched her shoulder, but he didn’t get any response.
“Jennifer?” Her eyes were closed. She wasn’t answering. “Jennifer!” Marcus’s voice rung of concern. He put a hand to her mouth. “She’s not breathing.” Marcus moved quickly. He was on his knees beside her in a second, shaking the sand from himself as he prepared.
“What are you doing?” Marcus didn’t answer Aiko’s question. He didn’t have time. His hand reached behind Jennifer’s head, tilting her face slightly. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, quickly blowing air into her lungs.
“Come on kiddo,” he whispered, trying to remember his training. This wasn’t CPR. This was artificial respiration. Mouth-to-mouth. Marcus hadn’t failed in his training for this, but his nerves had made it impossible to pass easily. He grabbed Jennifer’s ankles, bending her until her knees were pressed to her chest. He did it again in an attempt to make her body squeeze her diaphragm, and leaned in to give her more air.
Ian looked around, noticing the press they’d been so skillfully deflecting. They were all surrounding the scene, flashbulbs going off, but no questions being asked. Even the usually unflappable Simon Houghton was without words. This wasn’t the time for questions.
“Is she gonna be okay?” someone asked Ian. He didn’t answer.
“Come on!” Marcus said, his face contorted with grief. Aiko could see the tears forming on his face. Marcus wasn’t fond of loss. He hated it. He leaned in again and gave her more air. Jennifer’s chest rose and then fell. Marcus gave her more. Ignoring the flashbulbs and the silence. He would save her. He promised he would. He would keep his promise.
He moved back to her ankles before hearing a throaty cough. His face lit up suddenly. She was alive. He shook himself and remembered his training, turning her on her side and letting her cough out the sand she’d inhaled.
A relieved sigh passed through the crowd on the beach, and the flashbulbs ignited anew. Marcus waited for Jennifer to regain her regular breathing, and then pulled her close to him. He was so ecstatic he almost couldn’t think. She was alive.
“We cannot stay here,” Aiko said, thinking of the situation. Marcus nodded, scooping Jennifer up in his arms and heading for the walking path back toward Littlefield.
Chapter 16
A Lesson in Patience
Rebekah walked the halls of Littlefield Memorial Hospital, her face set with concern. She wasn't in a good mood. The press had dogged her with questions at the north door, and she hadn't bothered to answer. She didn't know what to tell them. This whole situation was news to her. But Jennifer Burton was resting on the third floor, having been held over for observation. And Rebekah intended to see her today.
She hated this place. As a rule, she hated hospitals. Something about being in a place that smelled of strong solvents and bleaches that made her stomach turn. She'd only ever been in a hospital once, and that had been for a concussion during a training session. Still, she remembered all the sounds of the machinery around her. And the wailing of the sick boy down the corridor had never fully left her memory. Being in the hospital now was not improving her mood.
The nurse at the desk had told her that Jennifer wasn't taking any visitors, but she didn't care. The prissy little drama queen's gonna get one anyway, she thought. It was the only lucid thought she'd had since exiting the elevator. After a quick-paced turn around a small corner and the physical dismissal of a large-framed orderly, Rebekah found the room and opened the door without knocking.
“Who the-” a voice said behind the curtain. Rebekah didn't recognize it. It was definitely female, but it wasn't someone she'd heard before. She took two steps into the room, pulled aside the curtain and sneered.
"I told you to stay away from him," Rebekah said, her voice biting with menace. Jennifer was the only person there. She sat back in her bed, obviously startled by the arrival of the Norikan Princess. Rebekah glanced around the room. She had to have imagined Jennifer's voice being different. She was the only one here.
"You also told me to stay away from you. Yet here you are, looking out for my well-being. I’m touched. Truly." Rebekah didn't have a good comeback for that. Jennifer was nothing if not disarming. You’re touched all right, she thought. "I assumed Marcus told you what happened." Rebekah shook her head.
"He's busy reporting the incident to the Council. Ian filled me in." Jennifer nodded, setting her head back on the high-set pillow behind her.
"And you're upset because . . .?" Rebekah blanched.
"You aren't a part of his life anymore. Why can't you leave him alone?" Jennifer sighed with an almost Zen-like indifference. Rebekah could almost swear the room was getting colder.
"He's been mine for a very long time now. We're meant to be. You . . . well, you just don't measure up. In the end, you're more of a hiccup than a romance. Marcus will belch and be done with you soon enough." Rebekah clenched her fist. This was getting her nowhere fast. "In the end, Marcus will choose me, because I know something about him that you can't possibly understand."
"Really. Stun me." Jennifer smiled. Rebekah could see a serpent in her eyes.
"He'll choose me because in the end, Marcus wants a woman to love. Not a dangerous, vindictive, twiggy, cart wheeling tomboy who is only famous by birth. You have no talents that a man could want, and no beauty that cannot be stripped away. And in the end, I will do things for him that you could not and would not even attempt. He doesn't want you. And he never will." Rebekah felt her blood pressure rising. She loosened up her hand and took a breath.
"I don't know what the hell this is, but I'm going to find out. And you will be leaving, very soon." Rebekah opened the door.
"Not without Marcus I won't." Rebekah didn't care about hospital rules as she slammed the door shut. The entire floor seemed to rattle as she stomped away toward the elevators.
"She's really upset," Ian said soberly. Marcus frowned as the two pushed their way through the revolving doors of the hospitals south entrance. The foyer wasn’t very full at all, and things seemed fairly normal at the moment. Marcus didn’t feel any better about it, but knowing the hospital wasn’t in crisis made things a little simpler.
"She should be," he said, looking up at the statue of Sir Marna, the healer. The kneeling paladin was tending to some unknown soul who needed help. It was a symbol for all paladins to learn. "Why'd you tell her anyway?” Ian shrugged.
“Didn't think it'd be a problem.” Marcus scowled at him. “Right. Think harder.”
“Looks like we may be just in time. The hospital's not in condition blue,” Marcus said. The two headed for the elevators as quickly as they could.
"Then Rebekah hasn't killed her yet." Marcus didn’t bother to respond. Ian wasn’t wrong, however. Marcus pushed the button to call for the elevator and stood back. “What happened back there exactly?” Ian asked finally.
“I told you what happened.” Marcus said quietly, not looking at his pupil. Ian blinked once, shaking his head.
“I don’t mean about the sand specter.” Marcus let his shoulders droop just a little. “What happened with the ex?” Marcus rounded himself up and tried not to look too small.
“We were having an argument. I stood up to leave.” Marcus wrinkled his brow as he tried to remember what had happened. “She tried to kiss me up on Strebor’s Rock.” Ian watched his face.
“Why is that weird?” Marcus rubbed his eyes for a second, trying to clear his thoughts.
“Because, it felt like it’d happened before. But I remember all the times we’ve b
een together on that rock, and I know for sure that Jennifer had never approached me like that before.” Ian thought about it for a moment. Marcus wasn’t one to make things up.
“Did you dream it?” Marcus shook his head.
“I dreamed of Jennifer’s arrival in Littlefield. I would’ve remembered this in the dream. Or any other for that matter. No. This’s something else.” The familiar ping of the elevator’s arrival ended their conversation. Marcus straightened up slightly and watched as the door pushed aside, and a very irate Rebekah Norik bulled past them.
“Rebekah?” Ian asked. She walked as though she couldn’t hear them. The two started after her.
“Rebekah!” Marcus said, starting to jog. Rebekah went through the revolving doors and out of the hospital. The south entrance was devoid of press, so Rebekah didn’t have to field any stupid questions. Marcus stepped through the doors and double-timed after her, grabbing her by the arm and slowing her walk.
“WHAT!” she snapped, spinning around to face him. Marcus put his hands up in surrender. He watched her face as it changed from red-faced hysteria and rage to an almost confused horror.
“You okay?” Marcus asked after a moment’s quiet. Rebekah looked around for a moment, embarrassed suddenly by her uncontrolled outburst and nodded.
“Just really angry I guess,” she said tiredly.
“No kidding.” Ian agreed. Neither one of them paid him any mind. Marcus put his arms around Rebekah and hugged her close for a moment. She felt her anger starting to melt away as she pressed her head into Marcus’s shoulder.
“You spoke to Jennifer then,” Marcus said soberly. Rebekah nodded, composing herself.
“More like, I walked into the hospital room and threatened her. She insulted me and I stormed out.” It was hard to remember what it was she’d felt in that moment. Her vision had been nearly red with rage.
“Good thing the press wasn’t there then,” Ian offered. Marcus smirked a little.
“Something weird is going on Marcus. I never get that angry.” The three started walking toward the transit station, hoping to catch a rail car back to the campus.
The Paladin Archives Book Two The Withering Falseblade Page 28
