The Last Oracle

by Colvin, Delia

  “Camille, Mani needs you!” Daphne said with more urgency than Valeria thought her capable.

  Paolo stood and took a few steps to the edge of the screen. He weaved a bit and then grabbed the screen for support.

  “Is my Bella all right?” he asked.

  He looked so pitiful that Valeria could barely stand the ruse. The hurt on Daphne’s face was palpable when she stepped from the door and took him by the shoulder.

  “Baby, she isn’t your Bella anymore. She is Alex’s Valeria.” She supported him as it looked like he might fall over at any moment. Mani lifted a blood soaked towel onto a tray, leaving it in Paolo’s sight.

  “Yes, I know. She isn’t my Bella anymore,” he said sadly.

  “No, she is not. Come, we have to leave now,” Daphne said calmly.

  Paolo staggered a bit. “What is wrong with me?”

  “You drank too much wine,” Daphne said, as she continued to guide him out. Once they were in the doorway, Paolo grabbed the doorframe and turned.

  “I am sorry; I seem to have drunk too much wine.” Mani nodded toward him and then lifted another blood soaked towel. Paolo continued, “Mani, do you promise to take good care of my...Alex’s Bella, if I leave?”

  Mani looked up at Paolo and his face softened.

  “Yes, Paolo, I will take good care of her.”

  Paolo turned back around to head down the hall and Camille impatiently closed the door right behind them. All action froze as they all listened to the motion in the hallway. They heard a few steps and then Paolo said, “Once, long ago, she was my Isabella.”

  Daphne’s voice sounded softer than usual. “No, it only seemed that way—it’s easy to fool yourself, but they were never ours.”

  There was a thud followed by a drunken groan in the great room and Camille nodded.

  “Beautiful, you’re fine. Bear with us for a few minutes,” Alex said, and then ran to the window and opened it. He pulled in a stretcher from outside the window and carried it over to the bed, laying it next to Valeria. Camille unsnapped Valeria’s hospital gown and replaced it with a clean one; then she crinkled up the stained gown, and placed it blood side up in a laundry hamper. Mani snipped a container of blood and soaked the gown, then poured the remainder in a bowl and placed it on the tray with his instruments.

  Alex rolled Valeria toward him to transfer her onto the stretcher, and he paled when she cried out in pain as her leg twisted.

  “I’m sorry!” he said, still trying to gently adjust her legs onto the stretcher.

  Valeria’s head was spinning from the pain and she was certain she was going to black out. She looked up and thought she was seeing things. A woman wearing a hospital gown, with hair similar to Valeria’s, stood next to her. As soon as Valeria could focus, she realized it was Ava, wearing a wig. Ava gave Valeria a quick smile. Then Alex and Mani lifted Valeria toward the window as Camille changed the sheet. Ava lay down on the hospital bed and pulled the oxygen mask over her face.

  Outside, it was cold and Valeria shivered as she heard, “Easy does it, lass, we’ve got you.”

  “Lars, can you cover her feet?” Alex asked.

  She felt the blanket being carefully adjusted over her feet and then she was staring up at brilliant evening stars. Alex hopped out from the window and pulled the blankets around Valeria tightly, and then he kissed her forehead.

  “I’m sorry, beautiful, but I’m going to have to stay here for a while,” he whispered. “It shouldn’t be too much longer. I’ll be down as soon as I can.” Then he looked to Lars and Tavish, and said, “Please be gentle with her!”

  Valeria still couldn’t quite follow what was happening. She watched as Alex climbed back into the window and closed it. Then he blew her a kiss and went to Ava’s side, nodded, and took her hand.

  It was a painful journey through the twilight canopy along the wooded trail. Every step caused a myriad of pains shooting through her body. She hadn’t realized how sore she was until she felt the jiggling and jarring of the trail. She tried not to make any sound, wondering where they were going and concentrating on the extraordinary smells of the forest in the fall.

  “Are you all right, sweetheart?” Lars asked.

  All she could manage was, “Uh-huh.”

  They passed a clearing and she glanced over to see their beloved cottage burnt to the ground. A few pieces of Alex’s charred sculptures sat on the edge of the ashes. She felt the sadness well inside, until she saw the one thing that made it all right. Their ginkgo tree looked completely unmarred. She could see the golden leaves in the moonlight—no burnt branches! Her ginkgo tree had survived, and so had they!

  A few minutes later, she saw Mani’s home. Tavish and Lars laid her on the bed but this time she failed miserably at withholding a moan and she realized she was shaking.

  There was a roaring fire in the fireplace and the warmth seemed to calm her.

  “All right, Val, we need to roll you over to remove the stretcher.”

  “Can you give me a minute?” she whispered between the trembling. She wasn’t ready to move again. But she realized that it wouldn’t be easier in one minute or thirty. “Okay,” she said, as she tightened her jaw and drew in a deep breath.

  “It’ll be easier if you breathe through it,” Lars said. She kept her eyes closed and nodded. “One, two, three...” And in a single motion—and with a single cry from Valeria—Lars and Tavish removed the stretcher and she was on the bed. The whole experience had been painful and exhausting. She was certain that if she were more aware she would want to understand all that had happened. But now all she wanted to do was sleep.

  What she did understand was that the baby was all right and that, now, Paolo—and Kristiana—believed that there was no baby. They also thought they knew where Valeria was when, in fact, they did not.

  Lars brushed her arm. “As soon as Paolo is completely out—which shouldn’t be too long— Alex will be here and we’ll start mixing the mud.” Lars reached over and grabbed something; in the low light of the fire, Valeria couldn’t tell what it was. “This is not going to be the quietest location at Morgana, but it may very well be the safest for you now. I think it’s safe to say that you will need these with all of the immortals we might bring back.” Lars produced a set of earphones.

  “At least we’re hoping they come back,” Tavish added.

  “Yes…we hope,” Lars said.

  “How many do you expect?” Valeria whispered.

  “We don’t know. After Myrdd was assassinated, the oracles avoided the council for hundreds of years. There could be as many as ten.”

  “Tav is going to stay with you for a while,” Lars said, and Tavish’s mouth opened in a smile that would scare young children had she not known his heart.

  “Good,” she whispered.

  “I’m glad you’re all right sweetheart. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Lars said, and then he kissed her forehead and left.

  Tavish was sitting in a rocking chair by the fire.

  “I’ve been thinking…” He looked down at his hands. “I see you and the laddie and it has me thinking…perhaps it’s time for old Tav to settle down.”

  Tavish stared into the distance and she could see his sadness.

  “Have you ever been in love Tav?” she asked in a revered whisper.

  He shook his head slightly.

  “I highly recommend it.”

  He sat there without saying a word, his eyes transfixed out the window at the stars. Finally, he cleared his throat. “Achhh! Who am I trying to kid? I’m just too much man for one woman!”

  Valeria’s rib hurt as she tried not to laugh. Her whole body hurt from the ordeal tonight. She glanced around the room. This was the home that Alex had been raised in; she couldn’t overlook the significance of the evening.

  Within minutes, she felt herself drifting off. In her dreamy state, she suddenly heard the sweet, high-pitched giggle of a little girl and could see her older, more serious brother chasing her. Valeria heard t
he woman’s gentle voice, “Antonia, those are your brother’s arrows—not toys for you to tease him with. Now give them back to Alex!”

  The dark-haired child turned and handed the arrows to the boy with the dark blond hair.

  The mother’s long auburn hair flowed over her shoulders. Her complexion was creamy. But it was the kindness in her eyes that made Valeria dream of a loving mother. She wished that this was not a dream and that the child she once was and this little boy and girl could all curl upon the mother’s lap by the fire. Valeria felt tears of yearning form in her heart.

  “That’s a good girl, Antonia. Now give your brother a hug and ask his forgiveness.”

  “I love you, Alex. I’m sorry for being bad.” The little girl kissed the boy’s cheek. He softened, and then wiped his face in mock irritation.

  “That’s it. Now off to bed for both of you!” the mother said.

  Valeria yearned to see them more clearly. The woman’s warm voice was so inviting that she mourned the loss of a woman whom she had never met.

  The door swung wide open and a man stepped through. “Ahhh! My children!”

  “Papa!” They both cried out in excitement. Young Alex hugged his father around the waist while Antonia clung to his leg.

  “I had a sticker in my finger today, Papa,” Antonia said.

  The man muffed Alex’s hair and then lifted the little girl into his arms. “You did?” he asked, terribly concerned, although Valeria was certain that his entire way of life was entrenched in real decisions of life or death.

  Valeria liked the man, too. She felt a safety in his presence—similar to her feeling of being with Alex.

  “Yes, Papa, but Alex pulled it out for me.”

  “Alex is a good boy!” The man hugged the young girl while he pulled the boy into him. “Such a good boy!”

  Then it all went dark, although she still felt the warmth of the small room. Suddenly, she was somewhere else and there was a cold damp wall next to her.

  She was lost and wandering. On either side of her were walls curving in an elaborate labyrinth that didn’t seem to end. There was something she needed desperately to find. She increased her step and heard echoed footsteps behind her. She picked up her pace and so did the person following her.

  Then, she felt fingertips lovingly stroking her face. She knew that touch and a smile lit her face. Opening her eyes, she could just make out the shadow of Alex’s face inches from hers.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he whispered. “Did I ever tell you how much I adore you?”

  “Hey,” she said sleepily.

  “I’m sorry for all the drama earlier.” He looked toward the door. “Lars told me how painful the trip down here was for you. But I just couldn’t think of a better way to get you out of there and Doc insisted that you couldn’t travel any further for several weeks. I guess it is all working out. Kristiana would never expect that you were still at Morgana.”

  “Can you stay for a while?” she asked.

  “I can; Paolo seems to be down for the count.” He snickered.

  “Did you drug him?” she whispered.

  “Not me specifically,” he said, in a voice full of mischief. “Besides, I prefer to call it karma.”

  Valeria giggled and, this time, it didn’t seem to hurt. “Karma?”

  “Yes. You do know that he and Kristiana drugged me to near death many years ago.”

  “They did?”

  Alex laughed softly and brushed her hair back. “Of course. I would have never chosen another woman, except when I awoke in her bed naked—”

  “Naked?”

  Alex lifted a brow and nodded. “As in buck...” He smiled and then continued, “In any case, it seemed like the right thing to do.” He bit his lip. “Kristiana wants what she thinks she wants. I imagine that if I had ever loved her in return, she would have broken my heart as she did with so many others.”

  “Instead, she has spent her life in vengeance.”

  He pressed his lips together in thought. “I’ve had enough of Kristiana. Now I want to focus on my wife. Can I crawl in here with you?”

  “Please!” she said, as Alex stripped down to his boxers and crawled under the covers with her. “Is Paolo going to be all right?”

  “Oh, he will probably have one hell of a hangover.” Alex pursed his lips again. “I’d say he earned it.”

  “What will happen in the morning when he wakes up and we aren’t there?” she asked, and realized that her voice had no strength behind it.

  “We’ve cleared out the room. In the morning, Lars will tell Paolo that you went to the hospital and were released. He’ll assume that we went back into hiding. We thought about having an ambulance transport Ava, but without placing Paolo in the ambulance, we would be risking the lives of the ambulance workers.” Alex stroked her hair.

  “Daphne will have Paolo off Morgana by seven a.m.—earlier, if she can awaken him. We don’t want him stumbling across Myrdd or the others.”

  Valeria tried to move toward him and realized that every muscle in her body ached. It had been more than twenty-four hours since the crash. She had justified that the pregnancy was some special alteration of her body chemistry, but now she was forced to acknowledge, as Alex obviously already had, that she was not immortal.

  “Hopefully, the moaning from our friends will be gone, or quiet enough, that Paolo won’t be able to hear it from the house. Daphne will be in the mood for ’70s rock and roll—just in case. I must admit that the thought of Paolo’s headache and the radio blasting does give me a sense of wicked pleasure.”

  “You’ve earned it,” Valeria said sleepily, curling into Alex’s arms. “Thank you for keeping us safe.” She looked down and rubbed her belly.

  Alex kissed her forehead, and then they heard the first of the moaning. It sounded like something from a zombie film.

  His eyes lit up. “They’re here!” Then he reached over and gently pulled the headphones over her ears.

  CHAPTER 16

  When Valeria woke, Alex was gone. Caleb was there with his bigger than life smile. “About time you woke up! We were afraid you were going to sleep right through your own birthday!”

  “My birthday?” Valeria said feeling confused. “No, that’s tomorrow.”

  “You slept all day and all night!” Caleb said. “Alex had to go get his clothes and stuff and he asked me to stay with you.”

  Her face lit with the smile of someone in love, while she felt the wonderful cool of the mountains in the fall.

  The boy leaned his head back against the rail of the door. “Tavish let me go down to the moaning mud pile.” Caleb laughed. “It’s really cool,” he added.

  “Did they find Myrdd yet?” Valeria asked.

  “I don’t know. But I think there are a lot more oracles there than they thought. Alex is back,” he said, glancing at the door. “I have to get more stuff.”

  He pulled open a door and lifted a stack of blankets and sheets. Then the front door flew open and Alex joined them.

  “Good morning, beautiful!” Alex sat down next to Valeria. “We should celebrate today,” he said, but she could tell there was tension behind his words.

  It was her birthday. It had been just a year ago when she had first come here, still engaged to David. That was when she had found out the truth about herself and her history. It had been warmer last year, and they had enjoyed a Greek celebration on the back lawn to celebrate her special day. That was when she had fallen in love with their cottage, her new family, and Alex.

  “Um, I’m not really up to celebrating today. Besides, everyone’s busy, so from now on, I would like to celebrate a day later.”

  Alex nodded. “I’m going to make you an omelet and coffee.”

  “Don’t you need to help the others?”

  Alex’s smile was not quite natural. “No. It’s your birthday and I’m spending it with you.”

  She knew he was nervous about the anniversary of her curse. She was certain Doc was on call as well
.

  “Did they find Myrdd?” she asked, hiding the near constant ache in her ribs.

  “Yes, but he isn’t alert yet.”

  “It worked!” she shrieked, and then instantly regretted it as a sharp pain spread across her ribs.

  “Yes…” Then she saw the spark return to his eyes. “I do have a gift…well, it is kind of a gift. Knowing how you hate surprises, I thought I would include you in this one. I’ll show it to you later.”

  “If it has caffeine in it, and a bit of cream—by all means!” She laughed and, again, it hurt her ribs.

  “Coffee! Well, let me see if we can handle that right away.”

  He exited into the main room of the house and then peeked his head around the corner and shrugged. “You know, I don’t think you should be drinking coffee.”

  “Coffee. Now,” she deadpanned.

  “How about water-processed decaf?”

  “It’s my birthday and I want real coffee!” she whispered as loudly as she could, realizing that she sounded like a five-year-old having a temper tantrum. My God, what was happening to her? Married only months and turning into a demanding shrew. Fortunately, Alex just laughed.

  She heard the blender and knew he was also bringing her a strawberry-kale shake. Moments later, he presented the tray.

  “Thank you, Alex! I don’t know what made me sound so…bossy.”

  He laughed again and it lit the room in a golden glow. “I know—you’ve been caffeine deprived for nearly a week!” he said in pretended shock.

  She took a sip of coffee and moaned with pleasure. Alex went back to the kitchen, and a few minutes later, he returned with an omelet. Valeria realized that she had not eaten much since the accident, and before that, she’d been ill. She scarfed down the omelet even though she felt like she might explode. After she finished, and was happily sipping her coffee, he stood up.

  “You’re leaving?” she asked, disappointed.

  “I had to leave you for a few minutes this morning, but I’m not leaving you the rest of today.”

  “Good!”

  “So, uh…I have something. It’s, well, kind of a birthday present.” He walked into the living room and came back with a large cardboard tube. He pulled out something that looked like blueprints and spread it out on the bed in front of her.