Aris Reigns (17 page)

Shocked by the unexpected verbal attack and the truth that had just been thrown at her, a truth she had been avoiding for months, Sarah picked up one of the empty goblets left on the table and stared into the thick, red liquid pooling in the bottom. Kitsuko's words had been cruel and selfish, yet she was right. In her present state, Sarah would never be a mate for Aris. She was nothing more than a huge weight hanging from his shoulders. Tears pooled in her eyes as she thought of him going off to war and leaving her behind, helpless and useless, unable to be by his side.

The clanging noises in the enormous cavern were loud, metal on metal, as the Immortal troops thrust their blades into solid steel mannequins to prepare them for the impact of their daggers against the rock-hard chests of the Spanish vampires. The sounds echoed off the stone walls and reverberated harshly in the ultra-sensitive ears of the undead, yet they continued their drills without ceasing. Aris and Richard stood to one side as they watched Gabriela work with a new
arrival, a tall handsome male who lived a human life above ground. Like so many others who chose to live in human society, he rallied at the first call to stand and fight for his society and his Queen.

Richard spoke. “Queen Mariska has sent some of her Council to meet with DeMarco. She wants to discuss a treaty. Aris, we must move quickly. If they come to terms, the Queen and her troops will return to DeMarco. If our Immortals are there in the forest that surrounds the castle, waiting for her, we will take them all by surprise. It will be an advantage beyond words. They will have no time to organize. There will be two armies without cohesion. We will surely overcome the enemy.”

“Never think that it will be easy, Richard. And, we will lose some of our people. They will die at the hands of the miserable vampires of Spain.” Aris' tone was somber as he spoke.

Richard spoke softly, almost a whisper. “What must be will be. Without the battle, our world and the world above ground will be devastated. Those who will be lost give their existence courageously, without fear.”

“Richard, our Immortals have never experienced battle. They have no idea of the horrors of watching their friends die around them, the remorse for dead comrades, and the self-recrimination because they have been left alive. This single battle will change our society for all eternity.” He watched as Gabriela corrected the newcomers, working tirelessly toward proficiency in weaponry.

Richard stood alone, the pavilion dark, quiet and empty except for him. Hearing the sound of the heavy door opening, he turned to find Sebastian searching for him in the gloom. As he touched the control panel on the wall, a soft morning light filled the room.

“Ah Richard. I hoped to find you alone.” The two friends found
seats on the steps leading to the training floor. “I am concerned about Aris.”

“How so?”

“He worries about Sarah constantly. I understand his feelings for her, but I fear his thoughts for her stand in the way of our troop displacement. We must travel soon. Councilors of both Mariska and DeMarco are meeting to discuss reconciliation. We must move. Time is of the essence.”

“Sebastian, I know he has reservations about leaving her, but I do not believe that would stand in his way as a general. When he is sure we are ready, he will give the command to travel.”

“I only hope you are right. We have no time for his love to stand in the way of our victory.”

“Be at ease, my friend. Aris knows his duty and he will lead us to triumph when the time is right.”

“I hope what you say is true.”

“Come, Sebastian, a goblet or two and you will find peace. Aris is our General and we must stand behind him.”

“Of that, I am more than willing as long as he is moving forward, not standing still.”

Richard threw his arm around the shoulder of his friend as he led him from the pavilion and into town.

CHAPTER 23

A
ris and Sarah were to meet Richard and Gabriela for an evening together. Aris had agreed after much deliberation to take her to a Sanguinaria, a blood tavern. He worried she would be disgusted by seeing the Immortals partake of their sacred drink.

Jane told Sarah about the taverns as she was describing life below ground to her human friend. Sarah tried not to think about it, but she knew the drinking of blood would be a basic part of her existence if she chose to change. When Jane explained more fully to her the blood the Immortals drank in the twenty-first century was a synthetic created by Queen Akira and her alchemy, Sarah felt she might accept it more easily. After the Queen came to cherish the human race as having intrinsic value and not simply a herd for feeding upon as she first thought, she spent centuries working with the scientists to create a substance in place of human blood that would satisfy her Immortals. Sarah knew that if she was going to accept the Immortal life, she would have to accept all of it with her eyes wide open. She held tight to Aris' hand as they approached Richard and Gabriela. The couple was sitting at an outside table. She noticed immediately the pewter goblets in their hands. She had always known logically that they were vastly different from her, yet this was the first time she was confronted openly with their most disturbing difference.

“Are you sure you are going to be alright with this?” Aris worried that all of Sarah's bravado would disappear when she saw her friends drink blood, synthetic or not.

“Well, we're going to find out right now, aren't we?”

Richard rose to hug Sarah and seat her next to Gabriela. Soft chamber music played by a string quartet could be heard coming from the open door and windows of the tavern. An attractive young serving man approached their table with two additional goblets.

“One only.” Aris spoke quickly, taking the cup from the server and motioning him away. “Please bring a glass of water.”

Sarah thought of the many times in the past Aris sat with her friends in Chicago with an untouched glass of water before him as the humans drank wine. Here, their roles were reversed. However, this time the “wine” the Immortals drank was something much richer.

The three vampires sat uneasily at the table. None wanted to be the first to drink in front of Sarah, but each knew if she was to accept them fully, she must see them as they truly were. Gabriela, knowing Sarah's reaction to their drinking blood would be important in her decision to change, was the first. She raised her goblet toward Sarah as she spoke. “To our friend, companion and sister.” She tipped the goblet to her lips and drank. The men followed suit. When Aris placed his cup on the table, a tiny red drop rested at the corner of his mouth. Sarah reached to wipe it away then held her finger to his lips. As his soft tongue licked her finger, she shivered.

Cuddled alone in the palace Aris had created for her below ground, safe in her bed, Sarah thought about her evening. While she missed him, wishing he could be with her instead of drilling with the army, she was glad for a moment alone with her thoughts. She marveled at her complete acceptance of the Immortals' existence,
their way of life. Or way of death. Which was it? Her logical mind interrupted, spoke loudly. “
You are a human. What is wrong with you? How can you contemplate becoming one of them?
”

She had no answers to that question. Nor did she need any. She knew, after their evening at the blood tavern, without any shadow of a doubt, exactly what she wanted. She wanted to become one with this exceptional society, to learn all they knew, to discover and live in a new, a better world. She wanted to live in harmony with these amazing beings. She wanted to stand with them against the Spanish coven, against all adversity. She wanted to love Aris, not just with her heart, but with her soul, with her body, to be able to free the heat and passion she felt that she held back from him, to be with him for all eternity. She knew, without a single doubt or fear, she desired to become an Immortal, not for Aris, but for herself. Kitsuko would find her a very willing adversary for his love.

At complete peace with her decision, she fell asleep with a smile on her lips.

Sarah was out of bed and dressed before Jane appeared with her breakfast tray. She ate leisurely, telling Jane of her experience the previous evening in the blood tavern. Yet she kept secret her decision to change. Aris would be the first she would tell and as soon as possible. She wanted to begin the three day ordeal so she could be ready for the vampire war in Spain. She wouldn't allow Aris to leave without her and the time was short before his departure.

“Sarah, do you think we could do another session this morning? Is it too soon after the first one?”

“No, it isn't too soon. Let's do it.” She moved the tray aside, and sat on the chair next to the sofa. “Here, lie down and get comfortable.”

Jane rested on the sofa, the white wolf curled on the floor next to her. Sarah took out her notebook and pen. “Are you ready to begin?”

“Yes.” Jane closed her eyes, sighing softly.