Eternal Flame - Book 6 (The Ruby Ring Saga) Read online

  “What are you saying?” she asked.

  “I have to leave soon, Mom, for our own good. We’re going back to Tastia, and we’re gonna take Victor’s kingdom back from Ethano.”

  “Then we’ll go with you,” she said. “I won’t miss out on my grandchild’s precious years.”

  “Honey,” my dad chimed in, “we’re getting old. We’re not immortal, and we don’t have a lot of time left. We should spend it with our daughters, grandchild, and future grandchildren. We lived without you before, and we were miserable. We won’t do it again.”

  “But you’ll be giving up everything,” I said.

  “I don’t care. Besides, who wouldn’t want to retire in a fancy castle? Sure beats sitting around at the lodge talking about our glory days.”

  “Retire? Dad, you love your job.”

  “I love you girls more, and even Liz isn’t happy here. This isn’t her world anymore, and it’s not yours either. We want to be wherever you are.”

  “He’s right, sweetheart,” Mom said, nodding. “We want to go with you when you leave.”

  “But you’ll lose the house,” Liz said, “and I know how much you love that place.”

  “Houses come and go, dear, but I will be so miserable if I stay here, spending my latter years in a rocking chair, with no grandchildren to rock and spoil. And who will I spoil with my famous chocolate chip cookies?”

  My dad nodded in approval.

  She continued, “Please don’t condemn me to a life of bitter loneliness. I’d rather sit in the back yard of the castle and watch my grandkids play ball.”

  I hugged my mom. “It will be so great to be together, Mom, but it’s also going to be very dangerous.”

  “We will protect our loved ones,” Victor said. “Until the war is won, I know a safe place where they can stay.”

  “Yes, we’ll keep them safe,” Charles said.

  “Very well,” I said, believing him wholeheartedly. “I have to repay the man who saved my life, but then we’re leaving this world forever, and we’re never coming back.”

  “I agree,” Liz said. “I miss the castle and our kingdom. Besides, they really need me there. I’m nothing here, in this world. I can’t do anything but rack up credit card bills. In Dornia, I’m a princess, and I can help by spreading my wealth around.”

  I knew how much my sister cared about her kingdom. She could be shallow and maybe a little selfish at times, but deep down, she had a heart of gold. She was a compassionate person under all that lip gloss, and I could see that she had a longing to help her people as she had done before. She loved her life in Dornia and was happy until I intruded in her life and broke her cover. She even stayed when I planned to leave. I thought she would change her mind and come with me, but when she said a tearful goodbye to me at the portal, I knew she wasn’t going to, even if it meant never seeing her family again. Home is where the heart is, I thought, and Liz’s heart is in Dornia.

  Chapter 9

  We talked for hours, and I told my family all about the island and Alex’s birth.

  At nightfall, everyone settled in and went to bed after an eventful day. I fed Alexander and put him in the bassinet next to my bed. He went right to sleep, so I crawled into bed myself, exhausted and relieved and hoping for happier dreams.

  Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

  I threw on some shorts and a tank-top and followed Victor down the stairs. We cautiously opened the door, and I smiled. “Jackson!” I said, hugging him. I was so thankful for everything he’d done for us that I couldn’t let go. He had given me a second chance at life, and I had no idea how to repay someone for that.

  He said nothing and smiled back at me.

  “Thank you,” I said, my eyes filling with tears. “I’m forever in your debt. Alex is sleeping, but would you like to see him?”

  “Tomorrow, when he’s awake.” He turned to Victor and shook his hand. “I really just came to check on Sarah, to make sure she’s okay after being healed by the eternal bloom,” Jackson said.

  I smiled. “I’m alive and very happy. I can’t thank you enough for what you did for our family. We’ll never forget it.”

  “Yes, we are very grateful,” Victor said.

  “We lived up to our part of the bargain. Now you must live up to yours.”

  “And we intend to,” I said.

  “There’s been...talk.”

  “Talk?”

  “Yes. About you leaving.”

  “Are you spying on us?” I whispered, shocked.

  “Not intentionally. My men overheard you discussing your plans with your family.”

  I wasn’t sure if he was telling me the truth; I was rather certain the eavesdropping was intentional. “I will repay my debt before I leave. I assure you of that. I owe you everything, Jackson.”

  “That’s good to know.”

  “I am only alive because of you. I would never bail. I’m not that kind of person.”

  “Good. It would be a shame to leave the blue-ringed immortals here in your home world, to keep killing humans as food.”

  “I’ll feel better knowing that they’ll finally be stopped. If opening the Box of Shadain is what we have to do to stop it, then I’m all for it. But Victor and I have more questions.”

  “Sarah...”

  “Yes?”

  “I had a vision. If you go home, you’ll be slaughtered. I’ve seen it, with my own eyes. Ethano will take your son and raise him as his own. The boy will never know the truth.”

  A deep sadness overcame me as his words dashed my hopes of living happily with my baby and my family in Tastia. “So if we go back, we’ll be back to square one? Are you sure?”

  Victor gripped my hands and looked at me sadly.

  “I need to have a vision, but I haven’t had one in a while,” I said.

  “You’re still healing.”

  “I know, but I just want to see... Damn it. Why can’t this be simpler?”

  Victor turned to Jackson and looked at him skeptically. “How do we know you’re not making this up to keep us from leaving?”

  “I wouldn’t lie about something this serious,” Jackson said. “I think you are good people, and I wanted to warn you. What good would it do for me to save Sarah’s life, only to knowingly let her go to her death?”

  “He’s right, Victor,” I said quietly. “He could have just let us go, but he didn’t.”

  “According to my visions, you won’t get your kingdom back. You will only...lose your heads,” Jackson said sternly.

  Victor’s jaw set, and I knew his rage had been triggered; I could feel it spreading to every inch in my body. It was strange to share his emotions.

  “I will not listen to this rubbish!” Victor roared.

  “Victor, stop,” I pleaded. “He saved our lives, and you shouldn’t talk to him that way.” I looked at Jackson. “Please accept our apologies. Victor is used to being in charge, and he wants his throne back.”

  Jackson blinked. “If you go back there, you will both die, and your son will be raised by a monster. Is that the kind of life you want for your heir, Victor?”

  “You will say anything to convince us to stay,” Victor retorted. “I am not sure of your motives, but I don’t believe in this so-called vision of yours, and you have no proof.”

  “I only speak the truth, as painful as it is.”

  “You could join me then,” Victor said. “If your army joins ours, we will have the advantage. Every immortal in my world will be paralyzed by your blue-ringed army. Without their powers, they will be helpless, and we could easily sweep in and demolish them.”

  “It is not our fight, Victor.”

  “Yet, you expect me to fight your battles and join you.”

  “This was once Sarah’s world. I assumed you would stay here, to help her home world get back on track.”

  “No! We are leaving the very second we pay our debt to you,” Victor said emphatically, “and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

>   Before Jackson could say another word, Victor stormed off to take one of his solitary walks. I knew he’d be gone for a while, because he was obviously quite worked up.

  “I have a newborn to take care of,” I said, looking at Jackson. “I’m not the adventurous woman I once was. I have obligations and responsibilities now.”

  “Yet you feel no obligation toward your people?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Then stay and help us make this world a better place.”

  “I have lots of ideas to make this place better,” Liz said, walking downstairs, dressed in a flashy pink robe.

  I hadn’t realized we were so loud. “Liz? Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

  “Where’s your hubby? Going on one of his famous pissed-off walks?” she asked.

  “He’ll cool down,” I responded.

  “I was born in this world, too, and I hate what the blue-ringed immortals are doing,” she said to Jackson. “Preying on weak humans is despicable. I say we take them down, rid the world of these pests, then go back home. We can leave the world in Jackson’s capable hands. He’s a fair, just man, and I knew he won’t hurt humans.”

  He glanced at her. “Never,” he said. “The rebels and I fight for a better world, one in which all races can live in peace, without fear of death.”

  “Well, for starters, why don’t you fill me in on this mysterious box of yours?” Liz said. “Also, I’d love to know more about the leaders of the blue-ringed immortals.”

  “Our leader is named Kyle. He’s a ruthless tyrant and murders relentlessly, as he sees fit. He killed my wife when he found out about our secret marriage, sliced her throat from ear to ear. Humans don’t even live long, so I don’t know why he couldn’t afford me the thirty or forty years of happiness I would have had with her.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she said.

  “I will see my wife avenged. Kyle Lions and his minions will go down in flames. I guarantee it.”

  There was a moment of silence.

  “I’m sorry about Samantha,” Liz said. “Sarah told me.”

  “Thank you, Liz.” He sighed, then looked at her. “I sense you have questions.”

  “Yes. Sarah told us about the ancient box that will cure everyone. How old is this box? How does it work? And will we all lose our powers if it’s opened?”

  “Come to one of our meetings, and I will fill you in.”

  “When and where?” she asked.

  “I can’t tell you where, but I can have a car pick you up next week.”

  “That’d be wonderful,” she said.

  “I’ll call you with more details.”

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  “Very well. Goodnight,” he said, then turned and left in a blur, the typical showy immortal exit.

  “I’m dying to know about that box and its origins,” I said. “He’s always so secretive about it...and everything.”

  “Well, we’ve been invited to their private party, so now we’ll get our chance.” She sighed. “I’m really worried about us losing our powers if that box is opened. I mean, I want to help them, but I don’t want to be powerless either.”

  “The rebel on the island seemed to think there was a way around it for the rebels. So we’ll just follow their lead.”

  “What if Jackson won’t let us in on their little secret?”

  “Let’s talk to him and find out what the heck is going on. Because if I’m helping them, then I deserve to keep my powers, as well as my family. It’s the only way to defeat Ethano.”

  She gave me a fist bump. “Agreed.”

  Chapter 10

  A few days later, an immortal picked us all up and drove us somewhere far away. We were all curious about the mysterious box, especially because Jackson was always so vague. I was especially curious, since I was the one who had to open the box; I hoped it wouldn’t turn out like the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

  Hours and hours later, Jackson finally dropped us off in a forest. Another immortal led us deep into the wilderness, to a huge, ancient temple wrapped in vines, a perfect venue for a secret rendezvous; they couldn’t risk the other immortals finding them.

  Inside the huge sanctuary, there were not many gathered there, and I found that odd. I glanced up nervously at Victor. “Something’s off.”

  “You’re right, my love. I think we should go,” he said, placing a protective arm around me.

  “Are you kidding? I’m car sick from that long ride, and I’m sure as heck not walking back,” Liz said. “We didn’t come all this way to go home without answers.”

  Charles nodded. “I agree. Jackson has been very vague. I want to know what’s going on. We came to this meeting to listen to his take on the situation, but I also came to get straight answers.”

  Liz looked at me. “Jackson has been nothing but kind to you. He saved your life, for goodness sake. Give the man a chance to explain everything.”

  “I’m sorry I’m so jumpy,” I said, “but I just can’t take any chances. I have a son who needs me. I have to be careful.”

  “Yet you want to go back to Tastia and fight Ethano’s army,” she retorted.

  “I’d rather die fighting for freedom than for the blue-ringed immortals,” I said.

  “I know we have a love/hate relationship with Jackson, but just give the guy a chance and hear him out, sis.”

  I shuddered. “I know, but look at this place. It reminds me of when Ethano tried to sacrifice us in that temple. It’s giving me the creeps.”

  “Yeah, I gotta admit that thought did cross my mind, but if Jackson wanted to sacrifice us, he coulda done it ages ago.”

  “So you still don’t trust me,” Jackson said, walking in. He held an ancient, leather-bound book. He flipped to a page in the middle and laid the book down on the table. “That is the mark you wear.”

  “The Mark of Lanera?” I asked.

  “Yes. But only my kind can see it.”

  “Is it a flower?”

  “It’s called the Flower of Life and contains the patterns of creation as they emerged from the great void. It’s the mark we will activate.”

  “I’ve heard your men call the mark different names,” Liz said. “Which one is it?”

  He pointed to four different names. “It’s called the Mark of Tantara, the Mark of Lanera, or the Mark of Lanter. But it’s all the same thing.”

  “Yes, I’ve heard it used quite a number of different ways. I wasn’t sure which one was right.”

  “So let’s just stick with the Mark of Lanera,” I said. “So we don’t get confused.”

  “Agreed,” Jackson said. “There are other translations as well but I won’t bog you down with every single interpretation.”

  I stared down at the page. The flower of life was a geometrical shape composed of multiple evenly-spaced, overlapping circles arranged in a flower-like pattern. The six fold symmetry was kind of cool and it reminded me of a hexagon.

  I pointed to the picture. “That’s what’s on me?”

  “Yes.”

  I touched my chest where Ethano had burned me. “It looked different.”

  “You didn’t see the final product because it was invisible to your kind and humans.”

  “Interesting.”

  “It’s a very powerful mark and was able to break your bond with Victor,” Jackson said. “Ethano was clueless when he stamped you. He was powerful enough to give you the mark because of his mother’s bloodline. Nobody else could have given it to you. When I saw you had it, I couldn’t let the other immortals with me know.”

  “Because you wanted Sarah for yourself,” Liz said.

  “Because I knew she could save our world. So I created the distraction in the store so she could get away. Then I found out she was dying. She’d never make it to the designated days when the stars were aligned.”

  “So you searched the ancient texts for a cure,” Victor said.

  “Yes. But the immortals discovered her mark on the mountain
. This mark can do more than you could ever imagine. It can do many great things and some of them wanted to experiment with Sarah. The doctor fought them because he wanted Sarah only for experiments to cure the virus. There was a leak in my organization about the box and that Sarah would open it. Now the immortals wanted her kept away from that box at all costs. It’s why they chased her to the island. They figured she’d be vulnerable since she was dying. They wanted her back in the lab before her death so they could run a few more experiments. Then they would let her have the baby and watch her die. They’d experiment on the baby and then let Alexander die too. Even if the eternal bloom healed Sarah, they still would’ve kidnapped her. They would have kept her alive for a few experiments and then exterminated her.”

  Rage consumed Victor and I. I could feel how upset he was. He wrapped his arm around me.

  “So should we get on with this?” Jackson asked.

  “Not much of a crowd here for this meeting of yours,” I said, letting out a long breath. “Where is everyone?”

  “Yes, I know. This is a private meeting.”

  “We want more answers about activating Sarah’s mark,” Liz said.

  “And I am going to give them to you.”

  “You can start anytime,” I said.

  He smiled. “Tonight, the stars are aligned with The Majory.”

  “And what does that mean?” I asked.

  “It means we will activate your mark tonight.”

  “The mark you claim Sarah wears?” Charles asked, skeptically.

  “Yes, the Mark of Lanera.”

  Victor stepped forward. “You are not going to touch my wife! I knew better than to trust you. You brought us here on false pretense, promising answers, yet you are a deceiver once again. How very typical of you!”

  “If that was the case, Victor, I could’ve brought her here without any of you,” he said snidely.

  “So why are we all here?” Liz demanded.

  “Because I knew this was an opportunity none of you would refuse.”

  Liz placed her hands on her hips. “Look, I’m in no mood for the Twilight Zone. Just tell us why we’re here...and please consider making sense!”