Aris Returns (10 page)

Stumbling upon the tent of Alexander through the night mist, I hurried toward the
opening. The guard recognized me, greeting me with surprise. He told me they all thought
I was killed in battle. He said Alexander and his retinue would be overjoyed to know
I lived.

Murmuring a brief thanks, I moved aside the entrance flap, stepping though the opening
into the warm, dry shelter of my commander.

He sat on the edge of the pallet he used for sleeping, looking up as he heard me enter.
His surprise and delight showed on his face as he stood to embrace me. As he wrapped
his arms around me, he stiffened. He knew I was changed. He, too, had heard the campfire
stories. He stepped back from me as if I were poison. He wrapped his arms around himself
as protection from what I had become.

I waited in the light of the candles. It seemed an eternity before he finally lifted
his eyes. They were caring, without fear. He moved toward me once again. He embraced
me and led me to his pallet. He said I looked tired, I needed to rest. He laid me
down, enveloping me with his own covers. I fell into a swoon almost as soon as my
head touched the soft cushions beneath me. I was naive and I trusted him.

I don’t know what happened in the night. I don’t know what he thought or with whom
he consulted. I only felt the result of those hours.

As dawn was breaking, I heard, as if in a distance, rapid movement around me. Before
I was awake and could move, a pain greater than
any I felt buried in the leaves of the forest floor exploded in my chest. I screamed
in agony as I looked down to see a wooden stake driven into my heart and my commander
standing above me with tears in his eyes. That was the last I saw with physical eyes
for five hundred years.

The captains carried my body out of the tent and into a rocky cave. They left it resting
on an outcrop of cold rock, covered it with leather hides then piled rocks on top
of it. They vacated the cave in silence.

I wondered at being able to observe what was happening to my body. How could it be
that I was dead yet I was able to see and understand what ensued about my lifeless
self? Unable to tear myself away from a carcass that had turned to stone, I waited,
I knew not for what.

In the place I dwelled, there was no such thing as time and so it seemed as days but
truly was centuries before I realized I was a dismembered being, conscious yet without
a physical self. Thinking yet without a mind. In anguish yet without a heart to break.
Lost for an eternity.”

It was silent in her office for what seemed like several minutes.

“And that, Sarah, is how I came into being.”
His voice was soft, peaceful as he spoke.

#

Sarah gazed at the face of the man who lay in her recliner as her mind raced with
questions. How had this unspeakable experience happened? What had brought this strange
being into her life? Why was she the one to take this journey in the subconscious
of a vampire? Was there even such a thing as a vampire? And if there was what in the
hell was she doing making friends with him instead of running in the opposite direction?
“What am I thinking, of course there is no such thing as vampires.”

The sky began to darken outside her window as Carlos stirred in the recliner. She
knew she must bring him back. She wondered how much she should allow him to remember.
Her final decision was he had a right to know everything she knew whether it was truth
or fantasy.

“Carlos, in a moment you will come back to real time. One. Two. Three.. …”

#

When he opened his eyes, he lay quietly without speaking for a very long time. She
moved to the desk, lighting the lamp as twilight took over the late afternoon sky.

“Sarah.” His voice was soft, tentative.

She moved back and sat in the chair next to him. “Yes Carlos. I’m here.”

“What’s happening here?” He looked at her with puzzled eyes. “Have I lost it completely?”

She smiled and reached to put her hand on his arm. “Carlos, I can only tell you what
I think is going on. It’s your subconscious talking to us, telling us a story to help
us along our journey. I have researched past life regression until I’m cross eyed
and I can’t find anything that relates to your particular experience.” She shook her
head from side to side. “I’m as clueless about this as you are.”

He turned to gaze at the patterns of lamp light cast on the ceiling. “What do we do
now?”

“You have the same two choices you always have. Stop right here and don’t do another
regression or go forward and see what happens.” She stood and crossed to the window.
She looked out at the night sky for a few moments then turned to face him. “It’s up
to you. Whatever you want to do, I’m with you.”

“Can we really learn anything doing this?” He asked her a question for which she had
no honest answer.

“I don’t know for sure, Carlos. I can tell you we’re accessing some deeper truths
about you, information I hope will give you more tools to manage your present life.”

He stood up stretching his long arms over his head. He smiled as he crossed the room
to stand in front of her. “Well, as long as we’re in it together, it can’t be all
bad. So, I’ll see you next week for my
session.” He captured her eyes with the intensity of his, “And don’t be afraid. No
matter what, I would never hurt you.”

He turned and walked to the door of her office. By the time she turned around, he
was gone.

S
he left the city early on Saturday morning. It was an easy drive to her mother’s home
if she started before the traffic. She looked forward to visiting her mother and grandmother
in spite of their constant comments about her single life, about her being alone.
She told them repeatedly that she was fine but she was beginning to question herself.
“Am I just fooling myself? Am I really simply lonely and that’s why I work so much?”
She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and concentrated on driving and the
soft music coming from her CD player.

The house the two women lived in was so cozy and comfortable. It had been difficult
for her mother when Sarah’s father died. She stayed in their large home for almost
two years but it was a burden for her to care alone and most of the rooms were closed,
unused anyway. Then when Sarah’s grandfather passed away, the two matriarchs of the
family joined forces to buy a small home in one of the many quaint towns on the Fox
River.

There was an unseasonal light blanket of snow on the ground when she pulled into the
driveway. Sarah phoned as she left the toll way so her mother was watching for her
from the front window. As she opened the trunk to remove her weekend travel bag, her
mother opened the front door, calling to her.

“Hi honey. You’re just in time for breakfast. Gran is making pancakes.” She wrapped
her pink cardigan more closely around her then stepped onto the porch to welcome her
only child. “You’re too thin. Don’t you ever eat?” Taking the light bag from her hand,
Sarah’s mother bundled her into the warm front hall. “Take off your coat and go into
the kitchen. Everything’s waiting for you.”

Sarah appreciated all of the familiar furniture her mother had managed to fit into
the small house. It made her feel safe and at home to see some of the pieces she had
known as a child. She made her way to the kitchen.

“Gran.” She wrapped her arms around her petite grandmother then gave her a big kiss
on the cheek. “It sure smells great in here. I’m starving. I didn’t eat before I left
and breakfast is my best meal.”

“Sit down honey. Here come the pancakes.” The griddle on the stove was already heated.
She poured the batter into perfect little silver dollar circles. Her mother took the
syrup out of the microwave. She placed it on the table. A pot of coffee sat on the
warmer and there was a bowl of ripe, red strawberries just waiting to be eaten.

“I remember when we could only get strawberries in the summer. This is great!” She
accepted the pancakes being offered her, poured syrup then covered them with berries.

“I love to see you eat like this, honey. You need to put on a little weight.”

Sarah smiled to herself. What a change from her early years. Her life had been a constant
battle for food when the two older women pushed her to be a professional ballerina.
Now, being too thin was all they talked about. Life was certainly strange. And so
was past life.

“So, I have this new client. Remember Colleen Stevens?” They both nodded yes. Colleen
had spent one Christmas with the
Hagan’s and once someone met her, it was unlikely they would ever forget her. “Well,
she set me up to work with one of her parolees.”

Her mother stopped still. “You’re working with a gangster, Sarah?” Her look of concern
made Sarah chuckle.

“No, he’s not a gangster, just a troubled young man. His name is Carlos and he’s the
most interesting past lifer I’ve ever treated.”

“Tell us all about it.” They all settled in for a cozy breakfast as Sarah recounted
what little she was able to share of the Carlos story, everything that is except that
he had been a vampire in a previous life.

#

She was sound asleep in the guest bedroom when her cell phone rang. She glanced at
the clock by the bed. It was two thirty in the morning.

“Sarah, I need you. It’s Carlos. Weird crap is happening in my head.” His voice sounded
strange, frightened. “I don’t get it. I’m not hypnotized and I still hear that vamp
character in my mind.”

“Carlos. Just a minute. Let me wake up.” She turned on the light and took a sip of
water from the glass on the bedside table. “What are you talking about?”

“See, I’m hanging with my brother. Suddenly I’m talking all this weird crap like I’m
in session and back in England. He thought I was high again. Sarah, I haven’t touched
anything since rehab. I don’t know what the hell is going on.”

“Where are you Carlos?”

“I’m sitting in an all-night diner. I don’t want to go home. And I sure as hell don’t
want to go to sleep. I feel pretty strange.”

She sat up, throwing the covers off her legs. “I can be back in the city in about
an hour. Stay put and I’ll call you when I get close. Where are you? I’ll come and
pick you up.”

When he gave her the cross streets, she was surprised he was only a few blocks from
her apartment. Her office was downtown and
several miles away. She wondered if she would be safe taking him to her home. She
decided she would be.

Sarah threw her things into her bag and started to dress. “Don’t worry. I’m on my
way. It’s all going to be fine. It’s just a residual thing that has happened. I’ll
fix it as soon as I get there. Exactly what were you doing when this feeling came
over you?”

“Playing some stupid video game about knights and the round table. I don’t know if
that’s what did it or not. I just sounded like somebody else and it freaked me out.”

“Just hang in there. I’m on my way. I’ll call you soon and if you feel too strange
before I get in touch with you, call me back. I’ll have my cell close all the time.
See you before too long.”

She closed her phone then tiptoed into her mother’s room. She touched her parent on
the shoulder. Her mother opened her eyes, sitting up immediately. “What’s wrong honey?”

“Mom, I’m sorry but one of my clients is having an emergency. I have to get back to
the city tonight. I’ll call you in the morning.” Her mother rose from her bed, slipping
into her warm robe against the chill of the house. “Honey, call me when you get home.
I’m concerned with you driving alone this late at night.” She walked Sarah to the
door. Wrapping her robe more closely around her, she waved to her daughter as she
went down the steps to get into her car. “Call me,” she mouthed without sound so as
not to wake her neighbors.

“I will.” She mouthed back.“Love you.” Sarah shut the car door, turned the key in
the ignition then backed down the driveway.

#

She opened the door of her apartment. Carlos followed her as they walked into the
living room. She turned on a light then turned up the heat. She always turned it down
when she was away from home.

“Can I get you something from the kitchen?”

“No. I drank enough coffee at the diner to float a boat. Look, I’m sorry I called
you. It really is okay. It just freaked me out for a minute.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.” She motioned him to sit down in the big brown chair
by the fireplace. “I’ll light a fire and we can talk.” She picked up the remote, clicked
the switch and the gas fireplace sprang to life. ”Modern miracles.”

“Yeah. Sure is better than a cave.” He smiled, trying to make light of his earlier
fear.

“I think what’s happened is your state was so deep on Friday and you were under for
a long time. Then the video game set you off. It’s nothing to worry about. Before
you leave, we’ll do a little session to make sure you feel comfortable.” She moved
to place the remote on the table next to him.

“You don’t have to do that. I feel like an idiot calling you in the middle of the
night. I just didn’t know what was going on.”