Forever Young The Beginning (58 page)

He walked to Carlos’ horse and vaulted
on to it, galloping away from the square on a road that led west
even as the crowd parted to let him through. Running the horse at a
dead gallop for about a half mile he dismounted, leading it into a
brushy area alongside of the road and removing its saddle. After
slapping the horse on its rump, he bounded away back toward town to
a small gulley where he had hidden his monk’s robe. Abandoning the
clothing there except for his boots and broad brimmed hat, he
rocketed through the woods southward. Coming to a different road
that led into town, he turned eastward and walked back into town on
that road, tucking his hat into the folds of his robe.

Coming to the market/bazaar area, he
saw that the crowd was still sizable as he passed by unnoticed. At
the inn he settled his bill after dressing in conventional clothing
and left quickly, walking along until he came to an area of some
heavy vegetation. Gliding into that he made his way along narrow
streets until he was near a wooded area he had seen before. Ducking
into that place he bounded away out of the city. Finding a creek he
stripped, bathed and while sitting in the water, he savored it in
grim satisfaction.

Alandra puzzled over the note. It said
it was from Ian but how could he know that Tom wanted that house?
Tom had written to Lorn in Barcelona and now had sent word that he
had been given a house and was going to ask Celita to marry him.
Alandra and Tom both knew that she would accept, so he felt safe in
telling both Lorn and Corinne to come to Barcelona. The wedding
date would be soon after they arrived.

Tom spent every spare minute at his
house repairing the least thing that he thought needed it. He was
very happy to get such a wonderful gift and wished that Ian could
make the wedding. In fact, what he didn’t know was that who he took
for a tall monk was actually Ian watching him that very
day.

Ian had seen Tom walk up to
the hilltop after he left for the afternoon. He sauntered
toward
Barcelona House
. Seeing Alandra’s carriage there, he knew that she was still
there. As he neared the building, she came out to load packages
into her carriage. Ian’s heart leaped at the sight of her.
Alandra! Would that I had the courage to walk up
to you and tell you everything that has befallen me! But then what?
Ask you to marry me? Ask you to forego ever having children of your
own? Ask you to give up your humanity and take up with a
freak?

He altered his direction so that it
appeared that he was only passing by the place. Suddenly a man on a
horse rode up excitedly. He spoke to her as he handed her a
package, and Ian adjusted his hearing to try to hear what was
said.

“
This is addressed to you,
senorita Vasquez. Have you heard the news? Senor Chavez is dead. He
was killed in a duel yesterday afternoon. They say a bald drunken
man wearing dark glasses killed him at the seaside market! No one
could believe it! The authorities are now looking for the man even
though it was a duel.”

“
You’re sure of
this?”

“
Yes, yes!”

She lowered her head and leaned
against the carriage for a short while. Then she thanked him and
climbed in to drive away. Driving past Ian she glanced at him as
she passed and then turned again and stopped the horses. She sat
turned in the seat of the carriage, staring at Ian and he at her.
They were about seventy feet apart and he had his monk’s hood drawn
up over his head. Ian nearly called out to her, his heart
yearning.

She finally turned and started her
team again, heading toward her home. Ian stood watching until she
drove out of sight. His heart felt as lead in his chest. Walking
slowly to the Inn he decided to pack and be ready to go to Madrid
the next day. Until then, he thought to stay and to see as much of
the wedding as possible from a distance. Now he couldn’t wait to be
away from Barcelona, and away from what he could never have.
Dejected all of the way to the inn he sat in his room slumped in a
chair, becoming angry at his cowardice in this matter. Finally he
heaved a deep sigh and began to pack his clothing.

***

Alandra told her mother and
father as soon as she entered the house that Carlos Chavez had been
killed in a duel. She had been so involved in trying to help Tom
buy that house behind
Barcelona
House
that she had not been out and about
the city at all. Otherwise she would have known about it yesterday
when it happened. Her parents expressed grim satisfaction and her
father resolved to get a letter sent to inform Roberto that his
son’s killer had been killed. He pressed Alandra for more, but she
knew no more than that it was supposed to be a drunken bald man
wearing dark glasses who did it. They did say something about him
stealing Chavez’s horse and riding away.

Alandra ate her supper and bathed,
then putting on a nightgown and a robe she walked outdoors into the
manicured garden area of the estate. Watching the moon rise over
the Mediterranean she sat on a stone bench, tipping her head back
and gazing up at the stars, thinking of the day that she had
learned that Ian had married.

Remembering how she had been angry
afterward, and what she thought she would say to him if she ever
saw him again; she had come to know that she would never say those
angry words. Her anger had turned into a deep and abiding sorrow.
It had faded over time and she had to admit that time was a great
healer. How much time would it be though before she could ever know
happiness again? Carlos’s death helped somewhat she supposed,
sitting there lost in thought.

As the cicadas and crickets sang, a
mellow voice from behind her interrupted her reverie saying “If you
look at the end of the big dipper there, you’ll be able to find the
North Star.” Her heart leaped into her throat and she felt a thrill
run through her body. Tingling all over she shot to her feet and
whirled around. There not ten feet from her stood a tall black
silhouette holding a hat in his hands. “Hello Alandra.”

“
Ian! Oh God, Ian? Is it
you, Ian?”

“
Aye lassie, it’s
me.”

She ran to him and he met her halfway.
With a joyful cry she flung herself into his arms. Embracing her he
held her close, feeling the hammering of her heart against his
chest. Her clean scent brought back a flood of sweet memories of
their days at sea together. “Ah Lass! How I’ve missed you! How I’ve
missed you!” He pulled his head back then at the same time as she
did and they stared into each other’s eyes for several seconds,
then they kissed. Ian thought his heart might burst for joy.
Alandra pulled back and then rained kisses all over his face and
kept coming back to kiss his lips hungrily as he responded in kind.
Drawing back from her he scooped her up and carried her to the
bench where he sat with her in his lap. He kissed her neck and let
his lips trace the lovely line of her jaw to the hollow of her
throat where he could feel her pulse hammering. She moaned softly
and held him tightly, kissing him in return.

At last he pulled back from her with
an effort and realized just how heavily she was breathing.
“Alandra; I’m going to tell you everything that’s happened to me
since we parted. It’s going to be hard to hear some of it, but I
love you so much that I’ll hold nothing back.”

“
Oh Ian! I still can’t
believe it’s you! Just hold me and don’t leave!”

“
I’m so sorry for the grief
that you went through because of what happened to me. I can’t go a
bit further though until you promise me that you’ll never tell this
to another living soul.”

“
Ian what…why…?”

“
Your life and the lives of
your mother and father and little brother could be lost should the
wrong people learn of what you are about to hear. Not even Celita
can know because it’s too dangerous for her and Tom.” Is that
acceptable to you?”

He paused and Alandra placed her hands
on each side of his face saying “Yes, Ian, I can keep this
confidence to myself.”

“
Very well then; this will
take a while but here it is. I was married to Cosette Bouchard in
Marseille, aboard
Elsie’s
Cloud
. I lost her several years ago when
she died trying to save a child. I loved her deeply, Alandra. She
saved my life shortly after I arrived in Marseille.” He related the
entire incident of his fight with LeBlanc and of being bitten by
the vampire and of being taken to the home of the Lafayettes. “They
helped me transition from human to vampire over a period of three
weeks.” He paused to let that sink in.

“
Ian, I… I… vampire? What is
a vampire?”

“
A vampire is a being who
was human but who has been bitten and infected with vampire venom,
and who has been given vampire’s blood in order to live.” He could
see her eyes widen.

“
But there are no such
things as vampires. I remember now hearing of vampires as a child.
They are supposed to be the stuff of legends, Ian.”

“
They’re not legends, but
that’s what we vampires want people to believe.”

“
Ian, what… what changed?
You seem the same. I don’t understand.”

“
We vampires are different
from humans.”

“
This is so hard to receive.
I… I… I’m having trouble understanding.”

He gently slid her from his lap and
stood up and laid his hat on the bench. “One thing that is
different about us is our eyes.” Here he made his eyes glow very
softly, a pulsating type of glow. Alandra gasped and he then
explained that he had to learn to control that because emotions can
trigger it. She sat silently, wide-eyed in wonderment.

Then he said “I’ll show you something.
There’s a rabbit right now over on the far side of your garden
eating. I can see him and hear him.”

“
What? Where? How can you
see that far in this light?”

“
We have keen night vision.
Watch now.” He suddenly rocketed over to the far side of the
garden, caught it, and rocketed back to stand in front of her
again. To her wondering eyes it seemed nearly instantaneous. There
was a wild rabbit, wriggling in his grasp. He gently put it down
and she could see it run away in the moonlight.

‘
I… I… I don’t know what to
say!”

“
After you hear this if you
want me to leave you, I will. If you want me to stay with you, I
will stay with you forever. I love you with all of my heart and I
think I loved you the first time I ever saw you. This is hard for
me to do.”

‘
Ian, what…?”

“
I never tried to come back
after it happened because I feared that you would look upon me as
a… a… freak, a monster. I must drink blood to stay alive.” She fell
silent, and Ian was aware of only the sounds of crickets and
cicadas.
T
here it
is. What will she do now?
He stood
vampire-still, waiting for her response.

“
You must drink
blood?”

“
Yes. Not every day, but we
must drink blood from time to time to stay alive.

“
I thought that vampires
were supposed to be things that drink human blood.”

“
Some do, but neither I nor
my family ever drink human blood.”

“
Blood…you…your
family?”

“
Yes. The others who are as
I am, whom I live with are as a family to me.”

“
Ian, this is
so…so…incredible…so hard to comprehend.”

He stood in front of her in silence
allowing her to digest what he was telling her. Then he continued
“I know how hard this is to take in, believe me. I could hardly
believe it myself when it was happening to me. Afterwards, I felt I
had no right to ask you to accept someone like me. I couldn’t bear
the thought of you sending me away. I just decided to adjust to my
life the way it was. I truly thought it was better for you as well
as me. It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, Alandra.
I came to love Cosette deeply and soon we married. I’ve never
stopped missing her. She was a perfect wife to me and I loved her
with all of my heart. I sometimes thought of you
though.”

“
You thought of me, Ian? I
always thought of you too.”

“
Aye, I did. Something would
trigger a memory of a time we had shared. That was not Cosette’s
fault but mine for not letting my heart and mind let you go. I
truly loved her, Alandra. I was holding on to my humanity I suppose
and to the memory of you as well. You are
unforgettable.”

“
I understand, I mean I can
see how that could be.”

“
I nearly didn’t come here
tonight. I had packed my bags after you saw me this afternoon
at
Barcelona House.
”

“
Saw you? Where? The monk?
That was you? The monk? I knew something was… different… strange
about that monk!”

“
I was a coward and hid
myself from you with a disguise. I was afraid to tell you the
truth. Heaven help me I am terrified right now of losing you. I…. I
canna bear the thought! Please don’t send me away! I’ve tormented
myself with dread of this moment.” Here he broke off and began to
weep. His shoulders shook as it all came out. He sank to his knees
before her and wept without stopping, placing his head in her lap
as she began to weep with him. He spoke as he wept; saying “Would
to God that this never happened to me, that I could have simply
fixed that ship and come back here to you as I planned.” She sat on
the bench and held him, weeping with him and rocking him gently as
all of their stored up grief came out together in a
flood.