Love Immortal (24 page)

“After he was treated in the emergency room,
he was moved to a room on the same floor with Collin. Shortly
thereafter, Percival removed his nephew from the hospital for
obvious reasons. I documented the move, indicating that Collin was
being moved to a private facility in Lake Charles. After Edgar was
discharged, this piece of paper was found in his room.” He passed
around a piece of paper almost completely colored in with pencil.
“If you look closely, you will see the address of that private
facility. This facility is nonexistent and was fabricated for the
protection of Collin and his uncle. Two days later, Jewell saw
Edgar in Lake Charles only blocks from this address. In the past
month, Edgar has missed eight days of work, not including the two
he missed as a result of his accident.

“Recently, he has been requesting information
about Jewell at the hospital. We feel that the actual target is
probably Collin. Percival has requested our assistance until they
are able to relocate.”

Sheriff Payne stood up. “Because Edgar has no
criminal record, and has not made an overt threat toward either
Jewell or Collin, we cannot authorize that he be questioned or held
for any reason. However, his description and automobile information
have been circulated throughout Orleans and St. Tammany Parrish law
enforcement units. In addition, hospital security has been
authorized to contact us if Edgar is seen at the hospital. Edgar
has been ordered to stay off the property and told that if he is
seen on the property he will be charged with criminal trespass.
Although this is a misdemeanor, law enforcement officers have been
given authorization to detain him.” Dr. Babineaux sat down.

Sheriff Payne looked at Percy. “Dr. Knighton,
do you have anything that you would like to add?”

“Thank you all for your efforts. I know that
this is a difficult thing that I am asking of you and I know the
dangers you face. Collin’s parents were both Infinitas who were
killed by the people like Mr. Durand. We thank you for pledging
your lives to our protection.

“We have only just recently, within the past
hours, learned of this development. Already, my family is taking
steps so that we may leave this area, hopefully eliminating any
threat to you, and any threat to us. We will communicate with
either Sheriff Payne or Dr. Babineaux of our plans as soon as we
can. We hope to leave within the week.” He sat down, his head
dropped in defeat.

“Does anyone here have anything to add?”
Sheriff Payne looked at each man sitting at the table. When he
determined that there were no additional comments, he thanked the
men and dismissed them.

Chapter 28

Thirteen men sat in a non-descript warehouse
just outside the New Orleans airport. Secrecy was crucial to their
task. Very few people were even aware of their existence though
their sect had existed for over one thousand years. It was not
often that this group of men had been called upon to mete out
justice. In their thousand years of existence, they had been called
to duty fewer than fifty times. There were thousands of men in the
Order. They came from different countries, different backgrounds,
different values, but they all had the same purpose. That purpose
was to retrieve the artifacts stolen from the Temple of Solomon by
the Templar Knights, and to punish all those that had defiled these
ancient relics. These relics included the Shroud of Turin, the Ark
of the Covenant, and the most famous of relics, the Holy Grail.

The thirteen men sat on folding metal chairs
in one of the office sections of the warehouse. The warehouse was
obviously old, and Edgar questioned when the last time was that it
had been used or cleaned. The carpet was a commercial loop in
shades of orange and gold, reminiscent of the late 60s and early
70s. It was dirty and well-worn in some places, and stank heavily
of dust and mildew. There was one office area located directly
adjacent to a large warehouse with cement floors, and metal walls
and ceilings. The noise from the airport was deafening when a plane
took off or landed. It rattled the metal walls and echoed
throughout the warehouse for several seconds after the plane had
passed. It was slightly quieter in the offices, but conversation
was still difficult.

Edgar stood inside the circle of men. “We
know that infidels exist and walk among us. They look like us, they
act like us, but they are not like us and must be punished for
their crimes. We have been charged with the responsibility of
identifying these people and meting out justice.” He turned in the
circle, looking at each person in the room. They looked at him with
curiosity, excitement. This was the purpose that the group remained
in existence for so many centuries. It was rare to find an infidel
despite the numerous groups seeking them out, but it was even more
unusual to verify one so quickly. Usually, once a person was
suspected as an infidel, they were tracked for years before it
could be ascertained that they deserved punishment. Edgar claimed
to have identified one in less than a month. Naturally, there was
some skepticism, so the group interrogated Edgar thoroughly.

Edgar did not let their scrutinizing stares
or endless questioning dissuade him. He was certain of his
information. He carefully explained everything he knew about
Collins Sykes.

For three hours, Edgar was grilled by his
brothers of the Obsidian Knights. These men were trained for this
purpose. This was a fight between a sacrilegious, condemned,
disbanded order and an order seeking to carry out the original
sentence upon that order, and to prevent the continuing corruption
resulting from their existence.

Chapter 29

Jewell woke up earlier than she expected. Her
dreams had been plagued by shadows and danger. She was always
alone, but she could sense Collin, reaching out to her, trying to
find her before it was too late. She put on a robe and wandered
into the living room. Collin was dozing on the couch but she
couldn’t find her father. She walked into the kitchen to find
something for her and Collin to eat, and glanced at the calendar as
she walked by. It revealed that her father had started a
forty-eight hour shift at the firehouse. Due to recent events, she
expected that her father would probably try to come home if he
could. She knew that he would at least call. She glanced at her
watch. It was five-thirty. Her father would probably call in a
couple of hours when he was certain that she was awake. She was
glad that he had let Collin stay.

As she sniffed at a container she heard
Collin behind her. “What are you doing?”

“I thought I’d find us something to eat.”

“How about going out for dinner? What do you
want? The sky’s the limit.”

“I don’t know…” she tried to think of what
she was in the mood for.

“How about Outback? I’ll call in an order and
go pick it up.”

She shrugged. “I suppose, but I’m going with
you. I don’t want to be left here alone.” She hadn’t realized how
truly scared the incident at the hospital had left her. She could
feel the tension in her shoulders and tried to relax.

Collin went into the office and brought back
Jewell’s pink laptop computer. He plopped down on the couch and
started it up. Navigating to the restaurants web site, he turned
the computer so that Jewell could see the menu. “Just a salad I
guess.” Collin looked at her.

“That’s it? A salad? Fine, but I’m going to
pick which one.” He carried the computer into the kitchen to the
phone and called the restaurant. When he came back into the living
room he looked at Jewell who looked a bit peaked. “You okay?”

“I’m just worn out. Too, I’m worried about
that…” she didn’t want to say stalker, but couldn’t think of any
better term. Instead, she let the sentence trail off. “I’m just
really tired.”

Collin put his arm around her and pulled her
so that her head was resting on his shoulder. “We’ll get you fed,
and then you can go back to sleep. Your dad pulled out the bed in
the office and gave me some sheets and a blanket. I guess he
figured that leaving me in the house with you was safer than
leaving you alone.” He grinned. They sat and watched the TV until
it was time to leave.

The drive to the restaurant was uneventful.
When they got to the restaurant they sat at Curbside delivery and
listened to the radio. Jewell’s eyes wandered to the Wendy’s across
the street; something had caught her attention. She sat up, leaning
toward the window so that she could see the man getting out of the
car parked at the Wendy’s.

Collin was startled by Jewell’s sudden
movement. She had paled visibly and was shaking. He looked at her
face and tried to follow the direction that she was looking. In the
Wendy’s parking lot, he saw a man with a black leg brace and a cane
walking towards the door. His car had been parked facing the
restaurant, away from where Collin and Jewell were sitting and his
back was to them. Collin’s gaze alternated between Jewell and the
man across the street, but Jewell’s eyes never wavered until the
man had disappeared inside the restaurant. When the man had
disappeared from view, Collin heard his own breath whoosh out in a
relieved sigh. Jewell had leaned forward in her seat, her head
between her knees.

“Was that him?” Collin asked rubbing her
back, trying to calm her down.

“Yes.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“You’re sure? You only saw him from the back.
It would be pretty weird if he were here at the same time you
were.”

She had calmed down a little bit; her
breathing was a little easier. “Maybe. Do you think he followed us
here?”

Collin looked out the window at the Wendy’s
as he thought about Jewell’s question. “I don’t think so. He didn’t
act like he knew we were here. When we leave, we can watch to see
if he follows. At least we know what his car looks like.” He
reached over into the glove compartment and pulled out a small pad
of paper and a pen. He looked at the car, then scribbled some
information on the sheet of paper and handed it back to Jewell. She
looked at it.

“His license plate number?” She looked up and
squinted, trying to make out the characters on the plate. “How can
you see that far?”

“I’ve always been pretty good at stuff. I can
see better than most people, hear better, I was always first in
track. I never really studied either. I could read a page in my
book and just remember everything it said.” He shrugged. She stared
at him for a minute, and then ripped the top piece of paper off the
pad, and put the pad, with the pen, back in the glove compartment.
Just as she finished, their food arrived. Collin thanked the
waitress and handed her some cash. He handed the bag to Jewell and
started the car. When he backed out of the space, he stopped his
car in the aisle, ready to leave. He watched the door to the
Wendy’s. When the door opened, they both held their breath, but it
was a mother and her daughter.

Collin drove through the parking lot to the
main road. He drove slowly, watching the Wendy’s in his rear view
mirror. Jewell had turned to look. The side windows were tinted so
it was unlikely that he could see into Collin’s car. They both
watched the restaurant as they drove towards 190. Collin turned
right while Jewell continued to watch the restaurant. Neither of
them had seen any indication that there was an attempt to follow
them.

“He probably didn’t see us. I think it was a
coincidence. Of course, that probably means he lives around here
somewhere.”

“Great. So I might just run into this weirdo
while I’m out grocery shopping or something?” Her voice shook on
the edge of terror.

“Well, we don’t know for sure. Is there some
way to find out where he lives?”

“Maybe. My dad knows some of the police
officers in Covington; he might be able to find something out.”

“Good. We’ll call him when we get back to the
house.”

They drove home without any additional
incident. Jewell’s father assured her that he would try to find out
some information about him. He could call Andy with the sheriff. He
would be able to let him know if Edgar lived anywhere in St.
Tammany Parrish. Jewell felt a little better, but was still unable
to eat. Her stomach was twisted in knots.

Collin sat on the couch. Jewell lay down with
her head in his lap. He rubbed her back trying to help her relax.
At the same time, he tried to send her happy thoughts. He didn’t
know if it would work, but he figured it wouldn’t hurt. He tried to
think of the most beautiful things had ever seen in his life. He
thought of the glades with daffodils in Tagla Mountains in Romania,
the sunset at Cinque Terre in Italy, Winchester Cathedral in
England, the Piana rocky inlet and the Girolata gulf in France,
Aeroe island in Denmark, and of course, Jewell McKean in Louisiana.
As he thought of these beautiful places, he imagined he could feel
Jewell’s thoughts moving from the darkness, as if his thoughts were
affecting hers. She relaxed, and was soon asleep.

As Jewell slept, she dreamt of beautiful
beaches, stained glass windows, interesting doors on beautiful
cottages, and a valley in the most beautiful mountains she had ever
seen, dotted with thousands of white daffodils.

Chapter 30

On Saturday, Collin took Jewell to work, even
though Ashley offered to drive. He dropped her off, and went home.
He needed some sleep. He thought about Jewell having to work all
night and sighed. It wouldn’t do anyone any good for him to stay
awake all night just because she was.

When Collin arrived home, he went into the
house to let his uncle know that he was home. His uncle didn’t
approve of his relationship with Jewell, but seemed to be
tolerating it. When he walked into the parlor, everyone stopped
talking. They sat, staring at him with somber looks on their
faces.