Suspending Reality (56 page)

“We’re only trying to help,” Sarah whispered.

“Listen, mister,” Beth yelled, “give them a chance. It might look strange, but they’ll bring her back to life.”

“Why would anyone kiss the dead, unless they’re dead themselves?” the husband hissed.

“Untie me,” Beth said. “I’m a nurse…a healer. I can save your wife.”

“It’s a trick!” a woman yelled. “The dead are beyond healing.”

Sarah gazed into the man’s eyes. “Do it! She isn’t dead yet, but we’re losing her. You’re wasting precious seconds that we need to save your wife’s life.”

He looked down at his wife and then up at the executioner, nodding. “Release the healer!”

Sarah’s attention focused back on the CPR. There was no way she was going to let the poor woman die.

An instant later, Beth appeared beside her and took Frank’s position, starting chest compressions. Sarah shot her a bitter smile, then focused on her breathing again.

The crowd fell silent, countless eyes peering at them. Sarah could feel beads of sweat gathering above her brows as she tried to ignore their probing gazes.

After several minutes passed, Beth finally said, “Got a pulse.”

The frail woman coughed, and water gushed out of her mouth. Her color went from blue to pink.

Her husband scooped her up in his arms, stroking her hair. “Oh, Mella!” He looked up at Sarah, then Frank and Beth. “Thank you! I cannot allow my wife’s saviors to be harmed, let alone killed. You saved my precious Mella. As magistrate of this village, I offer you pardon.” Glancing at the executioner, he ordered, “Untie the others. These people are free to go.”

Tears welled up in Sarah’s eyes as she met the magistrate’s eyes. “Thank you.” Sarah reached for her bag of gold and untied it. The villagers needed food, and she was going to do whatever she could to help. People surrounded her and started to shove and bump her as she tried to hand out coins. Getting trampled wasn’t in her plan, so she threw the gold up in the air and watched it fall like rain over the villagers’ heads. The crowd screamed with delight and scrambled for the coins, like children searching for candy from a broken piñata.

Beth pulled Sarah to her chest, tears shimmering in her eyes as she whispered, “That was so generous. I’m so happy to see you, girl.”

Sarah hugged her back tight. “Think I was going to let you guys fry?” From the corner of her eye, she noticed Frank helping to untie the others.

As soon as his hands were free, Steven hurried over and grabbed his camera bag, checking it over as if it was his child.

“Yes, your camera’s lovely. You won’t even find a scratch. We’re all great, too, just in case you were wondering,” Beth said.

“Let’s cruise out of here before these medieval nutcases change their minds,” Steven said to Beth once he realized his camera was, in fact, fine.

Adam scooped Sarah up and swung her around. “I owe you dinner, big time. You know what I’ve been thinking?”

“What?” Sarah loved his sparkling blue-green eyes and his laugh too. She looked up to him like a big brother.

“We’re not in California anymore.”

“Gee, really? I didn’t even notice.” Sarah rolled her eyes, smiling.

Adam’s eyes grew wide. “I saw…all of us saw the creatures for the very first time. It was mind-blowing! Did you see them?”

“I did! It was spectacular. I even managed to snap a few pics.”

“I knew they were real! I searched all over the world for them. Native Americans have been talking about mythical giant apes for centuries, and in legends handed down through the ages from Europe and Asia. And I saw them firsthand!” Adam could barely contain his excitement.

Sarah smiled. “It’s an amazing discovery!”

“I must be on my way now,” Jules announced. “Walk two hours north toward your destination. There, you will find a cave that should be safe for you to camp in for the night. It’s used all the time to escape immortal beings or hide things from them.”

“What?” she asked.

“As long as you are near or in the cave, Victor won’t be able to find you.”

“So it breaks the signal and keeps me off his radar. And he can’t find me?”

He nodded yes and then waved. “Goodbye, dear friends.”

Sarah nodded, a tight sensation choking her. “Thanks, Jules. I hope we’ll meet again. Send Mia our love.”

“I will. Just do not forget your promise to obtain the Gold Minerals of Life.”

“I won’t.” Sarah watched him smile and walk away.

Around them, the crowd had started to disperse, hurrying home after a long afternoon, some of them rushing off to buy much-needed food and supplies with the coins she’d shared. The sky had turned a dirty shade of gray, promising a cold night and possible rain. Even the air smelled damp, carrying the heavy promise of precipitation. If they were going to reach the cave before nightfall, they had to be on their way. Much to Sarah’s relief, the knights had long since disappeared, leaving no trace of their presence, as though they had never been looking for her.

“Ready to leave, guys?” she called out to the others.

Frank nodded and wrapped his arm around Sarah’s waist. Adam scowled as they walked down the well-worn path past several dilapidated cottages with candles burning on the windowsills and smoke rising from the chimneys.

They had barely reached a large meadow away from the village when darkness rushed in too quickly, a silver moon appearing in the sky. Sarah looked up at the black sky, worried and wondering if they’d be able to find the cave in the darkness. “You know what really bugs me?” she whispered to Frank.

“Besides me?”

“Well, yeah. How does it manage to get dark so quickly?”

He shrugged as though he didn’t care, but she could discern the deep set lines around his mouth.

“Dude, nice ring.” Steven pointed at her finger. “Didn’t know you were so loaded, buying antique jewelry and all. Otherwise I’d have charged more for my services.”

Sarah smiled and held up her hand. Any other would’ve pissed her off with such a remark, but Steven was quite the joker. He was bound to be forgiven for his trespasses.

Beth touched the ring, her eyes lighting up. “Now that’s a rock! How did you get it?”

Before Sarah could answer, she saw Adam shove Frank in the chest. He hissed, “She’s way too good for you, and you know it.”

They were fighting like two gorillas squaring off over a banana. Her team hated Frank more than anything, mostly because he’d spent his life trying to prove researchers wrong, and he’d been debunking their hard work for years.

Why couldn’t Adam behave? After all, he was the oldest out of the bunch, maybe in his late thirties. He smoothed out his brown hair to one side before putting his fedora hat back on. He was a true explorer if there ever was one, traveling from one part of the world to the other. He was definitely an asset to the team when he kept his temper in check.

“What’s your problem?” Frank yelled. “I just saved your sorry butt.”

“You’re my problem, punk.” Adam shoved him again. “I’d rather be here with anyone but you. I don’t see why Sarah told you the location of our expedition.”

“I didn’t tell him,” Sarah hissed. “He found us on his own. You know he’s a journalist…and apparently a stalker.”

Frank ran a hand through his hair. “I know you guys are pissed about some of my articles, but get your crap together. We’re in a different dimension here. Obviously, getting out of here is much more important than rehashing who did what to whom back in the twenty-first century.”

“You debunked us by name in that trash book you wrote.” Adam clenched his fists. “I should sue you for slander.”

Frank shrugged. “Suit yourself, but I’m pretty sure you won’t find an attorney here. You have to get home first, and that might be difficult since I’ve no intention to save your ass a second time.”

Adam lunged, the vein on his forehead ready to burst any minute.

Steven grabbed his arm and held him back. “Listen, man, we got bigger problems. He’s so not worth it.”

“He made us look like the laughingstocks of California,” Adam said. Even though he was still fuming, he took Steven’s advice and backed off. “I can’t believe Sarah would ever date a guy like that, let alone let him put his arm around her. Are you two shacking up or something now, Sarah? Sleeping with the enemy?”

As much as she would’ve liked to have convinced him otherwise, Steven was right. They had other worries to take care of first. Frank was often obnoxious, as were the claims he made in his book, but alienating him wasn’t an option. They needed all the manpower they could get, and he’d risked his hide more than once to save her. “It’s none of your business who I spend my time with. We’re all stuck here, so quit acting like preschoolers. Let’s figure out how to find my sister and then get the heck out of here!”

He looked at her, shaking his head slowly. “I don’t think you’re running this expedition anymore, boss.”

“That last word said it all.” She smirked. “As long as I’m paying you, you’ll do as I say, and as of right now, you’re still on my payroll.”

“Fine then. You’re the boss.”

“Wait…Liz? Your sister’s here?” Beth asked.

“I’ll explain later.” With a last warning look at Adam, Sarah turned and focused on the path ahead.

To both sides, large trees stretched as far as she could see, their thick canopy of leaves filtering the last natural light of the day. Branches and twigs snapped under their booted feet, the only noise exchanged between them until Beth resumed the conversation after a few minutes of walking. “So, you’re back with Frank? I thought you two split up.”

What is this? Why can’t people butt out of my private life?
She opened her mouth to answer when Frank slipped his arm around her, beating her to it. “Listen, all you enquiring minds, we’re trying to work things out here. Digging up dirt isn’t going to help our blossoming relationship, so just shut the hell up, will ya?”

“You’re unbelievable! Such an idiot,” Beth said, unfazed. She went to slap Frank’s face, but he caught her hand.

“Listen, Beth, don’t start on me too. I hope we can all be friends.”

She rolled her eyes. “Not a chance.”

Steven turned on his camera and started filming the trees and narrow path. “Come on, man, that’s enough. Everybody stop. I apologize for their behavior, Sarah. Being stuck here with Frank Hedford is the pits, but we’re also stressed. You’ve no idea what we’ve been through. Fortunately, I caught it all on film.”

Sarah grabbed the camera and looked directly into the lens, anger edging her voice. “On the contrary, I just might have a feeling. It hasn’t exactly been champagne and caviar, limos and five-star hotels for us either. We’ve gone through quite a bit ourselves.”

Adam adjusted his fedora against the gust of wind blowing in their direction. “Well, we almost died countless times. Like Steven said, you’ve absolutely no idea.”

Sarah waved her finger in the air, showing off her ruby ring. “Well, you poor, poor babies. I mean, I was only mistaken for a princess and thrown in a dungeon crawling with bugs and rats. I was then forced to marry the king of Tastia, who just so happens to be an Immortal eager to impregnate me with a whole freaking medieval baseball team. He slapped this ring on my finger, and I can’t get it off, and now fireballs shoot out of my hands.” She took a breath and gathered her thoughts. “Oh, and did I mention I pissed him off by running away, and Frank and I had to fake being monks to escape him and his knights? If that’s not bad enough, the king of Dornia is pissed at me, too, and this is his turf. He wants me dead too. There’s also a group of Immortals who want to kill me because I became one without their permission, which is how I managed to get shot in the heart, and I’m not talking about eighties music here.”

Steven laughed. “Wait…fireballs? Shot in the heart? And you’re…married to a king? Wow, Sarah, you should start writing fiction. You’re pulling my leg. If someone shot you, you’d be dead as a stone, sweetheart.”

“She ain’t kidding,” Frank muttered. “And remember, I’m the skeptic here. I saw it all for myself.”

Sarah nodded. “Yes, I was shot directly in the heart and the back as well. I had to walk disguised as a monk through a village of knights whose only goal in life was to behead me. So Adam, do fill me in on your little horror story, won’t you? I’d love to hear it.”

Beth put an arm around her. “You were mistaken for a princess? And you married a king? Seriously? How come that stuff doesn’t happen to me?”

Sarah smacked her hand. “Stop it.”

Beth laughed. “But blondes are supposed to have more fun.”

Steven gave her a fist bump. “Yeah, baby! Us blonds have to stick together.”

She smiled, and then continued. “Is this king a good kisser? Was it nice and slow or fast and furious? And more importantly, if he was any kind of kisser at all, what in God’s name are you doing traipsing around poor villages and sleeping in caves when you could be sleeping in one of those fancy canopy beds ordering room service from the royal kitchen?”

“That’s enough!” Frank hissed.

“Oh!” Beth squealed. “Even better? Is he hot?”

“How about we don’t go there right now?” Frank asked.