Arielle Immortal Quickening (5 page)

“I remember all of us speculating about who Miss Willington was and why she created such an episode. I watched Troy’s eyes fixed straight ahead, and I was sure that his thoughts were exactly like mine. Shortly after the incident, Troy asked me to dance and we had a chance to talk. I told him that I had the same feeling about this woman as I did about Savanna at your birthday party, and he was also sure that she was an immortal that was sent by Annabel.” Arielle gasped out loud, and her body shivered. Sebastian moved closer and put his arm around her; he held her tightly to his side.

Arielle collected her thoughts and now she wanted to know everything Eva could recall. “So what happened next?” she asked in a trembling voice.

“Next thing I remember Troy was dancing with Loren, and then they were both gone for a very short time.” She smiled softly.

“What’s so funny about that?” Arielle asked.

Still smiling, Eva continued. “I knew that the short time they were gone would have been long enough for them to go to another country and back.” She laughed again while shaking her head in amazement.

“Where did they say they went?” Sebastian asked.

“When they got back, they told Ian and I that they went to look for the woman that called herself Mrs. Willington, and they checked every inch of the building, as well as the surrounding fields and strictures, but she had vanished.”

“What about Paul? What did he think about all that?” Arielle asked.

“Paul and Gabrielle were dancing, so Paul never noticed that Loren was gone for that brief time. I’m sure that it would have been hard to explain why Loren would go with Troy to look for a stranger.” Arielle hugged herself, unable to believe the lengths Annabel would go to make sure that Sebastian never had a chance for happiness. She was never going to forgive him for initiating the annulment of their marriage over 500 years ago. The immortal woman would never forgive his rejection to consummate the marriage and the revulsion she saw in his eyes every time they crossed paths. Arielle was sure that Annabel would spend every waking moment to make Sebastian miserable.

Sebastian felt her torment and squeezed her tighter and pressed his lips to her cheek.

“Don’t worry, baby,” he murmured, before pressing on. “Did you leave the club after that?”

“No, not after that. Shortly after Troy and Loren came back, the music and the fun expunged the incident from our minds, at least for that night. We stayed late and left around two thirty in the morning. Gabby was insisting on driving. Troy let her drive, because she was completely sober. Her choice of beverage the whole night had been water,” she added. “We had an amazing time, and we were quite animated on the ride back home. Ian and I were kissing in the back seat, and I can’t remember anything after that.”

“Eva, do you remember what the woman at the club looked like?” Sebastian asked. His voice was quiet with a hint of concern.

“Yes, she was incredibly beautiful just like all the immortal women I’ve met so far. She had long brown hair and icy blue eyes. Her voice was velvety soft at the beginning, but it turned cold and scary by the end of the conversation. I knew she was another crazy immortal, and so did Troy.”

Arielle stiffened and swallowed hard. Aggravated and sickened once again by Annabel, she tried to fight the anxious feeling in her gut. She drew in a deep breath and lifted her eyes. Searching Sebastian’s face, she wondered if it could possibly be true. “Do you think it was Annabel?” Collapsing into the chair next to Eva’s bed, she fought to keep her voice steady.

He was pinching the tip of his nose, and the crease on his forehead deepened.

“I don’t know.” His eyes now blazed with irritation.

“Why would she want to kill our friends?” Arielle kept probing.

“I don’t know, Arielle. I’ll have to talk with Troy; I need to get the details,” Sebastian said. She nodded and, despite her fear, held herself in check. Deep inside, she couldn’t let it go.

“I have a strong feeling that she was sent by Annabel.” Eva said quietly. Arielle looked up at Sebastian, trying to decipher his thoughts, but she couldn’t. Sebastian, however, was seriously weighing Eva’s words in his mind, trying to draw his own conclusion about the incident.

“Annabel seems to be able to ruin every occasion for us,” Eva continued, forcing a smile. “Don’t you think?” The question was directed to Sebastian. He closed his eyes momentarily in frustration and nodded in agreement.

“I have to agree with you,” he said bitterly.

“I’m glad that Paul and Loren came in their own car and weren’t involved in this mess.” The relief was evident in her voice.

“Yes, I’m very happy about that. Have they been here to see you?” Arielle asked.

“Yes, they were here yesterday, along with your parents.” Eva answered with a smile.

“When are you going home?”

“The doctor believes I’ll be ready the day after tomorrow, and I can’t wait. I hate being in here.” Arielle caught a hint of anticipation in her voice. She was trying hard to read Eva’s thoughts, but she heard only silence. In and of itself, the lack was extraordinary. In all the years the women had known one another, it had never happened. Something had happened during the accident; otherwise, she couldn’t understand the quietness of Eva’s mind.

“I think we should go and visit Ian for a little while,” Sebastian suggested thoughtfully and clasped Arielle’s hand.

Eva nodded, reaching a hand toward Arielle. Arielle clasped it, moving to give her friend a long hug and a kiss on the cheek. When they reached the door, Sebastian send a caring looked at Eva.

“You take care!” His voice was calm with a hint of tenderness.

“Tell Ian that I love him,” she called out as the door closed behind them.

When they reached Ian’s room, Arielle stopped and took a deep breath. She sighed inaudibly and moved closer to Sebastian just before they stepped inside. She thought about the strange, beautiful woman that was now creating an unavoidable and quite troublesome concern in her head. Sebastian sensed her apprehension, and his arm encircled her body pulling her even closer. He knew that his embrace was Arielle’s comfort zone.

“What’s the matter, baby?” he whispered in her ear. His gaze was profound and powerful, boring right into her eyes.

“Nothing,” she murmured. He lifted her face to his and pressed his lips against hers with true passion.

“I love you, Arielle… don’t push me aside. I want to know what’s bothering you.” She smiled, grabbing hold of his shirt and pulling him softly down to her, and she kissed him back with the same passion.

“I’m sorry, baby, I love you, too, but let’s talk about this when we get home.” A warm smile urged him to agree, and they walked into Ian’s room.

Ian looked pretty much the same way Eva did. Bruised all over with a cast on his left arm, he maintained a great mood. She hugged him with excitement as Sebastian shook his good hand.

“We’re so happy you didn’t get badly hurt,” Arielle said. Her voice was exuberant. He seemed to be really pleased to see them.

“Have you talked to your parents? Do they know you are in the hospital?” Arielle asked softly.

“No, I didn’t want to get my family all upset, since I seem to be doing well. I’ll be out of the hospital in a day or so,” Ian said.

“It’s the best thing to do under the circumstances,” Sebastian noted.

“Have you seen Gabrielle?” Ian asked, his voice dropping to a whisper. “She’s not doing well, is she?” He looked wretched.

“No, not yet, but she’s expected to recover,” Arielle said. She made a great effort to keep her voice from trembling as she gazed at Ian, holding back her tears. She pressed her lips tightly as a vision of Gabby in ICU flashed before her eyes.

“Troy’s totally devastated,” Ian mumbled sadly. “He hasn’t moved away from Gabrielle’s side since they brought us here.” Misery spread across Ian’s face, and he gave a half-hearted shrug.

“I understand that,” Arielle agreed, struggling to keep her voice steady. She turned to meet Sebastian’s gaze, looking for his support like a thirsty person staring at a glass of water. He smiled softly and moved even closer. Arielle turned back to look at Ian.

“I’m really sad that you all had to go through such a horrifying experience,” she murmured.

“It was just an accident, Arielle. Nobody can prevent accidents from happening. I don’t think anyone expected things to turn out this way.”

She watched Ian intently, utterly puzzled again. She didn’t hear a single thought coming from Ian’s mind.
Ian had always been an open book to me, so why the silence now?

Sebastian carried the conversation with Ian, while Arielle mulled over the hush of Ian and Eva’s thoughts. She wondered if she was losing her gift or if it was simply a frightening coincidence. A considerable amount of time passed as they hashed over the series of events before the accident before it was time to go.

“I think we should be going,” Arielle said, looking at Sebastian. “We’ll come back to see you tomorrow.” She bent down and gave Ian a kiss. Sebastian shook his hand again, and they walked to the door.

“Oh, by the way, Eva said to tell you that she loves you,” Arielle said with a grin.

A wide smile spread across Ian’s face. “I’m happy to hear that,” he replied. “I wouldn’t know what to do if she didn’t.”

Arielle chuckled at his statement. “Is that a true revelation, Ian?”

“Yes, it is,” he replied, pride in his voice. “She means everything to me.” Sebastian pressed Arielle’s hand and gave her a meaningful look.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Ian,” Arielle assured with a wave.

“Thanks for coming,” Ian called as the door closed behind them.

“I feel the same way about you,” Sebastian whispered and pressed a kiss to her temple.

Chapter 5

T
hey walked down the long hospital corridor in complete silence. Arielle thrust her hands deep into her jean pockets in frustration. Sebastian gave her a side look. The expression on her face was that of irritation.

“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?” Reaching over, Sebastian pulled her hand out of her pocket and laced his fingers through hers, patiently waiting for a reply. Arielle’s thoughts were whirling wildly in her head. She was trying to understand why she couldn’t read Eva and Ian’s thoughts, and she exhaled on an audible sigh. Sebastian pressed her hand softly; when she looked up, their eyes locked. He was watching her patiently, waiting for her to say something, anything, but she remained quiet, trying to unravel the mystery in her own mind. She slowly lowered her gaze from his face and looked back toward Ian’s room. Sebastian followed her gaze, and his eyes narrowed to slits.

“Arielle, please. Baby, what’s wrong,” Sebastian questioned, anxiously. She finally shook her head and released an exasperated breath.

“Sebastian, I’m really troubled.”

Sebastian stopped and turned her to face him. He arched his eyebrows and waited. “Are you going to tell me? Or do I need to take that necklace off and read your mind?”

“No, you don’t need to do that. I think that I’ve lost my ability to read minds. I couldn’t hear anything coming from Eva’s mind, no matter how hard I tried. The same thing happened with Ian,” she mumbled. “I just can’t figure it out. Their thoughts used to be like an open book, but not anymore.”

The sudden flash of alarm followed by a troubled expression across his typically composed features warned her that she wouldn’t like what he was thinking. “What is it?” she asked, extreme curious.

Before he had a chance to say anything, she saw a couple of nurses coming down the hall. She reached out to see if she could hear their thoughts, but she again heard complete silence.

“Well, never mind.” Irritation filled her words.

“‘Never mind’ what?” Sebastian asked again, utterly calm.

“I couldn’t hear a single thought from those two nurses, either.

“Maybe they don’t belong in that special group you told me about,” Sebastian said, trying to reassure her.

“Well, you may be right or I could be losing my so-called gift.” She chuckled bitterly as they continued down the corridor.

Sebastian needed to talk to Troy before they left the hospital. Turning the corner towards the entrance to the ICU, they came face-to-face with the doctor who was leaving Gabby’s room. They excused themselves and stepped aside to let the physician walk by them. Arielle turned to face Sebastian with a wide smile on her face. Sebastian’s eyebrows rose quizzically.

“I could hear the doctor’s thoughts,” she said. “The doctor was thinking about how tired he was and that he was glad Gabby was his last patient for the day.” She grinned and pressed his hands from the overflow of excitement, but it immediately changed to a frown.

“What is it, baby?” Sebastian asked.

“I still have the ability to hear people’s thoughts, so why can’t I hear Eva and Ian’s thoughts anymore?” She looked up at him casually, and she noticed that he was disturbed. He opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it again; they had reached the ICU.

“I need to talk with Troy before we go home,” he said. She felt that her last statement about Eva and Ian had drifted right over his head, completely unnoticed. His arm cradled her as he pulled her to him and pressed his lips on hers.