Fallen (40 page)

I had a difficult time suppressing
the exhilaration rushing through me,
as
I noted
the last two words
he’d used
.
We had a story together.
It
seems
implausible that this man, the embodiment of perfection, and I
have been
so connected throughout time.

“Undeniably…yes
!
”

“Sit
,
and I’ll tell you,” he said,
patting the seat beside him.

As
I
did
,
our legs touched,
creating
a warm, firm pressure, from hip to knee. He drew in a quick breath
, responding to our contact,
and I
glanced at him, wondering if he did have
some
hidden
attraction
toward
me. The thoug
ht of it made me
dizzy
,
even
though he quickly recovered.

Eran drew in a breath and began
then
.
“The very first time I set eyes on you was almost five hundred years ago. Our families shared a property line and despite the Germanic Wars taking place around us
and
the feud between our two families…well, it certainly took precedence.”

“Our families were fighting?”

“Every chance we got. But the women were kept well away from the conflict.
We
lived less than a mile away from each other, never
knowing the other existed
until one night.
I caught you walking
through
our property, cloaked
because
it had been raining. I thought that you were a boy up to
no good
. When I stopped and demanded that you show yourself, you…” He paused
, laughing at the image playing in his mind.

“What? I what?” I persisted.

“You fought me.” Despite his words,
he was smiling in amusement. “Very w
ell, too. You are excellent with the sword.”

“I am?” I asked
.
Surrounded by disbelief, I thought
back to fencing class and my pathetic attempts at wielding the weapon.

“When you’re reborn, it takes time to remember these things. It’ll come back to you,” he assured me.

“So…” I said hesitant of what his answer might be to my next question. “Did I hurt you?”

This time
he rolled his
head back and
roared with laughter.
After recovering, he
continued
,
“Nothing that left me debilitated.”

I
sighed
with relief
.
“Good.”

“But you wanted to
…
and fought hard at it.
Eventually, you ended up pinned to a tree where I was able to get a good look at you
and found that you were a girl
.”

“Were you surprised?” I asked, intrigued.

“Very much.”

“So, were we friends after that?” I ventured, hopeful.

“Not friends, business partners. You were on your way to deliver messages for the rich and I came along…as your guard.”

My mouth fell open
.
“Is that how we started? How you became my guardian?”

He nodded slowly, thoughtfully. “If we aren’t putting too fine a point on the moment in time…yes. I met you every fortnight from then on to walk with you, protect
ing
you against whatever miserable characters you might come across.”

“What did our families think of it? Our partnership?”

“They never learned of us. I made certain of it.”

“So, is that how we’ve been every lifetime? Partners?”

A nostalgic smile moved across his face before
answering
cautiously
, “In one form or another.”

I decided against pressing him for a clearer answer, feeling that my effort would be in vain. Instead, I opted to ask another question
, one
that piqued my curiosity.
“
What
were we
like
back then
?”

“Well…” He shrugged. “V
ery much the way
we are now. You were s
tubborn…” He paused to grin at me. “Courageous. Caring.
You have an instinct to help others so you’ve followed that path throughout your lives.
”

Our eyes locked and I couldn’t explain it but I suddenly felt an intense urge to reach out and wrap my arms around him.
It took every bit of my effort to resist that urge. I literally h
ad to fold my hands into fists and
refocus my attention.
A moment later, we both looked away, heaving a sigh
. R
ight then I realized he had to fight
off the same urge I had.
Disappoint
ment
overwhelmed me. We hadn’t acted on it
,
and
I was
uncertain now
of
how to
behave. So
I asked the first question that came to mind.

“Was I-Was I always like you describe me? In every life?”

“Yes…You are who you ar
e and that is carried with you…
regardless.”

“So if you knew me for so long, why didn’t you want to tell me who
I was? You seemed so hesitant.”

He opened his mouth to speak and then clamped it shut.

“What? What is it?
What are you not telling me?
”

His eyes dropped and he shook his head. “Nothing…
there’s
nothing more.”

I knew there was more
.
I felt it, and I felt him fighting to hold it back.
“Okay, if you won’t tell me now just promise that you will eventually tell me?” I placed my hand on his, which I noticed was gripping his thigh tightly, evidence of his struggle. “Eventually…not now but
s
ometime in the future
?”

He
sighed,
but conceded.
“
I will,
”
he promised.

“Thank you…” I whispered, and then said more clearly,
“What would you like to talk about
instead
?”

A gleam came to his eyes
.
“You.”

“Me?” I said, taken
a
back
.

“
Definitely you
.”

“I have no idea
why
,” I told him
, rolling my eyes
.

“No?
Then
I’ll explain. But first
, do you mind if we go some place more comfortable?
”

“
I don’t mind at all
.”
Anywhere with
Eran would be just fine with me, though I was going to miss his leg pressing against mine.

He
thought for a moment and then
took my hand
,
standing to guide us
a few steps
.
We drifted
back to his private paradise.

The cabin was just as I’d seen it last, cozy and welcoming, though this time it was summer and fireflies flickered throughout the warm air.
I heard Annie and
Charlie barking in the distance as we stepped firmly
onto
the dry dirt path leading
to the cabin.

“Better,” he
s
aid decisively as we approached the front porch.

He
gestured
for me to
take
a seat in one of the rocking chairs
,
as he sat down
in
the
one beside it.
I
was
still perplexed
but genuinely happy he wanted to get to know me
better
.

“Alright, now are you going to explain?”

He
stared
back at me, content. “Yes…” His tone was teasingly sarcastic but grew more serious. “You see I’ve
never gone this long without being with you. There is a void during the time you were born un
til I met you again in which I have no idea what you’ve experienced.”

“You want to know about how I grew up?”
I asked
,
unable to see how that could be interesting.

He nodded, firmly. “Absolutely.”

“Okay, but if you get bored it’ll be your
own
fault.”

“I have complete confidence that won’t happen.”

He
then
eagerly
launched
into
questions about my past, delving for details on
Aunt Teresa
and my life with her, what schools I attended,
and
the cities I lived in.

His attention was undivided and earnestly interested, asking questions attentively. At some point
though
, I grew tired of talking,
and during that break, rested m
y head back against the chair.

When
I opened my eyes I was back
in my bed
room
with t
he alarm beeping painfully in my ear
.
I’d forgotten to turn
it
off before going to sleep last night
. Fighting the urge to throw it across the room, I settled for yanking the cord out of the wall.