Relic (The Brethren Series) (29 page)

“Wow, two visitors in one day. Fred’s a lucky guy. Sign in right here, please. You’ll sign out before you leave. Take this badge so we know you belong here. Room 103 is down the hall, make a left, and he’s at the end on the left.”

He looked at her name tag, and winked. “Thanks so much, Judy.”

Walking down the hall, he found himself fidgeting with the badge in his hand.
Am I actually nervous
?
Hell yeah
!
Raphael, the man, is about to meet the father of the woman he loves. Raphael, the man, is about to ask for this guy’s daughter’s hand in marriage. And Raphael, the Savior, is about to lay the groundwork for the most important healing, next to Serena’s, of my eternal life
.

He sat facing the window, like a still-life portrait. In his healthier years, Fred Sikes had to have been an imposing figure, Raphael guessed, for his body seemed to just fit into the wheelchair. How uncomfortable that must be for him, he considered. Knowing what he could do for him, he itched to remedy that. But he needed to be patient right now.

He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him, and approached the still man, taking a deep breath to calm his heart. “Good morning, Mr. Sikes.” He turned the wheelchair slightly so that they could look at each other. “Sure is a beautiful day out there. Sir, my name is Raphael. I wanted to come and speak with you today. Let me get right to the point. You see, sir, your daughter and I are…involved. Basically, I wanted you to know that I’m in love with Serena, and want her to be my wife. So I’ve come to ask for her hand, and gain your blessing before I ask her.”

A muscle twitch in Mr. Sikes’s cheek startled Raphael. Serena hadn’t mentioned that her father had gained back some muscle movement. Did she even know it herself? This encouraged him and would make her father’s “recovery” less miraculous. He planned to incrementally heal him, all the while keeping it secret from Serena, so that by the time of their wedding, Mr. Sikes could walk his daughter down the aisle.

“Mr. Sikes, you need to know that I will take excellent care of your daughter and love her forever. I will never give you cause to worry. There’s more, sir. I’m not sure, but I don’t think you like being cooped up in that wheelchair, or like not being able to communicate with people. There’s nothing more I would love to see than you walking your daughter down the aisle to me. And so, I must share some things about myself with you that may surprise you, but in the end, what I can do for you, and ultimately for Serena, will make you very happy, indeed. Let me explain by showing you.”

Raphael placed his hands on either side of Mr. Sikes’s head. He took a deep breath and began searching the thousands of neural pathways in the brain that were destroyed by the stroke. He sought out those specific to gross muscular functioning and speech and created new neural pathways, but not all. As much as he wanted to, he really needed to make this look genuine to others, not divine. When he released Mr. Sikes’s head from his grasp, he looked at him for signs that his healing session had been successful.

His hands and feet wiggled. Good! His eyebrows raised and lowered, and his mouth opened and closed. Even better. He grunted a bit, trying out a voice that had been silenced for a long time.

“Wh…wh…?”

Raphael could imagine what the question was he tried to ask. “Mr. Sikes, I’m an angel, a Savior. I’m on this earth to heal. And I’m immortal. Your daughter is aware of this, too. I mean to heal you, sir, for your sake as well as Serena’s. She’s missed you so much. How could I go around healing others and not take care of my own? I’ll come back tomorrow and the next day to heal you further until you are completely well again. Now, do I have your blessing to marry your daughter?”

“N…no y…yet.” He struggled through his reply and gave Raphael a disapproving father’s stare. “Yaw waaf?”

“My wife? She passed away, sir. Centuries ago, actually. I loved her dearly, as I’m sure you loved your wife. But time marches on for everyone, and I can’t see spending any more of it without Serena by my side.”

“Da same. Look same,” he grunted harshly. So that’s why he didn’t seem pleased with him. Serena must have spoken to her father after finding out about Sirona’s connection to Raphael. No wonder he looked pissed. Well, Raphael would have to change his mind.

“Yes, they look similar to each other. But sir, you’ve got to believe me when I say that’s as far as the similarity goes. Your daughter is nothing like my late wife beyond her looks. In fact, it’s what’s beyond her exterior that I’m in love with. If my late wife were alive today, I would still choose Serena as the one to share eternity with. I must tell you, angels can’t lie. I must convince Serena of that.” Raphael stood patiently waiting for a response. Mr. Sikes just stared at him, at his feet and hands, and gave a slight smile.

“It gon be hawd get Sewena say yes, but yes, got my bessing.”

Raphael gave Mr. Sikes a winning smile. “Thank you, sir! Thank you!”

“Fed!” Mr. Sikes grunted.

“Okay, thank you Fred. I’ll see you here tomorrow, same time. I gotta run. I gotta propose to Serena!”

He nearly crashed through the closed door, threw the badge at Judy while scribbling his signature, and raced out the front door. A ring! He needed a ring, and he had less than an hour to make it to Cathedral Rock on time. He’d be cutting it close.

Chapter Thirty-Five

A bundle of nerves, that’s what she had turned into. Since leaving her father’s, Serena had been nothing but a bundle of nerves, rehearsing over and over again what she would say to Raphael up on the Rock. Looking all around her now, frightening memories kept popping into her mind, making her think that at any moment, Steve or Wheezer were going to jump out and nab her. Unfortunately, she had gotten to the summit way too early, and now paced like a caged bobcat. It had to stop.
The bad guys are dead, Serena. Think positive, and let go the past
. So, finding a suitable rock to sit on, Serena decided to do a little meditation to soothe her worried heart. “When I see him, I’ll know the right words to say,” she notified the birds.
It may sting for a bit, but it’s for the best.

***

Raphael showed up at the base of the mountain with time to spare, and noticed Serena’s Jeep already parked. Perfect, he thought. He checked his pocket for the millionth time, making sure the ring box hadn’t fallen out.
Still there
. He had rehearsed what to say to her all the way over, but now, as he stepped out of his car, he couldn’t remember a damn bit of it.
I’ll know the right words when I see her
. He took a few deep breaths and started hiking up to where he thought he might find her.

It only took a few minutes before he came upon a nice-looking piece of rock that had a very nice-looking piece of woman resting on it. Serena took his breath away, sitting cross-legged atop the slab, sunlight kissing every strand of her silky, golden hair, making it appear as if she were glowing. He froze where he stood to watch her. It was his favorite thing to do, after all. And as he studied her, she raised her face and arms to the heavens beseechingly.
What is she asking for
?

“Serena,” he called to her.

She immediately brought her arms down to her lap and turned in surprise. “Oh, Raphael. Hi. I…uh, I’m just soaking in some much needed essence of nature. I feel like I’ve been away from it for so long, you know?”

“No need to explain. You look amazing, like nothing’s happened, so nature must be agreeing with you.” He stumbled over his words nervously, like a teenage boy talking to the girl next door for the first time.

“Yeah, I guess it does.” Serena fussed with her hair.

I’ll be damned if she isn’t looking me up and down right now
. He had come wearing hiking boots, long shorts that rode low on the hips, and a loose fitting shirt that he hoped would appeal to her imagination. He’d slicked back his jet black hair into a pony-tail that accentuated the chiseled features of his face.

“May I?” he asked, pointing to a spot next to her.

“Oh, yeah. Sure.” She scooted over to the very edge of the rock, allowing more room for his massive body. As he sat, the sun’s warmth mixed with her flowery scent wafted through the air. The combination nearly intoxicated him.

“There’s so much I need to say to you. I hardly know where to begin. But I gotta start somewhere. So, I’ll start with when you ran off. Serena, my life came to a standstill at that moment and—”

“Raphael, wait. Wait,” she interrupted, putting her hands in the air as if to wave off any advance. “Let me go first. I’m so sorry I ran out like I did. I don’t usually run from problems when they find me. That was completely immature of me not to stick around and talk things out. But since then I’ve had time to think and analyze things. It’s important that you listen to what I have to say first.” He yielded, albeit uncomfortably.

Serena took a deep breath and continued. “Raphael, if it hadn’t been for you, I’d be dead right now. No question about it. What we’ve experienced together, well let’s just say it’s been an adventure. But the adventure’s over, and as much as we may want to continue whatever it is we’ve got between us, I know in my heart I can’t let it go on this way.” Raphael started to object, but Serena quickly went on.

“I’m in love with you Raphael,” Serena gushed, and her cheeks instantly stained red. “There, I said it. I’m in love with you. But what good does it do me when I can never trust in what you feel for me? I’m cursed with Sirona’s face. How can you possibly look at me and not want or desire her instead? I can’t compete, I won’t compete with her. So I think it’s for the best that you should go on and return to the life you had before me.” She nodded as if to convince herself. “Yes, it’s for the best.” She couldn’t even look him in the eye when she finished her speech.

She had stunned him. He was floored. He was pissed. “So that’s it. You love me, but you’re too insecure to believe that I could possibly separate what I felt for Sirona from what I feel for you. What a load of crap.” He jumped off the slab as though it were on fire, and started walking back and forth in front of Serena. He pinched the bridge of his nose and fought desperately to contain his anger.

He stopped right in front of her and pointed an accusing finger at her. He began his passionate diatribe. “I’ve got you all figured out, lady. You’ve been abandoned, rejected, and ignored by your family, and it’s scarred you for any other potential relationship. That’s why you duck and run all the time; it’s easier to be the one to leave first rather than face the same abuse over and over again. But you can’t run from what’s between us, Serena.
I’m in love with you
, too, and that’s the truth.”

Serena turned away from Raphael’s onslaught, but he moved as well so she would still have to face him.

“But you don’t want the truth, do you? Truth has never been anything but a big letdown to you, and now it scares you. You believe it’s going to bite you in the ass again, and leave you cold and alone, like when your mother died, and your father fell ill, and your brother was killed. You’d rather stay alone than risk the reality of us. Isn’t that the truth of it, Serena?” he yelled. “Well, isn’t it?”

How dare he
?
How dare he be so damn right about everything
!Serena stood up to face him like a fierce Amazon warrior. “Yes, damn you! Yes! But you fail to understand my position here. I look at you, and I see the man of my dreams. My impossible dreams. The man I’ve made love with in those dreams, and in reality. When you look at me, what do you see? What do you see? I’ll tell you. Your wife, Raphael! You see your wife! Not me. That’s
truth
.”

He shook his head vigorously in response. “No.”

“I know you can’t help it. But when we make love, I need to know you’re making love to me, not her. When we see each other first thing in the morning and the last thing at night, when we are apart, it’s my face that I want etched in your mind, but it will always be hers. And as for children, Raphael, I want lots of them. And you’ll always be thinking how much they look like her and how you missed the chance to have children with her. And I can’t bear to live the rest of my life that way!”

She escaped to a nearby tree, needing to put some distance between them. “I can’t,” she wept, shaking her head and pounding her fist against its trunk.

Raphael followed her. “I’m sorry, Serena. I never wanted to or dreamed I’d ever hurt you this way.” He turned her to face him. “But I can’t let you go. I won’t. You’re like the air that I breathe. My life’s blood. I know I’m immortal, but I also know I will die without you by my side for eternity.”

“We don’t have an eternity to share, Raphael. I’m human, just a girl. So, although those are lovely words and make my heart sing, that’s all they are. Words.” Tears flowed freely now, and she could nothing to stop them.

“But that’s not true, sweetheart. I told you, Sirona gave you her gift.” Raphael reached out and gently wiped her tears away with the back of his hand. Her eyes fluttered at his gentleness. She would never forget his tender touches, ever.

“I know, she healed me, and most probably brought me back from death.”

“Serena, her gift is not only that, but the gift of eternal life.”

“What? What did you say?” Serena stood frozen, shocked by the growing implications.

“You are now immortal, Serena, like me. We can spend eternity together, loving each other, having children together, anything you want, but
together
! Serena, I love you with every fiber of my being. Please believe me. I don’t know what else I can say or do to make you trust…. Wait a minute….”

He mumbled to himself and then smacked his hands together. “I’ve got it! You’re immortal. Our threaded connection flows both ways now, and we can read each other’s thoughts.” Serena, still so stunned by the shocking news of her immortality, heard some of his mutterings, but lagged a couple of steps behind him in the conversation.