"Come." He gestured toward the rock in the center of the room that lay like a bed beneath a cluster of shimmering stalactites. She was strong in this lifetime. Stronger than she'd ever been before. He saw the rebellion in her eyes that he'd waited a millennium for.
She squelched it and then went to obey. Even so, it was obvious that her submission grated against every part of her being. Her teeth thoroughly clenched, she climbed up and lay back against the cold stone slab.
Choo Co La Tah began chanting as he summoned the sacred breath to cleanse them both.
Abigail listened to his song, but she zoned out as she conjured an image of Jess in her mind. A smile spread across her face as she saw him in the car again. As she felt the memory of his touch on her body. She cupped his pocket watch in her hands and held it on her stomach.
"Choo Co La Tah?" She hated to interrupt his ceremony, but this needed to be done.
"Yes?"
"Once I'm dead, would you please return Jess's watch to him?"
"Why?"
She ran the pad of her thumb over the engraved scrollwork. "He loves it."
"Is his happiness all that matters to you?"
"No. But I don't want him to have any regrets. Not about me."
He inclined his head to her, then went back to his chanting.
Abigail was patient at first, but as it dragged on and on, it began to wear on her nerves. Why couldn't he kill her already? Was the torture part of it?
Perv.
When he started on another chant with no letup in sight, she lost all semblance of manners.
"Choo? Really? Is all this necessary?"
He paused midsyllable. "You're ready to die, then?"
Oh ... there was that.
She turned her head to look at him. "May I have what's behind door number two?"
He actually laughed. "You already chose."
"I know." She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. "I'm ready."
She felt Choo Co La Tah move to stand by her shoulder. The faintest whisper of metal scraping leather let her know he was drawing a knife. Bracing herself, she conjured Jess's face and imagined herself in his arms.
No, on a beach. A little difficult, granted, since he couldn't be in daylight without bursting into flames, but she'd loved the beach when she was a kid. And since the Apollites had the same spontaneous combustion issue with the silken sands, she hadn't been on one since her mother took her there for her fourth birthday.
But she was there now. Jess in a Speedo.
Just kidding. That was too bold a look even for him. Maybe a ...
Naked. Yeah, naked. She liked that best of all. The two of them lying in the surf like the old movie her mother had loved, From Here to Eternity.
Something cold and sharp touched her throat. Tensing, she braced herself for the cut that would end her life.
"Do you not want to fight me to live?"
Hold on to Jess. Naked. Beach. Naked.
"Answer me, Abigail. Do you want to live?"