Victoria's Demon Lover - By Alia Bess Page 0,38
dream. How can you know about A Christmas Carol if you live in the ninth century?” She fingered his chains. “These aren’t real.”
“Feels real enough to me,” he said and his voice was rough.
Victoria regretted her last remark. His blood and the raw flesh under the manacles looked real. He seemed to be in real pain. The heavy band around his throat would leave a wide thick scar once it was removed. But dreams can be terribly frightening. People always wake up, though. She wondered. Maybe some don’t. Maybe when you are in Hell, you don’t wake up from nightmares.
She asked him, “You took me to Shrewsbury. And you were Jack. Were you Marcus too?”
He sighed.
She was sorry she couldn’t see his face. “I tried to kiss you alive when you were killed in that battle. Jasper said you sent me back to my bed. I woke up. I know it wasn’t a dream. I still have the beautiful collar from the Roman orgy.”
“Maggs.” His voice was low and soft. “You are going to have to try harder.”
She paused, then asked, “Try harder? Why can’t you just tell me?”
“Because, it is not a matter of conveying information. It cannot be told, it has to be experienced. You have to realize it. I cannot do it for you. Just like I cannot eat for you, or sleep for you or piss for you. You have to do it yourself.”
She thought about this. “Then why did you send me back home that time on the battlefield?”
“You were going the wrong way. I just turned you around and pointed you in the right direction. I was helping you, Maggs.”
“And now…”
“And now you are doing it wrong again. I have to send you back again.”
“But I thought you needed my help. Look at you.”
“I am beyond your help. I will die here. They won’t find me for months. Until the spring thaw. Dogs will find my body.”
“You don’t look like you are dying,” she challenged him.
“My liver is torn. It will take this body three days to bleed to death.”
Victoria sat up straighter. He spoke so matter-of-factly. Like he didn’t care. Or… She remembered what Jasper had said about Marcus. He is always here, the little monkey demon had said. Maybe Torgal has been here dying many times, over and over and over. She felt a little chill up and down her spine and his warmth was no longer enough to keep her from shivering.
“And Michael from Legal? Were you pointing me in the right direction then?”
“Mr. Brand had committed a mortal sin. I was sent to reap his soul. It’s something I have to do periodically. I don’t have a choice. I just arranged it so you would benefit from that particular event.”
This made Victoria feel sick. She put a hand over her stomach. “You don’t have a choice about dying here again, either?” she asked him. She knew the answer. “Nor Marcus?” She thought about Jack and her heart jumped.
His hand reached out and took her arm. “No Maggs. Don’t. It will only make it worse. Don’t. That is not the way.” He pulled her to him and kissed her hard on the lips.
She sat up in her bed again. She was wearing the boots and the lambskin vest. “No!” She shouted at the wall. She tore off her vest and stomped over to the chalk circle and glared at it. “Jasper!” Nothing appeared. She looked at the clock. Nearly dawn. The chalk circle had blurred a bit, like little feet had smeared some of the lines. I will fix it tomorrow, she promised herself.
Victoria put a hand to her face. She was supposed to take the kids to the zoo so Sharon could finish unpacking. So be it. First the zoo. Then…Shrewsbury.
Chapter Twelve
The kids were asleep. That had been easy: ten hours at the zoo and no sugar drinks. Sharon was tired as well. She would be asleep soon in the downstairs bedroom. Victoria examined her shoes. The only ones left were her office pumps. She wouldn’t need them anymore, but they could hardly be interesting to Jasper. She moved them around, deciding. There was a faux alligator pair in a lurid green that went with only one outfit, the one she wore in March so she wouldn’t get pinched by the boys in the mailroom.
She took those out and set them by the chalk circle. At midnight she called for him.
“Jasper!”
He appeared, but he didn’t look glad to see her.