Blood From a Stone Page 22

  David’s face took on a look of surprise as he motioned for her to lean down so he could whisper in her ear.

  “That’s what he said! Right before he left!” He smiled and nodded.

  She whispered back, “Well it’s good advice. So you follow it. Okay? And you keep your promise too. No one else can know he was here except us.”

  David nodded, his mother looking puzzled. “What was that all about?” she said laughing.

  Willow shrugged. “Oh, you know kids. They have some every day things they turn into secrets. He was telling me he hopes you’ll let him have some more ice cream before he leaves.” She winked at David and he nodded ever so slightly in cahoots.

  She said goodbye and stepped out into the hallway trying to look as normal as possible, although she was quite certain she probably looked as pallid as she felt right now. Perhaps tonight was a good night to make use of one of the many sick days she’d accrued.

  David said that the ‘angel lady’ told him that Samson might become one of them soon. And there was only one thought racing through her mind as she made her way back to the desk to tell the nursing supervisor that she wasn’t feeling well and clock out.

  Had the angels come for him? Was Samson going to die?

  C HAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  “Hey! Are you going home early?” Sasha called as she saw Willow emerge from the break room, purse in hand and head toward the elevator.

  Willow nodded. “I have to get out of here. I

  just…need some space.”

  Sasha sighed. “Will you at least call me later when I go on break so I know you’re okay?” She hugged her friend. “I’m sorry he turned out to be a jerk, if that’s what happened. Don’t let it get you down.”

  “I’m trying….and no, he’s not a jerk. In fact maybe I made a mistake telling him I don’t want to see him anymore. I’m going to just go home and think on things for awhile. Maybe I’ll call him and see if he wants to talk.” She forced a smile. Her words didn’t even begin to cover it, but it was all she could disclose to Sasha right now.

  “Okay. Just let me know what’s going on,” Sasha said as Willow stepped into the elevator.

  “I will. I promise.”

  As she drove home, she wondered if she had indeed made a mistake…had she been too hard on Samson?

  She thought back over their conversation from this morning when he‘d asked her to look him in the eye and tell him that she‘d have done any differently if it were her instead of him. She’d haughtily stated that he wasn’t being fair. But now looking back, she felt selfish, and childish too…because the truth was that it was simply her pride…her medical ethics…stubborn will that had caused her to refuse to admit that if she herself were in his shoes, she’d have done the same exact thing. She wanted to kick herself now. And she was also very worried about what David had said about Samson becoming an ‘angel.’

  He seemed to know as little about his powers as he claimed. So…was it some kind of trial gift he’d been given to use here on earth before they came to take him? She could barely breathe at the thought of never seeing him…never touching his face or feeling the warmth of his arms around her again. How could she have been such a fool?

  Tears threatened to spill from her lashes as she thought of the moment when she’d gotten out of his truck and fled into her house with barely a goodbye. She couldn’t bear the thought of that being the last words she’d ever spoken to him.

  She picked up her cell, lying on the console and desperately dialed his number, praying he would pick up. She just needed to hear his voice right now…to know that he was alive and well. Her heart sank in her chest as she heard nothing more than the recorded message of his voice mail.

  “Samson…it’s me. Listen. I’m so sorry. I was wrong. I was a complete idiot and I hope you can forgive me. Please call me back as soon as you get this message.” She paused for a second. “I love you,” she said softly before hanging up.

  She headed the rest of the way home wishing she would pull in to find his truck in her driveway and him standing on her doorstep. But when she got there, only the dim porch light and the whistling of the winter wind greeted her, as she got out and went inside.

  Samson sat quietly on the couch in his apartment after he’d left Willow’s house this afternoon. She’d told him to leave and from all indications she never wanted to see him again. He’d spent the afternoon trying to understand how things had gone so downhill so quickly. But then he’d known the risk he took the second he’d decided to heal David. He knew damned well that when she found out she might tell him to go away forever. No matter the cost…he knew he must save that child’s life, and so he had.

  Now…with his heart no less heavier than his spirit as he confronted the reality that it was over, he could only hope that it was for the best and that somehow it served the greatest good. He could only take comfort in the fact that at least he’d be causing her no further heartaches.

  He sighed. Now…it was just a waiting game. Figuring out what to do with his time until the next Change came.

  He threw the television remote down on the couch weighing his options. Maybe he needed to try to forget any of this ever happened. It was nearly dinner time, and a nice burger or a sandwich…a cold beer, a game of pool and some loud music all sounded pretty damned palatable right now. He got up, put on his boots, threw on a jacket and headed out the door to the nearest neighborhood pub. He found a little place two blocks over called ‘Big Eddie’s Burgers and Brew’.

  Fifteen minutes later, as the jukebox droned, he chalked his cue and took a swig of beer as he waited for his burger. He quickly won the game, shook hands with his opponent and walked back over to the booth he’d taken as his food arrived.

  The waitress smiled seductively and said, “You let me know if I can get you anything else.” She looked back over her shoulder at him as she sashayed away. He smiled as he admired her shapely body and long legs. There was no doubt she was coming on to him…and he had to admit she was pretty damned cute.

  He took a large bite of his sandwich, as he tried to picture her naked body wrapped around his own. But that vision faded very quickly and was replaced by the memory of Willow….her long, golden hair spread around her like a halo as she’d been engulfed by the warmth of their lovemaking.

  God, what he wouldn’t give to have her here beside him right now. To feel her arms around his neck again. To see her smile, and even to get a thorough scolding from the ‘school marm’ side of her.

  In his past he’d have quickly moved on, and been in the eager company of the waitress to help him forget. But something had changed inside of him this past week, beyond even his own understanding. It was love alright…but also a deeper sense of responsibility for his actions than he‘d ever known or imagined.

  He pulled out his cell, longing to dial her number and hear her voice, even for a moment. But he knew that she didn’t want to have anything to do with him.

  He was about to put it back in his pocket when he noticed there was a message. He quickly listened weighing what to do. She’d apologized. She wanted to see him again. He started to dial her number and then stopped himself…was it the right thing to do?

  There was no better time than now to just walk away and let her go. To just allow her to think of him as a jerk who broke her heart…to let her hate him and move on with her life so she might have a shot at finding a nice guy who she could settle down with and enjoy the rest of her time here on earth. All the things he could never give her.

  And yet…he had to wonder if it would be so wrong to at least offer her the truth and an explanation before he walked away.

  He sighed heavily. Choices. He was about to make another one of those and he hoped it was the right one.

  He put his phone back in his pocket, gulped down the rest of his beer and finished off the remainder of his sandwich. He stood up and slipped on his jacket, left enough money on the table to cover his bill and a generous tip, and walked toward th
e door.

  The waitress stopped him before he walked out. “Leaving so soon? I get off at midnight…if you want come back. Maybe we could go out for a drink or something?”

  He smiled. Damn. In another time and place she’d have been too tempting a morsel to turn down.

  But right now he found that he only had an appetite for one dish…and her name was Willow Dalton. Unfortunately he also knew that dish was not one that would be on the menu, now…or ever again.

  C HAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Willow heard the bells off in the distance…like some kind of soft song coming from some undefined locale. Was it church bells? No. It sounded more like the bells she’d have imagined coming from Heaven. She found herself standing in a grassy field, and off in the distance, she could see someone approaching. It was Samson.

  Barely able to contain her emotion at seeing him again, she began to run to meet him, but soon discovered that no matter how quickly she ran, she was making no progress. A voice rang out from nowhere. “He will be one of us soon.”

  She called out to him and tried to run faster, but he didn’t seem to hear her. A swirling mass of clouds descended and the bells rang again. Louder this time. She cried out, “Please! Wait…” but the clouds surrounded him and he began to fade away.

  The bells rang once more as a loud noise startled her…from her dream.

  She opened her eyes to the sounds of the doorbell ringing and Cisco barking loudly. She must’ve dozed off, after she’d gotten home and curled up under the warmth of the blanket trying to escape the realities of the day. She glanced at the clock and discovered it was well past dinner time.

  She got up, straightened her clothes and opened the door to find Samson standing there in the dim light.

  A look of relief crossed her features and she launched herself into his arms. “I’m so sorry…I should have given you a chance. You were right about everything! I would have done the same thing.”

  He pulled her closer, lifting her feet off the floor, unable to resist the urge to capture her lips with his own.

  After several long moments, his mind finally began to regain some functionality and pulled back from her, trying to compose himself. He put her down and removed her arms from his neck. “We have to talk,” he said very softly.

  She nodded in agreement, but also slightly afraid of what he might say. What if he’d decided he didn’t want to see her again after the way she’d acted this afternoon?

  “Before you say anything, I just want to tell you that I trust you. I believe in us and I know that somehow…some way we can work through this thing.” She smiled lightly hoping to ease the tension she felt.

  “Can I come in?” he said.

  She smirked. “I believe you’ve asked me that question before.”

  He smiled back. “You have me on that one. But this time,” he sighed, “my intentions are more…noble.”

  They walked over to her couch and he sat down beside her as she pulled her blanket around herself trying to fend off the chill from having the door open in the freezing air.

  He took her hand in his own. “I haven’t been completely honest with you,” he said heavily. “You know about what my blood can do but you don’t know the rest of the story.”

  She swallowed hard. “Does this have anything to do with the golden haired lady?”

  Samson looked alarmed. “You’ve seen her?”

  Willow shook her head. “No. But David told me she came to his room.” Her eyes welled up with tears. “She said that you would be an angel soon…or something like that.” She reached forward and put her arms around his neck. “Please tell me you’re not going to die.”

  He smiled. “Well, that wasn’t on my ‘to-do list’ for the week. What did she say to David?”

  “I don’t know…other than you becoming one of them. Who is she?”

  Samson shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve only seen her a couple of times. She said she was some kind of guardian or something.”

  “Does she know about your blood? Is she the one who did this to you?”

  “Yeah she knows about it, but her being the one who did this to me? Not even close,” he said softly. “That’s the part we have to talk about.” He took her arms from around his neck and laid his head against the back of the couch. “Willow…I probably just should have walked away and not said anything. I don’t even know why I’m here, other than I felt like you deserved the truth.”

  “I can handle it, no matter what it is,” she said.

  He laughed with irony. “Oh, I don’t know about that. We were worried someone from the government might want to haul me away if they found out about my blood. But after I tell you what I’m about to say, you just might want to have me carted out of here and locked up for being crazy. And you may even be afraid of me…hell, I don’t know.”

  He dragged in a deep breath, sat upright and looked her straight in the eye. “Willow, my name is Samson… son of Lord Charles Bramley Bellmaine. I was born in the year 1483 in the southern region of Wales, not far from the Cambrian Mountains.” He paused for a moment to weigh her reaction.

  She sat in stone cold silence, her eyes wide…with disbelief? Fear? More likely certainty that he was out of his mind. He couldn’t tell. But he knew he had to continue.

  “I was a man of great wealth…my father was a land baron and I lived a life of plenty. There was little that I wanted for, even in those brutal times. But instead of being grateful for the many blessings I had been born into, and would inherit from his good sense, and good fortune, instead I took another path. One of arrogance….self indulgence, hedonism…selfishness.”

  He sat there, waiting for her to say something but still she hadn’t uttered a word. He was wondering whether he should bother going on, when she finally reached over and took his hand in her own. He looked down at her fingers entwined through his.

  “Does this mean you’re still with me? Or did I lose you at being born five hundred years ago?”

  “Well... I can’t honestly say I don’t find this to be surreal. It’s just so hard to believe. But, after all I’ve seen and heard in the past few days, I guess nothing can shock me anymore. And…well… I’m not going anywhere.” she said softly as she squeezed his fingers. “Go on.”

  “I didn’t give a damn about much of anything except drinking, spending my father’s money and sleeping with countless numbers of women of all stations in life. Tavern wenches, married, betrothed, single. Promises of proper intentions….marriage…I would say whatever it took to get what I wanted. It made no matter to me the long road of broken promises…and broken hearts that I left in my wake.”

  “And then,” he continued, “there was Dania. Beautiful, young…and a daughter of one of those damned pagan priestesses that lived high in the hills near the Irish border. I promised her anything…everything if she would only give in to our desire. She warned me that she would lose her powers unless I took some kind of oath and ritual to become one of her people. I cared nothing for her ways, her supposed magic, or their seemingly foolish traditions. But still I promised her what I knew I had no intention of giving her. And when those brief moments of pleasure were over,” he continued, “I pushed her away, just as I’d done with all the others. I could not have married her even had I wanted to. She was not of my station. But the point is that I didn’t want to, and I had broken her heart and robbed her of her powers….powers that I didn’t believe in at the time anyway…and the rightful place as high priestess that she would have inherited from her mother someday. Without those powers, she could not hold that position within her family or her tribe.”

  “Later that night her mother placed a curse on me over a boiling cauldron as the fires burned brightly on that hill up there where they lived. Something about blood congealing, and time standing still and man and stone being one and the same. By that evening my body was turning cold and my blood felt like ice. I tried to get her to lift the spell…but she refused. And so I became what I am.”


  “And what is that?” asked Willow. “What are you?”

  His expression remained steady. “I spend fifty years at a time frozen….a solid block of stone, waiting patiently for the day when I will Awaken from my sleep.”

  He turned away from her, not wanting to look her in the eye. “I’m not completely human. I am part man, and part….gargoyle. ”

  Willow’s sharp intake of breath told him he’d finally said something that scared the shit out of her.

  She pulled her hand free of his and she stared at him for a long moment, struggling with what to say or do. Was he some kind of escaped mental patient? Dangerous? She shuddered to think of what could have happened to her inviting him into her house and her bed if that were the case.

  But she could also not deny all that she had seen in the past few days. His blood had the power to heal, little David seeing the angel in his room…through it all she’d been struggling for some rational explanation.

  And difficult as it was she was beginning to face he fact that there may be things in the world that defied what we see around us. The paranormal…forces of nature and magic. The stuff fairy tales were made of. Perhaps they were real after all.

  When her heart finally stopped pounding in her chest and the initial shock and fear subsided, her expression finally softened and she slid toward him tentatively. “So…is this why your blood can heal people and animals?”

  “I don’t know. This hasn’t ever happened before in any of my other Awakenings.”

  She picked his hand back up in her own and held it there for a moment, running her fingers up and down the length of his palm.

  “Does it hurt? I mean…when you change?”

  “So then. You believe me?”

  “Yeah. I guess I have to. What other explanation could there possibly be?” She smiled. “And I guess that certainly explains why you sound so poetic sometimes…almost as if you’re from another century when you speak.”