One Thousand Years to Forever

by Mary Moriarty

  “Don’t do anything I said!”

  Katherine screamed “Colum!” She was hit on the side of the mouth, which made her head go slamming into the side window.

  Colum heard Katherine’s scream. “Travis, where are they?”

  “Sir, they are heading south on Route One.” As Travis watched the screen, he felt his nephews and the other two men who had climbed into their Humvee, trying to look over his shoulder. “They’ve just taken a right on to Main Street.”

  Colum shot down the other side of Main Street and he saw the tail end of the Rover disappear.

  Travis looked over at Colum. He knew the time had come and he knew this would be the hardest thing Colum would even have to do.

  Colum was trying to think clearly. His Kat could be dead before he had a chance to get to her in time. He was coming up to the stop sign as the Rover shot across the road.

  “Sir, there is an abandon quarry just up on the right.” They watched and sure enough the Rover was pulling off.

  Colum looked at Travis. “Travis, this is going to be my kill, I need you to take care of Katherine. You know what to do.”

  “Sir, if you will, shouldn’t you be the one who changes her?”

  Colum pulled off to the side just before the quarry. He heard the men checking their weapons. He shoved a knife into his boot and had his gun out and ready. “Thor, get a video of this. We will send it to the bastards after, so they think that Katherine was killed. That will end this. Then, later we will launch a strike at their headquarters.”

  “Sir?” Travis said as they got out of the Humvee.

  Colum looked over at Travis as they crept up toward the quarry. “Travis, as soon as he kills Katherine you are to take care of her, don’t waste a second. I can’t lose her again.”

  Travis knew that this would more than repay his creation of almost a thousand years ago. “It will be an honor... you can count on me.”

  * * * * * * *

  The man pushed Katherine to the edge of the quarry. He had found this place the other day on a drive after he had arrived. He had been careful. No taking chances in being caught and killed. He had seen the videos. These were not humans, the group he was dealing with. Well, he would dispatch this unholy woman, send her to her hero husband that she had so soon forgotten, and then he would kill the men who he knew followed him. He had two 9 mm guns strapped to him, and a third in his hand. More than enough fire power to take these monsters down.

  He brought the red headed whore to the edge. “For so tough a woman who gave such a pretty speech you have nothing to say now?”

  Katherine turned her face to her captor. Why had she been so stupid and impulsive? “You aren’t going to get away with this. I can hear them following us.”

  The man brought his face up to hers. Katherine tried moving her face away, but felt her hair being yanked so that she had to look him in the eyes. “See me whore? You aren’t in charge any longer. They can’t save you or themselves. They will die after I get done with you and they will watch.”

  Katherine’s head whipped around to Colum’s voice. “Katherine, I’m here, we’re all here.”

  Katherine saw Colum and felt a flood of relief. Maybe she would make it out of this alive. She felt the gun go back and forth from her head to her heart. “Colum, I’m sorry I didn’t listen... ” She said in a very small voice.

  Colum saw the fear in her eyes. “It’s OK, we will take care of you, and it’s all right. Do you understand?”

  The captor turned his face towards Colum and his men. “Stop talking, don’t you understand, she’s going to die and you can’t do anything about it. Then I will dispatch all of you to whatever hell you came from. After that, I will dispose of all your bodies in this quarry.”

  Colum felt his eyes haze over. He holstered his gun. There would be no need for it. This would be quick, once the man killed Katherine.

  “Katherine, listen, I love you, I always have... do you trust me?”

  Katherine’s head was yanked back as the gun grazed her temple. She nodded her head. “I love you, Colum,” tears streaming down her cheeks.

  Colum locked eyes with Travis. “You know what to do.”

  Travis looked at Colum, his future King. “Yes, Sir. You can trust me.”

  “Katherine, trust me it won’t last for long.”

  “Enough!” The man screamed. His hand shook but he leveled the gun to Katherine’s heart. “You go to your dead husband, who you were so proud of.”

  Katherine took a deep breath, saw Colum, saw that his eyes that had turned to a blood red, and felt his love. She saw Travis standing next to Colum one moment, and the last thing she saw before she heard the gunshot, was Travis flying though the air. She heard the boom, felt the heat and then the pain shoot through her. Everything slowed down as she started to fall. She thought the man would push her into the water of the quarry. As her world became dim she felt her body being lifted up and away. The last thing she heard was a scream rending the air. Then all went black.

  The man shot her in the heart, and Colum watched the last seconds of his beloved Kat’s life. He saw Travis land behind her, the man didn’t even know. Colum was on the man, sinking his teeth in then ripping his neck wide open. The man fought for a few seconds and then his body went still. Colum dropped the body of Katherine’s assassin on the ground. He wiped his mouth and knelt down by Katherine’s still body. Blood had poured from her wound but had now stopped as Travis sat back on his haunches. Colum could see a neat bite mark on her slender neck. He bent and kissed that spot. It disappeared.

  Leaning into her chest he heard nothing.

  “Sir, it may take a few minutes. I am sure it’s worked or the wound my fangs created wouldn’t have disappeared with your kiss.”

  The woods were hushed. The other four men stood quieter than anyone their size would be capable of standing quiet.

  Colum watched Katherine’s body. No movement. Nothing. He scooped her up and his scream broke the morning’s silence.

  * * * * * * *

  Katherine felt herself going faster than she ever thought possible. It was like a race to see how fast she could travel in this brightly lit tunnel. There, in the distance, she saw John waiting. She reached him and took his hands.

  “Katherine, you can’t stay. You were never meant to be with me forever.”

  Katherine could hear someone yelling her name, She saw John standing there, but no sound came from his lips, only thoughts were coming into her head.

  “He’s calling you... you were always his... go to him.”

  Katherine turned towards the sound of the voice. She knew that voice. It was that love who had followed her down through the ages.

  She turned and saw John but he was a great distance away. She saw him raise his hand in good-bye and then he was gone.

  She was moving back towards the voice and pain. Pain was seeping into her body as she came to the end of the tunnel. She heard other voices.

  She opened her eyes and heard Travis say, “See, Sir, she lives... ”

  Epilogue

  Sally sat on the chair next to her mother’s bed. She had just gotten home from school. Thor and Odin said they would be by in an hour to take her to Olivia’s house. Odin had just given her a Christmas gift. It was small box wrapped in gold paper. She held it now in her hand. Tomorrow was Christmas, so she would be spending just a couple hours with her friend, then be coming home. She looked up to the sound of the door opening, in walked her grandparents.

  “Sally, you go to your friend’s, if anything changes we will let you know.”

  Sally got up but placed a kiss on her mother’s ivory cheeks. Her mother’s coloring had changed in the last week. It had become flawless, just like porcelain. This morning she had noticed a beautiful rose color on her cheeks, like she had been outside in the cold.

  She walked out and closed the door quietly.

  * * * * * * *

  Colum was almost home from Portland. He had gone to the f
amily vault to get Katherine’s jewels. The ring that had been hers before in her last life, he’d had reworked into a new setting, similar to the one that had been on the Titanic and had recently been found in the wreck. It had three blue diamonds in the shape of teardrops. They were each 3 carats. A necklace to match was in a blue velvet case.

  His phone buzzed. “Yes?” He listened and a smile spread on his face. “I’ll be right there.”

  He turned onto Bay View Road. His Jaguar XK purred like the animal it was named after, sending gravel spraying as he took the curves in the road fast. He came up to his gate and hit the rock. The screen opened. He touched it and the gate flew open. The car spit gravel out from under its tires as he sped down the drive.

  * * * * * * *

  Katherine opened her eyes again and blinked. All around her faces stared and smiled down at her. Her mother, she could see, was crying tears of joy. Then she saw Travis and her boys, with her father squeezed inbetween Thor and Odin. She saw Sally and Issy sitting next to her on the bed. She opened her mouth to speak, to ask where the most important person was when she heard steps approaching and the bedroom door crashed opened.

  Katherine saw Colum fill the doorframe and for the first time knew that this very second, started forever.

  The End