by Paige Watson
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Special Thanks
In Memory Of
Chapter 1 - Awakening
Chapter 2 - A Stranger from the Past
Chapter 3 - The Necklace
Chapter 4 - The Connection of the Dots
Chapter 5 - Poppies
Chapter 6 - The Date
Chapter 7 - Genesis
Chapter 8 - Secundae
Chapter 9 - The Hunt
Chapter 10 - Pulled
Chapter 11 - The Silence before the Storm
Chapter 12 - The Answers in the Painting
Chapter 13 - Comedere Cor
Chapter 14 - The King's Amusement
Chapter 15 - Repercussions
Chapter 16 - The High Road
Chapter 17 - Scars
Chapter 18 - Caput
Chapter 19 - The Hiding Place
Chapter 20 - Betrayal
Chapter 21 - The Sacrifice
Chapter 22 - Awakening
The End
About the Author
The Concilium Series: Seeds of Eden
Copyright © 2012 by Paige Watson
ISBN: 978-0-9888019-0-5
eBook cover design and interior layout by Tekeme Studios
www.tekeme.com
Cover photo by Brandilyn Davidson at Brandilyn Davidson Photography
www.brandilyndavidsonphotography.com
A special thank you to my real life Caroline and Conrad
for their everlasting support and encouragement
from the first word to the last period.
A final acknowledgment to my sister, Stephanie, in thanks
for her constant love and motivation.
In memory of Alyce Watson and Harold Priddy
whose love, laughter, and presence have left
permanent imprints upon my memory.
“There was a time when you would do anything I asked of you,” I answered with a shaky voice.
A shrill laugh echoed off every surface of the great hall. I could see his hands clench around the arms of his throne; his fingernails digging into the glistening wood carved into the shapes of two deadly yet regal looking lions.
“Unfortunately for you, that time has come to an end.” He lifted his hand from atop the lion and beckoned for the masked executioner to proceed.
“No!” I bent forward bracing myself with my hands. The coldness of the floor stunned me, sucking away my breath. I began scrambling toward the faceless man to my left.
“Hold her still,” the man from the shadows boomed. Large hands grasped my arms from behind me. They held me tightly, causing me to wince at the pressure they were inflicting. “And make sure she’s watching. I want her to see this.” His last words were saturated with triumph and satisfaction. Without looking at him, I knew there was a sinister smile spreading across his face. My stomach felt as if it were falling through my body, right down to the floor.
“Please, no,” I screamed with all the power I could muster, but my pleas fell on deaf ears. Immediately my eyes shot to the axe. It rose backward, slicing through the air and then fell forward picking up speed as it neared the faceless man’s bared neck. “No, please. NO!” I cried.
I woke up clutching my hand to my chest. Sweat glistened down my arms and neck. “A dream,” I said to myself. “It was just a dream.” I looked over to the clock that was perched on top of the small white table next to my bed. The bright red numbers glared at me showing 6:07. It was almost time to start getting ready for school. I laid my head back down on my pillow and stared up at the ceiling. Electric blue monarch butterflies flew in circles above my head. I blew a deep breath from my mouth, causing the butterfly mobile to pick up its speed. Suddenly my phone started ringing, causing me to jump. I slid my finger across the screen and pressed the phone to my ear.
“Hey Caroline,” I said.
“Morning! Did I wake you up? You sound out of breath.”
“No, I’ve been up for a few minutes. I had that dream again.”
“The same one you’ve been having for the past few weeks?”
“Yeah. I just can’t seem to get it out of my head.”
“Well you are watching someone die in it. I’d say that would be pretty hard to just wipe away.”
“I know. It seems so real though, I mean I really feel like I am right there. Every time he refuses to spare the man’s life, I feel as if it’s my own death sentence he is reading.”
“But it’s not. It’s just a dream. A dream that’s no doubt due to too much Harry Potter and Charlaine Harris,” she said in a teasing voice.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I laughed. “So I’m guessing you want to know what I’m going to wear to school today huh?”
“Yes, it’s the first day of our senior year of high school. Honestly, would you expect anything else from me?”
“Not really, especially since you’ve called me every morning for the last six years so we can discuss what to wear to school.”
“What can I say? I’m a creature of habit.”
I shook my head and laughed. “I’d be a liar if I said I hadn’t noticed. Well I think I’m going to wear some jeans and that new loose fitting tank top I got at the mall last week with a pink cardigan.”
“Oh that sounds cute. I’m going to wear jeans too but I think my green button up shirt will look good with some sandals.”
“That will look good.” Caroline and I had been best friends since we met in the third grade. Ever since then we had been pretty much joined at the hip. “I think I’m going to curl my hair too. You know since it’s the first day of school and all.”
“I am so excited! I’ve been waiting for senior year for so long.”
“Me too. When will you be here to pick me up this morning?”
“Seven thirty. I want to get to school a little early since it’s the first day and we will have the dreaded opening assembly.”
“Ugh,” I groaned. “Don’t remind me. At least it’s our last one!”
“I know. Every time Principal Louden goes into his aim for the stars speech it makes me want to hurl.”
“I know what you mean. I’ll see you in a little while.”
“Ok bye!”
I dragged myself out of bed and headed for the bathroom that was connected to my room. The lavender paint decorating the walls of my bedroom continued into the bathroom. I turned the water on hot and waited until steam started rising over the curtain before climbing in. As I soaked my hair, I couldn’t help but replay my dream over and over in my mind. I was unable to shake the sense of overwhelming despair. I wished I was able to see the man’s face before he died. Why was he being killed? I knew his death was somehow my fault. The king wanted me to suffer, and the man’s death was my punishment. This wasn’t the first dream like this I ever had. Over the years there had been too many to count. Sometimes the dreams would become dark; I would see glimpses of people being tortured, or even my own death as I was burned at the stake. It didn’t matter how many times I had these dreams, there was always one thing that stood out in my mind; how utterly real they felt.
I squeezed the remaining water out of my hair and wrapped it up in a towel on top of my head. Every day I wondered why I was having these dreams and every day that passed, I was never supplied with an answer. I wanted them, but I also had to make it through my last year of high school before I could even start thinking about anything else. Once my hair was dry I set it in some rollers and finished my makeup. Then I threw on my clothes, ran my fingers through the tousled curls and headed down the hall for a quick bite to eat.
I walked over to my mother and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Morning.”
“Good mornin
g! How does it feel to officially be a senior?” She turned from the kitchen counter to pull me into a quick hug.
“Same as last year,” I shrugged. I peeked my head into the dining room and saw my dad sitting at the antique mahogany table reading the newspaper with a mug of coffee in his hand. “Morning daddy,” I said, sitting in the chair beside him. His dark brown eyes looked at me over the square rims of his reading glasses. His black hair and beard were peppered with spots of gray, while soft lines fanned out from the corners of his eyes. My mom brought me a bowl of cereal and a piping cup of coffee.
“Good morning.”
“What’s going on in the news today?” My father read our town’s newspaper religiously, even though in a town as small as Estill Springs, nothing ever seemed to happen. It seemed to take an act of God just to get a new restaurant or store built.
“A couple of kids spray painted some stuff at the city park, but that’s about it,” he said with a shrug.
“Oh ok.” I grabbed some sugar and poured a teaspoon into my coffee mug. I topped it off with a little milk to mask the bitterness.
“Oh Guy, can you believe it? After this year she’ll be graduating and then she will be leaving us to go to college.” My mother had her light brown hair pinned on the top of her head and I could see the gold locket hanging around her neck. It had been a gift from my father when they first started dating. Her light green eyes sparkled, and I could just make out the faint lingering of tears in them.
“It just doesn’t seem right,” my dad replied smiling at me. “It seems like yesterday I was carrying you around on my shoulders.”
“Both of you act like I just grew up over night,” I said, shaking my head at them.
“Well for us, it really seems like you did,” my mother answered.
“Are you working after school today?” my father chimed in.
“Yeah, Caroline and I are working our regular school shift at the diner. I should be back by ten tonight,” I said, answering him. The three of us had just finished our breakfast when Caroline pulled into the driveway. She honked the horn twice; that was my signal she was ready to go.
“Here you go Evey,” my mother said, handing me my soft leather messenger bag. The brown exterior had been worn down from years of use. “Do you need money for lunch?”
“No, I have some. Love you!” I called to both of them over my shoulder, as I headed out the door.
I waved to Caroline as I walked up to her car. She drove a pretty beat up Nissan Sentra, but you couldn’t tell her that. She was one of those people who felt an emotional connection to her car, even if the majority of the white paint was peeling from the hood. I set my bag by my feet and fastened my seat belt.
“Hey, you look so cute!” I said, admiring her outfit.
“Thanks, you do too. I love when you wear your hair like this,” she said, running her fingers through my dark auburn curls. Usually I tended to wear my hair in braided pig tails, but lately I had grown fond of wearing it in the soft waves. “I love this song. Let’s turn it up!” I reached forward and turned the volume dial on her radio as she backed her car out of my driveway.
“Oh me too. Do you know the name of it?” she asked.
“No, but I’ve had it stuck in my head for days. It’s the only song that I want to listen to lately.” I turned to her just as the chorus started playing and belted out the lyrics. “And I don’t even need your love, but you treat me like a stranger and it feels so rough.” Caroline joined the singing for the next verse and ten minutes later, we were pulling into the parking lot beside the Math Wing.
“You ready for this assembly?” I asked Caroline, flashing a grin.
“I’d rather gouge my eyes out I think.” We laughed all the way to our locker. We had been sharing a locker since freshman year because they were assigned alphabetically. Caroline’s was in a prime location since hers was in the English wing and her last name started with the letter B. However, mine was in the lower Math wing, or the dungeon as everyone called it, and it was on the complete opposite side of the school from the gym.
We squeezed through the crowded hallway to the gymnasium and took our usual seats on the highest row of the bleachers. The gym was buzzing with conversation. Everyone ran about saying hellos and giving out hugs to all the people they hadn’t seen during the summer. Since Caroline and I were mainly loners, we only said hi to a couple of people while we waited for the assembly to begin.
As Principal Louden began his beginning of the year speech, Caroline and I pulled out our schedules to see which classes we had together. Our first class was English, followed by Biology II, World History was third period, and Physics was our last class of the day. Every now and then we would catch snippets of the assembly. After Principal Louden advised the student body to “learn to earn” and “search for success,” I decided to braid pieces of Caroline’s long blond hair. I folded her light locks into tiny braids all over her head, mixing them in with the rest of her straight hair.
When the bell rang, it beckoned us to report to our first period classes. I was so glad to be out of the assembly I didn’t even mind English being my first class of the day. Mrs. Burleson, it seemed, had spent the entire summer preparing a detailed syllabus that outlined the objectives of the class for the entire semester. She even had our partners assigned for our first presentation. The rest of the class flew by as we read Macbeth and then it was time for us to go to second period. I was ecstatic when Caroline and I were assigned to be one another’s lab partner in Biology. Despite this, I was still relieved when third period rolled around because history was my favorite subject. Stories of battles, treaties, and revolutions fascinated me. I could pour over my textbooks for hours, absorbing all of the facts that were supplied.
Caroline and I filed into Mr. Rieder’s class and found two empty seats at a table in the back right corner of the classroom. Four chairs sat on both sides of the table and the empty seats started to fill up. I pulled out my purple notebook and a pencil, setting them by my textbook. Then the bell rang out signaling for the start of class.
“Ok, ok. Everyone settle down. It’s time to start today’s lesson.” Mr. Rieder was a short plump man who was as round as he was tall. His black hair was littered with streaks of white and his gold circular spectacles always rested on the tip of his nose. The way his mouth was shaped always reminded me of a turtle, as if at any moment his head might recede beneath his dark green sweater. “Now I want all of you to turn to page 256. We will be talking about the Spanish Inquisition today.”
I flipped my book open to the right page and immediately started to read the first paragraph of the section.
“We are going to start off talking about the two rulers of Spain who initiated the Inquisition.” He turned back around and started scribbling various dates and names across the white marker board. “Essentially the purpose of the Spanish Inquisition was to punish converted Jews and Muslims who were thought to be insincere in their conversion. It was operated by authorities of the church, but it was under control of the Spanish monarchy. It was established in 1480 by Ferdinand II of Aragon and his wife Isabella I of Castile. If you turn the page you can see a painting of Isabella in the top left corner.”
I turned the page over and glanced at the picture. The first thing I noticed was the delicate ruby pendant hanging around her neck. The large red stone in the shape of a diamond had a smooth tear drop pearl hanging from the bottom tip of it. I traced the outlines of the necklace with my fingertips. I could hear the door open and shut with a slam, but my eyes were drawn to the woman in the picture. I was unable to tear my eyes away from her, even when Mr. Rieder announced that our class was to be joined by a new student.
“Class this is Conrad Bourdet. He is a new student here at Tulson. So, where are you from Mr. Bourdet?”
“Los Angeles.”
“Well you certainly did come a long way from Los Angeles, but anyways, we are glad to have you in our class! Why don’t you take the open seat in
the back by Claire?”
Suddenly Caroline elbowed me in the side.
“Ouch! What was that for?” I asked, massaging my ribs.
“Because the most gorgeous guy that has ever been to this school just walked into class and you are staring at that stupid painting! Just look at him!”
I glanced up from my book and saw Conrad as he walked to his seat by Claire. He had short chestnut colored hair and a golden tan to his skin that made it look like he just gotten back from a cruise to the Bahamas. He ran a hand through his hair, causing the brown locks to become slightly disheveled. As I stared at him, I noticed he had to be at least six feet tall, and despite his height you could see the well-developed muscles in his arms stretching underneath the tight black t-shirt he was wearing. My eyes followed him till he took his seat. Claire’s cheeks were burning a bright red as she leaned in and started whispering in his ears. Confidence seemed to roll off of him in waves, which was fitting since every girl in the class was staring at him. He was sitting across the table from me and only two chairs to the left. I looked back to see all the notes Mr. Rieder had written on the board. I put my pencil to my notebook and immediately the point broke off, smearing a line of graphite across my white paper.
“Oh crap! Hey Caroline, I broke my pencil. Can I borrow one of yours?” I whispered.
“I only have the one. I forgot to grab an extra out of the locker,” she whispered back. “Sorry Evey.”
“It’s ok. I might have a pen in my bag.” Before I could reach down for my brown messenger bag, a voice stopped me.
“Here use mine. I don’t really need it.” I looked up and saw that the new student was leaning across the table, handing me his pencil. I glanced over his face and met his bright blue eyes. They reminded me of a pair of brilliant sapphire earrings my mother kept in her jewelry box.
“Don’t you need to take notes?”
A devilish grin spread across his face. “No, I never take notes.” He reached across the table even further. “Seriously, just take it.”