The kaleidoscope effect ended abruptly, leaving Valeria confused. She sensed that she was not with Alex. Where was he? She heard a voice and realized that it was Aegemon. She glanced around and could see that Alex was not on the Mariah. She saw Aegemon speaking toward the water. Alex was in the sea! He would not have much time. She had to find her voice. But she had no control of her muscles.
“Aegemon?” she called with all of her strength. She would need to use her voice to save them.
With confusion breaking his calm demeanor, he said with disgust, “Girl, you don’t remember me.”
“I do.” She fought without luck to get her body to respond.
Leaning his head back in the water, Alex frantically struggled to keep the limbs that still worked moving, to keep their blood flowing.
He must be hallucinating…did he hear Valeria’s voice? She had been unconscious for hours. He wondered for a moment if he was losing his mind. But then he saw Aegemon’s expression. Valeria was alive and had spoken!
Knowing there were only moments left to get Aegemon’s attention, Valeria cried, “The drink…it wasn’t enough. I wish…” Her eyes softened and her voice became a whisper. She suppressed the need to cough.
“What did she say?” Aegemon asked.
A crew member knelt beside her. “I can’t hear her, sir!”
“Bring her to me!” Aegemon barked. They picked her up by the shoulders and dragged her like a rag doll to him. Could she withhold the cough? She held her breath as her lungs convulsed. Aegemon leaned his ear near her. “You have something to say?”
Valeria smiled softly. Her hand had some feeling and she moved it toward his face. He slapped her hand away from him. “Aegemon…”
Narrowing his eyes at her, he decided that it was better to trust his instincts. Aegemon turned to leave. It was better that she died. She had haunted his dreams since he had first met her as a child. Maybe that was Apollo’s wrath!
“Aegemon!” Her voice was louder and more confident. This time he turned back to her, hearing the voice of Cassandra. He moved closer, she couldn’t cause him any harm now. And this time, Alex would be dead for good. Aegemon moved inches from her and she touched his face as he leaned in closer to her. The cough erupted from her in violent convulsions that racked her body. She looked up to see the blood splattered across Aegemon’s shocked face and she closed her eyes and smiled.
Alex’s left arm lost feeling. Waves crashed into his face and he swallowed the seawater.
Rage and disgust overtook Aegemon as he saw the blood on his hands and shirt and wiped it from his face. He said in repulsion, “You are…diseased!” Without hesitation, he ordered his men, “Throw her in. Let them both be out of my life.”
Valeria smiled, then coughed again as blood ran down the side of her mouth. The crew moved her to the edge of the boat and threw her into the sea.
Her body crashed through the water at least twenty feet from Alex. He tried to get his limbs working to swim toward her. Her face came up for a moment and she looked at him with so much love as if the eons had disappeared. Then she disappeared under a wave. The yacht’s engines turned and Alex realized that he was between the boats! The exhaust from the yacht hit him in the face and he lost his bearing. Then the Mariah began to lurch forward with the yacht. Alex dove to avoid being hit by the catamaran. Under the churning water he found the strength to dive deeper. Although he missed most of the Mariah, a piece of the rudder hit his head and disoriented him. When he came up for a breath and looked for her, but she was gone.
The realization sunk into the pit of his stomach. He had failed her again! They would drown alone in the cold sea. No, not alone. They would die together.
Alex forced his limbs to move, discovering the blanket that had been wrapped around her. He fought. Knowing his time was running out, he dove down for her. Immediately, he rose back to the surface. He took three deep breaths and then dove again. He followed the bubbles until he saw the white flesh of her hand reaching for the surface, her hair curling delicately around it. He touched her fingers, giving him a new sense of hope. Her face stared into his with love; she grasped for him and he pulled her body into his. She kissed him and then her lungs convulsed as she choked in the seawater. Alex held her close to him fighting for the last precious minutes that he would see her face, fighting the coldness and fighting to hold on to the last of the light that was them.
CHAPTER 21
There was a calmness that came from knowing the inevitability of their future. Suddenly, the cold blackness soothed his anguish. Alex could still see her eyes looking toward him with so much life, so much love, despite her lack of consciousness. For Alex, at that moment, she would never die, she would never suffer, and his heart and hers were one. He pulled her closer to him, feeling the last of their lives and the last of his hope.
In the blackness, Alex saw a light. It was a trick. The light drew nearer and there were shadows. Something hit his face but in the cold he couldn’t fight it. Out of breath, Alex tried to kiss Valeria, but something barred his access to her. He turned his head, believing it must be confusion from hypothermia. Then he drew the breath that would end it all.
It didn’t hurt. If fact, he was still conscious. In his shock, she slipped from his arms. Alex fought to get her back, but something stopped him. There was the light again. Through the darkness he heard a joyful laugh that was so familiar to him...Caleb!
Caleb loaded a tank onto Alex’s back. Alex used his remaining strength and dove deeper, searching for Valeria. He watched for air bubbles in the blackness. Then he saw the flashlight’s beam moving through the vegetation, where her face appeared, as he had seen it all those years ago. Something rose through the water…Alex realized it looked like a rubber dinghy. Caleb used a knife to free Valeria, and they all rose to the surface.
Rolling Valeria’s body into the dinghy, Caleb boarded and then helped Alex. Valeria was blue. Alex worked to pull his body up to a sitting position.
“Lean her neck back!” Alex said and Caleb moved her so that Alex could listen for a heartbeat. When he didn’t find one, he pounded on her chest, hearing it crack when he did. Unable to control his strength, he had broken her sternum. He wouldn’t let himself think about that now. Alex pounded on her chest repeatedly and breathed into her mouth. He watched her chest rise and fall, but she remained blue.
Caleb removed his mask, leaving bright red lines around his face. “Ava had an idea,” he said, pulling the gloves off his hands. Alex nodded and ripped open Valeria’s shirt as Caleb placed his hand over her heart. There was a spark and a jolt. Caleb removed his hands and looked on with hope. Valeria had a burn on her chest, but Alex listened and heard no heart beat.
“Again!”
Caleb concentrated for a moment and then brought his hands down on Valeria’s heart. There was another jolt that left a burn on her chest, but Alex sensed that something had changed. He listened and heard the faint beating of her heart.
At last, Valeria coughed and Alex turned her head to the side as the seawater and blood came out.
Caleb began paddling.
CHAPTER 22
There was a fog and darkness and then his beautiful face.
The nurses had learned that visiting hours didn’t apply to Alex as he stood watch, day in and day out, by the glass wall that looked in on the isolation ward. He watched as nurses and doctors—dressed in full protective gear—entered her room to adjust equipment and change out containers of various liquids. Alex longed to touch her, to feel the life in her. But he could wait now—she was alive!
Alex and Mani had hoped that having survived the three hours in the water, Valeria would heal within twenty-four hours, like an immortal. Though she hadn’t, Alex didn’t give up hope.
Valeria had suffered from many complications; but the hypothermia had actually saved her life. It had shut down all of her organs long enough that there didn’t appear to be any brain damage from the lack of oxygen. Still, she suffered from kidne
y failure and would require dialysis for at least a few weeks, or until her kidneys returned to their full function. Valeria’s sternum was cracked and would be painful until it healed. The plague was being managed with antibiotics. And Alex’s love was alive and beyond her twenty-seventh birthday!
Sitting on the stool outside of her room, near the nurse’s station, Alex found that several times a day sobs of joy would overtake him. There didn’t seem to be any end to it. Few could understand all of the years of yearning and loneliness that had absorbed his existence. And all of that was coming to an end, it seemed. He would have her with him for eternity. Alex took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A nurse passing by touched his back and again told him that she was doing fine.
That comment never helped. He couldn’t seem to leave her. He had purchased a motor home to park in the hospital lot so that he could sleep and shower closer to her, and then bring her home in it when the time came. But he found that he ached when he left her. So, a few times a day, he would lie down on the couch in the waiting room and try to shut his eyes. He forced himself to shower and he went to the cafeteria or Mani would bring him something to eat. Then, thanks to Mani’s influence, the hospital allowed him to return to his seat by her window off from the ICU.
Mani assured Alex that Valeria was doing extremely well considering all that her body had been through. Still, it had been almost two weeks and she remained mostly unconscious. Occasionally, her arms would go into attack against an unseen villain. The pneumonic plague had created a severe infection in her lungs and the bacteria in the saltwater had not helped. Valeria suffered from pneumonia and Mani prepared Alex that she might have a few more rounds of it due to her lungs’ weakened state. Alex watched it all as her body deteriorated and she lost fifteen pounds from her already small frame.
It had taken three hours of Alex doing CPR and Caleb paddling the rubber dinghy, without much progress, for Ava to locate them floundering against the waves and currents of the Adriatic. A Coast Guard helicopter had flown Valeria and Alex to the hospital in Venice, while Caleb was loaded onto Ava’s boat.
They held Alex in isolation for a few days until they determined that he carried no sign of the plague. During that time, he occupied himself by reading every book by Jane Austen. They would probably never be his favorite, but he enjoyed them because she had read them.
And he waited…
At last, the hospital removed Valeria from isolation. Knowing he wouldn’t want to leave once he was with her, Alex had showered and taken a brief nap. When he returned, Mani told him that one of the nurses had actually spoken to Valeria and that she had responded but was now, again asleep. Although Alex was ecstatic, he knew that if it had been any of the nurses who knew him, they would’ve sent for him immediately so that he could see her.
Entering her room for the first time in ten days, Alex drew a deep breath, knowing he had to calm himself before facing her. Then he sat next to her on the bed, enjoying the feel of her hand inside his as he held it—waiting for her to again wake. He desperately wanted to take her in his arms but her damaged body had too many tubes running into it. He kissed her forehead and she began to move slowly, pulling against the tubes and wires. At last, she was breaking through the fog.
“Hey, beautiful!”
With great effort, Valeria forced her eyes open. She could see him. She looked around the large room. Her bed was in the center, surrounded by equipment, many of which were attached to her or could be moved easily, should the need arise. The glass wall in front of her led to a nurse’s station. She couldn’t recall how she had gotten there. She remembered a moment when a nurse had asked her if there was anyone they should contact for her and Valeria felt as if she’d done the right thing.
Alex watched as she took in her surroundings, and then suddenly he noticed her eyes. They were that the rare combination reserved for them. It was the color that he had painted her so often—oracle blue. Her color.
Just then, Mani entered. “How is my favorite patient?” Valeria smiled and her eyes went back to Alex. She took a deep breath and coughed, then winced. “Sore,” she managed.
Valeria looked around at the wires and tubes coming from her, but she became distracted when she heard someone throwing their weight around at the nurse’s station. It wasn’t the first time Alex had heard it.
“It’s very good to see you alert!” Mani said. “The last few days you have been in and out of consciousness. How much do you remember?” Valeria shrugged.
Mani continued, “We’ve kept you here in the ICU because of the plague isolation. But really, the fever has broken and I think you are doing well. I’d like to see you out of here in a few days.”
“I want to go home,” Valeria said, her voice hoarse but stronger.
“Yes. I imagine you would! And there’s someone else who has been especially anxious for you to leave here.”
Valeria smiled sweetly at Alex. Both Alex and Mani held their breath to see if there was recognition.
Before she could answer, a chalky-smooth tenor voice dominated the room. David rushed to her. “Darling! How are you?”
At first dismissing Alex and Mani, he smiled down at Valeria. His eyes narrowed when David realized that Alex was still holding her hand.
“Do you mind?” David asked impatiently. “I understand from the nurses that you saved her life but, frankly, you should have phoned me immediately. After all, I am Valeria’s fiancé!” He glowered at Alex, and then snapped, “How about some privacy!”
Valeria squeezed Alex’s hand slightly. He looked at her but it was David she was smiling at. Alex rose, uncertain of his new role in her heart. David immediately moved in.
“Valeria, I am taking you home!” He kissed her head. “The plague? See what happens when you run off on your own!”
Replaced, Alex watched painfully as David sat in the spot he had just vacated, and took Valeria’s hand in his. Alex thought something about David’s affection looked unnatural. Looking up from Valeria, David said coolly, “I believe I asked you for some privacy.”
Knowing that Alex was still watching, David leaned in to embrace Valeria. She winced. David laughed. “I guess that isn’t such a good idea yet!”
“No. Not a good idea,” Valeria rasped.
“Don’t worry, dear! I’m taking you to Prague this afternoon. I’ve cleared it with customs and I have an air ambulance that will transport you. My staff will gather the remainder of your things.”
Alex started to protest but Mani stopped him with a pat on the shoulder and slight shake of his head. David turned toward Alex. “Oh! You’re still here?” His smile stopped just short of his eyes. “I trust my staff won’t have any problems retrieving Valeria’s possessions?”
Biting his lip, Alex stared into Valeria’s eyes for anything that said that she objected to David’s plans. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Finally, Mani spoke up. “Of course not.” Alex’s heart felt as if it had dropped through the floor. Valeria seemed all right with David’s plans. Mani paused a moment, then asked, “Mr. Wiley, how did you learn Valeria was here?”
David looked surprised by the question. “Why, when Valeria regained consciousness, she asked the nurse to phone me as her next of kin.” Then David looked at Valeria. “You caused me quite a scare in the meanwhile!”
Completely disregarding Alex, David continued, “Doctor, she can leave with my medical team, can’t she? I’ve already cleared all the documentation required.”
Mani nodded slowly. “Yes. However, she has been quite ill. I recommend that she stay here a few more days so that I can continue to follow her progress.”
“Thank you, doctor. I’ve done my research and, while it does seem that you’re qualified, I’ll be bringing in my own team of experts. I can bring them here, if necessary.”
Alex started to speak up, but Mani took his arm and guided him from the room. “We’ll give you some privacy.” Stopping at the nurse’s station, Mani gave instru
ctions for Valeria’s release.
Alex and Mani walked through the double doors and into the corridor. A glassed hallway overlooked the parking lot and the hills to the north of Venice. Alex began pacing. “What’s going on Mani? How can she leave with him? He didn’t even notice her eyes. He doesn’t know her! He doesn’t love her. And she doesn’t love him!” His face contorted with anger. “Please! You’ve got to stop this.”
Mani patted Alex’s back. “My friend, I do not know what to tell you. She has not said anything to me that indicates that she recalls any of the past few weeks. After all, it was quite a physical trauma with the disease and the hypothermia, to say nothing of the drowning. We spoke of amnesia. We knew it was a risk.” Mani stopped to gauge Alex’s reaction. “Sometimes after a trauma, a person loses their memories surrounding the incident; sometimes, it can be as far back as the months leading up to the incident. Very occasionally, they don’t recall their life at all. So it is a good thing that she remembers David.”
Alex started hyperventilating, his breaths growing short as his heart accelerated. “I could have sworn I saw familiarity in her eyes when she looked at me!” He searched for Mani’s agreement.
“I was not so certain.”
Alex’s pace quickened as he grew more frantic. “Well, is she…one of us now? I mean, she's past her twenty-seventh birthday. That has to mean something! And her eyes...”
“I’ve looked at her blood from before the drowning and after and—”
He interrupted Mani. “And?”
“They are identical.”
Alex shook his head in disbelief. “Do you mean all of that was a waste? It can’t be! She’s alive!”
Mani continued, “Both tests indicate that her DNA is the same as ours—immortal. I do not know what changes have taken place within her. I cannot be certain about her memory, and I do not know if she is now truly immortal. I apologize.”
Finally, it all sunk in. She had lived past her twenty-seventh birthday, but she didn’t seem to remember him. It appeared that she was immortal, but there was no way of knowing if they’d lifted the curse, unless she aged or died. Would she still reincarnate if she did? These were all unknowns. And now she was leaving to marry David. Alex dropped his head in despair.
The Sibylline Oracle Page 24