Eternal

by H. G. Nadel

  Heloise insisted on keeping the marriage secret to protect Pierre Abelard’s rising career in the Church, which required its men to be celibate and unmarried. This enraged her uncle. Abelard helped Heloise to escape Fulbert’s rage by hiding her in a nunnery. While she was in hiding, Fulbert hired henchmen to exact his revenge against Abelard. Abelard himself wrote of the unmentionable brutality: “One night as I slept peacefully in an inner room in my lodgings, they bribed one of the servants to admit them and there took cruel vengeance on me of such an appalling barbarity as to shock the whole world.” The henchmen tied him to the bedposts and “cut off the parts of my body whereby I had committed the wrong of which they complained.”

  Julia was horrified to picture such bloody torture and the cruel deprivation that followed. She could only imagine the cruelty required to perform that hideous extraction. In this lifetime, she had yet to share those parts of any man’s body, although Tyler had been pressuring her for some time.

  Her thoughts turned to Tyler, and she knew what she had to do. It wasn’t fair to wait any longer to give Tyler the bad news. She texted him, “We need to talk.”

  Thirty seconds later, her phone rang. “What’s up?”

  “I think we should talk in person.”

  “Sounds serious. Why don’t you tell me now?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it over the phone.”

  “You mean you don’t want to break up with me over the phone.”

  “Well, I, uh …”

  “I may not be as smart as you, but I’m not a complete idiot, Julia. Why don’t I just save myself some gas money and do this now: we’re done.” Julia was stunned.

  “That’s pretty cold.”

  “I’m not the one who wants this.”

  “I’m sorry, Tyler.”

  “Oh, don’t you worry about me. The girls are lined up waiting for you to get the hell out of the way.”

  She heard a click, and the line went dead.

  When Austin asked Julia where he could take her for their first date, out of habit she suggested they meet at Shakes. When she walked in, several familiar faces looked her way, a couple of people flat-out stared, and it seemed that half the place was whispering about her. She heard someone say, “Tyler,” and she realized that either the word had already spread about their break-up, or people were wondering why she was here without him. She instantly regretted bringing Austin to her college hangout.

  Nadia was sitting a few tables away with their friends, Britney and Kate. Brit was an aspiring actress and usually hung out with the thespian crowd, but she always came to Julia for help with math and science. She’d nicknamed Julia “Julius Calculus.” Kate was the freakiest of high-school anomalies: the straight-A cheerleader. She threw the best parties and was always trying to get Julia to blow off studying to hang out.

  Until she had gotten busy with her summer internship, Julia had been the lynchpin of the group. In fact, although Nadia was Julia’s best friend, Julia felt more relaxed around Britney and Kate. The two could be a little silly for her tastes—their two favorite subjects were celebrity gossip and local gossip—but they didn’t seem as obsessed as Nadia was about being the prettiest girl in every room, dating the hottest guys, brown nosing with the most influential teachers, and partying with students who had the most well-connected parents. Nadia was an ambition machine.

  Julia was surprised to see the girls here. They usually preferred the organic bakery a few streets away. She waved, and they wiggled their fingers in return, giggling. Nadia turned and pointedly directed her eyes two tables down, to where Austin was already sitting.

  Austin was off-duty, so he was sporting a T-shirt and jeans, both of which fit snug to his body in a way that accentuated every long, lean muscle. His face looked troubled but brightened when he saw her. As she walked over to his table, he stood to greet her, and she saw a half dozen pair of female eyes turn to stare at him: his eyes, his arms, his pecs. Great deltoids too, Julia added to herself. “Julia, hi!” he said, with sincere pleasure in his voice, as he took her arm and kissed her cheek, causing half the eyes that had been staring at him to turn daggers on her.

  Julia breathed deep, feeling dizzy, both from the stares and from the feel of his lips on her cheek. She saw Tyler’s buddy, Rob, and one of his new basketball teammates—she thought his name was Carter. Oh boy. I’m in trouble now, she thought. Austin pulled her chair out for her, and they sat down.

  She tried to adopt a casual tone, as she said, “So, I’ve been practicing with Larry’s Super Taser. I’m getting pretty good at it.”

  “Are you packing right now?”

  “Yep. Beware. I’m a mean quick-draw.”

  “I’m at your mercy.” His gaze suggested another meaning for the phrase.

  “Austin, there’s something I have to talk to you about …”

  Before she could continue, Nadia walked over to their table. She wore a flirtatious smile, chest pushed forward, hand reaching up to tuck a long strand of hair behind her ear.

  “Why hello, Julia!” Nadia said. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your new friend?”

  Austin withdrew his eyes from Julia and turned a curious gaze toward Nadia.

  Julia smiled at her friend’s amusing dramatics and said, “Detective Moore, this is my best friend, Nadia.”

  “Hello,” Nadia breathed, her voice purring like a cat as she shook his hand.

  He gave her hand a polite shake and a warm smile. “Any friend of Julia’s and all that.”

  “Julia’s told me so much about you,” Nadia said, lifting her eyebrows. That wasn’t true. Julia and Nadia had barely spoken in the past few days. Julia had too many other things on her mind. But Julia didn’t bother correcting her.

  “All good, I hope?” Austin said.

  “Of course,” she said. “Julia has great taste in people. A very good judge of … character.” She seemed to pull her eyes away from Austin with some effort as she turned to include Julia in the conversation. “Hey, you two have to come to the beach party this weekend. All the info is on my Facebook page.”

  “I’m not on Facebook,” Austin said.

  “Not on Facebook? How could you not be on Facebook?” Nadia tipped her head in Julia’s direction. “I thought this geek was the only one who didn’t bother with Facebook.”

  “I have an account, Nadia, but I rely on you to plan my social calendar,” Julia quipped, grinning.

  “Don’t you know that’s true,” Nadia smiled. “Although someone’s been keeping me out of the loop, lately.” The words were delivered with a punch that Julia recognized.

  “Maybe Julia’s the type who prefers talking face-to-face.”

  “Like you, you mean?” Nadia said. “Face-to-face certainly seems optimal in your case. Well, I must get back to my face-to-face friends. Talk to you later, Julia?” She leaned over, put her cheek against Julia’s, and made kissy noises in the air next to her ear. What was that? She walked away, rolling her hips in exaggerated fashion.

  Austin suppressed a smile. “Shall we order?”

  Julia put a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. She made a mental note to call Nadia later this afternoon and find out why she was upset. She opened her menu, hiding her face behind it so she could sneak another look around the room. Tyler’s friend Rob was texting, and so was his teammate Carter. Crap. This could be bad.

  Julia ordered only a plate of French fries, claiming she wasn’t hungry. In reality, she wanted to get out of Shakes before those texts brought Tyler running. Austin ordered a burger, and she hoped the kitchen would make it fast. She could only hope Tyler was in the middle of a video game. He would never interrupt a chance at a high score.

  While they waited for their food, Austin said, “So, what’s on your mind?”

  “Have you ever heard of—”

  “Oh, wait a minute. There’s some news I should tell you, first. Remember that suspect I mentioned, Dr. Bertel’s assistant?”

  “The guy who ju
mped on the car and tried to strangle you?”

  He bobbled his head, neither a yes nor a no. “Allegedly. Turns out his mom reported him missing this morning. Since he’s an adult, normally we’d wait before starting a missing person case. But I’m telling you, this tells me he’s our guy. It also tells me Bertel’s not alone in his little foray into weirdness.”

  “Is weirdness the crime we’re looking at here?”

  “Well, so far, we’re looking into two cases of assault and a possible stalking.”

  “So, do you know where he is?”

  “Not yet, but Jack and I spent some time on it today. Oh, and I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to cut our dinner a little short. It seems cops got a report of a violent mugging across town.”

  “And they need a detective on the case?”

  “Normally, no. But get this: the victim said the attacker had blood red eyes and super-human strength.”

  Julia’s mouth dropped. “No way!”

  “Way,” he said, straight-faced.

  “It was probably just someone hopped up on meth or something. But you never know. So I’m looking into it.” He paused when the waitress brought their food. Then he asked, “Now, what did you want to tell me?”

  She picked up a French fry and twirled it. “Have you ever heard of Pierre Abelard and Heloise d’Argenteuil?” She popped the fry in her mouth and then reached for the ketchup, trying to avoid his eyes as she waited for an answer. When he remained silent, she looked up.

  His eyes were thoughtful. “You mean the French Romeo and Juliet?”

  She slumped in her chair. “Why does everyone seem to know the story except me?”

  He shrugged. “I’m into philosophy, French history, and crime. It kind of fits, doesn’t it?”

  “True. What would you say if I told you that those dreams I’ve been having, those dreams about you and me, are also dreams about them?” She was suddenly glad to be in Shakes. The casual atmosphere made the question seem a little less monumental.

  He hesitated, chewing his mouthful of burger carefully, then said slowly, “I would say that I believe you.”

  “Really?”

  He swallowed and grimaced as if a piece of meat had stuck in his throat. “I’d also say that’s pretty … strange.” His eyes stared into hers, Pierre’s eyes. “But you and I have been having the same dreams of the same events. Last night, I had a horrific nightmare that I had been, um, emasculated. In these dreams—that are more real than anything I have ever experienced—I am in love with a woman named Heloise.”

  “What I saw written all over your notepad.”

  “I thought at first that it might have been the power of suggestion. But then I did some research on Abelard’s life, and the events matched my dreams—exactly.

  “Julia,” he continued. “Do you know what this means? We are those people. I can barely wrap my head around it, but there it is. Staring me in the face—a truth that, as much as I try, I cannot deny.”

  Julia listened to Austin with mouth agape. Austin had eloquently articulated the rudimentary thoughts bobbling around in her mind. She hadn’t dared hope that he would believe her. But here he was, affirming her deepest desires, her deepest fears. And as she heard them spoken out loud, she knew them to be true.

  “Austin—” her thought was cut short by a sudden realization. “You are in terrible danger. Fulbert is back.”

  TWENTY-ONE

  Austin and Julia stood by his car for a moment. He faced her, ran a hand down each of her arms until he reached her hands, and then entwined his fingers with hers. He seemed reluctant to leave her. Her eyes darted around the parking lot, wondering if anyone was watching. It all felt so familiar, saying goodbye, worrying that to love him risked both their lives, realizing that she couldn’t stop even if she tried.

  “Do you ever have déjà vu?” she asked. When he gave her a rueful smile, she added, “I mean during the day.”

  In lieu of an answer, he gave her a lingering kiss, and then said, “I’d have to say yes. That definitely felt familiar. But let me try again, just to make sure.”

  But this time, as he leaned in to kiss her, a fist crashed down on top of his car, jolting the two out of their intimate moment. It was Tyler. Rob and Carter were standing behind him. Julia froze. Austin and Tyler stepped toward each other, toe-to-toe, and looked each other up and down. Tyler’s eyes were violent, and the veins in his neck were popping out of his skin. Julia noticed he was at least three inches taller than Austin, his chest broader. But, although Austin didn’t have the massive physique of a college athlete in training, he was solid and muscular. She had a feeling he was more than Tyler’s match. Still, she didn’t want to see either of them hurt. Feeling responsible, she leaped between them.

  “What are you doing, Tyler? Have you totally lost it? He’s a cop.”

  “Then he should know that stealing is illegal,” he said, without taking his eyes off Austin. “Buddy, you seem to be kissing someone who belongs to me.”

  “I’m not property,” Julia said.

  “No, but you are my girl.” He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her behind him.

  “Tyler, we broke up.”

  “You mean our little argument? You didn’t mean it.” He turned to Austin. “But tell me, cop. What kind of girl breaks up with a guy on the phone?”

  “You’re the one who broke up over the phone. But if you want to do it again in person, I can accommodate you. We’re over!” She tried to yank her arm out of his hand, but he only squeezed tighter.

  Austin put a hand to the gun at his hip. “Julia said her piece. Now calm down and let her go.”

  “What are you gonna do, cop? Arrest me?”

  “I can do just that, if you don’t keep your hands to yourself. It’s called assault. Julia told you she doesn’t want to see you. Why not accept it like a man? Surely you’re not so desperate that you want a girlfriend who’s not interested?” Austin turned and looked at the two guys behind Tyler, reminding him that people were watching.

  Rob looked at Tyler. “C’mon, man. Why waste your time on some science slut who runs around with other guys? She’s hot, but she’s not that hot.”

  Tyler turned to his friends again. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He started to walk away, and then paused to turn and look at Julia again. “Goodbye, Julia. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  Julia turned toward the front of the burger joint, where Britney, Kate, and a crowd of girls stood, staring. Nadia wasn’t there. “Oh, Tyler,” Britney said. “I can’t believe she dissed you like that. That just wasn’t right.” She put a hand on Tyler’s shoulder and followed him and his buddies back into the restaurant, turning to glare at Julia before the door shut behind them all.

  Julia turned away from them, stung, when out of the corner of her eye, she saw a human shape lingering in the shadows at the far side of the restaurant. Though it was hard to tell in the dark, the silhouette seemed intent on watching the group of teens returning inside. She gripped Austin’s arm; but by the time he looked up, the lurker had slipped away.

  She watches, wrists and ankles bound securely to the chair. She is gagged so thoroughly that not a sound escapes her throat. Her nightgown is ripped to bloody shreds, exposing her to the night’s chill wafting through the corridor.

  Six men force Pierre’s arms to the two upper posts of the bed and secure them with rope, cutting into the skin of his wrists. He has no way of knowing yet exactly what they plan to do. Flay his skin off? Draw out his intestines? He does not fear death but recoils from the thought of torture. The small, wiry one has a large knife, and if they only meant to stab him to death, surely they would have done so already and been done with it.

  Pierre kicks so frantically, it takes longer to tie his legs to the lower two bedposts. By the time he’s completely restrained, his wrists are torn, and the ropes drip with blood. His ankles will soon look the same. They’re already red and raw where he strains against the ropes.

&n
bsp; He screams until his voice is hoarse. Then he calms his breath and pleads, “Have mercy on me, and kill me quickly. I understand that I will now die for my sins. I beg you, do not add to yours.”

  “Shut up!” the small one shouts and backhands him hard across the face. The man’s right eye twitches, an old half-moon scar stretched underneath it. Surely someone heard that loud blow, that shout, those screams—any moment now they’ll come running to help. But no one is coming. A tear slides down her cheek, unheeded.

  The men slap him across the face. Never hard enough to knock him unconscious, though she wishes they would, for his sake. Pierre’s white cotton nightshirt, immaculate a few minutes before, is now covered in blood. Even so, his nightclothes contrast greatly with the dirty coarse brown tunics worn by his assailants—poor men willing to kill to put food in their bellies. She wonders if they have families.

  Pierre grows exhausted and pauses in his struggle, his breaths coming in great gasping sobs. Still, he is dignified—beautiful to her, not only in body, but in mind and spirit. A man of education, and faith, and depths of love that none of these men has likely ever known. He deserves better.

  The small one struts toward him, clutching the knife, baring his jagged rotting teeth. A predator. He lifts Pierre’s shirt and presses knife to skin. Pierre’s final agonized scream rips through the night, echoing down the centuries.

  Pierre’s groin and legs are drenched in blood, and a low moan escapes his cracked lips. She can feel the cold dampness, see the oppressive darkness lit only by a single candle carried by one of the men.

  The predator walks into the faint circle of candlelight, still holding the bloody knife. He wipes it on his shirt until the sharp edge gleams in the pale light. He leans into Pierre’s face and says in a parody of nobility and grace, “I hear you’re a teacher. So now you’ve learned a very good lesson, I think. Don’t go poking your manhood where it doesn’t belong.”

  The men laugh.