Blood of the Rainbow

by Shelia Chapman

  As she went over the edge, the woman had changed. It was no longer Donna, it was Sara. She was no longer an observer of the dream. The woman in the dream was Sara. She could taste the sulfur. She could see and feel the heat rising from the mouth of the volcano. Sara started struggling, and trying to scream as she saw the molten lava below her morph into first, the shape of Jared’s face and then Tom’s. They were both in the pit of molten rock.

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  “Sara... Honey... It’s all right, Sara. Honey wake up. You’re having another nightmare.” Jared was gently shaking her shoulders, and wiping her face with his water saturated bandana. He was afraid she might be suffering a heat stroke. “Sara, are you awake? Are you too hot?”

  Sara opened her eyes. She threw her arms around Jared’s neck, hugging herself close to his body, as she cried on his shoulder. “Jared! You’re alive – both of you! Oh God Jared! It was horrible. At first it was Donna. The bird was dragging her into the molten lava, and then it was me.”

  Tom softly laughed. “Well, of course we’re alive, Sara. It’s you, we’re worried about. We’ve been trying to wake you up for the last five minutes. You were struggling, and trying to scream.”

  “It’s all right Angel. It was just a dream.” He picked Sara up, holding her in his arms.

  Sara looked up at Tom. “The dream seemed real, Tom. You were both there. In the middle, of the molten lava.” She looked back to Jared. “There was a big bird, dragging Donna down in the pit. Then it wasn’t Donna it was – Oh Jared!” Sara started crying again.

  “Shh… It’s all right. We’re both fine. Dad, I’m going to put her in the 4x4, out of this heat. Start packing things up and I’ll help you when I get her settled.”

  “No, you go ahead and stay with Sara. I can put this stuff in by myself. Just make sure she’s all right, and we’ll head back home.”

  Jared sat Sara on the back seat and crawled in beside her. He put his arm around her shoulders, lifted her chin, and kissed her. Sara almost forgot the dream. “Jared, how much can you tell me about your – family trait – the thing with your eyes?”

  “Pretty much anything you want to know. Why?”

  “I don’t know why I keep having nightmares about wolves, and strange blue crystals, and rattlesnakes and burning pits of fire. I didn’t dream about wolves this time, but this one was scarier than the last dream.”

  Jared pulled his brow together. “Tell me the dream about the wolves. What happened?”

  “There were three wolves, a white one, a black one and a charcoal grey one. The black one was the alpha of the pack, but the charcoal one challenged the black one and killed it. It bit the black wolf’s head off, and then the charcoal wolf changed to Seth. The black wolf changed to your father and the white one….”

  Jared sighed. “Changed into me, right?”

  “Yeah. I’m scared, Jared. What does it mean?”

  “Probably nothing Angel. It was just a dream. You probably fell asleep while you were reading your book. I think I need to make you a dreamcatcher,” he joked.

  Sara smiled. “I think I could use one. You know, I’ve had dreams before, but none like this. These seem real. I’m afraid I’m going to lose you.”

  Jared kissed Sara’s temple. “You’re not going to lose me Sara. It was just a dream.”

  Tom finished loading the 4x4 and started the engine. He didn’t comment on the fact that Jared was sitting in the back with Sara. He turned around in his seat. “So, is our girl OK then doc?”

  Jared smiled. “Yeah, she’s fine, but I think she needs to stay out of the sun.”

  “Don’t worry, Sara. We’ll be home in just a little while, and then you can stretch out on the patio, or go for a swim in the pool. That should cool you off.”

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  They were about halfway home when Tom’s cell rang. Since it wasn’t a main road, he accepted the call and propped it against his ear with his shoulder. “Yeah…? Oh, hi Leo…. Really?”

  Jared leaned forward. “What is it, Dad?”

  Tom held up his hand. “Oh, I see. Well what about the rest of the herd...? Honestly! Well, at least that’s something. You’re certain…? All right…. I will, thanks, Leo.” Tom ended the call and put his cell back in his pocket. “That was Leo. It was anthrax….”

  Jared looked at Sara, a serious look on his face. This was the news he was hoping not to get. Sara was heartbroken. She couldn’t stand the idea of putting down Jade or Angelstar. It just wasn’t fair. Tears glossed Sara’s eyes.

  Jared turned to his father. “What about the rest of the herd?”

  Sara held her breath as they waited for Tom’s response.

  Chapter 27

  Tom seemed to be lost in his own world, ignoring Jared. “Dad!” Jared repeated forcefully.

  Tom jerked his head. “Hmm?”

  “What about the other horses?”

  Tom smiled. “Oh they’re fine Jared. The rest of the herd wasn’t affected.”

  Jared embraced Sara. “Thank God. I didn’t know if I could put them down.”

  Tom breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “I wasn’t looking forward to it either.”

  Sara stood. “Well, I’m going to wash off some of this dust.”

  Jared reached for her hand and smiled; a familiar twinkle in his eyes. “I’ll join you….”

  Nadine grinned. “Would you like me to call you when dinner is ready?”

  Jared kissed the top of her head. “Thanks Mother.”

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  Without a word, as he and Sara entered their bedroom, Jared turned and locked the door. He draped their bathrobes over his arm. With eyes full of fire, already glowing warm amber, Jared slowly walked up to Sara. He took her hand and led her into the bathroom.

  Sara walked to the shower cabinet, and reached to turn on the water. Jared walked up behind her and gently placed his hand over hers. From the look in his eyes and the way he was acting, Sara knew this wasn’t going to be a five-minute shower.

  Jared took her hand and led her in front of the large garden tub. “Let’s do this a little different this time,” he breathed against the side of her neck as he kissed it.

  He turned on the water, adjusting the temperature until he was satisfied with it, and started filling the tub. He poured a capful of greenish liquid from a small bottle and drizzled it under the running water. He then swirled it around a few times. It didn’t froth up. It wasn’t bubble bath.

  The room was filled with an exotic floral fragrance, pungent, but pleasant to the senses. It made Sara feel relaxed and slightly drowsy, as though she was drifting.

  Any other time, Sara would have been curious enough to ask what it was, but she was too enthralled by the sensation.

  She silently watched Jared with curious eyes, as he opened a little door beside him, and romantic Native American flutes started softly playing. He adjusted the sound until the music was barely audible, fading in the background. He smiled at Sara and softly caressed her face. His touch so gentle she barely felt it.

  From a medicine cabinet, over the vanity, he brought out some scented tealight candles, and dropped them in what appeared to be normal glass holders.

  Jared then spaced them along the rim of the bathtub. Seven different holders. Seven different candles. Seven different positions. Then one-by-one he started lighting them, whispering something in Navajo as he lit each one. The air was filled with a mingled scent of roses, wildflowers, cinnamon, cranberry, and fresh rainfall.

  Sara was amazed at how Jared had used the different scents. Every one affecting her senses in a different way. Strange and exciting, yet natural and delicate as the atmosphere he’d created around them. Each fragrance and effect blended in perfect harmony with the other.

  After he’d lit the seven candles, he closed his eyes. Breathing deeply, as though pulling invisible life into his lungs. He slowly dimmed the lights until there was barely enough to see by. The room transformed to a masterpiece of light and color. L
ike tiny crystals, kissed by the morning sun as they projected hundreds of tiny rainbows over their bodies.

  Jared opened his eyes of darkest crimson, so deeply shaded they were almost black. Sara’s eyes glossed as he lovingly gazed at her. The rainbow spectrums dancing off his eyes like sunlight on the water.

  He turned off the faucet, and swirled his hand through the water again, making sure it was just the right temperature. Hot and steaming, but not unpleasant to the touch.

  Jared walked in front of Sara, studying her eyes as he eased the clip from her hair. It fell down like silk, cascading over her shoulders. He picked up a handful, and brought it to his nose, inhaling deeply, as if he intended to consume her essence. His eyes burning like the raging fire inside him. A fire that water couldn’t quench.

  Jared slid his hands up Sara’s arms from her elbows to her shoulders, lingering on her neck, kissing it and teasing it between his teeth. He reveled in Sara’s response, as though his life’s goal was to bring her unexplained pleasure.

  He worked his way across her face, softly and gently kissing it, until his lips found hers, and claimed them as his own.

  What is he doing to me? Sara felt as if she were floating outside her body. Like her spirit was bonding with the elements of the cosmos, falling like tiny grains of stardust. Feeling so utterly a part of him, and yet connected with everything in existence.

  Sara wondered if making love was like this for everyone, or was it just another one of Jared’s natural talents that only she would enjoy. Was her body the only canvas he’d used to paint his masterpieces, or had he done it before with someone else? Would he ever use it again? Or would he lock these special moments away in the secret hollows of his heart? If he had loved someone this way, Sara couldn’t imagine them ever giving this feeling up. Jared’s love was so special, almost magical.

  As Sara stared into Jared’s eyes, her mind couldn’t conceive. Is he for real? Is this real? Could it be another elaborately woven dream she’d forgotten? Like the beautifully hand-woven blankets, his grandmother had made. Did Jared have this one locked in his secret vault among the other things he kept hidden from her?

  What had Sara done to make her deserve his unique love? Would she ever feel worthy of him? Would she ever be able to accept that he’d chosen her to give this unique love to? Had they come together by mere chance, or was it something stronger that had drawn them together that day – destiny?

  Sara pondered on the question she’d asked Jared, when at last he surrendered and proclaimed his love to her, high on Mother’s Mountain. Had they made love before in his dreams? Jared hadn’t answered yes, and he hadn’t answered no. Sara couldn’t help but wonder. Had they?

  Was that the foreknowledge Jared had drawn from, that made him know how to play her body like a symphony achieving his desired response? Did Sara know this, deep in her subconscious – was that the reason she’d trusted him from the moment their eyes met? Was this what it felt like to know your perfect match, your soulmate for eternity?

  Sara had never been this close to anyone before, not even Jeff. She cared for Jeff, but their relationship never reached a higher level, not compared to this level of intimacy. Jared had woven himself in her soul.

  Heaven help if anything should ever happen to Jared – it couldn’t! It just couldn’t. Sara would die! She shouldn’t be able to say that, not for the short time they’d been together, but Sara knew it, as well as she knew her name. If anything ever happened to Jared, Sara would cease to exist. She wouldn’t want to exist.

  Sara’s silent reverie ended as Jared slowly glided his hands up the back of her neck, intertwining his fingers through her hair at the base, pulling them through its full length several times, sending fiery electric current through every part of her body.

  Jared’s touch was soft, calm and extremely sensual. Sara responded so easily to his touch. He knew her, as though he could read her like a book. Where and how to touch her body leaving her breathless. Sara’s heart was pounding so fast and so hard now; it was almost a single sound, blending with the atmosphere around her.

  Jared studied Sara’s eyes as she removed the tie from his hair, and upbraided it, marveling at the way it spilled down his bronze shoulders like a liquid obsidian waterfall.

  Sara was new to this height of feelings. She knew nothing of love but what Jared had taught her.

  She began to feather her hands over his body, starting at his groin, slowly sliding under his shirt, and across his chest. Teasing the skin of his back as she raked the tips of her fingernails up and down it. Jared groaned inwardly.

  Sara wondered if she was doing her part right. She must be. Jared’s breath was quick and shallow. His eyes were closed. His head leant back, savoring this moment like sweet nectar on the tip of his tongue.

  Sara slowly lifted the bottom of his t-shirt, and eased it over his head, tossing in on the floor. She pressed the full length of her body against his, wrapping her leg around the back of his, melding their bodies with nothing but a whisper between them. She kissed him along the sides of his neck and his earlobes, teasing them between her teeth.

  Jared watched Sara, his eyes a burning lake of smoldering lava. His body throbbing with famishing hunger. His arms warm and soft as the wings of an angel. He groaned, unable to control his desire and need any longer. He tilted her face up to his, teasingly moving his lips close to hers, but not touching. He breathed on them. Sara was so weak she felt faint.

  At last, just when Sara thought she was going to fade away, Jared gently kissed her. His kiss was warm, soft, sweet and lingering, as he continued to fuel the fire burning and soaring inside her, consuming her with lustful desire.

  Something new was happening, something wild and strange and marvelous. Sara didn’t know how much more her body could take. Jared had made love to her before, and Sara thought she’d felt all there was to feel. Like there was nothing more Jared could do to her that he hadn’t already done – she was wrong. Whatever Jared was doing to her right now, was indescribable, as though their souls were merging.

  Jared brought his lips back to hers, passionate and demanding, drawing life and essence from Sara as he sleeved her t-shirt over her head. He then loosened her bra, letting it fall to the floor. He stood there for a few seconds, gazing at her near naked body, bathed in the hundreds of tiny spectrums, drinking her with eyes that burned with love only for her.

  He trailed his gaze up Sara’s body until their eyes met. He smiled as she placed his hands on the buckle of her belt. With shaky hands, Sara unfastened the button of Jared’s jeans. She kissed him as she slowly slid the zipper down, and ran her hands along the top, pushing them down over his hips.

  With hands stalwart as stone, as sure of their path as the blood that flowed through his veins, Jared unfastened Sara’s jeans, and slid them, along with her satin panties, down to her ankles in one slow sensual movement. Sara rested her hands on the top of his shoulders and stepped out. Jared pushed her crumpled clothes aside with his foot.

  Jared locked his eyes with Sara’s again, as he unhesitantly stepped out of his clothes, standing totally naked in front of her in all his magnificence, unabashed and glowing glory. Sara couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of his body as she allowed her eyes to sweep over it. She loved Jared with every breath she took, with every beat of her heart; every fiber of her being was hopelessly consumed by him.

  Jared smiled and patiently waited for her eyes to drink their fill. Standing there, looking into his eyes of liquid fire, Sara knew how it felt to be loved. She was a woman in love, totally devoted to the point of obsession. Jared was lifting her to such heights; she could reach out and touch the stars.

  He pulled her closer, running his hands over her body as though he was painting an eternal scene, using his fingertips as the brush. Coloring his canvas in shades of his love. That’s how she felt right now; her body was the stilled canvas with which he was sharing the gift of life.

  Jared took her hand, steadying her as she st
epped in the steaming floral lake. She slid down to one end, making room for him. Sara looked up at him as he slid in behind her, pulling her into his warm embrace, kissing along the sides of her neck, and across her shoulders and back.

  Sara turned to face him, gliding to his arms, crushing her lips to his – eager, hungry, devouring - acting on nothing but pure impulse and natural instincts.

  Jared opened his mouth and drank her like fresh morning dew, pulling her hard against his chest, softly breathing in her ear, “Ayor anosh'ni yishdlį́į́h Sara,” and then repeating, so she was certain to understand, “I love you always Sara, always, forever.”

  The words moved Sara when spoken in Navajo, but when Jared repeated them in English she felt her heart bursting open, her eyes filled with tears. Jared took her face in his hands and kissed the tears away.

  He started tracing kisses over her face again, to her ear, down the sides of her neck and lower until he kissed her breasts. He gently flicked the tip of his tongue over her erect nipples, kissing and teasing them until Sara thought she was going to explode.

  Jared was patient with Sara, guiding and moving her into position, slowly and gently joining his body to hers, moving inside her, touching parts never before touched. He held his own passions at bay until Sara was panting, groaning, pulling him tightly against her as she moved her body in perfect rhythm with his, begging for sweet release. Each moan or sigh she made, Jared intensified her pleasure. Each thrusting frenzied movement bringing them closer to the edge of implicit pleasure.

  Sara had never felt such ecstasy, and such pleasure. She arched her back, her body convulsing as her insides imploded with such force, had it not been for the fact that she was still breathing, and her heart was still beating, Sara truly would have believes she’d died. Not looking, into the face of God but beyond it, through the infinite ages - past, present and future – all at once.

  Jared pulled her tight against his body as tears ran down her cheeks like minuscule mountain streams. He was leading her through the blazing pits of hell, and gently bathing her with the drifting snow as she hovered among the clouds.