Eternal Faith - Book 4 (The Ruby Ring Saga) (2 page)

I
felt a pinch like a bee sting in my left arm and opened my eyes to a strange
man over my body. I tried to focus, but everything was fuzzy.
Is that Ethano?
How did he find me? I need to...I’ve gotta fight.
I struggled to get away
from him. “Get the hell off me!”

The
man secured a needle to my arm with tape. “Calm down, ma’am. I’m a paramedic,
and you’re in an ambulance.”

Droplets
of sweat poured down my face. “Wh-what?”

The
man hovered over me. “You passed out.”

I
pondered the paramedic’s words. “Beth called 911?”

“Yes,
ma’am. We got here as quick as we could.” The medic fussed with the needle in
my arm.

“What
are you doing? I don’t need an IV, and I don’t want any drugs pumped into me. I’m
pregnant!”

“It’s
all right. Your friend informed us of that.”

I
glanced around in a daze. “I’m fine now. Can you please let me out at the next
light?”

“Are
you sure about that?” he asked.

“I
know my rights. If I’m alert and not disoriented, I am entitled to refuse this
ambulance. Now please let me out.”

“You’re
far from fine, miss. For starters, you’re running a temperature of 106. We’re
taking you to Mercy Hospital.”

“The
hospital? No! Absolutely not! Where’s my husband?”

“We’ll
call him as soon as we get you stabilized.”

I
stared up at the medic’s nametag, which indicated that he was Robert. I tried
to get up, but he insisted on holding me down. Heat rushed over my body, and I
felt so weak and drained.

The
man drew up a syringe and injected the liquid into a port on my IV, ignoring my
protests.

“Stop
it!” I whispered as a sheet of perspiration flooded over me. Everything became
a blur, and I could have sworn that the man had three sets of eyes. “What’s
going on?”

“It’s
just a little something to help you relax.”

His
voice echoed in my ear like some kind of bad trip on acid. The pressure in
my ears was unbearable. When the spinning stopped, my lungs were on fire, and I
flailed my arms. I focused and saw Ethano staring down at me. A cold chill
washed over me. “Get away from me! How did you find me? You can’t have my son!”

“I’m
trying to help you,” he said.

I
gasped as every muscle in my body tensed, preparing to help me flee. “Help me?
You tried to sacrifice me!”

“I’m
going to increase the dose,” Ethano said.

“Why?
Because you didn’t successfully poison me the first time?” I yelled.

“Nobody’s
trying to poison you,” he said. “Stay calm, miss.”

My
heart threatened to explode out of my chest. “Victor’s been king for centuries,
and I’m not about to let you take over his kingdom!”

“Her
heartbeat’s spiking,” Ethano said, “and she’s hallucinating.”

“We
have to slow it down,” the other man said.

The
man who was helping Ethano injected something into my IV as I struggled.

“She
needs more than that. Double the dose.”

I
slipped into darkness, but when I opened my eyes, I was still in the back of
the ambulance. I assumed only a few minutes had passed. If Ethano had captured
me once again, I knew I had to get away. I flailed as the men attempted to hold
me down.

A
frown formed between Ethano’s brows. “Holy crap! How’s she still conscious?”

“Adrenaline
rush. Give her another dose.”

Sweat
beaded my forehead. “Another dose of what?” I bit my lip as he injected something
into the port of my IV. I kicked Ethano across the ambulance, and when the
other one came at me, I easily threw him too. “Stop this ambulance!” I demanded.
“I want out now!” I was having trouble thinking straight. All I knew was that I
had to get away from Ethano, the man who’d made my life a living nightmare. As I
lunged, the man flung his arm up, as if he had any chance of fending off my
oncoming blow. I could easily have taken the guys on, but my headache reared
its ugly head, and I was blinded by pain. Brilliant bursts of light dotted my
vision, and a wave of dizziness overwhelmed me.

“The
drugs! They’re finally kicking in,” Ethano said.

“It’s
not drugs!” I said. “It’s these mind-blowing headaches.”

Exhaustion
overwhelmed me, and I slowly closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

T
he
sharp smell of disinfectant made me gag. I was lying in bed, dressed in one of
those ugly, backless, blue hospital gowns. I opened my eyes and looked around
at my surroundings. Everything was so sterile and clean, and the place was
dimly lit. There was some furniture in the small room, including a bedside
table and a vinyl mauve chair. There I saw a large window with mauve curtains,
a telephone on the dresser, and a bathroom in the corner of the room.

When
I saw the Band-Aid on my arm the medic hadn’t used for the IV, I knew a
healthcare worker must’ve drawn blood.
That’s not good—not good at all.
It
was then I realized that Ethano wasn’t in the ambulance with me. I looked up, and
relief washed over me as I came to the conclusion that I’d hallucinated that
bad dream. I worried now, though, that I’d be on my way to a psyche ward any
minute.  

A
nurse in white scrubs, with her hair pulled into a tight gray bun, walked in. “You’re
awake. How are you feeling?”

“Like
somebody’s been pounding my head with a hammer.” My throat was dry, and it was
hard to swallow.

The
nurse held a glass of water to my lips so I could take a sip through the straw.
“It’ll take some time to come down,” she said.

“Come
down?” I shook my head, not grasping the meaning of her words. “But the baby,”
I whispered. “Is the baby okay?”

“The
baby’s fine and has a strong heartbeat,” she informed me.

I
let out the biggest sigh of relief I could muster.

“Doing
drugs when you’re pregnant is unacceptable,” she lectured. “Don’t you care
about the health of your baby?”

I
shrugged off her scolding voice because I knew how off base she was. “Of course
I care about my baby. I love him with all my heart and would never dream of putting
myself in an altered state.” I yanked at my arms and suddenly realized I couldn’t
move them; for one reason or another, I’d been restrained.  

“Please
remain calm, Miss Larker.” She used my maiden name, which wasn’t surprising,
since the modern world didn’t recognize my marriage with Victor.

The
nurse already thought I was on drugs, so I wasn’t about to try to explain my
real name and how I got it. “Why am I strapped down?” I asked, noticing the
soft, padded wrist restraints on my hands. I wiggled my arms and tried
desperately to free myself. No matter how much effort I exerted, I couldn’t
break free.
What happened to my Immortal strength?
I wondered.

Her
eyes didn’t leave her clipboard as she scribbled something. “You became violent
in the ER.”

“Really?”
I mumbled in disbelief. “That doesn’t sound like me at all.”

“You
don’t remember beating up half the staff?” she hissed.

I
shook my head. “No! I’d never do that. I’d never hurt anyone!” Visions flooded
my head as I remembered fighting with the medics in the back of the ambulance.
I never acted like that, so I had to have been out of my mind. I spent my life
trying to help people, not harm them, and I couldn’t believe I’d hurt someone.

“You
were hallucinating, high on drugs. They made you belligerent, uncontrollable,
and dangerous to our staff.”

How
dare she judge me like that? I’ve never done drugs a day in my life.
“Like I told
you, I don’t do drugs,” I snapped. She’d already labeled me as a pregnant mom high
on crack, and the thought that anyone would think of me like that made my heart
sink. Her eyes narrowed, and I could sense her anger at my out-of-control
behavior.

“I’m
so sorry,” I said.

“You
had a bad trip. Your eyes were as red as fire, and you threw the attending
doctor away from you like a ragdoll.”

I
blew out a breath. I had no idea how to explain what had happened. Then it
dawned on me:
Back through the portal, when my emotions peaked and I was in
danger, I was able to conjure unspeakable powers.
Clearly, I had felt out
of control and in danger in the ER, but my powers hadn’t kicked in. Otherwise,
I really would have hurt someone.
Why didn’t my powers emerge when my
emotions surged? Why didn’t I have my strength?
I thought. “Why can’t I
remember more?” I asked out loud.

She
shook her head in disgust. “I go through this at least once a night. Drugs
impair memory and cause paranoia and anxiety. You were...chemically detached from
reality.”

I
pressed my lips together at her accusation. “But I’m not a substance abuser.”

“Ah,
the classic case of denial. I’ve seen this a million times. Screenings don’t
lie though. In a short time, we’ll know exactly what street drug you took,” she
said in a condescending voice.

Heat
flushed my cheeks, and I was again enraged at her. “You had no right to take
blood from me without my consent.”

She
cocked her head. “If you have nothing to hide, why do you care?”

“I’m
fine now,” I told the nurse. “Can you please take these restraints off me?”

She
stared at me with cold, green eyes, as if evaluating my mental state.

I
didn’t need her permission to be free, for I knew I could simply compel her. “Take
the restraints off me now.”

Her
pupils dilated as I gave the command. “I can’t do that,” she said.

It
didn’t work, and I was dumbfounded. As I wondered why I couldn’t compel her, a
memory emerged. I saw a thin, African-American woman with short, curly hair,
dressed in white scrubs. When she attempted to hold down my arm in the
emergency room, I remembered seeing her blue ring. It wasn’t as bulky as the one
worn by the man in the minimart, but the blue stone was exactly the same. For
some reason, their energy drained mine, which was the likely reason why my
powers didn’t explode in the ER. I surmised that I’d caused such a stir with my
strength that she showed up to paralyze my powers. I wondered if she even knew
who I was. Whoever she was, though, she had to be in the vicinity, as I still
couldn’t compel the nurse.  

Another
thought infuriated me:
They must’ve drugged me with horse-strength tranquilizers
and sedatives. I’m pregnant! What’s wrong with them?
I glanced up at the
nurse. “What kind of sedatives was I given? Are they dangerous to the baby?”

“You’re
worried about the drugs
we
gave you?” She huffed. “You oughtta be more
concerned about the drugs
you
took. Aren’t you worried about birth
defects?”

I
refused to answer her question. I hadn’t done anything wrong, hadn’t taken any
drugs in any way, shape, or form. My problem stemmed from something completely
different, something no modern-day human would understand. Sight, the special
gift all human-turned-Immortal had after a year, was in the process of being
bestowed upon me. It would allow me to see the future, but as it settled in, the
energy was colliding with the energy from my other Immortal powers. It was
something of a cosmic clash going on inside me, and my body was having a hard
time adjusting. I feared that in the long run, all those internal battles would
kill me. I didn’t even know if I’d be able to deliver my baby safely, before my
life was snatched from me, and that hurt me more than anything. My baby
deserved a shot at life. Even if I didn’t make it, I had to figure out a way to
prolong my life, if only long enough to allow Alexander to take his first
breath.

“How
do we go about getting these restraints off?” I asked in a calm manner.

“Can
you tell me your name and where you are?”

I
rolled my eyes. “My name is Sarah Larker, and I’m obviously at Mercy Hospital.
I was at my friend’s house and must’ve collapsed. I’m sure Beth called 911.”

“Who
is Ethano? Is he someone who hurt you in your past?” she asked.

Ethano?
The
name made me shudder. “Yes...but how do you know that?”

“You
mumbled much about him, claimed he tried to kill you on numerous occasions, and
there was something about him wanting your baby.”

I
swallowed, wondering what I’d told them in my deluded state.

“You
also mentioned something about an ancient sacrifice, a candlelit temple, and dozens
of priests in hooded robes,” she said. “Because he needed a queen to obtain shape-shifter
abilities.” She paused, stifling a mocking laugh, then continued, “Miss Larker,
do you consider yourself to be a queen from another world, another dimension?
And do you think an Immortal king kidnapped you and forced you to marry him?”

I
bit my lip hard, realizing how crazy and drug-induced my story must have
sounded. “I guess I was just...delusional,” I fibbed. “Obviously, you can’t
believe a word I said.”

The
lie seemed to pacify her, and she nodded, as if relieved to hear that I’d come
back to reality. “I’ll send Dr. Meyers in to evaluate you as soon as possible. After
that, you’ll have to follow up with the psychiatrist.” She made another note on
her clipboard, then walked out.

I
suddenly heard Victor’s voice from down the hall, demanding to know directions
to my room. My heart jumped when he walked in wearing a black leather coat,
with his dark locks in disarray. My eyes instantly caught his beautiful gaze. “Boy,
aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

“Sarah!”
he said, then rushed over and cupped my face, sending shivers down my spine. “What
did they do to you, love?” he asked, glancing down at my bindings.

“Uh...well,
this was necessary so I wouldn’t hurt anyone. Did you find Della?” I asked,
even though the grim look on his face confirmed his answer before he spoke it.