Warrior of the Ages (Warriors of the Ages) (47 page)

Then there were more pictures to pose for again, and at last it was blessedly over. After final good wishes and congratulations the guests slowly filed up the basement stairs, and left. Carole hesitated beside the newlyweds then she quickly kissed Beth, and took Kahtar’s hands and stood on tiptoe to kiss each of his cheeks. She stared at him, wordlessly, and he smiled at her.

“I love her, Mother. Don’t worry. I will protect her now.”

Carole nodded silently and darted away. Ted White bent over his daughter and Kahtar forced himself to walk away and give them time.

When Beth finally found him, she took Kahtar’s hand and tugged him towards the parking lot.

“Come on. Let’s just go. Nothing is going to make this part easier for my Dad.”

So Beth tucked her gown up and crawled into her convertible and Kahtar folded himself into his cruiser and they drove the longest two hours of his entire existence.

BETH HAD ONLY one thought on her mind as she threw the car into park, gathered her silk gown in an arm and clambered out of her convertible. Kahtar didn’t look at her when he got out of the cruiser. The set of his broad shoulders as he stared towards the pond pulled her thoughts away from the moment she had been anticipating for a very long time.

“Let’s take a walk.” Kahtar spoke without turning to look at her. It didn’t bode well, even his back looked serious and his strong heart as it wrapped around hers felt afraid. More than the night the Old Guard had brought her back. Beth didn’t want to cooperate, suddenly afraid too.

Dressed in the white tux with the blue silk ascot with the yellow rose boutonniere, Kahtar looked red carpet, movie star handsome. He took her hand and squeezed it gently, brought her grandmother’s ring up for closer inspection and commented, “No disrespect to your Grandmother, Sweet, but wedding rings originated as a sign of subjugation.”

Obviously it wasn’t an idle comment. He looked tense from head to foot and he dropped her hand.

Following the comment to its logical conclusion Beth pointed out, “But they caught on because they’re pretty.”

“The first ones I saw doubled as a nose ring for hogs.”

“What is it, Kahtar? I know you don’t want to talk jewelry.”

Rubbing a hand over his face, he started walking towards the pond. Beth kicked off her satin shoes with the six inch glass and silver heels, hoisted the beautiful silk gown over an arm and trailed after him barefoot. The grass hurt, crunchy sharp and hot beneath her sore feet. The late August weather felt broiling, the heat and humidity far too high to be strolling outside in the silk gown. Kahtar stopped by the shade of the pond and picked up a handful of rocks, skipping them over the water as he spoke.

“It was the same with bracelets and necklaces once—they were collars and handcuffs usually. Of course the wealthier men made sure their women had pretty shackles.”

“Look, I won’t wear it if it bothers you.”

“It doesn’t bother me, I like onyx.” Plunk, plunk, he skipped the rocks towards the far bank. Wolves tore out of the woods and hurtled into the water after them, arms and legs flailing, mouth wide open.

The flat black ring had a filigree platinum band. It looked very modern to Beth’s eye as she examined it in the sunshine. Technically it wasn’t even a wedding ring, but her Dad had always treasured it, therefore she did too. It could have been brass or even plastic and it still would have been special to her.

Kahtar interrupted her reverie, taking her hand to briefly examine the ring.

“Of course that isn’t true onyx. It’s from banded lapidary material that comes from Mexico.”

Kahtar tossed some more stones in, baiting Wolves to swim frantically from one side of the pond to the other trying to retrieve one.

“The ring looks nice against the silk of your dress. That silk is from the wild Saturniidae isn’t it? I remember when all Thai silk was wild. Of course that was long before it was called Siam.”

“Kahtar? Why are you playing History Channel?”

Casually he bent and gathered more stones.

Wolves was making hacking noises and slowing, but still determinedly swimming.

“He’s going to drown himself,” Beth pointed out, attempting to lighten the mood.

Kahtar tossed another stone.

“Not that I particularly care after he kept biting me the other night,” she added.

Kahtar didn’t smile.

He said, “Wolves was almost inside out with excitement. I think he was trying to lick you. He practically bit off his own tongue. He is the singularly most stupid dog I’ve ever had—so far—but there might be another dumber one in the next millennia.”

Beth let the silk train of her gown drop into the grass, her mouth hanging open in disbelief, before she thought to shut it with a snap.

“Millennia? You’re serious? Why on earth do you think you’ll repeat that long?”

“Well,” the question seemed to give him pause. “I suppose the sun rises and sets every day, you start to expect stuff.”

“You’ve been repeating for millennia?”

“Since the crucifixion I have repeated sixty-four times, I think. Sometimes I don’t live long enough to remember, so there are gaps….”

Beth remembered to close her mouth and swallow, it took effort to respond.

“You were at the crucifixion?
The
crucifixion?”

Dropping rocks into the grass, Kahtar wiped his hands over his pristine white slacks. Putting his hands on Beth’s shoulders he took a deep breath and pushed her to sit, lowering onto the grassy bank with her.

“Yes, I was. At that time my clan called me Longinus.”

“You…” Beth pointed at him, and then her hands dropped weakly into the grass. Taking a deep breath she managed to out, “You’re Longinus?”

“Yes, or I was, and, yes, I did what everyone said.”

Beth sat, never taking her eyes off his face.

“I’ve seen terrible torture, but none worse…I just did it. I put my spear right through…if I’d even looked at Him I wouldn’t have done what I did. I stood at ilu’s feet and didn’t know Him. It was unforgivable.”

After a moment of stunned silence, Beth whispered, “Are you trying to tell me Longinus was cursed…that you were cursed with immortality for an act of mercy? Like that old legend about the Roman Gatekeeper who struck Him? Is that what you believe?”

“Cartaphilus? You know your legends.” Kahtar ran a hand over his head and looked out at the pond for a moment, then turned his gaze back to her, his hand was shaking. “No. Of course I don’t believe that. I’ve been repeating since long before the crucifixion. Far longer. Though I’d done some pretty awful things before then. In fact I’ve done most awful things.”

Beth scooted closer, the silk of her dress dragging over the dark grass as she stared at him.

“No you haven’t.”

Kahtar frowned.

Beth said, “You haven’t done most awful things.”

Kahtar rubbed a hand over his face. “From a Covenant Keeper perspective I have.”

“Okay,” Beth allowed. “How long have you repeated?”

Kahtar swallowed, but turned his steely gaze on her. “I don’t really remember the early years, just vague shadows. A long time.” His eyes looked so sad.

“Kahtar?” A shiver ran up Beth’s spine. “Please don’t spoon feed it to me. What are you trying to tell me?”

A smile lit Kahtar’s face then, and it was simply impossible to see him as anything but the beautiful man in front of her. Briefly he moved a hand to disguise his grin and then gave up, revealing his honest reaction. “That’s not enough for you?”

She smiled then too, but the smile was brief.

Kahtar studied her expression. She felt his heart probing her own as though his revelation could affect how much she loved him.

“I should have told you sooner. You should have known before we joined….”

“It wouldn’t have mattered!” Beth protested. “I mean you already told me you were immortal.”

“Immortal?” he shook his head. “No. I die like every man dies.”

“Kahtar? Look at me.” Beth rose to her knees and put her hands on either side of his face leaning forward to look into his eyes, she felt a wave of love wash up and out of her, blanketing him. “I love you. These things can’t change that.”

Kahtar ran his hands up her silky sleeves and rested them heavily on her shoulders, his expression serious. “I needed to be honest with you, and I was afraid to be.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want you to be afraid of me.”

“I’m not. Not at all.”

Gently Kahtar brushed her hair back and ran one large hand over her cheek. He whispered, “Why not?”

“Well, I guess anybody who repeats as you call it—would have an awful lot of bad in their past. So I don’t see you as some dark person.”

“What do you see me as?” he whispered.

Beth pushed her hair over her shoulders and sat back on her heels, thinking.

“A man who got stuck.”

“Why would a man get stuck repeating?”

“I’m sure I don’t know, Kahtar, but I think you’re really off base to think it will just keep right on happening forever. You really ought to live every day like your last just like the rest of us. It could be, you know?”

“That’s a nice thought.”

“Is it? I guess so—when compared to—stuck. I suppose repeating must be…”

“Tiresome.” Kahtar said it in a tone that truly sounded ancient and exhausted, worn and unbearable. It crawled up Beth’s back wrong.

“Oh really? Poor you, am I that tiresome?”

Kahtar grinned. “You know, Beth, I think you’re exactly what I’ve always needed.”

“I’ll bet you say that to all the girls.”

Roaring with sudden laughter, Kahtar bent over his knees and slapped a big hand against the grass. Wolves scrabbled up the bank and ran into the woods escaping the noise. After a couple minutes, Beth could hear the dog’s howling through Kahtar’s near hysterical laughter. Shoving off the ground she rose, glaring at her husband, and turned and stalked back to the house. The man knew how to kill a mood.

IT HAD BEEN a really long time since he’d lost it like that and laughed that hard. His chest hurt. In retrospect, this may have been another first. Kahtar leaned forward and stood, wiping tears off his face. Thankfully Wolves had stopped howling. That stupid dog’s hoarsening howl had kept him from following Beth for the last twenty minutes. It had slowly faded into a drier and drier canine gurgle that had left Kahtar rolling in the grass. He looked down at his grass stained tuxedo. Good thing he’d never need to wear it again. What a waste. Scanning over the house, he sensed Beth sitting on the edge of her bed, head in hands. Crying.