LITMIR.BIZ

      “Your breakfast has been ordered and it will be here soon.” Gaby had just finished calling Jane when Sarah entered the room. “If you do not mind, I will leave you to her care while I go to Richard. He meets with the other commanders and wishes for me to join them.”

      “No, I’m fine.” Sarah was amazed that her words matched her emotions. She was below the ground surrounded by the undead and had no idea how to get out if she wanted to. She was dependent on the Immortals for her every need. There was no natural light or ventilation. No one knew where she was or would believe it if she told them. She was set to go before the lawmakers and rulers of a society that could extinguish her at a moment’s notice, yet she was hungry and looking forward to her breakfast. She wondered at her sanity. Perhaps it had finally given way. Everything that was happening to her seemed perfectly natural and normal. Yes, she was quite sure she was mad. And she didn’t mind. That was the only thing that truly frightened her. That she wasn’t the least bit frightened.

      “We will be with you when you meet with the Council. Richard, Aris and I, all of us, will be there if you need us. There is nothing to fear.”

      “I’m not frightened anymore. It’s so strange. I feel I belong here, although I can’t say how I’d feel if I didn’t have the three of you.”

      “Well, you have us.” A soft knock on the entrance door brought their conversation to a close. Gabriela opened it and Jane stepped into the room. She carried a covered tray, which she placed on the coffee table.

      “Did you sleep well, Dr. Hagan?”

      “Please call me Sarah.”

      “Sarah then, would you like me to light the fireplace?”

      “Gaby, how in the world can a fire burn here? How is the air down here so clean and fresh?”

      “Jane will answer all your questions. I will leave the two of you to become acquainted.” Gabriela brushed her lips against the human’s cheek. “Richard and I will join you and Aris later today. We three will accompany you to your meeting.”

      “Bye Gaby, thank you.” The door closed silently as Gabriela left Sarah’s rooms.

      “Here Jane, sit down. The fire can wait.” Sarah patted the sofa, indicating a spot for the young woman to sit next to her. “Where is your wolf this morning?”

      “He waits for me outside the door. I could see he frightened you last night and I most certainly do not wish to add to your discomfort.”

      “I’m not uncomfortable. Please, bring him inside.” As she spoke, she lifted the cover from the tray. A perfect breakfast waited there for her. Jane brought the wolf into the chamber and motioned for him to sit near the door. He waited so patiently, so quietly.

      “You may bring him closer.”

      The vampire motioned to the huge animal to come. He rose gracefully from his haunches moving slowly to sit near his mistress.

      Sarah reached her hand tentatively toward his broad white muzzle. “He is so beautiful. Do you think I might touch him?”

      “Hawke, be very still.” The wolf responded instantly to the soft command issued by Jane Howard. “There Sarah, you may stroke his nose. He will not move until I grant it.”

      Surprised at the texture of his coat, Sarah spoke quietly as if she thought she might frighten him. “He’s so soft. I don’t know when I’ve ever felt such soft, thick fur. Wherever did you find him?”

      “I did not find him. He found me. It was he that brought me here to the Catacombs.”

      “May I ask why you wanted to come underground?”

      “It was not my wish. I know not why he brought me here. I was tattered and torn and close to death when I opened my eyes surrounded by Immortals and guarded by Hawke.” Jane scratched his ears and the great animal made a resonant rumbling sound deep in his throat. “He has not left my side since that day.”

      “Jane, I don’t mean to pry, but how long have you been an Immortal?”

      “You do not pry. Please feel free to ask anything. I will be more than happy to answer all of your questions that I am able to answer. I was brought here in the sixteenth century from the court of Queen Elizabeth I.”

      “Are there many Immortals from the Tudor reign?”

      “A few. There are few humans who have changed. Through all of the millennia of our history there are only a few thousand of us.”

      “Do you all live in the Catacombs?”

      “Oh no, many live human lives above ground. It is mainly the royal court and the scientists who live below.”

      Sarah ate slowly, yet the food stayed as warm as it was when it was brought to her. “Why doesn’t my breakfast get cold?”

      “The tray keeps it warm. There are some of those who live here who still enjoy human food so we have developed ways to keep things fresh until cooked and warm until eaten. It all must seem so strange to you.”

      “Strange, yes, but so very intriguing.” She poured more coffee from the silver pot sitting on the tray. “Will you tell me more about your way of life?” Sarah settled back into the cushions of the sofa as she spoke. “The air? It’s so pure down here. How do you manage that?”

      “Our entire atmosphere is controlled by Immortal alchemical energy. When our Queen came to earth, she brought great knowledge as a scientist but she had no idea how to adapt earthly elements for Immortal use. Then the day came when the Master Keeper of Records joined the Catacombs. He had lived a mortal life as a scientist before he joined us. With his help, she was able to adapt the formulas from her home planet to the earth’s atmosphere and components. The two fashioned the ancient science of alchemy.”

      “But no one practices alchemy any more, Jane.”

      “It is true. Only a few of the ancients were taught by the Queen. There are no humans who have the formulas in your present time. Only Queen Akira and the Master Keeper. And only our society today uses an energy that is in harmony with this planet. Our life leaves no scars on the earth or its inhabitants.”

      “But what of your vampire nature? You drink human blood. You take human life. Isn’t that leaving a scar on humanity?”

      “May I ask you whether a lioness leaves a scar on nature when she eats a zebra? Does a man leave a scar on nature when he eats a fish? We do what we must to survive. Immortals can live as humans and subsist on human

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