Chapter
37: Exploring Relationships
“You’re Vicky?” Deaq questioned as he eyed her suspiciously. ‘Sara
was right, she is pretty,’ he thought as he continued to gaze at the petite
woman standing in front of him out in the sunshine.
“Yeah, Sara’s friend from
“Um…” Deaq zoned out for a minute, amazed at how absolutely
beautiful Vicky was. “Sara’s not here. She and the others are taking the day
off.”
“Oh,” Vicky replied a little disappointed. “So, you’re one of
Sara’s new partners, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, Deaq, please to meet you,” he said, extending his hand to shake
hers.
“Pleasure is mine,” she responded. “Well, I’d better find myself a
cheap motel.”
“Where were you planning on staying?” Deaq asked.
“I was going to barge in on Sara because I really don’t have that much
cash for a hotel,” she said.
“I think that’s a really bad idea, especially right now.”
“Why?”
“Well, you know… She and Van…” Deaq was trying to find the right
words to describe what was going on without telling her more than she needed to
know.
Vicky quickly caught on, her eyebrows rising as she replied, “Oh! I
should have thought about that before I came here, huh? I can be such a ditz
sometimes. So, how serious is their relationship?”
“I can only guess, but from what I’ve seen and heard, it’s pretty
serious. They’ve already started using the ‘L’ word,” he answered.
“Whoa! And this is only after how long?” Vicky asked, a little
surprised by what she was hearing. It must have been a long time since she and
Sara had a long conversation about relationships.
“A little more than a week, but it’s starting to make a little more
sense to me. They have a pretty long history from what I’ve been able to
gather.”
“How can they have a history if they only met about two weeks ago?”
“I don’t know exactly, but that’s what they tell me,” Deaq tried
to stay as far away from the truth as possible yet not tell her a lie. Just the
idea of sharing a previous life with someone was still processing in his head.
The same went with the Witchblade.
“So, you know of any cheap motels around here?” Vicky asked, looking a
little hopeful.
“Yeah, but it’s a little too early for check in,” he replied.
“What about food?” she questioned. “I’m still on
“I know a great diner down the street. You wanna come to lunch with
me?”
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
*~*~*
Billie was hovering above Ian, her hands holding his arms above his head
to keep him still as she kissed her way down his chest. “So, are you having
fun?” she asked, that devious smile continuing to permeate her lips. He
absently glanced up at her and nodded. “Do you wanna go a little further with
your studies today?” Again, he nodded, allowing Billie to continue kissing him
as she had been before she stopped.
She released Ian’s hands and ran her fingers over his chest until they
reached the rim of his pants. She undid his belt and pulled them down to reveal
the black boxers beneath. “Hmm… now that’s something I wasn’t
expecting,” Billie said as she placed her hands on his hips. “I would have
pegged you as a briefs man. You’re full of surprised, Mr. Nottingham. You
cease to amaze me.”
“You want surprises?” Ian asked in a husky voice.
“I love surprises,” Billie whispered as she leaned over his ear.
Before she knew it, he had flipped her over again so she was now lying across
his chest, his arms wrapped around her waist holding her in place as his lips
gently caressed her shoulder. Her breathing caught when his hands took hold of
her breasts, squeezing them gently. “Oh, Ian,” she moaned. “Please don’t
tease me.”
“I’m not trying to,” he replied softly.
“Well, you’re doing a good job not trying. I wonder what it’s like
when you do try,” Billie pondered aloud. Just then, she felt Ian’s hands
roaming down her waist until they reached the downy hair just below her navel.
“Oh, God, no!” she almost screamed, begging him to stop. This was outright
torture! Billie was down to her last ounces of self control before she
completely lost it. She really didn’t want to take advantage of Ian,
especially since they were making such great progress. Finally, she reached the
point where she grabbed his wrists and pulled them away from her belly.
Ian looked up at her confused and dejected. “Did I do something
wrong?” he asked, the boyish look returning to his caramel eyes.
“No,” Billie replied, grabbing the blanket from the back of the couch
and wrapping it around her body. “You did everything right. I just had to stop
myself before we went too far. I don’t want you to regret anything. I’m
sorry if I’ve been a bit too pushy.” There was a long pause between them
before Billie added, “I’m gonna take a shower. If you wanna leave, I’ll
understand.”
“Billie, I’m not angry at you. I’m glad you pulled away when you
did. It proves that I can trust you,” Ian tried to calm her down. He could see
that she wasn’t as comfortable with the change of events that had taken place
between them in the last couple minutes.
Billie smiled wryly. “Thank you, Ian,” she almost whispered. “I
don’t think any guy I’ve ever dated has treated me as well as you have.”
“You’re welcome,” he softly replied, standing up and walking over to
her for a light kiss. She walked away into her room as Ian headed for the
kitchen to make breakfast in hopes of calming her down. He had definitely not
anticipated her reaction, but was thankful she had pulled away when she had.
Ian walked into the kitchen still pondering what would have happened if he
had continued, but was soon extricated from his thoughts when he heard his cell
phone ring. He grabbed it out of his pants’ pocket and answered, “
“
“Yes, Mr. Bowman?” Ian evenly replied, trying to keep the annoyance
out of his voice.
“I just talked to Sara. You’ve heard about her dreams, right?”
Gabriel asked, still in a rush.
“What dreams?” Ian questioned, feeling a little suspicious. This was
definitely something he would talk to Sara about in the near future.
“Well, she and Van have been having corresponding dreams about the same
two people, Artemisia and Xerxes, and how Artemisia ends up dying. Details are
sketchy at best, but I’m afraid of what these dreams mean, especially the one
that Van had about Sara dying in the near future,” Gabriel explained. “Based
on what Sara’s told me about her new boss, it seems like Billie is the main
suspect.”
“Gabriel, calm down,” Ian said. “What are you talking about?” He
already sensed that this conversation was going to lead him own a path he
didn’t want to follow, especially now that he and Billie were finally
connecting. The last thing he wanted was to keep her away from Sara because
Gabriel suspected something.
“Sara and Van have had the same dreams about Artemisia and Xerxes, a
past wielder and her love interest. They start out really happy and end up with
Artemisia dying or nearly dying. In Sara’s dream, Xerxes saved Artemisia. In
Van’s dream, he was unable to save her, or at least that’s what Sara thinks.
She also has this suspicion that Van’s ring holds the key to the mystery. Now,
I’ve been doing some research and I found out a little more about this ring
that Artemisia supposedly gave to Xerxes while they were secretly seeing each
other behind Xerxes’ wife’s back. This ring has amazing powers that match
the Witchblade and Excalibur. Some myths even say that it was forged with the
two just in case the wielder of Excalibur was ever unable to fulfill his
duties.”
“What’s it called, Gabriel?” Ian asked, trying to get as much
information about this new development in the Witchblade mythology. This was
something that Irons’ had neglected to confide in him, probably because he
could never find a trace that the ring existed. Ian now knew why. The ring had
already found its rightful owner.
“It’s called the Crossback, referring to the ‘x’ shaped design
that goes around the entire ring. This thing is incredible. It has the power to
protect, to heal, and to give its wielder unbelievable foresight. Unfortunately,
anything about if it can transform is almost nonexistent. ”
“So what does Billie have to do with all of this?” Again, Ian didn’t
want to jump to conclusions. He needed the facts in order to assess this
situation with an open mind and keep his feelings for Billie from interrupting.
“Well, Sara gave me a description of what the woman who tried to kill
her looked like…dark hair and blue eyes.”
“That could be anyone, Gabriel. It doesn’t mean its Billie. Besides,
what would her motives be for killing Sara?”
“Jealousy, hatred, she sees Sara as a threat, I don’t know,” Gabriel
was ready to go crazy with worry.
“Bowman, listen to me,” Ian sternly replied. “I am here, Van is
here, Sara is safe. You need not worry about her. She’ll be fine.”
“As much as I’d like to believe that, Ian, I can’t calm down. I’m
gonna worry about her. I’m her friend, how can I not be worried, especially
with what I know?”
“You’ll just have to trust us,” Ian answered.
“Why don’t you ease my mind then and tell me about what you and Billie
have been up to,” Gabriel suggested. “I hear you’re an item.”
“Billie and I?” Ian questioned, already feeling the nervousness
surrounding the situation. “Why would you think there was something between
us?”
“Because you pretty much just gave it away and because Sara told me that
she thinks Billie’s falling for you.”
“She does?” Ian was surprised to hear that Sara thought Billie was
falling in love with him. As absurd as the idea sounded, maybe it was true. Why
else would she want to stay with him if she didn’t have significant feelings
for him?
“Yeah, but I couldn’t get anything more out of her because she hung up
on me and turned off her phone. That’s why I called you.”
“You know, Mr. Bowman, you can cause a lot of trouble with that little
piece of knowledge. I’d rather you not talk about it with anyone other than
Sara and myself,” Ian told him in that threatening tone that always sent
Gabriel’s tail between his legs.
“Hey, you’re secret’s safe with me,” he replied happily. The last
thing Gabriel wanted to do was piss off Ian Nottingham, well known assassin and
martial arts extraordinaire. For all he knew, Ian could easily kill him in his
sleep and make it look like a natural death. Gabriel shuddered at the thought
and quickly dismissed it from his mind.
“Goodbye, Mr. Bowman,” Ian said, getting ready to hang up.
“Later,
When Ian heard the annoying buzz of the dial tone in his ear, he quickly
turned off his phone and threw it on the couch. His mind was spinning with all
the possibilities Gabriel had brought up about Sara’s boss and his new
girlfriend. The last thing he wanted was to choose between the wielder and
Billie. He loved Sara, but there was just something about Billie that reminded
him of himself, and she was really beginning to grow on him. Maybe he was
falling for her too, but who knew?
*~*~*
“VAN!” Sara cried, her hands grabbing clumps of linen as her back
pressed into his chest, her entire body shuddering when she felt her whole world
explode in that one intense moment of passion where everything just seemed right
in the universe. When it was over, she fell back against him, limp as a rag
doll, but absolutely elated. “I don’t think I can take this any longer,”
she panted, still unable to move her body away from his. “One more of those
and I’ll probably die.”
“Speak for yourself,” Van replied. “I think I’ve already died and gone to heaven."
“Well, I’m glad you feel that way,” Sara said, finally able to slide
over to her side of the bed and rest her back against the cool sheets and her
head on the soft pillow.
“So, who called you this morning?” he asked, rolling on top of her and
placing his chin in the cleft between her breasts.
“Gabriel,” she answered. “I think we finally managed to figure out
how you fit into this whole mess.”
“Really? How?”
“Xerxes and Artemisia were warriors and lovers. He was a king and she
was his top commander. They were having an affair behind his wife’s back, so
when she found out, she got pissed and wanted to fight Artemisia. Now, there are
three ways this could pan out. In the first, Artemisia kills the wife, but
Xerxes found himself another wife, and Artemisia killed herself because she was
so crushed. The second says that she killed the wife and Artemisia and Xerxes
lived happily ever after. The third and probably haziest of all is that
Xerxes’ wife stole the Witchblade from Artemisia and fought her with it. The
wife ran it through her chest, which should have killed her, except for the fact
that the Witchblade can’t harm its wielder. But here’s what Gabriel found
really confusing: Xerxes killed his wife and when he kneeled down before
Artemisia, she pretty much died in his arms,” Sara explained.
“That’s what happened in my dream,” Van softly replied.
“I know, but here’s where it gets really hazy. The myth says that some
power brought her back from the dead. It was his ring,” she said triumphantly.
“His ring?” he questioned, a little confused.
Sara took his right hand and held it up to point to the intricate piece of
jewelry he wore. “Your ring,” she answered.
Van gave her a bewildered look as he sat up and gazed into those green
pools of her eyes. She smiled back at him. “Wait… you’re telling me that
this ring is something like the Witchblade?”
“I’m telling you it’s the connection between you and me. And I think
I have a way to test that theory,” Sara said as she sat up as well. She held
up her right hand so that they could see the swirling bracelet. “Grab my wrist
so that your ring comes into contact with the Witchblade,” she instructed. Van
slowly did as he was told. He took her wrist in his hand, his ring pressing up
against the stone in the bracelet.
The moment the two objects came into contact with each other, Van and Sara
were instantly thrown into a whole other world. Sara found herself on a
battlefield, the Witchblade in its gauntlet form, kneeling beside someone. She
knew the person was either dead or dying. There were tears in her eyes as she
looked down. She knelt beside her comrade, lifting the visor of the helmet to
reveal the man that strongly resembled Ian Nottingham. “Xavier,” Sara
tearfully whispered as she took off his helmet. “No…” The lump in her
throat wouldn’t go down as she brushed a few strands of his long, dark hair
away from his face. Those deep caramel eyes were slowly fading.
“Artemisia,” Xavier softly replied. “It’s alright, there is
another. He will protect you. Do not worry.” He took a few labored breaths and
added, “I will always be with you.”
“Xavier!” Sara screamed when his eyes finally closed. She could feel
her heart explode with pain and regret. How could she have let this happen? How
could her protector be dead? She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to
find Van standing above her, his face just as grief stricken as hers.
Van almost immediately felt Sara’s pain. He knelt down beside her and
wrapped his arms around her iron clad shoulders. It was at this moment he knew
he had accepted his role as her new guardian, to protect her even if it meant
giving his life, to love her and take care of her. He took off the iron gloves
of his armor and wiped the tears from her face then kissed her quivering lips.
As they pulled away from each other, the scene began to fade once more,
this time finding themselves in a darkened bedroom with only a roaring fire in
the hearth, both naked, both pressed up against each other in a passionate kiss.
It was hard to tell where they were or what was going on, but one thing was for
sure; they were committed to each other, and nothing else mattered.
Sara felt light headed, her body wrapped up in Van’s so tightly it was
hard to tell where she ended and he began. She knew this feeling was unbridled
love, so deep and pure it was almost impossible to break. She felt it every time
his lips came into contact with hers, every time he touched her or ran his
fingers over her skin. She laid her head on his chest, inhaling deeply as she
closed her eyes. She finally felt complete.
Van knew their bond was unbreakable. It was as if this moment had been set
from the start. They were meant to find each other, and now that they finally
had and understood the gravity that had pulled them towards each other,
everything was perfect, everything was right. The world seemed to stop as his
head spun with the idea that he desperately wanted to spend the rest of his life
with her and only her. Sara had become his sole purpose for living. If anything
happened to her, Van knew he couldn’t go on. She was his other half, she
completed him.
“I love you,” came Sara’s low murmur.
“I love you,” Van whispered back as he held her even tighter.
The scene faded one more time into a sunny landscape. They found
themselves at an alter, Sara dressed in a simple white linen dress with a wreath
of white flowers around her head as her hair blew in the wind and Van in a white
linen shirt and pants. They were standing on a beach in an ancient land looking
out across the water as a priest read them their vows. With the simple raising
of his hand, the priest declared them man and wife, and they kissed.
They looked into each other’s eyes to find the feeling to be tried and
true. There was no doubt in either of their minds that they were meant for each
other. But as the realization materialized in their heads, the scene began to
fade once more. It dissolved into oblivion, leaving Van and Sara back in her
bedroom, his hand still wrapped around her wrist as they gazed into each
other’s eyes, pondering what they had just seen. Everything seemed so out of
place at that moment, yet fit together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. It
all made sense in the strangest way. Sara finally knew what had happened to her
first guardian and how Van came to be her second, but what still baffled her was
how they managed to find each other in this lifetime with Ian as her protector.
It was either a mistake, or Ian was destined to die. Sara shook that thought out
of her head. She didn’t want to believe that her friend and protector was
about to lose his life.
“Sara?” Van softly asked, knocking her out of her thoughts. She looked
at him strangely, her green eyes showing the confusion she felt as he loosened
his grip on her wrist. That look was also present on Van’s face as he
struggled to come to terms with everything he had just witnessed. He knew he had
strong feelings for Sara, but whatever he was shown solidified their
relationship. “What did all that mean?” he finally said.
“I don’t know,” Sara whispered, her head still thick with haze.
“Do you think…?” Van trailed off, not wanting to frighten her with
his sudden revelation that maybe he was ready to spend the rest of his life with
her as these visions indicated. He now had a purpose, one that he truly cared
for and understood.
“Do I think what?” Sara replied, seeing that his eyes had strayed from
hers almost too suddenly.
Van had to come up with an excuse and fast. The last thing he wanted to do
was scare Sara with the prospect of married life. Finally, he said, “Do you
think if we tried this again we might be able to see something else?”
“What do you mean something else?” she questioned.
“You know, like something from this lifetime,” Van answered.
“Why?”
“So we don’t have to go through all that getting to know each other
crap and skip ahead to the good stuff.”
Sara thought about that for a moment before she replied, “We could try,
but I don’t know if it would work.”
“Why don’t we?” Van suggested.
“Alright, but I’m warning you… You might not like what you see,”
she said, holding up the Witchblade so he could grab a hold of it once more. Van
took a deep breath and grasped Sara’s wrist again, except this time, he got an
explosion of overwhelming memories from Sara’s life. The loss of her father,
living with another family, growing up without real parents, finishing high
school, getting into the academy, meeting her friend Danny, becoming a cop and
then a homicide detective, her days at the 11th Precinct, her best
friend’s murder, and finally, the change in her life after she was chosen to
be the next wielder of the Witchblade; the day it found her at the Midtown
Museum, the firefight and all the strange repercussions that came along with it,
befriending Gabriel, the first death of Kenneth Irons, Ian nearly sacrificing
his life for her by taking an arrow in the chest that was meant for her, Daniel
coming into her life then leaving it by means of the Witchblade, Sara’s evil
“twin” Aras, and the second death of Kenneth Irons where the Witchblade was
almost turned against her. It all ended with the encounter between Sara and Jake
just before she came out here.
Van felt the unbelievable amount of pain Sara had gone through during that
one night and the days that followed. Her decision to leave was one he hoped
that he’d never have to make himself. Her life was a mess, and he was now
determined to make it as easy as possible even though he knew it would be an
unattainable task with the Witchblade and all. But he would try and hope for the
best.
Sara, on the other hand, was also being bombarded by all that Van had
experienced in his life. She saw everything: his early childhood which included
lying to everyone he knew and loved about where his father was, the day he
discovered his mother sleeping with someone other than his father, helping his
father make counterfeit money, his father’s incarceration and the anger that
he now felt towards him.
There was more, a whole lot more, especially in the anger and pain
department. The images she saw included the death of his partner, something that
she strangely associated with, someone hitting a girl he had once fallen for,
his anguish for lying to all those marks he had been set to trap, the red headed
woman that he also had feelings for, but different ones from the blonde even as
she held a gun pointed at his head, and just the other day… Sara saw what Van
saw while she was unconscious. All the horrible things that happened to her from
the cuts and bruises to the snapping of her wrist; they had all scared him so
deeply. No wonder he had been so exhausted. She had also seen him cry for the
first time and felt the current of pain that ran through his body as he held
her. He really thought she was going to die.
That scared Sara enough to break the connection. She pulled her wrist away
sharply. Panting, she looked over at Van who stared back at her with so many
emotions running rampant in his eyes. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and
hold him, but something was telling her to just sit and wait until he made the
first move. If he wanted comfort, he was going to have to ask for it.
Van felt as if he had been kicked in the chest. Everything he had just
seen and experienced was more than ten lifetimes worth of pain. He felt sorry
for Sara, but something told him by the look in her eyes that she, too, felt the
same way about him. He finally reached out and took her hand. Sara squeezed and
he squeezed back. They were on the same level.
“So, what’d you see?” Sara nearly whispered, fearing that if she
raised her voice any louder he’d hear it shaking.
“Enough,” Van replied just as quietly.
“Me too,” she said, trying to smile even though at the moment all she
wanted to do was cry. With his free hand, Van reached up and touched her cheek.
It was then that a single tear fell from her eye. He wiped it away with his
thumb and gently pulled her face closer to his and kissed her. She let him
continue until he was on top of her again, this time taking it slow and easy for
what she referred to as “comfort sex.”
When it was over, Sara lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling as Van
played with her hair, twirling it around his finger as he nestled his head
beneath her chin. Her hands filtered through his chestnut mane as she said,
“What now?”
Van continued to play with her golden locks, and without looking up, replied, “I don’t know. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens."