He felt confused. “Go? I’ve finally found you, after all these years. You think I would go?”
The ghost sighed. “Life is for the living, my beloved Enoch. This is a place for the dead. When all else has ended, then you will come here. But not now, not yet. You have gone through so much pain, my love. Don’t you think that you might deserve a little joy?”
Unbidden, an image of Madeline came to Enoch’s mind. He tried to shove it away.
Grace laughed. “Dear heart. She is beautiful, and she is drawn to you, even as you are drawn to her. Go, and live, and find joy.”
“I feel like I’m betraying you,” Enoch mumbled.
“You are not,” reproved Grace. “To run from happiness is to betray the life you still have. Now go, my champion. She needs you. Let her love you. Let yourself love her.”
The ghost stood on tiptoes and kissed Enoch on the tip of his nose. It felt like a butterfly, landing gently and flitting away.
Enoch opened his eyes.
His head felt heavy, and his neck as though it had been cast in concrete. His lungs felt like they were on fire, little tendrils of flame stretching throughout his chest. He tried to lift his right arm, but it felt impossibly heavy and very far away.
“By the Blood Moons of Altair…” he muttered.
“Someone’s awake,” observed a familiar voice.
“Maddie?” he rasped and slowly turned his head.
“I’ve told you before not to call me that,” she growled with asperity, “but now that you’ve saved my life, I suppose I’ll have to put up with it.”
There she was, in the bed next to him.
She is so beautiful.No doubt Madeline would have argued with him, complaining about her messy hair and hospital clothing and general unwashed state, but Enoch didn’t care. He knew.
“I…” He started to talk again, cleared his throat, and carried on. “I wasn’t sure if I could save you. You were running a fever. Your leg!” he cried out, trying to sit up.
Everything went gray and fuzzy.
“Woah,” said Madeline, raising a warning hand. “Easy now. That venom packs a helluva wallop. Trust me. My leg’s fine, Enoch. You got me here in time to save not only my life but my leg. You were actually in a worse state than me, by the time we reached this place.”
Enoch lay back, trying to stop his head from spinning. “Whatisthis place?” he managed to ask.
“As far as I can tell, it used to be a cruise ship,” replied Madeline, with a small laugh. “Oddly enough, a ship I once knew, called theStella Maris. It’s been crash-landed, covered with dirt and turf, and now appears from the outside to be nothing more than a remarkably symmetrical hill. On the inside, however, it functions like a small city. Astounding work. I had no idea that Trebs were so resourceful.”
“Trebs?” Enoch said muzzily. “But not…not on Trebizond,” he muttered slowly.
“My word, you’d really better get some more rest,” said Madeline, sounding concerned. “You don’t sound well at all. I wasn’t at my best, either, to start with. Sleep will do you a world of good.”
“You’re so beautiful,” said Enoch simply, looking at her. He was unaware that he had said it out loud.
“Yes, well, I’ll still be beautiful when you wake up after you’ve had some rest,” fussed Madeline, not at all displeased.
***
Madeline watched as Enoch settled his craggy head more deeply into the pillow and closed his eyes. Soon, his breathing became deep and regular.
It looks like he’s through the worst of it, thank goodness.There had been times when the medical staff had seemed genuinely uncertain whether or not he would make it.
He thinks I’m beautiful.She was surprised at how much that thought pleased her, sending a shiver all the way to her toes. Madeline had been told this by men for as long as she could remember, but there was something special in the idea thatthisman thought she was beautiful, and that he so obviously meant it.
He saved your life. Madeline was still processing what this meant to her. The simple fact was undeniable. Enoch had put himself horribly at risk, sacrificing his own health and safety to bring her to help as quickly as he could. She realized, suddenly, that if they had not ended up amongst the Trebs—who apparently had reason to greatly admire Enoch—he could well have sacrificed his liberty as well. All of that, he had cast aside, in order to save her.
I have no idea what to do with my feelings about this man.This was the truth, she realized. Enoch had come into her life as an unbelievably arrogant, overbearing threat. But even at that point, he had radiated power, charisma, and a radiating certainty that was undeniably attractive. Here was a man who was an absolute leader, his skills forged in the fires of a brutal conflict which, she was realizing more and more, was far less cut and dried than she had been taught to believe.
