Arielle Immortal Resolve (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 8) (13 page)

Chapter 8

A WEEK BEFORE
Eva’s wedding, Gaston attended an immortal gathering in Italy with a close friend, Cinzia Salerno. Cinzia was quite the socialite and very well-known in immortal private circles. She was in love with Gaston, but knew he was the untamable type. Girls loved him and he wasn’t willing to give his love to just one girl. Cinzia called and pleaded with him to be her date for the night. He accepted even though he didn’t know the host, but he did like Cinzia, and was always passionate about fun.

When they arrived, the party was already in full swing, champagne flowing in abundance. He recognized a few faces, but most of the guests were strangers to him. Somewhere in the mist of all the drinking, dancing, and loud conversations, he noticed a lot of racket coming from a small group of men. They seemed to be chatting enthusiastically among themselves and passing around several photos. Their dialog was loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. They were looking at the pictures and talking about their holiday at St Jean De Luz, in France. He looked again but didn’t recognize any of them.

He wasn’t the least bit interested at their conversation, or their photos. He wandered slowly through the rooms with a drink in his hand and chatted casually with a few people. Eventually he ended up back into the main room, and carried on a boring conversation with a few girls who approached him, eager for his attention. He looked over in Cinzia’s direction and saw that she was lost in a dialogue with a friend. He sighed, brushing his hand across his hair in sheer boredom. He was ready to walk outside for a smoke when he felt a nudge at his side. He braced himself for another boring chat as he turned and came face-to-face with a beautiful girl in her mid-twenties. She hesitated as her honey-colored eyes scanned his face and she seemed to forget what she was about to say. Gaston held her gaze and smiled. He finally broke the silence.

“Can I help you?” he asked softly.

“Um…” she seemed to be in a haze. She coughed a couple of times to clear her throat. “Could you please pass this photo to the girl over to your right?” she said bashfully and handed him a photograph.

He took it absentmindedly and kept his eyes on her.

“Um…thank you,” she murmured delicately. She tried to keep her composure, but her body language told Gaston otherwise.

“Sure,” he chuckled. He averted his gaze from the girl to the photo and glanced at it in passing. It reflected a few happy guys and girls on a beautiful beach. His hand with the photo was moving slowly to his right when suddenly, something resonated in the back of his mind. He realized that two of the faces looked quite familiar. He pulled his hand back and scanned the photo carefully. His eyes narrowed and focused on the two faces in the middle. He swallowed hard and drew a breath, eyes fixed on those two faces. He gasped and took an even closer look.

“No…” he stammered, “that’s impossible!” he shook his head in disbelief. One of the faces was that of Sebastian, his best friend from centuries ago. The other was that of a beautiful girl in a white bikini with amazing sapphire eyes. He was unreservedly astonished. “Arielle,” he gasped in a barely audible voice, his jaw clenched. Her name was etched in his very soul. He inhaled deeply in absolute shock. His mind swirled wildly trying to understand the significance of this moment. He and Sebastian had been best friends, actually more like brothers. Sebastian’s family was like his own and he was sure they were all mortals. How could Sebastian emerge in this photograph that was taken over 500 years later?

His thoughts ran wild again. After their friendship severed, he saw Sebastian a few times while he was married,
if you could call it that,
to Annabel. Their meetings were cordial, but never friendly. But after Sebastian finally walked out on Annabel, he never saw or heard from him again. Gaston was sure that after all these centuries, Sebastian was long dead and gone. So, who turned Sebastian to an immortal and when?

And what about Arielle? How can she be here after 500 plus years? Was she an immortal when they met? Where was she all this time? He skimmed his finger over Arielle’s reflection and his lips trembled with emotion. He remembered how he kept his own immortality purposely secret from everyone around him. Keeping his identity from Sebastian was the most difficult decision he’d ever made. He just couldn’t take the chance. He didn’t want to be discovered and turned in to the authorities. Immortals were hunted with incredible animosity during those days. He grimaced at the thought and tried to wipe the memories away.

Someone shifted next to him and he snapped out of his deep thoughts. He turned and glanced at the girl who was watching him intently. She had a wide smile on her face and her arm was extended toward him. A perplexed expression was spread across his face and he looked a bit confused.

“May I have the photo,” she said softly. He blinked and immediately released it in her hand.

“Sorry,” he stammered, apologetically. “I thought I knew one of the people in the photograph, but I was mistaken.”

“That’s quite all right,” she replied, amused.

Gaston felt apprehension and found it difficult to breath. He excused himself and walked outside for some fresh air. The night air was cool and the moon obscured by thick clouds. There were two lamps mounted on the wall on either side of the door dimly illuminating the entrance. He lit a cigarette and walked a few feet away and stood in the dark alone with his thoughts. He tried to flip through the piles of the painful pages in his memory book. He'd blocked out everything that created anxiety and discomfort. He winced at the ache that Arielle’s memory sparked in him. He never got the chance to spend time with her. Her rejection was vivid in his mind and he groaned painfully, as he drew in a deep breath. He’d never believed in love at first sight until their eyes met. He lapsed into stillness as he assessed the bitter feelings stored in the back of his mind, following the severance of a treasured friendship between him and Sebastian. He’d loved Sebastian like a brother, but his decision to take Arielle from him was something he was never going to forgive.

So, Arielle was an immortal…what a shock! He was determined to find her. His mind still astounded, told him that Annabel would be the perfect person to locate first. The intensity of the thought made his chest hurt. He closed his eyes and hauled in a deep breath. He recalled that Annabel was filled with rage and hatred when Sebastian walked out, and she'd sworn revenge until one of them was dead. He was sure that not even centuries would defuse Annabel’s rage.

He recalled clearly that many of their friends didn’t trust Annabel. Following her separation from Sebastian she became unstable, cruel, and unreliable. Annabel seemed to be a person who spent most of her time conceiving cruel schemes to be used against her enemies. She did, however, love Gaston, and always wanted to spend time with him. It didn’t take long for Gaston to get tired of Annabel’s nasty outbursts that only worsened as time passed. He decided to distance himself, and so left France on a long quest for something more interesting that would satisfy his long immortal existence on this planet.

He was now determined to look for the one person who would get him close to Sebastian; Annabel. Her visage emerged out of the dusty memories in his head and he smiled wide.
What a wonderful surprise!
After all these centuries, he'd found the girl who’d etched her name in his soul. The girl who’d turned his life upside down. The girl who’d disappeared from his life in one short evening never to return. He was filled with exhilaration and unbelievable desire. He was willing to break every immortal code in his power to make Arielle his own. Compulsion was forbidden by the strict immortal code. He wasn't sure he could obey that code if Arielle refused to be with him. Vengeance was the only thought he had for Sebastian. He threw the cigarette away with a sudden move and walked back inside to find Cinzia. She was still chatting away and having fun. He waited until they were alone in the car, before he asked his question.

“Cinzia, do you know Annabel Draper?” the question came awkwardly to his lips. She turned and her eyes lingered on his face. She tried to get a feel for his thoughts. He didn’t wait for an answer.

“She was once married to Sebastian Gaulle,” he said, holding his breath anxiously. Cinzia held his gaze to hers, and recognizing Gaston’s suspense, chuckled with amusement.

“I don’t know Sebastian Gaulle, but everybody knows Annabel,” she said, and gave an insinuating chuckle.

“Do you know how to get ahold of her?” he asked obsessively. There was some hesitation on her part.

“No, not exactly, but I know people who do, but why are you asking about someone like Annabel?” she asked wryly.

“She and I used to be quite close back in the late 1500s, and then I lost track of her. Her name came up the other day, and I thought I’d ask around. I’d like to see her again if I could,” he said.

“Gaston!” Cinzia muttered, and pressed her lips together. “Annabel has a very dark reputation…” her voice trailed off.

“What are you saying?” he asked, probing.

“I don’t know what type of person she was back then, but today she's known for being a nasty bitch completely out of control. I do believe she's psychotic.”

Gaston chuckled. Annabel didn’t sound much different today than what he remembered.

“It’s not funny,” Cinzia frowned. “Rumor has it that she’s insane. She was madly in love with that Sebastian you mentioned who left her after a two-year marriage and she was utterly humiliated.”

Gaston flinched at the sound of Sebastian’s name.

Cinzia continued, oblivious to Gaston’s thoughts. “The hurt and disgrace were so deep, that even after all these centuries, she’s still seeking revenge. I personally think she’ll succeed in killing this poor Sebastian. However, until she finds him, she seems to have the urge to punish every new man in her life, as if he was Sebastian,” she murmured. Her lips tightened and she took a deep breath.

“What else have you heard?” Gaston asked, amused.

“She and her best friend, Giovanna, dated a lot of young foolish men, and when they got bored with them, the guys would disappear into thin air. Then, new guys would come in the picture, and the cycle would start over again. I couldn’t even begin to visualize what happened to those poor young men.” Her voice lowered almost to a whisper. “The rumors about that would drive chills through your bones. It’s said that they had those poor boys murdered and their body parts spread across the land for animals to feed on.” She shook in fright, wrapping her arms around her body, and pressed her lips together.

“Who’s Giovanna?” he asked curiously.

“She was another sick bitch but nobody's seen her for over a year now. Maybe she’s dead and maybe she’s moved somewhere else to torture other poor souls. Gaston, you need to keep away from Annabel. She’s a sick, disgusting bitch, and needs help, however nobody has the guts to tell her. She’s very rich and very vicious. She has a lot of scums who do her dirty work and she pays them very well.”

Gaston stared at Cinzia and caution flickered in his eyes. A long silence fell between them.

He remembered extremely well the moment Sebastian walked out of Annabel’s life and never came back. Gaston was Annabel’s friend and confidant at the time, because they shared the secret of immortality. He recalled Annabel confiding in him that Sebastian never shared her bed in the two years they were married. Their marriage was never consummated. She told him that she never thought Sebastian would leave her the way he did. She was never going to forgive the humiliation he bestowed upon her. Shame enveloped her like a heavy metal blanket that she had to carry for the rest of her life. She was overwhelmed with rage and vowed revenge on Sebastian for centuries to come. Gaston and Annabel parted ways a couple of years later, and lost track of each other.

Gaston evoked the magical night he met Arielle and the feel of her soft luscious lips. He’d looked for her everywhere to no avail, and he gave in to the only thing left, the struggle to forget her. He failed to succeed in scraping off the etching of her name from his very core. The thought of Arielle made Gaston anxious again and his mouth tightened. He ran his tongue over dry lips. Now he needed to find Annabel. He was sure she knew Sebastian’s whereabouts. If he found Sebastian he was certain to find Arielle. He smiled wide filled with eagerness and desire.

Cinzia was now watching Gaston. She was sure by the expression on his face that he was evoking past times. He finally shook his head feeling hopeful.

“Will you spend the night with me?” Cinzia asked softly. She reached over, took his hand, and placed it on her breasts. Gaston chuckled and, gazing in her beautiful green eyes, leaned in and pressed his lips on hers fondly. Any other night he would've said yes, but tonight his mind and soul were filled with Arielle.

“Maybe another night,” he murmured, pulling his hand back and holding her to that kiss. “I’ve a prior commitment. I hope you’ll forgive me,” he said. Cinzia pouted for a moment and then smiled softly. She was crazy about Gaston, but she wasn't going to confess her feelings. He was a stunning man, six feet tall with clear beautiful blue eyes, perfect features, and a muscular body to kill for. She sighed, wishing he was hers, but Gaston was a well-known playboy with many women in his life who were more than happy to be on his beck and call.