Arielle Immortal Resolve (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 8) (30 page)

“Ian and I will be right over,” she said softly. They were dressed and out of the house within a few minutes.

They were stunned to find all of Sebastian’s immortal friends there, ready to offer him their complete support once again. Eva looked around and smiled wide. Thirteen amazing, robust, vigorous immortals were more than ready to rescue Arielle. Jon, Pierre, Jacques, Antonius, Girard, and Giani warmly greeted Ian and Eva. They’d all rushed to Sebastian’s side. Christian and Isabella were there. Loren had never left, and even Nathan Shilton came to help his friend in his time of need.

They all gathered in the library to put down a well-thought-out plan. Sebastian sensed his world was coming apart, and he was struggling desperately to grasp his levelheadedness. His heart thudded with eagerness as something very powerful surged through his thoughts. His arms ached, his lips twisted, he couldn’t imagine his life without Arielle. He loved her deeply, powerfully, and passionately. He needed her more than he needed air. She needed to be back where she belonged—in his warm embrace. He turned to face his friends with a thankful smile. “I just can’t tell you what this means to me. I’m confident that together we can bring Arielle home safely, because without her I’m completely lost.” Sebastian wasn’t sure whom he was trying to convince about her safe return; his friends or himself. He drew a deep breath and tried to still his mind feeling his pulse pounding his temples wildly. He started to pace again.

He stopped pacing and scanned over the eager immortal faces. “It’s déjà vu all over again,” he said bitterly. “We have to put in place a foolproof plan that will guarantee her freedom without creating problems for any of us.” He stopped pacing, sat and began to elaborate on the bit of information Eva had provided thus far. “Eva connected with Arielle,” he said. “She's in Fiji!” He saw everyone’s face reflect shock and continued. “The name Fiji is displayed on a few paintings in her room, right below the artist’s signature. She also saw a Fiji tag on a car leaving the house. So we’re sure she’s in Fiji, but exactly were, we’re not sure.”

“Is Gaston the same guy who was at Eva’s wedding reception with Annabel?” Giani asked.

“Yes, he’s the same rogue,” Sebastian said. A curse escaped him and he pursed his lips irately. “Something that maybe helpful is that Arielle noticed the letter V preceding the word Fiji on those paintings. She also told Eva there's a tall mountain behind the house. She'll continue looking for landmarks and other things to help make our search easier.” He breathed deep and continued. “The presence of the letter V led Eva believe that the name of the island may begin with the letter V. This won't be an easy undertaking, but given our speed and ability we should be able to find her,” he said anxiously and looked around the room to get his friends’ approval.

They all nodded in agreement. Sebastian rose and started to pace again, hands clasped behind his back. “The fact is that out of 322 islands in Fiji, only 106 are inhabited,” he continued. “I’m afraid my assumption might not be accurate, but after doing some quick research, the number of islands that begin with the letter V are exactly 7. Taking into consideration the existence of a mountain, the number of islands we should be interested in narrows to exactly 5. I think we should first check those islands and if we can’t find her there, then we’ll spread across Fiji and check every inch of the remaining islands.” He winced at the thought of not being able to find her quickly. He was, however, determined, as was everyone else in the room.

“Do we have anything else that might help to locate Arielle quickly?” Jon asked, gazing at Sebastian thoughtfully.

Sebastian’s lips twitched in anxiety. “Arielle told Eva that the house has three levels, with countless rooms and long corridors. That makes me believe the house is massive. She also said it’s hidden in a dense forest between the ocean and a very tall mountain.”

Jacques turned to face Eva. “Eva, let us know as soon as you have something more from Arielle.”

“Our minds are open to each other. I will text when I have something new,” Eva promised.

Sebastian looked around to be sure there were no other questions before he continued. “There are 5 islands that begin with the letter V and are mountainous and there are thirteen of us. Do you want to make your own choices or do you want me to do it for you?” Sebastian asked, glancing around the room.

“Go ahead, Sebastian,” Antonius said, eager to get started.

Sebastian quickly wrote down the names of the 5 islands, then made the assignments. “Viti Levu is the largest of those islands, so I think Christian, Isabella, Loren. and myself will search that area together,” he said. “Vanau Levu will need a few people as well, as it’s the next largest in the bunch, so Nathan, Ian. and Eva will go to that one.” He assigned Vanua Balavu to Jon and Piere, Vatu Vara to Antonius and Giani, and finally, Vunisea to Jacques and Girard.

“Hopefully,” he said, “she’ll be on one of those islands. If we don’t find her in any of those islands we'll regroup and scan every inch of the other islands as well.” His expression was wrathful, muscles clenched, lips stretched to a thin line. “The fact is that she's in Fiji,” he continued. “Anything you find, make sure we know. Now’s a good time to exchange telephone numbers if they've changed from the last time we did this,” he said. chuckling bitterly. He hauled in a deep breath, made 10 copies of the list and handed them to each one.

A couple of hours had passed since they’d gathered in the study, and they were all eager to find Arielle. As they started to disperse Eva’s voice drew them all to a halt.

***

Arielle got out of bed and wiped her tears away. She walked to the window overlooking the dense forest that extended all the way to the foothills of the mountain. She squinted at the bright sunlight and focused toward the place where she remembered seeing the gray bell tower. She smiled wide when she saw out in the distance the top of the gray structure peering through tree canopies in brilliant gold and a bell that was now sparkling in the sunlight like a jewel of freedom.
Her freedom.

***

Arielle’s thoughts surrounded Eva, and Eva’s expression became intense.

Hmm,
Sebastian thought, brows lifting inquisitively. He moved close to Eva and waited agonizingly. Eva listened fixedly, making notes, using a vastly superior note-taking method, her mind-map. She founded that easier to use to recall details and scan through them quickly with accuracy anywhere, anytime. Arielle’s voice came through fervently.

Eva, are you there?

Yes, Arielle, we're all here,

Is Sebastian there?

Yes, he
’s right here.

Eva pursed her lips feeling Arielle’s sadness. Her eyes flickered to Sebastian and she could clearly see his excruciating expression.

“
What's she saying?” Sebastian asked eagerly.

“She’s asking about you,” Eva said and he groaned painfully.

Eva,
Arielle’s thoughts came pouring into Eva’s mind.
Gaston just left the room. I took your advice and made him feel at ease. He thinks I might be considering his offer. I took a walk with him and found that a very thick forest surrounds this house. I can see the ocean on one side and the mountain on the other. There's nothing in sight but trees, water and more water. I did notice an old church in the forest adjacent to the property. A gray narrow medieval-type of bell tower is attached to the right side of the building. The church itself is located on the west side of the property facing the foothills of the mountain. I couldn’t see the top of it from where we stood.

The density of the forest didn’t give me a view of the top and Gaston wasn’t going to take me up close. However, windows surround my room. I looked outside as soon as I got back and located the bell tower in the distance; I’m looking at it right now. It peeks over the thick canopies; the top of the belfry is gold and the bell sparkles in the afternoon sunlight. A wall approximately 10 feet high surrounds the property. There's a main gate and 3 smaller gates that exit to the rainforest. There are surveillance cameras inside the house.
Finally she stopped pouring thoughts into Eva’s head, waiting for Eva’s response.

Arielle! That's great news. We now have a couple of landmarks: the mountain and the bell tower. You know that’s more than enough to find you. I’ll be open to your thoughts and anything else you give me I’ll pass it on to the others,”
Eva thought joyfully. Her spirit was now calmer, which inadvertently eased Arielle.

“What is it?” almost everyone in the room asked in unison. They'd turned to face Eva.

She folded her arms and pursed her lips. “Arielle found another important landmark.” She told them all about the bell tower. “She also said there's a wall with security gates around the property and she's pleading for us to find her soon.”

Sebastian clenched his fists and his growl was loud and heartfelt by his friends.

“Sebastian, are you going to be all right, man?” Nathan said understandingly.

“Yes…yes…” he mumbled, and his voice drifted. Frowning he looked at his friends. “Keep in touch at all times.”

That was his last request. Soon they were all gone...

***

Jon and Pierre arrived at Vanua Balavu eager to find Arielle. It didn’t take long to cover the small island and find out that there were absolutely no large estates or tall mountains. The few people inhibiting the area spread between small villages nestled along the coastline. They did observe the amazing scenery and the breathtaking blue waters. It was a tropical paradise but not where they'd find Arielle. They texted Sebastian and advised him of their findings. They agreed to join Ian, Eva and Nathan in Vanua Levu.

As soon as Antonius and Giani arrived at Vatu Vara they became aware that this island was also sparsely populated. It was covered with dense tropical jungles and limestone cliffs. Lagoons enveloped the island in a teal embrace. The beaches and broad-fringing reefs surrounding the island were amazing and draped with pure white sand. But there were no signs of large mountains or large estates. This island was definitely not the place where Arielle was held. Jacques and Girard reported the exact same findings from Vunisea. They all texted Sebastian and he asked the four of them to join him at Viti Levu. This island was the largest in Fiji so he could use more people to cover every inch.

“Have you heard from Eva?”
Antonius texted.

“No, not just yet, but Jon and Pierre are going to join Eva in Vanua Levu,”
he replied.

When Eva, Ian and Nathan reached Vanau Levu, they were amazed by the rugged mountain range. “This may be the place,” Eva said, glancing between Ian and Nathan. “We have the mountains and the ocean. We now need to look for a bell tower and a large estate somewhere in the middle of one of these rainforests,” she furthered. Using their immortal speed, they decided to start at the south side of the island, move carefully and search the island in great detail. This was the second largest island in Fiji and it looked as if there was a possibility of finding Arielle hidden somewhere here. They would look for the three landmarks she’d provided. They passed gorgeous landscapes brimming with rainforests, coconut plantations and fantastic views of the ocean. As they moved slowly and vigilantly they noticed huge green fields of sugar cane on the west coast. The island seemed to be surrounded by magnificent coral reefs. Expensive plantations and private estates were appeared here and there but none of them nestled in the middle of any of the rainforests and or surrounded by a tall stonewall. However the view gave it a surreal kind of quality. Eva’s mobile rang. She pulled it out of her jean pocket and answered.

“Eva, Pierre and I are going to join you. There’s nothing in Vanua Balavu,” Jon said on the other end. “I texted Sebastian and he agreed we should join you.”

“Sure, come on. The more the merrier,” she chuckled.

“Where are you?” Jon asked. Eva gave him their location and it wasn’t long before he and Pierre joined them. They were getting deeper into the rainforests covered by thick canopies and she thought it would be a good idea to ring Sebastian.

“Sebastian, I think Vanau Levu might be the right place. We’re going to look for the landmarks Arielle provided,” Eva said.

Sebastian sighed, and anticipation flashed powerfully in his brain. He looked across the expanse of land, forest lines and ragged mountain peaks and shook his head thoughtfully. “Eva,” he said faintly. “Viti Levu has high elevations and thick rainforests. There are high possibilities that we may find those landmarks here. Let me know what you find and I’ll do the same,” Sebastian said and ended the call.

***

Eva put the phone back in her pocket and
humphed
. She stood still for a moment and then followed the men as they resumed their search. They'd gone through every rainforest on the island, crossed every river, searched between the mountain, hills, and coastlines but they never found an estate surrounded by a tall stone wall to match Arielle’s description or an old church with a tall bell tower. Her heart sunk and she felt deep disappointment.

Ian reached for her hand and she slipped it into his, pressing her lips together. “Sorry baby,” he murmured. “We’ll find her. She must be in Viti Levu if she’s not here. Let’s call Sebastian,” he suggested and gave her a peck on the cheek.

“You’re right, we’ve exhausted every inch of this island, every possible corner.” She took her mobile out again and speed dialed. “Sebastian, she’s definitely not here,” Eva said disappointedly.

“Well, I’ve a strong feeling that she’s here. Don’t ask me how, I just do,” he said anxiously. “Let’s meet and we can continue the search together. The sun's going down but there’s still a lot of daylight left. We’re just now reaching the middle part of the island. We can see in the far distance the ragged peaks of a tall mountain and we’re all sure that this is the right place.”

“How do we find you?” Eva asked.