Dante’s Girl (30 page)

“Yes.  Twelve very important people were chosen so long ago to assist us throughout the millennia.  You were chosen for your bravery and your heart.”

She turned my wrist over and fingered my scar.

“I placed the mark of the phoenix upon your wrist myself.  The phoenix is sacred to the order, Charmian.  It symbolizes re-birth and life, the very thing that we stand for… the things that we protect. And we gave you that mark.  It is an honor.”

I nodded.  “Yes, of course it is.”

“Then why have you been doubting us?” she turned her large blue eyes to me, beseeching me. 

“I haven’t!” I protested. “The priest Annen has tried to convince me of his theories… but being a member of the Order is all I know.  I have no wish to believe him.”

“But you’ve wondered.”

She stated it as a fact, watching my face as she absently held her open palm out to a butterfly that had flown in from my window.  The delicate yellow wings quivered as it crawled onto her hand and sat still. 

“I know your heart, Charmian.”

I sighed.  “I couldn’t help but wonder how much truth was in what he said.  But I have no wish to believe him. I’ve put his claims out of my mind.”

“As you should,” she instructed with the first trace of a harsh tone. 

She watched the butterfly for a moment more, her blue eyes glinting, before she snapped her hand shut, crushing the delicate insect between her fingers.  I gasped as she put it in her mouth, chewing calmly as she contemplated me.

“You are one of the best we have, Charmian.  Yet you’ve lost your bloodstone.”

My heart dropped into my toes.  I couldn’t deny it. 

“Yes,” I admitted in a whisper, my head bowed. 

“Get it back,” she hissed, her face clouding over and for a split second, one brief moment, I saw a glimpse of the ancient hag that she was.  I sucked my breath in, waiting for a storm.

She calmed herself, resuming her tranquil tone, her face regaining its youth and beauty.

“Our bloodstones are powerful, as you know.  They are the keys to everything.  That sniveling eunuch will not be able to use it- because it was made for you.  But the bloodstones were made from one stone. One. When one is lost, we all suffer.”

I stared at her intrigued, as she pulled her own bloodstone out of her robes.  Hers was larger than mine and set in an intricate setting surrounded by rubies, but it had clearly been cut from the same mother stone… glistening blood-red, with black veins. 

“Our power as a whole should not be diminished because of the carelessness of one, should it?” she purred, sliding her hands smoothly over my shoulders and stopping with her fingers wrapped lightly around my neck.

I gulped, then shook my head quickly. 

“Then, fix it,” she instructed pleasantly, removing her hands.  “No matter what you need to do to repair your error, you have my support.  Do you understand?”

Did I? Was she saying that retrieving my bloodstone using any means necessary was more important than restoring history?

Before I could speak, she nodded.  “I see that we’ve come to an understanding.  You’re such a bright girl.”  

Confusion flooded through me as I watched her adjust her clothing.  How could this be happening?   My entire being was dedicated to enforcing the plan of the Fates.  Never had we deviated before, under the threat that chaos would ensue.  How could we deviate now?  Unless the threat was just that… an idle threat.  I had forgotten that my thoughts were not safe around her, until she snapped me from my reverie with a growl.

“Do not question us again, Charmian!  There are times when the Plan is not as important as protecting the Order.  It is as simple as that.  And I will not explain myself to you!”

But she just had.  The Order had a weakness.  The Bloodstones.  And nothing on earth was as important as keeping them.  I quickly blanked my thoughts so that she couldn’t read them again and nodded.

“Yes, Lachesis.  I’m sorry.  Rest assured, I will fix this…” My voice trailed off hesitantly.

“But?” she prompted.

“But can I just ask one thing?  Can I just know one thing… because I know I will not remember it in my next life anyway.”

She studied me quietly, reading my thoughts and hearing my unspoken question.  Her face an unreadable, lovely mask.

“In each life your memories from your previous lives are wiped clean for your own benefit,” she finally explained.  “It benefits you in many ways.  If you were able to remember the sadness from your previous lives, it would drive you to insanity.  You would lose your effectiveness as a Keeper.”

I nodded.  Ahmose had been right. 

“And you forget the gifts you are capable of through your bloodstone as a safeguard,” she added.  “The power that we are able to harness is exquisite and enormous.  Too much burden for any one person to be aware of, life after life.”

“But you…”   

“My sisters and I have each other to keep us in check.  You have no one.  But your Aegis.”

Realization settled upon me like a cloud.  So, Ahmose wasn’t just there to assist me…  he was there to keep me firmly in place. 

“So, now you know.” She stared at me.  “For now.  You’ll forget it again soon enough.”

That thought was not comforting. 

“Charmian?”

I looked up at her. 

“Yes?”

“Be good.”

And she was gone. 

I took a shaking breath and sank into my bed, allowing the softness to comfort me momentarily.  I wasn’t sure what to think.  She had just confirmed that at least some of the things that Annen had told me were true… but since she openly admitted them, didn’t that mean that the Order had nothing to hide?  I was at a loss. 

My hand brushed against a rolled up papyrus on my bed.  Staring at it suspiciously, I picked it up.  How had she left it?  I hadn’t seen her with it at all. 

As I unrolled it, the yellow butterfly that I had just seen Lachesis eat flew from the confines of the paper and out my window.  I watched it fly away in shock, alive and well, before I turned my attention to the paper in my hands.  Delicate, feminine writing flowed across the page in English.

There are things you were never meant to understand.

You will have to trust me.

Before I even had a chance to ponder its meaning, the cryptic message burst into flame and I dropped it to the stone floor, watching it burn on the stone.  Within a minute, it had disappeared completely… as though it had never existed.

* * *

To read more, you can find
Every Last Kiss
on Amazon,
here
.

The Bloodstone Saga
is also available as a four book complete collection, exclusively on Kindle
here
. The Complete Collection includes a bonus novella (
The House of Thebes)
and three additional short stories as free gifts. 

About the Author:

Courtney Cole is a novelist who lives near Lake Michigan with her domestic zoo (aka family), pet iPad and favorite cashmere socks. 

Dante’s Girl is her first light-hearted contemporary romance.  She plans to continue The Paradise Diaries next year with book two, which will follow Mia and Quinn. 

Courtney’s previous works are paranormal romance and suspense.

The Bloodstone Saga:

Every Last Kiss

Fated

With My Last Breath

My Tattered Bonds

House of Thebes

The Moonstone Saga:

Soul Kissed

Soul Bound

Princess of the Night
(Coming Soon)

The American Princess series:

Princess

Glass Castles

Stand alone novels:

Guardian

To learn more about Courtney, please visit
www.courtneycolewrites.com
  

You can friend her on
Facebook
 or follow her on
Twitter
.

Acknowledgements

I have to thank my husband and kids first. Because they put up with me when I lose myself in the worlds that I create.  They are very, very patient with me. And thankfully, they don’t mind having take-out for dinner.

I also have to thank Tiffany King and M. Leighton.  They are my Ink Sisters, my Writerly-BFF’s and I don’t know what I would do without them.  They keep my sane and offer me so much advice.  I love you both.  Because you’re awesome.

Ash, the Bookish Brunette.  Thank you for reminding me that Kansas chicks are awesome and feisty.  I should know, since I am one too.  Haha.   Thank you for being my muse for Reece. 

Dani Snell.  Thank you SO FREAKING MUCH for the amazing and awesome and incredible cover.  It’s everything that I didn’t even know I wanted—and more.  It’s amazing.  You’re incredible.

And thank you to my readers.  THANK YOU.  You are so kind and wonderful and I love you all. Thank you for reading my books.  Thank you for loving my books.  You’re the best readers ever.