Eternal Fire (23 page)

“
Sarah!” Victor called.

I was trying to follow the sound of his voice, when he suddenly burst through the leafy vegetation and swung me in his arms. “We made it!” I said.

“
We did,” he said, brushing his lips across mine in the most romantic of kisses.

“
Guess you’re stuck with me,” I said, gazing into his eyes.

“
I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

I cupped his face. “I can’t imagine my life without you, Victor.”

He kissed me slowly, then touched my stomach. “And our baby fares well, I hope.”

“
He’s fine,” I said. “He will be raised by his own parents, and he’ll have the best life with us.”

Victor embraced me in a tight hug. I’d never been happier. I had my loving husband and would give birth to a beautiful son. Against all odds, we’d survived. I had survived the hellish trials, and we’d come out of it together—just like we were meant to be. Victor and I had felt the icy grips of death, but even those couldn’t tear us apart. In the end, we had prevailed, we had succeeded, we had won!

My thoughts quickly flashed to my sister and her husband. “Did Liz and Charles make it through okay?” I asked. I couldn’t bear to think we’d left them behind to face Ethano’s wrath.

“
We made it, sis!” Liz shouted as she broke through the tangle of ferns.

When I caught Charles’s gaze, with his tied-back blond hair, muscular build, and stunning blue eyes, it dawned on me that he and Victor would both stand out in our world. I wondered for a moment if our kingly husbands would be able to make a modern-day career out of modeling, and the thought of Victor on a runway made me giggle.

Charles smiled, then walked over and hugged me. “Thank you for getting us out of there.”

I smiled back. “You’re family, and that’s what family does for one another.” My heart jumped for joy, knowing we’d all made it safe and alive.

“
We’re back in California!” Liz yelled, shaking my shoulder. “Looks like we’re right outside Sabrino Cave.” She glanced around, her eyes widening. “I haven’t been here since our camping trip, back when we were teenagers.”

I touched her back, realizing the memories would be difficult to cope with. “I know. I’m here for you, Liz.”

“
I remember everything,” she said, stepping toward the entrance, “just like it was yesterday.”

“
Sarah!” Victor called.

I spun around and walked toward him.

The cold wind ruffled his hair. “You used the necklace.”

“
Yes.”

He glanced around at his surrounding as confusion flooded through him. “Where are we? I have scoured my kingdom, and I do not recognize this place.”

“
California, the place I told you all about. This is where the portal is located in my world.” I pointed to the cave off to the left of us.

“
My world is back through the cave?” he asked.

“
Yes, Tastia is just through there—so close, yet so far away.”

I wished I’d had more time to discuss our move with him, but I had no choice but to drag him along with me, with or without his permission. “I know you didn’t want to come here, but if I hadn’t used the necklace, you’d be dead, and I shudder to think what Ethano would have done with me.”

“
She’s right,” Charles said. “I watched you two disappear seconds from that blade removing your head.”

“
We came right after you did,” Liz said.

Victor hugged me tightly. “Thank you, Sarah. I’m forever in your debt.”

I snuggled into his chest. “I would never let him kill you—not again.”

“
We must find a way back so we can gather troops and fight. We’ll take back our castle and land. The important thing is that you and the baby are safe.”

“
Maybe we should stay here until the baby grows up,” I said. “Our son will need both of his parents, Victor.”

“
We’ll discuss it more later,” Victor said, giving me a reassuring squeeze.

I knew he would need time to adjust, and pressuring him for an answer wasn’t the way to go. Victor was a mighty warrior who’d lost his kingdom. It would not be an easy transition for one who’d spent his entire life living in royalty, for hundreds of years. Now, he was just an average person in a new world he knew nothing about, like a lost tourist. I remembered feeling that discombobulated in his world, and I wanted to help him navigate ours.

I slowly spun in a slow circle. Sabrino Cave stood directly in front of me. As I stared at the cavern entrance, memories of the Bigfoot expedition exploded in my head…

I turned to Adam. “Did we get those shrieking calls on audio?”

“
Sure did,” Adam said.

“
Good.”

Frank shook my shoulder. “Are you crazy? Messing around with the local wildlife is beyond dangerous. I’m sure it’s just a bear or a big cat or—”

I brushed his hand off. “Look, Frank, you’ve done nothing but shoot down all my research on television, in your newspaper and magazine articles, and in your new book. If you’re so sure this is fake, some kind of staged crap, or that it’s just some nature show, why don’t you go in and see for yourself?”

Frank took a step back. “All you’ve got here is a trapped wild animal. Sure, I was hoping to get my shirt ripped off when I came looking for you, but not by a bear.”

I ignored him and grabbed a tuft of coarse, dark hair from the cavern entrance. I squinted to get a good look at it in the darkness. “This isn’t from a bear, and whatever it is, I’m going to capture the thing on film. Adam, please bag this.”

“
You got it, boss.”

I opened up the lens on the camera and adjusted the settings. “People, we’re about to solve one of the biggest unsolved mysteries of the twenty-first century.”

Beth knelt, her eyes wide. “Look, Sarah. We got prints.”

Large, humanoid footprints were clear in the mud, and the sight of them sent a shiver down my spine. It wasn’t human, ape, gorilla or chimpanzee, unless they came in XXL. “Get measurements of these. Steven, swing that camera over here and get them on film.”

Beth stretched out a tape measure next to one of the fresh tracks indented in the mud.

“
Tracks in the mud? C’mon, Sarah. You know as well as I do that this doesn’t mean anything,” Frank muttered.

I shook my head. “Anyone here wear a Size 20 shoe?” The footprints appeared to be roughly nineteen inches long and eight inches wide, with a long stride and five discernible toes. Who’d go running around barefoot in ice-cold mud? “No one step on these prints. They’re the evidence we need. I’ll cast them in a minute.”

She focused and snapped her camera. “Frank, myths don’t leave tracks,” she spat at him.

“
Wish me luck, people,” I said, turning my gaze toward the cave entrance. “I’m going in.”

I shook my head, returning to the present time, still pointing at the cave. “This is where my life changed forever,” I said. “I left my Bigfoot expedition and entered your Immortal world.”

“
The day I met you,” Victor said, wrapping an arm around my waist.

“
I can’t believe I’m back,” I said in shock.

“
You ran an expedition with a fifty-member team?” Liz asked.

“
My team was fantastic, but the average person thought I was nuts. I didn’t care though. There was nothing I wouldn’t do to find you, Liz.”

She smiled. “You found me…and you brought me home.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “Thanks, Sarah.”

“
I never gave up hope—not ever,” I said. “I knew you were alive, and I promised Mom and Dad that I’d find you and bring you back.”

She hugged me tight, and I could tell she was fighting the urge to cry. “I can’t begin to tell you how emotional this is for me,” she said, her voice quivering uncharacteristically.

Charles wrapped an arm around her. “You’ve told me so much about your world. I can’t wait to experience it with you.”

She snuggled into him. “It’s freezing out here. It must be winter. I wish I had a coat.”

Charles smiled and tried to warm her by rubbing his hands up and down her chilly arms. He didn’t seem to mind being in California, and he loved Liz so much that as long as he was with her, nothing else mattered. Charles was perfect for my sister. Not only was he loyal, but he also loved her with all of his heart. The two of them had been through so much, including the accidental death of Charles’s sister, Gloria. He proven time and time again that he’d be with her through thick and thin. She’d truly found a gem, and I was happy for both of them.

Liz let out a long squeal and looped her arm in Charles’s. “Are you ready to step into uncharted territory like a true adventurer?”

“
Let the adventure begin!” he declared.

Liz grinned. “I’ve got so much to show you. I’m gonna blow your mind!”

Chapter 13

We hiked through the dense woods and finally made our way to the main road. When the familiar sound of a car engine echoed in the air, Charles and Victor jumped, but I couldn’t help but smile.

Liz lifted my hand up in the air in excitement. “We’re back in the world of cars. No more horses!”

Charles spun toward the sound. “What was that?”

“
Relax,” Liz said, gripping his hand. “It’s our way out of here.”

A red pickup was speeding toward us, and I hurried to the edge of the road.

Victor pulled me back. “Sarah, don’t.”

“
It’s fine,” I assured him. “Just think of it like a mechanical horse. I told you all about cars, remember?” When he let go of me, I waved the driver down, and he abruptly put on the brakes. Seeing and hearing the truck made me realize I was really back home, and my heart skipped a beat. For the last year, I’d traveled on nothing but horses, and I couldn’t wait to drive again.

The driver, not more than twenty, smiled from ear to ear. “What’s up with you guys? Where’s the renaissance fair?”

The other guy and girl chuckled, and then they all burst out in laughter. I should have expected jokes, considering the way we were dressed. As much as they were amazed with our clothes, Charles and Victor were amazed with theirs; they’d never seen t-shirts and jeans and leather jackets.

“
Is this the type of attire I’ll be wearing?” Charles said.

Liz nodded. “Trust me, you’ll look fabulous in a pair of Levi’s.” She walked up to the window. “Good afternoon.”

“
It’s morning, lady,” the driver said.

“
Oh…uh, good morning then. We’re actors, see, and we like to get into character when we practice our scenes.” She shot me a smirk, and I smiled. My sister was always the dramatic type, but then again, so was I.

“
You
really
get into character,” said the driver. “Aren’t you freezing without coats?”

“
My friend took off with our coats in her car,” Liz lied. “We’re not from around here.”

He smiled even wider, obviously taken in by Liz’s outgoing nature and charm and likely her bouncing cleavage. “What brings you to Bluff Creek?”

I smiled. “Bigfoot. What else?”

“
Surely you don’t believe in that Sasquatch crap.”

The other guy chimed in. “Hey, wait a minute! I
believe in that crap.”

Liz laughed and met his gaze. “You look like the open-minded type. Maybe I can tell you my secret.”

“
What?” he asked, totally smitten by Liz.

“
Me first,” I cut in. “I’m Sarah Larker, that Bigfoot researcher who disappeared over a year ago. Maybe you read about me.”