Christien turned to her, his look intense, the knowledge of centuries engraved upon his face and reflected in his eyes.She took another step back, suddenly afraid.
“I died.And then I was resurrected, never to die again.”
Heartbeats of silence passed, Christien looking deep into her eyes, willing her to accept what he was saying and Lainie, pushing away the thoughts, refusing to believe.
“I don’t understand.”
“Yes, you do.I am the same man you met seven hundred years ago.I live still and will continue to live until the end of time.I am the keeper of the treasure of the Knights Templar—the treasure Lucien, now named Lucheux, wants to take from me.I am forever alive, yet dead inside until you came along.”
She shook her head, holding her hands out as if she could physically stop him from speaking.
Christien moved toward her.“You dreamt of us, Madelaine.You understand that you and the Countess of Flandres are one and the same.Is it not too much to believe I am the same man?”
Lainie swallowed and licked her dry lips.“How is it possible—”
Christien huffed out a laugh.“Oh, it’s very possible.God sent his emissary to pull me from the brink of death, to heal me of the fever and to thrust me back out into the world.Forever.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m all that stands between good and evil.”
There are people who want to get to me through you.
The words he said to her in the hospital suddenly took on a whole new meaning and chilled her.
“This evil.”She cleared her throat.“Is that what you meant when you said I wasn’t safe?”
“Yes.”
Fear leapt inside her but she bravely fought it down.“Who is… What is the evil?”
For a long moment he didn’t speak, as if he didn’t want to say what had to be said.The longer the silence stretched, the harder her heart pounded and the weaker her knees became.
“Christien.Tell me.Please.Is Lucheux the evil you speak of?”Good God, what was happening here?What was Christien in the middle of?
His eyes were like flint.“Yes.The treasure I was chosen to protect contains the seven seals.If they are opened…” His voice trailed off but he didn’t need to say more.His message was clear enough.If they were opened unspeakable things would happen, all leading to the Apocalypse.
She didn’t want to ask.Didn’t want to know, but she asked anyway because to deny it would be cowardly and she wasn’t a coward.“Lucheux.He’s the opposite of you?”
For the first time a shadow of a smile played across his lips.“You could say that.He and Giselle were given eternal life by a demon of Satan.They are tasked with finding the treasure and opening the seals.”Christien’s lips thinned.“’Tis the reason I was in Milwaukee.To keep an eye on them and contain them.”
Even though she’d been expecting his answer, it still felt as if someone had body-slammed her.Lucheux and Giselle.The people she worked for.The woman who’d killed her in another life.This couldn’t be happening.These were the things movies were made of, not something that happened in real life.And yet, part of her believed.No, part of herknewit to be true.It all made sense now.The clothes in Christien’s bedroom, Giselle’s hatred.Is this why Lucheux never showed his face to her?Had he known she’d been dreaming of him?Yet she hadn’t dreamt of Giselle until the very end.How had they known?
A terrifying chill raced up her spine.Heknew.The demon or Satan.One of them knew what she’d been dreaming.Had maybe even controlled her dreams?
“Now do you understand my fear, Madelaine?This is far worse than anything you could have imagined.And to think you were brought into the middle of it.”His teeth came together and a soft growl erupted from him.“It kills me.”
You are my Achilles heel.His words came back to her, bitter, full of irony.
“I was reborn to be used as a pawn against you.”The thought staggered her, frightened her more than anything else.She had been conceived to bring about the downfall of Christien.The downfall of the world.
“At first I thought that, but now I am not so sure.”
“How can you believe otherwise?”she cried.“We were in love all those centuries ago.To bring me back would destroy you.Distract you from your purpose.”
He grabbed her shoulders and looked at her fiercely.“Your return didn’t destroy me.It gave me hope and reminded me what life is about.Your return was every dream, every prayer, every hope come true.Don’t ever believe otherwise.I love you, Madelaine.Through centuries, through wars.Nothing will change that.”
She blinked her tears away.This wasn’t a do-over like she believed.This wasn’t God’s way of righting a wrong, of bringing two good people together again so this time they could have a happy ending.
