Page 76 of Eternal Surrender

Orpheus seemingly reigned within me and yet, despite my dormant presence, it was I, Jadeon who ruled each moment with an uncommon fierceness. And I could only surmise it was the result of having remained centered in death, honoring Snowstrom’s counsel.

I met Ingrid’s eyes and felt her enrapturing vulnerability and reasoned she might just be the only one to understand me.

Drawing from Ingrid’s strength, I was finding mine.

And yet this moment had not been meant for me.

“Orpheus can’t hurt you now.” I kissed her forehead. “Let’s get out of here. This place is starting to creep me out.”

“Really?”

I shook my head, giving an endearing smile, assisting her into her coat.

She reached for my hand. “I can’t help but think you’re using your supernatural ability to seduce me.”

“I think it’s the other way round.” I picked up her bag and handed it to her, guiding her toward the door.

Once outside, I refastened the padlock, securing the tomb closed. I used my coat to shield us from the rain, guiding her back down the winding pathway.

A black limousine’s headlights flashed on, and the chauffeur stepped out from the front seat. He opened the rear passenger door. Ingrid climbed in first, and then I joined her, sitting beside her. Within seconds we were navigating our way out through the cemetery gate, the windshield wipers working furiously to clear our view.

“I’m taking you to James’s flat,” I said.

Classical music struck up, lulling me back into the leather.

“Johann Sebastian Bach.” I raised my forefinger. “Ingrid, listen between the notes. Bach became the pain. . . for us.”

The music consumed me, igniting my imagination, and I searched the faces that seemed to come out of nowhere in my mind’s eye, appearing like grim phantasms, their mouths forming frantic words of anguish that I didn’t catch.

Past ghosts ever haunting.

Ingrid rested her head back, taking in Highgate.

Notes tumbled out of the speakers.

Savoring these last few minutes with her, I tried to rally the courage to say goodbye and actually mean it this time.

Ingrid was staring at me.

“I’ve seen inside your bag,” I said wryly. “If Orpheus were alive, I’d be more worried about him.”

She glanced at the driver to ensure he wasn’t eavesdropping, and then shifted her position to face me, her thoughts taking her back inside the tomb.

Driving through London, untouched by the silence, we took in the city together, the ancient stone and the clean lines of the modern architecture, content simply to watch it pass.

I gestured to her heart. “Don’t be afraid to look deeper.”

The car pulled alongside the curb.

She glanced up at James’s flat. “I can’t shake this feeling I’ve met you before.”

“I’ll wait till you’re safely inside.”

She flashed another glance at the chauffeur.

“Ingrid, promise me you’ll never go back to Belshazzar’s.”

She waited until the driver had exited the car and then said, “You know I can’t promise that.”