Angel Fire - Lisa Unger [94]
As he sat in the pew, Juno’s knowledge of himself and his life turned to quicksand. He was afraid to speak as Lydia approached him. He was afraid he would not recognize the sound of his own voice. She sat beside him and placed her hand on his.
“I know how you are feeling right now. And what I am about to tell you is not going to comfort you,” she said softly.
He nodded.
“Outside, the wall is splattered with blood. A lot of blood. It appears as if the garden has been disturbed as well. In a few minutes, we are going to start digging there. And I am not sure what we’ll find, but …”
He just nodded again and held up his hand. Eventually, he mustered his voice and whispered, “Do you know what happened to my parents?”
“Your parents?” she asked, after a pause, hoping he hadn’t lost his mind. “Do you mean your uncle, Juno?”
“No. I mean my parents. Do you know what happened to them?”
“Yes …” she said, unsure where he was leading.
“Will you tell me?”
“Are you saying you don’t know?”
“Yes.”
“What have you thought all these years?” she asked, incredulous.
“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me. Or you’d think I’m insane.”
“Try me.”
In the lilting voice one would use to tell a fairy tale to a child, Juno told Lydia the story he had believed all his life.
“My mother was a beautiful angel held prisoner by an aging wizard. For sixteen years, he kept her hidden in a dovecote at the top of a tower with a hundred steps. Her hair was as black as the bottom of the ocean and her eyes as blue as ice. And the wizard loved her in his own twisted way. But because she was stolen from God Himself, he hid her among the doves. He fed her only the finest fruit and honey.
“Serena, my mother, was not unhappy. She loved the company of the birds and the wizard was kind to her. And she had been in the tower for so long that she considered it her home. She had no desire for freedom, she could barely conceive of what that would mean. The wizard told her the world was a dark and dangerous place, and he kept her there to protect her from the evil forces that would surely try to harm her. She was grateful.
“In the evenings when the moon was full, Serena would sing for the doves. Beautiful songs in an angel’s voice that would carry over the trees and up to the stars. One of these nights, a handsome young shepherd, named Manuel, was walking home from tending his sheep when he heard Serena’s song. He followed the sound of her voice and saw her in the window at the top of the tower. Instantly, he fell in love.
“He called to her. But she was frightened and backed away from the window. He walked around the tower, looking for the door, and finally found it but it was locked.
“He stood there awhile calling to her. But she did not reappear. Despairing, he sat against a tree and tried to figure out a way to make her open the door. Soon he fell asleep. Later that evening, he was awakened by the sound of someone walking through the woods. Quickly he hid himself and watched as the old wizard pulled a golden key from a chain around his neck and opened the door. The shepherd heard the wizard lock the door from the inside. He decided this might be his only chance to get into the tower. So he picked up the heaviest, biggest rock he could manage and stood by the door, waiting for the wizard.
“When the wizard emerged, the shepherd hit him on his head with the rock and the wizard fell unconscious.
“Manuel ran as fast as he could to the top of the tower, where he found Serena sleeping on a bed of dove feathers and gold dust. He sat beside her to admire her beauty, his heart aching with love for her. When she woke and saw his kind and handsome face, she, too, fell instantly in love with him.
“ ‘Come away with me, Serena. I am only a poor shepherd but I will love and care for you all your life,’ he said.
“She said she would and he kissed her passionately. It was a kiss so full of love, that a baby was made and appeared beside Serena on her bed. They