Vampire Mine - Kerrelyn Sparks [21]
“No!” Marielle cried. “Don’t leave me!”
Her hands appeared to grasp something that Connor couldn’t see, then to his amazement, her body rose off the ground. She wasn’t levitating, he realized. Rather, she was being lifted by whatever she was holding.
“Please.” Her voice trembled with emotion. “Take me with you.”
Was she returning to heaven? Was she forgiven? Connor’s heart raced as he watched her body rise higher and higher. Four feet off the ground. Six feet. Was there hope for those who had fallen short?
Was there hope for him?
“No!” Marielle screamed as her hold was broken. She fell to the ground, and with a final whoosh, the wind was gone.
All was quiet except for the sound of her weeping. The air grew chilly again.
Connor felt his whole body sag. He should have known there was no hope. No forgiveness for the likes of him.
But Marielle—dammit, she was different. Her heart was pure. She still believed God was good. It made his heart ache to listen to her tears.
He walked to where she was huddled on the ground, leaning forward on her elbows, her shoulders shaking. “Are ye all right?” He winced at the stupid question.
“They left me behind,” she cried. “I’m all alone.”
“Nay, lass.” He fell to his knees, then picked the sheet off the grass and draped it over her back. “Ye’re no’ alone.”
She turned her head to peek at him. Her cheek glistened with tears. “Did you hear them? Did you hear the music?”
“Aye.”
She sat up, and the sheet slipped off her back. “Then you know how beautiful it is.”
“Aye.” He hastily wrapped the sheet around her.
She continued, oblivious to his roving eyes. “And now you understand why I need to go back. It’s where I belong.”
He tied the ends of the sheet over her right shoulder. “I couldna really see them, but I heard them. And felt them in the wind.”
She nodded. “The Heavenly Host. I’ve always been with them, since the moment of my creation. Their music is always in my head. We’re all connected, always sharing our thoughts and praise.”
“Always?” He grimaced. “Ye doona tire of the con-stant noise?”
“Noise?” She gave him an indignant look. “You’re calling our music noise?”
“It was beautiful,” he conceded, then drew a deep breath. “ ’Twas the loveliest sound I’ve ever heard. I’ve never felt so full of joy and peace.”
She smiled. “Then you do understand.”
He shook his head. “ ’Twas no’ real.”
“Of course it was real. You felt it.”
“It was . . . alluring, but it canna be. I live in this world where we canna escape death and suffering. Besides, I wouldna want the constant voices in my mind. Nor would I want anyone else to hear my thoughts. I need my privacy.”
She looked at him, stunned. “You prefer to be all alone? You’d rather suffer than be at peace?”
“I prefer to be myself.”
She touched his chest. “Even with the pain you carry?”
He scooted back, out of her reach. “At least it is my own.”
Frowning, she rose to her feet. “I never realized before how frightening and lonely it is to be human. How do you bear it?”
He shrugged and stood. “Some rely on faith.”
“What do you rely on, Connor Buchanan?”
He winced. “I’m no’ a good person to ask. I just keep going . . . out of stubbornness.”
Her mouth tilted with a smile. “Then I shall be stubborn, too.” She shivered, then shifted her gaze to the stars. “I will find my way back. And I will count my blessings, for the Lord is good.”
Connor stifled his snort, but she still glanced at him as if she could sense his doubt.
“The Lord is good,” she insisted, “for I have been sent a fierce protector.”
He almost looked over his shoulder to see who she was referring to. It was laughable to consider him a “fierce protector.” He’d failed his wife and bairn. He’d failed Shanna.
“And the Lord let Bunny heal me,” she continued with a smile.
He blinked. “Ye were healed by a rabbit?”
She laughed, the sound like the tinkling of wind chimes. “Bunny is a nickname for Buniel. We’ve been best friends for ages. He’s an excellent healer.”
“He?” Her best friend was male? And a perfect angel, too. Bugger.
Her smile faded.