Vampire Mine - Kerrelyn Sparks [66]
Connor moved to her side. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “It was so long ago. How can . . .” She looked at Roman, her expression a mixture of shock and horror. “You were my first mistake.”
Chapter Fourteen
Roman stiffened. “You’re calling me a mistake? After nearly killing my wife? That’s what I would call a mistake!”
Marielle winced. She still needed to learn not to say everything that came to mind.
Roman strode toward the door. “This meeting is over.”
“Give her a chance to explain,” Connor said.
Roman whirled around and glared at him. “What has gotten into you? Have you forgotten where your loyalty lies?”
Marielle saw Connor’s hands curl into fists, and she grabbed his arm to stop him. “Please don’t blame Connor for my mistakes,” she told Roman.
He scoffed. “And your mistakes include me?”
Connor shot her an angry look. “Release me. I fight my own battles.”
She let go, surprised that his angry lash stung her more than Roman’s. Why shouldn’t she seek to protect him? He always protected her.
“Enough!” Father Andrew scowled at them all. “Let’s all sit down and let Marielle explain.”
She took a seat and glanced warily at Roman.
He sat with an impatient huff. Shanna sat next to him, took his hand in hers, and leaned close to whisper something in his ear. His tense expression relaxed.
They had a good marriage, Marielle realized, one filled with understanding and tenderness. Roman’s sour mood stemmed from the fear he had endured, the fear of losing his beloved wife.
She glanced at Connor who was sitting nearby, his arms crossed, his face frowning. She sighed. He’d been so happy earlier in the evening, but now he seemed downright grouchy. He knows he is losing me. She’d go back to heaven as soon as she could. And he would be left behind, still lonely and still full of pain and remorse.
His words came back to her. Ye’re healing me. Dear Lord, she hoped so. She couldn’t bear the thought of him existing for centuries with so much sorrow and despair.
“Please begin when you are ready,” Father Andrew said, interrupting her thoughts.
She took a deep breath. “Father Andrew and Connor heard some of my story last night. I have been banished from heaven for disobeying orders. Last night was my third time.”
“Her second time was when she healed a baby who was supposed to die,” Father Andrew explained. “The boy grew up to be a serial killer.”
Roman nodded. “Otis Crump. Robby told us about that.”
Marielle shifted on the hard chair. “That’s when the Archangels decided to strip away my healing abilities. As a punishment, I became a Deliverer, and I had to deliver the souls of all the women who were murdered by Otis.”
“That must have been heartbreaking for you,” Shanna said.
Roman snorted. “I’m sure it was a lot tougher on the women.”
“Yes,” Marielle conceded. “You are correct.”
“What does this have to do with me?” Roman asked.
“I think I know.” Father Andrew leaned forward. “You mentioned the first time you disobeyed. Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages?”
“Yes, in 1461.” She noticed Roman’s stunned reaction. “I was a Healer then. I was sent to a small village in Romania where a farmer’s wife had given birth to their third son.”
Roman jumped to his feet. “You witnessed my birth?”
Marielle gave him a sad look. “You and your mother were dying. I was given orders to heal your mother. But not you.”
He flinched. “I was supposed to die?”
“I touched your mother to heal her, and your father broke into tears, praising God. Then he vowed that if God would heal you, too, he would dedicate you to the Church.”
Roman paled. “My father made a vow?”
“Yes. He pledged to give you to the local monastery.”
Roman walked away slowly till he came to a wall of glass windows overlooking the garden.
“I couldn’t see any harm in healing you,” Marielle continued. “The world was full of poverty and disease. I thought you could do some good as a monk.”
Roman leaned a forearm against the window and gazed outside. “I never knew. My father took me to the monastery when I turned five and left me there. I thought he didn