“Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Longinus sliced twice across my arm near my wrist.
I wanted to scream to relieve the agony, but the pain took my voice. Blood spilled from the deep cuts into small puddles on the ground. My pulse raced, my heart drummed faster. Every inch of my body burned like I had caught fire.
Father struggled to get loose, his mouth opened with his own silent scream. The pain in his eyes was palpable. “Please, please, please.”
The cave spun in circles. I was too young to die. I would never know life to the fullest. If Father somehow survived, which I doubted, he would be daughterless and blame himself for eternity.
For a moment, as Jack and I locked eyes, I pictured us wed and my belly full with his child. Such silly visions would never come to be, but imagining a future comforted me. It helped me focus on something besides the pain.
But the pain ... so real ... such torture ... the devil’s touch.
I convulsed from the ache, no longer able to bear it. As Longinus cut me again on the left arm, my right arm ceased to feel the scorching sensation. A bright light shone down on me from above, giving me warmth and peace and comfort.
People said when death neared a divine light would lead the way.
Am I to leave this world?
The way Jack stared at me with wide eyes, he must have known my last breath rattled in my chest.
Longinus dropped his arm and backed away fearfully. Clenching his hair in a fist, he stared hard at me. The pain faded completely, and I gazed at my right arm—healed. I looked to my left arm—healed. No evidence of Longinus’s torture remained, just the blood from previous slashes.
What in God’s name? Did an angel save me? What just happened?
When the lance had cut me, though a smaller wound, it had healed quickly. I tried to think to childhood. I’d never thought to watch how fast my wounds healed. I had no playmates with whom to compare skinned knees.
I glanced between Father, Jack, Longinus, and even the men holding me, searching for proof they had seen the same. Their slack faces spoke for them.
Holy Jesus.
“Impossible.” Longinus gawked in places he had wounded me. “You will not die? After all these centuries, finally one of Mary’s descendants has found me? Were you born with...?”
Longinus sniffed me and then took a step back. He observed me for few long seconds, his expression unreadable. Then he lunged forward, grabbed my wrist, and studied the birthmark. He rubbed it with his finger, and then checked the other wrist holding both up in front of my face.
“These are birthmarks?” Longinus asked.
“No.” I yanked my arms back as the lie escaped my mouth.
Longinus strode to my father and pressed the dagger against his face hard enough to draw blood. “Tell me, father of the girl. Was she born with those marks?”
Father gave him wicked eyes and would not answer.
“Tell me.” Longinus lowered the dagger to my father’s neck and nicked him.
Blood trickled down Father’s throat. Longinus’s muscles tensed for a strike.
“Aye.” If Father would not save himself, I must. “’Tis true. These marks have been with me since birth.”
Longinus came back to me. “Tell me little girl, do you bear marks on your feet?”
I nodded.
“Stigmata.” My dagger wavered in his hand as he pointed it at me, mumbling a sort of recited chant. “‘For your sin, you shall suffer for eternity. Repent. Then only shall you find salvation. I leveled the curse because of Christ, my descendants carry the marks. Those of my bloodline who bear the stigmata can break the curse. This I offer to you once.’” He then slowly peered up at me with cold, evil, calculating eyes.
I shivered.
“Mary, Mary, Mary, I remember your words of damnation.” He started to circle me. “You have sent me your bloodline, but I won’t take it. You are dead, but I live. I will live for eternity, thanks to you. You think me a fool? You sent this girl to end my life, when all I have taken are sheep to ease our suffering? For this, I will punish your people as you have done to mine for these ages. Let us see if your people can face the monsters.”
I gasped, hoping it only to be a threat, but I knew better.
He lifted his chin with satisfaction. “Take these men back to their cell.” He turned to his people. “When we are beasts, we shall take what is ours. We will hunt humans, not sheep. I will be the end of your world and the beginning of a new one when I claim your land. I will be God!”
The loud roars and the thunderous stomping from his people shook the mountain.
God have mercy on us all.
Chapter Fifteen
Oh, Jack
If Longinus spoke the truth, then I was born of Mary Magdalene’s bloodline through one of my parents. My heart held many questions, but I was afraid some questions would remain unanswered.
Father and his friends went back to their prison, and Longinus’s men tossed Jack and me into another. I pushed my sleeve down after smearing the remaining blood on my tunic, ashamed as though my odd markings made me a monster, too.
Drained, and bile rising in my throat, I huddled in a corner. The damp cave chilled me, and the pungent odor of something foul turned my stomach. I gagged.
“Are you well?” Jack leaned against the rocky wall.
For the first time, he seemed to lack fancy words, and his arrogance had gone. I thought he would ask me a bundle of questions, but thankfully he did not.
“I am well.” I rolled my eyes. “Look around you. ’Tis pleasant here in this princess’s chamber. Plenty of food. Smells like a rose garden. I love being imprisoned and learning I’m some kind of abomination with unnatural powers.” I rubbed my arm, remembering the pain as Longinus had sliced my flesh.
Jack sat next to me on the musty hay. He tilted my chin up and brushed my hair back. “Jacky. You’re not an abomination. You’re a miracle. I do not know what you did, but I saw Heaven’s light. Glorious, I tell you, like a kiss from God. It was beautiful, hypnotizing to the eyes, just like you.”
I stared into his beautiful green eyes, utterly distracted as he stared into mine. Surely, he meant to make me feel better. However, knowing his reputation for flattery, I did not take his compliment to heart. I appreciated his kindness, but nothing could grant me peace until we were all free and safe.
“We must find a way to escape.” Jack broke the awkwardness between us.
For a moment I thought he leaned closer to kiss me, like the Jack I’d known before, but he did not.
“I’m beaten. I see no way to leave here.” My words parted from me with exhaustion. Though my wounds had healed, the torture left me drained. “I hope you have some clever idea.”
He did not answer me. Instead, he asked softly, “You want to talk about what happened?”
I bit my lip. I’d hoped Jack would avoid that question. How could I answer when I did not even know?
“Jaclyn.” My father’s voice called me away from Jack.
Grateful for the interruption, I ran to the corner nearest his prison.
“Father,” I whispered. “Are you well?”
He reached to me through the space between our cells. As soon as I touched his fingers, tears rolled down my face. I needed more of him. I needed his arms around me, the way he had comforted me when I had been a little girl.
Those simple acts of love were rare when life became so busy. I took time for granted. My heart heavy, I folded my arms to steady myself against a lake of tears.
“How can you ask if I am well when you, my child, were wounded by the monster?” Father asked after a long stretch of silence. “Are you in pain?”
I wiped my tears. “I am confused. I cannot believe my eyes. It is like a dream. Can Longinus’s words be true? Mary Magdalene’s blood lies within you or Mother? And why did you not tell me?”
Father made a strange noise and cleared his throat. “Jaclyn, your mother and I planned to tell you som
eday, together. Not this way. You have the right to know, especially after what has happened today. Please know your mother and I love you very much. We meant to tell you.”
My stomach clenched. Whatever he had to tell me, I sensed it would pain me to hear it.
“What is it, Father?” My fists held fast on the wooden poles keeping me in, and I prepared myself.
“Your mother wanted to bear children for years, but she could not. Then one day, a pounding at our front door woke me in the middle of a cold night. When I opened the door, a basket and a lance awaited. To my surprise, when I brought the basket in, I found a baby inside. You were so small and beautiful. We hid you from the outside world. When it got difficult, we moved to the farm. The monsters’ cries at night had begun and scared the townspeople so badly the entire town prepared to move. It was a perfect disguise for our secret.
“We told everyone you were a miracle and raised you as our own. We knew you were special. Your birthmarks could only mean you were blessed by God. We do not know the meaning of the lance you arrived with, but I kept it safe, hidden away. We thought maybe one day your mother would claim you, but no one came. Never did a day pass we did not love you like our own. For us, you are our own. I sincerely apologize for withholding the truth, but we hoped to protect you from whatever mystery brought you to us. Can you forgive us?”
My mind wheeled back to touching the lance, and I saw again the man and the monster he masked. Why the lance, and what did it mean? What was God’s will? I did not know.
Father’s cry for forgiveness pierced my heart. My vision blurred, and I could not wipe the falling tears away fast enough. How I wished we could be in the same prison.
“There’s nothing to forgive. You will always be my father. You cared for me, showed me how to be strong, fed me, and taught me love is precious. What you show me is love can be given freely, unconditionally. You love me not because you brought me into this world, but because your heart is good and kind. You chose to give me your pure love, the best kind of all. I was sent to you because you are deserving and I’m honored to be your daughter.”
The cave echoed with clapping, and Longinus stepped out of the shadows. “How touching. Now I know the truth. Too bad your father is not of Mary’s blood. Your father will not heal himself when my monsters rip him apart. However, little girl, you can join our family. We are of the same coin.”
“Nay, I am not like you.” Holding on to the pole, I rattled it with all my strength. “The townspeople will come for you. They’ll find you and your people if you don’t let us go. Do you hear me?” My voice rang against the walls of the caves and reverberated to the stream.
Jack placed his arms around me and pulled me away, but I pushed him and went back to the bars. Out of breath, I stared coldly at Longinus.
He stared back, his eyes different this time, a bit scared perhaps. Scared or not, it didn’t matter. He would break me and kill us all.
He finally spoke. “Where are these people of yours?” He tapped his head with a finger. “I think they’re not coming. You see, people are afraid of the unknown. They fear death even more. Don’t worry, little girl. I’ll let you out when my people are ready to hunt. The monsters will find them all. We will rip through town after town, until my revenge has been satisfied. Do not waste your breath in prayer. God has forsaken you.” With an evil grin, he walked away.
It took every ounce of my patience not to slam my body against the poles. I would only hurt myself, but my rage dared me to try. As I shoved my face against the bars, I pressed harder with each word. Though Longinus continued to walk away, I needed to say what I felt in my heart.
“The devil’s blood pumps through your heart, friend. You deserve every evil thing that has and will happen to you.”
“Rest yourself, Jacky. You will need all your strength.”
I spun around to see Jack lying comfortably on the ground with a piece of hay in his mouth as if he had not a care in the world.
“I do not wish to be called Jacky.” I pressed my back to the poles and dug my heels into the dirt.
“I apologize, Jaclyn. All will be fine.” He patted the ground next to him and waggled a finger at me. “Come hither. I shall keep you warm.”
I crinkled my nose and narrowed my eyes at him.
How can he be so playful at a time like this?
Some people dealt danger with humor to help them not to lose their mind.
My cloak lay still on the ground where Longinus had cut me. I didn’t miss it until Jack mentioned keeping me warm. I had rather hug a pig than let Jack warm me. Although, I hated to admit he looked appealing with his arms behind his neck, muscles filling his tunic in an alluring way. Uncomfortable heat poured through me again.
These feelings of lust must be more of Longinus’s tricks.
“How could you say all will be well? We’re locked in here.”
“You’re right. We are. Let us pass the time pleasantly.”
“You’re unbearable.” I ran my hand down my face and sighed in frustration. “You are the last person I want to embrace.”
“Who said anything about embracing? I think more like I’ll rub your feet and then you rub mine to thank me.”
I blinked rapidly, astounded. “Eh? Thank you for what?”
He reached inside his boot and pulled out a small, dangling object. “For this.” His lips spread smugly, his eyes glistening. “I stole the key from the guard when he threw us in here.”
My lips slowly lifted into a playful smile. “You’re brilliant. And clearly, your criminal nature is a boon to us.”
“We’ll make our way out when everyone is asleep. Now, how about a kiss?”
I shook my head and rolled my eyes.
I wanted to tell Father, but Longinus or his men would be watching us. Jack probably wanted to let his father know as well, but it was safer to keep it between us until it was time.
“Perhaps you will lend me your cloak like a gentleman?” I smirked, thinking he would not refuse.
“Perhaps you can come here and get it?”
There was so much playfulness in his tone. Something warm kindled inside me and grew with every step I took toward him. If he thought I’d succumb to his charms, he’d better think twice.
I knew how to bring down a man.
Chapter Sixteen
Escape
Relenting, because there was nowhere else to go, I slumped next to Jack. As time passed, the sunlight disappeared and lights from the lanterns and candles took its place. The cave seemed exceptionally bright that evening.
I stirred when footsteps pounded on dirt. Expecting Longinus, I sat taller, but one of his men appeared instead. He slipped two plates of food and a cup of water under the bar and left.
Jack picked it up and set it in front of me. Bread and cooked meat, probably mutton, filled the plate. I pushed it aside, bent my knees to my chest, and laid down my head.
“Jaclyn, you must eat. You’ll need your strength tonight.”
When I refused to eat, Jack tried to feed me, but I turned away. He gave up and ate, chewing vigorously and sucking loudly on his fingers. Watching him made my stomach rumble. He made eating look so good. I laughed despite our ill-fated state.
“Jaclyn.” My father’s voice echoed into my prison. “Please eat your meal. You must keep up your strength.”
Father always worried about me. It did not matter he was locked up. It did not matter he could not see. I was always on his mind. I wished I could be with him.
I leaned against the pole. “Don’t worry.”
“If you do not eat, I will not eat. Jack will let me know if you speak the truth.”
“Aye, Father.”
I sighed and picked up my plate. In truth, I did not want to eat anything Longinus gave me.
My mind turned over thoughts of escape alongside questions about my true parents. Using my fingers, I scooped up meat and chewed. The first bite tasted cold, but satisfying, and I finished my meal quickly.
/> “And how shall we escape?” I asked Jack.
He leaned closer. So close, heat rose to my face and traveled down to my toes.
“We leave when everyone is asleep. We’ll pretend to be asleep, too.”
“Then what?”
“I’ll unlock the doors with the key. We’ll move slowly and carefully.”
“What if someone wakes up? What if they do not sleep at all?”
“Then we run.”
“That’s it?” My tone sharpened.
“Shhh.” He placed a finger against my mouth.
His touch left me tingling. I liked how it made me feel, warmth prickling through my veins, but I pushed his hand away.
Jack draped his cloak over me, then he lay down, stretching out. “You will see. It will work. Sometimes you can’t prepare. You must take opportunities as they arise.”
I had no idea what would happen when we got out, but first things first, I wanted my dagger.
“Where might Longinus keep our weapons? Do you know where to look?”
Jack would not have a clue, but I thought I’d ask.
“I do. They are placed next to the treasure.”
“Treasure?” I inched my body closer to his. “You found treasure? Where? And how do you know?”
“What do I get if I tell you?” he asked with an insolent grin.
I frowned. “I’ll put my fist in your face if you don’t tell. That’s what you’ll get.”
Though I hated to admit it, his teasing kept my mind off Longinus. And I loved to tease back.
Jack let out a laugh. “You’re not nice to your hero.”
He sounded insulted, though I doubted he had the sense to be. Crossing his legs, he turned his bottom lip into a pout.
“Hero? What makes you think you’re my hero?”
“I’m going to save you, take you out of here. ’Tis my promise to you.”
I wished Jack could see the future, to let me know all would be fine. I hoped he would be my hero and take us home.
“Why do you care if I live or die? What am I to you?”
Jack placed his hand over his heart. “I’m hurt. We’ve been friends since our younger days. Of course I care about you. And you’re going to be my wife.”