For a moment, she saw Gregory on his knees, weeping, clutching the bed sheets. Then something pulled her upward, through the ceiling, into the sky. There was a flash of white light.
Once again, she stood before the Guardian of the Gates. She looked down at her body. She could still see it, though it was hazy, indistinct, more like the memory of a body than the real thing. She turned her pale, transparent hands this way and that. She clenched them, but felt nothing. She concentrated, trying to feel the familiar, steady thump of her heartbeat, but it was gone. She no longer had a heart. For the first time, the full impact of what she had done slammed into her, and she sank to her knees.
The Guardian stared at her, silent, his face lost in shadows.
“I never even said goodbye,” she whispered. “There were so many people I should have said goodbye to. So many things I should have done first.”
“If you had done that,” said the Guardian, “you would have changed your mind. Once you really stopped to think about what you would be losing, you wouldn’t have had the courage.”
Linda pressed a hand to her mouth, and it was like touching smoke to smoke. She wanted to cry, to sob in despair for her loss, but no tears came. Of course. Only living bodies could produce tears. She couldn’t even cry.
Her heart ached. She thought of the look of horror in Gregory’s eyes when he saw her fading. He had known she would feel like this. He hadn’t wanted to subject her to this pain. She wailed aloud, but even that tortured cry sounded thin and insubstantial.
“Do you regret your choice?” said the Guardian.
“No,” Linda whispered. “I wanted to help him. But it hurts so much, knowing I can never go back to my life.” She stared at the misty ground. She felt a soul-deep weariness, an exhaustion that was more than physical… and it occurred to her that she could never truly rest, never sleep again. There would be no relief from the endless emptiness of her existence.
“It’s been a long time since a mortal has managed to surprise me,” said the Guardian. “I didn’t think you would really do it. And even if you did, I thought, surely you would realize at once the terrible choice you’d made and beg me to reverse it.”
“I could never ask you to reverse it, even if it were within your power. I made my choice. But… I already feel so lonely. So empty. To think that it will be like this forever…” Her voice quivered.
The Guardian was silent for a long moment. Then he approached. One thin, withered hand lightly touched her shoulder.
Linda looked up, shocked at the tenderness of the gesture.
“I was a man once,” he said. “Like your Gregory, I sought too much power, and was punished for my arrogance -- sentenced to remain here for all time, neither alive nor dead. I watch the spirits of mortals pass through the gates to their rest, but I can never join them.” He raised a hand and stared at it. The hand was little more than a collection of bones covered by a paper-thin layer of withered, brown skin. “For me, there is no hope of becoming human again. Too many thousands of years have gone by. I can only hope that one day, I will atone for my crimes, and the heavens will allow my spirit to go to its rest.”
Linda could only stare, caught between compassion and bewilderment. The Guardian seemed suddenly very old, and very sad. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“You shame me with your kindness,” he said, and the cold rasp of his voice was gentle. “You remind me that humanity is more than greed and power-hunger. You are not like me, or him. You do not deserve this fate. An innocent like you should not be condemned to an eternity in exile.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. She forced a slight smile. “I guess it’s too late though, isn’t it?”
“Not quite. There is one way for you to return to life.”
Linda’s breath caught in her throat. “What is it?”
“Another must trade places with you.”
“I won’t ask Gregory. He’d do it -- I know he would. But I won’t ask him.”
“Not Gregory,” said the Guardian. “I’m speaking of myself. It will be a relief to shed this ancient body, and I can do my job just as easily without it. It’s not a very important job anyway, truth be told. The souls of the dead would find their way to the afterlife, even without me.” A heavy sigh drifted from his hood. “For countless eons, I have observed the foolishness and arrogance of humans, and have delighted in turning it against them. I had forgotten what it was like, to encounter simple human goodness.”
Linda gazed into the darkness of the Guardian’s hood, hardly daring to believe what she was hearing. “You mean…” She looked at the hand on her shoulder. It had begun to dissolve, to break apart into tiny, glowing particles that drifted upward and vanished. The hood slipped down. She had a brief glimpse of a thin, ancient face, ravaged by time, and tiny, clouded eyes staring out from deep wrinkles… and then that, too, faded into nothing. The empty cloak drifted to the ground.
There was a jolt, a shock of sensation. The world spun around her. She fell down, down…
Linda woke with a splitting headache. She groaned and raised a hand to her head.
Warm, solid arms surrounded and lifted her. A strong hand smoothed her hair back from her brow. She opened her eyes a crack and peered through her lashes to see a man’s face staring down at her. His jaw was rough with stubble, and beneath his straight, black brows, his dark eyes were wild, blazing with life. “Gregory?” she murmured through numb lips. She blinked, trying to clear her vision. “What…” She sat up and put a hand against his chest, steadying herself. She realized he was naked. Then she looked down at herself and saw that she was, too, and they were both on her bedroom floor. Heat rose into her cheeks. “What’s going on?”
“Are you all right?” His voice was low, fierce, filled with urgency and heat. She’d heard that voice many times before, in her head, but this was the first time she’d heard it with her ears.
“I… I think so.” She stared into his eyes. They were so hot and intense that she wondered if he was angry at her.
“Thank God,” he whispered hoarsely, and pulled her tight against his chest.
Linda’s mind whirled. She couldn’t remember clearly what had happened, but she remembered a deep, piercing sadness, and an even deeper love, a bittersweet feeling so powerful that it permeated her whole being. She placed a hand against Gregory’s broad, solid chest and felt his heart beating hard and fast against her palm. “Gregory, you’re alive! You’re not a spirit anymore! But --” The memories slammed into her. She pushed away from him and ran her hands over her own skin. Her body was still there.
But it couldn’t be! She remembered the sensation of fading away, slipping into emptiness as her molecules began to break apart. And then… something else had happened, but she could no longer recall what.
She stared at her hands and clenched them into fists. She savored the sensation of her bones and muscles moving, her nails pressing into her palms. “I’m alive! We’re both alive! How is this possible?”
“I don’t know. But I thank God.” He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her lips. “Oh, Linda. I could never have lived with myself if you had sacrificed yourself for me. Can’t you see?” His hands pushed her hair back, cradled her face. “You are precious to me.” His mouth pressed against hers, and his scent, warm and male and alive, filled her nostrils. He kissed her until she was dizzy, then pulled her tight against his chest.
Linda hugged him back, still dazed with shock. “But how?” she whispered.
An image of a sad, ancient face flashed through her mind. “I never got the chance to thank him,” she murmured.
“Who?”
She blinked. “I… I don’t know. For a moment, I remembered something, but now it’s gone.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Gregory stood and helped her to her feet. He held her hands tight in his. He looked just as he had in her dream, but even bigger, his shoulders broader, his presence filling the room, his dark eyes brilliant. He stared at her, his gaze intent, hungry.
Linda took a deep breath, trying to gather her scattered thoughts. “Right, you need some clothes. I can go buy some.” She turned and looked around for her own clothes, but he caught her arm.
“Clothes can wait,” he said. He gently gripped her chin. His thumb touched the corner of her mouth, traced the silky fullness of her lower lip.
Pleasure fluttered in her lower belly, but she shook her head. “We have a lot of things to figure out,” she said. “You don’t have any official identity, or… or money, or a driver’s license, or a place to live. Well, you can stay here for as long as you need, but we have to figure out what to do as far as…”
“Later,” he said, and kissed her again. His tongue filled her mouth. His large hands encircled her wrists.
She went limp against him, giving in to the heat of his touch.
He pulled her down onto the bed with him. His hands roamed over her body. Broad, rough palms slid up her thighs, her sides, onto her breasts. His fingers molded her nipples to stiff, aching peaks. His mouth slid over her throat and pressed against her racing pulse. One hand covered her plump mound and rubbed, the heel of his hand grinding against her clit. Linda gasped for breath. His touch melted her.
She tangled her fingers in his thick hair, relishing the warmth and realness of it. She slid her palms over his shoulders, his broad, powerful back. He was firm and solid, his skin like living velvet sheathing iron-hard muscle. Oh, flesh was so wonderful. You really didn’t appreciate it until you’d lost it. She squeezed his strong, rounded ass, then cupped his balls, feeling their weight and fullness in her hand. He groaned, low in his throat. His long, thick cock was fully erect. The bulbous head was flushed a deep reddish purple. She traced the underside of his cock with one finger, and the huge organ jerked up and down.
She licked her lips. “I want to taste you,” she whispered.
Need flashed in his eyes. He slid forward until his cock and balls dangled over her face, the round head of his organ just inches from her eyes. Linda’s heart pounded as she lifted her head. She let her lips brush the tip of his cock, very lightly. Her tongue teased the slit, tasted the salty heat. He groaned, deep in his throat. She wrapped her lips around his organ. It filled her mouth.
“Yes.” His voice was a hoarse whisper.
She slid her lips up and down the length of him. Her tongue swirled around the head. He was so big she couldn’t take all of him into her mouth. She wrapped one hand around the base of his thick cock. The other cupped his round, dark balls, and her fingertips slid over their surface.
Panting, he pulled out of her mouth. She gave him a questioning look. He smiled. “If you keep that up, I’m going to come. This is the first time I’ve been with a woman in the flesh for over five hundred years. I don’t want it to be over just yet.” His hands slid over her body, his callused palms gentle on her smooth skin. He kissed the tender spot just below her jaw, where her pulse thudded, then the delicate hollow between her collarbones. He kissed the swell of her right breast, sucked her hard nipple into his mouth. She felt the scrape of his teeth, then he moved lower, spreading her thighs wide.
With his thumbs, he separated the lips of her pussy, then bowed his head to trace her wet furrow with the tip of his tongue. She gasped. Heat rushed to her clit. It swelled, and his tongue laved it relentlessly, making her nerve endings dance and crackle with pleasure. Two fingers delved into her. They moved back and forth inside her, a slow, sensual rhythm, then carefully stretched the walls of her sex. Linda’s toes curled. Her fingers dug into the bed sheets. Her hips arched upward, pushing against his fingers. She wanted more.
“Are you ready?” he said.
“Yes!” she gasped. “Gregory, please!”
He withdrew his fingers and positioned himself over her body. His dark eyes burned into hers. “I love you.” The words were a rough whisper. They sent a shock of emotion through her.
Before she could respond, the head of his cock pressed against her opening, and he slid into her. She felt the walls of her pussy stretch to accommodate him as he pushed deeper, until he was sheathed to the balls in her body. He pulled back and pushed forward again, then again, thrusting his hips against hers. Linda clutched his shoulders, panting. Another thrust brought her over the edge, and stars burst across her vision. She screamed with pleasure, then went limp, her body drenched with sweat. A sweet, deep, pleasurable ache spread outward from her pussy as he thrust again and came with a hoarse cry. He lay down atop her, his huge body covering hers, his heartbeat thundering. She touched his cheek, ran her fingers along his stubble-scratchy jaw, and stared deep into his dark eyes. “I love you, Linda,” he said again. One big hand tangled in her hair, winding the thick locks around his fingers. “You brought me back from that dark half-life. You gave me warmth and light. You saved me.”
She felt hot tears welling in her eyes. “I love you too, Gregory.”
He kissed her, softly, tenderly. She lay a hand over his heart and felt the strong, steady beat against her palm. They lay together, tangled in the sweat-damp sheets, and he held her as she’d longed to be held.
“Will you stay with me?” she asked softly.
He kissed her forehead. “Always.”
She pressed herself closer to him, savoring the heat of his skin, the hardness of his muscles, the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. A relaxed, dreamy bliss stole over her. She felt buoyant, drunk with pleasure, with love. “It’s good to be alive,” she murmured drowsily. “Isn’t it?”
His hand smoothed her hair. “The most wonderful thing in the world.”