CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The first phase of Lord Hayden’s plan was to make Talbot think that his sick strategy had worked and that Grace now despised her husband. It included loud arguments so that anyone in the corridor would hear. During one particularly boisterous and wild act, Elizabeth slapped a table loudly. Lord Hayden cursed her and slapped the table harder and louder. Elizabeth screamed. The guards posted outside the chamber unbolted the door and entered, maces and spears poised. Apparently, Talbot had ordered them to interfere, if necessary. They prodded the pair to separate corners of the room, murmuring among themselves and shaking their heads. Elizabeth nursed her cheek and she and Lord Hayden fueled glacial looks at each other. The moment the guards left and rebolted the doors, the pair fell into each other’s arms. "Shhhh," Lord Hayden warned as Elizabeth threatened to burst into unrestrained laughter.

The ruse worked so well that Talbot ordered Elizabeth brought to him. "The exterior wounds have healed, I’m happy to see," he said, after a few seconds of quiet scrutiny.

"Meaning the scars inside will take longer," Elizabeth said bitterly.

"Perhaps, never," Talbot added. "Now are you satisfied that Lord Hayden is not the right man for you?"

Elizabeth took her time answering. At length she said, "Yes, but he won’t let me go."

"Something that can be easily remedied," Talbot said.

"If you kill him, you’re no better than he is in my eyes." She stared defiantly at the Inca.

He regarded her somberly. "You’re not an easy woman to deal with. What do you suggest?"

"Give it time. He will weary of an uncooperative wife. In the meantime, there is no reason we should not begin collaborating on locating the artifacts you mentioned. I am, after all, your peer, and as interested in the relics as my husband."

Talbot smiled. The beautiful Psyche and a learned lover of the ancient, both in one, and both soon to be his.

* * *

"He’s agreed to give me the locations of the artifacts," Elizabeth told Lord Hayden in their chamber.

Hayden sat on the stone settee near a window. "So far, so good," he said. As an afterthought he added, "I suppose you played up to him."

Elizabeth was not sure how to answer him.

Lord Hayden gazed at her suspiciously. "How far did you go," he asked worriedly.

The tiny imp that often tempted Elizabeth/Grace Quinlan to taunt Lord Hayden mischievously, if only in fun, made her reply, "Well, I had to convince him we two were finished, after all."

Hayden was on his feet and beside her before she could blink. "Really?" He asked icily. "And how exactly did you accomplish that, convince him?"

"Well…" The impish gleam in her emerald eyes could not contain its smile.

Elizabeth laughed. "Truly Lord Hayden..."

He closed his arms about her with a mixture of relief and slight annoyance. "All right, Lady Grace," he warned, cupping her chin and tilting it up so he had the advantage, "two can play at this game." He pressed his lips to hers, expecting her to tense and resist. Instead, she yielded, welcoming his kiss, and drawing him closer in a warm embrace. Then stunned him with "I love you so very much." But no sooner the avowal, then she let go and turned away. The weariness in her voice disconcerted him the more. "I’m so very tired, William. Let me rest, dearest."

"Of course," he acknowledged, his emotions roller coasting as he tried to phantom her true feelings. They both needed to rest and strengthen themselves for the dangerous time ahead. Yet at this moment, he burned with desire to hold her in his arms and love her completely, intimately, to take her passionately and surrender himself at the same time.

Lord Hayden returned to the stone settee and kept his gaze on the patch of star-studded heaven visible through the wide slit that served as a window nearby, giving her a chance to undress and slip under the sheets. A short while later he undressed, donned his pajamas bottoms and lay down over the sheets. Elizabeth lay quietly facing the opposite side, the gentle rhythm of her steady breathing telling him she was asleep, or at least feigning sleep.

The plan he had devised was a dangerous one. Both he and Elizabeth might be killed, but it was the only counter-plot to Talbot’s that he believed might liberate them.

* * *

To compare him to a spring held taut and ready to snap was an understatement, as he and Grace moved around the Ark examining it. Talbot had acceded to their request to study the Ark, under his supervision and two trusted warriors, armed to the hilt, standing guard. Hayden knew his adversary watched him carefully, tolerating his presence only because Grace demanded time to distance herself from her husband and renew her ancient relationship with Talbot. Once the escape plan was put into action, he would not be allowed a mistake.

"It’s magnificent," he said in earnest. "Some historians suggest it was a cult object adopted, or copied, from the Canaanites."

Elizabeth argued. "True, but even if there were several Arks, the Old Testament bears witness that there was only one of supreme importance, and this was the Ark of the Covenant, or as it is sometimes referred to, the Ark of the Testimony."

"Yes, I’ve heard that argument," Lord Hayden said. "The Ark of the Testimony, the Ark of the Lord of Hosts, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all Earth, among other titles."

As they spoke, Elizabeth moved toward the opposite end of the room. She spied something on the wall near the floor in the corner. "Talbot? Do you know there’s a series of Egyptian hieroglyphs right here? Am I wrong?"

The Inca strained to see, but all he could discern were a series of bumps in the rock. Grace sounded serious and as she was well versed in her art, Talbot circled the Ark and hastened toward the spot she had knelt to inspect. The soldiers' gazes were trained on the pair. The closed fist Lord Hayden threw with all his might caught the first guard unaware, knocking him clear to the stone floor. Before the second guard could act, Lord Hayden rammed his knee into the warrior’s groin. As the man clutched his stomach, Hayden followed with a solid right to his jaw. The guard fell to the ground unconscious.

"William, watch out!" Elizabeth yelled as the first guard who had regained his footing attacked Lord Hayden from the rear, seizing him about the shoulders. Hayden tried flipping him over his head, but the man held his ground. Lord Hayden rammed his elbow into his opponent’s side, twisted in his grasp and grabbing him by his bare arm, sent the guard sprawling across the floor.

During this time, Talbot had stood stunned and scowling, waiting for his warriors to overpower Lord Hayden, but the battle was definitely going in his opponent’s favor. Elizabeth’s gaze was on the Inca; she saw him draw a knife from inside his tunic and start toward Lord Hayden whose back was to him. Without a second thought she jumped on Talbot’s back, grabbing him around the neck. Recognizing the danger to herself if Talbot pulled her in front of him—he could deal her a fatal wound—she tightened her grip, hanging on for dear life. However, Talbot, stronger than she, managed to pry her hands apart and yank her by the arm, causing her to lose her balance. She fell sideways at his feet.

His face twisting with rage, the Inca seized her wrist and turned her to face him. She had tricked him. Used his desire for her to make a fool of him. Rejected him. Again! He raised his arm, the hilt of the knife clutched in his hand, preparing to plunge the blade into her heart.

Elizabeth stared death in the face. This was it. Goodbye, Lord Hayden, her thoughts whispered. A small solid gold vase flashed as it hurled towards Talbot, and knocked the knife from his hand. He snarled as he turned to see Lord Hayden holding its twin in case the first missed its target.

Talbot lunged for his knife, but before he could reach it, Lord Hayden threw himself on Talbot’s back, and both men went sprawling. They landed beside the weapon. Talbot grabbed the knife. Lord Hayden caught his wrist and they grappled. Neither of the two saw Elizabeth climb to her feet, nor the expression on her face as she moved toward the Ark, her head tilted slightly as she listened to something, a soft humming that had begun with the fighting. It was the glow that attracted their attention as they struggled, first Talbot’s, then Lord Hayden’s, the glow spreading outward, mesmerizing Elizabeth. Lord Hayden recognized the look on her face. She had entered a trance.

"No," he gasped, fear showing on his face. He remembered the stories of the Old Testament. The Ark might be readying to unleash the force of its power. With a rush of adrenalin, he knocked Talbot over and sprung to his feet and rushed forward to save his beloved. Sparks shot from the Cherubim adorning the Ark’s lid. The tiny lightning bolts met in the space between the two angels, then sprayed outward, piercing Lord Hayden’s arm. A thousand threadlike cuts penetrated his flesh. He cried out with pain and surprise, and found himself knocked to the other side of the room.

The humming steadily intensified, filling the room until the sounds and the glow were indistinguishable, as though the light was actually a personification of the sounds. Lord Hayden bellowed to Grace not to touch the Ark, and avert her eyes, but the sound of his voice was lost inside the phenomena occurring in the chamber. Elizabeth placed her hands on the rim of the lid.

Now the light was seeping from beneath the cover, like gummy liquid, lifting it, as Elizabeth guided the cover slowly to the side and off until it rested alongside the artifact. According to the ancient logs, the light would disintegrate her. Lord Hayden rushed toward her. This time nothing stopped him and he pushed her away from the Ark in the direction of the door. Talbot stood transfixed by the glow. "Get out of here," Lord Hayden cried humanely as he rushed past the Inca, pulling Grace who remained in a beta wave state, out the door and up the carved steps. He knew without glancing back that the light would continue intensifying until nothing in its path, mortal or immortal, survived. He listened for Talbot, but the Inca had not followed. Lord Hayden doubted there was anything left of the two thousand year-old man except perhaps some silvery dust.

From the corner of one eye, Lord Hayden saw the light behind him. "My God!" he uttered as he realized it had followed them up the stairs. If they could outdistance the light, perhaps, and slam the door shut behind them once they were back in the Temple, the Power might return to the Ark. But if the Power chose, it could incinerate the door and level the entire Lost City with all its inhabitants and artifacts. Innocent men, women and children would suffer for Talbot’s greed and tyranny.

A fiery tingle assailed the nape of his neck. The light was almost upon him. "Grace, move," he yelled. She had allowed him to haul her along without protest, her face emotionless, her mind in a dreamlike state. If only he could break her trance, she might run faster. She was slowing him down, but he would never abandon her. Rather die than leave her behind. And he had begun thinking that this might be the case, for the light was already enveloping them. Lord Hayden suddenly knew that running was useless. The light was in front of him. His head and body felt as if it were on fire. His legs were emptying and his knees buckling. He collapsed face-down with Grace beside him. Eyes clenched and with what little strength remained in his arms, he clutched the woman he loved to himself, trying to shield her from the disintegrating rays. He was on fire and he began to scream.

"HOLD!" a voice rich and full and searing like the fiery sun on the hottest day of the year, commanded.

Simultaneous with the order, Lord Hayden felt as though ice poured over him. He raised his head and opened his eyes. The light was behind him, hovering, waiting. He dare not look at it.

Again the voice spoke, in a somewhat exasperated tone. "What risks you two take. It makes me wonder. But then, I made you that way." The voice grew tender. "Go home, both of you. There is much for you to accomplish before you return to me." A gentle sigh blew about their heads. The light retreated. Silence reigned. Somewhere below a lid slammed shut and a door locked itself.

"William?" Elizabeth whispered, her gaze fully cognizant.

Midst shock and bewilderment, he managed to ask, "Did you hear it?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, I heard Him," she said reverently.

"Him?"

"Is it so hard to accept?"

Lord Hayden shook his head.

Elizabeth smiled quietly. "I’ve never seen such strength coupled with such gentleness and tenderness. No wonder evil can never truly triumph against Him."

"Let’s go, Grace. Let’s go home. The Ark belongs to God."

 

They would never reveal the secret of the Ark's location nor that of the Lost City of the Incas. They were leaving behind many unanswered questions, and the Ark. They would pick up an artifact or two as they fled the city, but these would be trivial to the two important truths they took with them. For Lord Hayden, first, how much he loved this woman called Grace Quinlan, beyond any of all of his archaeological pursuits. That truth surprised him to no end. He was bonded to her body and soul. He had ample proof that she was his soul mate, and no other woman could ever take her place. And second, the knowledge of the source of the Ark’s power and the reality of that source. This ultimate discovery would color every moment of his life from hereon, making archeology all the more special for him, for the Creator of all things was the greatest archaeologist of them all. Lord Hayden felt very humble.

Humble, and grateful as well for whatever time was granted him with his soul mate. He hoped this time Grace would accept his proposal to spend the rest of her life with him. But he suspected she was not ready yet to commit herself to him fully. Just as he suspected she would return with him to the Coast and then, as before, quietly disappear, leaving him a small note admitting her true devotion, and promising to return to his side on his next archaeological pursuit. This time he shelved his anger and nurtured his hope. He was certain to collaborate with her again during winter recess. Grace’s cousin, Professor Elizabeth Eldridge, his link to Grace, would inform her of his plans. Until Grace Quinlan decided otherwise, he had no choice but to accept her terms of their relationship. She belonged to him, and he to her throughout eternity, and whether in this life or others, they would come together again. Desperately he prayed she would become his wife in this life.

 

(Elizabeth/Grace and Lord William share many adventures in time - past, present and future)

 

Their story continues in:

 

Volume 4

Romance and Adventure on the Isles of Polynesia

(Tale of the Birdmen)

 

Volume 5

Love and Adventure in the African Jungle

(Golden Sofala)

 

All five volumes are contained in the full length novel,

In Another Life (from the Journals of Grace Quinlan and Lord William Hayden)

 

Other novels, novellas, short stories and articles

by Paula Freda

 

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