In Dreams She Came Pt. 06

"You're being melodramatic," she said, criticizing me. "It's just a little fun. You know I love you and would never leave you. What's wrong with having a little fun?"

"One, because we're married! We swore an oath!" I said harshly. "Two, they're the last people on earth I want you to be around, let alone fucking. There are things going on that you don't understand. Dark things. I'm afraid for you, Jenny. You have to listen to me."

"Oh, honey," she said, waving her hands. "Monogamy is such an outdated concept. We need to accept the fact that human beings were not made to have sex with only one person for their entire life. It's boring, and sex is too good not to be shared. You need to get the stick out of your ass and try it. You won't regret it. I don't."

"Jenny, they're dangerous. They're not," I started to tell her, but I stopped myself.

"They're not what? Boring? You got that right. Look, this is the new me. I feel free in a way that I've never felt before. If you think I want to stop, then you're wrong."

"Jenny, I don't want you seeing them anymore," I told her. "It has to stop?"

"Or what? Are you going to divorce me?" she chuckled. "You'd get destroyed in a divorce."

"Jenny, they are, they are strange and dangerous."

"They're European. European are a hell of a lot more open about sex. Americans are so fucking uptight about their bodies. You just need to accept it, Babe."

"I won't let you go back!"

"You don't fucking own me! I can do what I want!" she shouted and started to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" I demanded.

"Anywhere I fucking want! Just away from you!"

"Don't go over to their house!"

"They're not here anyway! They left today to go on tour! So, fuck you! That's why I went over there last night."

I watched as Jenny stormed out and stomped her way upstairs. I sat and stared at the wall. I didn't know what to do. At least if what Jenny said was true, I didn't have to worry about her going next door for a while.

I picked up the dagger. Thankfully, the police had returned it since Lazarus dropped the charges. It had an ornate brass crossguard and pommel, a smooth, wooden handle, and a long blade that was etched with strange writing. I ran my fingers over the lettering.

"I remember," I said out loud. Somehow, I knew what the writing said. The dagger looked and felt familiar. I balanced the blade on my finger, then swung it around. "You belonged to Sir Roger, old friend," I added.

Chapter 25

Gold glinted, reflecting the light from their oil lamps as the group of knights passed through the doorway. All around them were riches: gold coins, jewels, and religious artifacts.

"They're Roman," Sir Etienne said as he examined a handful of coins. "Augustus Caesar. That's at the time of Jesus." All three knights crossed themselves at the mention of their savior.

"I believe much of this came from the Temple before the Romans sacked it." Sir Roger explained.

Sir William was not listening. His attention had been captured by a pair of massive stone sarcophagi in the back of the room. He knelt by one, wiping off the years of accumulated dust. "This says it is the tomb of Lazarus the Risen," Sir William shouted.

"Lazarus, whom the Savior raised from the dead?" Sir Etienne asked.

"Yes," said Sir Roger. "Perhaps they buried him with the chalice! We should open it."

"This tomb has been sealed for more than a thousand years," explained Sir William.

"Then whatever they placed inside should still be there," Sir Roger argued. "And, if not, I don't believe Lazarus will care if we opened the box. He's long dead."

"We should look," suggested Sir Etienne.

All three of them pushed on the large, heavy stone lid. Slowly, it began to slide with a loud, grating sound. They gave a final shove, and the top slid off, falling to the floor with a loud boom that echoed and reverberated off the subterranean walls!

Inside all that they found was the mummified remains of a body.

They quickly opened the second sarcophagus and peered inside. The mummified body of a woman was all that remained.

Sir Roger began gathering all the treasure he could carry. Sir Etienne was busy looking for scrolls, books, or other forms of written evidence. Sir William was studying the writing on the second sarcophagus.

"Death comes to any who open this tomb," he read aloud.

"Well, that's not very reassuring," Sir Roger said.

"There's a name carved here on this second tomb," Sir William said. Then to himself, he mumbled, "That cannot be."

Sir Etienne looked inside the second sarcophagus. "There's a scroll in here. He reached in to get it, and a sharp piece of metal in the shape of a viper's fang snapped from the scroll and bit into his finger. "Oww!" he cried out, pulling his hand away, dripping blood.

"Another trap?" he asked. He staggered back slowly and grabbed at a hanging tapestry for balance. The cloth tore free, and the knight fell to his knees. "I don't feel so well," he said as he tried to stand, but only managed to fall on his ass.

Sir William ran to his aid. White foam frothed from Sir Etienne's mouth briefly, then he lay still. His breathing stopped, and his eyes seemed to turn gray.

"Poison!" shouted Sir Roger. "Poor bastard!"

"We need to get out of here," said Sir William, rising to his feet.

"Help me gather more treasure, and we can leave," the other knight said.

"No, leave it!" Sir William ordered. "We have to go now!"

They could hear a scraping sound coming from inside the second sarcophagus.

"I'm not leaving this treasure," argued Sir Roger.

Sir William backed toward the doorway, staring in disbelief as a mummified hand appeared on the edge of the sarcophagus.

"We have to go now!" he shouted.

Sir Roger looked over his shoulder and saw the half-decayed body of a woman, loosely wrapped in strips of cloth climbing out of the stone coffin. He turned back and ran out the doorway, shouting behind him, "We have to go!"

Sir William stared for a moment, recalling the name he had seen carved onto the side of the box. Lillith.

As the mummy turned to face him, Sir William felt his bladder release, then he turned and ran down the hall after his fellow knight, leaving a trail of piss.

Chapter 26

I didn't sleep at all that night. In the morning, Jenny woke and acted as if nothing had ever happened. She was loving, kind, and gentle and shocked me.

"I had the weirdest dream," she said. "I dreamed you got really angry and threatened to divorce me. For some reason, you thought I'd gone next door and had sex with Lazarus and Mona. Like that would ever happen."

I stared at her, trying to decide if she was fucking with me, or if she was sincere. "What is the last thing you remember before going to bed?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I remember going to the concert, but I must've had way too much to drink. I think I blacked out."

"That's the last thing you remember?" I asked, the surprise evident on my face.

"Yeah, but the good news is I don't have a hangover." Jenny jumped up, declared she was going to take a shower. and ran to the bathroom, stripping off her pajamas. "Come join me!" she called out as I heard the water turn on.

As she bent over to dig a towel out of the cabinet, my eyes landed, with shock, on the fresh tattoo on her ass: a heart wrapped in rose vines, dripping blood.