Page 2 of Eternal Surrender

Ignoring the pain, refusing to reveal any weakness, I asked, “Who are you?”

“Father Jacob Roch.” His fingers worked their way down each button of his long, brown coat and he slipped it off. “Here you are.”

Cautiously, I accepted his coat from him and pulled the left arm through, wrapping it over the shoulder of the right, unable to lift it.

He made a gesture to help.

“I’m fine.” Though clearly I wasn’t.

“You’re adjusting, even now.”

“To what?”

He went to answer but stopped himself as though unsure. Rubbing my forehead, I tried to find the answers and not be influenced by the man who I had no reason to trust.

Far off, lightning lit up the night sky, and a few seconds later came the crack of thunder.

The sound of footfalls signaled someone fast approaching. Over the ridge, a young man appeared and skidded to a stop when he saw us.

“Steady, Alex.” Jacob gestured for him not to come any further.

Alex’s expression was one of horror, and I tried to decipher whether it was disgust or hate. Lost in a fog of thoughts, I tried to recall how I knew him.

He stood tall, golden blond hair ruffled and catching the moonlight, his shirt streaked with mud. There was something achingly familiar in his face, beautiful but harried. He looked heartbreakingly human.

“Let’s go inside,” Jacob said.

The rhythm of the ocean sounded like it was now inside my head and my legs weakened. My feet gave way.

My mind blurred, threatening to slide off. “Who am I?” My face struck the pebbles.

“That’s what we’re going to find out.” Jacob’s voice grew distant.

Chapter One

It wasn’t so much that I’d woken up inside a coffin that was alarming, it was the fact it was locked shut and I had no idea how long I’d been sealed inside.

I was still wearing Jacob’s coat and hoped to find the opportunity to return it. And then suffocate him with it.

At least the fresh scented velvet lining hinted I was the casket’s first guest, and I knew better than to punch my fist through the walnut lid. With an upward jolt, I broke the locks and peered out, relieved I hadn’t been buried.

There was a wave of regret for not taking my chance to escape when I’d had it. I climbed out into a prison cell, the gate shut and secured with an oversized padlock.

Well-worn rusty shackles lay discarded on the floor, revealing this chamber dated back centuries. More disturbing was its musty odor omitting a peculiar familiarity. The only relief was seeing my shoulder was back in its socket.

I struggled to get my bearings.

And remember.

Remember my name.

Remember who I was and where I came from, because those things mattered once. I had to believe that.

Halfway up the brickwork of the far wall, someone had scribed in scratchy handwriting ‘Find Dominatio.’ And they’d used blood. I backed away from it and peered out through the bars and down a long black corridor.

Jacob stepped out of the darkness, and his iridescent irises locked on me. “How are you feeling?”

My answer was merely to gesture into the cell.