Read Sacred Bloodlines for Free Online

his robe was closed.  “I’m just a little shaken up.  The last thing I remember is... well...” he looked away from her, not wanting her to realize how scared he had been.  “And now I wake up here, wherever here is.”  
    Gabe looked around the room once more.  This time he noticed the arched ceilings and wood beams crisscrossing them.  Though cold and quite massive, it really was an extraordinary old room.  Gabe wondered what the rest of the grounds must look like.
    “Here?”  Sophie began, “You mean Rampart?”
    “What?”  Gabe asked confused.  “What is Rampart?”
    “Uri told you about the manor, right?”  Sophie asked, concerned by how much had apparently been kept from Gabe.
    “Oh.  Yes,” Gabe confirmed, things suddenly becoming a little clearer.  “He just never told me it had a name…”  Gabe continued, thinking about the odd name.  “Why is it called Rampart Manor?”
    “I don’t know,” Sophie continued in a short and dismissive way, “I suppose because we are set up like a fortress.”  Without a moment’s hesitation, Sophie continued into the topic she really wanted to be discussing.  “Uri said you blacked out,” Sophie explained.  “He brought you here to rest.  Healing can be quite draining.  I assume the quarters are acceptable?”
    “Wait, go back,” Gabe interjected.  He had been thinking about the fortress comment until he heard the last part of Sophie’s statement.  “Healing?” he asked.
    Sophie realized Gabe had no idea what had transpired in the car.  “Gabe, you healed me.  Uri said you were amazing.  He said you didn’t even need to say anything, you simply began to heal me... you saved me.”
    Gabe truly loved the way Sophie was looking at him, so much so that he regretted having to tell her the truth.  
    “Look, I’m not sure what Uri thought he saw, but I never healed you, Sophie.  The last thing I remember is holding you in my lap.  You weren’t moving and then I blacked out.”
    “Right.” Sophie responded with a beaming grin.  He could see she was still confident in her version of the evening’s events.
    “Really, I am not being humble or anything.  I have no idea what you are talking about.”  Gabe insisted.
    “OK, whatever you say.” Sophie said as she continued to grin.  She stood and moved to the side of the chair, motioning towards the far end of the room.  
    “You should find clean clothes in there that will fit you.  Choose anything you like.  Uri will be here soon to take you to meet Michael.”  Sophie turned to walk away and then stopped suddenly, turning around slowly to face Gabe.  She hesitated for a moment and then added, “I mean if you’re up for it.”
    Excited at the thought of meeting the man with the answers, Gabe jumped to his feet and headed towards the wardrobe.  
    “Of course,” He said with enthusiasm.
    Sophie smiled once more and proceeded to the big wooden door, pulling it open with both hands.  
    “Great, I’ll see you soon then.”  Sophie stepped into the hall and as she pulled the door shut, she added “And thanks again, Gabe.”  
    Before Gabe could process what she had said, she was gone.  He smiled and laughed at how certain she was that he was some kind of hero.  If she only knew what a coward I am, he thought.
    He made his way to the wardrobe, greeted again by those same storybook carvings he had seen on the bed.  Gabe ran his fingers over the images.  These were much more graphic.  
    The images told the story of a great battle.  The bones of demonic figures were strewn about the battle field with armor clad warriors crushing them beneath their boots.  Above them, the clouds were parted and delicate lines indicated a light was shining down.  Gabe wondered if the carvings represented anything important or a fantastical scene from an artist’s imagination.
    He opened the wardrobe and peered in, imagining some drab dated peasant outfit based on what he had