Page 22 of 1000 of You
Heresponded with a kiss that was warmer than the sun shining overhead. She wasvaguely aware of the noise of the crowd in the street behind them, or the birdssquawking as they flew overhead. It wasn’t until an odd clanging sound caughteveryone’s attention.
Muamjumped to his feet, pullingGovaup beside him. “What is that? Is that a warning?”
“It is thetown bell,”Focainformed them, a worried expressioncrossing her face. “The bell should not be tolling at this time, unless…”
She was cutoff when the ground beneath them suddenly jerked sideways.GovaandMuamtried to snatch her to keep her fromfalling, when several loud explosions rent the air. The ground undulatedbeneath their feet, throwing them off-balance. Screams filled the streets, andpeople tried to run for safety. Around them, enormous cracks snaked up thewalls of the buildings, and spread out across the road. In the blink of an eye,a huge fissure opened up, dividing the town in two.
A portionof the building next to them fell almost on top of them.MuamgrabbedGova’shand. At the same time, he threw hisother arm aroundFoca’swaist. “Run! Get away fromthe buildings!”
Theystruggled to thread their way through the streets, past buildings whichcollapsed from the onslaught. The ground continued to bounce and shake, and thesky pelted them with dust and bits of plaster and rock as they tried to escapethe death trap that the town had become.
Focatried to show them a way out, but at every turn thatway was blocked with fallen or falling debris. They backtracked to the nextstreet, when a hole opened up in the ground, and the building in front of themdisappeared into it.
Govatried to turn around, when the ground gave way. Shefound herself falling into the crack, butMuammanaged to tighten his grip on her hand. He landed hard on his belly and chest,but their connection remained firm. Letting go ofFoca,he stretched out his other arm to her.
“Take myhand!”
She foughtto reach him. The ground continued to crumble away as the earth kept shaking,making it impossible for her to get a hand or foothold to keep herself fromdropping farther into the enlarging hole.
A wave oflassitude came over her, and she realized their struggle was futile. Diggingher fingers into the loosened soil, she met his eyes.
“Muam, let me go.”
He gave heran astonished look. “No!”
“Muam, this is our time. Let me go, and come with me.” Herfear was gone, replaced with a sense of calm that she welcomed.
He paused,understanding what she was telling him. Glancing over at whereFocaknelt, watching, the old woman nodded and made a signin the air.
“Blessingson you both. Go with God.”
She’dbarely uttered the words when the entire wall of the building behind hertoppled forward, crushing the old woman underneath the rubble.Muamturned a stricken face toGova,who stared at him through tear-filled eyes.
“My love.”His lips moved, but she never heard what he said. The ground quaked withrenewed vigor, like a dog shaking water off its coat.Govafelt his grip loosen. Before she could call out to him, he pitched forward intothe hole, along with her. He managed to grab her blouse, pulling her down withhim as the world above disintegrated.
They werenot conscious when the building on the other side of the alley crumbled,filling the hole and burying the two lovers for all eternity.
Chapter 13
Europe, 1350
Muamblinked. A yell came from behind him, and he reactedinstinctively, whirling around to block what his inner self told him wasanother weapon. The piece of wood came down to strike him on the head, but hemanaged to deflect it at the last moment.
The youngboy pointed a finger at him and laughed. “You flinched! You flinched! I win! Idefeat you!Iam the Emperor now!”
Muamstared at the slender tree branch he was holding. Itwas crooked and too supple to be of any use other than as a toy. Stripped ofall leaves, the guard consisted of two broken limbs branching off. But itwasn’t the pretend sword that left him breathless. It was the small handholding it.
His hand.
Muamtouched his face. There was no mistaking the lack of abeard, or the thinner planes of his face. He glanced down to stare at the childbody he inhabited. At the pronounced ribcage and the lack of musculature. Hewasn’t a man. He couldn’t be more than seven or eight seasons old.
Hisopponent derided him again. Ignoring him,Muamthrewhis stick down and walked away. The boy seemed to have a change of heart, andran after him.
“Horhesh!Horhesh, where yougoing?”
For thefirst time since the curse began,Muamhad no ideawhere he was going. There was no purpose in his footsteps. No inner sense ofdestination telling him where to go. He stopped in his tracks and surveyed hissurroundings.
This wasn’ta prosperous town. If anything, it appeared to have just suffered a devastatingevent, but it was impossible to tell what kind, or how long ago it hadhappened. The homes and buildings appeared ravaged, as if they’d been in thepath of an opposing army, and this was the result. Most of the dilapidatedstructures lacked walls or a portion of the roof, thus exposing the peopleinside to the elements. Fireplaces were missing some of the chimney. But whatconcerned him the most was something that took him a bit longer to figure out.
