Serpents's Heart

“At that moment, I couldn’t tell what was real.”

“Sir, please wake up.” A soft, feminine voice said. A hand touched my shoulder and shook me lightly. “Sir, please wake up.”

I groaned, and opened my eyes. I… wasn’t in the cabin. I couldn’t see Erik… or Virginia. I was… on a plane? I sat up in a hurry, and I looked to the voice. It was a stewardess, greeting me with a big smile.

“What’s… what’s going on?!” I asked in a panic.

“Sir, please calm down,” she said. “We’re about to land in London, and we need you to return to an upright position as we land.”

“I’m on a plane… to London…” I stammered. “This is a dream. This has to be a dream.”

“About time you woke up,” Virginia said, taking her seat. “You’ve been asleep the entire flight.”

“Virginia! You’re here!” I exclaimed.

She chuckled. “I was just in the restroom. What’s gotten in to you?”

“You don’t remember anything?!” I asked.

“What do you mean? Of course I do,” she replied. “We spent nearly a week locked in a Vatican basement, waited out a weird storm in Rome, and when it passed, we hopped aboard a plane, heading back to London.”

“No Angels? Demons?”

Virginia shot me a puzzled looked. “I think you had a nightmare, Doctor Hunter.”

“The ruby!” I reached into my pocket, and I pulled out the satchel given to me by the bishop, and there it was.

“Why are you so worried about that thing?” she asked. “You were told it was fake, and basically worthless. You were even considering throwing it out.”

“This has to be a dream…” I said.

“Will this prove this isn’t a dream?” Virginia reached over and pinched my arm as hard as she could.

“Ow! Damn that hurt!” I said, pulling my arm away. I paused as I realized what I said, and I just gazed at my arm. “That… that hurt…”

“Would you come back to Earth now?” she said with a smile.

“Why am I here?” I was confused… The last thing I remembered was falling asleep in a cabin in some remote wooded village, talking to a wounded Angel. And when I woke up, I was on a plane, heading home. I wasn’t sick from any Archdemon toxins, wasn’t enveloped in a battle between good and evil; just Doctor Robert James Hunter returning from an assignment. Nothing seemed fake or out of place. Had it all really been some sort of bad dream?

We landed not soon after, and I remember walking out into the sunshine of the London airport and taking a nice long breath of the fresh air as the light of the sun warmed me up. It was like a weight lifted off my shoulders. I was no longer carrying the fate of the Earth in my pocket. This ruby, whatever it was, was supposedly fake. Even considering what Virginia told me, I still want it to be checked out.

We hopped into a taxi for the ride back to University Town where I live. Virginia lived on campus while she studied abroad. I had a small flat in town. The ride usually annoyed me because I just wanted to get home as soon as possible. However considering the imagery stuck in my head, the ride was calming and relaxing. We dropped off Virginia first, and then headed into U. Town toward home. Along the way we stopped by a nearby shop, Bitting’s Jewelry.

“Good evening, mate!” the shopkeeper greeted as I entered. “Doctor Hunter, so glad to see you return! How was Church Country?”

“Interesting, Carl,” I said with a sigh. “I have a trinket I’d like you to look at, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all!” he replied with a smile. “Let’s have a look see.”

I handed Carl the ruby, and he took to it and started going over the object. I looked out the window, and a newspaper stand with a headline caught my attention. “Russian Crisis Dissolved; Chaos Narrowly Averted.”So something did happen in Russia…

“It’s a fake,” Carl said returning, “but it’s a marvelous reproduction. If I didn’t even know better, I’d say it was real. A nice keepsake, if I do say so myself.”

“Thank you,” I said returning the ruby to my pocket. “Say, Carl, do you know what the ‘Russian Crisis’ was, which the newspapers are all a buzz about?”

“What?! How do you not know about that?!” Carl scoffed.

“Forgive me, but I’ve been sequestered for nearly a week in a Vatican basement authenticating documents,” I replied. “I’m not yet on top of all the worldly happenings.”

Carl nodded. “Well there was apparently a massive explosion near Siberia a few days past. Nasty business that. Some terrorist group claimed responsibility for it, and there’s a multinational man hunt for the people involved. Some two hundred people were instantly killed, and they say other casualties could be numbered in the thousands.”

No portal to hell. Which means no Demons. “Well, thanks Carl. What do I owe you?”

He smiled and shook his head. “On the house, Doctor Hunter! After all, you were the one who gave me the beautiful Serpent’s Heart to sell in my shop to collectors!”

My face went pale. “What did you say?!”

“Don’t you get into a fuss about it now, that’s the name you told me!” he said. Carl pointed to the display case. In the center was a large, blue diamond. “You gave it to me after your job in France. The ‘Gem d’Arc,’ right?”

“Right… France…” I said, relieved. I must have misheard him. I do remember giving him that after doing some work in France with Virginia. “Sorry, I’m a little under stress. Look, I’m going to get going. Thanks, Carl. I’ll see you around!”

“Good night, and good rest, Doctor Hunter!” Carl called as I left the shop.

The cabbie pulled up to my building, a simple two story house. I rented the top floor from an older lady, Ms. Gladwin. As the cab pulled up, Ms. Gladwin exited the home, ready to help me with my belongings.

“Welcome home, Robert!” she said. Ms. Gladwin was quite possibly the only person on Earth who addressed me informally. “It was quiet here without you! Let’s get your things inside, and I’ll make you a nice meal!”

“It’s much appreciated, Ms. Gladwin, but I’d much rather get some sleep,” I insisted.

“Don’t you dare say no to me!” she scolded. “You’ll rest better with a full belly!”

We entered her flat, she insisting I leave my things and rest awhile. She hurried into the kitchen humming a tune, while I took a moment to look around. It had been a little while since I was last here, and it seemed she had redecorated. The thing I noticed right away was her mantel, which had two large, framed pictures on it. The first was a picture of her late husband Mark, who passed away after being involved in an auto collision. The other was a picture of her son, Will, who was living in Japan designing software for a major company that was founded by a former U. Town professor, Nicholas Loranzo.

It’s why I believe she latched on to me as a motherly figure. My mother passed years ago, and she had no family near here at all. I suppose together we formed a foster family, and since Virginia had come into my life, it only added to the dynamic. She cherished her like the daughter she never had. We became her family. It was comforting to have such a woman in my life, a motherly figure if you will. She’s a remarkable person.

I took a seat on the couch, and turned on the telly, and to my delight The Simpsons were playing a favorite rerun. A little while later, Ms. Gladwin returned with a hot ham and cheese sandwich and a bowl of her homemade tomato soup on a small tray. It was happiness in food form.

“Did you leave Virginia to her doom?” she asked, sitting down in the chair nearby.

I paused as a drop of sweat formed on my forehead. “I’m sorry, Ms. Gladwin, could you repeat that?”

“Did you leave Virginia at her dorm?” she repeated.

“Oh, yes…” I replied, clearing my throat. “She made it back safe and sound.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” she said. “How long has it been since you two started working?”

“Almost six months now, I believe,” I answered.

“Beautiful girl, have you thought about something more?” she asked with a sly smirk.

“Well I asked her officially to be my colleague,” I replied, a little cheeky.

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it!” she said.

“She has a fiancé and you know that!” I sassed.

“Well if she says yes, I doubt that fiancé of hers would move over here anyhow,” she giggled. “It’ll make her fair game, you know! I see how you look at her. I see how you work with her. You cannot deny what you know; there is something there.”

“The answer’s yes. Your offer. I want to move to Europe, and I want to pursue my passion for knowledge which has led me here in the first place to be with you. So come back, alright?”

Her words echoed in my mind. She’d already said yes to my offer… or I think she had. It even sounded like she meant something else, too. Did I feel that way about her? She was a beautiful and intelligent woman. All the events in that experience were still fresh in my mind, as if they had just happened, and I had just thought my mind was putting pieces together to form a conclusion that wasn’t even there. At that moment, I couldn’t tell what was real. Trying to make sense of what was going through my head just made this all worse. I needed an answer. A sign.

“Are you alright, dear?” Ms. Gladwin asked.

I realized I spaced out a moment, thinking. I nodded and smiled. “Yeah, I’m sorry. Just tired.”

“Oh, I have something for you!” She got up and walked into the other room. “Our neighbors the Wertzes, Bradley and Meghan, finally decided to move to London!”

“So they finally made the jump, eh?” I said.

“That they did!” she continued, returning holding a package. “They moved the day after you left, actually. I have no idea what they heck they’re thinking going to the big city in their age. Old folks don’t belong in London with the youngsters, but if that’s their thing, then who am I to judge?”

“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the package.

“They left this to you, apparently they found it among their belongings,” she said, handing me the package. “Since you’re so fond of history and travelling, they said it would be a good thing to add to your ever growing collection of things.”

“Well that was nice of them,” I said as I opened the package. “I wonder what it could—”

My eyes grew as wide as saucers when I lifted the box. My hands shook as I gazed upon the silver sword given to me by Erik in that “dream.” I had killed a Demon with that sword. I could still smell the sulfur from its blood.

“Do you not like it?” Ms. Gladwin asked, as she saw my reaction to the sword. “They said it was from Italy. ‘Spada dei Cieli’ or ‘Sword of the Heavens.’ It belonged to a long forgotten monarch in Europe, or something. I really didn’t listen to Brad’s ramblings about it. You know how he is sometimes.”

I glanced to her and back to the sword. It wasn’t my Angel weapon anymore, all I saw was a normal sword… The sulfur smell was gone. There was a lump in my throat as I thought I was going insane. “This is… great…” I managed after a minute or two.

“Do you not like it?” she asked, concerned.

“No, no… I love it, really,” I said, faking a smile. “I really appreciate this, and the meal, Ms. Gladwin, but I really think I need to return to my flat and get some sleep. Allow me to help you clean up.”

I went to pick up the tray, when Ms. Gladwin gently slapped my hand. “Sweetie, you just got home!” she said. “I will take care of this, and you go and get yourself some much deserved rest.”

I smiled and nodded, grabbing my things and making my way to my own home. I unlocked the door and slowly made my way in. I left my belongings in the doorway, and wandered around, looking for anything at all out of place. And to my relief, there was not a thing out of place.

I made my way into my bedroom, where I laid down on my own bed. My comfortable, familiar bed. It seemed like years since I was able to sleep on my own pillows and wrap myself in my own sheets. I sighed and smiled. I was home again. My life was returned to me. And hopefully with a good night’s sleep, the taste of that nightmare would be washed away from my memories.