Two Knights of Indulgence by Alexandra O'Hurley Page A

had to be careful of what she
shared.   Her gut told her she could trust
them, but she didn’t know them.   “A long time.”
    “Can you raise the dead?”   Nicolas’ stare tightened.
    “No!   I can only
heal to a certain point.”   Or so I thought.
    The light that Nicolas had had in his eyes diminished,
and he appeared to grow colder.   She
shivered at the sight and wondered what was coming over the man for his gaze to
become so steely.   “What happened in the
hospital, when you healed us?”
    “Nothing like yesterday has ever happened to me
before.”
    Nicolas watched her closely.   She shivered at his appraisal.   “What are you holding back?”
    “I don’t know what you mean.”
    “We told you our story.   Tell us yours.”
    His bearing stopped her in her tracks.   She no longer wanted to discuss anything with
him.   “I don’t know you well enough to do
that.”
    Nicolas banged his fist on the table, making her
jump.   Anger rolled off him in waves, and
she realized in that moment he wasn’t the calm, peaceful man she’d initially
sensed.   Matthias might be the big brute,
but it seemed you got what you saw.   Rage
simmered in Nicolas’ gaze belying a depth that made her tremble.
    “Calm down, Nicolas.”
    Britt turned to Matthias and saw the man’s brow
furrowed.   He appeared to have been
affected by Nicolas’ demeanor change as well.
    Nicolas quickly recovered, the thick lines of his face
easing into a smile of sorts.   “We
brought you here to save you from Illuminati clutches.   You may not be able to appreciate that from
your perspective, but we’re not the bad guys here.”
    “Leave her be, Nicolas.   You don’t earn trust with force.”
    Britt turned to Matthias, his words allowing her to
breathe a little easier.   She caught his
gaze and saw the emptiness once more.   Need filled her.   She wanted to be
the woman to make that desolation disappear.
    Nicolas stood from the table and walked to the front
door.   He left the cabin, a surge of cold
air rushing through the opened door before he closed it.   Britt shivered as Matthias moved closer to
warm her some and block the frigid breeze.   She looked up into his face and was drawn to him in a way she’d never felt
before.
    “So his story is true?”   Her head screamed at her that it was
illogical, but her heart told her the truth, no matter how far-fetched it
seemed.   They were who they said they
were no matter how nonsensical it was.   How could she call them illogical when she was the epitome of
illogical?   Most people didn’t go around
shining blue lights into others to heal them.
    “I was born in
Normandy
in 1271.   My father was a knight,
although I’m not sure how he acquired the title.   He was a ruthless bastard who had taken my
mother as his prize when he’d ransacked my grandfather’s keep.   I was fostered out at nine to an even more
ruthless bastard who took Nicolas’ sister as his prize when he took their keep
five years later.”
    “I thought you were brothers?”
    “Brothers-in-arms.   After living in close
confines for over seven hundred years, he’s more family to me than even my own
was.   My Templar brothers are just
that.   My brothers.”
    “How many of you are there?”
    “Not as many as there should be.   Our numbers are down to the dozens at this
point.   In our heyday, there were
hundreds of us.”
    “This is some story to take in.”
    “Of course it is.   He warned you.”
    Nicolas had indeed, before he’d gone off the deep
end.   She watched Matthias and his heady
stare for a few moments.   Did this man
have a dark side like his friend?   She
didn’t think so, but she had to be careful she didn’t let down her guard.    “How did you learn you were Immortal?”  
    “We left once Nicolas was old enough and fought for
our king.   Eventually, we rose within the
ranks and found ourselves within the Order of the
Temple
.   Knights Templar.   One