The Sacred Flame

Prologue

The woman grimaced at the open box in front of her, its contents spilled over her yard like the bricks from her daughter's toy box. The little one was colouring on the porch next to the kitchen door, her serious face turned down towards the red crayon clutched in her hand. Dark golden curls hid most of her face, except the sullen pout she sported whenever she coloured outside the lines. With a deep sigh the woman turned back to the swinging bench she was attempting to construct by herself. Why she had ever thought she could build something so complicated was beyond her. She picked up the instructions for the hundredth time and blew a stray yellow hair out of her eyes.

A soft tug on her ponytail made her jump. She could feel his presence behind her, the rich aroma of his body reminded her of the sea, but his appearance was too sudden, too surprising, to risk turning around and realizing it was all just her imagination.

"Susie," his voice made her skin tremble.

"Marc?" Tears had already begun to form in her eyes before she turned to look up at the man standing behind her. The afternoon sun lit up the back of his head like a halo, hiding his face in its glare, but she had memorized every line years ago. She didn't need to see them to know his rich hazel eyes were crinkled at the sides from the warmth of his smile.

"Marc!" she wrapped her arms around his neck and felt herself being lifted from the ground by his embrace. "What are you doing here?" Panic tainted the joy in her voice.

He pulled back to kiss her with every ounce of passion they had been missing for the past three years. By the time their lips parted, neither one of them could remember why he had stayed away so long in the first place. "I had to see you," his voice was breathless and hot against her face.

"I thought you said it wasn't safe," Susie wiped the tears from her cheeks, trying in vain not to smile with relief to be in his arms again.

"It's not," Marc's face became pensive. Black hair, newly laced with silver, tickled the tops of his ears. "I know it's selfish, I know I should leave you alone so you can move on, but I couldn't stay away. I needed to see you."

"I'm glad you did." They rested their foreheads against each other, trying to preserve the bond between them for every possible moment fate might allow.

"Mommy?"

Both adults swivelled their heads towards the small child staring shyly up at the tall man holding her mother. Susie heard the air escaped Marc's chest in one long gasp. His hands fell away from her as he turned towards the child. "Is this?"

Susie felt a surge of fear burst to life in her heart yet she stayed where she was while the tall man knelt to admire her daughter. Their faces were a pair, the father's stamp clearly etched on his offspring, even if her hair was lighter and her eyes closer to a shade of amber than the mottled hazel-green of her sire. Susie brought her hands to mouth to stifled a sob when she saw the way Marc's face lit up with wonder.

"Hello there," he spoke softly, as if to a startled fawn. "What's your name?"

"Lisbeth," Susie offered, clearing her throat when the child didn't answer.

Marc's face broke in two. "Little Lise. My you are so big."

Lisbeth cocked her head to one side, her brows furrowed. "I'm two." She held up her fingers to prove it.

"Wow!"

"Who are you?"

"I'm a friend of your mother's," Marc replied cautiously. Susie knew he knew better, he had only to look at the little girl to know the truth.

Wiping the last of the tears from her face, she dipped down to scoop her daughter into her arms. "You need to go," she told him firmly, almost choking on the words. "If I was in danger just for being with you, what would they do if they found out about our daughter?"

Marc still couldn't stop staring at the toddler. His hand, enormous next to the cherub face, brushed a hair from Lisbeth's brow. "I shouldn't have come back,"he agreed, his hand moving to cup Susie's chin. "I might never be able to stay away again."

Susie's voice broke as she spoke, hugging Lisbeth tightly to her chest. "You have to." The words sliced her heart into ribbons on their way out.

Marc said nothing more for several minutes. He pulled them both into his arms, enveloping the woman and her child in the breadth of his embrace. When he finally found the words to speak, the words choked him. "I'll go because I have to. You shouldn't tell her about me. It will be better for her."

"What if she's like you?"

Marc's eyes filled with shadows. "I can already sense it in her." He pulled away again. "Just know I will never be far. If you need me, you know how to find me." A sad smile tugged at his lips.

Susie could only nod, her voice lost to her. She turned to carry the child into the house, pausing to look back at the defeated man she had left standing all alone in her back yard. She disappeared into her house before her will-power failed her and she dragged him inside with her. She refused to even look out the window until dusk was already settling over the world outside.

Marc was gone. Where he had held her last, tucked neatly between her two favourite trees, was her new bench. A slight breeze gave it a push, and the ghosts of a life never given a chance to be lived swung silently, hand in hand, in the twilight.