Inferno

By Divamercury

One more left after this one! Enjoy!

Chapter 21

I was stunned. I had been berating myself throughout our verbal exchange for daring to ask her, daring to hope that she might accept my offer, but in the back of my mind I never even dreamed that she would actually say yes. I supposed that I was just hoping for a little recognition, be it positive or negative. When I snapped out of my daze I realized that I was just standing there like an idiot and Sara was staring at me.

"Well?" she asked, a twinkle in her eyes and an eyebrow cocked. She wasn't mocking me; she was genuinely amused.

I decided to play along, so I raised my eyebrows to correspond with hers. "Well, what?"

"It's quite obvious. You asked me to dance; I'm answering in the affirmative. So, let's get on with it." She smiled, taking my offered arm.

I led her out onto the floor during the curt period between songs and when the next one started, Sara moved into my arms. My heart nearly stopped. I was picturing a dance with more space between the two of us, but that obviously wasn't what Sara had in mind.

Her left arm snaked behind my back and stopped so that her fingers were just short of clasping over my shoulder. Her other hand, the hand—the one blessed by the Witchblade—grasped mine. I could feel the warmth of her hand through the thick black leather glove that encased my own. Thus, in the way she was positioned, I was very close to her, closer than I had ever been to anyone before in my life. And what's more, it seemed so right. We moved together as one; it was as if we had done this before, even though I could remember no instance from all our lifetimes in which we had done anything like this.

If my life had ended at that moment, my existence would have ended on a pleasant note. But since I didn't die, that moment was forever etched into my memory and would stay there throughout eternity.

* * *

It took me a while, but I finally drummed up the courage to ask Mac to dance with me, and she accepted. As we glided around the dance floor, I spotted a familiar couple swaying nearby to the music. Ian had gone and done itI was so proud of myself for setting that up. I searched the room for Ciara and when I found her, our eyes met and she winked at me. Now all we had to do was wait and see what would come of it.

* * *

The song ended too quickly. I don't know what came over me, but it was almost like I got lost in the moment. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before. When the final strains of the song floated toward us through the air, we stopped moving. Ian kept his hold on my hand and whispered, "Come with me to the courtyard?" I nodded, and we left the reception hall. Even though it was bitterly cold outside, it was more private, and I knew that Ian probably had something important that he wanted to say if he suggested venturing out in such conditions.

When we were sure we were alone, I sat down on the short brick wall surrounding the huge central planter of the courtyard, currently filled with withered plants waiting for the first hint of spring which would signal their resurrection.

"So, I'm assuming that you had something you wanted to say?" I asked. "You should. It seems like you've been doing everything in your power to avoid saying it. So, out with it."

* * *

Was it that obvious? Could she have really caught on so quickly? Did she already know the strength of my affections? Or was she blind to it all, waiting for what I was about to reveal? Would she be hanging on my every word until I had finally cleared my conscience? There was only one way to find out.

* * *

I remained in my place on the planter, impatiently waiting for what Ian was about to say. Suddenly, he moved from his position standing in front of me and knelt, taking my right hand in both of his own. This took less than a second, and I gasped at his speed.

"Sara, I realize that I haven't been completely truthful to you. I have never willingly lied to you, and have only rarely flat-out lied to you at all, but I admit that I have misled you on several occasions. I will probably be punished for telling you this—"

"—By Irons?" I asked gently.

He shook his head. "No, by the Witchblade. I will explain further momentarily, but now—"

For the second time in about thirty seconds, Ian was interrupted.

"Ian! Sara! There you guys are! Jeez, why'd you want to come out here? It's freezing!" Gabriel shuffled over to us.

"Oh really? I hadn't noticed," I said, actually being sincere. My adrenaline was pumping relentlessly through my veins, and that combined with the anticipation I was feeling had kept me perfectly warm for the last few minutes.

"Yeahwell, anyway, we've been looking for you. Ciara wanted to talk to you. Both of you."

Ian and I got up and followed Gabe back into the building. Once inside, Ciara dashed up to us.

"Sara! Hey, we couldn't find you. Where'd you go?"

"We were out in the courtyard for a few minutes," I said casually. I could have sworn that Gabe and Ciara exchanged a look, but after I blinked all evidence of this was gone.

"So, did you want something?" I asked.

"I just wanted to say how incredibly grateful I am to you and Ian for coming through and helping me out."

That sounded a little weak to me, but I let it go. "No prob, Ciara. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it was actually kind of funin a strange, alternate-dimension sort of way."

Gabe and Ciara smiled. Not able to resist the infectious happiness, I succumbed and grinned. But suddenly that grin became a yawn.

"Man, I'm wiped. I guess I'd better get out of here," I said. "I had a good time, Ciara, and I'm sorry to leave so early" I trailed off.

"Oh, that's fine, Sara. I'm sure you've got stuff to do tomorrow. Thanks so much for everything, and I'll see you later. We'll just leave you two alone," Ciara said hurriedly and practically dragged Gabe away.

"Well, that was interesting," I said, glancing at Ian. "But now I have no way of getting home."

"Why is that?" Ian asked.

"Well, Gabe's the one that brought me, and he's part of a hostage situation as of now, so"

"It would be no trouble for me to take you home," Ian said, and I thanked him for his offer. Together we left the reception and went out into the parking lot. I found Gabe's car and opened his trunk.

"Good thing he never locks anything," I said, getting my bag of clothes out of the compartment. I shut it with a loud click and turned back to Ian. We walked in silence to his car and then were equally silent on the drive to my apartment.

We entered my building and walked up to my apartment door. Ian hesitated in the hall for a moment.

"What, you feel uncomfortable coming in the normal way? You want to go back downstairs and climb back up the fire escape?" I asked, grinning.

He smiled slightly and shook his head, stepping across my threshold.

"So, for about the millionth time, what is it that you wanted to ask me?" I asked, sitting down on my bed.