Thirst No. 5: The Sacred Veil by Christopher Pike

Author:Christopher Pike
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

“What is your favorite quote?” he asks.

“Pardon?”

“From the Gita. What line means the most to you?”

I straighten. “All who are born die, oh Arjuna. All who die are reborn. The wise do not grieve over the inevitable.’”

Patton nods. “That line is with me every time I go into battle. I feel it strengthens my kavach.” He pauses. “Do you know the word?”

The question is a test. He is searching for something.

“It’s Sanskrit for ‘armor.’ It specifically refers to protection against danger. In battle, a person with powerful kavach is supposed to be difficult to kill.”

Like him. Patton has kavach. Curious that he asks about it.

“How old are you, Alys?” he asks.

“Why do you ask?”

“You look so young. Yet you’re able to seduce German generals, and travel back and forth between Paris and London with complete ease. Not to mention that you’re a Sanskrit scholar.”

“I wouldn’t call me a scholar.”

“Damnit!” he yells, slamming the book shut. “Who are you?”

“I don’t understand your question, Sir.”

“Why not? You know everything else.”

“Honestly, General, I’m not sure . . .”

“I’ve seen you before,” Patton blurts out. “In a past life, I saw you.”

Finally, I see what haunts him. The revelation startles me. It knocks the wind out of me. I take a moment to settle my pounding heart.

“Who were you?” And now it is I who am asking.

He gazes at me. “I’ve only told Bee this, no one else. Of course no on else would believe me.” He stops and lowers his voice. “But you will. Your were there.”

“When did we meet? Where?”

“You were at Charleston, with the Yankees, before Lee fled with his army. That was the beginning of the end of the war.”

“You’re talking about the Civil War.” I pause. “You were General Grant.”

He’s thoughtful. “My men nicknamed me, The Butcher.’ In this life they call me, ‘Old Blood and Guts.’ Interesting how the names don’t change that much.” He stops. “You called yourself Lara then. You tried to pass yourself off as a socialite from New York City but I never believed it. You told me to be generous to Lee when he surrendered. I took your advice.”

“I was hoping to spare the South decades of Yankee revenge.”

“It was a nice sentiment. Too bad it didn’t work.” He stares at me. “You haven’t aged a day since then.”

“It’s easy to see you as General Grant. You fight the same. Above all else you believe in concentrating your forces. You sacrifice however men it takes to end a battle as fast as possible.” I stop. “But how can you be sure?”

“Am I right about our meeting?”

“How can you be sure?” I repeat.

He hesitates. “I’m not delusional. I put it to the test. I had my wife, Bee, buy his autobiography. I had never read it myself. I asked her to study it, and ask me questions about what Grant said or did when I least expected. I didn’t want my mind getting in the way of what my heart knew. I wanted my answers to be spontaneous.

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