TODAY, OUR TEAM MEMBER, AUTHOR LORRAINE CAREY, IS SHARING CHAPTER 3 OF HER NOVEL, 'THE LAST VESTAL VIRGIN' #RWRTeamBlog #ReadWriteRepeat

Emperor Constantine banned the Vestal Virgins in 391AD. Little did he know one would

return to avenge and take back what was rightfully hers. History meets mystery in this

Supernatural Thriller!

The Last Vestal Virgin

Chapter Three

Early Revealings

•  Christina begins to realize something strange is happening to her.

  
  

Christina stood in the parking lot anxiously waiting to see her mom’s black BMW. “Now, where is this woman?” She thought about her day and how it wasn’t so bad. She somehow had second thoughts about the party that night.

“Hi, honey,” her mom said as Christina jumped in. “How’d the first day go for you?”

“Not bad.”

“We’re going straight over to the studio to do some photo shoots of you. I brought some of your favorite dresses and your makeup.”

Christina didn’t mind helping out her family, but this was going a bit too far. Italian moms were bred that way, she reasoned, so she decided to focus on getting through it for the sake of her family.

“How’d your day go, honey?” asked her dad as he busied himself setting up a backdrop for her shoot.

“It was fine, Dad.”

Anthony was busy fixing the equipment for the lighting. “Knew you’d be fine.”

“Salvatore, I want the golden sheer curtain, not the white,” Helen said as she led Christina into the dressing room. Her mother’s assertive personality helped Classico Photo stay in business. She had a creative side, which was a bonus. Everyone knew who the boss was here.

“I chose three of your favorite dresses, so pick one out and then I’ll be in to do your makeup.”

Geez, it’s a wonder she’s letting me pick out my own dress, Christina shook her head, gazing in the full-length mirror.

Christina emerged in an emerald-green off-the-shoulder dress. It had a gold sash, which hung the full length of the dress. The color set off her beautiful, flawless olive skin. Her hazel eyes beamed with flecks of gold.

“Bella, Bellissima.” Now that’s what I call a goddess!” Her mom clapped her hands together.

“Oh, Mom, cut the crap! I don’t want to do this!”

“Come on, Sis, it’s just a few shots, and then you can get out of here.” Anthony smiled reassuringly.

“Why don’t you pose for the shoot? Might even score some dates!”

Anthony rolled his eyes and fiddled with the lighting.

“Okay, now, you two –that’s enough.” Helen marched Christina back into the changing room for a change of dress, and yet another shoot.

Christina endured the hot lights for seven shots. All I want to do is get out of this dress and wash this paste off my face.

“As soon as the photos are ready, we’ll start the promos,” Salvatore said. “If we can land the school account, it’ll solve our financial slump.”

“Come on, honey, I’ll drive you home,” Helen said.

Christina sighed with relief as she closed her bedroom door. After showering, she checked her email. Many of the messages were from her friends reminding her of the party tonight. She glanced at her book and decided she had time to read a few chapters; it would help her relax. Her mom had gone back to the shop for a few more hours, so the house was quiet. As Christina began to read, her eyes grew heavy. Eventually, they closed.

*****

The townspeople watched the ornate wooden carriage being escorted over the stone-paved road by the two lictors. Christina woke, once again drenched in sweat, to find her arms strapped down to the inside of the carriage. “Where am I?” she screamed. She tried to pull herself free, but the tight leather straps wouldn’t budge. The more she tried to free herself, the deeper they dug into her wrists. The veil over her face impeded her vision, so she couldn’t see where she was, but could hear the clatter of horses’ hooves over the stone road, and the rustling of people surrounding her. Soon they came to a stop. She was untied from the carriage, but her wrists were bound behind her back when she was lifted out.

“Behold! We look upon this once-Vestal priestess, Adelia, as one who has displeased the Goddess. Let her sins go with her into the next world so that Rome may not suffer any repercussions from her offenses. May the gods denounce her once-sacred title and remove all impure acts this Vestal imposed upon the city. I, Chief Priest Diocedus, have declared this sanction, as ordered by The Pontifex Maximus. Behind her veil, Christina’s tears flowed down her face. She was led into a dark underground chamber, which reeked of mold and dirt.

Only then were her hands untied and her veil lifted. Standing before her stood a man dressed in a long red robe who appeared to be a priest.

“Please, tell me where I am!” she pleaded.

“Silence,” he whispered and placed his rough finger to her lips. He turned and climbed up a ladder.

When he reached the top, he yanked it. A wooden plank was slammed over the entrance, and she was left alone in the dark. The sound of dirt being thrown over it caused a sickening pounding in her chest, and all she could think was, dear God, I’m being buried alive! Christina screamed, but it was useless. The familiar voices and the noise of the carriage that had carried her there soon faded. There was only silence, except for the thunderous thumping in her ears. She gazed about the chamber, as her eyes adjusted to the dark, to find a small table in the corner on which sat an oil lamp, and beneath it a bowl of milk. A strange bathtub dominated the center of the chamber. A bowl of fruit lay on the ground in the other corner. The room had to be the size of a small bedroom. This place looked all too familiar.

She glanced down at the white linen gown, which she recognized from the other dream, and a shudder rippled through her. A moment later, she stood there naked, having ripped the gown from her body and flinging herself onto her knees. She started to claw her way out through the dirt walls.

*****

Drenched in a ball of sweat, heart pounding, Christina sat bolt upright in bed. She clutched her chest. Was she having a heart attack?

Eyes closed, and a few deep breaths later, her heart rate evened out, but her body still shook from the effects of the nightmare.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and fixed her gaze on the clock on the wall. It was now 6 p.m. She called out to her mom, then Anthony, only to hear silence. She figured they were most likely still at the studio.

“My phone. Where’s my phone?” She grabbed it from her bedside table and pressed speed dial.

“Mom, please come home now!” she pleaded in a breathless tone.

“What’s happening, Christina?”

“I think I’m having a heart attack!”

“Call 911. I’m on my way.”

When Helen reached the house, the ambulance had just arrived.

She led the paramedics to Christina’s room. They found her sitting on the edge of the bed, pallid and shaking, her hair drenched with sweat, eyes with fear.

“Hi, Christina, my name’s Matt. Could you please lie down for me? I need to take your vitals,” said the paramedic, a handsome young man who appeared to be no more than twenty-five.

His partner stood next to her agitated mother.

“Mrs. Ciccone, please, we don’t want her to get overly excited. Just relax. She’ll be okay. Christina, have you taken any medications lately?” Matt asked. He leaned over her sweaty body, his cold hands causing her to flinch.

“No, I didn’t take anything,” she said softly as she lay there rubbing her wrists.

“I can’t even get her to take an aspirin,” Helen confessed.

“It looks like her heart rate is stable and her vitals are good,” Matt informed.

“What caused this? She’s young and healthy!” Helen sat on the bed and placed her arms around Christina’s shoulders.

“I think we need to have Christina tell us how she felt just before she phoned us,” Matt said.

“I... I... had a nightmare, and when I awoke, I was sweaty... my heart pounded like it was a loud drum. I felt like I couldn’t breathe.”

Matt glanced up at his partner, who gave a brief nod.

“I think she just had an anxiety attack,” Matt concluded as he gathered his medical equipment up and pulled out a form for Helen to sign.

“Oh, and by the way, my name is Darien.” Sorry, I should have introduced myself sooner, but I had to pay close attention to Matt. I’m still in training.”

Matt packed away his medical equipment and handed the medical form for Helen to sign just as Salvatore and Anthony bolted into the room.

“Is she going to be okay?” Salvatore’s voice shook.

“She’s going to be fine,” Matt assured. “Just an anxiety attack, set off by a bad dream.”

“Thank God!” Salvatore strode to his daughter’s side. “Could it have been from the three hours she just spent under some hot lights for a photo shoot?”

“It’s possible.” Matt nodded.

“See, Sis, that’s what you get for turning all those guys’ heads at school,” Anthony said, but his pale face betrayed his concern.

“Shut up!”

“Well, that proves it. She must be back to her old self,” Helen said, the relief evident in her voice.

As her mother signed the medical release papers, Salvatore briefly left the room to return a moment later with a glass of ice water. “Now drink this up; it’ll make you feel better.”

“Mrs. Ciccone,” Matt said, “It may be a good idea to take Christina to your doctor and get her checked out, just to be on the safe side. It can be normal for girls at this age to have this type of attack.”

“That I can surely do,” Helen glanced up at her husband. “Salvatore, bring me Dr Milani’s number. He’s probably gone for the day, but we can reach his answering service.”

“Okay, folks, I don’t think we’re needed here anymore. Have this young lady drink plenty of fluids and get some rest,” Matt suggested.

“Can I get you, young men, anything to drink?” Helen offered.

“No, thank you. We’re fine,” they said in unison.

“Now you take care, Christina,” Matt said, reaching out his hand to hers.

“I will. Thank you. I’m feeling a lot better now.” She attempted to smooth her wet hair and tuck the loose strands behind her ears, now aware of her appearance.

As they exited, Darien turned around to get one last glance at Christina. He sensed an odd presence about her. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. He had never experienced anything like this before, and the hairs on his arms had stood on end.

Once in the ambulance, Darien turned to Matt, “Gotta say one thing, Matt, I had this odd sensation up in the room. It was weird, man! I can’t explain in words what I felt up there.” He ran a hand through his dark-brown hair. “Did you notice anything unusual?”

“Couldn’t say I did. But I can tell you one thing; I’ve noticed girls her age experiencing these attacks more frequently.” He shrugged. “Probably stress. Teens have way too much stress nowadays.”

Darien nodded, but still couldn’t shake off that feeling.

*****

Helen had gotten the doctor’s answering service. She was lucky to find that her doctor was on call, so she scheduled an appointment for the next day. She managed to help Christina get out of bed, shower, and tuck her back in bed. “Now stay there, and I’ll bring your dinner up to you.”

Christina began to relax when she remembered Jade’s party. “Oh my God!” Her eyes widened, and she jumped out of bed. “I have to call and tell her what happened!” She’ll probably think it’s just an excuse to get out of going.”

Christina’s friends knew she wasn’t a party-goer or socialite at all. She phoned Jade but had no luck, so she left a voice message. She decided to call Lauren and talk to her while she waited for her mom to bring her dinner tray up to her room.

“Hey, Lauren, I won’t be coming to Jade’s party tonight.”

“No way, Christina! Not getting out of this one!”

“You want to talk to the two paramedics who were here less than an hour ago?”

“What?”

“Yeah, I had the worst anxiety attack ever! I thought I was having a real heart attack. They said I have to chill tonight, and tomorrow I’ll have to see the doctor.”

“Geez, Christina, I’m so sorry! Please get some rest, and I’ll let Ryan and Jade know. Guess you won’t be in school tomorrow.”

“Nope, guess not.”

No sooner had Christina hung up the phone than her mom walked in with a tray of hot chicken noodle soup, crusty Italian bread, and more water.

“You look much better, dear. And by the way, that Darien Russo called to check how you’re doing.” Her mother’s face widened in a grin.

“It’s just a courtesy call, Mom, don’t get too excited.”

“I may appear to be better, but I still can’t shake that nightmare out of my head. It was all too real. And to be honest, this is the second one I’ve had; only this one was way worse.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about the first one? Wanna talk about it now?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Christina described her dream to her mother, taking breaks to slurp down her chicken soup.

Helen’s brow furrowed. “That is very strange. Your grandma, rest her soul, if she were still alive, could most likely tell you what your dream meant. She’d learned how to interpret dreams. It was a gift she had. She said it went way back to an ancestor in Rome. She had befriended some of the gypsies who had taught her. But you shouldn’t take it too seriously, honey. Finish your soup and get some rest.” She noticed Christina rubbing her wrists. “And what’s with you rubbing your wrists? Do they hurt?”

“Uh huh. In the dream, I was tied down with leather straps, and I kept trying to get free, but couldn’t.” She shivered.

Her mother tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. “It was only a dream. “Don’t worry. We’ll talk to the doctor tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Mom, for everything. By the way, how did my photos come out?”

“Anthony was at the studio working on them when you called. I’m sure you’ll see them soon enough.”

“Mom. . . I can’t take another one of those nightmares!” Her lips began to tremble.

Helen hugged her daughter. “Stay calm, I’m sure it’s just a passing thing.”

As soon as Helen bid her a goodnight, Christina picked up her book and began to read her assignment in an effort to keep her mind off the nightmare. But as before, she dozed off before finishing the first page.

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Buy Link* http://amzn.to/1VGburS

Author Lorraine Carey

BIO

Lorraine Carey is not only a paranormal enthusiast but has had many unexplained events in her lifetime and has been inspired by these events to use as a focal point in her fiction novels.  One of her YA Novels won a Silver Award from Reader’s Favorite and was a finalist in the Wind Dancer Film Contest.  As of current, she has fourteen published novels, three being co-authored, and has works included in a recent Anthology.  Her genres mainly consist of the paranormal, but also include thrillers, romance, and erotica. As a veteran teacher, Lorraine began to write for Young Adults with the hopes of inspiring young readers. Currently residing in Florida, her retirement has given her more time to write when the spirits are willing.

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COMING SOON: On Wednesday, 21st January, we are delighted to welcome guest author, Donna Steele, who is sharing Chapter 1 of her novel, 'Reclusive'.