Eternals Book 5: Unholy Tapestry: The Eternals, #5

By Vincent Roberts

After many years of amnesia brought about by past trauma, Selene finally begins to retrieve her memories. She starts to actively participate in life once more. Her life becomes tumultuous as she creates new Eternal beings. For a while, she enjoys the successful growth of her new Eternal family. She must also endure the painful failures of new lives that aren't meant to be. She and her growing family encounter ancient enemies who present themselves in disguised form and threaten the lives of the Eternals. Most profoundly, Selene continies to search for her one true love that will fill the void within her psyche. She ultimately discovers secrets that stretch the limits of good and evil and challenge the very foundation of her existence. Old loves and adversaries are no longer what they seem to be. Vengence and redemption are indelibly woven into the unholy tapesty of Selene's life as she vows a mighty revenge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vincent Roberts
• Release date: Jun 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393785149

Book preview

1

Selene gradually opened her eyes as she began to focus on her not-so-familiar surroundings. Each morning seemed to begin the exact same way. Unsure if it was real or she was simply dreaming again, she sat up in the bed and called out, Jason! Jason! Are you there? No response.

She crawled halfway out of the bed. Again, she called out in a despairing tone. Jason! Where are you? Jason! No response.

As she stood up and walked across the gloomy and sparsely furnished room, her eyes wandered to the only window with the heavy draperies that kept the room shadowy.

When she rushed to the window and threw the curtains open. the sunlight shot into the room with velocity. At first, she covered her eyes until she became used to the sudden brightness.

Again, Selene called out to Jason but no one replied. Am I trapped inside another dream or is this all real? Am I actually in my bed in Covington Park or ..., she pondered as she gazed down at the floor, ... am I deceased?

Selene’s head jerked back up as the bedroom door creaked open. A tall man with blonde hair and a long beard and mustache, entered the room holding a decorative silver tray of food. I brought you a bit of breakfast, Selene. I hope you’re hungry.

As she approached the man, she muttered, Jason? Jason? Is it really you?

He laid the tray on the nightstand beside the bed and huffed, Why do you asked me this every single morning, Selene? You’ve questioned my identity each morning for the last five years.

She apologized as she sat back down on the edge of the bed. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just so hard for me to remember most things anymore. I can’t seem to tell the difference between what’s real and what’s not.

The man sat beside her and held her hand. I understand, Selene. We’ve both seen the gradual change in your temperament and short-term memory since the accident.

Accident? I had an accident?

Yes, the accident you had five years ago. I know that you don’t even remember that. How could you?

She begged, Please, please, refresh my memory. What kind of accident did I have ... and, tell me, what year is it?

It’s January of 1901.

Selene stood up from the bed, paced around the floor nervously and, in an almost angry tone, stated, 1901. That’s impossible. That means I’ve been gone from Covington Park for more than twenty years.

The man hung his head and admitted, I’m sorry to say that it truly is 1901, Selene, and we even seem to go through this same uncomfortable moment of disbelief daily. Covington Park is not an option for any of us anymore.

Why not?

Those that you incessantly spoke of aren’t there anymore. Paris, Lucy, Paulo and even the witches have all abandoned that part of Georgia and vanished into thin air. But that’s what you said that the supernatural beings do. Isn’t it? They vanish in the night.

For a moment, Selene seemed to recall everything he said. That’s right. We went back to Covington Park seven years ago and, for some reason, everyone had left and I don’t know where they went to.

He urged her to continue. That’s right, Selene. Keep remembering, he said when he knew her memory was finally returning for the day.

He opened her bedroom door and asked her to join him in the front parlor. As they moved through the dining room, she began to ask questions again. And you ... are you Jason?

He stopped and said, No, Selene. Sadly, I’m not your long-lost Jason.

She bowed her head in disappointment as he continued. I’m not the man you loved for more than a thousand years. I fear Jason will never return to you because, from the stories you told me, the man is most likely dead.

Selene suddenly appeared angry. She shouted, Why do you say that? Why do you believe Jason is dead?

I’m only repeating the things I’ve been told by you. After all, he’s had four-hundred years to return to you and hasn’t yet. I would hazard to guess that he must have met some type of a horrible end.

She guessed, Then, your name is Nathan ... and you have a twin sister named Natalie.

He gave her a grin when he she said his name, knowing she was beginning to remember. That’s correct, Selene. I’m Nathan.

She struggled with her memories for a moment before she added, I created the two of you. You’re Eternals like me.

Also correct. You changed us fifteen years ago after the tragic incident.

Another headache was beginning to plague her when she tried to remember too much information at one time. She attempted to recall the tragic incident that he spoke of but that fragment of her memory was still not approaching the surface. And what incident are we speaking about ... Nathan?

It was 1885.

1885?

Yes, Selene. You’d been separated from the others in Covington Park for almost seven years by that time. Later, you told us that you heard Jason’s voice calling to you one evening and you simply walked away from the others and never looked back.

With her fingers pressed firmly on her temples, she murmured, I seem to remember that. Yes. That sounds accurate.

You had been living completely alone for all those years. No friends. No companions. You said you were still searching for Jason.

As she squinted slightly. That’s right. I meandered across the country searching for the one I love. He called to me every day and every evening. With no regard for anyone or anything, I followed his voice.

Nathan smiled as he said, That’s what brought you to Calico.

Calico?

He could see that she was struggling to recollect again. Calico. That’s in California. In the Mojave Desert.

You’ll have to explain further.

Later, you told Natalie and myself that, on the day you met us, Jason’s voice stopped calling out to you.

2

The twins left Philadelphia in early April of 1885 after hearing of more men coming back from the west with vast wealth of gold and silver. The two were barely making ends meet and lived in a cramped two room apartment on the south side of the city. Nathan worked as a waiter and Natalie spent six days a week in a sewing factory. They had been surviving on their own since they were sixteen years old. Their parents had both died of consumption six years earlier.

Natalie, a remarkably beautiful woman, hated her life in the city. Her days consisted of waking up at five and arriving at the factory by six. She worked long days with very little time for a break. Her work day would end at six in the evening. That’s when she’d stop at the market, come home and make dinner for herself and Nathan. Besides work and taking care of her brother, Natalie had a grim view of her future with no hopes of marriage or children.

Nathan worked in a small restaurant that was located just outside of the city. He travelled thirty minutes to work and back each day, seven days a week. His shifts ran from seven in the morning until five in the evening. His days were more interesting than her days. His job afforded him the opportunity to meet and speak to people constantly. Her job was sitting in a room with fifty other women who weren’t allowed to converse during their shifts.

The two had saved enough money to buy a wagon and two horses that would take them to a new destination. Once they heard word of Calico, California and the big silver boom that was taking place there. Natalie, right now they’re saying that the town of Calico is the biggest silver producer in the country.

Tired of the daily humdrum life that a twenty-two-year-old woman shouldn’t have been subjected to, she shrugged her shoulders and commented, Then what are we waiting for. I can be ready in two days.

They sold or gave away anything they knew they wouldn’t need on their journey, packed up the wagon and left. It was the first time in a long time that either one of them saw a chance for a better future, a richer future.

Making their way from Pennsylvania to the unknown west, they spent two and a half months drifting across the country and finally arriving in Calico that June. It had been four years after the 1881 declaration of the first silver strike in that area.

The brand-new silver mining town was bustling with a population of more than twelve hundred that were hoping to discover wealth overnight. Twin brother and sister, Nathan and Natalie Armstrong were among the many hopefuls. The twenty-two-year-old blondes travelled alone.

Once Sliver King Mines moved into the town, which was tucked away in the San Bernardino Mountains, it had grown quickly with the building of several hotels, general stores, restaurants, boarding houses, bars, brothels and even a newspaper named The Calico Print.

After taking up residency in one room at Hank’s Hotel, Natalie landed a job as a clerk at Lane’s General Merchandising. Of course, she was approached by the madams Rosie and Ethel to work at their brothels. Natalie turned them both down, not because she thought it was a sin but more because she didn’t believe she was that attractive.

Nathan naturally took a job working in the mines with hundreds of other men that were all searching for the exact same thing. He had several mining companies to choose from with over five hundred working mines in the area. He picked The Zenda Mining Company. Their miners worked every day but Sunday, from sun up till sun down.

She shook him while he slept. Nathan, it’s time to wake up. She shook him again. Wake up or you’re going to be late for work.

He rolled over and saw his sister standing above him. He grumbled, Natalie, what time is it? Did I oversleep?

Natalie, already dressed and ready to walk out the door explained, It’s four o’clock. If you don’t get up now, you won’t have enough time to eat breakfast. Then, she clapped her hands and ordered, Hurry up! I’ll be downstairs in the restaurant waiting for you.

Immediately, after she left the room, the six-foot tall Nathan sprung out of bed and began to get dressed for his day in the mines. He washed his face, combed his hair and headed to the restaurant to meet his sister.

In the Miner’s Café, Nathan found Natalie sitting at their usual table. He rushed in and sat in the chair across from her. Well, that was fast.

I don’t really have to do much to get ready. After all, I’m going to be spending the entire day in a dark cave.

She shifted in her chair. I took the liberty of ordering your breakfast for you.

Thank you, Natalie.

It was only a few minutes before their breakfast was brought to the table. As he began to eat, he questioned, Why are you going to work so early this morning?

Mr. Lane asked me if I’d be kind enough to open the store for him today. He said he has to see Dr. Madsen for one reason or another. I can’t seem to remember exactly why. At times, Natalie found herself to be a little forgetful.

Nathan gobbled his food, as if he hadn’t eaten in a week, got up from the table and said, I’ll see you tonight, Natalie. Have a good day.

She smiled and said, as she said every day, Be careful, Nathan. I hate the thought of you being in those dark and dank mines.

Nathan left and Natalie took another sip of her coffee. She glanced around the room and noticed an exotic looking woman sitting at a table in the back corner of the restaurant. She guessed, by her olive skin, that she must have been from the Middle East or perhaps even Southern Europe.

The woman saw that Natalie was staring at her. She waved her hand to signal the young blonde to join her at her table. Natalie, who hadn’t made any friends in Calico, at that point, was happy to sit down and finish her breakfast with the woman. Hello, I’m Natalie Armstrong and it’s very nice to meet you.

I’m Selene. It’s my pleasure.

As Natalie shifted to get more comfortable in her chair, she said, I don’t think I’ve seen you in these parts before, Selene.

No, I just arrived last night.

Natalie grinned and slapped her hands on the table. Well then. Welcome to Calico.

Who was that man you were sitting with?

Oh, him. That’s my handsome brother Nathan. He’s my twin brother.

The women sat for another twenty minutes before Natalie announced, Oh! I’m sorry to be so short but I have to go to work now. I can’t be late since I’m the one opening up the store today.

Which store is that?

I work at Lane’s General Merchandise.

What a coincidence. I was going there after breakfast anyway. I’ll walk with you.

Selene and Natalie soon became close friends, seeing each other every day. Whenever Nathan wasn’t in the mines or at Joe’s Saloon, he’d join them for late night dinners. Selene would tell them about the friends she left behind in Covington Park, Georgia. They told her about their disastrous lives in Pennsylvania and how they tragically lost their parents when they were only sixteen-years old.

Selene tried to survive in the small mining town as best as she could. On the evenings of the new moon, she’d walk to the mines and find a young miner who was the last one to finish for the day. The following day, people of Calico would simply think the young man either went too deep into the mine and died the night before or that he just decided to leave the town completely to search for a better mining opportunity. Neither idea was uncommon for a mining village.

As months passed, the Natalie and Selene became