Free Swept Away by Melanie Matthews

minutes of struggling to ascend, drowning in a pool of mystery, I died. When I floated to the top, lifeless, De la Vega was sure it had been a trap. My body was dragged out of the water, and as they were preparing to bury me, I awoke. I was alive.”
    “And you’ve been immortal ever since?”
    “Yes.”
    “What about De la Vega?”
    “Well, at first he thought it had worked, so he took the plunge. He tried to dive, to descend, to do anything that would mimic what happened to me, but nothing. He just floated on the surface, full of finite mortality, and angry.”
    “Why didn’t it work?”
    “The natives had left out a very important bit of information. The fountain can only be used once .  After that, it’s useless as a source of everlasting life.”
    “So,” I say, putting the pieces together. “Emilio, his descendant, wants what, besides immortality?”
    “Revenge,” says Gabriel. “I denied his ancestor immortality.”
    “How can he think that?”
    “The minds of men are filled with traps of delusion. He assumed that I had tricked De la Vega, seeking the power of immortality for myself alone. He has taken up his ancestor’s demand for revenge. It was denied to De la Vega. I fled, after my boon of immortality, and secured my family, against any reprisals from Eduardo de la Vega.”
    “What does this have to do with Camilla?”
    “Emilio found a loophole. If the last current descendant is sacrificed at the fountain, that’s Camilla, then the one who is her oldest ancestor, that’s me, dies. When these two events occur, the power to the Fountain of Youth is restored.”
    I shudder. “Emilio lives forever by killing you and Camilla.”
    “I came here to protect her. I came here to prevent Emilio from enacting his plan.”
    “And I got in the way,” I say, sinking into a chair.
    Gabriel is on his knees before me. He grabs my hands, kisses them. “Darling Daria, don’t think that way. Your existence has given me hope.”
    “Hope for what?”
    “Hope that I’ll succeed. Hope that I’ll live, that my descendent will live. Hope that Emilio will fail.”
    “How can I give you hope?”
    “I’m in love,” he says, smiling. “How can one who loves, fail?”
    I’m crying. “That’s foolish logic, Gabriel. I love you too.”
    He kisses my lips. “I had to wait five hundred years to find my soulmate, but it was worth it.”
    I kiss him back. “What about Camilla? We have to warn her. How will you stop Emilio?”
    “I’m going to kill him,” Gabriel says, calm and collect.
    I should be shocked, but I’m not. It’s kill or be killed. And if Emilio has to die for Camilla and Gabriel to live then damn it, I’ll kill him myself.
    “Why hasn’t he grabbed Camilla yet? He had the opportunity at the dance.”
    “He wants to be quiet about it, catch her alone.”
    I smile. “Camilla’s never alone.”
    “I know. She is surrounded by loved ones. I’ve been keeping an eye on her as well. Emilio must have seen me. He knows better to confront me. He can’t kill me outright—it’s impossible. He needs Camilla first. He needs to take her to the fountain—that’s where the sacrifice will take place.”
    “How will she be sacrificed?” I ask, but afraid to hear.
    Gabriel shakes his head. “She won’t.”
    “Tell me,” I insist.
    “Her blood will be drawn, and then she’ll be cast into the fountain. She’ll fall to its depths, against her will, where she’ll drown and die. Only then, with her death, will the ritual be complete.”
    “If…if she were to die, what happens to you?”
    “My claim to immortality is revoked, and after five hundred years of living, I’ll finally die, dust to dust.”
    I feel sick and angry. “Emilio has to die,” I say, determined to draw his blood.
    Gabriel appraises my face, hardened. “No, Daria,” he pleads. “I’ll kill Emilio and you’ll be far away.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I’ll track Emilio alone—and finish him off— alone . If