Immortal Beauty (37 page)

He snaked his way under brilliantly lit window revealing all of the seductive warm beauty inside and made his way to the front. There were two guards walking the grounds but he figured and he figured out their routine within a few seconds and worked around them. They had no idea there was an intruder on the property and he got to the front door while the guards turned to sweep the back of the house. He punched in the number that he memorized earlier and prayed for a second that the combination hadn’t been changed in the last few days. It had not and the door clicked much too loudly for his liking but he had no time to be afraid. He was inside and slipping past the camera over the black and white stone squares without even casting a shadow. He could make himself invisible just by thinking about it and he realized his abilities were growing by the minute. So far so good. He ran to the spiral staircase and seemed to float down the twisted steel. He needed a hiding place and the lab was his best bet. He also needed to blend in and remembered the scientists with their masks and lab coats. He could truly remain invisible long enough to find out what he needed to know. The place was quiet and he saw no one. He walked into the room with the cryogenic vats. Now that he knew what was in those containers he shuddered. He would have cut off the power and pulled all the alien tubes connected to the machinery if he knew he could get away with it but he knew how foolish that would be. First things first. He could hear someone coming and remained as still as possible and saw some sort of technician who had no idea he was not alone. The chubby man with black greasy hair and a sweaty face that matched peered through his thick glasses and for a second Taylor thought he had been discovered for it looked like the myopic man was staring right at him but then the man moved slowly to pick up a mask on the steel table before him along with a pair of gloves. Taylor noticed the man looked extremely bored and he wondered just how much the people who worked here were involved. They must know what was going on here or at least some of them had to. Celine could not have done this herself. The greasy man left and Taylor moved out to follow him. He walked into a room that looked for all the world like a normal hospital room with a metal bed and equipment for monitoring body functions like heart beat and such. For the first time Taylor realized that someone had to give birth to that creature he saw in the woods. Science may have come a long way but was still far from creating an artificial womb that could carry a human to full term. Taylor saw the straps on the table and a fresh sense of horror filled his heart. How many victims were on Celine’s roster? He thought of Sasha and his sense of urgency almost caused him to blow his cover. He had to find her before Celine did something unspeakable. The technician moved to a panel in the door and ran his hand over a small red laser light and the unseen glass slid open quietly like a door from the future. Taylor had to act. He jumped behind the man and pushed him through the door. They both got into the room before the door shut them in. The man fell on his face and Taylor put his foot on the back of the man’s head.

“If you make one little sound I will kill you. Comprenez Vouz?” The man was shaking. No doubt he was a scientist and such violent behavior had no place in his world of test tubes and formulas. Taylor removed his foot and pulled the man to his feet. He took his tie from yesterday out of his breast pocket and quickly fastened it around the fat sweaty neck. “If you try anything stupid it will give me the greatest pleasure to kill you. I’ve never strangled anyone to death before….could be fun.” The man nodded his head rapidly. He was definitely afraid. Taylor took a swift and efficient look around the room. He stopped breathing for a second when he saw what he had walked into. It was a small bedroom with all sorts of electrical equipment and monitors surrounding a bed. In the middle of the bed lay an unconscious woman who was tied by her hands and feet. She was obviously pregnant and from the looks of it she was about to have a baby any minute now. Taylor was shaken by the sight of this woman. Who was she? Did she have any idea what was happening to her? He had to think quickly. For the first time the terrified technician spoke in a heavy Spanish accent.

“Please. I don’t know who you are or what you want but if I don’t help this woman immediately she will die.” Tears cascaded down his cheeks. “Please!” Now he was beginning to really cry. “I am telling you the truth..es la veridad!” Taylor knew the man was telling the truth. He suddenly wished he had brought a weapon of some kind like a gun or a knife but deep down he really wanted a good old fashioned tomahawk. He searched and within a few seconds found what he was looking for. There were long shiny scalpels on a little tray. He grabbed one of them and let the man go.

“I am not here to hurt you or her for that matter. But if you try anything funny or set off some silent alarm or try to communicate with anyone in this building I will slice you into a thousand little pieces. Go and help her.” The man was gasping for air and clutching his throat.

“Gracias…thank you, thank you.” He said with a trembling voice. “I need to administer some fluids to the patient and check on her vital signs. He moved swiftly out of Taylor’s reach.

“What kind of fluids are you giving her?” Taylor’s curiosity had never died down even in his frantic search for Sasha.

“I don’t know if you would understand.” The man was checking the woman’s heart rate and blood pressure.

“Try me. Oh and there’s no use lying to me. I know she’s about to give birth to some monster so cut the crap.” Taylor smiled cynically as he waved the scalpel back and forth in the air.

“A monster? Oh no not that! A miracle!” The man’s eyes lit up from behind the impossibly thick glasses. “I am giving her some drugs to help her body adapt to the rapid acceleration rate of the pregnancy. Otherwise she would die from such physical distress.” He looked down at the woman almost reverently.

“Does she know what’s happening to her? Taylor asked quietly.

“I was told that all subjects are willing.” The man took a needle and plunged it into one of the tubes that were connected to her left arm. He had placed the bed between himself and the intruder and realized he did not like the logistics of such positioning. He moved in right next the man and was breathing down his neck.

“Don’t think of trying anything. You’re not the type and you have to ask yourself if it’s really worth dying over because I have no problem with killing you. I might actually enjoy it.” The man was visibly shaken by this. Taylor grabbed his arm when he was finished giving the woman the drug. He made him sit in a chair while he tied his feet together with a multitude of wires that were abundant in the lab. He then began to tie the man’s hands behind his back and locked him into the chair. Finally, he took his tie and began to gag the scientist.

“Wait!” The fearful man shouted. “They’re expecting my report any minute now. If I don’t go back up they will come down here and they will find you. Also, you can’t leave this room without me, The scanner won’t let you.” Taylor shoved the tie into the man’s mouth.

“What makes you think I want to leave this room?” He finished gagging the man and said to his prisoner. “If you want to remain alive, you will tell them I went upstairs looking for Celine and that I plan to kill her. “Got that?” The man shook his head furiously. Taylor hid himself away and waited, grabbing all the scalpels and tools from the little tray before making himself imperceptible to the naked eye.

He didn’t have to wait too long. After about five minutes three more people in lab coats came into the room followed by the two guards from outside. They ran to the man tied to the chair and quickly began to free him.

“What happened?” One of them was a small woman and Taylor wondered for a moment if he would be able to kill her if he needed to. He wasn’t sure and thought that he would attack the others and leave her helpless. They removed the gag and the man was crying out of fear.

“I was attacked. Someone knows about the Chimera’s. He said he was going to kill Ms. D’Aumont!” He was all nerves and chaos.

“Oh really?” Celine walked calmly into the lab. “Who was he?” she sounded as casual as if she were at a cocktail party instead of a crime scene.

“I don’t know. He jumped me from behind and asked some questions about Ellen and then tied me to the chair and then left.” He swallowed hard knowing that his life was still in danger.

“Left? How could he have left?” She stared at the frightened man menacingly. “The door could not have opened without you. You said he tied you up first and then left.” She paused dangerously before shouting out at one of the guards. “You! Check the console to see how he got back out the door, and you!” She pointed to another guard. “Arm yourself. I believe we are still in danger.” The man pulled out a slim and shiny gun from his belt. It had a silencer attached to the end of it. He stood in front of Celine. Taylor knew that in a few moments they would realize that he was still in the room. He decided the element of surprise was the only thing in his favor. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate with every thing he had left. He silently chanted the words that he remembered from so long ago. He could feel the energy pull up from the earth below and began to draw on it like a siphon. He focused on the house. He pictured it in his mind and called the powers of the heavens to come crashing down on this fortress of evil. He remembered the large electrical unit outside. It must be the generator for all of this power. He focused on that alone and let the force flow from his body. Even far below the ground they could all feel and hear the sound of multiple lightning strikes closing in on them. The lights flickered for a moment and they were plunged into darkness. Taylor jumped out of his hiding place and stabbed the guard in the jugular vein. Next he spun around and cut the tendons on the other guard’s heels who fell to the ground screaming. He was about to slit Celine’s throat when he felt the air dissipate from the room. He couldn’t breathe. Something was happening to him and he couldn’t stop it. He knew that it must be the red headed fiend who called herself Ms. D’Aumont and used the last of his energy to knock her to the ground. The air returned to the room and Celine screamed in fury. Taylor grabbed a female scientist and held the sharp blade to her throat.

“Get me out of here and you may live.” The woman was sobbing and tried to speak.

Without power…we can’t….leave.” The words were punctuated by sobs. He knew she was lying and pushed the scalpel into her flesh drawing the smallest amount of blood.

“You’re lying to me. Open the God damned door!” She continued to sob until he screamed into her ear. “Do it!” She cried out again but this time her feet began to lead Taylor to the door.

“Michelle, don’t do it!” Celine was regaining her stature as she got off the floor which was now slippery with blood. “I’ve got it under control. In a few seconds he will be disarmed.”
“In a few seconds you’ll be dead!” Taylor moved the scalpel again causing the woman to cry out yet again. She led him to the panel and took a metal key from around her neck and placed it into the panel. Taylor felt the air disappearing around him again. He took his last surgical knife and threw it at Celine. It struck her in the eye and she howled in pain and fury. The air was back again and he pushed the woman through the door and away from Celine and her terrible power. He had underestimated her ability. It would only make sense that she would have some sort of special powers as well. He let go of the woman and said quickly. “I’m sorry. You’ll be alright.” He quickly ran toward the spiral staircase. The woman looked at him while holding her hand to her throat.

“You had better hurry.” She whispered with a trembling voice. “He will be coming for his mother. He must have heard her scream.” She was glad that someone had finally come to put an end the this nightmare she found herself in. She was a scientist and was not comfortable at all in a world where monsters roamed freely.

Taylor knew that she was talking about the creature in the forest. He had no desire to battle that beast and ran up as quickly as he could. He ran to the front door and punched the code opening the portal. A backup generator kicked in and the lights were coming back on. Taylor did not run out the front door. He only wanted to give the impression that he did. The house was large and full of hiding places. He needed to become invisible again. He had only just begun to work his plan. He wanted to frighten Celine and let her know that he was on to her. He wanted her to know that she was not unstoppable nor was she all powerful. She had enemies now who were not going to let her rest for one moment until they brought her down. He wanted to shatter her enormous ego and sense of smugness. He was positive that tonight did just that. He had successfully rattled her cage and now if he could only find Sasha everything would be alright. He ran up and up the flights of stairs knowing there must be tons of attic space. He would hide himself away until he learned what he needed to know. It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was a start.

LUNCH

Sasha retired to her room after sitting on the terrace for hours listening to the others plan against Celine. She was weary all of a sudden and excused herself to find solace in isolation. The room was just as beautiful as before and she began to remember this room from another lifetime. How many times had she lived? How many lifetimes would she eventually remember and she wondered if they all ended tragically. She took a long hot bath in the large porcelain bathtub soaking quietly with the rich soaps and toiletries that were in the room. She glanced around to see once again all the resplendent furnishings of the home. How many of these things had she known before? She had no idea, though many things like the silver hand mirror seemed vaguely familiar. She stayed in the water until it became tepid and roused herself into action. She went to the closet to find a myriad of dresses and suits all in her size. Marcus had been expecting her. She chose a professional looking suit of dull red with a trim skirt and was pleased with the effect. She looked like a working woman of Paris. That is how she identified herself before all of this madness and it was role in which she was comfortable. It was a role she knew how to play to perfection. She chose a pair of shiny black pumps and a small black handbag to complete the ensemble. Smoothing her hair back into a severe ponytail, she secured it with a clasp made of countless rhinestones, or were they diamonds? Marcus was truly wealthy and could afford all of this and so much more. She couldn’t even begin to wrap her mind around how much money he must have accumulated over the last four hundred years. It was incredible to believe that he had been alive for all of this time and that Celine had been around much, much longer. Maybe that’s why she was insane. We were not meant to live this long and Sasha wrinkled a frown at the thought. She couldn’t think about living forever. She finally left the room after approving of the white blouse and red outfit that did nothing but show off her legs. She was a little hesitant to leave as she felt so very safe and comfortable in the impossible room of luxury. She knew that danger lay outside these doors but this time she was a little more prepared for trouble. God help anyone who tried to mess with her as she absolutely had the upper hand now. Her life as a samurai was very clear to her and she could remember it as if it were yesterday. For now she had to focus on Taylor, not that she was worried that he couldn’t take care of himself as Frankie had suggested, but she wouldn’t feel good again until she saw him in the flesh. An idea began to formulate in her mind. She left the room in search of Marcus. As she slowly glided down the stairway she was breathless at all of the magnificence of the chateau. It was too bad that this fairytale included an evil witch who was hell bent on destroying them. This time, however, Snow White was going to shove the apple down the Queen’s throat!