Immortal Beauty (54 page)

“Taylor, did you really send that article?” Marcus was very serious now that the others had gone.

“You bet your ass I did. I needed an insurance policy of my own just in case something like this happened. I mean, I know it won’t save us, but it might stop her. At least that’s something.” He leaned back and wiped his bloody face with his sleeve. Already the wounds were beginning to heal. He reached for the water and drank until he felt his strength returning to him.

Celine and her children walked through the maze back to the secret doorway to the pool of Locium. The two creatures were silent but shared the same thoughts. The images of the vast wilderness full of wild creatures had stirred them in a way nothing else could. Already they were beginning to feel confined in the big house full of luxury. They loved the garden, but it was only a small taste of the world beyond the city. A world they could not move through without attracting attention from the humans. They both found themselves daydreaming about running about the measureless plains in search of food and lolling about in the rushing waters of the Amazon. Why had Claire sent them such images? What was she trying to tell them? They kept silent and continued to follow Celine. Like all children, they had their own secrets that they would never share with their mother.

Once inside Celine dismissed them to their beloved park. She knew they couldn’t stand being pent up in a fine house with luxurious things that meant nothing to them. One day they would understand just how important this final battle was. She locked the door to the mysterious painted tunnel leading to the waters and wondered how much of her files had they actually stolen. She could not take the publicity Taylor had just threatened and she called Washington leaving a message with an answering service. She would have to stop the article from coming out, but she wasn’t too worried about it. In this modern world people no longer believed in such things. People were rational and enlightened. They watched their myths and legends on the big screen where magic was made real every day. A respectable company would never publish such a thing. She was very sure of herself as always and after making her call on the ivory and gold phone she went up to her room to change yet again. Tonight she wanted to wear something very feminine and frilly. Now that she had her captives she was feeling optimistic. It wouldn’t be long before Frankie returned and if she knew Sasha at all, she knew that the woman would not be able to stay away. She wouldn’t be able to live without Taylor. She never could before so there was no reason to believe she’d behave any differently now. Celine would be ready.

Outside on the street Frankie pulled his baseball cap far down over his eyes. He could see the house from the street where it looked like it was only a simple, one story home with tall windows shuttered in blue gray wood that seemed as old as the house itself. It was really quite a lovely neighborhood when there where no monsters running about. He assessed the situation and knew that the easiest way in would be through the top. He knew that structure inside and out for when the Germans had occupied Paris he could sneak in and out day after day without being seen. He remembered the small attic window that only a child, or Frankie could fit through. There was only one of Celine’s thugs guarding the door outside dressed as a valet. He looked uncomfortable in the tailored clothing that looked like it would rip if he moved too quickly. His bulky frame and blonde hair looked so out of place with his attire. Frankie laughed and thought he looked like a Viking in evening wear. A car pulled up and the man reached down to open the rear door. This was Frankie’s chance. He ran as fast asw he could and jumped up onto the garden wall with the grace of an acrobat and nimbly ran across the thin edge like a balance beam. Gaining momentum he leapt up into the air where his hands catught hold of the gargoyle on the corner of the roof. It brought back so many memories of that time during the war and he smiled when he thought of all the lives that he and Marcus had saved while Celine was busy having dinner with the German officers. He swung his little torso onto the ledge of the oval window and within seconds he had the portal opened and was inside before anyone had a chance to notice anything at all.

The attic looked the same. It was filled with things from long ago; a silent testament to the many lives they had all lived. He never looked through these things that belonged to the past. He liked the present and the past only gave him an irresistible desire to turn back the clock and bring back his loved ones from the grave. He could see their faces and hear the whispered voices of the ghost we call Nostalgia. He moved through the boxes until he found what he was looking for. There was a small wooden door that opened up to a shaft that ran the entire length of the chimney. Long ago he learned that dhe could climb up and down to any floor undetected within the very walls of the house. In the years of the occupation he had used the secret passageways to hide and learn intelligence from the Nazis. Mostly he had done it to be a nuisance and to listen in on secret conversations that were not meant for others to hear. This time he needed to listen to everything he could to find out what was happening. He carefully scaled the side of the chimney and moved downward from one level to the next. Finally he was behind the large black fireplace in the grand room. He could hear the clinking of glasses and silverware. It sounded like Celine had a guest. He coul barely make out her voice and could get enough to hear her bragging about her new product line. L’eau Jeunesse. He could tell her companion was a male from the deep baritone voice that engaged Celine in conversation. It sounded like Celine was offering the man a share in stock and was making a convincing argument. It was a business dinner! Typical Celine to kill someone for breakfast and have a business dinner as usual the same day. Frankie climbed back up one floor and headed to the kitchen. There was a dumbwaiter going up all four stories from the basement and he had learned very early that he could squeeze himself into the small shaft and enter the kitchen. Deciding to go for it, he pushed his small body through the door frame and peaked his head out. There was ono one in the room. Almost immediately Virginie came in from the other room carrying a few empty plates and her eyes grew large with amazement at the sight of a sooty and disheveled Frankie. She put a finger to her lips instructing him not to speak. She then motioned for him to wait as she gathered two more plates heaping with roast beef and steamed apples and left to serve her new mistress. Frankie didn’t know Virginie was still in the house. She was in the gravest of danger and he was very anxious until she returned. This could all be a trap, it certainly wasn’t unprecedented. His guard was up but then the way Virginie looked at him told him that they were on the same side. It was the same silent look of the Resistance movement so long ago. The look of fellow conspirators willing to risk everything to regain a lost freedom. She grabbed Frankie’s hand and pulled him with her into the enormous steel walk in freezer. After closing the doors she finally spoke and among the frozen carcasses and hundreds of boxes of the world’s most exquisite delicacies she began to tell him what had occurred in the house while he was gone.

“We must be very careful.” She whispered. “She has two..I don’t know, monsters who can hear everything.” She was freezing but continued as quickly as she could get the words out. “She said she would kill Marcus if I do anything but she has promised me a job if I obey her every whim. She had me send everyone else away. I think I can handle her for a little longer at least.” Virginie was so glad to see Frankie that she could not stop the tears of relief that froze almost instantly on her cheeks. Frankie wiped at them with his insipid smile and assured her that everything was going to be alright. He kissed her on the forehead and kept her head close as he whispered oh so quietly back to her.

“You must be careful. Do not anger her no matter what you do, and if you find her getting agitated you have to calm her down. Your life depends on this. No matter what horrors you may see you must pretend that nothing at all is out of the ordinary. She likes her servants to keep their eyes to the ground and she loves efficiency.” At this Virginie smiled.

“I got that figured out within five minutes of meeting that hideous woman! She has killed the old doctor. The two beasts buried him in the garden out there.” Now the fear was creeping back into the maid. And she couldn’t tell if her trembling was from the cold any longer.

“Do you know have any idea where the others are?” Frankie hoped and prayed that she did.

“I do not Mr. LeVoyer. I am sorry. All I know is that they disappear behind the hidden door once in a while. They always come back before too long. Perhaps she had them locked up in there.” She wished that she could tell him more, but there was nothing. She panicked. “I have to get back. What can I do?”

“Stay alive long enough to escape.” He did not want to scare the poor thing anymore than she already was but he had to be truthful.

“I can’t do that! She said if I tried anything that she would kill Marcus and I cannot be responsible for that. He has taken care of me and my family for most of my life. You don’t understand! I must stay.” She looked as if she were going to cry again. Frankie held her close to him to warm her up and comfort her. Her little frame was shaking violently now and he wished there was some way he could convince her to leave this house of nightmares.

“I do understand Virginie. I really do.” He smiled kindly at her. “Do nothing out of the ordinary. We are going to take care of the rest. You just keep up the act for as long a little while longer.” He winked at her. “I’ve brought reinforcements. Now go” He pushed the dazed Virginie back out into the kitchen where she had to gather her thoughts about what course was next. Frankie appeared behind her with a large metal bow filled with whipping cream. Virginie took it from him and turned to place it on the brushed aluminum table in the center of the large room filled with black and white tile. When she turned back to say something to Frankie he was no longer in sight. She stirred the cream until she remembered what it was she was doing before the Calvary had arrived.

Just a few blocks away in the hotel Sasha sat on the floor with her legs crossed. She was breating deeply and slowly in the tiny rooom. The weapons all lay out on the bed and she was hoping to take as many of them as she could in just a few hours. She kept thinking of the old man in the store in Chinatown. He looked familiar the moment she saw him. It was something in his eyes. Maybe there was a part of a person that always remains the same no matter how many times they come back. She was trying to quiet her mind. She had connected with Taylor before in a dream and was hoping somehow to recreate the connection. So far there was nothing but the voices in her head all screaming for attention. The words of her old master returned to her again and again.

“Close your eyes and you will see.” She tried again and emptied her mind. She suddenly felt sleepy. That was it! She couldn’t recreate a dream state while awake. She lay down on the floor and focused on her breathing. She felt herself drifting off and then quite suddenly she felt herself drifting upwards toward the sky. She was in a lucid dreaming state. She was far above Paris floating weightlessly around almost forgetting who she was for a moment. She saw Taylor’s face and began to focus on it. Inention. Her training as a samurai dealt with the subject of intention. Always question why you are doing something before you do it. The intention is far more crucial than the actual act. If you cook something with hatred in your heart you might as well serve poison for dinner. If you cooked with love, then you have something else altogether. She thought of only her love for him now. It was clear and perfect and of all the intentions in the world, love was the most powerful. She remembered how happy Helene and Ettienne had been as well as Nyoirin and Skyfire, regardless of what dangers they faced they had loved the thrill of being together and living to see another day side by side. They had loved each other without question through it all and she focused on these feelings. These feelings were eternal. A great and rushing wind swirled noisily around her and it was so loud in its fury she could no longer hear her own thoughts. It pushed Sahsa downward into the City of Lights with a speed that defied modern physics. Down and down she went and all of a sudden she saw the sidewalk coming up to her too quickly to react and in the next second she was underneath the sidewalk in the great catacombs of Pais. She was whirled around violently making rapid tuns here and there without any order. The whirling dervish stopped without warning and then she saw him.

“Taylor!” She shouted out with her spirit for she really had no body to speak of in this state. She reached out to him and she knew that he could feel her presence. She knew he would always be able to feel her presence and that no matter whether it was space or time, they would always find each other. Nothing would ever change that.

“Sasha?” His voice bounced off the rocky walls. Sasha could see that Marcus and Claire were there with him locked behind a metal gate of some kind and they were in chains that looked like something from the medieval times.

“Taylor. I’m coming for you! Hold on! I love you!” She was pulled back up and out of the tunnels as her three friends vanished from sight. For one instant she was above the city again and the next she sat up suddenly coming out of her sleep wide awake. She got up and started methodically taking the weapons from the bed and hiding the smaller knives and tools under her clothing. She placed the broadsword in one boot and the wind and fire wheels she popped into her jacket pockets ready to slip onto her fingers in a moment’s notice. The rope dart she wrapped around her wais like a modern belt of metal chains and then smiled because they actually looked good. The eight immortal swords she would have to hide in the garden because she knew in her heart of hearts that this battle would end on the very hillside on which it began so long ago. She grabbed the red dragon iron fan and decided she would carry it as a prop. After all it looked deceptively like a lovely accessory that went well with her assassin’s outfit of black. Frankie could carry come of the other things. Besides, he would need protection too. She heard someone coming toward her room and from the sound of the footsteps she knew it was Frankie. She opened the door to see a very dirty and dusty Frankie with soot on his eyelashes. The sight would have been comical were it not for the forlorn expression on his face.