The Immortal Coil (5 page)

“
Bonjour
! My name is Vivian, dear. And you are?” She bent over like she was talking to a child.

Noah leaned back against the far wall with his arms crossed, just like in the alley. “He’s not much of a talker.”

“Don’t be shy, love,” she crooned. I looked up at her from my seat on the bed. Her burgundy hair was styled up, with just a single lock dangling free.

“Where am I? What are you going to do with me?” I choked out.

“Do with you? What do you mean?” Vivian seemed genuinely taken aback by my question.

“He thinks we’re trying to kill him.” Noah didn’t seem too concerned as he began fidgeting with assorted knickknacks on the fireplace mantle.

“Why would he think that?” Vivian sounded as if she were scolding him.

“We didn’t really get to spend quality time,” he replied, and shrugged.

Vivian sat next to me on the bed and placed my hand in hers. “No, no, my love. You misunderstand. You are safe here. We mean you no harm.”

My entire body tingled the moment we touched. I looked down at her soft petite hands on mine and smiled for a second, forgetting where I was. Her perfume was intoxicating. I could smell a very faint scent of flowers coming from her exposed neck. Feeling a bit braver, I looked her over from head to toe. Vivian was absolutely gorgeous.

She smiled at me and patted my hand. “My apologies if we frightened you, it was not our intention …” Her voice trailed off and her gaze became vacant as she stared past me. I turned around to see what was there, but all I could see were some oil paintings of landscapes on the wall.

Vivian stood up. “She’s calling me. I must go greet the other guests. Play nice.” She addressed Noah while walking to the door and closing it behind her.

I watched the door listlessly, wishing for her to come back. After a few seconds my daze wore off and I remembered I was alone in the room with Noah now. He was sizing me up from across the room with a predatory glare.

I inched away from him on the bed as he sauntered toward me.

“Relax already, I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, putting his hands up and taking a step back.

I remained cautious and looked at the weapons still on his hips. Noah rolled his eyes and took them in his hands. I backed up another couple of inches, almost falling off the bed. He placed the swords on the mantle, almost knocking over the expensive-looking decorations without seeming to care.

“Better?” he asked.

Noah approached again and turned his back to me. More Asian tattoos that I hadn’t noticed earlier ran down his spine. He fell back on the bed and rested his arms behind his head. I jumped to my feet and traded places with him against the wall. As long as he was being civil, I had so many questions I didn’t know where to start.

“Why’d you kidnap me?” I figured that was as good a place to begin as any.

“Leave if you want.” He waved his hand at the door. “Those guys are just going to keep coming after you, and I won’t always be there to save your ass.” Noah came off as so laid-back when he wasn’t murdering people, but I seriously doubted he was just going to let me walk out. “You wouldn’t have liked them as much, trust me. Besides, I’m a whole lot better to look at.”

I ignored his last comment. “Who are they? And who are you? Are you in the Mafia or the Yakuza or something?”

“No!” he said and burst out laughing.

I felt a bit insulted by his reaction, but it was better than him stabbing me. “Then why did you bring me here? Do my parents owe you money?”

Noah rolled his eyes again.

“It’s my turn to ask something.” I could hear the piano still playing somewhere in the house. The increasing din of conversation and laughter sounded like there was a party starting outside. “Can you fly?” He was squinting at me like he was serious, but his smirk threw me off.

“No.” I wasn’t being completely honest with him.

I had made several attempts at flying since I learned about being telekinetic, and they all ended in total failure. Lifting myself up wasn’t too tough, but it was balance that gave me the most problems. After multiple near-death experiences, I gave up and put it behind me with the only thing gained being a new fear of heights.

“That sucks.” Noah lay back again, obviously disappointed by my answer.

“How are you so fast?”

“It’s in my blood.” He was looking at his boots, which were getting the clean sheets on the bed all dirty. It made me cringe thinking how angry Vivian would be if she saw.

“That’s not a real answer.” I surprised myself at how brazen I was being with him.

He looked at me sideways. “Neither is you saying you can’t fly.”

Was he reading my mind or what?

“How long have you been following me?” I asked.

Noah sat up and moved to the edge of the bed like he was more invested in our conversation now. “Not long. I only got to New York the night before we met at the docks.”

“What makes you think I can fly, then?” If he didn’t know before, then I had just given it away.

“What can I say? I’m great at reading people. It’s a gift.” He was grinning ear to ear now. This wasn’t us bonding. He was interrogating me.

“Fine, don’t tell me.” Maybe a less controversial topic would get me answers. “What do all of those tattoos mean?”

“I don’t know. They were from a fortune cookie.” He fell back onto the bed and started laughing at his own bad joke. “They look good, right?”

“I think you’re full of it.” Let him stab me, I was getting nowhere except learning he was a total jackass.

He was playing with the tassel on a pillow now. “If you’re not gonna take this seriously then I’m not either.”

“Me? I am being serious. You’re the one giving me all these ridiculous answers.” I regretted saying that almost immediately. He sat up again at the edge of the bed and stared at me.

“So, I’ll ask you again.” His eyes were piercing right into me like in the alley. “Can you fly?” he said, enunciating each word slowly.

“No! Okay, sort of …” I didn’t know how to respond without sounding like a total moron. He raised an eyebrow and waited for me to get the words out.

This was so uncomfortable to have a discussion about. “I’ve tried, but I’m bad at it. I can go up, but that’s pretty much it.”

He clapped his hands in sarcasm. “There we go, finally some honesty.”

“Answer my question now. Why are people trying to abduct me?” I heard the door opening behind me and hopped out of the way.

It was the lovely Vivian again. She gracefully stepped into the room and smiled warmly at me. She looked at Noah on the bed and the dirty sheets. She was visibly displeased, but didn’t mention it.

“Your presence is requested in the ballroom,” she told him. “Please get dressed and meet us there.”

Noah let out an exaggerated sigh and leaned back, looking at her. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

Vivian gently closed the door behind her. I suddenly felt like I shouldn’t be a witness to whatever was about to happen. Noah just lay there grinning at her as she walked up to him and sat on the bed.

“Can you please be good tonight?” She put a finger on his chest and slowly traced it down his abs, all the while staring into his eyes. Her French accent could have melted the coldest heart. “For me.”

“Why mess with perfection?” Noah gave a sly wink and pulled her on top of him.

He shifted gears and got up from the bed so suddenly that Vivian was almost knocked over. Sauntering to the door, he swung it open and paused, stretching his arms against the framework and nodding to a couple passing by who were dressed for the red carpet. He disappeared in his usual fashion, followed by Vivian.

Party guests strolled by, looking in at me. Left standing there awkwardly, I closed the door, not knowing exactly what my captors expected of me. It didn’t seem like there would be much resistance if I tried to leave, but this could be a trap.

Of course my cell phone was gone, so I couldn’t call for help.

I stepped out of the bedroom and into a massive corridor with wide marble floors and hand-carved ceilings. The walls were decorated with oil paintings and mirrors illuminated by candlelight on either side. Every few feet were another set of luxurious baroque furniture: loveseats and sofas, dark wood end tables and gilded display cases of expensive jewelry. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I was back in seventeenth-century France about to meet the king or something.

Walking down this hallway was like walking down a city block. I must have passed a dozen rooms before I reached a four-way intersection with two grandiose curved staircases and a tremendous gold and crystal chandelier overhead. The piano still playing somewhere in the background was now joined by a string quartet for a waltz. The more I wandered toward the music, the more I got myself lost. This must be why they were so confident I wouldn’t escape.

It took me a good fifteen minutes, but I finally found where everyone was. Beyond huge double doors was a ballroom the size of a football field with yet another giant chandelier hanging overhead. I felt as if I had accidentally walked into another casting call. The room was filled with beautiful men and women of all ages. A butler and a full battalion of servants did their best not to intrude upon the many conversations of the guests they served, but even they were just as striking as the rest of the crowd. Marble columns around the room reached up to an exposed second floor, where balconies held even more party guests.

Noah was lounging up on one of the balcony railings chugging wine from a bottle. Even at rest, his intimidating presence made him stand out.

I caught a glimpse of Vivian among the party guests chatting with another young woman. The other woman’s back was turned to me, but I could tell there was something special about her. She was dressed in an elegant cascading ball gown made of purple silk. Long brunette hair highlighted with lavender flowed into a theatrical spool on each side of her head, like something from a high-fashion runway show.

Vivian noticed me watching and gave a coy smile that made my whole body tingle. As if in response to her silent command, the crowd between us parted to form a path.

“Oh, Dorian!” she said, and beckoned. “I wish to present you to our hostess and master of the house.”

As I walked up to Vivian, the lady in purple turned to us. After meeting Vivian, I didn’t think it was possible for anyone to surpass her beauty, but this new woman was in a completely different league. My heartbeat quickened with every step closer. It was more than just her flawless physical appearance or angelic features that drew me in. The woman’s mesmeric radiance was such that it created undeniable sensations of pleasure.

“Aurelia de Saint-Pierre, may I present Monsieur Dorian Benoit, our guest this evening?” I heard Vivian speaking, but I was finding it challenging to concentrate in this other woman’s presence.

“How do you do?” Aurelia smiled warmly and offered her hand in greeting. “It is a pleasure to welcome you into my home.”

Her accent was a blend of English, French, and possibly something else. She watched me intently with gorgeous hazel eyes. I looked down, noticing that her nails were meticulously painted to match her gown. I don’t know what came over me, but I took her hand and leaned in to kiss it, almost passing out the second we made contact.

There was no way she was human. Aurelia was a mere five foot six at most. Even without her elaborate hairstyle, which must have weighed more than she, she was still shorter than I, yet her presence was so electrifying all attention was inescapably drawn to her.

“Thanks, it’s nice to meet you. I have to be honest though, I’m not sure why I’m here, wherever here is,” I said as politely as possible.

Vivian excused herself from the conversation with a bow and disappeared into the crowd. Nobody seemed to mind that we were standing in the middle of the dance floor. The guests continued around us, orbiting Aurelia like she was their sun.

“Why, you are in France, of course, just a short way from Paris. Your life was in great danger,” Aurelia spoke with grave concern. “I sent for you to be rescued and brought to my chateau where you would be away from harm.”

France? That lunatic knocked me out cold for an entire transatlantic flight?

“Rescued from whom? I thought the guy you sent was trying to kill me. He knocked me out in an airport. Not to mention murdered a whole bunch of people.”

“How uncouth! I apologize for Noah’s brash behavior. His social graces may be lacking, but his speed is invaluable in such situations. I assure you there is no further cause for alarm.”

“Who was he sent to rescue me from?” I checked out the corner of my eye, hoping he was far enough away to not hear us talking about him.

“A former associate turned traitor by the name of Maximilian Price. He became interested in your particular abilities, but that has been resolved now.”

She must be talking about my powers 
…

“Yes, precisely,” she said, answering my thoughts before I said anything. “You were also correct in assuming that I am no mere human, nor have I been for quite some time. There is no cause for masks here, child. This place is a sanctuary for those like you and me.”