DARK FAÏZ Book 1: Every hero has his legend

by Sandra L. Kiss

  No kidding!

  "He's a friend of mine, Zoe. Don't look at me like that!"

  I leaned my head slightly to the side, just like the inspector in the series Criminal Minds when she questioned the guilty parties. This method seemed to work.

  "Okay, I wish he was more than a friend," she finally confessed.

  "What's his first name?"

  "Jonathan. He's seventeen. We met in literature class. He was there to give advice to our section. Right now we're just getting to know each other."

  "Does anyone else know about this?"

  "Yes, my mother, and...you. Nothing official. We don't really know where all this is going to lead us yet."

  I took a sip of my fruit cocktail. The dish was simply a delight.

  "Why don't you talk to Faïz about it? Are you afraid of his reaction?"

  "My brother is very protective, as you may have already noticed."

  "Oh, yes," I sighed exaggerating.

  Victoria's face suddenly closed and she became very thoughtful. What was she thinking about?

  "Something serious has already happened with Faïz. Is that it?" I guessed.

  "That was a little over a year ago. Remy Ogres, an unbalanced man, harassed me for months. He stalked me, sent dozens of letters, called me all the time. At the time, I didn't tell anyone anything. There were already enough worries in my family, and I honestly thought that all this would calm down on its own. One evening..."

  Victoria stopped for a moment. Telling me about this trying event made her relive a difficult episode in her life. On the table, I put my hand on hers as a sign of comfort.

  "That night, I didn't want to go home because I knew there was no one at the villa, only I needed a change of clothes to sleep over at a friend's house. After all, it was a matter of a few minutes. My friend's mother was waiting for me outside in her car while I packed my things. But not everything went as planned. When I opened the door to my room, he was waiting for me there, in the dark, with a butcher's knife in his hand. I ran as fast as I could out of the room to escape him..."

  The tears came to her eyes. I was still holding her hand in mine. A ball of anguish was growing in my throat.

  "Victoria, you don't have to tell me the whole story. It's too hard for you."

  "I want you to understand things, Zoe. Faïz came back in time. He had forgotten to pick up important papers at the villa. When he discovered the scene upstairs, he became uncontrollable. God, he would have killed him. My attacker was impossible to identify when the police arrived on the scene because my brother had been so hard on him. The court still sentenced Faïz to a two-year suspended prison sentence while the crazy man was sentenced to fifteen years in prison with a follow-up and probation. That's why he's so protective. I'd rather not panic him right now about my relationship with Jonathan."

  "I understand his attitude better now," I whispered to myself. "And your attacker? Did he explain why he came after you?"

  "Not really. Ogres suffered from acute schizophrenia. He said he obeyed voices in his head. In hindsight, I think it could have been anyone in my place. It's as if all this happened yesterday when I think about it. The details remain in my memory. That smell of sweat, his words, his eyes filled with madness and fury."

  The waiter came back to clear our dishes and offered us the dessert menu. I ordered a coffee while Victoria opted for ice cream.

  "Ice is always comforting," she said, winking at me.

  I smile a little sadly at her, wishing in my heart that one day she could erase this painful drama from her memory. Victoria represented peace to me, with her calm moments in the midst of a world that seemed to be collapsing all around me. My phone started to vibrate. I had a message from a number I didn't know. I consulted it immediately.

  Hi, Zoe. I guess you have a lot to do today. I propose that we meet again tonight, if you have time, to discuss all the issues that came up. William.

  How the hell did he get my number? I was sure I hadn't given it to him.

  "Is everything all right?" Victoria asked, obviously worried.

  "Yeah, it's just about tonight, the organization."

  I didn't want to dwell on the subject. Indeed, I was planning to take a step back from all this for one evening.

  Tonight I'm with friends on the beach. How did you get my number?

  I had the feeling that this meeting was actually a pretext to see me again. Turning back to Victoria, I clumsily elbowed my cup of coffee and it poured on me. I immediately applied my napkin to it to minimize the damage to my overalls, but to no avail.

  "I'm going to ask for another one," said Victoria.

  I didn't have time to answer before she'd already gone to look for a server. My phone vibrated again.

  Too bad about your outfit. Coffee stains can be resistant.

  What the hell? Is this a joke? The idea of knowing that William was watching me immediately made me uncomfortable. I scanned the whole restaurant, but I didn't see him. It was while looking through the window that I saw him, sitting in a black sedan across the street, with the window down. How long had he been spying on me? I immediately sent him a message.

  What are you doing?

  His answer was not long in coming.

  Should I bring you and Victoria back?

  "Zoe," said Victoria, who had just reappeared while handing me a towel, "I'm sorry, I couldn't find anything else to clean your clothes."

  She noticed the irritated look on my face.

  "Don't worry, we'll go home and clean it up," she tried to reassure me, convinced that this little accident was the cause of my irritation.

  "Uh... No, it's not that. William's here. He wants to take us home."

  She looked hastily outside the restaurant and suddenly a big smile lit up her porcelain face. It was obvious that she was very happy to see him. She turned to me.

  "Did you tell him we were here?"

  "No, I don't even know how he found us!"

  The waiter arrived and stared at me with a sorry look for my outfit.

  "I'll put the note on Mr. Mattew's account?"

  "Yes, please."

  I understood that the family had its habits in this chic and worldly place. Victoria hurried to get up, taking me by the hand to drag me out. William got out of his car to greet her with a warm hug. I nodded to him, hiding as I did the attraction I felt against my will to his mad charm. There was something noble about him. He had tied his hair, adopting a rebellious chic look. He stared at me intensely. I pulled myself together as quickly as I could and decided to let Victoria sit beside him. As I opened the rear door of the vehicle to settle in, I saw a black shadow passing through the reflection of the tinted window at full speed. I turned around right away, but saw nothing. I was sure I had seen something. Victoria and William settled in the sedan and I preferred not to tell them. After all, maybe it was just a bird. We left for Elora.

  "You were in the area?" asked Victoria.

  "You could say that!"

  He looked at me in the rearview mirror, but I pretended to look at the landscape, carefully avoiding any contact with him.

  "I'll drop you off at home?" he asked Victoria.

  "Yes, please. Zoe, is that good for you?"

  "Perfect. I have to study before I go out tonight to meet my friends. Do you want to come with me?" I asked Victoria.

  She took the time to think for a moment before answering me.

  "I prefer to rest, tonight. I admit, I'm exhausted. I just want to stay at the villa. Greet everyone for me."

  I looked at my phone to see the time. Almost four o'clock. I only had two or three hours of study in front of me. Why the hell did I agree to go to the beach? I envied Victoria spending the evening in Elora. I, too, felt exhausted and drained.

  When we arrived at the villa, Lily was standing at the entrance, returning from work. Posted in front of the door with her night blue suit and pumps, her appearance as a businesswoman did not go unnoticed. I was told that Lily was a real sha
rk in the justice system, just the opposite of the sweet woman I knew. When she saw William at the wheel of the car, she raised her arm fervently upwards, waving it vigorously, then came to meet us.

  "What a surprise! Where did you three come from?" she asked us with a smile on her face.

  "From Valentin's," Victoria replied.

  "Did it go well this morning?" she asked William and me.

  "Better than I would have hoped," he confided, giving me a look that spoke volumes.

  I wiggled uncomfortably in front of these two while Lily seemed thrilled with the news. She opened the door and we all went inside.

  "Would you like a glass of lemonade?"

  "With pleasure," William accepted.

  I understood that he intended to stay with us for a little while longer. I called to Lily as I walked towards the stairs.

  "I'm sorry, but tonight I have to meet the girls at the beach, and I'm going to take this opportunity to advance a bit in my homework."

  "Okay, go." She gave me a sympathetic smile.

  William and Victoria had already settled by the pool and seemed to started a big, long conversation. They didn't see me go upstairs.

  My room was bathed in an orange light, which indicated the end of the afternoon. Standing there, at the threshold of my door, hesitant to enter, I felt my pulse accelerate. The trauma of the previous day was still very much present. The door, smashed to pieces by Faïz, had already been replaced by a new one. I took a deep breath before going inside and hurried to change. I quickly grabbed the first t-shirt I saw and jeans from my dressing room. Then, I went to retrieve the notes on my desk, taken the previous weeks, concerning the press house with whom I had applied for my internship, and for whom I had managed to get an interview for that Monday. So Home News was known as one of California's most read weekly magazines, but also beyond its borders. Indeed, the diversification of its articles reached all categories of readers. Getting in touch with this big company had been a real battleground. The house recruited very few interns, but the fact that I was trilingual allowed me to get an appointment. I was going to take my chance to win my place there.

  Sitting on my bed, my heavy eyelids started to sting as I was putting away my notes, probably because of the fatigue accumulated recently. I started to work on the social science component for the midterms that were going to start next week.

  After only a few moments of flying over it, my mind began to wander. Then my gaze escaped through the bay window. The sunset was beautiful. In the distance, I could see the contours of the Dome. Faïz was right, it was becoming more and more visible, getting darker every day. However, the people of LA did not seem to have any questions about this phenomenon. It was true that they were not aware of the situation, so why panic? The government could tell them any excuse if all this ever grew and people demanded some explanation.

  Laughter from the terrace came to me. It had to be said, William had a knack for relaxing the atmosphere. Lily and Victoria deserved those few precious little moments of bohemian charm. I struggled to see my notes clearly. My head seemed to weigh tons. I decided to lie down for a little while, feeling myself slowly drifting into a sleep that had caught up with me. As I closed my eyes, I heard my mother's soft voice whispering a few words in my ear.

  "My miracle, do not forget the light of your heart."

  The darkness caught me.

  "Zoe?"

  A sweet and sensual voice came to me from the distance. I had to leave the dreams I had taken refuge in and struggle to open my eyes. William, like an angel leaning over me, waited patiently for me to emerge. I filled my lungs with his cologne, which helped me to wake up.

  "Wake up," he whispered to me with his most beautiful smile.

  "It's so hard," I whispered.

  "Yes, I believe you."

  He helped me by putting his arm slightly behind me and with his other hand, he stroked my cheek. The gesture literally took my breath away. We had only known each other for a few hours, but his familiar ways with me made me feel that I had known him much longer.

  "What time is it?" I shouted as I saw outside that night had fallen.

  "Almost 9:00 p.m."

  "Fuck... No, it's not possible!"

  I jumped and rushed to the bathroom to fix my curly mane in a hurry.

  "Can you give me my phone?" I shouted so that William would hear me.

  "I don't think that's a good idea."

  He entered the bathroom, showing a little pout on his face while holding out my phone to me. Eight calls from Asarys and Lexy and six from Faïz. At the sight of his first name, my body froze. He must have been worried or angry that I wouldn't answer his calls. Instinctively, I was about to call him back, but I immediately canceled that action. No! I had to stop doing that, being available as soon as he wanted and adapting to his mood of the day. I absolutely had to get out of this spiral.

  I looked up and stared at William. He was watching me, trying to probe my thoughts, and I his. We were not from the same world. However, without being able to say why, I felt close to him. I assessed the situation. Faïz's last call was about twenty minutes ago, so I didn't have much time left before he arrived in Elora to check if everything was fine. I had to leave before he arrived for fear of not being more able to leave him when he was there.

  "Do you have time to drop me off in Venice?"

  "I could do that," William replied, visibly relieved by my request.

  I suspected that he didn't really want to leave me, and neither did I. We looked at each other for a moment without a word and I smiled at him before pulling him by the arm out of the room.

  "Great, we must leave quickly," I confided to him.

  I grabbed a jean jacket on the fly, and William held the door of my room wide open and waited for me to be ready. He had been in a good mood all day. It was a change from Faïz's mood swings. My phone rang. I was relieved to see Lexy's name appear.

  "Hi."

  "You're kidding me! where are you?" Lexy was mooing to cover the sound of the music.

  "Uh... I'm on my way. I'm coming."

  I heard Asarys's loud voice screaming behind Lexy.

  "Ask her where is she on the road! I know she's lying!"

  "Asarys asks where, exactly?"

  "I'm coming!" I smothered a little laugh before hanging up unexpectedly.

  I shook my head vigorously. Asarys knew me well.

  "Here we go," I told William, who let me pass in front of him.

  I rushed down the stairs, in a hurry to leave the villa.

  "Victoria, Lily, we're leaving," I called by the front door.

  Voices from the terrace wished us both a good evening. I grabbed my keys and we got out of there.

  Outside, William followed me to open the door of his sedan for me. I settled down and we left for Venice. In the streets of the city, I noticed that there was a crowd on this Saturday evening. It didn't surprise me. Los Angeles never slept, and even less on game days. Many wore a blue and white top with the Dodgers' names on it. After a few months in this city, I now knew that baseball, American football, or basketball, were real religions here. The cafes and restaurants were packed, the subway mouths looked like real anthills. Everyone was dressed the same, in the colors of their team. A good-natured atmosphere flooded the streets of the city with songs, screams, and firecracker noises. In the distance, in the heights of Los Angeles, we could see Dodger Stadium. Indeed, the stadium's spotlights were visible for several kilometers around.

  "Where are your friends?"

  William's question made me look away from him.

  "Towards the roller-skate area, near the basketball court, I think."

  He nodded, and I turned around again to watch him secretly through the reflection of my window. I was not indifferent to his charisma, and I didn't want to leave him now. What's the matter with you, Zoe? I came back to him and opened my mouth to talk to him, but closed it immediately. Come on, stop being a child, it's pathetic.

  "Stay wi
th me tonight," I insisted in a shy voice.

  My request surprised even me. William, on the other hand, seemed just as shocked as I was. Disoriented, his gaze wandered back and forth between me and the road several times, then he leaned his elbow against the edge of the window and carried his free hand to his chin. For the first time that day, his self-confidence seemed to be slipping away, his eyes darkening.

  "All right, I'll stay tonight if that's what you want," he finally answered after several seconds that seemed endless to me.

  I quietly breathed a sigh of relief, happy with his decision.

  "For that smile, I could sell my soul, Zoe," he added.

  I pinched my lips to hide the effect of pleasure that his words gave me.

  William parked in the parking lot, which was still full at that time of the evening.

  "I think they are there." I pointed to a small group gathered far away on the beach, near a fire lit for the occasion.

  We got out of the car and a little fresh wind reminded me that I was right to take my jacket. The lights of the Ferris wheel and its attractions lit Santa Monica on the other side from where we were. William stood beside me and extended his arm to me. I hesitated for a moment, refusing to give him false hopes. However, his irresistible pout won me over. Perhaps part of me was hoping that he could be the one who could help me turn the page on Faïz. The touch of my hand on his bare arm disturbed me somewhat.

  "Student party. It will remind me of my youth," William said in an amused tone.

  His smile lit up his face.

  "Do the Sylphs have a youth like any other human being?"

  When I arrived on the beach, I took off my shoes with my other hand and plunged my feet into the cool sand.

  "Oh, yes, and I can tell you that I consumed it without moderation!"

  His answer seemed to imply many things. Since I'd come back from the mansion, a question had been burning my lips, and as we walked towards the small group, I decided to ask it now.

  "Are you mortal?"

  I had so much to ask him, and I was disappointed not to have enough time tonight to do it. I knew in advance that the girls would not let go of me all evening with William at my side and, moreover, arm in arm. I prepared myself psychologically for a fierce interrogation on their part.