I'm looking forward to it. Where are you taking me?
While waiting for his answer, I opened my boss's email and started doing the work she'd asked me to do. In my bag, I found a pack of cakes and resigned myself to eating them. I'd make up for it at tonight's dinner, with Faïz.
When I went to put the files in the meeting room, my phone, which I wouldn't put down, vibrated.
You'll know soon enough. Would you like to go back to Elora, or would you prefer to stay with me for the rest of the evening?
We were there. Although Faïz was authoritarian with a difficult character, I knew deep down in my heart that he would be able to show infinite tenderness in intimacy. I looked at the time. My colleagues were about to invade this room in the next few minutes, and I still had some photocopies to make. So I decided to make it short by sending him one last message.
I will stay with you… See you later.
The afternoon ended as it had begun, in the driving rain. I congratulated myself on choosing the Mustang that morning, rather than public transport. I mainly owed this decision to the fact that I had dropped Victoria off at her high school and was about to leave to pick her up.
I packed my things after I left my boss's office. Our interview had just ended. She had been more than satisfied with my investigative work and my article. However, it would pass under Agustin's watchful eye before moving to print. He had finally appeared after lunch, telling of his misadventures in the meeting room before Mrs. Bonny appeared.
As I sat in the car, a violent headache seized me. I put my hands above my temples in an attempt to calm the sudden pain.
"No, this is not the time," I moaned.
I managed to get the car out of the parking lot and the storm came down on me, making the compartment resound in a muffled noise. The pain gradually became intolerable. What was happening to me? I felt deep down, at that moment, that something was wrong. Barely perceptible whisperings echoed in my head. I stopped at a red light and allowed myself to close my eyes for a second or two. That was when the image of the Callis appeared to me in a flash. Something serious was happening at the mansion.
As soon as the light turned green, I pressed the accelerator and headed at full speed towards the villa to retrieve the keys to William and Julio's house. I took the trouble to inform Victoria of my delay without explaining the reason so as not to worry her. I drove by the coast without paying attention to what was around me. The whispering, always present in my skull, did little to help my unstable condition.
I felt like I was going completely insane. I took a lot of risks to drive above the authorized speed, unlike the other vehicles, which had adapted their driving to the downpour that was breaking on the road. Despite my windshield wipers, the road was barely visible and the pain in my head was becoming unbearable.
"Come on, move!" I got mad behind a truck that wasn't moving fast enough for my taste.
I finally managed to pass it with a fish tail and then continued to accelerate. I was finally getting to Elora, the Mustang's engine roaring in the streets of this quiet neighborhood. With a bang, I entered the courtyard of the villa. I noticed no other car was there. It was with difficulty that I pulled myself out of the car to run inside the house. At the entrance, I threw my pumps against the wall and called Miss Arlette, but no one answered me.
That was when the stereo went off on its own, Maria Callas's crystal-clear voice resounding in the living room, completely invading the space. I recognized the song. Panicked, I started to search the drawers by the entrance without finding anything there. I decided to move on to the furniture in the living room. As I passed by the stereo system, I quickly tried to turn off the set, but nothing worked. Maria Callas taunted me. I took a second to think about where Lily could have put the keys.
My gaze fell on a shelf, the highest of the furniture near the television screen. I went to get a stool and managed to find a little white box with a key drawn on it. When I opened it, I discovered a pile keys. I quickly found one more atypical than the others. I didn't take the time to close the box or put the stool back in its place. I went upstairs to my room at a run to put on sneakers. Once I had them on my feet, I rushed down the stairs and ran again to the front door, with Maria Callas pursuing me.
The Mustang started immediately, and my heart was in my throat the whole time. With the steering wheel in one hand, I searched with the other hand for my phone in my bag. In the rush, I dropped it on the floor. It was impossible for me to lower my head for a second and take my eyes off the road to pick it up. Several times, the car seemed to slip on the water, but it didn't make me slow down.
It was on the edge of the forest road that I took the trouble to moderate my driving. The vehicle struggled through the muddy ground. The charm of the place had suddenly disappeared. There was a terrifying, almost apocalyptic atmosphere. The thunder rumbled, with the impression that the sky was going to tear. I had to hurry to get the Callis to safety.
Parked as close as possible to the entrance, I got out of the car without being able to protect myself from the heavy rain. I had my phone back and I was holding it tightly in my hand. Soaked from head to toe, I opened the mansion hatch, water dripping on my face. I felt like I weighed a ton, with my clothes sticking to my skin because of the rain. I tackled the stone stairs, first by taking them in pairs and then four at a time. Once inside, I pressed the switch to see more clearly. All the floors lit up at the same time. I noticed, frightened, that the Callas was also resonating everywhere in this place, with its unique acoustics.
I put my head in my hands. This wasn't fate. I was being played. What message did it want to send me? The Callis was kept in William's room. Before going upstairs, I took a sneak peek at my cell phone. An icy shiver coursed through my body. Eighteen missed calls from Faïz. My pulse didn't calm down. A bad feeling was running down my spine. The network only reached the top floor. I ran with all my strength up the stairs, without stopping or slowing down. I arrived at the end of my run without anymore breath in my lungs. From here, I could only slightly perceive the songs of the diva. I dragged myself, head against the wall, to William's room. I could hardly stand, stunned by pain. I entered with difficulty. My eyes immediately landed on the desk, and the Callis was enthroned there. It sparkled faintly, like a flame about to be extinguished. My hands shaking, I began to dial Faïz's number on my phone when a whisper, in a voice I recognized, came to me from a dark corner of the room.
"How good it is to see you again, Zoe!"
I froze, terrified.
"That's...impossible. You can't...this place is sacred. The forces of evil cannot penetrate these walls."
I heard his footsteps, in his huge boots, advancing towards me. A sound of heavy chains scraped the floor. He appeared in a weak halo of light that illuminated the room. The Maestro, in his omnipotence, had just violated this sanctuary. His imposing and demonic build made him chimeric. It was difficult to stare down this deformed face, made of bits of flesh and crusts in some places. His eyes plunged us into endless darkness. At the end of the chains, his colossal black dog was impatiently waiting to throw himself at me. A terrible growl from it startled me. The beast, with prominent gums and rolled-up lips, showed sharp fangs. This thing and its master, motivated by hatred and destruction, seemed to enjoy a position of strength. The Maestro sneered.
"But Zoe, I was invited."
His tone, impossible to describe, gave me a chill. That voice was anything but human.
"You can't do anything against me. It's just you and me here, and I know for a fact that you can't touch me. You are only an insubstantial appearance."
His filthy hound started barking while trying to free himself from his chains. I backed away reflexively. The Maestro held him back by slamming the chains on the floor in a loud boom.
"You have a good repartee, yet I can feel your fear sweating through every pore of your skin from here. Saturday night's little party was greatly appreciated by one of my little soldiers. He opene
d the door for me."
"I came to get the Callis. I don't intend to leave without it. Your tomb, in the Nevada Desert, is about to be found. You will soon leave this world forever. I'll see to it."
His beast was doing nervous tricks in front of me, waiting to free himself. My pulse was ringing in my head, ready to explode.
"You and I are alike," he added.
"No! "
"Do you ever pray, Zoe? Do you believe in God? That's what I thought. You only believe in evil, since you see me. Why believe in the one who abandoned you? See, we're the same. Darkness is always easier to perceive, but you have your free will, like everyone else on earth. Nevertheless, humans fascinate me. They are able to destroy their fellows for so few reasons, to generate monsters, if we take the example of Leviathans. The hunting here on earth is delicious. It's an incredible playground."
"Weakness is not part of me. If I believe in evil, then I necessarily believe in good, and things beyond my mystical belief."
"Then you will need a lot of will and heart to forgive your God!"
"To forgive him? For what?"
"I'll tell you what's going to happen."
The Maestro paused for a moment and walked towards me, dragging his boots on the floor.
"In a moment, you will receive a call from the one who has been looking for me for so many years. Then you will have to make the choice to leave the Callis in its place, because a race against death will begin. You will begin to beg the eternal with all your strength, for it is always in the greatest distress that you implore his help, ready to give him your soul, if he fulfills your wish. Unfortunately, it is often too late."
I tried to understand what he was getting at while trying to reach the sacred book.
"If you're going to stand in my way, go ahead! But I doubt you'll be able to do that."
Suddenly, the ringing of my phone froze me on the spot. On the screen was displayed the nineteenth call from Faïz. A buzzing sound invaded my ears. I knew I had no choice but to answer. The tears came to my eyes before I even heard the sound of his voice. I understood at that moment that The Maestro had won. He had planned everything from the beginning. I was a spectator of this scene that was beginning to slow down.
"Hello," I whispered as if paralyzed.
"Zoe, where are you? Go to Vicky's high school! It was his cellmate!" shouted Faïz on the phone. "Ogres and Graham were together at Pelican Bay Prison. Jarrod Graham is planning a carnage at Victoria High School. We found his plans in his motel room. The Nevada Desert was just a diversion to keep us away from Los Angeles today."
"How long?" I asked with a voice full of tears, dreading his answer.
"In the next few minutes!" shouted Faïz, panicked, "but the police are having trouble getting to the scene because of the—"
I dropped my phone, which crashed to the ground in several pieces. I already knew the end of his sentence. With a triumphant burst of laughter, The Maestro freed his beast from his chains and the Callis caught fire.
"You will have to do without one of your masters, to save the one who is undoubtedly the purest part of your existence," he shouted.
I did an about-face and ran with all my strength, thinking only of Victoria. The dog came after me. I descended the stairs, jumping the steps as far as I could. It didn't matter if I hurt myself. My eyes were filled with tears, and I choked on my sobs. Arriving at the bottom in front of the front door, I turned around to face the evil monstrous barking. In a surge, he jumped on me and I fell to the ground, carrying my hands above me to protect myself from his attack. Just as I thought my last hour was coming, it evaporated in a black cloud a few centimeters from my face. I got up quickly and opened the door wide. I returned to the surface, breathless, under the gusts and rain.
5:18 p.m.: A car started at full speed under a heavy thunderstorm in a wooded clearing not far from downtown Los Angeles. The driver, named Zoe Reyes, was trying to drive through the cataclysm as best she could.
5:20 p.m.: At the Baylor University Library, Victoria Mattew closed the umpteenth collection on the different parliaments around the world.
5:21 p.m.: Ray Jonhson had just hung up with Faïz Mattew, who asked him to go as soon as possible to the high school where he thought his younger sister was.
5:36 p.m.: Zoe in her Mustang, with her foot on the floor, honked at all the vehicles in her path, screaming at them to let her pass.
5:42 p.m.: Ray was running in the middle of the Downtown buildings. Traffic jams at this time of day did not allow him to take his car and turn around. In addition, traffic was partially blocked by the waters that invaded the city's streets. He rushed into Faïz's building to pick up his motorcycle that he had parked a few days earlier.
5:45 p.m.: Zoe's vehicle was running all the red lights in the city, getting on the sidewalks when it was impossible to get on the road with jams of several kilometers. She knocked on the wheel with all her might if an obstacle presented itself to her, and above all, she begged. She begged him with all her soul, this God in whom she had never really believed.
5:48 p.m.: In the library, Victoria was packing her things to go to the campus cafeteria, where she was supposed to meet Zoe. Only, the discussion of a group of people sitting at a table next to her caught her attention. She understood that a shooting alert had been triggered at her high school. She listened carefully to find out more.
5:54 p.m.: On the way up to the university, several dozen police vehicles passed Zoe with their flashing lights on. She sighed, reassured, thinking that the authorities must already be present on the scene. Unfortunately, her hope collapsed when she realized that they were not going to the university, but to Victoria's High School. They had the wrong information, which Faïz had given them. Zoe and Victoria had changed their plans that morning. She was screaming and crying in rage. She wouldn't have time to stop to explain it to them, knowing that every second counted.
5:55 p.m.: A man dressed in black with leather pants, a t-shirt, and a long coat, trod on the grounds of Baylor University with his gothic boots. With an empty gaze, devoid of any humanity, he carried out the orders that resounded in his head. The rain ran down his face by the long scar that covered part of his cheek. Jarrod Graham had taken care to hide his assault rifle under his long coat.
6:03 p.m.: Zoe abandoned her vehicle in the middle of the road, in front of the university entrance. She rushed towards the campus cafeteria without even bothering to close the car door. She couldn't breathe, her lungs were suffering, but she didn't slow down in her frantic run.
6:07 p.m.: Jarrod entered the library, encouraged by the demonic whispers in his skull. First, he decided to walk along all the alleys of this place, where the smell of books was floating in the atmosphere, in search of his victim. He stared at each face he ran into to find who he was looking for. After a few moments, he finally saw her. Standing, listening carefully to the words of people who were near her. He was finally going to do his duty.
6:10 p.m.: Zoe arrived in front of the cafeteria doors, out of breath and in a state of total exhaustion. She took a look through the glass doors. The place was almost deserted. She saw David behind the counter, who immediately noticed her. He invited her to come in with a wave of his hand, noting, worried, the state his friend was in. He understood that she was looking for Victoria, so he shook his head and raised his shoulders to tell her know that he had not seen her. Zoe ran off without delay towards the library.
6:14 p.m.: Jarrod, bored by observing his target, decided to get closer to the group. At that moment, he noticed that the girl was taking a quick look at her watch. She turned around and walked away. He must have been about two meters away from her when he decided to call her by her first name.
"Victoria?"
The girl turned at the voice calling out to her.
"You are Victoria Mattew?"
6:14 p.m.: Zoe was running through the aisles. It was there that she saw Victoria, only a few meters away. She was standing in front of a young man. Zo
e heard her answer him,
"Yes, that's me."
The scene took place in a few seconds. The young man grabbed a gun hidden under his coat and fired a shot, the bullet going right into Victoria's heart, and then a second bullet came to lodge directly in her skull. Zoe stopped running, watching helplessly. Victoria's body fell to the ground. A terrible scream came out of her mouth, a scream that came from deep inside. Before she had time to throw herself at Jarrod, the young man turned his weapon against himself and fired a third time.
6:15 p.m.: Victoria Mattew was dead.
Inside St. Patrick's Church, only my steps resonated in the heavy silence. There was no one there, just me, my pain, and my anger. The atmosphere of this sacred place was completely unknown to me. The lightning that tore the sky apart outside made the shadows of the statues on the ground dance.
"Why?" I shouted with all my might. "Why her?"
The thunder resounded as I collapsed, knees on the ground, soaked. I heard the sound of water falling from my hair, crashing onto the concrete. I saw myself again accompanying Victoria's body on the stretcher, hidden under a white sheet. David was holding me in his arms to help me put one foot in front of the other. It was all over. I poured my sorrow here, hands on the ground.
"Please, give her back to me! Take me instead."
I knew she would never come back. If I had known, would I still have said goodbye? If...
I looked up at that big cross at the back of the church, behind the altar. Christ seemed to be suffering with me.
"Those last few minutes you lived on that crucifix. I would also be ready to live them if it would allow her to come back. Tonight I have too much pain to forgive you, but tomorrow I will try, because I don't want to prove Athanasius right."
DARK FAÏZ Book 1: Every hero has his legend Page 29