Immortal Beauty (The Immortals)

by Thomas McDermott

  “You see? Already they are spying on us in our own home!” Celine was no longer whispering. “They haven’t even been here one day and they are plotting against us. I told you Marcel. This is the only way.” Celine moved around in front of him. She was bristling with anger and Rene could feel an invisible energy emanate from her body. He thought he saw the emeralds around her neck begin to glow with an unearthly light. “My dear Rene. How unfortunate for you that I can sense things unseen. A rat in the cellar is what I feel now.” Rene still couldn’t breathe and felt himself becoming faint. He watched as if from a distance as Celine raised her hands out toward him. There was no mistaking it. The jewels on her fingers were lit up like candles. She did not touch him but held her palms outward as her eyes raised up into her head revealing the eerie whiteness of the dead making her appear of some sort of demon. He could feel something else now. A vibration seemed to be coming out of the earth. He soon realized that the tremor was coming from him. His whole body startedt to convulse and Celine gasped as if she were exerting herself to the limits of her power. He heard Marcel shout.

  “Celine no! Control yourself!” It was the last thing he ever heard. His body exploded outward into thousands of little bloody pieces covering Celine and the Count with blood and bits of bone and gore. Marcel fell to the ground crying and Celine regained her former composure.

  “There is no time for tears Marcel! We’ve got to clean up this mess and come up with an explanation to the others why their friend decided to leave in the middle of the night. Honestly, sometimes I think you begave just like a little girl. Be a man for once and help me!” There was a note of irritation in her voice and nothing more. She felt no regret and no remorse over what she had just done so impulsively and so heartlessly. Human life meant nothing to her. Marcel knew in that moment it was Celine who killed his wife and children and that she would kill anyone who stood in her way. It was clear to him for the first time that the woman from the cave was stark raving mad. He realized in that frozen instant of horror what he had to do. First it was her own father and now her beloved husband began to formulate a plan on how to seal the monster back up in the cave underneath the sloping hill that his home was built upon. He would be the guardian of the pool of Locium now and for the first time in his newly eternal life he was not alone. He had friends and allies even if he needed them. It was up to him to warn Nyorin and Skyfire before it was too late. They would even help him banish her to her former prison. He knew it was the only solution and if he did not act quickly more innocent people were about to die.

  OLD FRIENDS

  Sasha walked into the study after being announced by Virginie. She saw that a man was seated at a black leather chair with his back to her. Her pulse raced at the thought of seeing him again. She remembered Marcel very well and had mixed feelings about all of this mess but she wanted to waste no more time. She coughed nervously and he stood up and faced her. He was exactly the same. Of course his hair and clothing were different but his face had not changed at all. He moved toward her timidly with a look of genuine pleasure on his handsome face.

  “Sasha! I’m glad you’re up. How are you feeling?” He was talking to her as if nothing strange at all were happening. This was the most unreal moment of all to Sasha. In all this insanity he was pretending that it was business as usual. Maybe for him it was but for Sasha it was the most bizarre week of her entire life.

  “So, what are you calling yourselves these days?” She remained stiff and unapproachable.

  “You can call me Marcus. Everybody does.” Sasha looked at his eyes and remembered the kindness and softness that had always been there. No he had not changed one bit.

  “Well Marcus. Thank you for scooping me up off the sidewalk like that. I am very thankful of course but these guys had just tried to kill me.” She tried to sound as nonchalant as he did but failed utterly. Her voice sounded like a nervous stranger to her.

  “Yes. Celine must have sent them after you. She probably wanted you out of the way before you awakened. Please have a seat. Would you like tea or coffee?” He motioned to another chair that looked just as comfortable as his.

  “No thank you. I had some upstairs.” She sat down at his request. She wasn’t sure how to proceed and at the moment all she could think about was Taylor. Looking around at the heavy masculine room filled with antiquities from all around the world she waited for him to speak.

  “I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’re finally here. I was so afraid that Celine was going to get you before we could.” He seemed just as shy as she remembered. “I hope that your room is comfortable. If there is anything you want or need all you have to do is ask. This house belongs to you.” He relaxed back into the soft black leather without a sound.

  “Belongs to me? How do you figure that Marcus?” I thought this was your home.” She couldn’t help but find herself a little more than curious. She looked around at all of the books in the shelves that lined every wall. It certainly was a warm and comfortable room. Like all of the house it sought to wrap one in it’s protective cocoon, shutting out all the noise and inconvenience of modern life.

  “Oh this is one of my homes, but it has been yours before. Do you remember in the late seventeen hundreds when you were the mistress of this place? I remember that you were very happy here.”

  “I was happy here because I didn’t remember a damn thing Marcus. I was who I was at that time and nobody else. I was happy here in Paris in the twenty first century until I remembered just who or what I am. Now I doubt I’ll ever know anything like happiness again knowing that Celine is going to kill us all again like she has so many times in the past. Taylor is probably dead as we speak.” The hard words came out before she could stop herself.

  “Oh I doubt that Sasha. Taylor has awakened as well. He knows how dangerous Celine is. I don’t think she’ll be able to catch him off guard. You must remember how very clever he is.” Sasha still couldn’t get used to the idea that they were casually discussing past lives and people getting killed as if they were discussing the local scandal. It was no big deal and this bothered her more than she cared to admit.

  “Listen Marcel..or Marcus or whoever the hell you are-” Marcus stopped her with a wave of his hand.

  “You know who I am Sasha. We have always been allies in the war against Celine. There is no use quibbling now. We don’t have much time.”

  “Time?” Sasha tried not to yell and found it very difficult. “That’s all we have Marcus! We have all the time in the world!” She laughed out loud at how absurd her entire life had just become. There was a knock at the door and Marcus called out:

  Please come in!” He spoke very softly and very slowly. “Sasha, I’d like to re-ntroduce you to some old friends.” Frankie and Claire came into the study. Claire was dressed all in white in a simple dress that flowed straight down from her shoulders to her knees. The dress had a total flapper vibe from the 1920’s and suited her perfectly. With her light hair and colorless skin she almost looked like a beautiful ghost. She wore a string of pearls around her neck and the black bird was nowhere in sight. She looked at Sasha impassively.

  “I’m sorry I sent the birds after you. It was the only way I could get away from you.” She smiled the falsest of smiles.

  “Oh I’m sure there’s nothing to forgive. Just be thankful I didn’t remember how to kick your ass at that point.” Sasha stared at Claire savagely and had to control the urge to pop her one right in that beautiful China doll mouth.

  “You two have met?” Marcus asked incredulously. Sahsa turned to him and said sarcastically. “Oh didn’t she tell you? She warned me that Taylor was in trouble and then sent a flock of birds after me like some God damned Alfred Hitchcock movie.” At this Frankie started laughing uncontrollably.

  “God I’ve missed you! It’s been so dull around here with just these two for company. You must remember how boring Claire is and Marcus, well as nice as he is he simply is a dud.” He moved forward to embrace Sasha and
she recoiled visibly.

  “Look I don’t mean to be rude.” She said after realizing how mean she was being to these people who had been mostly nothing but kind to her. “This is all just a little too weird for me and the weirdest thing is everyone is acting like it’s so normal!” She tried to explain herself to the likable Frankie who was pouting like a spoiled child.

  “Oh it’s normal for us darling. You’ll get used to it.” Frankie was all smiles again.

  “Claire what did you mean confronting Sasha like that? I warned you about such a thing.” Marcus was furious. Claire simply looked at him with the same uninterested look she always gave him.

  “Oh Marcus.” Claire sighed audibly. “Give it a rest. Her boyfriend was in trouble and she was the only one who could get to the lab. It all worked out well anyway. She got him out of there.” She turned her gaze to Sasha as if she were impressed by her recent deeds.

  “Where is Taylor now? I’ve got to find him.” Sasha looked at all three of them imploringly. She tried not to sound too concerned. Nobody spoke for a long minute and then Marcus told her quietly.

  “He went back to Orleans and broke into the lab. We haven’t seen or heard from him in two days. I’m sorry Sasha.” Marcus reached for a glass of water and Sasha suddenly found herself craving for something to drink. The thought of something cool and refreshing washed away all else. Water. She resisted the urge. She wanted to have nothing to do with this infernal water and all the suffering it had caused through the ages. She wanted only to save Taylor and once and for all get rid of Celine. Her thoughts danced round and round in her head trying to formulate an idea.

  “Listen. I know I’m new at this, but I remember fighting Celine. I remember her deciving us and killing us more than once. We keep coming back right? Maybe the reason we keep coming back is to finally stop her. Maybe that’s why we keep returning because somehow we always fuck it up you know?” She looked around for an ounce of support.

  “She’s got a point Marcus. You were always such a softie and each time you trusted Celine or let her go her own way suffering has always followed. Maybe Sasha is on to something. Maybe if we get rid of Celine we break this damn curse.” Frankie had sidled up to Sasha and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling at him.

  “Well, she’s right about one thing. We have to stop her. She’s up to something big this time and this time it doesn’t just involve us. She’s tampering with the fate of humanity and it’s not hers to tamper with.” Marcus was completely grave. “She told me that she found a way to replicate the water. I think she is going to offer it as a cure to aging. I think she’s going to sell the water as a tonic against old age and death.” He sounded resigned as if he didn’t have the strength left to fight these battles anymore.

  “What?” Claire practically screamed which shocked everyone in the room. It was as if a beautiful marble statue, indifferent and lovely had suddenly come to life to offer up an opinion. “That’s crazy! In order to keep from aging a person has to drink the water consistently over time. They just can’t stop. We all know what happens then.” She froze back into indifference just as quickly as she had jumped to life.

  “It’s the perfect product.” Marcus looked down to his forgotten book. “The consumer has to keep buying it to stay young. Celine will become richer than ever and who know what she has in store? She’s been manipulating human embryos. She’s up to something really evil this time.” The forlorn book was about the Celts and the invasion of the Roman army. It was something he never tired of and never gave up on. He felt that maybe one time he would find some vital clue that he had missed, something that might help them.

  “This time?” Claire scoffed. “She’s always up to something evil Marcus. You know she’s going to try to get this house back and control of the waters underneath. You know it as well as I do and you know that she wants us dead like always. Now she wants to offer her sacred water to the public. We have to stop her. No more mercy, no more ethics…We’ve just got to kill the bitch.” For the first time ever Sasha heard a passion in her voice that had never been there before. It was exciting to see the stone goddess come back to life.

  “That a girl Claire! I knew you couldn’t be that boring. I knew you had it in you!” Frankie was teasing her and for once she didn’t mind. Sasha listened to all this quietly. It seemed they were all agreed on one thing. Celine had to be stopped. She decided she was in but as soon as this mission was finished so was she. She didn’t wat to have any part of this spectacle any longer and there was a weariness in her that came into being the moment she remembered the past. She was tired of this fight. She was tired of coming back to life again and again only to have it ripped from her by some insane creature who thought she was a god. She was tired of falling in love each time and having it destroyed before her very eyes. She would help them get Celine out of the picture because she was certain that they needed her skills. They would need an assassin and this is exactly what Nyorin was. She had been trained to kill without mercy which was always such a paradox as Nyoirin traditionally was the goddess of compassion. Plus she knew that deep inside she wanted to be the one to take her out. She had never killed anyone in this life and wondered if she really could do such a thing. When she had turned her attackers into victims it was not a matter of thought. Would it be the same with Celine? She wanted to kill the three young men who attacked her and wondered if she would have if she had not lost her energy so quickly. It shocked her how easily the desire to kill came to the surface and shocked her even more that it all felt so natural and casual. She would save her killing instincts for Celine and then when this was all over she would return to being just Sasha White and walk away from all this luxury surrounded by madness. There would be no more curses to follow her through time. She would never drink the damned water and she had no desire to live forever. She had always treasured the idea of meeting her mother again when it was her time and this hellish battle was threatening to take even that from her. She trusted her instincts and they told her once they rid the world of Celine D’Aumont they would no longer be condemned to return to this world over and over again as some kind of monsters with special powers. These powers had to be in place for a reason and the reason was one wild and crazy red headed bitch named Celine. Sasha turned a slim silver bracelet round and round again on her wrist as she began to look at this odd assembly before her one by one and sighed inwardly as she remembered all the love and all the affection she had felt for them. At one time in history long long ago they were nothing more than friends and even lovers just like everyone else and this she rememembered more than anything. She realized in that moment that this was and had always been her family and in a very strange and calm manner she was aware that she somehow filled the role of mother to these misfits through time. She was strong and protective like a momma bear over these strange and lovely creatures and like a momma bear would tear the heart out of anyone who threatened them. She roused herself and stopped fiddling with her jewelry. Enough sentimentality. Now it was time to deal with the business at hand. If she thought of all of this as business then somehow she might just make it out unscathed. The business at hand was now finding Taylor and getting him to safety and then taking out the abomination the world knew as Celine D’Aumont, president of Celgen technologies. She placed her hand gently on Marcus’ shoulder as if to let him know that she was in the game. He sighed in quiet understanding and have her hand a little squeeze.

  “Alright, we’ve got to come up with a plan to rescue Taylor and get rid of Celine. Does anyone have an idea?” Marcus was challenging them all.

  “I do!” Frankie raised his hand like a child in a classroom. “Let’s get out of this depressing room and go sit out on the terrace in the sunlight. It’s too gloomy in here to think up something brilliant.” He grabbed Sasha’s hand and pulled her with him out of the room. They were back on the large staircase and he whispered into her ear so the others couldn’t hear him.

  “I’ve got to talk to you…
alone….later sometime.” He impetuously kissed her on the forehead. “I’m so glad you’re back. Eternity is just no fun without you!” He pulled her arm and dragged her with him down to the bottom of the fantastic marble stairs. The light was pouring in through the long windows and lit up the floors and Sasha remembered just how much she had loved this house. She was remembering the time when it truly belonged to her and she was the lady of the chateau and in love with a dashing and reckless young man named Etienne. She had been happy here once and wondered if it were possible knowing what she did now, if she would ever find such a thing again in this life. She felt strongly for Taylor but now it was tainted and changed because of all this new information and what had been the beginning of a simple romance has mutated into this mixed up mess and now she didn’t know what she felt. Instead of being on a second date they were now doomed lovers who kept trying to make their love work against the odds and always lost everything. She would not let that happen again.

  “C’mon slowpoke!” Frankie jarred her out of her bottomless thoughts. She was glad he was here. He had an ability to make everything seem light and fun. Even this nasty business of coming up with a plan to kill Celine was like a game to him. He probably enjoyed coming back to life century after century to try and outwit the red haired beauty. He viewed everything as if it were a puzzle to be figured out. He continued to beam at her as if he just found a new best friend. “Don’t worry about Taylor. If I know him, he’s probably buttering her toast right now and pretending to form an alliance with her. He’s setting her up. That’s totally his style. He probably has her thinking that he’s in love with her and trying to get her to drop her guard, though that’s really my specialty.” He winked at her and she had to laugh at his never ending smile. “She’s so vain she just might fall for it. No, you’ve got nothing to worry about with him. He’ll be home soon and you two can pick up where you left off.” They were outside now and the infamous black bird swooped down on them to land on the table as it emitted three loud caws. Claire had joined them and beckoned for the bird to come sit on her shoulder and the black feathers with the white China doll had it’s instant effect of stark contrasts. Claire could not help but be beautiful. Sasha wondered what her story was as she well knew that still waters did indeed run deep. Marcus had ordered a large breakfast for them all and in the daylight in such beautiful surroundings it was easy for Sasha to pretend that nothing out of the ordinary were happening at all. She might as well enjoy it like Frankie because she alone knew how quickly this little charade was going to be over. For now she would play house with them all and pour the tea and and serve the smiles for once it was all over she was going to walk away from all of them, even Taylor. She was through being a puppet for Destiny. If she were here for a reason she would accomplish that reason and get on with her own life. No longer did she desire to live in Paris because of this. She thought her whole life that Paris had been her dream. Even that was a lie. She had some infernal eternal honing device to return to the waters underneath this house, nothing more. All of her dreams and goals were nothing more than a false mask hiding the true reason why she had to come here. In one moment Paris had become unbearable to her and she could not wait to leave and never return. A single lonely tear fell from her eye unnoticed by the rest. She was crying now because her entire life had been an illusion and in this one moment it had been destroyed forever. She hated Celine more than ever now and knew for a fact that she would not have a problem taking her down. The food arrived and they ate and talked about normal things like how Spring had arrived early in Paris and the current politics until all of the servants had departed. As soon as they were alone they began to make a plan. They had to weave a web to catch their enemy. They had to be as devious and as manipulative as she was and though they were loathe to stoop to her level they all got some satisfaction knowing that they were going to strike first this time. Only Marcus remained uneasy with all this planning. A little voice crept into his head that was just the bearest whisper but he couldn’t force it away. The voice kept asking a question. “If you kill Celine, what’s to stop her from coming back?” He did not know the answer nor did he share this with his friends. For now he kept quiet and listened passively as his friends and family planned on how they were going to kill the only woman he had ever loved.