“No! Not him! He’s the one who tried to kill me and now I’m his prisoner! How could you be a part of something so monstrous?” She struggled against her constraints. “Look at me!” She was crying now. “Do I look like a patient or a hostage? Please just let me go.” She was sobbing now. “I just want to go home!” Her helplessness was beginning to wear at the old doctor and he knew he was in trouble. His mind told him to run but his legs would not obey. He was fascinated with Celine. If she was trying to manipulate him she was doing an excellent job. A part of him wanted to believe that she was really the victim here and caught up in come cruel game of the invisible rich and that he would be the one to rescue her. He could truly be saving her life. Hadn’t he heard the other strange house guests murmuring about taking Celine’s life? Marcus seemed like he was against it yet they were openly discussing murder. He was sinking now. If he released her he knew it would be the biggest mistake of his life. He was sweating and realized just how close he had come to untying her wrists and ankles. Marcus had warned him about how manipulative and intelligent she was. He had known Marcus his whole life. His father was a doctor also, and like himself, he took care of the ageless man of mystery in the house on the hill. Marcus’ existence was a family secret and this old man came so close to betraying generations of loyalty. Marcus had given the doctor’s family everything they could have ever dreamed of and he had almost thrown it all away because of a beautiful woman. It was the oldest story in the world. He was suddenly ashamed of himself and hurried to open the door.
“Doctor..wait! Please!” The doctor turned to look back once more and his fate was sealed. Celine was staring at him and this time she didn’t look so helpless. Her eyes were lit up with rage and the beautiful, helpless victim had been replaced by a demonic vixen who was less than pleased at being denied by a mere mortal. “You should have helped me.” I would have shared everything with you.” She lied to him and he could feel a tightening in his chest. There was no more air in the room but she did not seem to be affected one bit. He was so old and his heart had been worn down by life itself that it was very easy for Celine to end his life with the tiniest of effort. She smiled as she watched him struggle and lose his grip on the door handle. He swore he heard a laugh as his head hit the ground. He knew his heart was no longer beating and for a few seconds he was still conscious and in those few seconds he saw the leather restraints fly off her limbs of their own accord. The I.V. she tore out of her arm herself and she sat up defiantly. She was no longer interested in the doctor. He saw her stand and walk to the window to look out at the beauty that lay below her. The sight of her standing at the window thus was the most beautiful thing the old man had ever seen. She was an angel smiling down on all of creation, and then he was gone.
Celine carefully peaked out to see her lovely gardens. Soon she would be walking about them freely. She took the phone out of it’s antique cradle and spun the rotary dial, frustrated at the slowness of it. She remembered when it was the latest technology and considered the utmost in modern luxury. The phone rang one time before someone picked up.
“Sleeping Beauty has awoken.” She whispered.
“Egyptian Gods are in their tombs.” It was the reply she most wanted to hear. She carefully hung up the phone and ran to the closet to search for something suitable to wear. She knew she had a few more minutes before someone would come up to the room where she was held a willing captive for such a short time. She lifted the doctor’s body onto the bed where she had been restrained and lay him down where he looked peaceful. There was a soft, unexpected smile on his lips. Celine closed his eyes and stared at the lines on his face, wondering what it must be like to grow old. How horrible it must be to slowly fade away like a flower. She shuddered at the idea and left the body to its own fate. She was too busy to be thinking of such things. She had to get to the cavern below without being seen. It wouldn’t be easy but soon there would be a diversion and she just had to wait for it. After an eternal fifteen minutes passed by she heard the old doorbell chime it’s lovely tune. She wanted to get as close to the door in the great room that led to the caves below. She crept down the hallway after changing into a woman’s suit that looked like it was from the seventies. It was far too drab and frumpy for Celine and she detested the maroon color but she had no choice. She hated to be unkempt and unfashionable at all times. Even now, when it was the last thing in the world that mattered, her vanity would just not let it go. Well, she would have to pass a few more rooms to get to the staircase. At least Sasha had good taste in clothes in this lifetime. It was something Celine noticed right away and something she never forgot. If things had been different, she was sure that she and Sasha could have been friends. Sasha was under the impression that they were nothing alike. They were more alike than Sasha would ever know. None of this was important either but Celine could not stop thinking about Sasha. She knew that they both enjoyed killing. She had seen it in Nyoirin’s eyes and she could see it in this new incarnation that was far more spectacular than the vulgar barbarian, or the helpless mistress Helene at the time of the Revolution. She could sense someone coming before she heard the efficient footsteps of the maid. She slipped into one of the rooms and decided to take this time to look for something more fitting to wear on the day of her revenge. She opened to closet and to her delight found modern clothes that were perfect for what she had in mind. These must have been purchased for Sasha as Celine noticed all of the clothing had never been worn. She chose a lavender dress that clung to her body with no frills or ornamentaion. The neckline plunged to a perfect point and the skirt stopped mid thigh. She threw off her horrible shoes and replaced them with knee high black leather boots with a mid spiky heel. Glancing in the mirror she reminded herself of when she was in the 1960’s. If she had more time she would do her hair, but was satisfied with the curly mane that reached out in every direction. The contrast of the red hair with the lavender color could not have been more dramatic. She couldn’t wait to see Marcus’ face. She noticed the glass bottles on a silver tray on the vanity and picked up one of the lovely perfume containers and applied the scent generously to the vein that was throbbing wildly in her neck. It smelled of figs and lily of the valley. She was instantly transported back in time to when she really was in love with Marcus. When she had been more human and more vulnerable. For a moment she stared at the reflection and had no idea who this stranger was. Time was beginning to melt into one long thread in the mesh of memory and desire. She roused herself and left the room stealthily and headed to the grand staircase that she had not seen in over three hundred years.
In the darkness of the catacombs the two creatures were getting closer to the house. They had just a few more turns to make and then they would be there. Celine was going to let them in when she could and so now they had to wait. They didn’t speak at all and sat down in the cold and dark, huddled together like the two little babies they really were. They smelled a human every once in a while and lifted their heads in unison only to return to a lulling, stasis waiting patiently for their mother. As they had passed through the dark halls and crevices of the catacombs Osiris noticed ancient graffiti from the time of the Romans. He wished he knew what it said. His human mind was curious and relentless in the pursuit of knowledge and it conflicted deeply with his animal brain. He was beginning to feel odd after glimpsing the great city of Paris for the first time. He was aware suddenly of just how different he and his sister were from these people, indeed even from their own mother! Why didn’t she look like them and more importantly why didn’t they look like her? He was worried now that these people would look at him and Isis in the horrified manner that Claire had done. He tried to find Claire now with his mind. He could feel her close but somehow she was not letting him in. That meant she must know he was coming and that he might have just done something stupid. If he could sense her, then she could sense him. This whole plan of mothers was based on surprise and he had just let the enemy know that they were close at hand. He was s
tartled when he heard her voice loud and clear in his mind. Isis heard it too for she jumped out of her slumber.
“I can help you. You have to trust me.” He cocked his head to one side and Isis grabbed his arm in fright.
“Don’t answer her Osiris! Keep her out!” She growled the words in an instinctive move to protect her brother. He nodded in agreement and smiled at his beautiful sister. She would never look at him the way the others did. He couldn’t wait until there were others like them. He began to picture the city filled with their kind. The Chimera walking about in open greeting each other and talking to each other pleasantly as he had recently seen the humans do. Celine had promised them the world and for the first time he could imagine it. He looked around and noticed a drawing on the wall behind them. It was the same drawing that Celine had shown them in Orleans. It was Celtic in origin and was a round symbol of interlocking pieces that looked like it was really one piece, impossibly connected. This was where Celine would open the door and welcome them into their new home in the new world.
DUPLICITY
Marcus and Frankie were in the study. They were going over the notes on the data they had confiscated from Celine’s computer. They were more alarmed as they began to put the pieces together. Celine was going to start creating these monsters of hers to unknowing and unwilling mothers. The technology for an artificial womb was still years away and she would have to rely on “volunteers”. These volunteers were to be lured into the Orleans facility with the promise of trying new products and tonics that would make them younger looking and more beautiful. Celine would feed them the water to which they would quickly become addicted and at some point during the research study, she would impregnate them with her designer demons. Frankie was wondering how Celine thought she could keep all of this a secret and actually think that she could get away with it in this twenty first century world. There were too many cameras, videos, spy satellites; the world was not as private as it once was. He was personally appalled by Celine’s plans. They reminded him too much of World War Two which he remembered very well. Hitler had wanted to create a master race and Celine’s plans echoed the dreams of a mad man. He was visibly upset.
“Experimenting on people without their consent. You remember Marcus, how horrible it was.” Frankie’s eyes darkened and the look frightened his friend. Frankie could laugh at anything, but this was something he just could not find any humor in.
“Yes. I remember too well.” Marcus looked directly at Frankie. “I remember the refugees coming to Paris. I remember the stories they told and the horrible things they had to endure.” He sat down at his desk and began to rifle through the papers that were beginning to pile up everywhere. “I remember hiding so many of them in this very house.”
‘Oh yes!” Frankie was seeing everything so vividly now. “We had to hide people underneath the city in the ancient catacombs because the Germans were too superstitious to go down. They believed the caverns held some mystical power that kept them out. Frankie’s inevitable smile returned to his face rendering him familiar again. “Those catacombs saved so many lives and they sure came in handy for getting around the city undetected.” Frankie had been a part of the Resistance movement and with his expertise at seduction and lock picking, he was highly valued and adored by his comrades. It was sad now to think of all those brave and wonderful people of all nations as dead and buried now. If there were any still living it would be impossible to visit them. There were times when living so long became almost unbearable. This was one of those rare moments for Frankie when he wished he had gone the way of his old friends. He shook himself out of nostalgia.
“Sometimes I think those creepy old tunnels made all the difference in the war. The Germans never knew what was going on right underneath their feet.” Now it was Marcus who was smiling and then all at once he was overcome with a strange foreboding. It was something he had just said. Something about what was going on. He looked at his watch. The doctor was fifteen minutes late with his report. All of this talk of the past had made Marcus sloppy in his vigilant watch over their enemy.. It could be nothing as the doctor was such an old man but it wasn’t worth the risk. Suddenly it seemed foolish to let the doctor in the room alone with Celine at all. He had underestimated her in the past and he did not want to repeat any such thing. Just then the doorbell rang and he waited for one of the maids to answer it. Marcus left the study and Frankie began to look over the data again. The water which Celine had claimed to replicate was a poor version of the water that flowed beneath the house. It would probably make someone feel stronger and more clear headed and might make them even feel younger for a little while, but they would need to continue drinking large amounts for the effects to last. Celine would need the real thing to pull off her plan. The mothers to be would have to be much stronger to survive the gestation period. Frankie stopped reading. With revulsion he realized that Celine had no intention of letting any of the mothers survive. They were disposable once their purpose was fulfilled. She must have never gotten over the idea that it was not o.k. to sacrifice people to the gods anymore. She wanted her old world back and if Frankie knew one thing in all this time of living it was this; that the world never turns backwards. His hatred of the red haired monster was growing by the minute. He felt that if he read anymore of the offensive plan he would go upstairs and take her out himself. It would give him great pleasure to rid the world of Celine. He realized that he needed to cool off. A walk through the streets of Paris always did him wonders and now was the perfect time. He was thinking of asking Claire to go along but already knew what her answer would be so he headed down to the terrace and began to walk through the wooded gardens out to the back gate down by the Seine. The clouds looked as though they were passing through quickly and he gave no thought to the rain that might fall. Frankie loved the rain. He always felt that rainwater cleaned his soul. Already he was beginning to forget the evil Celine and tried to focus on the fact that they had stopped her in time. The wind was picking up and suddenly he wished it would pour down buckets. Paris was very romantic when awash with light and water playing together which gave every vista a movie quality that always encouraged l’amour. Maybe he would find a pretty young girl to have dinner with and maybe go dancing somewhere. It was never a problem for Frankie as his skills in seduction were unparalleled but tonight he did not want to use any special ability. He was thinking of Sasha and Taylor and the way they held hands silently and how they moved as one which had always intrigued him. He was beginning to yearn for just a little of what they had. Taylor was upstairs moping in his room and Sasha was busy running away from love. Maybe he didn’t want what they had as neither one of them was happy. Maybe true love was just a myth. He stayed close to the river and enjoyed watching the boats cruise up and down full of starry eyed tourists and now and then he would wave at them playfully. Now that Celine was subdued it was time to have a little fun. It had been a very long week and he needed distraction. He lost himself in the crowds underneath the Eifel Tower where there were plenty of beautiful women all around. All Frankie had to do was smile. He felt the first droplets hit his forehead and he lifted his face up to the heavens to accept the blessings from the skies above.
Marcus was about to enter the hall leading to Celine’s room when Virginie intercepted him.
“Monsieur, it is the police.” She almost whispered to him.
“Police…where?” He stopped in his tracks.
“At the front door Monsieur. They are asking for you. They will not go away.” She sounded a little frightened.
“Just go back to what you were doing Virginie. I’m sure it’s nothing. I’ll attend to them myself.” He smiled at her and tried to calm her. “There’s nothing to worry about. I’m sure everything is fine. Maybe there was another robbery in our little village!” He teased her and she accepted his nonchalant attitude and went back to the million things that such a house needed tending to. The last thing Marcus needed was the police. Their timing couldn’t be wors
e and he ran up the staircase in the hopes of getting rid of them quickly. He was after all, the wealthiest man in the neighborhood, that did count for something. He saw two men standing in the foyer and as Marcus walked toward them he could see them admiring the house and trying to take in all of this unbelievable beauty that belonged to another world. Marcus smiled at them and held out his hand. The men did not smile back, nor did they accept his hospitable gesture. The one was heavily built and it seemed his blue uniform was sewn onto the muscles that lay underneath. They were both wearing the baseball style caps that were common now to the police in France but they did not seem like your typical French civil servant. The first one spoke in a very gruff and serious manner.
“Monsieur D’Alessandro? We have been instructed to bring you in for questioning concerning the whereabouts of Miss Celine D’Aumont. Please come with us. It will only take a couple of hours.” He motioned his big hand to force Marcus out the door. Marcus didn’t budge.
“Hold on there. Miss D’Aumont of Celgen?” He stepped back and away from the intimidating man. This couldn’t be happening. How could the police be involved and where would they get his name. He made certain throughout the centuries that there was never any connection between him and Celine. It was part of their truce, unless Celine had some kind of digital fail safe in the event she ever did disappear one day. Celine would most definitely leave a trail of breadcrumbs right to his front door. He quickly collected his wits and decided that the best course of action was not to arouse any suspicion.
Immortal Beauty (The Immortals) Page 40