by K.N. Lee
She had a beautiful rich voice and a lilting African accent. Anais had seen her around the house a lot, but she realised this was the first time she’d spoken to her since Christmas Day. She felt bad that she’d not spent the time to get to know this young woman, who was just as new to the house as she was. She realised she had missed an opportunity to befriend Judith, who must have felt as much of an outsider as she did to begin with. Mind you, she’d had a lot to occupy her in the past couple of months.
“I’m fine, thank you. Feeling much better.” She didn’t know how much Judith knew about the situation, so she was careful not to let slip too much.
“Did you have fun shopping?”
“Oh, yes. Audsley is very fun. We had a good time.”
Audsley appeared at the top of the stairs with a towel wrapped around her head and another one which she passed to Judith.
Anais asked them both if they’d like a coffee, and when they both replied yes, the three of them headed down to the kitchen. It was surprisingly devoid of Winnie, but the clue that she had recently been there was sitting cooling on the table, a huge coffee and walnut cake, which would almost certainly be served after dinner. Anais wondered how the entire family stayed so slim with the amount they all ate. Probably something to do with The Light affecting their metabolism she decided. The cake smelled delicious and it took all Anais’ willpower not to cut a slice right there and then.
She made three cups of coffee and joined the others at the table.
“So how did the meetin’ go?” Audsley asked in her curious American/Yorkshire accent.
“Meeting?” Judith looked curious.
“I had a meeting with my erm...financial advisor,” Anais improvised wildly, shooting Audsley a look that wasn’t missed by Judith.
Audsley pulled a face, which could have meant I’m sorry.
“Oh,” said Judith “And are your finances in order?”
“Yeah,” said Anais awkwardly.
“Are all English families like this?”
“In what way?”
“Secrets. There are many secrets here. Andrew is a wonderful man, but I feel like he will not open up to me. I feel that many things are happening in this house that I do not know about.”
“I’m sorry Judith. I arrived not long before you did. I don’t know what to tell you.”
“Hell, yeah. You are surrounded by the Americans here, remember,” Audsley piped up.
“But you are part of the family, yes? You are British by birth?”
“Yeah, but it’s been so long since I came home. I think all families are kooky, we are just weirder than most. So what’s the dealio with you and Handy Andy?”
“I think he is in love with me.”
“And are you in love with him?” Anais asked.
“I admire him a great deal. He is intelligent and compassionate, but he, too, holds lots of secrets. I think he wants to marry me.”
Anais noticed that Judith did not answer the question, but as Judith was a relative stranger, she did not want to push it. They were a strange couple, beautiful stately Judith and Andrew, the pale computer nerd, but they somehow worked together. Anais wondered if she still saw Rafe at all, or if the little talk he’d had with Alex had put a stop to it. Judith hadn’t mentioned Rafe at all, so she supposed whatever had been going on was now over.
“Wowee! I’d never of thought of Andy getting hitched!” Audsley was obviously not the tactful type.
“Why ever not?”
Anais responded before Audsley could put her foot in it. “Because he’s never met the right woman before you came along.”
“I think Audsley meant because he’s a geek.” Judith broke out laughing followed by Audsley and then Anais.
“He’s my geek, though,” she said between giggles.
Anais remembered that she was going to help Arcadia pack and she bade farewell to the two women.
She found Arcadia in her room folding her clothes perfectly, before putting each item into a suitcase.
“Hey,” she said when Anais poked her head around the door. “Come in, take a seat.”
She pointed to the bed.
Anais sat down. It looked like Arcadia had everything under control, so instead of offering to help, she asked about her plans.
“Rafe thinks Rio is a good place to start. One of the last letters we got was postmarked from there, and it’s as good a place as any.”
“Do you think you’ll find him?”
“Honestly? No. We don’t know what name he goes by. We don’t know if he spent a lot of time in Rio, or if he was just passing through. We have no idea what he looks like beyond white hair and black eyes, both of which can be disguised” She gestured towards her own hair which was now a flaming red colour as if that proved her point.”
“Did Alex tell you our suspicions?”
“That Jago had a partner? Yes. I’m not sure if it will make it harder or easier. It’s just another person to find. The last place we know Jago was for sure was this house on Boxing Day. Even then, with the multitude of security cameras we still managed to miss him. No, I think the chances of us catching him are pretty slim.”
“So why are you going then?”
“What other options do we have? You heard Daddy. It will take a miracle to stumble on the correct antidote and Daddy is a scientific genius. If he can’t do it, then it can’t be done. Either Daddy finds a cure in time and we are all safe, or he doesn’t and the world ends. Either way, I don’t want to spend the last year of the world cooped up in this house.”
“You sound very defeatist.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I really hope we do find him. I am going to do everything in my power to nail the bastard. I just know this is a slim chance. Still, if anyone can find him, Andrew can. He will tell us where to look.”
“I believe we will get him. I really do,” Anais answered.
“I hope you are right,” Arcadia smiled, “Aren’t you supposed to be resting?”
“I’m hardly working hard. I’m just sitting on your bed.”
“Mama will have my guts for garters, letting you up out of bed.”
“I wasn’t in bed, I was lying on the sofa in the library, and anyway, I’m an adult. I can do what I want. Plus, I feel fine.”
Arcadia eyed her sceptically, but she let her stay anyway.
“I’m sorry about the babies. I was looking forward to being an auntie.”
“Thanks, I knew the odds were against them surviving, I just hoped...” she trailed off, tears threatening to come to her eyes.
“We all did honey.” Arcadia gave her a quick hug.
“Have you spoken to Alex since...you know?”
“No, I haven’t had the courage. Is he ok?”
“I think this has been a huge blow to him. He’s madly in love with you, you know.”
“I know,” replied Anais sadly.
“I think that’s why he agreed to come to Rio, to get away from the situation. To get away from you.”
“Poor Alex, I never thought. He must have been horrified when Aethelu and I said we were coming, too.”
“Yeah, I don’t think he was expecting you both to come along with us.”
“Then we should stay behind.” It was the last thing Anais wanted to do. She felt helpless enough as it was, but she knew she couldn’t hurt Alex anymore than she had already done.
“I think it might be for the best, sweetie. At least for a little while, just until he’s had a bit of time and distance to get over you.”
“Living for such a long time must leave you with so many broken hearts,” mused Anais.
“Not if you are the one who does the breaking. Alex has never fallen this hard before, but then again, neither has Aethelu. With Andrew also falling for Judith at the same time, it all feels rather strange. I wonder how broken we will all feel when we are the only people left?”
With that horrific thought in her head, Anais left Arcadia and ran back down to the library.
Chapter 2
3
To her relief, Aethelu was waiting for her. Ignoring Aethelu’s stern look, she launched herself into Aethelu’s arms.
“Hey, lady, what’s up now?”
“Nothing, I’m just pleased to see you.”
“Oh, well in that case.” She finished her sentence with a kiss. “It looks to me that if I want you to rest, I will have to babysit you.”
“I can’t think of anything I’d like more. Just let’s go back to the studio. I want nothing more than being alone with you.”
“Me too.” Aethelu picked up Anais hand, which Anais was pleased to observe made her fingers feel the familiar tingle. They grabbed some food from the now deserted kitchen, including a couple of slices of the cooled coffee cake, and headed back to the studio. Anais locked the door behind her as she went in. She’d had enough of the household and didn’t want to be disturbed for the rest of the evening. The bed she had slept in when she had fainted was still at ground level and it was here that she sat now, laying out a picnic with the food they had taken from the kitchen.
Aethelu joined her and started to tuck into a bowl of salad.
“Did you and Andrew find anything out about Jago’s whereabouts?” Anais asked.
“Not really, there is so little to go on. He has managed to hack into all the major airlines. So we can see who is flying where, but with the hundreds of thousands of people flying daily, it’s a heck of a lot of data to wade through. We narrowed it down slightly to the times each letter was sent and where in the world it was sent from. I left Andrew cross referencing all the names.”
“That sounds like a huge job. Shouldn’t you have stayed to help him?”
“He wasn’t doing it manually. He was writing a program to do it for him. I’ve no clue about computers. I thought it was best to leave him to it. Besides, I was too busy looking at a certain beautiful, yet infuriating woman who was supposed to be resting in the library.”
“How did you...? Ah, the security cameras. I forgot that you’d be able to see me.”
“Yes, that much is obvious. I came back up to the kitchen to march you straight back to the library, but you’d already gone. I gave poor Audsley and Judith one hell of a fright, though. They both thought I’d been hiding in the larder.”
Anais laughed at the image.
“Yep, eyes are everywhere. Actually, that reminds me.” Aethelu got up and appeared to be looking at the ceiling. When she had found what she was looking for, she picked up a cloth that she found on the floor and climbed the ladder to the mezzanine. She hung the cloth on something high up on the wall and then returned to Anais.
“What did you just do?” Anais was confused.
“I didn’t want Andrew watching over us. I know we are supposed to have the cameras for our safety, but it doesn’t mean I want everyone to be able to see everything that we do. Especially with what I have planned for you tonight.”
A tingle of anticipation ran through Anais.
“I’ve just realised. You’ve spent more time sleeping in a sick bed than I’ve spent sleeping with you.”
“That can’t be true can it?” Anais thought back and realised in all the time she had been with Aethelu they had only spent three nights in the same bed, and each time one or the other of them had fallen asleep with exhaustion.
“If you are feeling well enough that is. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Physically I’m feeling fine. Aldrich says that because the embryos never took in the first place, then I shouldn’t feel any pain. Emotionally, I’m ragged, but if anyone can help me through it, it’s you.”
“You’ve been through so much. Your strength amazes me.” Aethelu moved the food aside and made her way across the bed to Anais.
She kissed her lightly on the lips. Anais kissed her back, slowly at first ignoring the tingles in her lips. She knew Aethelu must have been trying very hard not to use The Light. Anais could not hold back, though. She’d been waiting too long for this moment. She kissed Aethelu hard and with a swift movement pushed her flat onto the bed, knocking the rest of the food onto the floor. Aethelu lost control and Anais felt the full force of The Light coursing through her body. Spasms of electric shocks flew through her, but she was ready for them. She held Aethelu tight, determined. Her whole body felt on fire with a mix of her own desire and the power emanating from Aethelu. Still, she didn’t let go. Kissing Aethelu with such passion meant she could let everything else go, and she abandoned herself to pleasure. Her whole universe was aflame with wild abandon, and she didn’t care. Nothing mattered anymore except this one perfect moment in time. The softness of Aethelu’s lips on hers, a stark contrast to the force they generated. Sensations which Anais had never felt before welled up inside her and she was determined not to let go, just surrender to it. Pain and pleasure intermingled causing a blissful torture that Anais never wanted to end.
In their frenzy of passion, neither heard the door opening.
A sharp pain roared through Anais' leg causing her to pull apart from Aethelu. Immediately the electric shocks stopped and were taken over by the pain in her leg. As she looked down, a bloom of red appeared on the jeans covering her calf.
“What the?”
Aethelu, seeing something was wrong, sat up. She immediately noticed Anais’ leg.
Anais looked at her in shock, and as she did, something flew past both of them, missing them both by inches.
Anais looked toward where the projectile seemed to have come from. At the door to the studio, stood a man. He was dressed in all black and had a black cape, which billowed out behind him, flapping in the wind. The hood covered his head throwing his face into shadow. He had his finger on the light switch. Just before everything went black, Anais saw what had caused the damage to her leg. The stranger held a crossbow in his hand.
“Hide!” she screamed, but it was no use.
Aethelu was lit up like a torch, thanks to their kissing earlier. Anais rolled off the bed, pulling Aethelu with her, but it was too late. As if in slow motion, an arrow pierced Aethelu inches below her right shoulder. Blood appeared on Aethelu’s shirt, darkening the already red top. Another arrow flew past as they ducked behind the bed, going over the top of their heads.
“You can’t hide.” The figure moved around the bed. His voice was unreal like it had been altered technically. He must have been wearing a voice changer under the hood.
Anais knew he was right. Even if she could slip past him in the dark, there was no way she would be able to get Aethelu out unseen.
In the pitch black, she couldn’t see where the man now stood, but she knew he would be able to see them. She pulled a blanket off the bed, intending to cover Aethelu with it to block out the illumination, but once again, she was too slow. Another arrow flew towards them and hit its mark, square in Aethelu’s centre. Aethelu had a moment of shock and then passed out as a third arrow pierced her skin, this time in her thigh. Her light began to dim.
Anais was static with shock. She was a sitting duck. If she stayed where she was, she would inevitably be shot, but there was no way she was leaving Aethelu.
“You have not been listening to me.” The voice rang out in the darkness. It sounded closer. “I know you are trying to make an antidote to my virus. Babies or no babies, there is no antidote. Aldrich could spend the rest of his life looking, and he will still not find one. You know why? Because that is not the only virus. I have more. You find the antidote to one, and I unleash the other. Simple. You must think I’m a fool. Well, I am sick of you underestimating me. I want the Elixir!
I will be watching you. Tell Aldrich that if he doesn’t start turning his attention to making the Elixir, I will kill off his family one by one.
Anais was angry. Fuelled by rage and the energy she had somehow imbibed from Aethelu, she stood up. She faced the general direction of her attacker, and despite the agony in her calf, she lunged into the darkness.
She collided with her attacker, knocking him over and screamed with rage. All her energy
built up, and she was surprised to see she was now glowing herself. Not the soft illumination of Aethelu, but a bright light. Anger poured out of her as she punched the man, but it was no use. He was much stronger than her and was easily able to push her off. In the struggle, he had lost his hood and with Anais herself illuminating him, she was able to see his face. It was horrific, ugly. His skin looked like melted wax, leaving his features drooping down his face. He had a contraption covering his mouth, which could only be the voice changer.
She punched him as hard as she could and was pleased to see that it had hurt. He stood up holding his head where Anais had hit. He gave her one last kick in the side, winding her, and then disappeared into the night.
She followed him out of the door and into the courtyard. She knew she couldn’t follow him, as she had to get back to Aethelu, but she needed to get help from the house. Suddenly, light flooded the courtyard, momentarily shocking both her and Jago. She felt torn, desperate to give chase, but knowing Aethelu needed medical help. The source of the lights became clear when the door opened and out came August. He had obviously heard the commotion and turned on the outside lights.
“What the ruddy hell’s going on?”
“August! It’s Jago.” She pointed towards the path into the woods down which he was now making his escape. Rain started to spatter, but Anais didn’t notice. “Aethelu’s hurt, get help!”
August looked momentarily shocked but ran towards the studio and Aethelu.
Anais knew she had to make a decision and fast. She wanted to know that Aethelu was alright, but she’d already lost sight of Jago. Knowing that this might be their only chance and that Aethelu would be in good hands, she took off after Jago.
Her leg was hurting, but adrenaline had kicked in, and sheer determination was making her run faster than she had ever done before. The fairy lights illuminated the path in front of her through the woods. The drops of rain had turned into a storm, and even under the canopy of trees, she was getting soaked. The sky was filled with ominous black clouds, and as she ran past her father’s tomb, she heard the first crack of thunder. The fairy lights only went as far as the tomb, and she still hadn’t caught up with Jago. Still she kept running, through the pitch black and the rain. She had to slow down for fear of accidentally coming off the path and getting lost. She ran as far as the perimeter wall and stopped to catch her breath. She could barely see a thing in the darkness and the rain was coming down with such force that she had to concede that she had lost him. Suddenly a flash of lightning illuminated the sky and she saw him. Barely thirty yards from where she was stood. He was climbing the perimeter wall.