by Lola Swain
Paul’s body started to convulse and broke out into sweat. His legs, despite the heavy kettlebell weight, twisted and turned and were blood red. He screamed as his eyes rolled back into his head and he finally passed out and was still.
“Holy smokes!” Luca said and clapped. “That was kind of like a Fourth of July firework’s finale. Spectacular show!”
Lena dropped the syringe on the ground and walked up to Paul. She tapped against one of the darts and he didn’t move.
“Is he dead?” Luca said.
“No, I don’t think so. Just resting. I’m sleepy, Luca.”
“I know that you are, beauty. Soon you will sleep.”
“I can’t wait. I’m going to rest my head on your shoulder and sleep the whole way home.”
Luca looked down at the ground and back up at Lena. He opened his mouth, but could not say anything.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing. Let’s take care of Katy.”
Lena sat on the bed with Katy. She looked at Lena and rolled her eyes.
“What more? Is he going to rape me again?”
“Can I ask you something?” Lena said. “Why in hell are you even thinking you want to have children with a man who you know is a pedophile?”
“He’s not a pedophile. Those people were eighteen.”
“Katy, stop! He dabbled with escorts, they were probably over eighteen, but you know, he also raped children who he knew were not eighteen.”
Lena looked down at the bed and sighed. She picked at the bedspread and looked up at Katy.
“Katy, where is Jennifer?”
Katy looked at Lena and shook her head.
“Who? I don’t know—”
“Katy, where is your twelve-year-old sister Jennifer right now?”
“Home. She’s home in Nebraska.”
“Her home at the mental institution or her home at your parent’s house?”
“She was raped! It wasn’t her fault!”
“I know it wasn’t her fault. When is the baby due? Do you think it will look like Paul?”
“How do you know?”
“Katy, we know everything.”
Luca walked over to the bed and held the knife in front of Katy’s face.
“Acta non verba, Katy,” Luca said and knelt in between Katy’s legs. “Deeds not words. Are you still in love with the man who raped your sister?”
Katy cried as she looked at Lena.
“Did you not ever do anything desperate so you wouldn’t lose love?”
Lena looked at Katy and smiled as she traced her finger around the scar on her neck.
“Yes. And I was punished for it.”
“Answer the question, Katy,” Luca said.
“Yes! Yes, I am in love with Paul!”
“You weak heretic. Will you shut down your vanity for the one you love? Will you wear his brand?”
“Yes! I will do anything for him. I don’t care what he did or what he does. Paul will not leave me and I will not leave Paul so fuck you, you deranged, twisted cocksuckers!”
“Cook the knife,” Luca said and held the blade out toward Lena.
Lena grabbed a small blowtorch and held the flame to the tip of the knife. She stared at Katy over the flame and Katy looked at her and scowled.
She turned off the torch and pushed Katy back on the bed.
“Pride comes before the fall, right?” Lena said.
Luca jumped on top of Katy and began his carving. They didn’t bother attempting to silence her screams. It would only be about forty seconds before she passed out from the pain.
Luca sat back when he was done and smiled.
“That looks excellent. Hand me the ink.”
Lena returned to the bed and stared at Luca’s work.
“There’s very little blood.”
“I know. The knife is so hot, it cauterized the wound as I carved into her skin. I didn’t want her to bleed out before she was able to show anyone her new branding.”
Luca dumped the blood red ink on Katy’s chest and rubbed it into her skin. He grabbed a towel and wiped the pigment that had not settled into her wounds. From sternum to the tops of her breasts she was covered in the brand Luca made especially for her. When all the ink was wiped away he stood next to Lena and they looked at Katy’s new artwork.
“Kind of says it all, doesn’t it?” Luca said and rubbed Lena’s back.
Lena squinted as she looked at Katy’s chest.
“Wait a minute, does that say Paul’s Whoret? Whoret…w-h-o-r-e-t? What the hell is a whoret?
“No, it’s Paul’s Whore. Whore! That’s an exclamation point, silly. Paul’s Whore, exclamation point! Makes a bolder statement.”
Luca put his arm around Lena’s shoulders and kissed her head.
“And we’re done!” she said. “Let’s get out of this place.”
Lena and Luca left the room and shut the door behind them.
“Man, it looks like we had a hell of a party,” Lena said as she walked through the living room. “The room is trashed.”
“We did have a hell of a party, didn’t we?”
“Yep. How long do you think before someone finds them?”
“Oh, by tonight, definitely.”
“Ha! I wish I could see the reaction as they parade Mr. Shriveled Balls and Paul’s Whoret out of the hotel!” Lena said and clapped.
“So?” Luca said and sat on the couch.
“So…what?”
“Want another line?” Luca said and started chopping up some cocaine. “I’m going to have another. Do you want one?”
“No, I want to leave. What’s going on?”
Luca inhaled two thick lines of cocaine and wiped his nose as he looked up at Lena.
“Nothing. I had fun tonight. I really did, that’s all. Forget all that other stuff. I just really had a good time with you.”
“Well, I had a really good time with you too. Um, want to go have another good time?”
Luca wanted more than anything to make love to Lena. But he knew that he could not.
“Yes,” he said and sighed, “however, why don’t you go relax in that amazing shower for a bit? We have a little time.”
“Cool. You want to join me?”
“More than anything,” Luca said and lit a cigarette. “But…I just need to have a drink and relax first, okay? You know, recharge.”
“Okay,” Lena said and shrugged.
She turned and walked toward the bedroom and paused and looked at Luca.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No, I promise. Just take a quick shower, grab a drink and come join me on the balcony. We can watch the sun come up.”
“Okay,” Lena said and smiled.
Luca poured himself a scotch and walked out onto the balcony of the penthouse. The view was amazing and Luca panned across the city and stared at the rooftop gardens and water towers and other shops in the area. He sat down in one of the chaise loungers and closed his eyes as he thought about what he would say to Lena. And when he opened them, she stood over him in a silk robe with wet hair and no makeup on. And she was the most beautiful sight since he first laid eyes on Gabriella Teresi.
“Hey,” he said and sat up in the chair. “I must have dozed off. Come sit. Look how beautiful the sky is.”
Lena sat on the lounger and leaned back into Luca’s arms. They watched the sky as the sun came up. Seeing the orange colors flash through the clouds reminded Lena of home and how she was excited to return. She would do things right this time, she thought. And she would have Luca.
“You know,” she said and reached behind her and stroked his hair, “I think that everything that happened to me was preparing me for this.”
“What do you mean?” Luca said and kissed the top of her head.
“I mean, I waited for you.”
Lena sat up and turned around and stared at Luca. She leaned toward him and kissed his lips. She parted her lips wider and wiggled her tongue inside his mouth. Luc
a grabbed Lena by the back of the head and kissed her passionately. And then he was forced to remember what he had to tell her and he grabbed her by the arms and pushed her away.
Lena put her hand over her lips and stared at Luca. He jumped of the chair and leaned against the railing.
“What’s wrong?” Lena said. “It was just a kiss. I don’t understand.”
“What’s with all this love stuff, Lena? It’s getting tiresome.”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t say I loved you, did I? I said I waited for you.”
“Waited for me…love me…it’s the same difference!”
“It is not!”
“It is too. I am a very intelligent man, Lena. I know what you’ve been getting at this whole time. I know what you meant when you said that you waited for me and I don’t like it!”
“Whoa! If I wanted to tell you I loved you, I would. But I did not. I did not say that I loved you! So back the fuck off, Carly Simon!”
Luca looked at her and cocked his head. And then he started to laugh.
“What?” Lena said and tried to fight back her laughter. “I’m serious! God, you are so full of yourself.”
“That was good,” Luca said. “I like it when you make me laugh.”
“Well, then stop trying to start fights with me and I’ll always make you laugh.”
“Yes,” Luca said and rubbed his chin. “I’m sure that you always would make me laugh.”
“Luca, just tell me what’s going on? And don’t we need to get out of here?”
“Yes, you do,” Luca said and closed his eyes.
Lena looked at Luca and opened her mouth. She stood up from the lounge chair and faced him.
“Wait a minute, what did you say?”
“I said: you do.”
“We do, you mean? We have to leave, right, Luca? We are returning to the Order.”
“No, baby. You are. At the conclusion of this mission, I was officially set free.”
Lena backed away from Luca and tears welled in her eyes. She touched the scar on her neck and hung her head.
“Lena…”
“You knew! You knew how I felt about you and you knew this whole time you were going to be free!”
“Baby, sit down. Talk to me, please?”
“What is there to say? God! You’re like all the rest of them, aren’t you? You take what you want from me and then throw me away when I’m not useful to you anymore!”
“No! Lena, that is not what happened. I feel the same. I didn’t expect to feel the same, but I saw you and I thought of Gabriella and—”
“Wait, who? What the fuck are you talking about? You have some nerve! I’m pouring my heart out to you and you’re talking about another woman. Fuck you!”
“Lena! Stop interrupting me and let me finish!”
“Finish,” Lena said and wiped her tears.
“I saw you at a point in the evening. You didn’t even know it, I didn’t even know it, but I looked at you and thought that I would do anything to spend the rest of my life with you. And I haven’t felt like that about any other woman since I first saw Gabriella. My first love.”
Lena looked up at Luca and smiled.
“Is that how you really feel?”
“Yes,” he said and sighed. “That is how I really feel.”
“Well, don’t sound so depressed. We can work this out.”
“Lena, you don’t understand. You will return to the Order in a matter of minutes. I am staying here.”
“I do understand. So I’ll work really hard. I’ll gain libertas faster than anyone in the Order. I’ll do it and then I’ll find you and—oh, wait. You’re saying that you won’t wait for me, aren’t you? You’re saying that you won’t wait because you want to start your fancy new life and go back to your old ways and you won’t wait!”
“That’s not it. That’s not what I’m saying at all. Though it would be well within my right not to wait, however, that’s not where I’m going with this.”
“Then where are you going with this? Please, just spit it out.”
“You won’t remember me, Lena. And I won’t know where you are.”
“What do you mean, I won’t remember you? Now you’re going the opposite way with the conceit.”
“Lena, stop making jokes! You won’t remember me because they will erase the memories of me when you return to the Order. I am human now. They take your old life. They will do this to you and you won’t remember who the fuck I am!” Luca said and slumped down on the chaise lounge.
Lena walked up to Luca and put her hands on his shoulders. He rested his head against her stomach and stared at the ground.
“You won’t remember who I am,” Luca whispered as he closed his eyes.
Lena knelt down in front of him and put her hand under his chin. He tilted his head and stared into her eyes.
“Hey, that park right down there, that’s Central Park, right?”
Luca looked over his shoulder and nodded.
“And right now, we are in the Waldorf-Astoria, right? And I am Lena Mason.”
“Yes, but by the time you are freed, they will—”
“And you are Luca Maretti and I do love you.”
Luca grabbed Lena and kissed her. She pushed him away and stood in front of him.
“Steel trap, Maretti,” she said and tapped on her forehead. “Steel trap.”
Lena turned and walked back through the living room. She stopped in the doorway of the bedroom and turned and looked at Luca. She held her hand up and waved and walked into the bedroom and closed the door.
Luca felt the anxiety surge through him. He raced through the suite, but by the time he got to the bedroom, Lena was gone. He backed into the wall opposite the bedroom door and slid to the floor. He sat there for a very long time and thought of nothing but Lena.
He forced himself to remember the look of her face, the touch of her skin, the smell of her hair and the taste of her. He burned it into his memory and he knew that no matter what happened, no one could ever take that from him again.
Lena Mason did exactly what she said she was going to do and climbed through the ranks of the Order faster than any Inquisitor had. She even surpassed Luca in rank and the Elders were very surprised that the girl who they did not have much hope for in the beginning, was the most accomplished warrior they had.
Lena was vicious and she delivered punishments with no mercy and never allowed herself to be caught off guard. She was a different woman, in part because the negative brain patterns that remained in her head from her old life, had mostly been erased. She was given her freedom after a particularly gruesome Inquisition in Paris. She did not know the reason why, but she knew that she would not make her home there.
In the time when he was away from Lena, Luca fell back into his old profession of photography, one of the few memories, beside Gabriella Teresi, that he asked the Elders not to erase. He stayed in New York and quickly became very celebrated for his work. He was extremely successful and had women at his beck and call, but he only ever thought of Lena. He purchased an apartment right across from Central Park and frequently spent time on his balcony with his binoculars searching for her.
One time, he thought he saw her and flew down five flights of stairs because he did not want to wait for the elevator in his building. When he darted into Park Avenue with the girl he thought was Lena in his sights, he was hit by a cab. He was fine and tried to run away, but a crowd gathered and would not let him leave.
And one day, a few years later, he was checking on his installation at a gallery about a block from his apartment when he saw her through the gallery window. That he remembered to use the door was a miracle, so fast he flew down the street toward her. He caught up to her on Park, right across from Central Park. He stopped for a minute and stared at her. She looked more beautiful than she had when he last saw her. And for all the longing he did over Lena, he was terrified to go to her. He knew it would crush him if she didn’t remember.
<
br /> He approached her slowly and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and stared at him and he stood there dumbly with his mouth hanging open.
Her beauty caved his chest in.
“I-I’m sorry,” Luca said as he stared in Lena’s eyes. “I thought you were someone else. Um, I’m Luca.”
“Hi, Lena Mason,” she said and held her hand out.
Luca grabbed her hand and shook it. He stared at her and smiled.
“I feel silly. I thought we knew each other.”
“Really? No, I don’t think so.”
“Oh, I see,” Luca said and looked down at the ground.
“You must not be used to women forgetting you?”
“No, it’s not that. I have a friend. She looks like you. I saw you when I was in the gallery over there and I figured…I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, but I really do have to be going, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course. Forgive me.”
“No problem. Hey, do you know where the Canal Bar is? I’m meeting my boyfriend there for a drink.”
“Your…who? You live here?”
“Um, yeah? Why? Don’t you?”
“Yes, I just thought maybe you were from out of town. I’ve never seen you before and—”
“We’re in Manhattan. Have you seen everyone there is to see in the city?”
“No, yeah. You’re late, I have to get back to work. It was nice meeting you and maybe I’ll see you around.”
“Um, okay,” Lena said and shrugged. “So long.”
Luca leaned up against the crosswalk poll as he watched her walk down the street. He held his breath and closed his eyes as he listened to his heart break.
“Hey! Are you coming, Carly Simon?”
Luca opened his eyes and turned his head. Lena smiled at him and held her arms out. He exhaled and laughed.
“Come on, Maretti! I’ve waited a very long time for this drink,” she said.
“I will never make you wait again,” Luca said and shook his head as he walked toward her.
The End
Thank you for reading The Inquisitor’s Song. If you enjoyed this book, please consider spreading your good word.
About The Author
Ava Ayers spends her days sunning on the shore of Sanremo and her nights fighting crime and changing the footwear choices of those with a propensity for pairing socks and Birkenstocks…or nothing like that. Mostly she likes entertaining her readers with epic tales of lust, love and intrigue involving strong men and even stronger women—something very near and dear to her heart. She is the best-selling author of Immoral Beloved, an erotic romance fantasy novel and the newly released novel The Inquisitor’s Song.