by H. R. Moore
‘Why do you see a conspiracy theory everywhere you look? Couldn’t it be that Anita just likes me for the same reasons that I like her? We have fun together and have a lot in common. Most people either suck up to me or are terrified of me, but Anita’s just normal, it’s refreshing. Unlike you, I don’t want people to treat me differently.’
‘Marcus, you are acting like a naïve child. Why can’t you just trust that I know best?’
‘Because you don’t always know best and one day I’ll be a ruling Descendant, so I can’t stay in your shadow forever.’
‘You’re not even close to being ready to rule,’ Austin scorned. ‘You’re a lost boy who’s been led astray by a girl and you’re not even able to admit you might be wrong when she was caught stealing red handed from your family vault.’
This was the point of no return, but Marcus knew that to get anywhere with his father he had to fight fire with fire, it was the only way to win his respect. ‘If you don’t let her go then Alexander will expose details of the affair you were having just before you and mum separated.’ He said it then stopped dead, the air around them seeming to crackle as Austin took in what his son had just said.
‘What affair?’ he asked, testing Marcus’ resolve.
‘Don’t play with me dad. You know exactly what I’m talking about.’
Austin looked at his son and was impressed. Indeed he was stepping out of the shadows. ‘You would do that to your own family? Bring embarrassment down on yourself at the same time as me?’
‘You’re trying to play the family card when you locked up Anita, who I love, ignored my wishes to set her free, beat her up, and then refused to listen to her perfectly reasonable explanation of what happened? Do me a favour dad and come up with something better than that.’
Marcus’ resolve was impressive. Austin saw a look in his eye that reminded him of his father, Tobias and it filled him with pride. He knew now that Marcus had it in him to enter the family business, if he was happy to blackmail his own father, then only the Gods knew what else he was capable of. However it was important, now that Marcus had found his teeth, to keep him on side and bring him firmly under his wing. Amber would have to start taking orders from him, she wouldn’t like that, but he had to see incremental benefits, or there was a danger that Marcus would defect; and much as it pained him, Anita would have to be set free. He could easily deal with her at a later date, after he’d managed to drive a wedge between her and Marcus. Austin was confident that wouldn’t be difficult to do, now that Marcus had shown his true colours.
‘Alright, consider her freed. You can go and get her now and take her home if you want.’
Marcus froze, holding his breath. Was he dreaming, or had that really been so easy? Austin laughed. ‘Son, I’m proud of the way you’ve dealt with this. You’ve leveraged a piece of delicate information to your advantage, I couldn’t have done it better myself. The only thing is, does Alexander really know about the affair?’
‘He knows there was one, but he doesn’t know who it was with. I said I would only tell him that if he needed to know.’
‘But you do know who it was with?’
‘I guess we’ll never know now will we,’ Marcus said smugly turning for the door. ‘Come on, I’ll need you to call off your dogs.’
Austin laughed again. ‘I think we should tell Amber it’s time for her to start taking orders from you now too. Just let me have a word with her first, I have a feeling she won’t like it very much. Amber is a one boss kind of girl.’
They made their way quickly to the basement, Marcus still not totally convinced he wasn’t dreaming. A part of him worried that Austin was playing some cruel joke and was about to change his mind. They reached the desk where Amber was talking to one of her guards and Marcus said, ‘Amber, please come with me. We’re setting Anita free.’
Amber laughed insultingly. She was about to rattle off a tirade of abuse, telling him he was living in a dream world if he thought she’d go against Austin’s wishes and set Anita free. But when she looked up, she saw Austin standing behind Marcus nodding, a smile playing about his lips, waiting with interest to see what she would do next. Amber narrowed her eyes, throwing a furious look at Austin; he would be deriving no end of enjoyment from this, but she could take that out on him later.
‘Of course,’ she replied through gritted teeth. Marcus was trying to keep his expression even, but couldn’t totally hide his amazement. Who would’ve thought that blackmailing his father could have such positive effects? He followed Amber to the cell Anita was being held in and watched whilst she uncuffed her hands and feet. Anita looked worried; unsure what was going on and what torture she could expect next.
‘Dad is letting you go,’ said Marcus in a gentle voice, helping her to her feet, but as she tried to put weight on her legs they gave way. She would’ve fallen to the floor if Marcus hadn’t scooped her up into his arms and carried her out of the room. He didn’t stop for a second on the way to his car, still concerned that something could be done to stop him. Anita said nothing, resting her head limply on his chest, full of relief to be in the cool night air. Marcus placed her cautiously on the back seat, trying to be as careful of her broken ribs and bruised flesh as he could. He sat down opposite her and took her hand as his driver set off towards Cordelia’s.
Anita said nothing for the whole journey, her energy not responding as she would have expected to her freedom. She still felt empty and drained and although she knew she should be thankful to Marcus for getting her out, she felt nothing but numbness. They arrived at Cordelia’s and Marcus picked Anita up again, pushed the gate open and walked to the back door, ajar as usual, not stopping as he made his way inside, calling for Cordelia as he entered.
‘Hello?’ he said urgently, ‘Cordelia? Are you here? I need your help.’
Cordelia came rushing out of the sitting room, where she’d been sitting with Cleo by the fire. Cleo had told her everything, knowing she would by now be beside herself with worry at Anita’s sudden disappearance. ‘By the Gods,’ she said, seeing the state Anita was in, ‘what’ve they done to you?’
Cleo had followed Cordelia out of the sitting room and burst into tears at the sight of her best friend. She was barely recognisable, the strong, confident Anita nowhere to be seen. ‘Bring her in here,’ said Cordelia, ‘Cleo, clear the sofa so Marcus can put her down.’
Cleo did as she was told and Marcus placed Anita on the sofa, then knelt on the floor and took her hand protectively. Cordelia rushed to the kitchen to get a glass of water and a sponge, they needed to rehydrate her and Anita wouldn’t be able to sit up and drink normally in her current state. Anita was aware of all the activity going on around her but she still felt detached, her energy had deserted her; it was an effort to even breathe. All she could do was lie motionless and let them fuss around her. She knew she’d be alright; the wounds would heal with time and the emotional scars would fade, however right now that didn’t seem to matter, all she could do was wallow in her own stupidity. How could she have been so brainless as to not work out what Helena was up to? She had deserved to be locked up given her foolish, reckless actions and now she had to reconcile her self-loathing alongside people fussing endlessly around her, trying to make sure she was alright. She deserved the pain she was in and she wished they would just leave her alone.
After Cordelia had managed to feed her some sugary water, Anita drifted off to sleep and Marcus, Cordelia and Cleo discussed what to do next. They’d been debating if for some time when Cordelia put her foot down. ‘It’s simple,’ she said finally, shutting down any further conversation on the matter. ‘She will stay here, being looked after by me until she is better. There will be very few visitors in that time and even you two can’t be here all hours. She needs to rest, recuperate physically and spiritually, and come to terms with what has happened to her. She cannot do that with people around her twenty four seven. Do I make myself clear?’
Cleo and Marcus wanted to argue, but they could tell from
Cordelia’s body language that to do so would not get them anywhere, so they nodded their silent agreement.
‘Good. I’m glad. Now thank you for your concern but I will take it from here. Come back tomorrow and if Anita wants to see you I will let you in, if not, you’ll just have to wait until she’s ready for visitors.’ Cordelia could see they were gearing up to argue again, so fixed them with a look that made them think twice.
‘Ok,’ said Cleo, sensing that Marcus wasn’t happy with this arrangement and thinking it best that she intervene. ‘Come on Marcus, I should think you’ve got some recuperating to do too, and there’s nothing more we can do for Anita at the moment. Cordelia has it under control.’
‘Alright,’ he said in a strained voice, ‘but I’ll be back early tomorrow to see her.’
‘As I said, that’s fine, but I will only let you in if she wants to see you too.’
Cleo took Marcus’ arm and gently but firmly steered him out of the house. ‘See you tomorrow Cordelia. Let us know if there is anything at all we can do.’
Marcus and Cleo said goodbye when they reached the gate, Marcus climbing back into his car, Cleo resisting the temptation to ask for a blow by blow account of what had happened. The car pulled away, Marcus slumped in the back seat looking tired and drawn. This couldn’t have been easy for him either, Cleo thought as she made her way to the Temples to tell Alexander what she knew.
Alexander had rushed to Cordelia’s as soon as Cleo had told him what’d happened. He couldn’t quite believe that Marcus’ plan had worked, but he was relieved that it had. Cordelia, surprised to see a second Descendant on her doorstep, had reluctantly let him in, but only after he agreed that under no circumstances would he do anything to wake her up. She reasoned that while Anita was sleeping, she wouldn’t know about the visit anyway. Cordelia left them alone, satisfied that Alexander would keep his word.
He entered the sitting room and took in Anita’s battered body, lying lifeless on the sofa, her energy so low that it was barely recognisable as hers. He walked slowly, silently to her side, crouching by her head and delicately moving a strand of hair off her swollen face. There were no tingles now, no excitement at his touch, but Alexander felt her energy lift a little at the contact, or at least he told himself that’s what it was. He sat by her side for an hour, not moving a muscle, willing her energy to start to recover, but it stayed where it was, with no movement at all. Eventually, he got up, brushed his lips lightly against her forehead and left, thanking Cordelia and saying he would be back in the morning to see how she was. As he was leaving he paused and turned back to Cordelia, ‘her energy is dangerously low. We have to do this at her pace. Don’t let Marcus force her into doing anything more quickly than she wants to. She’s going to need a great deal of time.’
Cordelia nodded. ‘Goodnight Alexander. I will no doubt see you tomorrow.’
*****
The following morning, Anita woke up and immediately sat bolt upright, the pain hitting her like an express train. She hadn’t been able to feel it the night before, but now it was so strong she felt like she might faint. She froze and waited for the pain to abate a little before more gingerly swinging her legs onto the floor and carefully standing up, testing that her legs would take her weight before fully committing. Another shot of pain stabbed at her chest, but this time she was expecting it, which somehow made it more bearable. She hobbled to the door and made for the stairs, but Cordelia heard her footsteps and headed her off before she could reach them.
‘Good morning,’ she said. ‘I’m glad you feel well enough to walk, but what exactly do you think you are doing?’
‘I’m going to my bedroom,’ Anita said weakly, it was taking all of the energy and concentration she could muster to make it to the stairs.
‘May I ask why, when you have everything you need down here?’
‘I want to be alone,’ she said, now tackling the stairs, one painful upward step at a time.
‘Alright. I’ll bring you some water and some breakfast. You need to get some food in you.’
Anita didn’t answer, she knew it would be futile to argue and she was more concerned with reaching the top of the stairs on her own than with Cordelia bringing her food. She reached the top and paused to let the pain lift a little before pressing on to her room. Luckily, given the size of the cottage, this didn’t present too much more of a challenge. She reached her bed and climbed on top of the covers, it seemed like too much effort to crawl under them. She curled up, bringing her knees to her chest and began to cry.
Anita stayed in her room, refusing to see anyone but Cordelia for a full week. She fluctuated between sobbing uncontrollably and staring blankly into space for the first two days, the sobbing doing nothing to help the pain in her ribs. When she slept, she had flashbacks of Amber torturing her and Austin’s cruel face seemed to loom in the back of her consciousness. When she was awake, she was consumed by her stupidity at not seeing through Helena and her guilt at having lied to Marcus. She didn’t love him, not yet anyway, and Amber had been right, she had been manipulating him. She heard Marcus and Cleo downstairs demanding to see her, but Cordelia sent them away day after day, saying they had to do this at Anita’s pace; they couldn’t force her to do things she didn’t want to do. Alexander’s visits were different, instead of demanding to see her, he asked if she wanted visitors and asked questions about what she was eating and if she seemed to be getting her energy back. Anita’s energy was coming back slowly, however it was nowhere near its normal level. She heard Alexander explaining to Cordelia that it would probably take a while for her to recover, given that she was a Body and currently unable to exercise, something that would normally lift her spirits. He suggested to Cordelia that she could encourage Anita to meditate instead, as this may help with her psychological healing.
Cordelia was careful to always speak to those who came at the bottom of the stairs, so Anita could hear what was said if she wanted to listen. That way, Anita would know what was going on and could decide for herself what she wanted to do and not do. Taking Alexander’s advice, she began to mediate after a few days and it did start to help clear her mind, her anger at herself fading and becoming less consuming.
After a week confined to her room, Anita ventured out and headed downstairs to the kitchen, the pain in her ribs having mellowed, the cuts and bruises starting to heal, and the swelling in her face gone. She made herself a sandwich and took it to the sitting room, where she sat down by the fire. As she finished, the first whole meal she’d eaten since she’d been freed, there was a knock on the door and she heard Cleo’s voice calling to see if Cordelia was around.
‘Cleo,’ Anita called out, her voice cracking as she spoke. Cleo heard her and came rushing into the sitting room, embracing Anita when she saw she was alright. ‘Ouch,’ said Anita, Cleo a little overzealous with the pressure of her hug.
‘Sorry, but I’m so happy to see you up and about. I’ve been so worried about you, we all have, Marcus, Alexander, Bas, Cordelia, Alistair, everyone. How are you feeling?’
‘I’ve felt better, obviously, but I’m getting there. My energy seems to be properly picking up now. That’s been the worst thing really, I just haven’t had the will to get out of bed. Until this morning I felt either totally empty, or full of anger and loathing, but for some reason today I woke up and started to feel a bit better. It’s really good to see you Cleo. Thank you for all your help, it must have been terrifying trying to get out of the Archives.’
Cleo laughed, ‘probably not as terrifying as being tied up and tortured though,’ she said frankly, then, realising what she’d said, quickly followed it with, ‘sorry, didn’t mean to bring that up quite like that.’
Anita laughed, ‘it’s alright. It is what happened after all. So, what’ve I missed in the last week?’ she asked, changing the subject. ‘Fill me in on all the gossip.’
‘Well to be honest everything pales into insignificance next to what happened to you, but Marcus and Alexander s
eem to have kind of made up, or at least they can tolerate spending time together now, so that’s good I suppose. A couple of Council kids had a party and trashed their dad’s three hundred year old energy meter, it was a particularly fine piece apparently, Austin and Amber have gone to Kingdom and everyone is speculating as to why, sorry, didn’t mean to bring them up again.’ She paused, ‘to be honest Anita, I’m more concerned with how you’re doing and if there’s anything I can do to help?’
‘Not at the moment. I need to work out what to do about Marcus and Alexander, but I can’t face them at the moment. You could come for a walk with me though? I’m dying to get out of the house and do some exercise.’
Cleo jumped at the offer, she’d felt entirely useless for the past week, desperately searching for something she could do that would be helpful, so she wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity like this.
CHAPTER 16
Anita spent the next couple of weeks building her strength both physically and mentally, going for long walks with Cleo and spending hours meditating in the garden. However, she was refusing to see either Marcus or Alexander until she was feeling more like herself and had had time to think about what to do.
She’d told Cleo everything; how Helena had approached her asking for help and that Helena had known about Anita’s parents all along. She thought Cleo deserved to know after everything she’d been through. Anita had expected Cleo to react badly, to tell her that she was stupid to have gone along with someone as dubious as Helena without really knowing what she was getting herself into, but she didn’t. Cleo had said she totally understood. She’d said Anita was the kind of person who felt the need to act if everyone else was shying away from action and as Helena had offered her a way to do that, it wasn’t surprising that Anita had taken the bait. Cleo had said that if it’d been her, she wouldn’t have turned Helena down the first time, she would’ve bitten off Helena’s right arm to have found out information about her parents. Furthermore, when Anita was beating herself up for having believed Helena’s story, Cleo told her that everyone makes mistakes, that nobody’s perfect, and that as far as ruses went, Helena’s was pretty believable, so she shouldn’t be so hard on herself.