Audsley took them to a nearby hotel where the whole ground floor was a giant casino.
Roulette wheels revolved, one armed bandits spun, and people of all types played poker and blackjack, all in an effort to beat the house and make a fortune. Lights flashed everywhere and the sound of the beeps and music of the machines filled the air. Audsley gave someone a wink and they were led to the high roller room. The atmosphere was remarkably different in here. The people round the tables were serious, focussed. It was also a lot quieter than the main casino floor due to the lack of one-armed bandits. Audsley gave a gold-coloured chip to both Alex and Anais and kept a third for herself.
“How much is this worth?” Anais whispered to Audsley.
“Five hundred.”
“Dollars?” Anais was amazed at Audsley’s generosity.
“Thousand. Five hundred thousand dollars.”
Anais’ eyes goggled
“Five hundred thousand dollars? I can’t accept this! I don’t even know the rules of poker!”
“So put it on the roulette table,” Audsley shrugged. Alex had already sat down at a poker table and placed his chip down. He looked like he was in his element.”
“Seriously, I can’t take this.” Anais felt extremely uncomfortable.
“Ok, sweetie, no problem.” Audsley took the chip back. “Red or black? Just pick one.”
“Red,” answered Anais, which automatically brought Aethelu to mind.
Audsley marched over to the nearest roulette table and before Anais could stop her, she placed the chip down on the red square.
Anais barely dared to look as the wheel spun and the little metal ball was thrown in, spinning in the opposite direction. Seconds later, it was all over. Red fifteen.
“You’ve just made me half a million dollars!”
Anais smiled an astonished smile and then excused herself. She felt ridiculous in this high rollers room. Half a million dollars? It was more money than she could ever hope to have and it had been won on the spin of a wheel. She left an exuberant Audsley and Alex in the high rollers room and went back to the main casino. She tried her luck, putting a quarter on one of the slot machines and won ten dollars. For some reason, this was more exciting to her than the half million she had just won for Audsley. It felt more real. Stacks of quarters tumbled out making a metallic clanking as they fell. She picked them up and dropped them into a big plastic cup with the hotel’s name on it that she found in a stack next to the machine. She did a little dance and grinned, only stopping when a little old lady next to her started to look at her in a funny manner. She went to the bar and bought herself a ridiculously colourful cocktail with an even more ridiculous name. Sipping it slowly, she turned and faced the casino floor. Such a variety of people filled the huge room. Tourists played alongside seasoned gamblers and fortunes were being won and lost at every table. Flashing lights and the noise of machines beeping rose above the chatter. The threat of Jago seemed a million miles away.
She sat like that, having a wonderful time crowd-watching until sometime later when a band took to the nearby stage. She was already on her fourth cocktail and swaying to the music when Alex and Audsley finally caught up with her. They ordered a bottle of the finest champagne and poured generous glasses all round. They had lost the half million dollars on a particularly unlucky poker hand but were still up over all by quite a substantial amount.
Anais drank her champagne and then finished up her cocktail. She was starting to feel giddy and reckless and when the band played a song she knew, she ran out onto the dance floor and jumped up and down for all she was worth, forgetting that she had to be careful on her leg. She didn’t know if it was the alcohol or the atmosphere, but when Alex joined her, she let him take her in his arms and spin her around to the music. Another glass of champagne was thrust into her hand by someone. Was it Audsley? She didn’t know, but she drank it down, careful not to spill any onto the dance floor. Alex was laughing at her and she laughed back. The room spun around her in a fiesta of light and colour and made her feel dizzy. Time slowed down and then sped up in random pockets due to the effects of the alcohol in her system. At one point, they ended up at a party situated on the top of one of the hotels. The open air swimming pool was full of party goers in various states of undress. More champagne flowed, and the chill in the air deterred no one. The music pumped out of the speakers so loudly that the floor pulsed to the rhythm. Stars twinkled all around the night sky as Alex twirled her faster and faster. He held her tightly and where their skin came into contact, the electricity of The Light coursed through her, sending shivers all down her spine. He grabbed her round the waist and as a particularly loud song finally reached its climax, he kissed her. It was the last thing she remembered.
Chapter Ten
The beat pounding through Anais head the next morning was in stark contrast to the thrilling beat that had pulsed through her the night before. Where was she? She opened her eyes and was horrified to find she was in Alex’s bed in his room. Worse still, he was asleep lying next to her. She gasped and then felt sick. Running out of Alex’s room as fast as she could on her bad leg she barely made it to the bathroom in time. She had to run down three flights of stairs to the reception toilets as she didn’t know where her own room key was. She looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Shame was written all over her face. Her mascara had smudged all around her eyes and her lipstick had smeared all across her face as if to taunt her for kissing Alex. The thought made her feel sick again, and she ran back into the cubical to throw up for a second time. When she was finally empty, she washed her face and rinsed her mouth in the sink and did her best to calm the rat’s tails that was now her hair by running her fingers through it. The pain in her leg from the alcohol induced dancing was reaching a crescendo, matching the pain in her head, but she felt that she deserved both, and at least she could still walk on it, which was a miracle in itself.
When she emerged from the bathroom five minutes later, Audsley called her over. She was looking a heck of a lot brighter than Anais felt, and it seemed that she was working at the reception desk.
“Howdy stranger! Where did you and Alex get to last night? I lost sight of the pair of you about three am, so I came home alone. You look a bit worse for wear if you don’t mind me saying so,” she grinned, looking remarkably awake for someone who had gone to bed after three.
Anais didn’t know what to say. She had never felt so wretched in her life. She opened her mouth to talk but no words came out. She burst into tears, not caring that a coach party had just turned up and were now staring at this crazy-haired, messy-faced, crying mess of a woman.
“Oh, honey!” Audsely’s grin turned to a look of concern. “What happened? Is it Alex? Is he ok?”
Anais sobbed even harder at the mention of Alex.
“Jane!” Audsley turned and shouted to an unseen assistant in the back office. “Can you book our new arrivals? I have an emergency.”
She led Anais back to the dining room, where a buffet-style breakfast was in the process of being cleared away. She managed to fill two plates with bacon, eggs and hash browns before they were taken away by a couple of hotel waitresses.
“Here, eat this.” She smothered the food in hot sauce before passing it to Anais.
Anais ignored it.
“What’s going on, cupcake? You look like you lost a fortune on the tables. You didn’t, did you?”
“Worse,” she could hardly bring herself to say it, “I kissed Alex.”
Audsley put down her fork.
“Oh, Honey! Why?”
“That’s not the worst of it. I woke up in his bed this morning.”
“You didn’t…?” She let the question hang in the air.
“No, at least I don’t think so.”
“You don’t think so?
“We were both asleep in the bed fully clothed. I can’t remember what happened. I can’t even remember getting back here. I drank way too much.”
“So yo
u might not have even kissed him at all?” Audsley gave a hopeful smile.
“No, we definitely kissed.” She dropped her head into her hands. “Audsley, what am I going to do?”
“What do you want to do? Do you have feelings for him?”
“No!” she almost shouted, then wondered why she had spoken so quickly, “I mean, I don’t think so. No definitely not, I’m in love with Aethelu.”
“Are you sure?”
Anais though about Aethelu. She was her whole life now. She meant everything to her. She loved her completely. Her feelings for Alex didn’t come close.
“I love her. Last night was a total mistake. I would never have done it if I wasn’t drunk.”
“I think you have your answer then. Do nothing. Alex won’t tell Aethelu. It was a silly mistake. Forget it, move on. No problem! Now eat up before your breakfast goes cold. You’ve got a plane to catch in a few hours.”
Anais picked up her fork and started on her breakfast. Audsley was right. It meant nothing. Nothing had to change.
Now that she had talked to Audsley, she felt much better. Of course, it meant nothing. It was a silly mistake. Hadn’t she slept next to Alex the night they had camped out and she didn’t feel guilty about that. She’d also slept next to the other tourists that night. Surely, last night had been the same. They had both been fully dressed. Yep, there was nothing to worry about. She just happened to have fallen asleep in close proximity to Alex. There was nothing wrong with that.
Unfortunately, Alex had other ideas.
He knocked on her door as she was packing for the flight home.
“Hi.” He looked embarrassed as he stuck his head around the door.
“Come in. I need to talk to you.” She indicated the bed and he sat down. “About last night, I drank too much. I made a mistake.”
“I knew you’d say that. It’s such a cliché.” He put on a mock high voice, mimicking her, “It wasn’t my fault. It was the alcohol. It had nothing to do with me.”
“That’s unfair!”
“Is it? You know I love you. This is the second time you’ve kissed me. Why keep doing it if you don’t have any feelings for me? Is that fair?”
“I didn’t… the first time was all you.”
“Uh huh. I get it, it’s all my fault.” He stood up.
She didn’t know what to say. Her little pep talk she’d had with herself over breakfast seemed silly now.
“I’m sorry, Alex, I love Aethelu.”
“Fine, have it your way. You love Aethelu I’m just the idiot you get to kiss when she’s not around.” He walked to the door and opened it. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep it a secret, but don’t think I’ll forget it.”
He walked through the door and slammed it.
Anais closed her eyes. As if she didn’t have enough problems, and here she was, hurting the people she cared about the most.
She carefully packed Audsley’s locket into her bag and left the room. It was going to be another long flight with Alex and her not speaking to each other.
Chapter Eleven
Aethelu propelled herself into Anais’ arms as soon as she had cleared customs. She had, herself, arrived home the day before and had insisted on surprising Anais at the airport. Anais had never been so happy to see Aethelu. She hugged her tightly, not wanting to let her go. It was only when Alex cleared his throat noisily that she did.
Alex was silent and moody the whole drive home, and when they arrived back at the manor, he jumped out and slammed the door, skulking up the long driveway with his suitcase.
Aethelu had borrowed August’s Range Rover to pick them up and had parked it back at the cottage at the bottom of the driveway.
“What’s gotten into him?” Aethelu asked, and Anais shrugged her shoulders guiltily.
“How is your leg? Do you want me to drive you up to The Manor or are you able to walk?”
“I think I can manage to walk it. I don’t really need the cane anymore.”
“Really? That’s fantastic. It also means I can hold your hand.” She smiled and grabbed Anais’ hand which immediately began to tingle with the force of The Light. “I was hoping you’d be able to walk it. I’ve got a surprise for you that wouldn’t have worked if we had driven up.”
“What is it?”
“You’ll see.” Aethelu grinned with obvious excitement.
The Light coursed through Anais as they walked up the driveway, but she had no intention of letting go of Aethelu’s hand. When they were at the final bend before getting to the main house, Aethelu told her to close her eyes. She did as she was told with mounting anticipation. It was a little scary walking with her eyes closed, but she trusted Aethelu holding her hand and guiding her. The gravel crunched underneath her feet, telling her that she was still on the driveway heading towards The Manor. The terrain beneath her feet changed and she could feel that they had deviated from the driveway onto grass which was much easier to walk on for her bad ankle. Finally they came to a stop and Aethelu told her to keep her eyes closed. She felt Aethelu let go of her hand and move away from her side. She stood still and waited. She could hear the trees rustling around her and wondered what was going on. Finally everything went silent.
“Aethelu?”
Silence.
“Aethelu?”
“Open your eyes.” She heard Aethelu whisper in her ear.
As she opened her eyes, she felt something flutter past her. It was snowing, but it wasn’t white. It took a moment for Anais to realise what it was. Cherry blossoms flittered around her by the thousands making her feel like she was in the middle of a pink snow storm. The cherry trees had blossomed whilst she was gone, and Aethelu had shaken every tree to make the tiny pink flowers fall all around them. Anais felt like she was in a magical snow globe. She turned around slowly to drink in the magic of the world around her. Aethelu grabbed her and kissed her on the lips, sending impulses of pleasure throughout her body. Blossoms rained down on them, dancing around them like pretty pink butterflies caught in the wind, covering them in a world of pink. When Anais finally opened her eyes and pulled back from Aethelu, the blossoms had stopped falling around them. A carpet of pink lay around their feet and the sky filled with pink above her head where blossoms still clung to the trees. Aethelu grabbed her hand once again and walked her slowly to the Manor’s main doors. As Anais looked up at the manor, she thought she saw a flash of colour at one of the attic windows. She blinked and it was gone. Shrugging it off as a reflection of the sun, she quickly saw something much more worrying. Alex was looking down at them from his bedroom window with a face like thunder. When he saw her glance his way, he quickly turned away and shut his curtains. Anais walked through the main doors with a heavy heart.
Aethelu grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the kitchen before helping Anais up the stairs to her bedroom.
“How were Ava and Alfred?” Anais asked as she sat on Aethelu’s bed.
“They were fine. Thankfully they were pretty easy to find this time,” Aethelu replied. “Neither had their pendants with them, but they gave me a key to a safety deposit box in the local bank. I picked the pendants up as soon as I got home. What about you? Did Audsley have hers?”
Anais squirmed slightly. She didn’t want to think about her time in Las Vegas, and she certainly didn’t want to discuss it with Aethelu. “She did. It’s in my bag.”
“Brilliant! We only have two to get now, any ideas on how we are going to find them?”
“Actually, yes, I’d forgotten until now, but I do have a lead on the last two pendants.”
“You’re kidding? You’ve found Amber and Abel?”
“Well, no, not quite.” She told Aethelu what Audsley had told her about the letter that Amber had sent and the fact it was sent from Cairo.
“You are amazing! I’m gone four days and you manage to fly across the world, get a pendant and find Amber and Abel.”
“We’ve not found them yet,” Anais smiled despite herself. “We’ve still got to
find Sabine, and I’ve no idea where to start with that. I’m not actually sure what we should do next.”
“Actually, I’ve been thinking about that. I’m not going anywhere without you again. It’s so unfair that Alex had you to himself and you went to Las Vegas!”
Guilt flooded through Anais at this.
“We still need to get the plant. I think Kew Gardens is the only way to go. Without it, everything we do is pointless.” Aethelu suddenly looked very excited at the prospect. She grabbed Anais’ hands which began to tingle.
“Please?”
Anais began to laugh. “How could I say no to you?”
“That’s what I was hoping you’d say.” She let go of Anais hand and ran to her nightstand to get a laptop. “I did some research whilst I was waiting for you to come back from Las Vegas. It seems that we are in luck. They do have a few seeds of the Heatherwort plant in their inventory.”
“Heatherwort? That’s what it’s called?”
“Yeah. It’s not the most exciting plant in existence. I’m amazed Kew Gardens have even bothered with it. It’s little more than a weed, really.”
“Obviously they think there is some value in it. It is part of a potion that enables a person to live to over six hundred years. I’d say that’s pretty special in anybody’s book.”
“Yeah, but they don’t know that. I suppose they do have thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of specimens in there, so why not the Heatherwort? People send seeds in all the time. It’s probably not actually extinct, just very rare.”
“Ok, know-it–all, what else did you find out from the Kew Gardens website?” Anais began to feel excited that they were finally able to do something productive.
“Actually, it wasn’t their website I was looking at. They don’t post an inventory online.”
“So how did you find it?”
“Andrew hacked into their database.”
“Andrew? He came out of his room?”
“Yeah, he’s actually perked up a lot in the past few days. He seems back to his old self. He was very enthusiastic about helping me out when I told him what I needed.”
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