“Over here!” she heard Mr. Graves scream. Edna pushed Mr. Chow and Mrs. Bailey towards the voice and the trio rounded a tree to be greeted by Death at the edge of a clearing, holding a large knife toward Mr. Graves, who lay beneath him, pinned by Death’s legs. Edna grabbed Mr. Chow’s arm and pulled him to a stop.
“You take any steps closer, and we shall play with the knife, shan’t we?” Death chuckled at them and put the blade of the knife against Mr. Graves’s throat.
“No!” Edna screamed. “Don’t take him. Take me. I killed my husband.”
“Just don’t take my dick,” Mr. Chow said.
“SHUT UP YOU IGNORANT PIECE OF SHIT, I’M TRYING TO SAVE A LIFE HERE!” Edna shouted at Mr. Chow. Death smiled. “Let’s see what he looks like inside, shall we?”
From out of the trees behind the Grim Reaper, Joan of Arc plowed through the low-hanging branches, sword in hand.
“You!” Death whispered. “Where’s Robert? What have you done to him?”
The minute the knife was away from his body, Mr. Graves punched Death in the jaw. The knife went flying and Death fell backwards on the ground, out cold.
“I used to box,” Mr. Graves said to nobody in particular.
“And Joan saves the day!” Mr. Rix screamed over the unconscious Death.
89
“I understand that some of you are surprised by what you saw here today, but that is one of our goals here at the Bastille—to reintroduce what has been forgotten into our modern society. Nudity: in the days gone by, nudity was a part of life and held little shame. Fierce fighting: in our time of distance killing via missiles and bullets, we often forget the horror of what hand-to-hand combat looked like. We at the Bastille hold onto our traditions, our history and our bond to the past. Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you all next year.”
Livia smiled broadly and shook hands with the mayor as flashbulbs went off all around.
“Well,” Eleanor said as Ruth clicked the remote and shut down the television, “you sure do know how to sell even the worst disaster.”
“Yes,” Livia said, brushing her hair back over her terry cloth robe.
“I do.”
“Well done, dear,” Eleanor said, patting Livia’s hand. “Well done.”
The minute the crowd started to become unruly from the sword fights and naked people, Livia threw on her Louis Vuitton jacket, climbed atop the nearest stool, and called for attention. What followed was one of the most amazing media spins Eleanor had ever seen.
But even after Livia’s impromptu speech, the Faire grounds remained a zoo with people rushing around unchecked, as all the security personnel had wandered off in search of more naked females. The women decreed to close the grounds early and began ushering people out. The evacuation took far less time than Eleanor had expected
it to take, leaving the Ladies of the Bastille in peace long enough to imprison the Doctor within the Tapestry.
Zenobia put up no argument about being a part of the Great Ritual, as Eleanor expected. Regardless of her politics, everyone knew the work of the Guardians knows no political boundary. It is the one jurisdiction of all the Immortals.
As the women began the final Binding Spell chant, Merlin strode up to the small table and leaned on Abbey’s shoulder. Abbey’s one hand gripped Eleanor’s, and the other clutched Ruth’s while she leaned back into Merlin’s strong shoulder. A shiver of pleasure ran through Eleanor then, as if a long tight muscle had been relaxed. With Abbey back in the fold, the Guardians functioned at full power and the sensation was exhilarating. Unlike the years during Abbey’s amnesia stupor, the moment the circle began the Chant of Rejuvenation, an electric pulse radiated through their arms and shoulders. As the chant built to its crescendo, Abbey’s strong voice rang out with the Spell of Closure. She had always sung those chords flawlessly and during her time away, Ruth was a close second. But Ruth’s voice lacked Abbey’s sweetness and range. Ruth’s lungs lacked the force to send the ancient words through the air like Abbey could. And when the time came to repair the magics surrounding the Tapestry’s borders and the knife was passed around the circle, it was Abbey who took the final cut. By the time Abbey’s blood dripped onto the cloth, Eleanor could feel the air lying thick against her skin. She breathed in the scent of honeysuckle and rose, luxuriating in the quiver that ran through her.
As Abbey’s blood ran down her wrist and dropped onto the Tapestry to join the blood of the other women, a burst of golden light shot out of the cloth and set the Immortal threads humming. Blue bolts of energy rippled over the surface of the Tapestry as the panel hovered in the air. The magical effect was almost instantaneous. The frayed ends of the embroidered pictures healed themselves, pulling themselves into tightly woven pieces of art. The tattered edges of the Tapestry grew longer and stronger around themselves, sending a white light across the surface of the fabric. The light grew larger until it encompassed the Immortals, the area around the wooden table and the entire stack of panels under the oak tree. Within minutes, the whole section of the Faire became a ball of light, spilling warm radiance onto the entire party of Immortals. Then, quickly the effect faded; the light, the humming and the chanting wound down into silence.
Immediately, Merlin transformed back into his human form and, with a quick laugh and nod, he disappeared. Eleanor had no idea where he was nor when he would take his turn in the Guardians’ circle. His full strength had returned and with it, his power to dematerialize. Men. They never stayed.
“I am proud of how you handled yourself,” Eleanor said to Livia. “And how you saved face for all of us here at the Bastille.” The compliment stunned Livia for a moment.
“Thank you, Eleanor,” she responded softly. After a pause, Livia yawned and stretched. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight.”
They all bade her goodnight as Ruth gathered the last of the dishes.
“Well,” she sighed, “that day certainly was interesting.”
90
Abbey didn’t plan to enter his room, but some undeniable force seemed to draw her to his door, move her hand to the doorknob, and turn it. She stood for a moment on the threshold, listening to him breathing. She tiptoed to his bed and sat next to him.
No evidence of the stabbing remained. His skin lay smooth and untouched.
She gasped when his hand reached out and grabbed her.
“I…I thought you were asleep.”
“Self-defense,” he grinned. “Have you ever had five women and four dogs hovering over you before?”
“Yes, actually,” she laughed. “It can be…overwhelming.”
He nodded. “To say the least.”
For a moment they locked eyes and stared at each other in the dim moonlight shining in through the window.
“Detective—”
“Abbey,” he sighed. “I’ve seen you naked. Can you at least call me Matt?”
“I shouldn’t be here. I’m sorry to bother you.” She stood up.
“You’re not bothering me.” He smiled. “I...I have a…concern.” “Only one?”
He nodded “Well…let’s start with one…what does this,” he gestured to his side, “mean?” She paused while she collected her thoughts. “It means that you…a part of you at least…is Immortal. You carry Immortal blood. You have never noticed it before?”
He shrugged. “I don’t get sick. Never have.”
“Then you have your answer.” She looked down on him and smiled.
“Thank you, Detective, for saving me.”
“I asked you to call me Matt.”
She looked at him for a moment then shook her head. “Detective,” her voice carried a fierceness within it that Mathers had never heard. “I appreciate what you have done for my family, what you have done for me, and what you have done for the Bastille.”
“I hear a ‘but’ coming on,” Mathers said.
She nodded. “But…I have a place in this house. I have a role to play in the keeping of the Tapestry. I have
…a life to return to.” She paused and looked at him with an emotionless expression. “I am a witch and a member of the Guild of Immortal Women. Do you understand what I am saying to you?” He nodded.
“Sleep well, Detective.”
He watched her walk out of the room and close the door behind her. She never looked back.
91
When the doorbell sounded, Lynn jumped, startled by the loudness of it. She had psyched herself into a frenzy about this visit, barely sleeping all weekend as she rehearsed her speech in her head.
“I’m sorry to call so early, but I need to talk to you,” she blurted as soon as the door opened.
“Miss Swanson,” Eleanor said, keeping the door partially closed. “It is rather early for a social call.”
“Good morning, dear!” The familiar sound of Ruth floated from behind Eleanor. “Perhaps you can join us for pancakes?” “It will only take a second,” Lynn stammered.
“I have a WONDERFUL buttermilk recipe!”
“I could give you a call tomorrow morning at the office,” Eleanor said, pushing the door shut.
“I saw everything, Eleanor,” Lynn said. Her voice sounded more sinister than she had hoped, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
“Yesterday. At the Faire. I…I needed to check in with the patients… they all scattered around the Faire grounds, you know…so on a whim I climbed a tree. I love climbing trees; even as a girl, I could climb higher than my brother—”
“You had a point, Miss Swanson?” Eleanor snapped.
Lynn nodded. “I could see the whole area. I saw over the crowd of people surrounding the Tapestry. At first, I thought it was a crowd of people, but…then I saw…things…people…coming in and out of the Tapestry. I realized that they weren’t a crowd surrounding the Tapestry, but a guard set there to hide the Tapestry.” She looked directly into Eleanor’s eyes. “Hide it from the public while you did…did whatever it was you all did when you sang and...that blood, though, was gross.”
For a moment, nobody spoke. Eleanor stared at Lynn through narrowed eyes. “What did we do, pray tell, Miss Swanson?”
It all spilled out of Lynn despite her attempt to stop it, “I don’t want to cause trouble, really. It’s just that I really hate my job, I mean I like my job, the social work part of it, but I really—and I mean REALLY —hate my annoying job with a bunch of Nazis who tell me to punch in and punch out and oh, jeez, this sounded so much better in my head when I was thinking about it last night.”
“How is this related to me, please, Miss Swanson?” Eleanor said flatly.
“Well…” Lynn stammered, “I was thinking…can I have a job here?”
“That’s what I thought you’d say,” Eleanor said, swinging the door open and motioning for Lynn to enter. “Dear,” Eleanor smiled, “I wasn’t born yesterday. Nor the last century. This kind of thing has happened before.”
Lynn stood frozen at the front door. “I figured Abbey…her dreams…she’s Joan of Arc, isn’t she? And the plane dreams…drowning… somehow she’s connected to…”
Eleanor ignored Lynn and gestured for the girl to enter. “The last time some wayward girl happened to pry her way into the Bastille was…”
“1910!” Ruth said, jumping up and down. “That delightful young girl with the poodle. I loved that poodle. What happened to it again?”
“Tomyris’ dogs ate it,” Eleanor said, pulling the catatonic Lynn into the foyer. “My personal secretary was the last girl’s job. You shall have that one.”
Ruth jumped up and down in glee. “Do you like pancakes, dear? If you prefer, I can make eggs, instead; I have apples, and some oranges for a nice sauce-“
92
Abbey stood staring at the Tapestry outside Mathers’ room when Eleanor rounded the corner. “Good morning, Abbey dear.”
“I was just checking on the detective,” Abbey said, nodding to the closed door.
“We must investigate further, my dear,” Eleanor sighed. “I would like to know very much from which branch of the family—” “I fear I am pregnant,” Abbey said quickly.
“I know.”
“The child is Robert’s.”
“I know.”
“I had hoped he lied when he... but…”
Eleanor held Abbey close and kissed her hair. “I know.”
“I want a child, Eleanor. But not like this…I have been denied the power to select the father of my child.” She shook her head and pulled back to look Eleanor in the eyes. “Have you ever wanted a baby and hated the fetus at the same time?”
“Oh, my love, have you ever heard the story of my three sons? Come, let us eat Ruth’s pancakes—or maybe eggs—and I shall tell you of another surprise we have had this morning as well. It seems the Bastille has a new secretary.”
“Aunt Eleanor,” Abbey said, pulling to a stop. “There is one thing I should like to discuss before we see Aunt Ruth.” She waited for Eleanor to halt before continuing. “Robert. How did he escape? We rolled off the table together, but when I hit the ground, he was gone. Did no one see him escape?”
Eleanor hugged her again and continued to walk. “My dear, Robert de Beaudricourt is a slippery creature. He has been eluding us for hundreds of years. He said he had an escape plan, did he not?”
93
Joshua turned up the volume of “Gimme Shelter” and shoved the last bit of the Bavarian Crème donut in his mouth. He pulled out the keys to the limo and unlocked the door. Hell, since the two freaks he worked for didn’t show up at the pickup location last night, he may as well take this baby on a road trip. He threw the bag of junk food onto the front seat—chips, pretzels and red licorice—and plopped down into the driver’s seat. He pushed the button for the sunroof and it slid open with a slight hiss.
“Please close that blasted thing, I’m trying to sleep,” the voice erupted from the back seat.
Joshua jumped out of the car, spilling his chocolate milk onto the pavement of the 7-11. “What the-”
“Good morning to you, too, Joshua,” Robert said from the rear seat of the limo. “Have a good night?”
“Where the hell did you come from?” Joshua said, stepping away from the car.
“I was…delayed,” Robert said, throwing his hand over his eyes. “I had to make sure I wasn’t followed.”
“Followed?”
“Never mind, my boy.” Robert yawned and looked at his watch.
“Oh, dear,” he said, sitting up. “We need to get a move on.”
“Move...what…what are you talking about, boss?”
“We have to go retrieve the Doctor, my thin-brained young friend,” Robert said, slipping his shoes on. “He has been…visited by an old friend and we are going to get him back.” He motioned for Joshua to get into the car.
Joshua got into the limo and started the engine. So much for the road trip. He cranked up the stereo and “Honky Tonk Woman” blared from the speakers. He turned the music down quickly. “Okay, where to, boss?”
“Just drive,” Robert said. “And don’t call me Boss.”
He chuckled and rolled up the piece of Tapestry lying next to him and shoved it into the crevice of the seats, where it had been since he devised his escape plan. One could never tell when a quick escape was going to be necessary.
THE END
Guild Of Immortal Women Page 24