Authors: Athena Dore
“You would have fallen in love with him instead?”
Xavier laughed.
“No, not quite”, he said, “but I would never have met you. You would have been right down the road from me and I would never have known you were there. How could I have endured the rest of my life not knowing you, Rochelle?”
The warm breeze rustled through the bushes around them. He looked into her eyes.
“I love you” he said.
He leaned forward and kissed her. Softly. Gently. Like he needed her in his life.
He pulled away. She looked up at him, feeling a warm buzz glow through her chest. He loved her.
“I love you too” she said.
They began walking along, holding hands. The sun shone down on them. It felt like an enchanted garden, with Renaissance statues dotted along the path. Some were busts of people, others were figures and creatures frozen for eternity in their designated poses. It was so peaceful and secluded. Or rather, it was peaceful until a swarm of chattering tourists came along the path from behind. There were so many and they came upon Xavier and Rochelle so quickly that they broke their hands apart and Rochelle was drawn along on the tide and jostled towards the centre.
With great effort, she waded to the edge of the tourists and finally extricated herself from them. As the last of the throng passed by her, she looked for Xavier along the way that she had just come but he wasn’t there.
“Xavier?” she called. Still he was nowhere in sight.
He had probably been drawn along with the tourists too. She went in the direction they – and hopefully Xavier – had gone.
No one was there.
She looked behind her again. A man with dark hair and a blue shirt was walking along the path. He was looking at her. The way he was staring made her feel uncomfortable. Most people looked away or smiled or did something to acknowledge they’d seen you but he just carried on staring with a crooked smile on his face.
Rochelle ran. The man ran too.
Rochelle had no idea where she was going. The bushes lining the paths were so tall she could have been in a maze for all she knew. Suddenly, peaceful and secluded had become eerie and isolated. Her heart beat wildly.
She turned at every corner, hoping to be free, only to be greeted by another path similar to the last. It was almost like a nightmare.
Where was Xavier? After the things he’d told her earlier, she really didn’t want to be alone here.
Slowing down slightly to catch her breath, she took out her phone. She’d had six missed calls from him already. She called him back, still running.
“Rochelle?”
His voice sounded relieved that she’d finally answered the phone.
“Xavier?” she called frantically. Fear made her voice shrill and shaky.
“Someone’s following me”.
“Where are you?”
“I’m in the Boboli gardens somewhere. I’m lost”.
“Don’t worry, Rochelle, I’ll find you” he said.
Through the phone, he suddenly heard her scream, followed by a thud.
“Rochelle? Rochelle?”
Frantic, Xavier scoured the whole of the gardens but the only thing he found of her was her red scarf lying abandoned on the ground. He roared in anguish. The sound was half-way between wounded animal and enraged man.
* * *
“Nice of you to join us”.
Rochelle didn’t feel that she’d quite joined them yet, whoever they were. She felt groggy and disorientated and her vision was blurry. She was lying on the floor. It was cold and had a black and white diamond pattern.
Where was she? The last thing she remembered was being in the Boboli Gardens, on the phone to Xavier and then everything had gone black. How long ago was that? Hours? Days? She’d been missing too much of her life in the past couple of months.
And where was Xavier? Was he here? She tried to sit up to see but she found her wrists and ankles were bound.
“Precautions”, said the voice, “We’d prefer it if you didn’t leave before you’d realised your purpose”.
Realised her purpose? She turned her head to see who was speaking. He was a man in a crisp, dark blue suit with dark hair and brown eyes. Somewhere in his forties, he looked quite ordinary, as though he would blend in easily in London’s morning commuter crowd. However, the drawl and lilt of voice gave him an authoritative, and even charismatic, tone.
“You make it sound like I’ve got a choice”.
“Oh, we all have choices, Miss Phillips”, he said, “It’s what we do with those choices that shapes the path of the future of mankind”.
Whatever. She didn’t have time to be waxing philosophical with someone holding her hostage like this.
“Where’s Xavier?”
“Shh-shh-shh, Miss Phillips”, he said, “We’ll get to the big questions all in good time. Until then, let’s get to know each other a little first”.
The man was so infuriating. If she hadn’t been tied up, his patronising tone would have made her punch him for sure, then she would have ‘realised her purpose’. But fine. She’d play along for a while. There wasn’t a lot a girl could do when she was tied up and lying on the floor.
“Who are you?”
“Tobias Maximus Heath at your service”, he said, “I am the Prime Protector and Chief incumbent of the Order of Jessick – UK division”.
He smiled.
“And you are the lovely Rochelle Mariah Phillips”, he continued, “I’ve heard so much about you – all good of course”.
Rochelle felt a bit creeped out that he knew her name. She wondered what other things he knew about her. However, Tobias didn’t continue the conversation. He looked up.
“Leave us” he commanded. She heard the footsteps of unseen people behind her as they walked across the room. There was the sound of a door creaking open and finally, the echo after it closed. Silence.
She didn’t know who the people were – soldiers or body guards most likely – but she wished they were still there. She didn’t trust this Tobias guy and she certainly didn’t want to be alone with him. He sounded the type who would pull out your fingernails whilst discussing which flowers he was hoping to plant in the garden this year.
“Ah”, he sighed, “Alone at last. I do my best work alone”.
Rochelle shuddered. That didn’t sound promising.
Tobias Maximus Heath took out a knife from his pocket and removed the sheath. The light glinted off its smooth edge and dazzled her for a second.
He walked towards her. Rochelle’s heart started to beat quicker. This was definitely the part where she died. Maybe they could reach an agreement. Maybe she could negotiate in an Arabian Nights kind of fashion and do something for him in exchange for her life…
He crouched in front of her.
“You’re a beautiful girl, Miss Phillips. I can see why Xavier Knight is so smitten with you”.
From him, it sounded creepy rather than complimentary.
“It’s a shame you’re tied up like that”, he continued, “That’s not how I like things. My guards are heavy-handed brutes. Though, they get the job done”.
He stood up again. The knife shone in her eyes once more as he walked behind her, out of her view. She panicked.
“What are you going to do?”
When he spoke again, he was very, very close to her. His voice was low in her ear. His breath tickled against her skin. She could feel the heat that radiated from him, could smell the heady scent of his cologne.
“If you try to harm me, my guards are just beyond the door and if you try to escape…well, we all know Xavier Knight is mortal”.
“If you even think of harming him…” she said coldly.
“Better be on your best behaviour, then”.
For a moment, he was still and she could hear him breathing in her ear. Then, he moved away.
She felt tugging at her wrists until suddenly they were free. The same happened with her ankles. She sat up.
Tobias returned to his original position in front of her. He put the knife back in its sheath and placed it in his pocket once again.
Rochelle was free. Surely that was the first step to getting out of here, wherever ‘here’ was? However, she still felt her hands were tied. Xavier would be the one to suffer if she tried to escape… She was as much a prisoner as before.
“I see you’re a sensible girl” he said when she didn’t try to run.
A phone started ringing. It was muffled but Rochelle recognised the ring tone as her own. It was coming from her bag lying on a small, round oak table at the side of the room.
“Let’s answer that; it could be the beau. He’s been ringing a lot”.
He retrieved the phone and brought it to her. She snatched it and frowned at him. He had no right to go through her bag like that.
“Rochelle?”
“Xavier!”
“You’re all right? I’ve been trying to reach you for hours”.
“I’m with the Order of Jessick”.
“Have they hurt you?” He sounded angry.
Tobias took the phone from her before she could reply.
“Tobias Maximus Heath here” he said, “You know where to find me when you’re willing to negotiate”.
He ended the call.
“Why can’t you just leave him alone?”
Tobias turned to her.
“Because, Miss Phillips, I see his potential. To you, he is a mere man, but to me, to us…. under the benevolent guidance and tutelage of the Order, with his abilities, he could be great”.
“So why are you trying to blackmail him into giving you money?”
“Not blackmailing, but creating a mutually beneficial relationship. He provides financial backing and the social status of being the 15
th
Duke of Wyvern; we offer him help, support and training for his condition and anything he desires, even down to the simple things in life. If he needs human meat, we can supply it without being caught by the law; if he wants to live a normal life with the woman he loves, without the fear of turning, we can provide that too”.
“But he obviously doesn’t want your help”.
“He doesn’t realise he
needs
– not merely
wants
– our help. He came to us once and we gave him refuge. Our door is eternally open for him”.
“If you’re as benevolent as you say you are, why kidnap me?”
Tobias sighed.
“I find that certain individuals require a little more persuasion than others. Love can be a powerful tool, Miss Phillips. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Love is not a tool to manipulate people with” Rochelle said. Tobias shrugged.
“If it works, it works. But enough for today,” he said, “The hour grows late. I’d be honoured if I had the pleasure of your company at dinner”.
Rochelle wasn’t really in a position to refuse but she could see quite clearly now what Xavier meant by the Order hiding under the pretence of being a kind and charitable organisation. If Tobias Maximus Heath was anything to go by, there was something very sinister and very unsettling about the Order of Jessick.