*****
As eight o’clock neared, Anita left her room and went to find Cleo. She wasn’t going to tell her about what had happened, but she felt like some company, so tiptoed past Alexander’s room in her gold sandals and floor length goddess gown (another purchase from Temple Mews when she’d been told she would need to dress for dinner), and went in search of her best friend.
Anita got to Cleo’s room just as Cleo was coming out. She looked spectacular, as always, in a floor length silk chiffon dress that wafted around her legs as she walked. ‘Hey,’ said Anita, ‘you look amazing.’
‘Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself,’ she smiled back, feigning surprise.
‘Very funny.’
‘Ready to make our grand entrance? I think the boys have already gone down.’ Anita nodded, turned around, and headed for the staircase. They made their way down the sweeping stairs and into the atrium, where the others were already sitting, sipping spectacular looking cocktails from crystal glasses. The boys stood up when they entered, and Anita thought how funny it was that getting dressed up could bring out one’s best behaviour, as she was introduced to a man named Anderson.
‘Anderson is a relic specialist,’ said Alexander to Anita, ‘and Anita is an energy specialist. She works in the Observatory with Bas,’ he said to Anderson.
Anita blushed. ‘I’m not sure I would quite describe myself as a specialist,’ she said quickly, ‘but I do work with Bas, who definitely is. But a relic specialist? How interesting,’ she chirped, deflecting the conversation away from herself, ‘I had no idea such a profession existed.’
Anderson looked a bit shifty. ‘Well it doesn’t really, not officially. The Descendants, specifically Austin, banned it a couple of years ago, not sure why, but they tend to just let me get on with it.’ He smiled a smile that said ‘no more questions please’ and turned to introduce his wife. ‘Anita, this is my wife, Arabella, she assists me with my research.’
‘Hello,’ said Anita warmly. Maybe she could make friends with Arabella, who could shed some light on what exactly a relic specialist did. ‘It’s so nice to meet you. And what great timing,’ she said, quickly pressing on before someone else butted in. ‘We’re going to see the relic tomorrow. It’s my first visit, and it would be so great if you could join us?’
Anderson looked shifty again, like he was trying to find the right way to say no, but before he could, Arabella agreed. ‘Yes, of course we will. It would be our pleasure.’ She knew Anderson wouldn’t like it, but Arabella had heard a great deal of gossip about Anita since they’d got back to the city, so she wanted to see for herself what all the fuss was about.
After a couple more lethal-yet-delicious cocktails, Mrs Hudson ushered the group into the dining room. It was like the rest of the house; large, spacious, light and sophisticated, but not in any way grand or stuffy. The whole house felt like it wouldn’t be out of place on a mountain top amid the clouds, and the dining room was no exception. Anita found herself between Alexander and Anderson at dinner and pointedly turned away from Alexander so as to shut him out of the conversation. She was still feeling hurt after the revelation earlier and had no intention of making life easy, not for a little while anyway.
The meal was delicious; whoever Alexander employed to do his cooking was extremely skilled, and when Anita overheard Alexander telling Arabella that a lot of the food had been grown in the garden, caught on the estate, or fished from the sea, she relaxed her stand against him. It was becoming hard work to keep up without looking petulant anyway.
They were just getting onto a spectacular cheese course, when Bas couldn’t contain his excitement any longer, and asked, ‘Anderson, if I’m not mistaken, you used to study energy, especially energy transfer. What made you change your focus?’
Anderson smiled warmly at Bas. ‘Yes, I did indeed. I worked with your father at one point as I spent a great deal of time in the Observatory when I was younger. Energy transfer and destruction is a fascinating area. Of course, there’s no way to truly destroy energy, you just have to find ways to hinder its transfer from potential to actual, divert it, or find ways to use it up at a faster rate, however, energy transfer is a much more delicate topic. I studied it for years. Back then, there was a great deal more interest then there is now, as that was effectively what people were doing when they transferred secret messages…’
‘…hang on, what?’ interrupted Cleo, annoyed that she couldn’t quite keep up, especially when it was about her specialist subject. ‘What do you mean people transferred secret messages? Who did and why?’
Anderson waited for a few moments, hoping that someone else would step in and explain, but given that nobody took up the reigns, he continued. ‘A few decades ago, the world was a dangerous place. Peter was born into the Body bloodline and this caused widespread disruption, panic, conspiracy theories, prophecies that the world was now doomed, and crucially, powerful factions began to form. Some rallied behind the Descendants, believing they would find a way to free the world before Peter ever came to power. Some turned to the academics for answers and funded research into the relic and the energy. And one group formed with the aim of keeping the energy steady, so we could go on living normally regardless what happened with the relic. This group was called the Institution and they were particularly elusive. They took great pains to hide their work from anybody and everybody, but especially from the Descendants, for whom they had a significant disregard, thinking they weren’t doing their bit to free the world.’
Anita shot a look at Alexander to see how he was taking this slight, but his face was as steady as his energy, so she turned her attention back to Anderson.
‘But, as I am sure you can imagine, views questioning the authority of the Descendants were seen by many as treason, so the Institution had to operate in the shadows, passing messages carefully and without evidence between members. To do this, they used a method where they would plant a message in the brain of another, the message generally taking the shape of a brass cylinder. When the person next meditated, they would come across the brass cylinder, open it in private, and respond in the same way. This process is essentially a transfer of energy from one person to another, and nobody to this day really understands how it’s possible, hence the research people are doing into areas such as this.’
Anita knew from Cleo’s energy, not to mention how still and upright she had grown in her seat, that she had hundreds of questions she was dying to ask, but instead, she nodded along with everyone else, pretending to understand exactly what Anderson was talking about.
‘Everything eventually settled down. I think people had had enough of living their lives having to look over their shoulders, and people started to use brass cylinders to store energy instead. Either they would store information and memories that they wanted to share with people, or information and memories they wanted to hide. The fascinating thing about this, was that if someone stole a cylinder with someone else’s memories, the energy would strain to get back to its rightful owner. This breaks all the rules we understand about how energy works and is why it lures so many academics in to study it; it’s truly baffling. I used to study energy transfers like this, however, I came across the idea that sending the relic home could have something to do with energy transfer, so turned my attention to the relic instead.’
‘How did you come across that idea?’ asked Anita, captivated like everyone else, except Alexander, who was observing Anita.
Anderson closed down as soon as the words were out of Anita’s mouth and she immediately regretted saying them. Luckily, Alexander came to her rescue. ‘Poor Anderson. He comes over for a friendly dinner and ends up doing a post-dinner key-note. I think it’s time to take coffee and nightcaps in the library.’
Anita shot a grateful look in Alexander’s direction before following the others out of the dining room. Something interesting definitely going on there, she thought, as she entered the libr
ary and helped herself to a walnut liquor on the rocks in a beautiful crystal glass tumbler.
Several hours later, after Cleo and Bas had retired to bed, Arabella decided it was time for them to make their way home. They thanked Alexander for a wonderful evening and he got up to show them out, leaving Anita alone in the library with a view out over the bay. Feeling pent up after all the talking, and, more frustratingly, skirting around the edge of some very interesting topics, Anita left the library and headed to the cloakroom, where she selected a floor length, black, hooded cloak for herself and a floor length, red cloak for Alexander. She swung her cloak around her shoulders and fastened it using the heavy, ornate broach attached to its neck before heading for the front door. Alexander appeared just as Anita got there and was about to close the door behind him, but before he got a chance, Anita threw the cloak at him and disappeared through the door and down the steps, without so much as a backward glance to see if he was following her.
Alexander stood dumbfounded for a second, watching Anita start to run across the grass towards the cliffs, weighing up his options before giving fully into temptation and flying down the steps after her, throwing his cloak over his shoulders in an easy movement as he went.
Anita could feel Alexander’s energy chasing her and her energy soared as he closed in, her sky-high heels slowing her down as she sprinted. Adrenaline pumped through her, pushing her energy higher still, her cloak and dress streaming out behind her, an ecstatic smile on her lips. She had just about reached the edge when Alexander caught up, grabbed hold of her hand to slow her to a stop, and spun her around to face him. As he did it, an explosion of tingles cascaded through their fingers then raced around their bodies. They locked eyes to question and at the same time affirm that the other could feel it too. Without moving his eyes from hers, Alexander pushed his hand flat against Anita’s and held it up to chest height in between them, mirroring the position with his other hand. Anita responded and lifted her free right hand to place it flat against his open left palm, feeling the tingles intensify as the energy coursed between them. Alexander half smiled then very slowly moved first his left then his right hand a few millimetres away from hers. She inhaled deeply, spellbound as the tingles continued even with a gap between them. He leaned his head forward and murmured, ‘sit down,’ his piercing blue eyes caressing hers. They effortlessly and elegantly sank to sit cross legged on the floor, hands and eyes maintaining their positions. His intention was clear, so she lightly closed her eyes and made her way to her Centre, where she knew she would find him waiting. Anita went through the usual flight, fall and duck through the door into the tent and she inwardly beamed when she saw Alexander’s glorious, half-naked form in its usual position on the low bed in the corner.
She moved towards him, noting that this felt different to normal; she felt more connected to him, almost as though she were in his warm, protective embrace. She sat down cross legged on the bed in front of him and was about to speak when the world around her blurred and she was jolted to a new location. She looked around and realised she was on the lawn she’d just run across in the real world, so funny, she thought, that she was in the same place inside her head as outside. But whereas when they normally meditated here there was sunlight streaming down, playing on the water below, now it was night time, with the moon and stars casting only a soft, romantic glow. Anita wondered why it was night here when her Centre had still been basked in light. She looked around to see where Alexander was to ask him, when she caught sight of his toned form pelting across the lawn towards her, echoing the game from minutes before. Without thinking, Anita’s body responded and she whirled towards the sea, running as fast as she could towards it, her dress, heels and cloak slowing her down as before. Alexander (also dressed as he was in the outside world) caught her, but this time, as he spun her around, he pulled her to his chest, his face inches from hers, hands moving to her hips, scared she might step away. His eyes were mesmerising and Anita felt her stomach somersault as he bowed his head and lightly pressed his forehead to hers, closing his eyes to savour the moment, breathing deeply to drink in her jasmine scented perfume. Without seeming to command it, his mouth found its way to hers, her soft lips cautiously meeting his. He placed delicate kisses on her and she responded, mouths exploring each other, movements becoming more confident. They eventually pulled apart, Alexander stealing a brief final kiss, before smiling wryly down at her. They sank to the floor to sit cross legged as they were in the world outside, although this time their knees were touching and their hands were joined.
After a few moments of silent and surprised contemplation, Anita felt guilt start to invade her thoughts, so she broke the silence. ‘Why’s it dark?’ she asked. ‘The cliff is normally filled with sunlight when we come here.’
Alexander smiled cautiously. ‘Because we’re no longer inside your head. We’re inside mine.’
Anita was shocked, but her energy was steady, more intrigued than angry. ‘This is one of the places in your head too?’
He relaxed a little. He’d been worried she would take this less well. ‘Yep. But as you can see there are some differences. In my head its night time and the house and Kingdom are also here. For some reason they’re not in your version, not that I’m sure how this place ever got inside your head at all.’
‘But you have a theory?’
‘Yes, I have a theory. But I’m not sure this is quite the right time to share.’
‘Why not?’ she asked, a hint of annoyance in her tone.
‘Because there are so many other things to discuss.’
‘Like what?’ she said, Alexander’s diversionary tactics successfully averting her attention.
‘There isn’t anything, after all the conversations this evening, that you want to ask me?’ He smiled indulgently as she realised this was her chance.
‘Why did Austin get rid of all the relic specialists but leave Anderson alone?’
‘I don’t know the whole answer to that, but Austin decided a while back that studying the relic was to be outlawed. Nobody really knows why, but he sprouted some stuff about not wanting to give people false hope. Why he left Anderson alone I have no idea, I’ve often wondered myself, but the most obvious explanation would be either that Anderson has something on Austin that he doesn’t want to come out, or that Austin has some specific interest in Anderson’s work. That’s just speculation though.’
‘What made Anderson connect the relic and energy transfer?’
‘Again, I don’t really know. I think he must have discovered something either in a book, or been told something by a scholar, or maybe he discovered something during his time in the Wild Lands. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t anything in accepted academic texts or from the current academics, as there’s nobody else working on the assumption that energy transfer and sending the relic back are connected. Although, even if they were, they wouldn’t be able to talk about it in public, given Austin’s decree. I doubt Anderson would’ve told anyone, except perhaps Arabella; it’s not the kind of thing he’d want in the public domain. The world is much safer than it used to be, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe.’
‘Do you think Anderson’s working with the Institution?’
‘No.’
‘How can you be so sure?’
‘Anderson hates the Institution. He thinks they were responsible for a great deal of unnecessary suffering a couple of decades back and the Institution’s not entirely behind the idea of sending the relic back, which Anderson finds suspicious. It wouldn’t take much for the Institution to get into bed with the Descendants and Anderson can’t stand the Descendants.’
Anita laughed. ‘Need I remind you that you’re a Descendant and he just came over for dinner?!’
‘The Spirit Descendants have always been less, uh…fundamentalist shall we say, than the rest of them. We tend to be more philosophical and less power hungry. We’re more open to ideas different to our own, which me
ans people like Anderson find us more trustworthy than the others.’
‘Is he right to trust you?’
Alexander was taken aback by the abruptness of the question. ‘Why wouldn’t he be?’
‘I don’t know, something to do with you withholding information from me makes me think maybe you would do it to him too.’
‘Anita, the only reason I withheld information from you was because Marcus hasn’t let me anywhere near you since he found out we were coming here together. I was going to tell you.’
‘You had plenty of opportunity to tell me before that night at The Island. We’ve been meditating together for weeks.’
‘As I’ve said before, Marcus is a jealous person, and whether you choose to believe it or not, you’ll be in danger if you two drift apart, or worse, if he thought you weren’t totally loyal to him. I didn’t want to get any closer to you then was needed to help you protect yourself, and I had a feeling that sharing something like a place in our minds could have that effect.’
‘What do you think of the Institution?’ Anita’s change of tack took him by surprise. He’d expected more of an argument than that.
‘Why do you ask?’
‘I just want to know.’
‘To be honest, I don’t know. I used to be wary of them; it’s what Descendants are taught from an early age. But then, their goal is energy stability, which is a noble goal for the good of everyone. But if they’re willing to prevent the relic from being returned to keep the energy steady, I don’t think I agree with their aim. Why? What do you think of them?’
‘Would you help them if they asked?’ Anita ignored his question.
‘It would depend what they asked me to do. If you’re asking me if I trust them, then the answer is most definitely no. I think it’s best to steer clear of most people with a political agenda. Why the sudden interest? Have they asked you for help?’
‘You have a political agenda.’
‘Do I?’ The words were a challenge, and as he said them, the mood between them sharpened. It turned wary and almost hostile.
Anita said nothing for a few moments, then raised Alexander’s hand to her lips and kissed it, knowing she’d pushed him as far as he was willing to go tonight. She looked up at him. ‘Doesn’t every Descendant have a political agenda out of necessity?’ she asked softly.
Alexander searched for words to respond but couldn’t find any. She seized the moment and rocked lightly forwards, now on all fours, cat-like in front of him, her hands on his knees. She leaned in and kissed him lightly on his lips, then broke contact to wait for his response. He did nothing. His eyes were closed and his mind was racing. He knew he’d already passed the point of no return, but this was exactly what he’d been trying to avoid. If Marcus found out, who knew what would happen, but every instinct he possessed was screaming at him to kiss her.
She waited several seconds before leaning in and kissing him again. She could feel the impact she was having on his energy and knew he was fighting an internal battle, but she also knew she couldn’t push him too hard or he would run away. Again, she waited, before bowing her head to kiss him for a third time. This time, as she was pulling away, she felt him respond. He pushed his lips gently back against hers, and she froze, her energy a strange mix of excitement and terror that any movement would push him away. He kissed her more assertively, pushing carefully against her warm lips. Anita moved her hands to his neck, pulling him gently towards her, their lips now parted, tongues caressing each other.
They became more confident, then more urgent, Alexander rising to his knees, his hands pulling at her lower back to press her to him before lifting her off the ground and pushing her backwards. He laid her roughly on the ground, her cloak fanned out beneath her, then followed her over and pinned her with his weight. She ran her fingers through his hair as he kissed and nipped her neck, then tugged at the clasp of his cloak, pulled of his dinner jacket, and slid his shirt free from his trousers, her fingers making their way under his shirt and greedily taking in the firm, athletic contours of his back. He kissed his way down her neck, reaching her breasts as he slid her silk dress up over her hips. Anita arched her back, pushing her body towards him as he slid his arm under her and pulled her into him. He smelt like ripe oranges and she inhaled deeply as he brushed his fingers down her spine, but as he did it, the world began to blur.
Anita opened her eyes to find herself sitting facing Alexander, palms out in front of her, just as she had been when they’d begun to meditate. ‘What happened?’ she asked, both confused and disappointed, moving her hands back to her lap. The tingling had stopped and all she felt now was that she had been robbed of a great deal of pleasure.
‘It’s likely that the guilt we were both feeling, but doing a good job of suppressing, yanked us back to the present. Our brains were caught in a dilemma, not knowing what to do, so booted us out. It’s probably for the best when you think about it.’
‘Why? It’s not like nothing happened, and I was quite enjoying myself.’
Typical Body, thought Alexander, who, in truth, was also feeling robbed. He searched her eyes, hoping to see some sort of understanding of the danger she was putting herself in, but saw not a trace. ‘I was enjoying myself too, but it’s good nothing else happened, and it’s best that we forget about it. I don’t think Marcus would take it well if he found out.’
Anita knew she wasn’t going to win tackling this straight on. He would just harp on about Marcus and the danger she was in, so she changed tack. ‘There is one more thing I wanted to ask you about.’
‘Yes?’
‘You feel the tingles too?’
Alexander’s breath caught in his throat. ‘Yes,’ he nodded huskily.
‘And you’ve nudged the edge of my energy?’
‘You can feel that too?’
Anita nodded. ‘Does everyone feel them? I feel them with both you and Marcus,’ she said, looking a little sheepish at bringing him up, ‘but I’ve never felt them with anyone else.’
‘You feel them with Marcus too?’ Anita nodded again. ‘Interesting,’ said Alexander, pausing to consider what to say next. ‘The nudges and tingles are caused when energy is exerted by one person on another, that much we think we know. They only seem to take place when the energy is intended to be pleasurable or supportive and certainly positive; there have never been reports of tingles due to negative energy. But, the problem is that it’s rare to come across people who are able to feel them, and generally both parties have to be able to feel them for either to be aware of them. That’s why it surprises me that you felt them with Marcus, as I had no idea he had the ability to feel them too.’
‘Well I’m not entirely sure he can. He’s never brought it up, nor does he ever do anything which would indicate he can feel them, and it sounds like the research is limited, so maybe it is possible for only one party to feel them? How many people have been studied?’
‘As far as I know only a handful, so you may well be right. And given the nature of the situations a person has to be in to feel them, I’m sure the existing findings aren’t robust.’
‘Have you been studied?’
‘Gods no,’ he laughed. ‘No Descendant could ever submit themselves to academic testing. And I’m sure there are many who feel them but are too scared to volunteer themselves; it can be dangerous to stand out when there’s someone like Austin in power.’
‘So long story short, nobody really knows what they are, when they occur, or what they’re for.’
‘That pretty much sums it up. Nudges are more easily studied, as we can learn to control them, but there’s nobody who can control tingles, at least nobody who admits to being able to anyway.’
‘We could try to control them? It’s clearly something to do with positive energy and perhaps desire? It’s lessened with Marcus now, which might have something to do with my lessened desire for him, or maybe it has something to do with the unkno
wn? I know what to expect when I see Marcus now, whereas obviously I didn’t when I first started spending time with him.’
‘Lessened desire?’ Alexander asked, his facial expression making Anita almost laugh out loud, and he was clearly shocked at himself for saying it.
‘Only a little lessened, not entirely,’ she smiled back.
‘But you have slept together?’ he asked tentatively.
‘No,’ she said stiffly. ‘Not that it’s any of your business.’ She was shocked at his indelicate question.
‘And Marcus is still following you around like a lost puppy? He doesn’t suspect that you may, um, have interests elsewhere?’
‘Who says I have interests elsewhere?’ Anita challenged, enjoying the power of making Alexander squirm. ‘And anyway, so long as he’s still interested in me, he’ll follow me around like a lost puppy for longer if I don’t sleep with him than if I do. Marcus likes a challenge remember? And I’m his current challenge. He hasn’t cracked it yet, so he’ll keep trying until he does, or until something new and shiny catches his attention.’
‘I thought you didn’t like the Mind disciplines,’ Alexander smirked.
‘I don’t. But Marcus does.’ Anita shivered.
‘Come on, let’s get back inside,’ he said, getting up and taking Anita’s hand to help her. They both felt a shiver of energy run through their fingers and smiled as Anita got to her feet, her dress and cloak cascading to the floor. She took his outstretched arm and they wandered back across the lawn, chatting about what they would do for the rest of their time in Kingdom. They entered the house and Alexander walked Anita to her room, the tension growing, the conversation more stunted as they approached. They stopped outside her door and Anita turned to look at Alexander, perplexed.
‘You’ve spent all this time pushing me away and telling me how much danger I’d be in if Marcus changes his mind about me, or even if he thought we were friends. You’ve barely said two words to me outside of lessons, I know nothing about you, you normally shut down any questioning I start, yet tonight you let me ask you whatever I wanted. Why?’
Smoke filled Alexander’s eyes as they played across hers. ‘Because I realised life’s too short not to flirt with danger when it feels like it might be worth it.’
Anita smiled, turning to open her door. ‘Goodnight Alexander,’ she said, looking back over her shoulder, ‘it’s been a most illuminating evening.’ She disappeared into her room, shutting the door gently behind her.