CHAPTER 15
Marcus left the castle without stopping to talk to his father. Much as he hated him normally, it was time to work with Alexander. He did, after all, have power as a ruling Descendant that Marcus did not, and he possessed a fairness that his father seemed to think unnecessary. He made his way to the Spirit Temple and rapped on the stone covering Alexander’s chambers, not having to wait for very long for a response. ‘Marcus? What are you doing here?’ said Alexander as the stone slid aside.
Marcus stood silently for a moment, not quite believing he was about to say what he was. ‘I’m here because I need your help to free Anita. I saw you arriving at the castle earlier, so listened in to some of your conversation with dad. I know you want to free Anita too and I can’t do it on my own. You have power as a ruling Descendant that I don’t and the only way we’ll get her back is if we force dad’s hand.’
‘Marcus, I went to the castle earlier to try and make sure they keep her alive. You know that your dad and Amber would kill her if they thought they could get away with it?’
‘I, uh,’ Marcus wasn’t sure what to say. He’d had his eyes opened when he’d seen the state of Anita, so he supposed there was no reason to assume what Alexander was saying was incorrect, but he couldn’t believe his father would murder someone without good reason. ‘All I know is that Anita is a total state. Amber didn’t show her any kindness when she was interrogating her, and she seems to have a couple of broken ribs along with wounds everywhere else.’
‘That bitch,’ Alexander blazed. ‘What are they accusing her of?’
‘They think she was trying to steal a brass cylinder of dad’s. It contains some memory or other. Anita’s story is that she wanted to take a closer look at the brass work; she said she appreciates it because of her work at the Observatory. I’m not sure dad will buy that though.’
‘So how do you suggest we go about freeing her if they won’t believe her story?’
‘I think we need to use your power as a Descendant to threaten dad. The one thing he cares about more than anything is his reputation. If you threaten to embarrass him publically, for example, at a Council meeting, then he may opt to let her go instead.’
‘And what do you suggest I use to embarrass him?’
‘Luckily, I’ve been spending a lot of time researching my family history recently, and there’s a lot that I’ve cross referenced with other sources to get the real story, including what happened that caused mum and dad to separate, for example.’
Alexander perked up; this sounded as though it might actually have legs. ‘Go on.’
‘It turns out that dad was having an affair.’
‘With who?’
‘I’ll only tell you that on a need to know basis. It should be enough just to threaten him.’
‘Ok, I’m in. How do you want to play it?’
‘I’ll go back to the castle, tell dad I think Anita’s innocent and explain the misunderstanding. When he says he thinks I’m naïve and don’t know what I’m talking about, I’ll tell him that you’re willing to blackmail him over the affair if he doesn’t let her go. Hopefully that should be enough, especially given that keeping her locked up indefinitely presents a serious problem when it comes to me. If not, then we have to go through with it, and we keep digging up embarrassments until he’s willing to set her free.’
‘You would do that to your own father?’
‘If he keeps Anita locked up, yes. I love her, and she hasn’t done anything wrong. It’s my fault she was in the vault in the first place; I’ve got to get her out. Anyway, dad will recover, he always does.’
Marcus went back to the castle, stood outside Austin’s office, took a deep breath, and knocked sharply before entering, without waiting for an answer. He entered to see Amber and Austin sitting on a sofa drinking whiskey and laughing about something in a way that made Marcus feel cold.
‘Marcus,’ said Austin, surprised that his son, who usually waited obediently at the door after knocking, had waltzed straight in. ‘Join us for a drink,’ he said, covering his surprise.
‘No thank you. I have something I want to talk to you about privately,’ he said, looking Austin straight in the eye.
‘That sounds ominous,’ said Amber contemptuously, getting up to leave. She walked past Marcus, then turned and shot Austin a knowing look before reaching the door. If Marcus had been ten minutes later, who knew what he would have walked in on. It would be a good idea to lock the door from now on, she thought, although how Marcus could be so blind as to not see what was going on between them anyway, she had no idea.
‘Dad, please let Anita go. She’s done nothing wrong; she was looking at the brass work on those cylinders, nothing more. You yourself must know how rare it is to find such well-crafted cylinders and she has an interest in brass work as everything at the Observatory is made in equally well-crafted brass. If you want to punish anyone, then punish me. I was the one that took her to the vault and then left her alone. If I hadn’t, this would never have happened.’
‘And why did you leave her alone?’ Austin asked, realising he was yet to find this out.
‘Because we bumped into Cleo at the Archives and she was snooping around, which isn’t exactly unheard of for her. I went out to ask for some privacy and walked her to the stairs. She went back upstairs to where she’d been working and I started to walk back to the vault. I stopped to look at an artefact on the way and that’s when you burst onto the floor.’ His story wasn’t entirely accurate, however he didn’t want to get Cleo into trouble too, so it was probably best to downplay that she’d wanted to show him something. Marcus was sure it was all innocent, but Austin would be unlikely to see it that way.
‘And you think it’s a coincidence that Cleo happened to be at the archive when you took Anita there?’
‘Yes. Cleo’s at the Archives almost every day and has been since before you showed me the vault. I would’ve been surprised had she not been there. Anyway, it was an impromptu visit by Anita and I, and Anita couldn’t have got a message to Cleo to meet her there without me knowing.’
Austin had to admit this part of the story checked out, especially given that her spending so much time at the Archives had been what prompted Austin to introduce Marcus to the vault in the first place. ‘So you want me to simply let her go? You know I can’t do that. She’s a manipulative person Marcus, why can’t you see she’s using you for some reason and we have to find out why?’
‘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’re 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, not now that Marcus had shown his true colours.
‘Alright, consider her freed. You can go and get her 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 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’s 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 out 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 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 it 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’s 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 told him what 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.’