DARK FAÏZ Book 2: Nothing will ever be the same again

by Sandra L. Kiss

  Ray glanced threateningly at Faïz.

  "Not with me, man! Don't tell me that you're hiding all this from her because you're scared of jeopardizing the mission. The only reason you keep silent is because you're just afraid that she will hate you."

  Ray pulled himself together and looked around to make sure no one was around. Reassured, he came to sit next to his friend.

  "And you?" asked Faïz in a whisper.

  Ray sighed deeply and shook his head, searching for his words.

  "Make sure that this day never comes, friend. I don't know if I could ever forgive you. You're going to have to make a choice!"

  12

  Voices that seemed to come from far away woke me up. My sore arm under the weight of Asarys' body pulled a grimace from me. She'd fallen asleep right next to me in the vehicle that was taking us back to the inn. Next to her was Lexy, who slept just as deeply, head resting against the window. My gaze fell on our tunics, scattered before us on the carpet of the car. We'd thrown them off in a hurry, so happy to be able to get rid of them when we left the cemetery. I looked away through the window and was surprised that I had already arrived. The time on the dashboard told me that the night was already far advanced and that the day would soon be here. I gently pushed Asarys' head to get out of the vehicle as gently as possible without waking up my two friends.

  "They must rest," Min said to the small group gathered in front of her.

  I decided to stay back to listen discreetly to the conversation.

  "We can go back there without them!" Ray insisted.

  "David says it's impossible," William replied in a worried tone.

  "Shit," sighed Barthey, annoyed. "The hard part will be to convince Faïz to let the girls finish the mission. Besides, where did he go? He was here a moment ago."

  "In the conference room," said Ray. "Talking with David about the mission's progress for tonight."

  I took advantage of the fact that the group was busy debating the situation to subtly slip away inside the inn, with the help of the fog that was beginning to circle the premises. I rushed quickly into the entrance hall and then ran through the long corridor. When I arrived at the door of the conference room, I decided to open it gently so that I could hear the conversation.

  "I only had sound!" David said. "How could I have done more? They got away."

  "You were supposed to call us if the mission went wrong! It could have ended badly," Faïz preached.

  "They needed me at all times! I couldn't let them manage this all alone while I reached you. Asarys was found and they returned."

  In the doorway, I saw Faïz sitting, his arms on his knees, holding his head in his hands. He stayed there for a few moments before standing up to suddenly turn off the videoconference.

  "I already told you that it wasn't okay to spy on people behind the door."

  Ashamed, I wanted to disappear. I timidly cross the door to join Faïz, his back still turned to me.

  "Stop blaming the whole world, especially my best friend," I begged, placing a hand on his neck.

  To my amazement, this gesture made him shudder slightly.

  "Tell me you want to get back home, Zoe, and I'll find you a jet in the next few hours."

  I took Faïz's face in my hands to force him to look at me.

  "My place is near you and with my friends, there, outside. I would never leave you."

  His gaze shifted from anger to despair at that moment. It was then that he wrapped his hands around my hips and made me sit on his lap, burying his face in the crook of my neck, trapping me in his arms. My hands were against his chest. I wouldn't have moved for anything in the world at that moment. He was the only person who made me vulnerable. I adapted the rhythm of my breathing to his and I would have liked my heartbeat to do the same. Without realizing it, my eyelids started to close.

  "You're exhausted, Zoe."

  I lifted my face and put my lips on his, not giving him time to continue his sentence. With my fingertips, I gently touched his arm and then went up to his neck. His breathing quickened and his kiss took over, getting deeper and deeper. At this moment, Faïz released one of his hands to come and caress the arch of my hips over my clothes, and then went down along my thigh. My blood was coursing so hard through my temples that it was almost painful. I could hear his jerky breathing. Faïz still held me firmly against him and finally seemed to let go of all the barriers he had put between us since the first day I met him. I understood that his reason had just lost a relentless battle against the strength of his feelings. After a long time, huddled together and almost out of breath because the moment was so intense, he finally moved his lips away from mine. I hardly tried to regain my senses when his hand came to brush my cheek, surely still on fire, and his eyes were welded to mine.

  "I'm sorry," apologized Faïz in his softest voice.

  "Sorry?"

  "About my often too excessive and perhaps primitive reactions in your eyes. If you really became aware of the danger you have to face at all times, then you would better understand my behavior towards you and others."

  Faïz allowed me to rest my forehead against the top of his chest. His heart was still beating fast.

  "The only fear I have is losing you."

  I looked up at him again to watch his reaction. He seemed anxious, as if tortured by a situation that seemed to overcome him.

  "Zoe, I…I have to tell you something." He hesitated, looking down.

  I pulled away from him, worried and panicked about what I could learn in the next few seconds. My pulse quickened again and Faïz's gaze plunged into mine. What was he reading on my face at the time? Whatever it was, he seemed to change his mind.

  "Nothing important. It's about your father. His emails are more and more insistent. You're going to have to call him to reassure him before he turns the whole world over to find you."

  Suddenly, his hand went to my hair to dishevel my big bun. My heavy curly hair fell on my shoulders. Faïz gazed at me in silence, as if hypnotized. Embarrassed by the insistence of his gaze, I couldn't help but blush slightly. I reluctantly stood up, freeing myself from his vice at the same time.

  "I'm going to get Barthey," I said with a sigh, disappointed that I had to leave him already.

  I watched the inspector scramble with the two computers in front of him. He plugged the satellite phone into one of the two devices and then said,

  "All right, Zoe! You'll only have five minutes to talk to your father. It's very important that you respect this timing. You must in no case reveal your position to him or—"

  "Inspector," I cut him off politely. "I won't give him any details of this mission. I will be, for five minutes, a completely normal young woman in a normal life."

  Karl put his hands on his hips, clearing his throat, a little embarrassed.

  "I'm sorry you have to lie to your father. Your friends are in their room. We'll leave you alone for a few hours. Rest! You deserve it."

  "What about the others?"

  "David has yet to give us all the information about the evening at the Sun Lakes. The night may be long for us."

  Barthey turned to the exit without adding anything, leaving me alone in a completely empty conference room. Indeed, Faïz had left the place before I came back. I suspected that he had so much to do. I put the tips of my fingers on my lips, remembering that long carnal kiss Despite the difficult ordeal we were going through, I was happy with the turn that the end of this night had taken. I picked up the handset and dialed my father's number.

  "It's me, dad. How are you?"

  "Zoe? I'm glad you're calling," said my father with a sigh of relief. "You took a long time! So, this school trip?"

  When I heard his voice and my first language, the emotion took me by the throat. I realized how much I missed him.

  "It's…" I fought against my tears, which betrayed my exhaustion. "I miss you so much, dad."

  The hot water on my skin made me forget the turmoil of the past few weeks. I stood th
ere, frozen, letting these waves fall on my body, forgetting, for a moment, that it was covered with many bruises. At the end of this long shower, I put on my bathrobe and returned without making any noise to the dormitory, lit by the shy daylight that was beginning to appear. My two friends slept soundly. I went over to their bed, wiping my wet hair with my towel. Instinctively, I sat on the edge of Lexy's bed and peered at her with a half-smile on the corner of my lips. She seemed so peaceful. My hand came to rest on her hair. She should call her family, too, I thought. Unlike Asarys, Lexy talked about them a little more. She promised to introduce me to her parents when we returned to France during our vacation. It was a promise she'd made when we met, shortly after my return. A promise that seemed to me to have been made ages ago. I pulled up her blanket and left to sit on Asarys' bed. I hoped deep inside to find her one day as I had known her. I missed her mischievous look and carefree temperament, but I couldn't blame her for having changed in the few last months. I lay down next to her and huddled in the blankets. My heavy eyelids closed and the void grabbed me.

  The sound of a lawnmower woke me up quickly. Despite my efforts, my eyes refused to fully open. I tried to straighten up, clumsily taking my hands to my rebellious hair, left like this during my sleep. Although my mind was trying to get my muscles to work properly, my body seemed to let go of me completely. I groaned in protest and then slumped back on the pillow next to me.

  "Girls?"

  No one answered me. What the hell could they be doing?

  "Lexy? Asarys?"

  My hand searched for my friend's presence next to me, but I noticed, astonished, that her place was empty. They had deserted the dorm like thieves without bothering to wake me up. I searched with my hand for the small box on the dresser next to Asarys' bed to look at the time and jumped up in panic.

  "What? But it's not possible! They will hear from me."

  I fumed against my two friends, who had dared to let me sleep that much. It was already early afternoon and I was sleeping while the outside world was waiting to be saved. I grabbed a random T-shirt from my closet and then rushed over to a dresser at the other end of the room, banging one of my toes on the foot of Lexy's bed.

  "SHIIIT!" I cried, limping for a few moments.

  Once dressed, I hurried to the bathroom where I rummaged in my toilet bag in the hope of finding a rubber band to tame my bulky mane. While doing my hair, I watched my reflection in the mirror, which made me despair. I couldn't have done worse even by putting my fingers in an electrical outlet. I finally opted for my two big braids. I quickly refreshed my face under the water and brushed my teeth vigorously. After several minutes spent in the bathroom, I was happy to find a human appearance. I quickly put my boots on and stormed out of the room to head for the conference room.

  In a rush, the door handle slipped from my hands, opening the door in a thunderous crash. I then fell directly in front of fifteen pairs of eyes directed at me. Asarys and Lexy were drinking their coffee while listening to Barthey's words and didn't seem to pay attention to the uncomfortable situation I was in at the moment. I blushed at my rather abrupt entrance, refusing to stare at the people present in the room, and hastened to sit down beside my two friends. The inspector had stopped his speech to take a seat, which further accentuated my discomfort.

  "Last night's ceremony took place around this lake," said Barthey.

  Karl displayed on the screen in front of us satellite images showing the exact place where my friends and I had been last night, summarizing with precision the sequence of the events which we had attended.

  "What did I miss?" I asked in a low voice to Lexy.

  "Breakfast," she replied, focused on Barthey's speech.

  I sighed, exasperated by her attitude.

  "Asarys?"

  My friend slowly turned her head towards me, but her eyes remained fixed on the inspector.

  "Tell me what I missed?"

  "Hmm… Oh, nothing. The teams are trying to set up a plan to get the ruby, but are assessing the risks beforehand."

  "Why did you let me sleep this morning?" I asked in a tone full of reproach. "It's an important day!"

  "Faïz came to see us when we woke up," Asarys said. "It was he who asked us to—"

  "Ordered!" Lexy cut in dryly.

  "Who ordered us to let you sleep."

  I scanned the room for him. When my gaze met his, it was impossible for me to look away from his authoritarian and captivating pout. Barthey's voice snatched me from his spell when he said my name.

  "Zoe, Asarys, and Lexy will dive into the lake to fetch the precious stone while the rest of the team is on site, hidden to cover them in the event of an attack."

  "No!" Faïz said abruptly. "There are enough men here to do this job. The girls are done with all this."

  "I agree with him," said William, standing against the wall near the entrance.

  He then turned his head towards me. His facial features were filled with unexplained frustration. After a few moments, he turned his icy gaze to the inspector and added,

  "Now it's up to us to finish this mission!"

  "The commando teams aren't authorized to deploy on the spot," explained the inspector calmly. "They would be quickly spotted. Agreements between the two governments have been signed and we can't go against what has already been decided. So we have to stick to the plan."

  "Go to hell, you and your agreements!" cried Faïz, leaping furiously from his chair.

  Ray stood up, too, ready to hold on to his friend, whose impulsive nature he knew.

  "The decision is not yours!" Barthey roared as he spoke to the three young men. "I'm the one giving the orders here. We serve the government. And you, Faïz, do you really want to be the weak link in your entire lineage?"

  The inspector's fist tapped violently on the table, which didn't fail to startle me. Faïz and Barthey distrusted each other while Ray pushed his friend towards the exit to prevent the situation from escalating. Still contained by him, Faïz pointed his finger at Karl.

  "This isn't over! We won't stop here," he said threateningly before leaving the room accompanied by Ray.

  Worried, I looked at my friends, who seemed as disturbed as me after this violent exchange.

  "I…I just wanted to be told that our work was done," confided Lexy in shock. "I really thought we had done most of the work yesterday."

  "You can always give up," I comforted her. "You can both give up. That's okay. I can go get the ruby on my own."

  "No way! We won't let you dive into those waters without us," Asarys decreed. "We started together, we will end together."

  I looked around the room again. William was talking to Barthey, probably to try to make him understand reason in a more diplomatic way. The vigorous exchange between Faïz and the inspector made me understand that the group was exploding. After these long weeks spent together on Eros, we were all on edge. A solution had to be found to get out of this crisis. Indeed, the consequences of these divisions within the group could lead to poor organization of operations, and therefore cause our loss for all. I got up from my chair under the anxious gaze of my friends to quietly disappear from the room, where the tone of the discussions began to rise gradually.

  "They are crossing the line!" rebelled Faïz in the entrance hall of the inn. "The government is ready to do anything to complete this mission, even if it means sending innocent citizens to the stake. Barthey and the others make me sick."

  Hidden from my gaze, my back against the wall, I listened to the conversation between the two young men. Ray, in his calm voice, seemed to weigh all his words before speaking in order to calm his friend.

  "Zoe is stronger than you think. She was the one who got you out of that cave before you ran out of blood, and—"

  "Let me remind you that she risked her life that day!" Faïz cut him off coldly. "There’s no way that situation will happen again. I'll go alone to get that damn cursed stone."

  "You know as well as I do that the Twilight Brother
hood will do everything to keep it at the bottom of the lake. I don't agree with Barthey's plan, but we have no choice! We can't fight our opponent and at the same time be at the bottom of the water. Think about it."

  "Ray is right!"

  Frowning and his forehead wrinkled with worry, Faïz glared at me.

  "Are you kidding, Zoe?" he asked in a brittle voice.

  "For once, try to see things differently," I begged him while advancing towards him.

  Faïz put his hands to his face as if to think better and then tugged on the roots of his hair, tortured by the decision he had to make.

  "You'll be there to cover us," I continued, encouraged by Ray's glances. "You are the one who will be there to protect us. Everything will be fine."

  Faïz turned his back on me, his hands resting on his hips.

  "Tomorrow we're going to get the ruby," Ray intervened. "After that, we will all be back in Los Angeles before the end of the week."

  Hearing these words, Faïz turned suddenly. Anxious for his reaction, I dared not say a word, fearing that our efforts to convince him would ultimately fail. He looked at his friend with an impartial glance, then sighed deeply, shaking his head.

  "Ray, would you please leave us?" queried Faïz.

  Asarys' companion gave me a skeptical look before reluctantly doing so.

  The hall was now empty. Only Faïz and I were left. I found myself imagining this place full of visitors and travelers from all walks of life and it immediately seemed warmer. I looked again at Faïz, who was looking at me with an indecipherable expression. His anger seemed to have dissipated, taking with it the fury that had obscured his eyes and which now gave way to deep tenderness. He walked slowly toward me, looking disappointed, then gently took my hand as I watched him.

  "I would like to show you something. Or rather, a place. The Kobolds say of this place that it can heal any soul, even the most tormented."

  The softness of his palm in mine and the great hesitation in his voice forced me to lower my shield. The turnaround destabilized me somewhat, but Faïz seemed so vulnerable at the moment that I couldn't blame him.