Immortal Beauty

by Thomas McDermott

  “Sasha!” Taylor cried out. They ran to the prisoners and Frankie got to work on the locks. Sasha could see the chains that bound them all and her joy was replaced with a burning anger.

  “We’ve got to hurry!” She nudged Frankie.

  “Got it! He removed the first of not a few locks and it seemed like an eternity until they were all free and caught up in hugs and kisses and tears of relief. Marcus kindly reminded them that they had to move. He looked longingly at Taylor and Sasha who stood there holding hands like little children in the dark. He turned to Frankie. “Can you get us out of here?”

  “You know I can!” Frankie laughed and led them out through the subterranean caves. Anyone watching would have found it a strange sight to see five people emerging from an iron door underneath one of the many bridges that cross the Seine. The air was still warm and after being locked up in the stale atmosphere of the catacombs, Taylor gulped in a lungful of the fresh Spring evening. He had never smelled anything so sweet as the scent of water and flowers and rain and Springtime in the Parisian night. It was the most potent perfume he had ever smelled and he knew it would haunt him for the rest of his life. They moved quickly along the river laughing and joking as the adreneline mixed with tension was heightening all of their moods. They sounded as if they were on their way to a party and seemed so happy and carefree to all the people on the streets that saw them hurrying on their way. They climbed the stone steps leading up to the street and Marcus bade them all stop for a minute. It was time to come together. He told Frankie and Sasha of his plan. They were silent as he told them how Celine had to be reinterred forever. If at all possible, they were going to try and put the lid back on Pandora’a box. Frankie was shocked to realize that they were going to give up the waters of Locium but he said nothing. He knew this all had to end somewhere and now that they were all together in the same time and the same place, it seemed the perfect time to become mere mortals once again. Marcus told them of the plan to lure Celine outside. They listened intently and all remained silent and serious as Marcus gave them their instructions.

  “We have to work as a team. It’s the only way we have any chance. I do not want anyone acting on their own or playing hero. Got it?” He stared at Sasha. “No one is to kill her. It would only start all over again once she returned. Is that clear?” His eyes never left Sasha’s and she was sure he knew what was in her mind. She met his gaze with confidence and replied with a serious whisper.

  “Got it. Now Let’s end this once and for all.” She was now in charge somehow and they all followed her in the Paris night toward the ancient and beautiful garden where it all began.

  THE END OF DREAMS

  Celine felt confident that her meeting with one of the richest men in Paris had gone exceedingly well. She even gave him a case of the water to take with him as a gift. It was the synthesized water she had created in the lab, just a taste. Just a glimpse of what life could truly be. She was going to reserve the real thing for those worthy of eternity. She was not going to fill the earth with immortal idiots. She imagined beautiful and intelligent people. A new race. Beauty would finally prevail in this dark and ugly modern world. She was smug and assured now. The only thing that worried her was that Frankie had not returned from his adventure. It wasn’t too big of a problem really as he was probably spending a day or two with some adorable tourist. He would be back before too long. She instructed Virginie to clean up the table while she went upstairs to freshen up. She walked up the staircase slowly watching the glow of light come from the soft satinwood walls. She never imagined how it would feel to be back in this house and the nostalgia that swept over her was completely unexpected. She leaned against the wall for a moment in a lapse of strength. She was unable to move against this new feeling. She saw clearly the night of the great party at the first of the year. She saw Frankie as Rene and remembered all the glory and finery gathered around her and the rich and famous all commenting on her beauty and poise and with. It had been a triumph for Celine unlike any she had ever known. It was her entrance into the modern world of 1650 and at the time it had overwhelmed her though she adapted quickly. She recovered herself and made it to her room without further incidence and opened the door to the splendor waiting for her. She was made for this luxury and now that technology had reached a certain point, she had only to lift one finger to command the world around her. She chose and evening suit of gray silk the color of dark clouds. It was elegant and supremely comfortable. She barely felt it at all. She removed the diamond earings and placed them on the vanity. She regarded the image in the mirror. She hadn’t aged one bit and the thought of it horrified her as always. She watched people grow old and die and found nothing beautiful about it. They faded like flowers. She would never have to worry about such things. She was home now and again back at her post as high priestess of the waters of Locium. The future was secure. She was startled to hear a piercing cry come from the garden. It sounded like Osiris and it sounded like he was in great pain. She rushed to put on her silk shoes and flew down the stairs with a preternatural speed. Lately the two of them had become more and more difficult to control. They really were like animals and she thought that maybe she had taken the wrong approach with them. She should have treated them more like spoiled pets. Perhaps there was still time. She looked out into the night for the two creatures she called her children. They were nowhere to be seen.

  “Isis! Osiris! I need you now! Please hurry!” She was startled to hear uncertainty in her voice. She sounded weak and scared. There was nothing but silence. She began to feel herself getting angry. If they were ignoring her then it would be time for them to learn just how stern their darling mother could really be. She tried to calm the fire in her chest. She couldn’t kill her own children, not yet anyway.

  At the rear of the garden Marcus led them in through a small gate hidden by ivy. He had the key to the lock and ushered them all through as quietly as possible.

  “I think the beasts may be outside already. I think they prefer it to the house.” Frankie was repeating a little of what Virginie had told him earlier.

  “Of course they do.” Claire said as if Frankie were stupid. Quietly moving throught the trees they came upon the two creatures sleeping peacefully with their arms around each other. Osiris was the first to stir and opened his eyes lazily. He froze when he saw that the prisoners were standing in front of him.

  “Isis!” He shoved his sister aside and leapt to his feet.

  “C’mon big boy! Show me what you got!” Sasha moved in closely and seemed completely unafraid and aggressive. Osiris jumped into the air and pounced on her. Right before he landed on her body, he noticed too late that she was holding two heavy rods with sharp and polished points that grew wider at the base. As he fell to the ground the weight of his muscular body shoved the pointed weapons into his chest. He screamed in pain as Sasha yanked the weapons by the chains they were attached to. Taylor moved in quickly and knocked Osiris unconscious with a heavy rock clenched tightly in his fist. Isis let out a hight pitched howl and raced to the side of her brother. All that was human in her jumped to the surface. She was no longer a monster, only a scared little girl whose brother had been hurt.

  “Please don’t kill him! He’s all I have! Please!” Her pleas startled the group. They had expected her to attack, they did not see this coming at all. Before anyone could say or do anything Claire spoke to Isis with her mind. She showed her once again the glorious expanse of jungles and mesas of South America. In the image she placed Isis and Osiris in the center running around and cavorting like they loved to do. Isis stared at the pale girl. Claire spoke out loud for everyone’s sake.

  “We don’t want to kill you or your brother. Osiris will heal very quickly, you know that and I am sorry that we caused him any pain. We have no quarrel with you. Our fight is with Celine and unfortunately you two poor things are caught in the middle of it. I want to take you to a world where you and your brother can live in peace away from this insanity.
I prefer it myself and I want to go with you and show it to you. You need me to get there and we need you to get close enough to the house to stop Celine. Isis, you know I’m not lying.” Claire smiled a genuine smile of geniality for the first time since Sasha had met her. She realized that Claire cared more about these two science experiments than she did about the rest of them.

  “Do you promise not to kill Osiris?” Isis never sounded more like a child than she did right now. Tears were running down her strange face.

  “I promise no harm will come to him. We have to stop Celine before she kills anyone else.” Claire held out a hand to Isis which the girl slowly reached for and their fingers clasped effortlessly. Taylor couldn’t believe this. This wasn’t part of the plan. What was Claire doing?

  “We can’t trust her!” His sudden outburst caused Isis to hiss at him and bear her teeth.

  “Silence!” Claire reprimanded him. “Don’t you see? They are her victims too. They have a right to live just as much as we do. They didn’t ask to be part of this. Don’t worry about it. I’m taking them far away after tonight. You will never see them or me again. Claire placed her arm around Isis’ shoulder.

  “She’s right Taylor.” Sasha spoke up wiping the tears out of her eyes. “They’ve got nothing to do with this. Celine is just using them like she uses everyone else. Who are we to decide their fate? If we kill them we are no better than Celine.” She believed her own words so much that Taylor instantly saw that she was right. He never thought of these creatures at all except as monsters that worked for his enemy. It never once occurred to him that they might have feelings and dreams and other human qualities.

  “Can you please take those things out of my brother? They look like they hurt a lot..” Isis asked Claire.

  “As soon as Celine is taken care of we will set him free. Don’t worry Isis. Your brother is going to be fine. It’s just that I don’t think he will see your point of view in this and we don’t have the time to convince him. I have been inside his mind and you and I both know that his loyalty is to Celine.” Claire was patting her shoulder in a comforting manner. Her mother had never displayed any physical affection and Isis was warmed by this woman’s touch. She knewe that Claire spoke the truth. “We have to get Celine in the garden. Can you help us?” Isis smiled and nodded at Claire. Together they moved toward the chateau and at this point Sasha took her leave and pulled Taylor aside for a quick moment.

  “Listen to me. I agree with the plan. I love it. But if anything goes wrong in anyway I am taking her out before another living thing dies. I mean it. I just wanted you to know in case I need your help. Are you in?” She looked at him questioningly and he kissed her fiercely and stroked her hair before placing his forehead against hers.

  “I have always been in. You can count on me sweetie.” She smiled and left the rest of the group to reach her strategic position. She heard Taylor whisper out to her. “Be careful. Remember how powerful she is.”

  Sasha left through the gate and took the box of the eight immortal swords and ran around to the front of the house. She noticed immediately the two guards outside dressed as valets. She walked up to them quite brazenly and recognized one of the guards from the other night.

  “Hey! Remember me?” She stood perfectly still in front of them.

  “You just made the biggest mistake of your life by coming here lady.” He smiled and reached behind his back for the gun that was tucked under his belt. Sasha took her head and slammed it into his, pushing him back against the door. The other man reached around behind her and threw his arms around her lifting her off the ground. She put her hands in her jacket pocket and slipped on the deer and antler knives like they were jewelry. Removing her hands deftly she reached behind her and jabbed theman in the face with the pointed tips of steel. One of them sliced into his right eye and he fell to the ground in pain holding his hands up to his bleeding face. Meanwhile the big guy had recovered and punched Sasha in the gut. She fell to the ground and as he moved in to kick her in the side she swung her leg around and kicked him behind the knees causing him to fall forward. She whacked him on the back of the neck with her steel clad fists and grabbed him by the hair. She slammed his face into the sidewalk and when she was certain he was out cold she picked up her box of swords and let herself in the front door.

  She stood still and looked at the beautiful house that she thought she would never see again. She had been fooling herself all along. In her heart, this would always be her home. She crept down the stairs silently and satisfied that Celine was nowhere in sight she continued down. At the bottom of the stairs she saw Virginie. The startled maid looked at Sasha as if she were not really there. She looked so different from the confused and frightened feminine young thing from only a week or two ago. She was completely different and it was not only the black, skin tight clothing. It was the way she carried herself. Could this really be the woman who fainted on the street?

  “Marcus is safe. He wants you to go. Now.” That was all Sasha said to her. The warmth and friendliness that had marked the American girl was nowhere to be seen. Sasha started at the unmoving maid. “Don’t worry, Marcus will call you when this is all over, and it’s all going to be over tonight. You just don’t want to be here. Trust me. Wait for Marcus to call.” Sasha managed a tiny smile and ushered the maid off quickly. Sasha looked to the terrace. It was empty and she knew that they must have gotten Celine outside. She went to the marbled terrace and began to take the swords out of the box. She placed them all in a row on the edge of the ballustrade. Once they were all arranged, she went back into the house to wait. She looked up and saw a large painting of Celine from another time period. She was dressed in a regal manner and covered in emeralds. Sasha leaned over and pulled the broad sword from her left boot and began to slash away at the painting all the while thinking of the story of Dorian Grey. As long as the painting remained unharmed then young Dorian could live youthfully forever. She hoped that by destroying the painting she was beginning to break the enchantment. Satisfied that the painting was ruined beyond repair and feeling a little foolish she placed the knife back in her boot and stood behind one of the dark blue brocade curtains in front of the row of windows where she waited for Celine.

  Celine was in a fury and was about to lose it when Isis came running up to her from the darkness.

  “Mother come quickly! Something is wrong with Osiris!” The terror in her voice was real and without thinking Celine ran down the hill to join her daughter. Isis grabbed her hand and pulled her along. “Hurry mother I think he’s dying!” Together they ran down the slope that rushed toward the Seine. Celine’s mind was racing. Was something wrong with their DNA? Was the acceleration simply too much? She remembered all the hideous failed experiments of the past few years, all of those grotesque, unformed monsters. These children were different. They were tall and elegant and god like with the strength of ten men. These two were legend. Maybe they were turning into animals. She would have to get them both back to the lab immediately. She allowed Isis to drag her along until they were in the thick of the trees. She heard the rumbling sound of thunder and stopped walking. Isis almost fell as Celine resisted her tugging and pulling. Celine stared at her. Was this little creature capable of betrayal? Was it possible? Celine saw fear in Isis’ face and knew in an instant that she was being set up. She drew her hand back and slapped Isis hard with the back of her hand as the wind began to rise.

  “How dare you?” She screamed at the crying girl. “I made you!” Celine’s rage was out of control and Isis realized that she could no longer breath. Just then a loud chorus of birds sounded out from the tree tops. They swooped down on Celine long enough to break her concentration. The wind was getting louder and Isis realized there was air in her lungs and she rushed into the darkness while Celine was staring up at the angry sky. Isis looked back and began to see the birds falling one by one and then in groups from the night sky. They were all dead.

  Osiris woke up in agony. His sides were o
n fire and he tried to stand. He was chained to a tree with two metal rods poking out of his body. He pulled one of them in vain as the pain threatened to render him unconscious. He knew that the rods could not be pulled out. They had to be pushed through. There was only one way. He jumped up as high as he could and landed straight on his chest pushing the rods farther into his body. When he came to, he already began to feel better. He was healing quickly and with two quick jerks and an enormous howl, he managed to pull the ends of the rods through the sids of his chest. Once the metal was out, the wounds began to close quickly. He needed to rest but he had no time. He had to save his sister. He could smell her and the others nearby. In a few minutes he could walk and began to find Isis and kill the people who did this to them.

  Isis ran into Claire’s arms behind the pavillion that Helene Corbet had built before the French Revolution as a secret meeting place for her and her lover. Isis was sobbing.

  “She almost killed me! She knows you’re out here. She’s coming.” The words came out in little spurts. “Please let me go get Osiris. I’m worried about him.” She was barely speaking between sobs.

  “Go Isis. You’ve done more than enough. Go save yourself and Osiris. I’ll come and find you when this is all over.” Claire hoped that this was true.

  The storm grew in intensity and lightning began to strike nearby. Taylor stood still with his arms stretched to the sky. Celine was coming and he could feel the energy oozing from her body. He would have to distract her long enough for the others to do their work.