The Rose Ransom (Girls Wearing Black: Book Three)

by Baum, Spencer

  But she never actually thought her words were making a difference. She couldn’t imagine an operative using them to stay motivated.

  “I’ve done eight assignments in the past three years,” Tarin said. “All of them were successful. The Network chooses me for the toughest, most dangerous missions with the lowest odds of success, and I always come through. I know your current mission went south, Jill, and I’m sorry to hear about that. But even though you’ve lost the battle, you can still win the war. We’re going to do this. You’re going to put our ears inside Renata’s phone, and when it’s done, you’ll go down in history as the one who turned the tide. You’ll be the agent who took down the vampires with the strength of your mind. Future generations will look back at this time in history as one of horrible oppression, and they’ll be thankful it’s over. They’ll be thankful for you.”

  “Enough,” Jill said. “I get it. I’ll do it.”

  A big smile came across Tarin’s face. Looking at him, thinking about all he’d just said, Jill smiled too.

  Chapter 18

  Renata spent the better part of her week preparing the perfect Rose Ransom. If this was to be her last Coronation event, it would be the best one she ever put on.

  She decorated her house to look like a forest at night. She ordered her slaves to create new props for the performance of the Rose Ransom legend. She created perfect invitations for the kickoff party and sent them to the entire senior class. She invited the best chamber orchestras in the world to her home so they could audition for the right to play at the kickoff party. She had six chefs submit menus and samples for the banquet, and selected one from New Orleans she had never worked with before.

  She commissioned a six-foot ice sculpture of herself, and had her servants construct a wishing well to go around it, thinking she could fill the well with bottles of vintage champagne. She ordered a 10-tier wedding cake, just for the hell of it, and had the best fondant artist in the world create the perfect rose to go on top of it.

  And in the midst of all of this, she found time to create three perfect clues that would send the students on the most challenging, elegant, and artful scavenger hunt ever devised.

  She finished the final clue while flying on her private jet. She and a team of her servants were headed to Italy to pay a visit to Falkon and his prisoners.

  “They really should award me some sort of prize for the artistry in these Ransom clues,” she said. “Don’t you guys think?”

  One of the slaves, a fourteen-year-old blonde girl named Daisy, was quick to nod her head. Another slave, a behemoth of a boy named Frankie, was looking out the window and didn’t hear her.

  “What are you looking at there, Frankie?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry Master. I was just looking at the wing of the plane.”

  Frankie was an interesting boy. The strongest member of her staff by far, he was incredibly useful around the house. He was also unusually pensive for a slave from the Farm. Renata got the sense that he was quite smart underneath all the programming.

  Smart and strong. Such a unique slave. So much potential. She had big plans for Frankie.

  Frankie and Daisy were on this trip to work. Neither of them was ripe yet. The rest of the slaves on the plane were in case Renata got hungry.

  Slaves like Opal.

  “Come here, Opal,” Renata said. “I want to tell you a story.”

  Opal approached and took the seat across from Renata.

  “I would enjoy listening,” Opal said. “Is this a true story, my master?”

  Opal had been a chef in Renata’s kitchen since she was thirteen. Her face was leathered beyond her years from working over a hot stove preparing meals for the many dinner parties and galas Renata held at her house.

  Opal was nineteen now. She smelled delicious.

  “Indeed it is,” Renata said. “It is a true story about a sweet little girl with beautiful red hair and a gorgeous smile. This little girl’s parents were two of the richest people on earth, and the girl had many things. A room full of toys. A stable full of horses with a pony to call her own. She had giant birthday parties with lots of presents and she could have candy whenever she wanted.”

  “She sounds like a lucky little girl,” said Opal.

  “You would think so,” said Renata, “but something bad happened to this girl when she was eight years old. Something dreadful, in fact.”

  “What was it, my master?”

  Renata sighed. The memory was so distant now, and she had spoken of it thousands of times. Still, this part was a challenge to think about. “Well, my darling, the girl wandered away from her family during a picnic in the mountains. A man found her roaming through the woods by herself. A bad man. A crazy man. He picked her up, covered her mouth, and carried her to a shack on the other side of the mountain.”

  “That sounds bad,” said Opal.

  “It was awful, and the girl was terrified. The man tied her to a post and started raving about God’s will. He took off all his clothes and went outside to roll around in the mud.”

  “This sounds like a crazy person.”

  “Oh yeah. Totally bonkers,” Renata said. “Can you imagine how frightened I was?”

  “You, Master?”

  “Yes, the story is about me. When I was a little girl, I was kidnapped.”

  “I am so sorry this happened to you, Master.”

  “It’s okay. The story has a happy ending. You see, the man came back into the shack with a knife in his hand. He walked up to the little girl. She was certain he was going to kill her. But he didn’t. Instead, he threw a penny in the air.”

  “A penny?”

  “He let it bounce on the floor. He jumped up and down with excitement while he waited for it to stop. The girl could see the coin from where she stood. When it finally stopped moving, it was tails side up.”

  “Was that bad?”

  “No, it was good. Very good! The crazy man screamed and yanked at his hair, then he went outside and disappeared for a long time. He had a routine, you see. He went outside, then he came into the shack and flipped a coin. If it landed tails side up, he had to go outside again. He wasn’t going to kill the girl until the coin turned up heads.”

  “But eventually the coin would be heads, Master, wouldn’t it?”

  “Five times in a row it was tails!” Renata said. “And before he came back to throw it a sixth time, a hunter arrived at the shack. The little girl was saved.”

  “It’s an amazing story, Master. You were so very lucky that the coin always went your way.”

  “Indeed I was,” said Renata. “I am the luckiest girl in the world. And I learned a very important lesson that day. You know what that lesson was?”

  “Please tell me, Master.”

  “You must trust in fate. It is more powerful than all of us. And it is only when we trust in fate that we may find true bliss. Do you trust in fate, Opal?"

  Renata had her hand in her pocket, reaching for a coin.

  “I do not know about fate, Master.”

  “Well, let’s see how fate treats you, shall we? Do you like heads or tails?”

  Opal looked confused. The simple choice of one side of a coin was too much for her.

  “Fine, I will choose for you,” Renata said. “I choose heads.”

  She was about to flip the coin when her phone rang.

  “Hang on, Opal. That’s Falkon calling.” She pressed the answer button. “Hello there. I’m on my way to see you now.”

  “Looking forward to it,” Falkon said. “I have set up my camera in the master bedroom, just as you requested. Is there anything else you would have done before you land?”

  “You have the rose petals, right?”

  “I do.”

  “Then no, I think we’re set. How are things coming with the research I brought you?”

  “Dr. Weiss has entered the data into the computer stack. The DNA is sequencing now. We’ll be able to run some initial tests soon, but we are constrained
until you can get us more money.”

  Renata looked across the plane at Frankie. “I have something in the works,” she said. “Just a few more days and I should have a nice stack of cash for us. What about our prisoners? How are they doing?”

  Falkon chuckled. “Our prisoners are fine,” he said. “Mr. Jenson is sleeping soundly. Ms. Bloom…well, there are some things I should tell you about Ms. Bloom.”

  “Yes? What sort of things?”

  “To start, your interrogation with her was all a lie. She repelled your advances into her mind and lied to your face, just as she did to Melissa.”

  “That’s impossible,” Renata said. “Why on earth would you think that?”

  “I’ve looked at her mind myself,” Falkon said. “It is a locked door. A genetic aberration I have only seen once before in my life.”

  Renata wanted to protest, but she knew Falkon was telling her the truth. A part of her had felt uneasy with that entire interrogation. When she spoke with Nicky, she felt like she wasn’t ever in complete control.

  And it explained why Melissa had been so confused.

  “So who is this girl really? Have you used other means to make her talk?”

  “I have. The boy is her pressure point. She is quite fond of him. So long as he is being treated well, she is cooperative. The minute I made life difficult for him, she spilled her guts.”

  “And?”

  “She is a member of the resistance. She came to Thorndike to cause trouble for your family.”

  “Oh my,” Renata said. “I never would have expected that. The organization it must have taken. I mean, just to get into Thorndike--”

  “It is quite an accomplishment, I know,” said Falkon. “She is an impressive girl. There’s more I should tell you about her, but I think the full story should wait until you arrive. We can have a chat while Nicky and her boyfriend are present. I think it will be a lot of fun.”

  “Hey, speaking of fun, can I tell you about these clues I wrote for the Rose Ransom?”

  “Certainly,” Falkon said in a less than enthusiastic voice.

  Twenty minutes later, Renata having exhausted all there was to say about the Rose Ransom, they hung up. Renata set down the phone and reached for her coin.

  “Now, Opal,” she said “I believe you and I were talking about fate.”

  Chapter 19

  Nicky lost herself in the darkness of her prison cell. Her body was locked up somewhere in Falkon’s laboratory, but her mind was not.

  Her mind was floating on a sea of memory.

  Standing in the courtyard. Playing in the garden. Swimming in the lake. Running into the woods with her father.

  At first she thought it was the solitude that allowed the memories to come forward. With so little stimulation, her mind had nowhere to go, and turned in on itself.

  But as time marched forward and the memories continued to flow, that explanation didn’t feel right to Nicky. Some of these memories were bubbling to the surface on their own. Others felt like they came in from the outside.

  Like her memory of a summer afternoon at the lake with her father. Or of long spring days out in the woods, exploring the side of the mountain, picking flowers as she went.

  She remembered reading books in her father’s lap. Sitting at the table with him and learning how to write her letters and numbers. Going out into the meadow and flying a kite.

  She wondered where her mother was in all this. It seemed like the only memory she had of the woman was that horrible vision in the courtyard.

  A flood of bright light interrupted Nicky’s thoughts. She had been in darkness so long that any light was blinding. This light came from outside the cell, shining bright through the glass door that locked her inside. Nicky covered her eyes with her hands.

  The door slid open and someone came in. Unable to see, Nicky crouched against the wall.

  “Oh look at her, she’s a mess, Falkon!”

  It was Renata. Her voice, so intimidating the first time she came, now seemed distant and harmless to Nicky.

  “You need to let her out every once in awhile,” Renata said. “I mean, look at her! She looks like a crazy person!”

  She feels like one too, Nicky thought.

  “We can clean her up at the house,” Falkon said. “Come along, Nicky. Renata’s going to take your picture.”

  They carried Nicky to Falkon’s mansion, Renata on one arm, Falkon on the other. It took the entire walk for Nicky’s eyes to adjust. When they got to the house, Renata dragged her into a bedroom.

  “Take a shower,” she commanded. “You stink. I’ll be back.”

  Nicky looked around. The bedroom was small. A twin bed, a bookcase, a television, a writing desk...

  Her eyes doubled back to the bed. The cover was pulled back. Someone had been sleeping here. Where had he gone?

  “Where is he?” Nicky shrieked, running into the hallway. “You promised you would let him sleep in here! You promised!”

  She was rushing through the doorway to the living room when she ran right into Falkon. He was like a wall, his body not giving an inch.

  “You may relax,” he said. “Your boyfriend is fine. I woke him not more than ten minutes ago.”

  “But where is he?”

  “Somewhere safe,” said Falkon. “You’ll be seeing him in a few minutes, provided you behave.”

  “I want to see him now.”

  “And I want you to take a shower!” Renata yelled as she entered the room with a black dress in her arms. She walked up to Nicky and pushed the dress at her. “Put this on after you’ve showered,” she said. “I’ve brought someone to help you with your hair and makeup.”

  Her hair and makeup?

  “We’re going to do a little photo shoot,” Renata said. “I’m sure your friends back home are all quite curious about your date in Italy. We’re going to show them a picture of a sweet couple having a lovely time.”

  Nicky looked from Renata to Falkon, hoping one of them would tell her more.

  “Get moving!” Renata yelled.

  Nicky did as they asked. Twenty minutes later, she was wearing the dress and sitting in a chair while one of Renata’s slaves blow dried her hair. After her hair was dry, the slave did a complete workup on Nicky’s face. Mascara, eye shadow, blush, lipstick—it was one of the strangest experiences of Nicky’s life. A prisoner in a vampire’s mansion, already told she wasn’t getting out, and she was being made up like a movie star.

  When her makeup was complete, Renata led Nicky across the mansion and to another bedroom, this one set up with bright lights and a full camera rig. Ryan was sitting on the bed.

  Nicky made to run for him, but didn’t get anywhere. Renata was holding onto her wrist.

  “I will tell you when you may get on the bed,” she said. “We’re putting Ryan in place first. You stand here.”

  Renata left Nicky at the foot of the bed and went behind the camera rig. As she walked around, Nicky and Ryan shared a glance.

  There was so much she wanted to say to him. So much she wished she could tell him before it was all over.

  “Okay Ryan,” said Renata. “Gently, so as not to mess up the comforter, I want you to crawl back into the bed and lie down.”

  Ryan did as Renata instructed.

  “Very good. Nicky, it’s your turn. You may climb on the bed and lie next to Ryan.”

  Nicky crawled onto the bed and put her head on the pillow next to him. They were facing each other.

  I never meant to hurt you, Nicky thought.

  “Stay right there,” Renata commanded. “Just a little more scenery.”

  Renata grabbed a bucket from beside the bed and dumped its contents all over Nicky and Ryan.

  Rose petals. Hundreds of them. Renata laughed as they spilled all over the place.

  “Oops, made a bit of a mess,” she said. “Brush each other off, will you? I want the petals on the bed, not your faces.”

  With a gentle touch, Ryan pushed a rose petal off
Nicky’s hair. With another touch, he removed one from her cheek. With another, her temple.

  “That looks good,” Renata said. “Now, stay perfectly still.”

  Renata went behind the camera rig and started adjusting the equipment. Nicky and Ryan lay in the bed, looking at each other, saying nothing.

  The camera flashed three times.

  “Very good. Sit up, both you,” Renata said. “Falkon and I have something we wish to discuss.”

  As Falkon entered the room, Nicky wondered if this was it. They had just taken their picture. Did they have any use for them anymore?

  “Renata was quite interested to hear that you lied to her,” Falkon said to Nicky.

  “And I was even more interested when Falkon told me the truth about you,” Renata said. “So, the Network. Did you know about this, Ryan? Did you know your little girlfriend came to Thorndike not to become an immortal, but to kill one?”

  Ryan shook his head.

  “I don’t think this boy is involved, do you, Falkon?”

  “Oh no. His mind is an open book. Poor guy just fell for a pretty girl. She ended up being trouble for him.”

  “Isn’t that always the way?” Renata said. “But it begs the question. Who is working with you, Nicky Bloom? Is there anyone else at Thorndike who is at school under false pretenses?”

  “No,” Nicky said.

  “She’s lying,” said Falkon. “I will make her tell the truth. Mr. Jenson, I want you to imagine a fire.”

  “No, stop!” Nicky said. “I’ll tell you.”

  Ryan’s eyes were open wide in fear. Just a few words from Falkon and his mind was already in turmoil.

  She had to be clever about this. She had to convince Falkon she was telling the truth without giving Jill away.

  “I don’t work alone,” she said. “My parents –they’re not my parents--”

  “Your parents are conveniently missing,” said Renata. “So, you are telling me they are Network agents too?”

  “Yes,” said Nicky.

  “Who cares about your phony parents?” said Falkon. “Ryan, the fire is at your feet. It’s burning your toes.”