Cursed by the Fountain of Youth

by Holly Kelly

  Lafayette laughed as he stood and stepped away. “Whatever keeps you going, my dear.”

  “Wait!” Fae shouted. “Why not take me with you? I promise I won’t run away. And now that you’re young, you’re actually pretty good looking. Maybe you can benefit from more than just my blood.” She licked her lips and gave him her most smoldering look. She wondered if she was even close to pulling it off.

  He raised an eyebrow and looked her up and down, undressing her with his eyes as he approached, smiling. She suddenly felt exposed, but she carefully kept her composure. If she could get him to release her, she just might be able to figure out how to get away from him.

  He came in close and squatted down beside her. His eyes lowered as his finger brushed over her skin where the swells of her breasts met the top of her blouse. She trembled and swallowed her revulsion.

  “It’s too much of a risk to release you, though I can’t say I’m not tempted.” Fae’s heart took off in a sprint as she tensed. “But you and I are going to be around a long, long time.” He raised his eyes from her breasts to meet her gaze. “I hope someday you’ll come to me willingly.”

  Over my dead body. He seriously thought she would warm up to a man who kidnapped, murdered, and tortured women? This guy was crazier than she thought.

  Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to hers and then traced his tongue over her mouth. She stopped herself before she bit him. She might need his cooperation to release her. He couldn’t possibly be serious about leaving her here for years. He was bluffing. He’d be back.

  “Mmm.” He licked his lips. “The taste of you still gives me a buzz.”

  He got up and stepped toward the wall. The light from his phone revealed an opening in the stones. “Goodbye, sleeping beauty. I’ll wake you in a decade.” The shadows swallowed him up as he disappeared through the gap.

  Seconds later, Fae could hear some scraping sounds. A mason trowel appeared along with Lafayette’s ghostly face. He dumped mortar on the lower part of the opening. Using the trowel, he then spread the mortar and lowered a stone block into the hole. He was bricking her in!

  Fae’s screams echoed off the walls as he laid the last brick.

  Chapter 15

  “He’s been in and out,” a female voice said. “Agent Chase? Can you hear me?”

  The smell of antiseptic and the beeping of a monitor let Nick know he was in a hospital. But how did he get there? He tried to think, but his mind was fuzzy and his head pounded.

  He struggled to open his eyes, but they were weighed down. Finally, he raised his eyebrows and lifted his eyelids. A hazy face framed in black hair came into view. “Agent Chase. Can you tell me your first name?”

  He licked his dry lips. “It’s on my badge,” he rasped.

  “I need to know that you know your name.”

  “Nick.”

  “Good, Nick. Now, do you recognize where you are?”

  He tried to swallow. Why was his throat so dry? He looked around. “Looks like a hospital.”

  “And what day is it?” she asked.

  “September twenty-third, I think.”

  “You think?”

  “Unless it’s after midnight. Then it’s September twenty-fourth.”

  “And the year?”

  “We don’t have time for this.” Don’s frustrated voice surfaced, as did his concerned face, coming in from behind Nurse Twenty-Questions.

  “Nick,” Don said, and uttered a curse. “What happened?”

  “How did you know I was here?” Nick asked.

  “I’m your emergency contact, you idiot. Now you tell me why anyone would want to knock out a group of tourists? And what were you doing in the middle of it? I thought you were supposed to be keeping an eye on your girlfriend.”

  “A tour group?” Nick said, trying to sit up. His head pounded at the movement. He covered the side of his pounding head with his hand and closed his eyes. “My head’s killing me.”

  “You may have a concussion,” the nurse interjected. “You hit it pretty hard when you fell.”

  Nick’s mind wandered back to what Don said. Something about a tour group. The date! “Where’s Fae?” he asked as his eyes flew open and he shot up. The room began to spin. He closed his eyes and held tight to the mattress.

  “Whoa, slow down,” Don said, putting his hand on his shoulder.

  “Sir,” the nurse said. “You really shouldn’t be upsetting him. He needs to rest.”

  Nick opened his eyes, grateful the room decided to stay put. He grabbed Don’s arm. “Is Fae here?”

  “You were with Fae?” Don’s eyebrows rose.

  That question chilled Nick to the bone. “Is she here?” he asked again.

  Don shook his head.

  Nick punched the mattress and swore. “I need to make a phone call.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Don said. “I’ll call in the team.”

  “Not our team.”

  “What…?” Don narrowed his eyes. “You don’t mean Division X.”

  “They told you what they’re called?”

  “It’s what I call them. Why bring them in?”

  Nick debated what to tell Don. He’d known Don for years; he was the closest thing he had to a best friend. Normally he didn’t keep any secrets from him. This whole Division X stuff was wreaking havoc with their friendship.

  “Don,” Nick frowned. “I wish I could tell you. If I did, I could be charged with treason.”

  “You’re joking?” Don jerked back.

  Nick shook his head slowly.

  “You’re not joking.”

  “Nope.”

  Don swore under his breath.

  “Where is she?” a deep, angry voice shouted from somewhere down the hall. “Where’s Fontaine Miller?”

  It took a moment for Nick to realize the significance of what he overheard, but when he did, he ripped off monitors and stumbled out the door.

  “Agent Chase,” the nurse shouted behind him. “You need to return to your room.”

  “You need to tell me where she is,” the angry voice shouted again, letting Nick know exactly what room the man was in.

  Nick stormed through the door and found Mason struggling with the doctor.

  “I need some help,” the doctor shouted.

  “I’ll help,” Nick snarled as he pushed the doctor aside, took Mason by the throat, and slammed him back against the mattress.

  “Who are you?” the doctor shouted.

  “Special Agent Chase of the FBI,” he said, glaring down at Mason. “What do you know about Fae? You just met her. You never said three words to her. So why all the concern?”

  Mason sneered as he struggled to breathe. “I don’t have to answer you,” he rasped through his clenched throat and then tried to buck Nick off. Nick held firm.

  “Agent,” the doctor said. “I really must insist you let the patient go.”

  “Is he injured? Did the knockout gas harm him?”

  “Well, no. He seems to be okay, but I won’t know until I do a full examination.”

  “And I need to know what happened to the innocent college student under my protection,” Nick said to the doctor. “She already survived one attempt on her life. And now someone went to a lot of trouble to abduct her. This man shouldn’t know her from Eve. I’d like to know why he’s so concerned over a stranger.”

  Mason snarled, “Go to—”

  Nick increased the pressure on his neck.

  “Don,” Nick said, as he continued to glare at Mason. “Call Agent Thomas.” He listed off the numbers, and Don dialed his cell phone.

  “How do you know Fae?” Nick asked, loosening his stranglehold. “What is she to you?”

  “I’m not telling you a thing,” Mason rasped.

  “So what, you want your lawyer?” Nick snarled.

  “I want you off me.” Mason pushed against Nick again, but Nick held fast.

  Nick turned to the doctor. “Do you have restraints?”

  The
doctor sighed. “Yes, we do.” He turned to the nurse, standing stupefied in the doorway. “Sierra, can you get out the straps?”

  She nodded and moved forward. Mason growled and struggled in Nick’s grasp. Don moved in and held down his shoulders. Nick increased the pressure on his throat, only easing up when Mason’s eyes rolled back in his head.

  “Is he okay?” the nursed asked.

  “He’s fine, just unconscious.”

  As soon as Mason was strapped down to the bed, Nick stepped into the hall with Don.

  “Where did you meet this guy?” Don asked him.

  “Fae’s roommate asked her to go on a double date with her, and since I was protecting Fae, it made sense for me to go with her as her date. Mason is Fae’s roommate’s date.”

  “Right,” Don said, and then raised an eyebrow. “So, going out with her was all in the line of duty.”

  Nick couldn’t bring himself to smile. Not with Fae missing. Maybe even dead. No! He couldn’t go there.

  “I’m falling for her,” Nick said and sighed. His heart felt like lead in his chest. The image of her face flashed across his mind. He slammed his fist against the metal doorframe and swore. “Why did I take her out in the open? I should have kept her inside. I knew someone was after her.”

  “Don’t even go there,” Don said. “This isn’t your fault. What lunatic uses knockout gas to take out an entire tour group? This is not your run-of-the-mill criminal.”

  Nick looked back to the room. Mason was his biggest lead, and he wasn’t talking.

  Twenty minutes later, Nick paced outside the door while Thomas spoke to Mason.

  “Please tell me that when this is all over,” Don said, “you’ll be leaving Division X behind for good?”

  Nick turned to him. “What? I could care less about Division X! I don’t even care what happens with the bureau. The only thing I’m concerned with, the only thing that matters is getting Fae out of the hands of a cold-blooded killer.”

  “You really are head over heels for this girl,” Don said.

  Nick pressed his lips together. He couldn’t bring himself to analyze his feelings. There was no room in his head for that. All he could think about was finding her.

  Twenty minutes later, the door to Mason’s room opened, and Thomas stepped out. Nick rushed over. “What did he say?”

  Thomas looked over to Don and then back to Nick. “I’ll tell you in the car.”

  Nick raced to keep up with Thomas.

  “See you around, partner,” Don shouted at his back.

  Nick could feel the tension in those words.

  He turned around and nodded, somberly.

  As soon as Nick shut the car door, Thomas said, “Mason Chevalier comes from a long line of guardians. He was due to train after his father retired as the leader. When Mason got to the fountain, he found everyone dead, including his father.”

  “He told you all this?” Nick asked.

  “I can be very persuasive when I want to be. Besides, his organization and my organization have what you might call a working relationship.”

  “How did he find Fae?” Nick asked.

  “Blind luck.”

  “What, he just stumbled onto her?” Nick frowned at Thomas.

  “No, he saw a woman he recognized on TV. A woman he’d seen at the camp when he visited his father. Her name was Brigitte Rose.”

  “The woman who raised Fae,” Nick said, recognizing the name.

  “Yes. Mason watched the jail closely and when Fae came to visit Brigitte, he followed her in, pretending to visit another inmate.”

  “So, what did he learn?”

  “He learned that the Fountain of Youth has no power, and he thinks he knows why.” Thomas paused.

  “Why doesn’t it have power?”

  “The power was transferred.”

  “To whom?”

  Thomas turned to look at Nick. “I think you know.”

  “That’s crazy.”

  “Do I need to remind you? You’ve seen crazy things before.”

  Nick swallowed. “Right.” A thought struck Nick—why the first victim was drained of blood, and why Thomas had mentioned that Fae was worth more dead than alive. “The power’s in her blood, isn’t it?”

  Thomas sighed and then nodded.

  Nick’s phone rang out the newest Danielle Voltaire song—Becca’s favorite.

  “Do you need to take that?”

  “Yeah, it’s my sister.” Nick swiped the screen and put the phone to his ear.

  “Mr. Chase,” Mrs. Anchinly’s voice was frantic. “Thank heavens you finally answered. You need to meet us at the hospital. Becca is being put on a ventilator.”

  Chapter 16

  Fae’s eyes fluttered open, though it seemed they were still closed. She’d never been in such complete darkness. It was extremely disconcerting—as if being chained to the wall of a dank dungeon wasn’t bad enough.

  The shaking of her body caused the iron chains to cut into wrists. Her lips were dry and cracked, and her stomach clenched in hunger...thirst? It was hard to tell which.

  She had no way of knowing how long she’d been here. Lafayette told her she’d go into hibernation in about a week. She had until then to figure out how to get out of this place.

  “Hello?” she shouted—not truly because she thought someone would hear her, but because she couldn’t bear another moment of silence. “Please, help me.” Her voice rasped like dry sand over her parched throat. She tried to swallow, but there was no moisture. Too bad she couldn’t drink the water she sat in. The chain was too short. Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.

  “Please,” she pleaded.

  Dangling in silence, jagged stones pressed into her back. Her foot throbbed. Her mind moved in and out of consciousness with no clear boundaries between asleep and awake. She remained this way for hours…days? She had no idea.

  “Hello?”

  Fae’s eyes flew open. Was that a voice?

  “Hello? Is anyone there?” she responded.

  Silence.

  Her breathing calmed down, as did her heart. She must have imagined it. No one could possibly—

  “Hello?”

  That was a voice! It sounded like a woman. “Hello! I’m here. Please help me!” Fae tried to shout, but her voice came out dry and raspy.

  From out of the darkness, a pattern began to emerge—slashes of horizontal and vertical black stripes. As the image became clearer, she could make out blocks, stacked one on top of another—extending from the floor and arching over her head. Was she imagining this? The image was very hard to see in the oppressing darkness, but what little she could make out was familiar. This was her surroundings. Why was she only now seeing it?

  The light increased, and she could make out more detail. There had to be a light source somewhere. Was it seeping through cracks in the wall? Perhaps she hadn’t been here for days. Maybe it’d only been one night. Could this be sunrise? It seemed impossible. The cell had appeared impenetrable. But then, maybe it wasn’t. She had heard a voice.

  She opened her mouth to call for help one more time, but only a croak came out. Her throat was just too dry.

  “Please don’t leave me here!”

  Fae jumped when she heard the voice crying out, echoing in her thoughts and chilling her. Dolores? No. That was insane. There was no such thing as ghosts. But then…a short time ago she hadn’t believed in the Fountain of Youth, either. And then Agent Thomas… he definitely wasn’t human.

  “I don’t want to die.”

  The ghostly voice wailed, causing panic to rise in Fae. Was this what she had to look forward to? Dying in here and becoming a ghost herself?

  The light continued to increase—taking on a blue tint. At any moment now, Fae expected to see the apparition of the woman. She squeezed her eyes shut, afraid of what she might see.

  “No one is coming.”

  This time it was a man’s voice. That had to be Dolores’s lover…what was his na
me?

  Captain Abela. The name popped into her head as if someone placed it in there. She was probably going mad. People in solitary confinement did—or so she’d heard. And hearing disembodied voices was crazy.

  But still…she’d seen a lot of insane things lately. Was it really so far-fetched to believe ghosts existed? And if they did exist, could they be trying to communicate with her?

  “I don’t know what to do,” Fae said.

  Minutes later she heard him again. “The shackles are weak.”

  The shackles are weak? Maybe she was reading too much into this. He could be replaying the tragedy that occurred two hundred years ago, but then again, he might be trying to tell Fae something.

  “Are you talking to me?” she asked hopefully.

  Silence stretched on for several long minutes. And then a faint, melancholy voice answered, “Yes.”

  The shackles are weak. Of course! With all the moisture in here, iron shackles would be rusted. If she could break them, perhaps she could figure out how to chisel a hole in this ancient wall.

  Turning around, she pressed her foot against the wall, got a grip on the chains, and pulled until she felt she might pull her own arms out of their sockets. The chains didn’t budge. Perhaps she needed to yank on them.

  She jerked hard—once again to no avail. What did she expect? That this would be easy? She prepared to go again, this time determined to pull as hard as she possibly could. Giving the chains some slack, she pushed with her good foot and pulled back as she grunted. The air burned her raw throat as it breezed out. A loud snap rang in her ear, and she flew back, her head cracking against the stone floor.

  Fae awoke with a pounding in her skull and water lapping at the nape of her neck.

  Turning on her side, she pushed herself off the floor. She was free!

  First things first; if she didn’t get a drink, she would literally die. Leaning forward, she put her mouth to the water and began to slurp. It was filthy, it was gritty, and she couldn’t get enough.

  Minutes later, she was water-logged and fighting off nausea. Yeah, it probably wasn’t smart drinking so much of the foul stuff. Who knew what kind of parasites or diseases she would get? Still, she was beyond grateful to have the raging thirst gone.