by HR Moore
They talked intermittently, sitting for periods in silence, just enjoying the contact with the other, until Marcus told her quietly that he had to leave. She kissed him, his lips soft and comforting. She didn't want him to go.
'Can't you stay?' she asked, willing his answer to be yes, her forehead furrowed with distress. 'Just for a little bit longer.'
Marcus faltered, his energy anguished. 'I've got to go. I'm going to be late as it is, but I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise.'
'Where are you going?' she asked, hoping to find some argument as to why he didn't really have to leave her.
He hesitated, obviously battling with what to tell her. Resolve settled over him, a worried look spreading across his face. 'I'm going to meet Dad,' he said sheepishly.
'What?' Anita breathed, her mind muddled at his words, her body sending a shot of adrenaline through her veins.
He looked guilty and embarrassed, but he continued. 'Since I blackmailed Dad to make him release you, he's developed a new found respect for me. He's starting to get me more involved with his business activities, and Amber even has to take orders from me now. The relationship is far from good, with either of them, but I'm learning so much that'll be invaluable when I'm a ruling Descendant.'
The little color she'd had drained from Anita's face. She was living a nightmare. After everything Austin had done, how could Marcus be working with him? How could Marcus be closer to him now than he had been before? She went cold, started to shake. Marcus tried to pull her back towards him, but she pushed him away. She just wanted him to go.
Whereas moments before she'd felt safe in his embrace, now she was scared. 'I'll see you later,' she said, pulling her knees up to her chest, closing herself off to him.
Marcus deflated. 'I…I have to go, but I'll explain everything later,' he said, tentatively. 'I'll be back as soon as I can.'
She nodded and he placed a soft kiss on her cheek, but she barely responded. She was a different person from the girl who'd kissed him just moments before. He got up and made for the door. Anita's energy plummeted as he went.
As soon as Marcus left, Anita got up and headed for the door. She needed to get out, to do something, to think. She started to run as soon as she left the house, not knowing where she was going, ignoring the dull pain in her chest.
She couldn't believe it; was he choosing Austin over her? After everything they'd been though? After she'd been beaten to within an inch of her life? The thoughts spun round and round.
Anita halted abruptly, realizing she'd run to the temples, the ancient buildings climbing majestically into the sky. She ran straight past the Temple of the Body and headed to the Spirit Temple instead; meditation would help. She settled down at the back of the temple, in the place she and Alexander used to meditate, and closed her eyes.
The news from Marcus had taken her by surprise, but when she thought about it, it would be both difficult and dangerous for Marcus to cut all ties with Austin straight away.
She'd never, not for a second, entertained the thought that Marcus would go back to work with Austin. She'd wondered if the father and son would ever even speak again. She'd thought they might have a similar relationship to that of Austin and Melia, avoiding each other. But maybe she should give Marcus a chance to explain.
Maybe he hated his father too. Maybe he was stepping closer to him only because it would work to his advantage in the long run. Or maybe he was doing it to make sure Austin didn't come after her again… She'd overreacted to the news. She should hear him out.
Anita was about to get up and go back to Cordelia's, when she felt Alexander's powerful energy enter the temple. She closed her eyes and pretended to meditate, not ready to see him yet, especially as she was so confused about Marcus.
Alexander saw Anita and paused, leaning against a pillar, watching her rise and fall as she breathed long, slow breaths. He toyed with the idea of sitting down opposite her, joining her meditation. But aside from that being an invasion of her privacy, he knew he had to respect her wishes; she'd talk to him when she was ready. He dragged himself away, heading to the temple's center and descended into his chambers.
Anita watched his graceful, flowing movements as he went. She couldn't deny her feelings for him, the ache in her chest. She craved the feel of him, the smell of him. She longed to meditate with him, his presence in her mind like a heady, potent drug. She wanted to wrap herself around him, to taste him…she…had to stop.
After everything that had happened with Marcus, after she'd manipulated him and lied to him, she didn't want to abandon him, not now, when he was so vulnerable to his father.
CHAPTER 17
The next few weeks were difficult for Anita. She wanted to make things work with Marcus: how could she want anything else given what he'd done to get her out? But he was falling ever more under Austin's influence, his views becoming more radical and more entrenched.
She sought the calm safety of the Spirit Temple and started meditating there every day. She told herself it was nothing to do with Alexander, but every day she sensed him, watching her from afar. He never came over, giving her the space she needed, but she had to hide the spike in her energy whenever she felt him there.
It was a beautiful late Autumn day, the sun sparkling low in the sky, the air crisp and sharp, the ground covered in leaves that crackled under every footstep. Anita was lost in her thoughts as she walked to the Spirit Temple for her usual meditation, wrapped up warm with only her face exposed to the wind.
As she approached the temples, she looked up, sensing powerful energy ahead. She caught sight of Helena descending the steps from the Body Temple, conversing animatedly with someone Anita didn't recognize. She froze, her energy turning to hatred, anger at Helena, and disgust at herself flooding back.
Anita pushed the emotions aside, looking around for somewhere to hide; she wasn't ready to face Helena yet. Given the limited options, she selected a large oak tree, managing to scramble behind it before she was spotted. Helena passed, not seeing Anita, or at least not letting on if she had, and disappeared, still deep in conversation with the man she was with.
Anita had been wrestling with what to do about Helena. She'd considered confronting her, demanding to know what she'd been playing at. She imagined telling Helena she knew it was one of Austin's memories that Helena had been trying to steal. Anita tried to picture her reaction.
In the end, she'd decided the best course of action was not to do anything. The thing that would annoy Helena the most would be not knowing what had happened. No doubt she'd heard on the grapevine the rough story, but not to hear it straight from the horse's mouth would be killing her.
Helena had no problem with confrontation, in fact, she enjoyed it. She hated being kept in the dark, so that was exactly what Anita would do. Anita still wanted to know what the memory was about, but there was no chance Helena would tell her, and nobody else but Austin knew.
Anita waited to make sure Helena was definitely gone before proceeding to the Temple of the Spirit, sitting cross legged in her normal spot. She didn't have to wait long before Alexander appeared and she smiled, not making any attempt to hide the effect he had on her. His energy rose in response and without stopping to think, she sent a nudge to the edge of his energy field.
He responded immediately, striding over to where she sat, sinking down in front of her and taking her hands. A delicious jolt of electric energy hit her.
'I've been so worried about you,' he said softly. 'How are you feeling?'
'I'm getting there,' she said, enjoying the close up view of his face, especially those glorious eyes. 'How are you doing?'
He looked at her indulgently. 'How am I doing? I'm fine.'
Alexander dropped her hands, sensing others about to walk into the temple. 'We shouldn't talk here,' he said. 'I don't want Marcus to hear rumors, especially now he's working more closely with Austin.'
Anita nodded and Alexander led her to the center of the temple, the stone above his
chambers sliding aside. They descended the steps, Anita excited to see what lay beneath for the first time.
They entered a room that housed Alexander's desk and several worn leather chairs. It was crammed full of books and pictures, but had a warm, cozy character, the fire in the corner reminding Anita of home.
'It's amazing,' she said, wandering around, looking at the contents of the shelves.
'I'm glad you like it,' he said, tracking her every move. 'I can't take credit though, I've hardly touched it since I took over from Philip. All this stuff belonged either to him or previous Descendants. I've barely started working through everything. It's terrible, I'm probably sitting on a treasure trove.'
'A happy task,' she said, spotting a rare energy book and taking it off the shelf to flick through the pages. 'Quite a significant treasure trove if this book is anything to go by,' she said, putting it carefully back on the shelf. She turned to look at him. 'What do you know about what's going on between Marcus and Austin?' she asked abruptly, his energy telling her she'd caught him off guard.
He took a deep breath. 'From what I can tell, Marcus is being brought further and further under Austin's wing. Since he managed to convince Austin to free you, their relationship has changed; Austin seems to respect Marcus now, in a way that he didn't before. He's even making Amber take orders from Marcus, not a move he would've played lightly. It's probably to make Marcus feel like he has some degree of control.
'In reality, he has no control at all. Marcus is being groomed to follow in Austin's footsteps, as Austin was by his father. No doubt Marcus thinks he's learning invaluable lessons that'll help him in the future. He may even have some naïve notion that he'll be able to bring Austin round, so he'll do something about the energy when everything gets really bad.
'The truth is Austin has Marcus exactly where he wants him. He'll get Marcus so involved in his business activities that he can't get out. He'll encourage Marcus to do things for him, each more dubious that the last, only a small step further than what he's done before.
'Eventually, Marcus will be forced to make a choice, to do something so bad that he passes the point of no return. At that point, Austin will have won. Marcus will no doubt hate himself for a time and wonder how he's become entangled in such a web of deceit. He'll tell himself that the only hope of a way out is to go further into the clutches of the trap.'
Alexander paused, running a hand through his hair. 'You may still have influence over him, but you'll have to be careful how you use it. For the first time in his life, Marcus' father is treating him like he's worth something, like the Mind line is lucky to have him. Marcus has wanted his father's acceptance forever; it would take something significant to make him give that up.'
Anita sat in one of the leather armchairs, pausing to digest Alexander's words. 'Do you think an ultimatum would work?' she asked carefully, avoiding his eyes.
'No,' he said. 'The worst way to deal with Marcus is to force his hand. He needs to learn for himself what Austin's doing and decide if he wants to be part of it. It'll take time. He's unlikely to give up Austin right now, not when he finally feels like he's getting somewhere.'
'Then what should I do? His views are more extreme by the day. He can't see the things he and Austin are doing are wrong. They're forcing farmers, who are scared of losing their farms, whose crops are failing, who feel responsible for the impending food shortages, to pay full rent. They're taking livestock as payment.
'They have a responsibility to the people of the world and all they care about is collecting what they think they're owed.' She stood and started pacing.
'All you can do is suggest an alternative,' said Alexander. 'Every time you take him head on, he'll go defensive. He'll try to justify his actions rather than consider the wisdom of your words.'
Anita nodded; what Alexander said made perfect sense. She struggled with such a round-the-houses approach, but she knew she'd have to try.
'Anita, regardless of what happens, it won't be your fault.'
She turned away, tears filling her eyes. He closed the space between them.
'Austin's been setting this up since Marcus was born. You can't expect to bring him round on your own.'
Anita turned to face him, standing so close that his breath skipped across her face. She met his electric eyes, heady at their proximity, her energy leaping, as did his. Anita bowed her head, stepped forwards, and wrapped her arms around him. He pulled her tightly to his chest. Anita felt full within the circle of his muscular arms, his lips on her hair.
They stood, cocooned together, neither wanting to pull away. Eventually, Anita pulled back, looking up at him. 'Meditate with me?'
'Of course,' he said. 'I want to show you something though. There's somewhere special I want us to meditate.'
Anita smiled, intrigued. 'Where?'
'Just come with me,' he said, taking her hand and pulling her further into his chambers, into a room with an enormous, luxurious looking bed.
She faltered as he pulled her towards the bed, grateful and surprised to see the shelves next to it swinging towards them, revealing a secret passage behind. Alexander stuck his head through and looked both ways to check there was no one there.
The passage was dimly lit with lanterns along the ground and Anita wondered who maintained them…surely not the Descendants.
They made their way through a maze of tunnels, pausing only once, when Anita thought she heard something. Alexander waved it away, explaining that it was probably someone up in the temple above.
They finally arrived at a large, ornate door. Alexander turned to Anita, smiling conspiratorially, then pushed its heavy baulk open, standing back to let her enter first.
She walked through and looked around. Here too, the only light came from candle-filled lanterns, so it took her a few moments to understand her surroundings in the dim glow. She'd stepped into a columned space that circled around something in an open area in the middle. She could hear the soothing sound of running water, and, as she stepped forward, through a beautifully constructed archway, she finally realized where they were. She spun violently to face Alexander.
Alexander laughed. 'It took you a while.'
'We're directly below the points of the temples?'
He nodded. 'It's a shame more people don't get to see it; it's really quite beautiful.'
She looked around. He was right, it was. A raised pool sat in the center, which was somehow surrounded by lush green grass. Climbing plants trailed sweet smelling flowers as they wound round the columns and reached for the ceiling. There were rose bushes, blooming with enormous white flowers, not the tight, uniformed variety, but the looser, freer kind. And there was a tiny pin hole in the ceiling, that, by some trick, let in enough light to illuminate every inch of the pool's shimmering surface.
The pinhole had been added by the temples' designer to connect the sacred pool below to the temple points above.
'What do you think?'
'It's incredible,' she replied. 'It's so calm, like the energy is totally even, without even the smallest ripple.'
'It is even,' he said, 'in the same way that the pool under the observatory absorbs the energy noise in the area there, this pool does the same thing here. It has a more potent effect here, given how secluded it is. There's less background energy to start with and the place has a special balance, being under the points of the temples.'
'We're meditating here?' she asked excitedly.
He nodded. 'I want to share something with you and here seems like the best place to do it.'
'This isn't what you wanted to show me?'
'No. I want to show you something inside my head.'
She smiled, moving so she was standing right next to the pool, and lay down on her back; she didn't feel vulnerable with him.
He hesitated. 'Anita…'
She turned her head and sent him a calm, level look. 'Sush,' she said, stopping any further words, placing her hand beside her, ready for him to hold.
&n
bsp; He moved to her and lay on his back, arm down by his side, taking her waiting hand. He turned his face to look at her, curved his head forward so their foreheads touched, and they both closed their eyes.
Alexander determined their destination, Anita relishing the trust she had for him, letting him take her wherever he wanted to go. The intensity in this pose was astounding, the energy coursing between them almost painful, like it might rip them to shreds. She felt…powerful, light, like she was floating off the ground, Alexander floating with her, supporting her, lifting her up.
The meditation settled and Anita looked around, confused, wondering if something had gone wrong.
'Hey,' said Alexander, 'everything okay?'
'I have literally never felt better,' said Anita. 'The energy, it's…you can feel it too?'
'It's extraordinary,' he breathed.
Anita sat up a little to make sure she wasn't missing anything. 'The pool is a place in your head?' she asked.
Alexander pushed up on his elbows, making sure he kept hold of her hand. 'It's more than just a place in my head,' he said softly. 'This is my Centre.'
'This is your Centre?' she repeated, stunned, trying to work out what this news meant. 'Why?' she asked; the best she could come up with.
'Why is anyone's Centre what it is? People say we inherit them from our ancestors…but it's so personal…Philip would never tell me what any of his were. And so few people know how to meditate properly… You're the only one that knows any of mine,' he said.
She turned her head to look at him, rolling towards him, placing her free hand on the side of his face. She looked into his blue eyes, a reflection of her longing, and dipped her head to kiss his lips.
As their lips touched, a rush of tingles raced through her, so strong they knocked the breath from her lungs. Alexander wrapped an arm around her, pulling her to him, fisting a hand in her hair.
He rolled her backwards, lowering her to the ground, pining her with his weight. The meditation seemed to swirl. She had no idea if she was sitting, lying, standing, floating; she was lost in his mouth, his smell, the hard contours of his body. She was both grounded, supported by the grass pushing up against her back, and suspended, drifting in mid-air.
