He stood in front of the door of his sister's old room. It took him several minutes to cross its threshold. Indeed, all her belongings were gone, as was his old life. Instead, children's furniture occupied the place. The color pink was all over this room. Faïz ventured out with an uncertain step, trying to understand what he had been missing for years. His hand touched a frame resting on a shelf. He grabbed it and looked at the little girl in the photograph. She had dark, laughing eyes, and was swinging in a park not far from here. He stared at the ivory-colored wings on her back. The light reflected off them, making them shine with an almost unreal glow. Faïz squinted his eyes as if to better penetrate the little girl's gaze.
"I missed you so much." His mother's voice surprised him.
He instinctively turned around and put the frame back on the shelf. She hadn't changed, he noticed. Time had had no impact on her. Her upright stature and impeccable appearance still gave her a natural charisma. Her long black hair fell back on her shoulders. His mother stood at the entrance of the room with a slight smile on her porcelain face.
Lily held out her hand to her son, who took it gently, "How long have you been here?" She asked, hugging Faïz.
"Barely an hour, but I'm not staying. I've rented an apartment in the city for my short stay in L.A."
Aware of the disappointment he was causing his mother, he immediately tried to distill a little humor into the conversation, "Wouldn't adoption be a little late for you? You could have told me about it the last weekend you were in New York six months ago."
"No... it's... a little more complicated than that," Lily answered in an anxious voice.
"So a lot has changed then."
His mother's smile slowly faded away, "Seeing you in L.A., here, in this house, makes me realize that maybe your father and I should have done things differently."
The young man was looking at his mother with a look that was a little lost and worried at the same time, which seemed to unsettle her.
After a moment of silence, she continued, "We'll have plenty of time to talk while you're here. I think we all need it."
Faïz's phone rang at that moment, forcing him to end the conversation, "Yeah, I'm listening... all right. Yes, give me an address and let him know I'll be there. Thank you,” He hung up and walked past his mother in a hurry, "Mom, I have to go. We'll talk about this again. There's no rush."
Lily watched her son disappear into the hallway. Suddenly she seemed to have difficulty breathing. Anxiety gripped her throat and the regrets that had been stifling the secret crept into her flesh. For the first time, she was afraid of her son. She wondered if he loved her enough to forgive her one day when he would find out the whole truth.
2
I put Georgia on the couch as gently as possible and then took off my pumps to free my feet that were hurting at the end of a complicated day. My eyes landed on my daughter's face with her eyelids closed. My daughter, asleep, seemed so serene. With one hand, I pushed one of her long curly locks back and stood there, contemplating her but my mind somewhere else.
Lily had seemed distant to me tonight when I came to pick up Georgia. Faïz's return must have preoccupied her quite a bit. I hadn't dared to ask her if she had seen him since his arrival in L.A. Would she keep the secret of her granddaughter's existence? She didn't have to. I didn't ask anyone to keep the truth from him. Everyone knew what was best for Georgia. Faïz wouldn't change for her. My daughter deserved love, adoration, and the stars. Suddenly, a few knocks on my door pulled me out of my thoughts. I hurried to open it before Georgia woke up.
"David? Lexy?" I exclaimed, astonished when I saw them on my doorstep. They came in without waiting for me to invite them, "What's going on?"
David put his hands in the pockets of his cream jacket while Lexy pulled a large suitcase behind her. They stood in the middle of the living room, exchanging insistent glances. I crossed my arms, annoyed by their silence.
"I'm going to put Georgia to bed. You guys settle down, and when I come back, you better start to speak!"
When I came back a few moments later, my two friends had settled on the couch with drinks in hand. I sat down on an armchair in front of them and crossed my legs, ready to listen to them.
"Listen, Zoe," David began, as he seemed to be searching for his words, "We won't make it through this final act without you. In the last twenty-four hours, many things have accelerated. We're going into a real war, do you understand?"
I ran my hands through my hair and thought for a few seconds, "What can I do?" I was deadpan, "What do you want me to do?"
"The old Zoe has to come back!" Lexy intervened.
I threw my neck back and sighed deeply, "Impossible! She doesn't exist anymore.”
"It's not about you and us anymore, Zoe," David raised his voice slightly, "Think about Georgia, for God's sake!"
My friend got up and walked towards the bay window overlooking the beach. He had kept his jacket on and was looking towards the ocean in the distance.
"The Maestro will come for Georgia first," David whispered painfully.
My eyes were staring at him. Suddenly the air became unbreathable. I swallowed, my heart on the verge of implosion before this truth I already knew.
"Zoe?" Lexy gently called out to me in her calmest voice, "Don't let him take her away from you, too. You won't survive it."
"I know." My voice was unsteady, "I'm sorry, I should have come to the meeting. It was stupid of me...but I...look at me... I can only stand thanks to the smiles my daughter gives me every morning. That's all I have to go on."
"She gives us strength and hope too," Lexy looked at me with kindness.
I nodded gently, pulling myself together, "All right. All right. Where do we start?"
David came and sat down in front of me while Lexy got up to go to the open kitchen not far from the front door and started to make us something to eat while he listened to us.
"The occult masters," David began, "are a secret organization, led by one man: Pavel. This man is believed to have obtained mysterious powers by giving his soul to demonic entities. This mephistophelian group practices terrifying rituals and is famous for its terrifying cruelty. It's a powerful league, perfect for the Maestro."
Lexy had stopped peeling vegetables on the marble counter. She was staring at us, pinching her lips, obviously terrified.
"Who gave you all that information?" I asked, trying to understand what David was telling me.
Uncomfortable, he cleared his throat, "It's... Faïz. Just before he died, William gave him his investigation report in case he..."
Disoriented, I suddenly stood up holding my head. I walked around the room, concentrating on remembering everything.
"In his last few months, Will had told me that he was only dealing with the flood problems in Northern California."
"The reality is that he never stopped fighting Athanasius. He has even managed to trace the source of the threat that now hangs over the entire planet. His investigation report is edifying. He relied on the writings of the scientist Nostradamus, born in 1503. This prophet, who was also an astrologer, is known throughout the world for his predictions on the progress of humanity. Asarys will give you Will's report tomorrow."
"Why didn't he tell me? Maybe I would have been able to change things if..."
Lexy put the salad she had just prepared on the living room table, sat down on one of the armchairs and said, "William didn't want to put you and Georgia in danger. Pavel and his followers have long prepared for the return of Athanasius, whose goal is to unleash a nuclear war in the world. We must stop him. Now that the Maestro has incarnated himself in this leader and is more powerful than ever, we must find a way to make him swallow the Kushisake ruby. Only this stone has the power to eradicate him forever."
"What was Julio's role just before William died?"
"Just like you, he didn't know what his brother was doing," David answered.
"Why won't the authorities arrest this group?" I asked,
"They have the means with all the Leviathans."
"That wouldn't be enough. Pavel is protected by spells that are too powerful. Nothing can stop him except..."
I bowed my head, and stared at my friend insistently to force him to finish his sentence.
"Except for you," Lexy explained, "You're his opposite. He fears you, dreads you, because you're everything he hates: the faith of men, the hope of mankind. If he destroys you, he also destroys Faïz, whom he considers his greatest threat, and if he succeeds, then he wins."
My eyes were staring at the ground to avoid crossing the gaze of my two friends while I admitted, "My dreams have disappeared from my sleep for a long time. I have lost my gift of clairvoyance as well as my innocence. In fact, I'm lost and can no longer see anything."
Lexy's hand came to rest on mine, and I immediately returned to the present moment.
"No, Zoe," she said with strength, her eyes filled with sweetness, "Look, we've found you again."
I gave her a little smile, "We have to protect Georgia. Nothing can happen to her."
"She is the priority for all of us," David said gravely.
"All right, tomorrow I'll get the investigation report from Asarys. I'll take the time to look at it and we'll start planning a strategy to counter the evil forces,” my gaze swept across the room and landed on Lexy's suitcase, “Where are you planning to go?"
Lexy squirmed, "Another little problem with the rent.”
"So, you're moving in with me for now?"
"That's right!" Lexy replied, absorbed in inspecting the food on her plate she had just served herself.
Deep down, I knew this rent thing was just an excuse to move here. I suspected that my friends were worried about me and that I had set up this scheme just so that they could keep an eye on me.
My fork had been playing with my salad for a while. My appetite was lacking that night.
"So, was he there?" I couldn’t look Lexy and David in the eye.
An invisible uneasiness settled in the room while a strange feeling contracted my stomach.
"Yes," David said, "He...he was surprised not to see you."
"Surprised? That's not exactly the right word!" Lexy exclaimed, shrugging her shoulders. "No, the word would be more like...Ouch! What's wrong?"
David's discreet little kick earned him an evil eye from his friend.
"He might have asked where you were," my friend clarified.
Suddenly, I felt panic over me.
"We haven't told him about his da... Georgia," corrected Lexy, "Just that you had other, higher priorities. That's all I said."
A sigh of relief escaped from me and a wave of nostalgia rocked me, "Has he changed?"
My two acolytes glanced at each other, embarrassed at the insistence of my questions about this man whose name I had kept silent all these years.
Lexy hesitated to answer me, then decided to go for it, "No, not really. Just his beard of a few days reminding us that five years have passed. If you must know, he's still just as... HOT."
I couldn't help but laugh at my friend's remark, which relaxed the heavy atmosphere between us. David got up first and began to clean the small table before heading to the kitchen.
I took the opportunity to talk to Lexy as she finished her glass of red wine, "Do you remember my colleague, Jul Jenkins?"
"Of course!" she was pissed off, "That asshole destroyed my life."
I looked up at the sky. Lexy still hadn't digested the unsympathetic article he had written about the first vegan Fashion Week my friend had set up over a year ago.
"Jul was just doing his job."
The dark gaze I received could have killed me on the spot if it had been loaded with bullets.
"Ok, his article isn't defendable," I tried to make up for it, "He completely missed out on this amazing project. He's someone who keeps his work and his personal life separate, and you know how he fell for you when he met you."
"How much?"
"What?"
"How much did he pay you to say that?"
I raised my hands as I got deeper into my seat.
"My best friend is priceless!" I declared, pretending to be shocked by her question.
Lexy laughed, hardly moved by my statement.
I hate him more than anything in the world!" she stood up, "Zoe, you're my friend, you should be on my side."
"And I am! I assure you. I just like the way he talks about you. You should see him."
She appeared to momentarily be moved by my words, but immediately got over it, to my great disappointment.
"I'm taking my stuff up to the room, the one above yours."
"Uh... you know this is Elijah's room when he sleeps here. He doesn't appreciate it being occupied when he's away."
Lexy, in the middle of the living room, turned around abruptly and crossed her arms, her eyebrows furrowed.
"So? Where do I move in?"
"In the office," I replied with a broad smile.
"Great!" Lexy cried, raising her hands in the air. "I get this dungeon. Oh, great!"
She grabbed her suitcase, which seemed to weigh tons, and grumbled her way to the stairs, "Lexy, you're a priceless friend," she whispered to me, "You bet!"
David joined me on the balcony. The sound of the waves crashing on the sand below soothed me. The full moon lit up the dense clouds that seemed to be motionless in the sky. My friend leaned his back against the fence right next to me.
"Zoe, I wanted you to be the first to hear the news."
He handed me a small golden and beige cardboard that I grasped with an interrogative look. David smiled timidly, worried about my reaction. When I discovered the wedding announcement, I put my hand to my mouth to muffle a cry of joy.
"You and Morgan, you're gonna..."
"Yeah, it's official. We're getting married."
"I'm so, so happy for you two! Congratulations!"
I rushed into his arms, touched by the news.
"I want you to be my witness," he confided to me.
Surprised by his request, I moved away from him and bowed my head, my eyes shining with emotion.
"It will be one of the most beautiful roles of my life," I said sincerely.
Suddenly David's eyes darkened, and a veil of grayness fell over his face. I knew this expression by heart.
"Hey, what's the matter?" I asked worriedly, gently stroking his cheek with my hand.
"Not all the people I love will be at this event," he confided to me with a hint of sadness in his voice.
The threat to the world suddenly brought me back to reality. We had already lost William and Victoria in this war against the evil forces. I understood the David's distress.
My throat closed and with difficulty, I tried to instill confidence, "I promise you that on that day, you'll be surrounded by everyone you care about. Neither the Maestro, nor myths, nor demons will be able to stop it."
A melancholy and indecipherable expression crossed David's face. He nodded and wrinkled his forehead. Why did I feel like I was the only one of us who believed in my words? My friend came close to me and gently kissed me on the forehead, then he turned, his eyes fixed on the ocean, his face far from here.
FAÏZ
After supporting her gaze, she closed her eyelids and kissed him back with the same ardor as his. Her breathing was close to his skin. He could still feel against his chest, her heart beating in her chest.
Faïz immediately sent away this memory of Zoe when he heard Karl Barthey's footsteps approaching him.
"Are you sure you don't want anything to drink?" asked the inspector in front of a glass of scotch on the counter.
The young man refused before adding, "I met an FBI agent, Stephen Martinez, this afternoon with other members of the government. He sounds like a man of goodwill."
Barthey preferred to swallow his drink to avoid answering too quickly. His short white hair and silvery beard shone under the lights, accentuating his grayish complexion. The bar, with its retro decora
tion and dusty floor, was almost empty in the middle of the week. Only the sound of poll balls colliding with each other disturbed the peace and quiet of the place. Faïz then met the eyes of the inspector who had just looked up at him.
"He's proven himself!" Barthey looking dazed.
"Can we trust him?"
"Yes, he's a man of action and field worker. At thirty, he is one of the youngest to take up the job. He and William had built a real relationship of trust. Give him a chance."
"I don't give anything to anyone!" replied Faïz in icily, "He just has to stay in his place. I didn't come back to listen to fools in black suits."
"Yes, you came back for someone else," Karl murmured, staring at him and stroking his empty glass with his index finger.
"I don't intend to stay," confessed the young man who preferred to cut the conversation short, "We need to get a team of Leviathans ready as soon as possible. I'll lead it from New York."
"We?"
The inspector was surprised by his words. He had been dismissed after the mission to Eros. The armed threat he had to make against a political leader to get the army to intervene had led to the removal of his badge. He had since become a private detective. A better-paid job, but one he didn't like.
Faïz's hand slipped on the counter and came to stop in front of the inspector. When he removed it, he discovered his old gold badge, the distinction he had missed every morning when he got dressed.
"How did you do it?" asked Barthey, puzzled, brushing his fingertips against the object, as if he was afraid of damaging it.
"The government needs me as much as I need you," the young man said with certainty.
As he got up to leave, Faïz hesitated for a moment. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Karl frowned at his sudden unusual behavior. The expression on his face betrayed such striking dismay.
"You can tell me anything," encouraged the inspector in a calm and benevolent voice.
"Zoe wasn't at David's house earlier," the young man whispered.
Karl looked all around him as he searched for his words. Then his eyes came back to the young man. With his hand, he stroked his beard nervously. A long sigh escaped from him.
DARK FAÏZ Book 3: Dawn never keeps its promises Page 2
