Darque Wants (85 page)

They talked for a few more minutes, then Thena said she’d have to go, as she was in the middle of a museum and didn’t want to disturb too many people. They promised to have a proper get together when she got back from London and that was that. Little did Thena know, it was the last time she would speak to her sister before the incident.

Later that evening, she met up with Dorian again for some dinner and a catch up, telling each other all about what they’d been up to. He had been to see his agent and had arranged a book signing for the following day. It was a last minute, impromptu decision, and Thena was totally unprepared for the response.

*****

Fliers had been handed out the night before, posters had been put up, word had been spread via the internet and on Dorian’s mailing list, which had well over 50,00o subscribers worldwide.

When they turned up at the book store in the centre of the city the following day, Thena felt like most of them had turned up that morning to meet him. She was astonished by the turnout.

“I told you you were famous,” she whispered to him as she linked his arm, walking through the crowds towards the back. The staff in the bookstore had reserved them a special corner, and set up a table for Dorian to sign at, with banners on either side that displayed pictures of his book cover. 

"This is very well organised considering it's last minute," Thena remarked. 

"Well, I had a signing here before, two months ago when the book first came out," said Dorian. "These banners are from then." 

He took his place at the table and sat down. The sizeable crowd that had gathered surged forward, and the staff members arranged them into a more orderly line, so that each of them could queue up and wait their turn. There were a few other shoppers in the book shop, just browsing and looking at books, probably wondering what on earth was going on. 

"Where shall I wait for you?" asked Thena nervously, feeling a bit out of place just stood there behind Dorian's shoulder. Perhaps she should go for a coffee and meet up with him after it was done.

Dorian didn't get chance to answer, as a determined and self confident businesswomen with an air of importance pushed through the crowd to get to the front, raising her eyebrows at Dorian in greeting.

He stood up and shook her hand, then introduced the stranger to Thena.  "This is my agent, Patricia Wilkins. Patricia...this is Thena, who I was telling you about over the phone." 

"Pleasure to meet you," said Patricia smoothly, holding out her hand. 

"You too," Thena smiled and clasped it. She wasn't prepared for the jolting vision that followed. 

Blood. Hatred. Deceit.

Unlike previous visions, they weren't clear or specific. They were emotions, rather than images, but they were powerful and disturbing none the less. She didn’t know what it was about this woman, but she was certainly not all she seemed. There was something not right about her, despite her apparent friendly exterior and happy smiles. Thena got the impression that Patricia Wilkins was hiding some kind of dark secret, perhaps just like her very own Dorian was.

The entire incident left her shaken up and in a darkened spirit. She watched Patricia loom down on Dorian and give him advice, then wave towards the first person in the queue to come forward, and Thena felt completely left out. A third wheel, unneeded. It was probably silly of her, but that was how she felt. She retreated as far into the corner as she could manage, and just stared towards the main doors of the bookstore, keeping her focus on them and trying not to look around her. She felt too self conscious to look into the faces of the ‘fans’, if that was what they were.

As the signing continued though, she began to grow bored, and her eyes wandered. She glanced about and watched some of the people in the queue. That was when she started to notice they were staring at her. Not all of them, of course, but one or two…here and there. At first, she thought she was just being paranoid, but then it happened one too many times. They were looking over at her, whispering to one another, obviously wondering who she was and what she was doing there, what connection she had to Dorian. She could feel her cheeks burning red with shame and embarrassment. She looked down at her feet and wondered what to do. Should she just walk out and go somewhere else and wait for him? Or stay exactly where she was and suffer through it?

In the end, her decision was neither.

She moved out from her hiding place and walked round the back of the table, unseen by Dorian as she slipped away and through the crowd on the right hand side. She grabbed one of Dorian’s books off the display shelf the staff had purposefully put up in front of the main entrance, and joined the queue to get it signed, weasling her way in so that she was more near to the front than the back, and politely smiling at the people around her as if she had been there the entire time. A couple of people tutted and stared, but nobody asked her to move or called her out for pushing in. She just didn’t want to have to join the queue right at the back, and she didn’t want to have to stand where everyone could see and stare at her either.

Fifteen minutes later, she got to the front of the queue and handed her book down to Dorian.

He glanced up to offer his ‘fan’ a smile, then did a quick double take and laughed. “Thena…what are you doing here?”

“I got bored,” she shrugged. “And I didn’t want people staring at me and wondering who I was.”

“Who cares what they think,” he whispered. “It’s only you I care about…you I want.”

She blushed, suddenly feeling foolish for having been so childish about the whole thing. “I know, but…”

“Do you actually want this signing?”

“Er yeah. I’ll give it to Deme.”

“Good idea…” He chuckled and bent his head down to concentrate on his signature, writing ‘To Deme’ at the top before signing his name underneath and handing the book back to her.

As Thena reached out to take it, their fingers brushed.

The young boy, his hands covered in blood. Again. Only this time, he was crying.

“Mum! Dad! Mum! Dad!” He was crying over and over again.

A woman came up behind him, clasped a hand over his shoulder and spun him round. “Dorian, what have you done?!”

Thena gasped and jumped back as if she’d just burnt herself on Dorian’s hand. “Did…did you see that?” she stammered.

“No…” He looked blankly at her, concerned. “What did you see?”

“N-nothing.” She turned and fled, pushing her way through the confused and annoyed crowds, barging people out of the way in her rush to get to the door. She felt hot, panicky, her chest was tightening up. She was going to hyperventilate if she didn’t get some air. She was dizzy; she couldn’t breathe.

She burst through the doors and out into the sunshine, taking long, eager gulps of fresh air as she leaned her back up against the wall of the bookshop, trying to calm her racing heart. She was sure she had heard Dorian call after her as she ran, but she’d paid no attention to it. She needed to get out.

That last vision was too much, and when compared with her other ones regarding Dorian, it was deeply concerning. What was it that Dorian had done? To his parents? Why were his hands covered in blood? Who was the mysterious woman who had placed her hand on his shoulder? Her voice was familiar. She felt as though she’d heard it recently…that very day.

Sharp, authoritative, brusque, controlling, well spoken and sophisticated.

Patricia Wilkins.

Dorian’s agent. Was it her? It sounded like her.

She couldn’t make sense of it though. What would she be doing there? What did it all mean? Dorian’s parents had died in a car crash, according to the article she’d read. Had he been there at the time? Was that what really happened? Her head was full of conspiracy theories and plaguing, nagging worries.

She rubbed her eyes and tried to push them away again, back to the bottom of her mind where they belonged. Her struggled were soon distracted altogether, however, when she caught sight of the man across the road.

She hadn’t seen him at first, because of the busy cars and traffic whizzing by, and the people walking back and forth going about their business, but as soon as she
did
see him, she couldn’t unsee him. There was something strange about his behaviour. He was just stood there, directly opposite the bookshop, and he seemed to be staring right at her.

He was a shifty looking chap too. Well built and muscular with a shaved head, but wearing a neat suit and with an earpiece in his ear, like some kind of bodyguard or security man.

She met his eyes, and he looked away instantly, making him appear even more suspicious. Then he pressed his finger to his earpiece and began talking as he walked off, as if communicating to someone. He took one last glance back over his shoulder towards Thena, then disappeared into the crowds of London.

She shivered, despite the warm temperature, and went back inside. Suddenly, being at the signing with the fans staring at her, and with the disturbing visions she had picked up off both Dorian and Patricia, didn’t seem so bad anymore, compared with the unsettling sensation of being watched, followed.

*****

Needless to say, Dorian was keen to know why Thena had suddenly ran off in the middle of the signing and gone outside. It was the first thing he asked her once the event was over and they were travelling back to the apartment together, alone again.

“You saw something? What was it?”

“You’re keeping secrets from me,” she mumbled, not actually wanting to go into the details of the vision. It was almost too painful for her to say aloud, and there was a large part of her that simply didn’t want to know; would rather just bury it and forget that the whole thing had happened. Still, it was there, deep down, and it was quietly eating away at her, which was why their subsequent argument shouldn’t really have come as any surprise.

“I’m not, love,” he insisted, taking her hand.

She pulled hers away and put them into her pockets instead. “Someone was watching us,” she said, changing the subject.

“What d’you mean?”

“Outside the bookshop. I saw someone. He was standing across the street and he was watching the bookshop. He had one of those earpiece things in, and a suit, and when I looked at him he walked off.”

“Why would somebody be watching us?” Dorian chuckled.

“I don’t know. Because of that Shackleton guy.”

“Sweetheart, nobody knows we’re investigating him. Why would anyone be following us or watching us or whatever?”

She got a bit annoyed then, the combination of his disbelief and his lies getting to her. “Are you saying I’m making it up or something?” she snapped. “Why don’t you believe me?”

“I’m not saying that, love,” he protested, trying to keep his voice relaxed and light. “Of course I believe you saw that but…it just might not be what you thought it was, that’s all. You do have a pretty active imagination.”

“An overactive imagination, you mean? That’s what you’re trying to suggest, isn’t it? That I’m just…imagining he was watching me?” Her voice was rising now, and Dorian looked round with a considerable amount of embarrassment, as if to check whether people had overheard their little disagreement; their first ever argument since getting together. Well, it had to happen sooner or later.

“Athene, can you just…calm down?” he requested quietly.

At that point, Thena lost it.

The whole thing was just reminding her of how things used to be with John; of how he used to belittle her and say she was imagining things. An overactive imagination. Those very same words.

She’d had enough, and to avoid yelling at him any further she just walked off.

“I need some time on my own,” she mumbled under her breath. “I’ll see you later.”

“Thena,” he murmured quietly, a heavy sigh on his lips as he turned to watch her go, not attempting to chase after her.

They went their separate ways, parting company in the centre of London.

Thena wandered the streets, her hands in her pockets and her head down, deep in thought, trying to walk off her anger and not return to the apartment until she’d calmed down properly.

After a while, she realised the only reason she’d blown up in the first place was because her mind was so occupied with the visions, and whether or not she wanted to know what they were…she
needed
to, for her own sanity, and for the future of her relationship with Dorian, but she couldn’t expect him to just tell her without her telling
him
what it was she’d actually seen.

She returned to the apartment to find him all dressed up in a fresh, very smart suit, and smelling particularly sweet. He immediately presented her with a bouquet of roses.

“Let me take you out for dinner,” he offered, almost bowing as she came in through the door. “I want to show you how much I appreciate you.”

However wowed she was at the gesture, she made the decision not to let it sway her judgement of him. She still needed to know the truth. Perhaps dinner would be the perfect opportunity.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, taking the roses and smelling them. “You should put them in water. I’ll…go and get ready.”

He nodded, not wanting to push her too much. She wasn’t ready to apologise for her shouting just yet, but she would do, later.

He took her to a fancy restaurant; much nicer than the place they’d been the previous two evenings, and just a quick glance at the menu told her it was as expensive as it looked.

“There’s no need to treat me,” she mumbled, a bit embarrassed as he ordered a bottle of rather expensive wine to boot.

“Nonsense,” he shrugged. “Like I said, I wanted to treat you. Now…I sense you have questions. I mean…I know you do. You said I was hiding something from you. Why don’t you tell me what you think it is?”

She was glad he was cutting the small talk and getting straight down to business. He was perceptive. He had known something was wrong and he wanted to make it right with her. That was a good sign. Thena immediately felt more relaxed, and she leaned forward and quietly told him the visions; all of the ones she had seen that she believed related to him, including the shared vision which he had initially denied all knowledge of.

He nodded slowly. “I though it might be that. After the vision we shared…I knew you wouldn’t let it rest…not forever.”

“I couldn’t…how could I?”

“I know…I know…” He raised his hands in a defensive shrug, palms facing her, then the two of them were given a welcome pause as the waiter returned with the wine and poured them both a glass before taking their food orders.

“I suppose I should just start at the beginning,” he continued. “Just tell you…everything that happened.”

“I…think you probably should,” she mumbled, a lump in her throat. She picked up her glass and took a big gulp of wine.

“It’s probably not as dramatic as you’re imagining, Thena,” he smiled. “Relax. I…I just don’t particularly like to talk about it because it’s a painful memory. Anyway, I was on holiday, with my parents. As I think you already know, they died in a car accident. I was in the car with them at the time. As you can see, I didn’t die. I undid their seatbelts and dragged them out of the car. They were bleeding and half conscious. I got blood all over me, everywhere. I shouldn’t have moved them. If I’d have left them where they were, trapped in the car but alive, they might have survived. I didn’t know that at the time. I was just a teenager, and I was determined to rescue my parents. I found this…super strength, through my willpower…people talk about that occasionally, don’t they? Where people are so determined they can lift up cars and things like that? Well…I wasn’t quite Superman but…I managed to get both of them out of the car. Unfortunately. They bled to death on the side of the street.”

Thena raised a shocked hand to her mouth. “D-Dorian,” she whispered, not quite knowing what to say. Sorry didn’t really cover it, but she said it anyway. “I’m…I’m so sorry.”

“Long time ago now,” he sighed, looking down at his lap. “Anyway uh…Patricia, my agent…she was a long term family friend of my parents, and my Dad’s business partner. She’d been over in Italy – where it happened – for a meeting with him. He never could fully relax, even when we were away. The business always came first to him. I called her. She was the only person I could think of to call. She was one of the first on the scene, even before the ambulances. She saw the bloody mess all over me, and yeah, she put her hand on my shoulder and said ‘Dorian, what have you done?’ That’s…that’s it. Does that explain your visions?”

Thena’s shoulders sagged in relief. Dorian was right. It wasn’t quite as dramatic as she had been fearing; it was just…sad…and heartbreaking. She nodded silently, but there was something else too; the unclear vision she’d had about Patricia. She shared it with Dorian and he frowned, shaking his head slowly.

“I don’t know…I don’t know about that one,” he said. “Could be connected to the visions you were having about me. She was there, after all. She got herself covered in blood too, hugging me, trying to protect me. She’s been nothing but kind to me her entire life, and when I went into publishing she became my agent. It seemed like the natural step for us both.”

“I’m sorry I shouted at you,” said Thena. “I just got a bit…worked up.”

“That’s quite alright. You don’t have to apologise.”

The food came, and the rest of the meal went without a hitch, the subject veering in a more happy direction as the wine flowed, and the two of them walked back arm in arm, fully made up and feeling in much better mood.

They took a shortcut on the way to the apartment, and found themselves on a relatively quiet stretch of streets and roads near the back end of Chinatown.

Footsteps echoed loudly behind them and Thena instinctively turned and looked back over her shoulder. A man was walking a few metres away, his head down. She thought nothing of it.

They turned a corner.

The footsteps got louder, closer.

They turned another corner.

The footsteps were still there.

Thena clung to Dorian’s arm. “Dorian,” she whispered. “I think someone’s following us.”

Dorian frowned and looked back over his shoulder at the man. “Don’t think so. He’s just going the same way as us.”

“He’s been going the same way for the past three corners.”

Dorian bit his lip, obviously not wanting Thena to think he didn’t believe her and cause another argument. “Well, we can try and lose him, if you want. Speed up, take a few unexpected corners.”

“If you don’t mind.”

He nodded, then clutched her hand quickly dragged her across the road, breaking out into a jog as a car was approaching. They disappeared into a small alley way between two buildings and came out the other end in the heart of the gay district of Soho. It was busier there, and Thena automatically felt safer with more people around.

Dorian slowed down and the two of them waited near the corner, watching.

Sure enough, a moment later, the same man came down the same alley way, the same way they’d come.

“You’re right,” he gasped. “He really is following us.”

“I told you,” she hissed, just glad that he finally actually believed her. “Come on, we have to keep moving.” She grabbed his arm and yanked him down another street. “This is the right way, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled, the two of them breaking out into a jog.

Behind them, they could hear the footsteps of their pursuer, now also running.

They turned onto a narrow street and as they raced to the end, they saw that someone was stood there, blocking their exit, his arms crossed over his chest and looking rather menacing.

“It’s the same man from earlier,” Thena gasped. “He was the one watching me outside the book shop.”

They stopped dead and turned back around.

The original pursuer was at the other end.

There was no escape.

“Shit,” Dorian mumbled. “This way.” He flung open a fire exit door and they dashed inside, finding themselves in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant, much to the surprise of everyone who was cooking there.

“You’re not allowed in here!” the manager yelled at them as they raced through the establishment, past amazed diners and out through the main doors into the heart of Soho. Thena recognised it now. They were close to home, and it looked like they had lost their pursuers, at least for the time being. They ran all the way back to the apartment and locked up behind them, shook up and flustered by their ordeal, but similarly full of adrenalin and excitement.

“We must be getting close,” panted Dorian, grabbing them both a beer from the fridge. He’d been shopping on the first day, and gotten them some essential provisions in, of which beer was of course one of them. “We must be rattling a few feathers or they wouldn’t do something like that.”

“Montgomery Shackleton’s obviously moved on from hiring blackmailed university lecturers to do his dirty work,” breathed Thena, taking a welcome gulp of the cold beer. “He’s got proper thugs now.”

“Well, he’s moved up in the world since then, hasn’t he? He’s probably more powerful now. What I want to know is…how did he find out we were onto him in the first place? Nobody knows we went to his office except that secretary.”

“It must have been her then,” Thena shrugged. “No other explanation.”

Dorian sighed and took off his jacket, sweating from their jog. “I’m sorry I doubted you. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you…about the guy watching the bookstore. Seems you were right.”

“It’s ok.  I understand how paranoid I probably sounded.”

“It’s not paranoia if they’re really watching you,” Dorian cracked a bit of a joke and they both relaxed. They needed it.

“What are we going to do?” she asked after a while of them standing and drinking in silence. “We need to find out more about what’s going on, what’s behind all this. We need to arm ourselves so that we know what to expect from these people.”

“I know just the thing,” Dorian murmured, disappearing off to the bedroom. A moment later, he returned with the necklace, dangling it between his fingers. “Remember what happened the last time we had sex when I was wearing it?”

She nodded.

She remembered it all too clearly.

Their visions were already intensified when they were together, but with the extra addition of the necklace, they were maximised ten or twenty times over. They saw things they could never have dreamed of. They experienced scenes and visions with such intense clarity, as if they were actually there themselves. They could see, touch, taste, hear people speaking. The last time they had used it in that way, they had found out for certain what had happened to Dorian’s grandmother. The experience had been so mindblowing that that two of them had been somewhat wary to repeat it. It was exhausting, both physically and mentally, but at least the sex was good. This time too, they knew that they had to, not just for the sake of Dorian’s dead grandmother, but also for themselves, now that their own lives were clearly in danger as a result of their meddling.