The Paris Escapade

The outside of the school looked far too peaceful. The quiet that lay over the area felt sinister, like a waiting terror. As I stepped out of the cab, I couldn't help but shiver.

"I hear strange noises." Nora said softly. "Someone is in pain."

"We'd better hurry." The gate hung open, creaking eerily. As the cab pulled away from the curb I pushed through the opening and began sprinting across the courtyard.

It had started to rain during the cab ride, a light drizzle at first, growing heavier the closer we got to the school. Large puddles had already formed over the uneven asphalt, and my shirt was soaked through for the second time that night.

A hand enclosed my wrist, bringing me to a halt. I looked back at Nora, whose face was tight with worry. "It's dangerous here."

"I know. That's why we have to hurry."

"No, I mean zere iz danger right 'ere."

I looked over at Gabriel, who stood erect, listening to something beyond me capacity to hear. "This silence feels all too familiar..."

I turned back to the rain-soaked courtyard. The black puddle nearest me suddenly reared up and threw itself at my leg.

Nora hauled on my arm, pulling me out of harm's way. She waved on hand in front of her and a thin wisp of flame appeared in the air in front of her. The fire was feeble, but enough to repel the small mass of black sludge.

Nora muttered under her breath in French. I couldn't be entirely sure, but they sounded like swear words. I guessed that she had been hoping to conjure up a bigger flame. It was raining pretty hard, so I could see how that would be difficult.

My gaze travelled past the blob. There were others, rising up out of the puddles. they weren't as big as the one that attacked the school on my first night, the largest one was about half my height. Their numbers more than made up their lack of mass, though.

"How the hell are we supposed to get through all this?" I asked incredulously. This was just too much. Hadn't we been through enough for one night?

"You and Gabriel go on." Nora said. "I vill, vhat iz ze phrase? 'Old zem off."

"You're not serious."

"Very much so. Angie, you vill protect ze little ones for me. If they get 'urt in all of zis mess, zen I will be sad." She gave me a clear, steady look. "Understand?"

I nodded. "All right, but how am I supposed to get passed these things? They don't look keen on letting anyone through." The gelatinous globs stayed in their puddles, quivering slightly, waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack.

"Gabriel?" Nora turned to him.

He sighed. "Let's go." He strode over to me in two long steps and picked me up before I could say a word. In the next move he bounded high up into the air, sailing over the black globs.

The ground turned under me and vertigo hit me like a train. I grabbed onto Gabriel's shoulder and tried not to shriek.

Gabriel grabbed onto an iron railing one handed and hauled the both of us up. We stood on a small balcony, too cramped for my liking. "You have to stop grabbing me like that without my permission. I'm not a doll you can drag along wherever you go."

He opened the window and stepped into the school. "Stop whining, you know you enjoy it." Heat rushed to my face so quickly I was sure puffs of steam came out of my ears. I searched my mind for a scathing retort to hurl back at him, but he wasn't paying attention to me.

He was alert, tuned into the eerie quiet of the school. His words had just been an automatic response, with no meaning behind them. Great, he had ‘asshole’ set for co-pilot.

"Why is everything so quiet?" I whispered carefully. Upon examining our surroundings I discovered that we we in fact in our bedroom. I wondered how he had figured out which window was ours from the outside in the first place.

"No more speaking. I don't like this." Gabriel's face was tense, shadows cast by the weak moonlight carving deep grooves into his expression. I nodded, showing I understood. I didn't like this situation one bit either.

Gabriel led the way through the room, to the door on the opposite side. He pressed his ear and palm to it, straining to hear what was on the other side. “I’m never, ever making you a promise again.” he hissed at me. “You’re going to get me killed someday.”

“You’re the one that wanted to go to Paris.” I whispered back. “And no talking.” I put one finger to my lips and shushed him softly. The light at this end of the room was dim, but I could have sworn he rolled his eyes just then.

He cracked the door open silently and we stepped out together. This was reminding me all too much of our first night here.

The hallway was pitch black. The last time we had gone through here, the hallway lights had only been dimmed, now they were all out and I was facing a wall of darkness. Unable to see, I was unable to move forward.

Gabriel started to step away from me, into the hallway. In a flash of panic I grabbed his upper arm. Before he could come up with another remark I said, “I can’t see anything in here. I don’t want to walk into a wall.”

“You should wait in the room, then.” I couldn’t see his face, but he definitely sounded irritated.

“No, I want to come. My eyes have to adjust, that’s all.”

“Fine, just be quiet.”

I held onto Gabriel’s arm tightly with both hands. It was my lifeline through all this blackness. I hadn’t hesitated in grabbing his arm as soon as I was inconvenienced, but it really was his fault for having night vision. Also, I guess I trusted him to not lead me right into a wall.

My foot brushed against something on the ground. I stopped, pulling on Gabriel’s arm as he continued forward. “Wait, there’s something here.”

“I know, it’s Ms. Brun.” he whispered back.

“What?!” I hissed in alarm, releasing him and dropping to the ground next to the fallen headmistress.

“She’s not dead, just leave her and let’s go.”

I found Ms. Brun’s shoulders with my hands and shook her a little. She was indeed alive and breathing deeply, but she did not rouse. “What’s wrong with her?”

“She’s asleep. Something put her to sleep, just like the two students over there and the one by the stairs.” Gabriel’s voice was sounding more and more irritated. “Can we move on before it affects us, as well?”

I shook Ms. Brun one last time, and still she did not stir. “We have to help them.”

“We can’t help anyone till we know what’s going on. If you’re going to be down there, at least retrieve her crossbow.” I felt along the floor with my hands and found the crossbow and bolt pack. I picked them up and turned the crossbow over in my hands till I was sure I was holding it the right way. “You do know how to use that, correct?”

“Um...” I replied, and Gabriel sighed. “What? I put all my points into firearms.” I realized I had made a joke that he was never going to get and bit my bottom lip.

“Here, let me show you. Take one of the bolts.”

“Show me what? I still can’t see.” I took one of the bolts out of the pack anyway, thinking that perhaps I could figure it out. “Why couldn’t they all just use guns?” I muttered.

“Because all the loud gunfire would draw attention to the school.” Gabriel answered, his voice coming from right over my shoulder. I jumped as his hands covered mine. “It’s like this.” he said simply, guiding my hands through the motions of loading and firing the crossbow. “Your aim with a firearm is not completely atrocious, so you might actually hit something with that. Just make sure it’s not me.” He dropped his hands and walked past me to continue down the hall.

“Right.” I said, my cheeks burning. I followed him carefully, but didn’t grab onto his arm again. Instead, I held one hand out in front of me so I wouldn’t bump into anything. “God dammit, I wish it wasn’t so dark in here.”

All of the hall lights turned on all at once. The sudden brightness dazzled my eyes and I squinted against it. “What in the...” my words died as I took in the scene before us. Students and teachers lay on the floor, all fast asleep. It was as if they had just dropped where they stood.

I turned to Gabriel, who was looking at me in surprise. He turned his gaze up to the ceiling. “I wish that wherever I went, there wasn’t someone there trying to kill me.” Silence. He looked back at me and I shrugged.

Then his eyes widened and his face went tight in pain. He clutched his chest and doubled over, a choking sound coming from his throat and chest.

“Je crains qu'il n'y ait pas de pouvoir qui peuvent accéder à cette demande.” a soft voice replied.

I turned to the voice, and saw Dimitri standing at the other end of the long hall. He had one hand lifted in Gabriel’s direction, his face completely calm. His eyes were still covered with a white cloth, so I couldn’t be sure of his exact expression.

I aimed the crossbow at him. Gabriel dropped to his knees, both hands clawing the front of his white shirt. “Let him go, Dimitri.”

Dimitri turned his hand slightly and Gabriel gagged violently. Blood splattered the carpet at my feet. “Non, je ne crois pas que je vais.” He began walking towards us casually, taking his time.

I kept my gaze on Dimitri as he drew closer. “If you don’t let him go right now, I will shoot you.”

He replied blithely in French, but didn’t turn his attention away from Gabriel.

I aimed as best as I could, and pulled the trigger. There was a click, but the crossbow didn’t fire. I swore and turned my attention to the weapon, trying to figure out what I was doing wrong.

Meanwhile, Gabriel continued to cough up blood. He was losing strength fast. He pitched forward and managed to hold himself up with one hand braced against the floor, but that was all he could do.

I couldn’t figure out why the crossbow wasn’t firing. I tried to switch the bolt, but it was stuck fast. Was the blasted thing jammed? How I longed for Katrina’s gun, but it was all the way back in enemy territory, in the hands of the Black Rose’s infamous Father. Even the glove would be a godsend right now.

I threw the crossbow on the ground in frustration. “Dimitri, leave him alone!” I shouted angrily, feeling absolutely useless.

Dimitri lowered his hand and Gabriel fell to the floor, trembling slightly. He turned his face to me, and I immediately regretted shouting. He walked up to me and held his hand out to me.

I looked at his hand, wanted desperately to just be somewhere else, anywhere else, right now. But by touch, he would be able to understand what I was saying, and I would be able to understand him. He didn’t appear to have hurt anyone in the school, other than Gabriel, so perhaps he could be reasoned with. I reached out and touched his hand with the tips of my fingers, not wanting more than the slightest contact.

“Why are you so upset, Evangeline, when I am doing you such a tremendous favor?” he asked, looking both kind and confused.

“You aren’t doing me any favors by hurting Gabriel.” I answered.

Dimitri sighed and took my hand fully in his. “You do not yet understand, I see.”

“Then explain it to me. I’m a big girl, I can handle it.” I fought against the urge to rip my hand out of his.

“This Gabriel of yours is nothing but a monster.” Dimitri replied. “A vile worm that only manages to crawl through the dirt by feeding on the misery of others.”

“Yes, I know. He killed Nora. I was there.” I kept my gaze steady. “I helped him do it.”

Dimitri waved his free hand dismissively. “I care nothing for Nora, or those that come before or after her. She is Father’s amusement, one which I do not involve myself.”

“Then why hurt him like this?” I asked in as reasonable a tone as I could muster. “You act like you hate him.”

“Oh, I do. Very much.”

I spared a glance to Gabriel, to check if he was still alive. He lay on his side, half curled up, one hand still on his chest. He looked like he was still in a lot of pain, but at least he had stopped coughing up blood. “If you don’t care about what he did to Nora, then why do you hate him so much?”

Dimitri exhaled a small sigh. “Because of what he does to you, Evangeline. Because of the things that he makes you do.”

My eyebrows drew together. “What do you mean? Gabriel never asks me for anything.”

“He doesn’t have to, because you throw yourself away so willingly for him. The incident at the docks proves that. You could have died so easily today. I have seen into every corner of your mind, and I know that one day you will give too much, and then you will be gone.”

I took a step back uncomfortably. His hand tightened around mine, our arms stretched across the space between us. “That’s my choice. It’s not Gabriel’s fault if I try to drag him out of trouble, that’s on me.”

Dimitri smiled at me serenely. “Not any longer, you don’t have to worry anymore. You belong to me now. I will get rid of this vermin and you won’t have to worry about a single thing.”

“No thank you.” I said. “Nora told me about you, Dimitri. I know you just view me as a toy. This whole charade of yours right now is all just a part of your game.”

Dimitri’s mouth tightened. “What else has Nora told you about me?”

“We had a long cab ride on the way here and she told me everything she could. About how your Father has you infiltrate a person’s dreams to find out information. It’s how the Black Rose has lasted so long, you know what your enemies are up to all the time. She also told me about how you get ‘attached’ to the people whose dreams you invade. You use the information you cull there and manipulate them into becoming your toys.” My mouth went dry, and I swallowed nervously. “And, when you are done playing, you just throw them away.”

“I see Nora has only told you half of the truth. While it is true that you are the most recent in a long line of games for me, do not think I am unkind to all of my toys. I carefully craft each game to fit the subject perfectly, based upon what I read in their minds. Your mind is pure in a way I have not seen before, with an iron core. Cruelty would only make you stronger.” His mouth relaxed in an easy smile. “No, the way to break you is with gentleness.” He turned back to Gabriel. “But as long as he is around, making you so infuriatingly obstinate, then we will not be able to progress together.”

He raised his free hand in Gabriel’s direction. I spoke quickly, to stop him. “Wait. Look, you don’t have to kill Gabriel.”

“But it will be so much fun.”

“I sympathize with that feeling, honestly, but I need Gabriel.”

Dimitri turned back to me sharply. “Oh? Explain.”

On the floored, Gabriel cracked his eyes and turned them onto me. “I’m actually wondering about that myself.” he said hoarsely.

“It’s part of my Great Aunt Katrina’s will.” I told Dimitri, ignoring Gabriel. “I am Gabriel’s Caretaker. I’m responsible for him. If something happens to him, then I lose my inheritance. I’ll be thrown out of my home.” I clasped my free hand half-open and closed several times as I fought with myself not to glance at Gabriel. Nervous sweat was making both of my hands slick.

Dimitri thought about this for only a moment. Then he shrugged. “You can always stay in Paris with me.”

That stumped me for a second. Thinking swiftly, I replied “But, doesn’t that make the game too easy for you?”

This made Dimitri pause, and I had to keep my relief under control as well. I waited tensely for him to speak.

“There is some merit in what you say...” he mused. “But still, I do not like the increasing influence he is gaining over you.”

“Are you saying you cannot handle a little competition?” My heart fluttered nervously in my chest. I was lying through my teeth so much I was surprised my tongue hadn’t shriveled up inside my mouth.

Dimitri’s smile became amused. “I’ve seen the entirety of your subconscious mind, and yet you still manage to surprise me. I will enjoy this game.” He dropped the hand that was directed at Gabriel. “Fine, I shall spare the slug’s life, but only if you give me something in return.”

“What would that be?” I asked warily.

“How about a kiss?” He raised his hand up gently, seeking my face. His fingers explored my cheek, then slid down to my jaw.

I wanted to shove him away from me more than anything, but I allowed him to step closer, closing the gap between us. “A small one.” I said. “Very small.”

His smile widened. “We’ll see.”

I kept perfectly still as he pressed his lips softly to mine. I did nothing to encourage or hinder him. It wasn’t until he tried to deepen the kiss that I made my move.

His body tensed immediately and he stepped back, his hand slipping from mine. His lips were parted in shock. Buried halfway in the front of his chest was a silver crossbow bolt, my fingers still wrapped around the shaft.

“Why does everyone always underestimate me?” I asked sadly, dropping my hand.

Dimitri pressed his lips together in a thin, white, line. His whole body shook with barely suppressed rage. He reached up to pull the shaft from his chest, but recoiled as the silver burned his fingers.

“Je vous laisse à Véronique.” He turned his attention back to me and I was ready for anything, except what he did next.

He vanished into thin air.

He hadn’t dissipated, or blown apart. One second he was in front of me, and the next he was gone.

I looked up and down the hallway wildly, expecting him to appear behind me and attack. When no retaliation came, I knelt down next to Gabriel. I grabbed his arm and hauled him up, then pulled his arm across my shoulders. “Can you walk?”

Gabriel paused to spit before speaking. Blood spattered the carpet again. “No.” he answered hoarsely.

“We should get out of here before he recovers and comes back.” I took a step forward, then pulled Gabriel forward a step. He leaned against me with most of his weight, his thin frame heavier than it appeared. His legs didn’t seem to be taking his orders very well and his feet dragged.

“He’s not gone.” Gabriel mumbled, his head drooping and his eyes on the ground. “You wounded him and he cloaked himself from your eyes.”

My head shot up, and I looked up and down the hallway again. “You mean he’s still here? Somewhere?”

“He won’t attack you again. Tonight, anyway.”

“How can you be sure of that?”

“Because... before he cloaked, he said ‘I’ll leave you to Véronique’. He’s not alone here.” He gave me a slow, sidelong glance. “Looks like you have another fight ahead of you.”

I felt my stomach drop past my knees. “Well, that’s just great.”