Forever Young The Beginning (20 page)

“
Well thank you Michelle.
You have very pretty eyes too. Did you want to tell us
something?”

“
Yes.”

Marie and Cosette raised their
eyebrows and waited for the little girl to speak.

“
I thought I was dreaming
but I was not dreaming. The Bad Man with the shining eyes took
Juliet and Mimi”

The longboat rowed away from the ship
a short distance, and then its single sail was unfurled to catch
the breeze. It picked up some speed and began a series of tacking
maneuvers accompanied by the rowing of the crew. The ship unfurled
its’ sails and weighed anchor. Slowly and majestically it moved out
of the harbor. The two moved apart, the longboat moving toward the
shore while the ship moved southward.

Alandra stood on the starboard side,
watching Barcelona begin to recede as the ship gathered speed. Her
mother and father stood beside her, both with their arms around
her. She leaned her head on her fathers’ shoulder.

“
I’m looking forward to
seeing the Rodriquez family. I really have missed Spain while I was
in France. I think this trip to Almeria will do all of us good. You
two will see.”

Alandra took a deep breath
and sighed. She was thinking back to when she was offered the
chance to steer a ship. She became warmer inside at the memory of
standing at the helm of
Tico
with Ian close behind her, his arms around her as
he helped her hold the helm. As she drifted back reviewing those
magical memories, she recalled the line of his jaw, his brow, and
his frosty blue eyes that seemed to peer into her very soul. His
eyes could twinkle magically if he was amused at something while at
other times they could have a penetrating look about them as if he
could see inside of one.

She relived sitting on the
bowsprit of
Tico
while Ian sat holding her from behind, his strong arms around
her waist, she lying back against him, feeling so warm and content,
so....as if she belonged there and nowhere else. Then there were
the kisses. Madre de Dios! What a thrill, the fire that had run
through her body! Even now she was stirred at the memory. She
somehow knew that she would never feel that way again with anyone
else.

She had wanted so to return to
Marseille and to look for Ian. Her father had forbidden it
vehemently. She’d finally agreed to this trip. She hoped to see
some things to fill her life enough so that she didn’t cry herself
to sleep every night. Perhaps Papa was right. Perhaps this
excursion to Almeria would do her good. No doubt she needed to get
away from the Villa after all. She knew the motive for her fathers’
insistence in going to Almeria, but didn’t mind seeing Philippe’
again. He was pleasant company and had a sunny disposition, only
being a bit too excitable at times it seemed. This could be a good
thing, and certainly better than lying in her bed at home all day.
There were miles of good places to ride horses, and lots of shops
and sights to see. She sighed deeply again and resolved to make the
best of it.

***

“
You say that you have three
girls now, LeClerc?”

“
Yes.”

LeBlanc shifted uncomfortably,
grimacing in pain. His arm was splinted and might never heal
properly. His broken ribs hurt at the least movement and breathing
was even painful. He was drunk and his speech was
slurred.

“
You’re still in much pain,
LeBlanc?”

“
Yes. That damned sailor
threw me around like I was a wench. Damn his eyes! If ever I get a
chance I’ll have my revenge on him.”

“
You mean
we
will have our revenge
on him. He and that bitch vampire stuck me full of holes so that I
could barely see for the pain. If I find him, I’ll kill him. You
can count it a favor. And where the hell did she come from? And
what was she doing there at that time of night? If I ever see her
again she’ll wish I hadn’t. I’ll always be carrying this from now
on” he said, pulling out a curved knife over a foot long. “I
thought that maybe she wanted to feed, maybe hadn’t fed in days and
just thought to take my kill. But there was another man there that
she could have had. I don’t understand any of it.”

“
Well we can nose around and
try to learn their whereabouts after we conclude this business
tonight. That sailor’s ship is still in the harbor. I spoke to an
attorney. He told me later that day that he wouldn’t take my case.
Seems some well-placed lawyer has taken that seaman’s case already.
Enough about that. I need, no,
must
have five girls by tonight.”

“
I know where to get the
last two tonight. I’ll have help. We’ll bring the five to you here,
as planned?”

“
Yes. I’ll have a carriage
and drivers waiting. You’ll be paid in gold coin as agreed. Here is
a small sum now to show my good faith.”

LeClerc took the small leather bag and
counted the coins inside. With LeBlanc so drunk, he might just
loosen his tongue a bit about this ‘client’ that he had been so
secretive about. “Who would pay even this sum for five
urchins?”

“
Someone who doesn’t want to
have five urchins suddenly missing where that same someone lives.”
LeClerc said as he downed another one.

“
Sounds like a ritual of
some kind.”

“
The Francois brothers are
known to be…… peculiar…. bizarre perhaps.”

“
The Francois of
Lacoste’?”

“
Yes, no. That is the
Marquis de Sade, Donatien Francoise.”

“
I thought he was in
jail.”

“
He was, but he’s out now.
Rich bastards always bribe their way out it seems. But these five
are to be taken to their place in Lyon for his brother, Marcel. I
suppose he wants to be further from the crown and its agents when
indulging in his… pastimes.”

“
His gold is as yellow as
the next man’s. What do I care? We could bring them here two hours
after midnight.”

“
That will be
perfect.”

“
It will be done. And tell
your friends that we can supply their needs easily any time at all.
We need little advance notice. I know a place where I can get these
girls like picking apples from a tree.”

“
Longboat approaching, sir.”
Angus looked and saw two ladies in a longboat.
Marie and Cosette
he thought. Both
had large parasols opened. The six crewmen of the craft were rowing
really hard and fast. He thought
six
oarsmen? They must be in a hurry for some reason!

“
Prepare to take aboard
passengers, port side!” he ordered. Two boatswain’s seats were
swung over the port side via the two port side cargo booms. Ian,
Henri, and Li had walked to join Angus and all were now waving at
the craft as it neared. The two ladies waved in return.

Soon the two were swung aboard and
greeted all. “We must talk privately now!” Angus led them to the
aft deck and they ascended the steep staircase up to the helm area.
No one was about that part of the ship as the workmen were covering
the canopy amidships.

Marie explained the situation quickly
but thoroughly. Ian said “LeClerc?” Henri said “Maybe, but it could
be another. There is more than one in Marseille like LeClerc.”
Angus looked askance at him, raising his eyebrows.

Ian then spoke “I have an
idea.”

“
Let’s hear it.” said
Henri.

“
Some of us can watch the
orphanage and some can watch the
Red
Dolphin
. Whoever of us sees LeClerc first
can follow him while one comes to get the others. How far is
the
Red Dolphin
from the orphanage?”

“
Four miles.” said Marie,
and then she continued “Why not all wait at the
orphanage?”

Henri said “We want to find where
they’ve taken the others. If we kill them or chase them away, we’ll
never find those two girls.”

“
But are they
alive?”

Ian and Henri both said “Yes.” at the
same time, and looked at each other.

“
Why do you say that?” Henri
looked at Ian who said “We have to assume that they are for their
sakes. Besides, how much easier is it to just kill some drunk,
drink his blood, and then slash his throat and turn out his
pockets? Why would any vampire risk waking up an entire dormitory
full of screaming children just to feed? There just has to be more
to this than we know, and LeBlanc might be the key. Is he selling
them into slavery, maybe smuggling them out to end up in Morocco or
Libya?”

Angus spoke up then “By Heaven, I will
gut that bastard like a fish myself if that’s true! Oh, I apologize
for the language ladies.”

“
No apologies necessary,
Angus. Ian is right.” said Henri. “There has to be more to it, and
I would bet that money is changing hands.”

A discussion ensued in
earnest and within a half hour a plan was made whereby Angus would
keep watch over the
Red
Dolphin
. They would watch from the roof of
a warehouse which Henri owned and would have horses ready to go
summon the others. The vampires would all be watching the
Angel’s Care
orphanage to
see if another attempt would be made to kidnap another
girl.

Some hours later a wagon
with four horses arrived at a warehouse near the
Red Dolphin
. There was a
large tarpaulin covering the cargo. The driver unlocked the
warehouse door and pulled the team and wagon inside, closing the
door. In a half hour, the wagon left, but had only two horses
pulling it.

Two beautiful ladies had several
packages of clothes put into a rented carriage. There was no driver
and none needed. No livery would even raise a question to Madame
Marie Lafayette about why she didn’t need a driver or why she
needed the rig and team overnight. They had already changed clothes
in the store where Marie had bought them. The ladies drove off into
the evening with their packages piled in the carriage.

At dusk, a carriage pulled up at the
pier where two seamen loaded a long crate into it. Henri drove and
Ian sat alongside him. Li was inside the carriage sorting out
weapons as the carriage moved off into the gathering
darkness.

***

Night had fallen at
Angels’ Care
orphanage,
and the hours passed until around an hour before midnight. Two
shadows detached themselves from an area of deep shade under a
grove of trees. They flitted to the side of the large building.
Both rocketed upward, landing on the roof nearly simultaneously.
One seemed to flow downward to a window high up in the gable end of
one dormitory. Noiselessly it vanished into the building. The
second shadow seemed to just flow down from the roof and also
disappeared into the dark building.

In well under ten minutes one emerged,
looking bulkier, and dropped silently three stories to the ground.
It remained motionless. The second one came out looking bulkier and
also dropped to the ground. It again leapt to the rooftop and
seemed to flow down to the window stopping there. A second or two
later, it dropped to the ground. The two shadows then leapt away
from the building and ran rapidly to the north in the darkness.
There was a full moon that night, but the clouds covered
it.

They ran, darting around corners only
twice and then staying on a long straight road leading away from
the city. After only a few minutes they turned suddenly into a
weed-choked lane and streaked up the driveway through dank
vegetation. A dilapidated forlorn-looking two story house suddenly
became visible as the clouds parted allowing the moonlight to fall
upon it. The two leaped upward to land on a porch roof. In seconds
they had vanished through a broken window.

***

In the dank dimly-lit cell, the two
girls sat softly singing a song that Celeste had taught them.
Suddenly the door at the top of the steps rattled and was unlocked
and opened. Celeste said “Hush. Two bad men are here with two more
girls. We’re to be freed tonight. Hush now.”

Two shadows with glowing eyes and
carrying long bundles over their shoulders landed nearly
soundlessly at the foot of the stairs. They came to the cell door
and dropped their bundles even as one produced a key and unlocked
the door. The two bundles were brought just inside of the door
where their bonds were cut and their gags removed. The two little
girls whimpered as the door was locked and five apples thrown into
the cell. The two shadows rocketed up the stairs followed by the
noise of the door closing and the lock being turned. Only the
whimpering of the two could be heard. Then from the corner of the
cell came a sweet voice saying “Hello Babette. Hello Cilia. I’m
Celeste. Don’t be afraid. We leave this place tonight and will
never see the Bad Men again.”

“
How…. do you know
that?”

“
My angel told me in a
dream. He told me your names and the names of these two sitting
over here with me. He said that two more would come tonight, and
then the man with blue eyes would come to free us.”