Chapter 18: Mystery Lady

I woke up to music, incense and soft lights. My head throbbed for a moment but that passed quickly. I realized instantly that I was in a bed naked but didn't know where I was.

The room was decorated in warm colors, dozens of lit candles and paintings of bodies writhing in massive orgies. The paintings reminded me of the mural rug Vikkor had so many months before. Directly over the bed was a huge panel mirror built into the ceiling. The reflection told me that the bed was almost as big as the one I had back in Texas. I sat up and looked around. There was only one door but no windows. The bed I was on was near the middle of the room.

I got up and went to the door. It was locked. I was certain I could break it down and escape, but to what end?

From the other side of the door I heard footsteps coming.

I could either get back in bed and feign sleep or take down whoever came in and leave. I decided on feigning sleep. Since I didn't know where I was I would need help getting back to where I had seen the Dragons last. I still had to find Whisper.

I jumped back into the bed and covered up. Lying still with my eyes shut, I waited.

I heard the door open and the rustle of cloth. Someone was approaching barefooted.

The bed faced opposite the door. Even if I cracked my eyes open I wouldn't see who was there. Then I felt someone sit on the bed next to my head. A delicate hand caressed my cheek. "Ral ... Wake up, Ral. I have food for you. You must be hungry. Wake up..."

The voice was soft and coaxing. I shifted and opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was her eyes; an exotic soft brown outlined with mascara and shading to bring out her color. Part of me wanted to just lie there and stare. Besides the fact that it would be impolite, I had too many questions and the most obvious came out first. "Where am I? Who are you?"

She continued to caress my cheek, smiling benignly. "Shhh ... You need to eat first. You've had some adventure today and need to recover your strength." She looked up and waved someone in. I sat up, looking back at the door.

A butler came in pushing a cart with food on it. For a moment, I thought he was a joke. He was tall, with short blonde hair and was obviously well built under his tailored suit. He looked like he could have been a stripper women would hire for bachelorette parties or such. He parked the cart next to the head of the bed and hit a switch on the side. The top of the cart slid towards the bed and then lowered so it was nearly lying on the pillow. With the top of the cart out of the way, another shelf rose with an assortment of drinks and what looked like oils. The butler nodded to the woman and me and then left, closing the door behind him.

I looked up at the woman and asked again, "Who are you?"

She smiled at me again. If I hadn't already been used to living with beautiful women throwing themselves at me all the time, I would have assumed that smile meant more than pleasantries. "My name is Fiona Bennet."

I rolled over and sat up on my knees out of reach. Conscious of my state of undress, I pulled the sheet around to cover myself. I was feeling uncomfortable being so close to her, and it wasn't the bad kind of uncomfortable either. Instead I wanted to focus on the more important issues. "How did I get here?"

She smiled again. "Eat something and I'll answer your questions."

My paranoia was getting the better of me. "Why don't you answer some questions first and then maybe I'll eat something."

She continued to watch me as if I were amusing. "Ral if I wanted to poison you, I could have done it already. You were sleeping like a baby."

I watched as she leaned over and picked up a croissant. My girls and I sometimes had them for breakfast, which made me wonder how long I had been out. "What time is it?"

She tore the croissant in two and said, "Nearly ten o'clock. You've only been out a couple of hours," and then she began eating one of the pieces.

My belly rumbled, ignoring my choice to not eat. Fiona gave me a look that told me I was being stupid. "Eat something Ral. You'll feel better."

I moved over to the tray laden with food and sat cross-legged in front of it. There was fruit, breads, cheese, and deli cut meats. It was really finger food as I thought of it but there was more than enough to fill my belly. I started making a pseudo-sandwich and asked, "So, how did I get here again?"

"Michael called me. He told me where you could be found," she said.

"Michael," I said before stuffing my own mouth. He could track me down. Maybe he was closer to town since he had been able to tell Fiona where I was. When I had spoken to him about the kidnappings he had only a vague sense of where they were. Then again, with him bound to me it may have allowed him to have a better reading on my location.

I sat there eating for a bit, thinking about what had happened. One of the Dragons had pummeled me even though he had been unconscious and I was pretty sure someone else had shown up with the knockout blow. I had been so close to finding out where Whisper was that I was disappointed with myself, to say the least. Looking up I asked, "Among my clothes, did you find a small vial? It was about the size of your pinky."

She shook her lovely head. "No, nothing like that. When I took your clothes off to be cleaned the only thing I found was your wallet."

Part of me wanted to not trust her, but Dr. Holzer's gift for discerning the truth indicated that she wasn't lying.

I looked over at Fiona. She was finished with her croissant and continued watching me. Of all the people Michael could have called to find me, he chose her; a stunning woman who was obviously wealthy enough to afford a young and buff butler. I was confused but thankful for the help.

Sitting there watching me, Fiona looked ravishing. She had a light touch of makeup, which not only brought out the color of her soft brown eyes but also made her lips look full, soft and moist. Her dark auburn hair fell in heavy waves just past her shoulders. Otherwise she was completely concealed in a dark green silk robe. However, all that beauty didn't help the sinking feeling in my gut regarding Whisper's vial.

Having finished three of my small, makeshift sandwiches, I relaxed a bit. The food helped, I did feel better physically, but emotionally, I was a wreck in slow motion. I picked up a bottle of tea and drank down half of it before stopping for air.

"I take it you're feeling better?" Fiona asked.

I nodded, "Thank you."

She waved my words away. "It was the least I could do. Michael seemed to think you were trying to do something noble and was worried about you getting hurt in the process."

"Michael knows me pretty well," I replied with a slight grin. I looked down, remembering my state of undress. "Not that I don't appreciate what you've done for me, but where are my clothes?"

"Being washed. You were in a dreadful state. All mussed up like you had been crawling around that warehouse for hours."

"You sent my suit to the dry cleaners?"

She chuckled. "No, I have dry cleaning machines here. Almost everything I own is dry-clean-only."

I relaxed a bit, knowing I couldn't go anywhere without something to wear. Looking around the room again I asked, "Why aren't there any windows here?"

Fiona looked around too as she answered, "This is my private chamber. I have a regular bedroom with windows and all the normal niceties, but this is where I go when I want to be alone." She was looking at me when she finished. The look in her eyes told me that she didn't come here to be alone, maybe to not be interrupted, but certainly not to be alone.

"How long do you think it will be before my suit is ready? I have things I need to do."

She nodded. "It probably won't be much longer. However, considering whatever it is you're doing, don't you think you could use some help?"

"Help would be welcome. I just don't know who I can trust."

She cocked her head to the side, brow furrowed. "Why?"

I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I have to assume you're a Mind Magi, otherwise Michael probably would have called someone else to help me," I said staring into her eyes.

She stared back at me for a moment and then reached for the opening of her robe. She turned to show me her back, slipping the robe down and watching me over her shoulder. She had probably the most complex mark I had seen so far. It was gray, which meant she wasn't bound to any House.

She watched me, half hidden behind her shoulder and dark locks. Understanding her purpose for this room and the sight of her amazing eyes, I got the impression she was hoping for something more than conversation or to help me with whatever I had been doing when she found me.

That realization seemed to wake something up inside me. I felt my abs contract, my heart began to race and my cock began to rise. I kept myself covered and tried to remain calm. I really didn't have time for a roll in the sack no matter how bad my hunger got. It had been hours since I had been with Whisper, and those memories didn't help. In fact, they caused a conflict within me.

I had to find Whisper. I didn't have time for my hunger for sex to have its way now. I forced myself to calm down, kept my breathing steady and generally remained composed. I looked at Fiona again. She had turned back around to face me proper but only barely covered herself with her robe. It still hung off her shoulders. I tried to explain, "I've got to find ... Jennifer. I need to find her before the Dragons do something ... something really bad to her."

"What do you mean? Why would the Dragons do anything to her? Who's Jennifer?"

"She's one of my Schiavi."

"And why do the Dragons have her?"

"It seems they're kidnapping family members of all the House Leaders."

"Why are they doing that?"

"I ... I don't know. At least, I don't know the entire reason. The House Leaders aren't supposed to interfere in someone's plans and the hostages are insurance that they don't. Whatever is going on, it's all supposed to be over with by midnight tomorrow night." My guilt festered. "And I uh ... I thought I could help. I thought I could find the hostages, free them so the House Leaders could do what they do to stop whoever it is that's master-minded this."

"Ral, it sounds like something that's just too well planned."

I shook my head, not wanting to admit to that. To me it was so much simpler. "They've got too much help, whoever it is. I can't do it by myself."

Then Fiona brought up a good point. "If the House Leaders are helpless to do anything, how is anyone else supposed to help? No one can stand up to the Dragons."

I thought about that. Some of my own House members had talents that could be quite advantageous if used properly. "It's a matter of tactics. Besides, any Mind Magi that's willing to help, I'm willing to share my talents with."

"Your abilities?"

"Yeah. For example, as complex as your mark is, I'd say you have more than one ability, and they probably intermingle pretty well."

She nodded understanding. "Okay."

"My mark isn't a solid ribbon."

She glanced down at my chest. "I noticed that," she said with a slight smile.

I wasn't sure what her smile was about. Part of me tried to say it was because my statement had been obvious already. Another part believed she was smiling because I gave her the chance to openly look at my chest for more than just seeing my mark. I had to remain controlled. "I haven't even tapped all my abilities yet."

"Well, why do you think that is?" she asked looking back up.

"I don't know. I mean, I've ... tried, but I don't know how I'm accessing them. I don't know why they're appearing."

"Well, mine appeared as I bound, initially, to my first Schiavi. I've changed Schiavi since then. I mean, it's not like I've always had the same men bound to me."

"What? You're saying your abilities changed when you changed Schiavi?"

"Well, for the most part my abilities are still the same but they have different ... tones. You know? It's like you feel one way about someone and you feel the same kind of way about another and though the same word describes what you feel for those two, it's not exactly the same."

I knew what she meant. The love I felt for my girls was love but different for each. They held different places in my heart. I nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I understand that."

"Now, I've heard rumors. Isn't it something like twenty girls you're bound to?"

I rolled my eyes but couldn't help but grin even slightly. "Not quite twenty ... only seventeen."