Page 50 of Sacrifice
“A little shopping expedition,” Lucien whispered. He leaned in to kiss her cheek. “We’re going to try something.”
They turned a corner onto Old Bond Street.
“The power you have discovered has always been there. It’s just that now your eyes have been opened to it. It is universal.” He pinched the air in front of him. “It is linked to all things andisall things. It is the quintessence of life and matter. Understanding it allows you to interact, tocontrol.” He gave her a wicked smile. “You will be amazed by what’s possible, Eve.”
He took hold of her hand, and the familiar buzz of energy rattled between them. Now she could identify the ripples that flowed around her as a result of Lucien’s touch and the separate energy that welled inside her to meet it.
They passed De Beers, Cartier and Gucci, a street full of shops that were well beyond the reach of her bank balance, and finally came to a stop outside Tiffany & Co., where Lucien led the way inside. Eve trotted in behind him.
The showroom was broad and spacious, with a plush carpet that crushed underfoot. The air was perfectly cool and smelled seductively of citrus. Eve’s eyes slid over the sparkling contents of their displays.
In moments, a well-dressed assistant was crossing the room to greet them. With sepia-toned skin and heavy lashes, he was thin and polished with beached white teeth.
Polished, but trying so hard to maintain the facade,Eve thought. Inside her head, Lucien silently agreed.
“Good afternoon, Sir. Madam.” He clasped his hands in front of him, his mouth stretching into a thin smile that did nothing to light up his face.
Just silently observe him,Lucien instructed inside Eve’s mind.
“We’re looking for a ring,” Lucien said. He took hold of Eve’s hand once more to play the part of her doting boyfriend.
“Did you have a particular style in mind?” said the assistant. His smile became a little more convincing now, and his eyes flicked between them. “For the lady, I assume?” He moved away to lead them to one of the counters.
Eve glanced at Lucien.This isn’t some kind of proposal, is it?She thought.
Lucien smiled and replied in her mind.Just giving him something to think about. Don’t worry about what I’m doing. Focus on him, find the quintessence that surrounds him.
“Not a standard design. Something unusual,” Lucien added to the assistant and now Eve could feel his demeanor changing as his mind worked on the challenge. She narrowed her eyes with concentration and tried to see him better.
A faint glimmer surrounded him, like a heat haze. As soon as she caught sight of it, warmth spread through her own chest, energy coming from her core to power the vision. Eve blinked to focus and tendrils of pale green unraveled from around the shop assistant, twisting and entwining like ribbons of light. Eve suddenly became very aware of her own presence and stilled everything about herself to focus upon him.
He produced a tray of a dozen rings for Lucien to inspect and, as he pored over the selection, his movements disturbed the shimmering aura, leaving faint trails of energy behind. It differed from the light she’d seen around herself. The assistant was cloaked in rags compared to the solid shield that wrapped her own body.
Now look inside his mind,Lucien thought, and inexplicably, the potential of it seemed ridiculously easy. This man had no protection from her at all.
She closed her eyes and found his consciousness in her mind. His thoughts whispered beneath layers of memory. The man’s name badge said he was calledAlan, but that was not his real name. He wasSaleh, an immigrant from a war-torn town. Eve could see the paths that had led him to this point. His life streamed through her mind like disjointed frames of a movie.
In a matter of moments, she knew everything about him, his lost family, the pain and anguish he’d suffered leaving his country, and the hope that he had found here in England.
Now you see him, Lucien’s thoughts layered with her own.What makes him tick? How could you bend him to your will?
Saleh, as she now knew him to be called, produced a second tray of rings. These were far more interesting. Gems glintedin their settings, deep glimmering sapphires sparkling in the perfect light of the showroom.
Saleh saw their beauty, and a flash of memory interrupted his thoughts. His mother’s eyes were the same color as one of those precious stones. He remembered the tears of his mother and sister when they were separated at the border. Eve knew he had come to England, hoping to pave the way for his family to follow. He was working to send money home. Their security and protection were his priority. Eve breathed in his essence and allowed her own to explore the tangle of his thoughts. All threads led to these two most important women in his life. She knew, beyond doubt, that he would do anything in his power to help them.
Be what he wants, Eve. Energy is flow and balance, an exchange.
Eve felt the resonance of their energy in his memory and adjusted her own to match it. How would he respond to her, she wondered, if she could emulate them?
She reached out to touch his hand, felt the quintessence leave her fingertips, and watched it climb the ragged ladders of energy that led to his heart. Saleh’s eyes met hers and she smiled, careful to squeeze her eyes closed in just the way he remembered his sister to.
It was an experiment. Eve just feeling her way around a stranger’s consciousness for the first time. Would he even feel what she was attempting to do?
Saleh’s expression changed to one of surprise, then joy. Finally, his eyebrows pushed together in confusion.
“Do I know you?” he asked, then remembering himself, broke eye contact and puffed out a breath. He laughed. “I apologize. For a moment there I thought...”
Lucien laughed inside Eve’s mind.That’s it. Now make him give you one of the rings.
