Helen Magnus was considered eccentric by most in the Sanctuary network. It wasn't a image she cultivated intentionally. Circumstances just seemed to conspire to add to her mystique. One of those intangibles was certain residents she visited in the Sanctuary network. There was at least one someone in each Sanctuary location that she would visit if she came to town. Some were humans working within the network, others were abnormals who sought shelter and acceptance in the special little world they created.
Every Sanctuary had its rumor mill, and with the advent of social networking, rumors were capable of spreading globally like a virus. Visits from Helen Magnus were reported and dissected and discussed at length. Conspiracy theories ran rampant as to the nature of her relationships with people and the parts she played in historical events. How did some famous person meet her? Had she known them long? Were they secretly or openly lovers? Did she spy during wartime, and if so, for whom did she work?
Magnus was the Sanctuary equivalent of a tabloid rock star. The residents were like paparazzi chasing a picture, or a story, or a juice bit of Helen Magnus gossip. It was amusing to her, everyone clamoring for her attention, but at times she just wanted to close her eyes and let the stress of the day seep from her every pore. There weren't many places where she could go to be alone, but when she found one, she treasured it.
An example was the gorgeous, heavenly swimming pool at the Sanctuary in Mumbai. The first time she'd stumbled across it, she'd gasped in delight. The heat of summer in Mumbai was unbearable, it could even be dangerous to the uninitiated. That particular day after the tricky capture of a huge sand scorpion that was threatening innocent people, Helen was sticky and hot and irritable. She'd gone walkabout inside the massive building to escape the oppressive heat outside. There was a corridor on the east side of the complex that she'd stumbled across that smelled faintly of chlorine. Curious, Magnus followed her nose and the smell got noticeably stronger as she passed a place where the corridor branched. At the end of the hall, she discovered a large room with curtained shower and changing stalls. She passed through the room and stopped before the huge sign posted next to a single door. It read, 'Please respect the rules for pool use." Below that it listed numerous items and then, 'Pool hours - 7am to Midnight'.
A check of her watch showed it was nearly ten. Magnus opened the door and took in the cavernous pool room. It was lined with floor to ceiling windows on one side that were sure to make the place bright and inviting during the daylight hours, but shielded swimmers from the glaring heat of the direct Mumbai sun. The pool took up most of the space and was tiled in blue, aquamarine and crimson mosaic. There were a dozen low lounge chairs and nearly as many padded benches scattered around. From the looks, it was a popular, well used place and Helen could understand why.
With a wistful sigh, Helen turned and walked back the way she came. She skipped dinner that night in lieu of a shower, and now her body was reminding her of the need for food. It would take time for her to appease her stomach, return to her room and retrieve her bathing suit and by the time she got back, the pool hours would be passed. It was a terrible shame.
Magnus made her way to the residents' dining hall and was pleased with the selection of foods that were available to her at that hour. The smells alone made her mouth water. She fixed herself a plate with a delicious looking chicken curry, herbed jasmine rice and a cool iced beverage that was milky and sweet and spicy like Thai tea. The combination of flavors was nearly orgasmic.
All through her meal her thoughts kept straying from the food to the pool. The situation frustrated her. By the time her plate was empty, and she was handing it off to a young woman, Helen had come to the decision that she was going to break the rules and go for a quick dip.
The guest room she was assigned wasn't far from the dining hall. She shed her clothes with the careless disregard just as soon as door had closed behind her. Once she had her suit on, she shrugged on a lightweight blouse and slipped on comfortable cotton pants to hide the evidence. Both were black and reminded her of something suitable to wear to a burglary. The thought made her smile. It had been far too long since she'd broken silly curfew rules. The little thrill it gave her made her feel like one of Declan's miscreants, but the memory of the day's heat overrode any guilt. What was the worst that could happen? She'd get a visit from a stern faced security guard. She could handle that.
The corridors that led to the pool were mercifully empty at the midnight hour, so there were no witnesses to report seeing her. Helen stripped off her blouse and pants in one of the changing stalls and grabbed a towel from a stack just inside the magic door to the water paradise. She entered the water quickly and inhaled sharply. The water was a few degrees below body temperature, perfect temperature to give a blissful little shock, but not cold enough to cause shivering. It was just as glorious as she'd imagined it would be, and more. She swam a few laps, and then settled on floating on her back in the center of the pool. The water was so soothing.
Helen alternated between staring at the high ceiling and closing her eyes to block out the overhead lights. The heat seeped from her. She was weightless and nothing demanded her attention. When had she last taken time to just float without a care in the world? Memories escaped her. She forced herself to think of nothing, to go completely blank.
It was easy to lose track of time, and Magnus didn't know how long she floated on the surface of the water, hair floating in a dark cloud around her. Eventually, her fingers grew wrinkled and the water felt cooler than was comfortable. It was then that she slipped from the pool and climbed up the steps. She'd left the fluffy towel on one of the benches, and she retrieved it quickly and dried off.
As she entered the changing room, Magnus smiled to find new, young Head of House Ravi sitting on one of the benches waiting for her. Beside him was a tray with cookies and two steaming mugs of tea that gave off clouds of cinnamon spiced steam.
"Busted." Helen said, quietly. The term was Ashley's for when she or Henry were caught in some sort of mischief as children. Usually, it involved a mess to be cleaned up. It seemed strangely appropriate to this situation and Helen was sure Ashley would laugh when she told the her story in a few days.
Ravi laughed, and it was a really nice laugh, full and deep. "Considering you paid for this place, and pay my modest but respectable salary, I'd say you can enjoy the pool at any hour you please." His smile was bright and lit up his face. "If you have time tomorrow, you should see it at midday when the heat is at its worst. The place becomes a spectacle."
"It's heavenly." Joining Ravi on the bench, Helen took one of the mugs of tea and sipped it. The warmth was a good contrast to cool air drying the water on her skin. She'd need to dress soon or start shivering.
"Don't I know it," he agreed. "I don't think there would be a Mumbai Sanctuary if it weren't for that pool, nobody would want to stay here. I've lived in Mumbai for most of my life and I still can't abide the midsummer heat. It makes us all a little crazy."
Helen tapped her chin thoughtfully, considering. "We could trade you with James for the summer… Heaven knows he could use the break." She laughed at his look of horror. "No, no. Don't worry. You are too good a man to lose. They'd eat you for supper before you finished your first week." The mention of eating reminded her of the curry she'd had. "Speaking of supper, that curry was amazing. Are the meals always like that here? If they are, I may need to visit more."
Ravi grinned at her. "Did you enjoy it? I made it just for you, after the dinner rush cleared out."
"You cooked? For me?" Helen gaped at the handsome young man, awed and flattered. "I'm quite certain personally feeding me isn't a requirement in the Head of House."
"Cooking is a passion of mine, one that is only shared by a small handful in the Sanctuary." Ravi sipped his own tea and cupped the steaming mug between his palms. "That curry is a secret recipe handed down for generations in my family."
Magnus smiled. "I'm impressed."
"That's high praise coming from you." Ravi said sheepishly. "I bet you've had many good curries."
"A few." Magnus agreed. "This one will go down in my culinary history books, for certain."
"Good. On the subject of history books, may I ask you a question?" He fidgeted, nervously. "It's a personal question and I know it must be hard having people poking around in your personal life, your past..."
"Ravi," Helen interrupted, gently. "Ask."
"1912. There is a rumor going around that you were a passenger aboard the Titanic. Is it true?"
The smile slipped from her face. "Yes." Magnus sighed, " I was a passenger aboard the Titanic."
"You made it to a life boat?"
Magnus shook her head, "No."
The color drained from his face. "You went into the water?"
"Yes." Magnus shivered involuntarily at the memory of that water. "Half frozen, I was pulled into a lifeboat by Molly Brown."
"Is that the closest you've ever come to…" Ravi winced.
"Dying?" Magnus gave him a small, reassuring smile. "It's alright to say it, you know. Death comes to everyone eventually, even me. I was very fortunate that night. It was utter chaos on the deck of that ship. Hollywood will never be able to do justice to that story, even if I wrote the script for them. It is one of the few nights that still wakes me in a cold sweat, even after all these years and many other interesting brushes with death. In fact, I was equally fortunate I survived one or two misadventures with James behind enemy lines during the first world war. Some of that is still classified." It was cute the way his eyes grew wider and wider as she talked.
Magnus patted Ravi on the shoulder. "You can ask me any historical questions you like, I'm not as bad as James about ranting on and on. I may not always answer though, I do have to maintain my reputation for being 'mysterious', but you can always ask." She covered a yawn with the back of her hand,. "Oh dear. It think I'm ready for bed." She stood and opened the curtain to the changing stall where her clothes were hanging. "Goodnight, Ravi."
"Sleep well, Dr. Magnus." Ravi gathered the mugs and cookies and turned to go.
He was almost to the door when she called to him, "You can call me Helen, if you like."
"Good night, Helen."
Her voice called from behind the curtain, "Are those the black market cookies from London that everyone claims are better than sex?"
Ravi laughed. "Yes, they are the specialty of one of James' girls. She was here on vacation last week and made up a batch for me before she went back to her fancy culinary school in France. She was trying to trade them for my curry recipe, but I wouldn't give it up to her." His tone was smug.
"Leave me a cookie, would you?"
"I'll leave you two cookies. I wouldn't want to be responsible for making you resort to the black market. "