Several minutes later, I found William amidst a flock of gorgeous women. As I approached, he looked up from his giggling with the three ladies. "Daniel," he smiled, extending his hand, which I grasped firmly in my own. "Good. Good. Glad to see you here." Then turning to his female companions, "Ladies, if you'll excuse me." Still twittering amongst themselves, the girls turned and headed downstairs to the dancing and drugs. "You want to talk now?"
"Yes, I would," I answered.
"All right, let's head to my office, shall we?" Moving together, he babbled aimlessly to himself, and I could see that he was either totally drunk or very close to it. Perfect. "Vodka. Wonderful drink. Nothing quite clears the mind like it-eh, Daniel?"
"Indeed."
Entering his office, I closed the door behind us as William, dressed like an eighteenth century pirate, sat down in his black leather chair behind a dark wood desk. Around the top of the room, animals' heads were displayed in glorious fashion. William saw me observing them, and he smiled proudly. "Every single one of those I killed. My precious is that Siberian Tiger...absolute man-eater...and I was the one who brought him down." Silently, I gave a mental chuckle, knowing that William would never realize just how much of a kitten his tiger was compared to the beast sitting across from him.
"You've met Diane?" William rattled. "I saw you talking to her on the balcony. Great in the sack. Little airy in the brain, but she never fails to satisfy."
Yes, he was definitely drunk.
"Personally," I responded, "I find it very difficult to become sexually aroused over a skeleton pretending to be fully human."
William, who was in mid-sip when I spoke, choked on his drink. "Excuse me?" he sputtered.
I just grinned wryly and waved my hand to dismiss his question. "It was nothing."
"Ah, well, then," he nodded, accepting my trivial answer. "You want to talk about the Pietà? Depending on what you're willing to offer, we could come to a bargain. I usually wouldn't want to part with such a gift," he continued, shuffling through marked papers, "but, you seem to have the money that would change my tone."
"I don't want the Pietà."
"No? Daniel, you don't seem to realize what you're giving up. I can cut the cost for you. Friends do things like that for each other. And if it's not the Pietà you're after, maybe I can interest you in one of the paintings..."
Reaching across the desk, I put my hand over his and met his eyes through my mask. "I don't want anything you can offer, William," I whispered forcefully.
"I don't understand..." Suave, debonair William was gone in a flurry of vodka and fake swords. This man before me was walking into the lions' den without a god even in Hell to save him.
"Do you want Her?" I asked.
"Who? Diane?"
"No, you jackass," I snapped, and, whipping backwards, I snatched a porcelain figurine of the Blue Lady from behind me and shoved it into his face. "Her."
"Mary?"
"The Blue Lady."
"But, I already have so many paintings and sculptures and..."
"Do you want to touch Her?"
"Daniel, I don't understand..." There were beads of sweat forming above his lip, and his thick golden hair clung to his temples like maggots to their carcass. I would not let him leave me as I had let so many slip away before me. I didn't care what it took; the risks didn't matter.
He would be mine.
He would be Hers.
"How much do you love Her?" I asked, moving around to crouch beside of him, where we both stared at the simplistic icon I held in my left hand. Eyes gazing downward sweetly, while Her fair hands gently touched the burning heart inside of Her, She was the very being I adored. "Do you even love Her?"
"Y-yes, I do. I always have. She reminds me of my mother...before she died and left me all that she had."
"Do you love your mother?"
"She's dead, Daniel."
"Do you love your mother?" I repeated, knowing that under my manipulation and his alcohol, I would have him soon enough.
"Yes, I suppose so, but I don't understand-"
"Now, tell me William, who means more to you? Your mother? Or Her?"
"But, is She truly real? My mother was..."
"You doubt?"
"No, but I have seen my mother. I touched her clothing and smelled her perfume...Mary-"
"The Blue Lady."
"-I have not."
"If you could, would you serve Her? Would you love Her like you loved your mother? Tell me William, would you?"
His bloodshot eyes danced to mine, and he licked his dry lips. Any more of his precious drink and he'd be falling out of his chair.
"I suppose so, yet that's not possible, Daniel-"
"What if it were?"
"What?"
"What if I could bring Her to you? All She needs is faith,
William, and She will be real." Then, in a flurry of emotion and
frustration, I grabbed him by the collar. "Answer me! Would you serve Her?!"
It took only a brief moment of hesitation before he nodded stiffly. "Yes, yes, I would serve Her if I knew that She could be real."
I smiled and rose to my feet, pleased with my work. "Who is your master now, William?"
"She is."
"And She is?"
"Mary..."
Lifting my mask, I bent down and put my face close enough to his for our noses to be touching had I moved only a millimeter closer. His rank breath spewed over my face, and I smelled perspiration and fear on his flesh. "The Blue Lady is your goddess now, William. And, I am your master."
In shock, his eyes began to widen upon realizing that he had sold his soul to a madman, but with a swift blow to the backside of his head, he tumbled out of his chair, unconscious. As he fell to the ground, I straightened myself and lifted the figurine to eye level. "His blood will be for You. I swear it, my Lady, You will be strong once again. And so shall I."
