Cracking the Tower of Sin
Chapter 4
The six adults sat around the candlelit teak table after hours of fun in the sun. Everyone had retired to their assigned rooms to shower and change clothes and soon returned to the table, dining al fresco. Alexi and Paolo had outdone themselves on perfect steak, a few fish for those who might prefer something other than beef, the perfect cabernet sauce, mashed potatoes and asparagus. Dinner was friendly and low key. Surprisingly Alexi and Paolo joined the others for dinner. That pleased Parker to no end. She had developed quite the crush on Paolo, his muscles, and his tattoos. Eliot and Beauty whispered quietly back and forth between sips of wine. Eliot had on navy blue pressed shorts and a white fine loosely woven shirt, reminiscent of Egyptian wear. The shirt he wore barely buttoned and completely open at the top displaying his muscles and tan. His hair was loosely curled and hung long. The white shirt against his tan was truly beautiful. Beauty thought she could eat him up. She had on black low riders with a gaudy Ed Hardy belt buckle with the word truth in flaming letters. Her top was a black stretchy knit that sat high under her neck but hung low on her back. The whole top gathered high on her waist leaving her mid waist and back completely exposed. She also wore large looped gold earrings and two dragon shaped slave bracelets high on her arms. They were intricately embossed in emeralds, rubies, sapphires and diamonds. Each bracelet was probably worth $100K. Otherwise, she wore dark eye makeup and lipstick and was bare otherwise. Eliot could not keep his hands or eyes off of her. He knew this was greater than lust or infatuation. This was love, and he was neck deep in it.
After dinner and before getting down to business, she wanted to visit the chapel and invited anyone who was interested to join her. Nate, Sophie, Eliot, Hardison chose to join them. Parker stayed with Paolo and Alexi helping to clean up. She handed out flashlights and led the small group to a grove of trees a ways away from the mansion. An antique iron gate and fence surrounded the ancient chapel. She opened the gate and brought them up the beautiful path surrounded by arbors with flowers from around the world growing on them. The air was scented beautifully. Nate and Eliot looked at her curiously.
"That scent… you smell like that scent all the time. Is that magic too?" Eliot loved the smell of her, even in the pool he could smell nothing but the floral smell of her.
She just smiled at them all enigmatically and continued along the path until she reached the door. It was locked but not to her and she lightly pushed it open and the 17th century door opened to the group. Everyone followed her into the chapel and then divided up to look at the things they were interested in…original gold plated icons, the hand carved Spanish wood altar, the holy water font, the confessional. Nate was probably the one to appreciate it the most. He found the In Memorium candles and privately lit one for his son. He, along with Beauty stood at the base of the altar, and stared up at the gold and antique wood crucifix that hung at the top of the high altar. Beauty thought it was the most beautiful crucifix she had ever seen. She saw Nate tentatively brush a tear from his eyes. She squeezed his hand and turned to lead the group of visitors away from the chapel. She waved her hand and uttered a few words and the chapel was protected.
Once they returned from the chapel, Beauty suggested they move inside. Again surprising everyone, she asked Alexi and Paolo to join them. Soon there were eight people sitting around an oddly shaped mahogany table. She finally answered the practically solid questions hanging in the air. "I know you are curious about Alexi and Paolo joining us. Alexi has been with my family for generations. Paolo is his son and will serve my children and their children and their children. We don't know how it works, so don't ask. They are tied to my family for Eternity. As for the oddly shaped mahogany table, it is an ancient symbol of Veritas, believed to link soul mates together. The pattern is very magical and every curve and mark means something."
Nate took a deep breath, "This just keeps getting stranger and stranger."
"And it will get stranger yet, Nate." She waved her hand and the doors surrounding them closed, sealing the doors and keeping any sound devices out. She then gently raised a 3-D translucent model of the marble tower.
"Wow! We need you on our team."
Beauty laughed, "I already have a day job, and someday soon maybe I'll have a night job too." She laughed again when Eliot ran his finger lightly down her back.
"So let's get down to business. This is an identical model of the marble tower. Hardison already helped me get you an appointment with the head guy for tomorrow. It will be Sophie, Nate, and Eliot as your bodyguard. He is expecting flash and sex. I will give you enough cash to impress him. Sex you'll have to work out on your own. He takes his high end clients to the top of the tower via a clear elevator, can't miss any of the sex after all. He will tell you all about what your money gets you, and then will take you down to the floor level. You will have to act enthusiastic, even touching what you see. Sophie, you will have to throw up after we are out. Until then, you MUST play along or they will try to kill you." Sophie was noticeably pale and looked nauseous before the project even started. "I can protect you a lot, but I cannot protect against bullets. Worst case, I will dissolve him if I have to. Security is typically light."
"Down below at the base, Parker and I will get the kids out. I can open the door, she can release the handcuffs and I'll carry them to the door where Alexi and Paolo will be waiting, there will be two private ambulances to take them to a private hospital we have established onsite. Eliot, Sophie, and Nate, you will have to keep the overlord on the opposite side of the torture pillar until we finish moving the six victims, then you come out the door, don't wait. As soon as you are out, I'll begin the disintegration of the tower and everyone inside it." She showed them visibly what it would look like. Her magic would strike in the inside killing everyone inside, and then cause the tower to collapse. "When it is done, there will be nothing left but dust."
Alexi spoke up for the first time, "Beauty, you cannot do this. It will kill you. It is too much to do without your sister or brother. Your magic is the most powerful this family has seen in generations. But this is so much. You may finish, but your soul will be gone."
Eliot became immediately concern. "What do we do to give her the energy, the soul, to survive this?"
"She is beauty, her sister is chaos, and her brother is eternity. Love ties them all together. She must have love. And probably a defibrillator. This could very well kill her."
"I will not die. I will be surrounded by love and caring."
Eliot looked at her with complete love shining in his eyes, "You don't love a woman because she's beautiful, she is beautiful because you love her. (Anonymous) And if the time comes, I will bring you back. 'Soul meets soul on lover's lips.' (Percy Shelly). I will be there Beauty, and I will not let you die."
She nodded and leaned over and kissed him gently and then returned to the task at hand.
"Sophie, I am worried you won't be able to do this. What do you think?"
"Can we switch places? I'll help Parker and you go with Nate and Eliot."
"Sophie, if we switch places you will be closer to the bad nasty then if you stay with Nate. Plus you and Nate have a great deal of chemistry which would help sell it."
"I just don't think I can do it. I'm sorry."
Beauty looked at Nate with raised eyebrows. Nate responded with a surprise suggestion. "You are right, we don't have the same chemistry but we can. You and Eliot are over the top on the chemistry, we just bleed some of that over. We are a threesome. Eliot remains our bodyguard, but he helps me meet your voracious appetite. That is why we are interested in the tower. You'll have to work it, and wear something provocative. Eliot?"
"Can you do that and run protection and everything else? That is a lot of distraction."
"I'll need you and Nate to be the watchers and then let me know if I've missed something. Otherwise, I can do it. I just have to feel very very sexy." She leaned over to Eliot and whispered in his ear, "Do you think you can do anything about that?"
Eliot laughed and started lightly drawing circles in her back. Yeah, she would be able to play this role. Especially with Eliot at her side.
"Everyone, even Alexi and Paolo wear earpieces. You keep me with status constantly, as soon as the prisoners are out, Nate Eliot, and I get out. I will begin destroying starting with anyone who tries to stop us. Leave the lower door open. Don't forget."
Everyone looked at each other, nodded and agreed it was time for bed. Alexi gave Beauty an elixir before bed to strengthen her powers. She would have another in the morning and another one before they left. Everyone went to their respective rooms, although no one realized Nate and Sophie's rooms were connected. Whether they chose to do anything about it was up to them.
Beauty pulled Eliot outside by the pool, his arms wrapped around her looking at the full moon. She turned in his arms and kissed him powerfully and deeply. "'Soul meets soul on lover's lips.' That is very romantic for a fighter, hell for anyone."
"With you I want to be romantic. I love you, and love rules Beauty. If you need saving tomorrow, I will save you, even if I have to travel to hell and back to do it."
"Tomorrow, I have to feel extraordinarily sexy. I don't think an impromptu three-way with Nate is on the table, but I think you might be. I know we said we would wait, and after this maybe we still will, but I need some overcharging and I think you might be up for it. What do you think?"
"I think there is no way you go to bed alone tonight. Let's go before it gets too late. I want to eat you up all night long."
Beauty gave him a sideways smile and started leading him to her room, "Perfect."