“What’s that?”
“I want you to take me upstairs and undress me. Then I want you to take a bath with me.”
Mitchell laughed. “The day’s finally caught up to you, huh?”
“Well, I was shot and then I killed eight men while coming face-to-face with Pandora. So, yeah, I think I’m due for a crash.”
He tilted her chin up and gave her a kiss. “You aren’t alone in this, you know. Your mission is our mission. Every one of us. Even Mortimer.”
“You think I’m too hard on him?”
“Hell, no. You needed to put him in his place and make sure he knows who’s running the show. But I think it’s time to start putting him to work.”
“I’m letting him burn a bunch of dead bodies,” she pointed out.
“True. We don’t want to give him too much all at once.”
They laughed and Charity felt more relaxed already. There was a naturalness to Mitchell that really appealed to her, like he was made of bedrock, something to cling to in the bizarre maelstrom that her life had become.
“Let’s go,” he said and she allowed herself to be led out of the room and up the stairs.
Momentarily forgotten, the remains of The Silver Skull lay in the corner of the study. The mystic glow from the eyes had not quite died out yet, though it was fading. The prison gates had been thrown wide… and Pandora had risen.
Chapter VI: Wrath of the Goddess
Doctor Craig hurriedly threw items into suitcases, blearily trying to wake himself up. He’d been sleeping soundly when Hiroshi had come pounding on the door to his room, delivering the disturbing news that they were to leave Bingwen’s shop as soon as possible. Craig had glanced at the clock, noticing that it was well past midnight.
“Can you at least tell me what’s happened?” he asked, throwing the bags down next to the back door. “Did Dan and Locke get captured?”
The handsome young Japanese man was slipping on a dark coat which partially obscured the fact that he was wearing a sword at his hip. “They never returned. I always give them strict orders to phone in at least once every two hours. It’s been nearly four since I last heard from them.”
Craig swallowed hard. He didn’t need to be told what that could mean. Gravedigger might be dead but her followers weren’t and if they found Hiroshi’s lair, a return to prison would be the least of Craig’s concerns. Gravedigger was infamous for dispatching her enemies in the most permanent of ways and it only made sense that her aides would do the same.
“Where are we going?” he finally asked.
“I have a number of safe houses. I need to figure out what went wrong and then make our move to regain The Silver Skull. No matter what happens, we have to find a way to free Pandora.”
Nodding, Craig lifted as many of the bags as he could carry. He followed Hiroshi out the back and began loading the cases into the backseat of the car that was parked there. He thought about the gyrocopter that had been used to rescue him from the prison but he wasn’t sure if Hiroshi could pilot it. Besides, it probably couldn’t carry the two of them plus the luggage.
“You drive,” Hiroshi said, tossing the keys to Craig. The Japanese stared into the dark gloom of the Sovereign streets, his senses on full alert. He disliked it when his plans went awry but no matter how much he might try to exert his will upon the world, he could never prepare for all eventualities. Chance, too, always played a part, which could never be accounted for.
With thoughts of Pandora dancing through his mind, Hiroshi slid into the passenger seat.
“STOP.”
“USUALLY YOU like it when I…”
“They’re leaving.”
Cedric pulled away from Li, the surprise momentarily overwhelming the desire he was feeling. The young businessman stared through the windshield as Craig pulled their car out onto the quiet streets and began to pull away. He hurriedly started the engine of their own vehicle and began what he hoped would be a stealthy pursuit. Unfortunately, there were no other automobiles on the roads, forcing him to drift farther back than he would have liked to avoid drawing attention.
Li leaned forward excitedly. Cedric’s pride was slightly wounded by the look on her face. Though she’d been responding appropriately to his advances, it was obvious that she was now far more aroused by the potential danger of the situation than she’d been by his attempts at lovemaking. “Once we find out where they’re going to be staying, we can call Charity,” she said.
“Sure.”
Li glanced at him, her expression betraying her annoyance. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t act like a girl.”
“Fine. It’s us.”
Li sighed, turning her attention back to the car ahead of them. It was leaving the Chinatown area, speeding towards the waterfront. “I said don’t act like a girl, remember?”
“One of us needs to.”
“And that means…?”
“That I’d like for us to be more than what we are. I love you, Li.”
“Why did you have to say that?” she asked, shaking her head.
“See? Most women would be thrilled to have a man express those kinds of feelings! And I don’t mean to sound arrogant but I’m a good catch! Lots of girls would count themselves lucky to have me chasing after them.”
Li bit her tongue, preventing herself from telling him that maybe he should be off with them, instead. After a moment to compose herself, she responded, “Most men would be thrilled to have the opportunity to play with a girl like me, who isn’t looking for any strings.”
“I love you.”
“You said that.” Li placed the palms of her hands atop her legs and stared straight ahead. “You do know that I’m not like the girls you’ve dated before? I… have done things to get by. No, let me rephrase that. Some of them were done just because I needed to get by. Others were done because I’m young and I want to have fun.”
“I don’t care how many other men you’ve been with.”
“You should. If we were to get married, would you take me with you to fancy parties? Introduce me to your friends in the business world?”
“Of course!”
“And how long before one of them recognizes me? Maybe one of them even paid me to have relations with them. Word would get around and you’d be embarrassed at best, ruined at worst. Men like you do not marry girls like me.”
“I don’t care about any of that!”
“Then you’re a fool!” Li finally turned to face him and he saw, for the first ever, true passion for him in her eyes. It was startling to behold. “I care about you, Cedric. I really do. You’re the first man who’s ever made me feel this way. But you’re a white man who comes from money. I’m an Asian whore. We can sugarcoat it however we like but that’s the truth. And if us sleeping together is causing you to forget all of that then maybe we shouldn’t do it any longer.”
Cedric’s cheeks burned and he found that his spirit was deflated.
They rode on, together but very much alone, for the rest of the trip. Even after they’d found out where Hiroshi was staying — a cheap hotel known as The Imperial that catered to foreigners — they said nothing to one another.
PANDORA WALKED THROUGH the streets of Sovereign, both amazed and disgusted by everything that she saw. Motorized chariots… huge, blinking signs and billboards… and the way people were dressed! If her senses hadn’t been attuned to the presence of sin, she might have been taken in by this strange modern world, dazzled by all the technological improvements.
But the stench of moral decay was so thick in this city that her lungs felt clogged by it.