The Tycoon Beast

PART XI

His hands slipped over her trembling flesh. His teeth nipped at her neck. She arched into his soft, sensual touch and moaned. His warm breath wafted over her skin as his strong, firm body pressed against her side. She gasped as she felt his pulsing need against her hip. Her breasts moved up and down with her quick, short breaths.

His soft voice floated over her ear. "You're mine."

Kendra shuddered. Her body was afire with her lust for him. She couldn't deny it any longer. She hungered for his soft caresses and warm body. She needed him to take her and make her his and his alone. She parted her dry lips to tell him.

A terrible buzzing noise came out of her mouth.

Kendra's eyes flew open. She sat up and whipped her head to and fro. Her bedroom stared back at her. She turned to her right. The alarm clock on the nightstand continued its horrible wake-up call. She slammed her palm on the button and ran her other hand through her disheveled hair.

"Only a dream. . ." she whispered.

A heaviness fell on her heart. It was a weight she grudgingly described as disappointment. Kendra shook her head and flung off her covers.

It was four days after the horrible night of wizards and death. Kendra had the same dream every night, and every morning her alarm woke her at the worst possible moment.

"He's a monster, Kendra," she reminded herself as she hopped out of bed. She snatched her clothes off her dresser and walked toward the door. "And you don't want to be fooling around with monsters."

Kendra showered and walked out into the living room. Her father stood at the stove with a spatula in hand and a smile on his face. "Good morning, sleepy-head," he teased as she took her seat at the table.

She managed a smile for him. "'Morning, Dad. What's for breakfast?"

He flipped a pancake. It slapped back on the pan with a heavy thunk. "Oh, just my usual light-and-fluffy pancakes."

She winced. "Sounds-um, yummy, Dad."

He glanced over his shoulder and winked at her. "And it'll keep you full most of the day." He grabbed a plate and plopped two of the pancakes onto the surface. "Grub's ready!"

A knock came from the door. Kendra jumped to her feet. "I'll get it!"

Kendra hurried from certain death and over to the door. She opened the entrance. Her smile froze on her face. In the hallway stood a uniformed police officer.

He flashed her his badge. "I'm sorry to disturb you so early. Is this the residence of Mr. Roberto Sullivan?"

"That's my name," her father spoke up as he came up behind her. Kendra stepped aside so her father could be at the forefront. "What seems to be the problem?"

The man pulled out an iPad from inside his jacket and scrolled through a few pages. "We have a report of a missing person. A Mr. Felix Blake has been reported as missing by his girlfriend." His eyes flickered up to her father's face. "We were informed that you and he had a falling out just prior to his disappearance. Is this true?"

The color drained from Roberto's face. "I-I suppose you could call it that, but I held no ill-will toward him."

"I was told by your mutual employer that he took your position for a short while," the officer commented.

Roberto nodded. "Yes, that's right, but it was only temporary. I have a much better position now."

The officer pulled out a pen to write on the iPad. "Can you state where you last saw Mr. Blake?"

Her father's face flushed and his eyebrows crashed down. "Sir, I'd like things to be clear. Am I to understand that I'm a suspect in his disappearance?"

"Everyone's a suspect until we find the guilty party, sir," the officer replied.

"That goes against the principle of 'innocent before proven guilty.' You don't have any evidence to say I should be a suspect," Roberto argued.

The officer shook his head. "It can't be helped, sir. Now if you could just tell me where you last saw him."

Mr. Sullivan pursed his lips and sighed. "I saw him about a week ago when I was informed of my-well, of the change in our positions."

"So you didn't see him outside of work?" the officer asked him.

Roberto closed his eyes and shook his head. "No. We were acquaintances, but not friends."

The officer typed a few more notes into his computer and put the stylus and iPad away. "Thank you for the information. I must also warn you not to leave the area. We might have to ask you some more questions."

Roberto nodded. He looked pale. "Yes, of course. I understand."

"Oh-" The officer dug into his pockets and pulled out a photograph. "Mr. Blake's car is also missing, along with his driver's license and other cards he often took with him. This is the car if you could keep a look out for it."

He handed Roberto the photo, and Kendra leaned over his shoulder. Her eyes widened as she beheld the same sporty red car she'd seen at Siell's home. Even the unusual license plate matched.

"We'll be sure to look for it," Roberto promised as he handed back the photograph.

The officer tucked the photo back into his pocket and tipped his hat. "Much obliged. Have a good day."

"Good day," Roberto replied.

He shut the door as Kendra turned away from the entrance. She held her head in one hand and took a couple of steps away from the door. Her head swam with a fast flurry of frantic thoughts. There was new meaning to Siell's promise to take care of her father's problems, a new and horrible meaning.

A hard thunk brought her back to her surroundings, and she turned around. "What was-" Her heart skipped a beat as she saw her father sprawled face-first on the floor.

Kendra rushed to his side and rolled him onto his back. His face was deathly white and his breaths were quick and shallow. She could feel his heart beat beneath her hands as she pressed her palms against his chest.

"Dad! Dad, what's wrong?" she asked him.

Her father tried to mouth some words, but no sound came out. He raised a shaky hand and pointed at the door before his strength failed him and his arm dropped to the floor.

Kendra nodded and struggled to her feet. "All right, just hold on."

She rushed to the door and swung it open. The portal hit the inner wall just as she flew out into the hall. The dark back of the officer retreated down the stairs.

"Officer!" She rushed down the passage and hit the railing over the lower landing. The railing rocked to-and-fro, but held her weight. The officer paused mid-step a half flight down and glanced up at her. "Officer, please help! It's my dad!"

The officer swung around and hurried back up the stairs. She led him back to their apartment where her father still lay on the floor. One of his hands clutched his chest and his face was scrunched.

The officer knelt beside him and tore open Mr. Sullivan's tight collar. He glanced over his shoulder at Kendra who stood close to the door. "Have you called 911 yet?" She shook her head. "Call them right now and ask for an ambulance. I think he's had a heart attack."

Kendra nodded her head and procured her phone. A quick dial and some quicker but clear instructions, and the ambulance was on its way. Meanwhile, the officer had made her father comfortable with a blanket and pillow.

The officer stood and turned to her. "Stay beside him and I'll meet the ambulance."

"W-will he be all right?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "That's up to the doctors to say, but stay with him and make sure he stays awake. Can you do this for me?" Kendra nodded. "All right, I should be back up with the techs in a few minutes."

He hurried from the apartment. Kendra dropped to her knees beside her father and clasped one of his cold hands in both of hers. Tears slipped from her eyes as she watched him struggle for every breath.

A shaky smile slipped onto her lips as she squeezed his hand. "Come on, Dad, you can't leave me now. Who's going to make all those heavy pancakes."

A sob escaped her lips as he returned her squeeze. Off in the distance came the wailing call of the ambulance sirens.

___________

Siell leaned his elbow on the car door and stared out at the passing suburbia. The rows of split-level homes with their faded siding fly past, but the far-away look in his eyes showed he didn't see much of anything of the world outside of the lush interior of his dark sedan.

Alberto glanced through the rear view mirror. "Is everything all right, Master?"

Siell sat up and crossed his legs. He looked down at his lap. A paper bag lay in it, and within that was the wreck of the magic mirror. "That remains to be seen. I'm not sure if Ficus has the skill to repair the mirror."

"If he doesn't then who would?" Alberto asked him.

Siell shook his head. "No one on this continent."

They drove a few more blocks before Alberto parked the car in front of a large split-level home. The windows near the ground level were shuttered by thick planks of wood and there was an attached garage to the right of the house.

Master and servant stepped out of the car and up the steps to the front door. Siell pressed the door bell and a small chime echoed inside the house. His sensitive ears picked up on footsteps, and a moment later the door was flung open.

In the doorway stood the owner of the house. The unusual man would force anyone on the streets to give him a second glance. His bushy white hair stuck out in all directions, and many of the ends were blackened by fire. He wore a white lab coat with red and purple stains over the front, and he looked at the world through a pair of small spectacles. The open-toed sandals on his feet finished off his strange appearance.

Behind him stood a living room crowded with tables full of beakers, small cauldrons, and Bunsen burners. Grayish liquid bubbled inside the containers and the steam floated over mounds of papers and stacks of books. Books were strewn about the floor and abandoned lab coats that were even more grisly in appearance than the one worn by the man.

The stranger's small eyes flickered between Siell and his servant. "Well? What's wanted?"

Siell smiled at him. "I wish for you to repair a mirror for me, Dr. Ficious."

The man's lips curled back in a snarl. "What do I look like? A glass blower?"

"This is rather an unusual mirror," Siell argued as he pulled the mirror out. He turned the glass toward the man. "One that needs a special touch such as yours."

Ficious studied the mirror and his bushy eyebrows shot up. He glanced at Siell. His voice was low and tense. "Where did you get that?"

Siell shook his head. "That isn't important. What's important is that I wish for it to be repaired."

Ficious eyed Siell with a stern gaze. "I won't be fixing something you stole. Now get lost." He stepped back and pushed the door.

Siell slammed his palm against the door and shoved his foot in the doorway to stop the portal from closing. He looked into Ficious's eyes with a steady gaze. "What if I was to tell you it was given to me?"

Ficious arched an eyebrow. "I knew who owned this, and I can't think of any reason why she'd give something this important to a werewolf."

Siell smiled and shrugged. "I did a favor for her, and my reward was the mirror. However-" he stepped backward and half-turned away, "-if you don't to fix it I can go somewhere else and-" Ficious snorted.

"You're going to be looking for a while. Nobody around here but me would know how to fix something that rare," the old man argued.

Siell held out the mirror. "Then I would appreciate your expertise in repairing the mirror. Think of it as a favor to her."

Ficious pursed his lips, but opened the door and stepped aside. "All right, get in here."

Siell bowed, and both he and his manservant stepped inside. Ficious closed the door behind them and snatched the mirror from Siell. He strode to the center of the room and studied the broken glass.

His narrowed eyes flickered to Siell. "How'd it get broken?"

"It was dropped from a low height," Siell explained.

Ficious scoffed. "That isn't the half of it, but I can see you're not going to tell me."

Ficious turned away from them and faced one of the tables with a small cauldron. The little man set the mirror on the table and picked up a small, gnarled stick. He dipped the end into the boiling, brackish contents of the cauldron, and the point came out covered in a tar-like substance. The doctor brushed the muck against the mirror and muttered a few words under his breath.

"Heed my words, oh mixture of mine, repair this glass, make it fine."

The black tar lit up with a blue light. The oozing substance slithered across the unbroken pieces of glass and fit itself into the broken portions. Once ensconced it solidified and created a glistening reflective surface that mimicked perfectly the older glass.

Ficious picked up the mirror and held it slightly above him. He twisted the glass to and fro, and pursed his lips before he turned to Siell. The doctor shook his head. "It's no good. I've repaired the magical glass, but the magic of the mirror itself is gone."

Siell frowned. "Then do you know someone who is able to repair the mirror's magic?"

Ficious glared and wagged the mirror at his client. "I told you if I can't do it nobody can. Besides, the trouble isn't with someone else's magic." He grasped the head of the mirror in one hand and held it with the other. His sharp eyes studied the inlaid gold and he shook his head. "The trouble's with how it was broken. The mirror's magic relied on love, so whoever dropped it wasn't too happy with someone they cared for." His eyes flickered up to Siell. "Know anything about that?"

"Perhaps, but what I wish to know is how it can be repaired," Siell persisted.

Ficious tilted the mirror and gazed into its depths as he pursed his lips. "I'd say if you're not going to fix whoever broke it then you need the tears of an innocent maiden. " He held out the mirror to Siell. "That should re-imbue the glass with its former magic."

Siell took the mirror and smiled. "Thank you for the help. How much will that be?"

Ficious closed his eyes and shook his head. "No charge, not for fixing one of her things, however-" the doctor eyed the werewolf with a careful stare, "-there is one favor I want to ask."

Siell arched an eyebrow. "And that is?"

He nodded at the hand mirror. "I want to meet the person who dropped the mirror."

The werewolf narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Ficious glared back at Siell. "That's my payment. You can take it or-" he raised a hand and snapped his fingers. Part of the mirror cracked, "-I can put the mirror back the way it came."

A low rumble echoed in Siell's throat. "Fix it," he growled.

Ficious looked Siell in the yellow eyes and didn't lower his hand. "Do you agree to the terms?"

Siell pursed his lips, but nodded. "I agree."

Ficious dropped his hand to his side and grinned. "See? That wasn't so bad. I expect to see this special person w

ithin a week. Make sure she comes alone, and have her bring the mirror as proof of who she is. I'll fix the glass then."

"And if I find the maiden's tears before the glass is fixed?" Siell pointed out.

Ficious shrugged. "Then hold onto it. You need some practice with your patience, anyway."

Siell bowed. "Very well. You will have both within the week."

Siell turned and walked out. Alberto followed close behind and opened the rear door for him. Siell paused on the threshold and glanced down at the mirror in his hand. His cracked reflection stared back at him.

Siell shook his thoughts loose and slipped into the back seat. Alberto took his positions and drove them away from the house and suburbia.

Ficious watched their leaving from his window. He dropped the heavy curtain and rubbed his chin in his hand. "Very interesting."