Essence Extracted

Chapter 32

© ItalRT4u, 2012

     As I had, weeks ago, there I stood in that wooded clearing, awaiting potential chaos to ensue.  The memories of our interrogation fresh in my mind; the feel of Cane’s pride drenching me to the bone, filling me with overwhelming will to see this through to its very end.

     I had tried everything and the woman refused to break.  She had shared a few choice words with us but never broke under our scrutiny.  Tapping into my abilities, I knew that there was indeed something far greater than we expected at play but it didn’t feel like it warranted our immediate attention.  Refusing to back down, I was adamant to break this woman.  Unbeknownst to her, I had my own ammunition against her.  If physical aggression wasn’t the key to breaking her, I wonder if an emotional angle would.

     Angus walked in, a battered and bruised Elizabeth in his vices, forcefully towing her along behind him as he moved forward.  Upon his failing to break Elizabeth and hearing that Gage and Lana were in the United States, he had immediately jumped on his jet and made his way to us.  Lana’s eyes bulged out of their sockets, proverbially speaking of course, when she saw the witch manhandled by her ex-husband.

     “Angus.”  Her voice sounded low, dry, and fear hung in the air surrounding her.

     “Lana.”  He eyed her, a look of resentment present.  “What have you done?”  And from zero to sixty, her fear was replaced by mute emotion and a wicked cackling as she tilted her head back laughing crazily.  It was now clear to me that this woman feared nothing.

     “You never got it back then and I guess you never will.”  She finally said humour lacing her gaze.  “When will you realize that your son was the one that should have been in ‘his’ place.”  She nodded toward Cane.

     “You’re delusional!”  Angus expressed.  “You know as well as I do; as well as everyone that no one can control the Fates.”  His voice had grown boisterous to the verge of shouting.

     “Gage was supposed to reign.  The witch said so herself!”  She protested.

     “The witch.”  He paused to look at Elizabeth with disdain and pointed at her.  “Her mother chose to play with your desires upon my request after I saw you for who you really are.  Not once did I think that Bell’s offspring would be so deceitful.  Frankly, when Bell told me what she told you, my suspicions of how conniving, how corrupt you really are were confirmed.  You preyed on a weak witch and a multitude of others, including our own son to do your bidding therefore condemning them all and yourself.”

     “He’s my match!”  Elizabeth shouted at him.  “What else could I have done?”  My head snapped in her direction – it explained as to why she had turned against the likes of Angus MacDougall.

     “You could have come to me!”  Angus now shouted his frustration, his anger, his resentment all present and more than palpable by all in the room.

     After another hour or so of argumentative banter that edged toward being entirely out of control, I took over this entire disaster of an inquisition.  Through my commanding abilities, we had discovered that Lana had been the leader to the ploy to Gage ascending to the throne.  I was unsure what she stood to gain out of this but, eventually, with my death, Elizabeth and he would have been able to rule accordingly.  What Lana had neglected to foresee was that every little work minion of hers would fail at their respective miserable tasks – blinded with their personal obsessions with power – they had all played at each other’s ambitions and faltered.  I found myself thinking of famous words by a certain Lord Acton – Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Truer words were never spoken in their case.  More than ever now, I knew that there was no way in hell that I would allow these two less than lovely ladies sitting, bound in front of me, to roam free to walk this earth again.  Not of their own accord.  Question is how the hell am I to do this without having harm come to Sahara?  In this moment, I knew our plan had changed…