Danse Macabre   ::   Гамильтон Лорел

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Wanted him to feel cast out, driven from paradise by the hand of a vengeful god, or, I guess in this case, goddess.

Augustine's power meant that I watched his pain as one freshly fallen in love, in that first blinding, overwhelming rush where you'll do or say almost anything to make each other happy. I wanted to make it all better, to kiss it and make it all go away.

«No,» Belle said, «no, they lied to you. You should feel betrayed. Heartbroken.»

«Sorry to disappoint you,» I said, but she knew I didn't mean it.

«So calm, Anita. See through my eyes and your lovely calm will not survive.»

I knew I still knelt, held between Jean-Claude and Augustine, but I was trapped in Belle's memories, so that we sat on a throne in a huge dark, torch-lit room. Augustine was tied to a metal framework, the naked line of his body exposed to all. He had come begging Belle to take him back. She had refused, but offered one more taste of the ardeur . These weren't thoughts; I was in her head so deeply that I shared her memories. She meant to humiliate him. He had made her love him, and that she could not forgive.

Jean-Claude and Asher appeared before the throne. They were dressed in long cloaks that hid all but their faces. Asher's face had the flawless beauty that had once been his. So this memory was from a time before he and Jean-Claude left Belle to save Julianna, the woman they both loved, from Belle's jealousy. Jean-Claude and Asher were still her perfect pair. Her matched beauties that did all we asked.

I knew they were naked under the cloaks. I knew what she meant them to do.

Augustine's voice, next to my ear, startled me, but did not break Belle's memory. It was like a voice from on high. «You are her master, Jean-Claude. Do not let Belle show this to Anita.»

It was as if his voice helped call me back, because the person talking was not the person tied there. The Jean-Claude he spoke to was not the servant who stood before this throne. This had happened long, long ago. It wasn't real anymore.

«It happened, Anita, just as I will show it to you.»

« Ma petite» Jean-Claude said, «can you hear me?»

I blinked up at them, saw their faces looming over me, but Belle's power roared through my head. «No, Anita, you will see the reality of it.» I was back in that torch-lit room. I could feel their hands on me, but all I could see was what Belle showed me.

«Touch her bare skin,» Auggie said.

Asher and Jean-Claude began to glide around the bound man.

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