The Apprentice's Apprentice

Part 43

There was a cold feeling against Cora's skin, moving under the layers of her shields. She lashed out at instinctively, trying to heat it up, destroy it. But it resisted and continued to snake around her in rapidly hardening coils. Cora half turned towards Philippe as the spell finished its work and froze her movements.

He paced towards her, shaking his head again. "You've made this way harder than it has to be. I understand that you're confused, but to side with them..." He sighed. "It's really disappointing."

Cora stared at him, the spell keeping her from even speaking, only having enough room to breathe. Her heart pounded in her ears as her gorge rose but she couldn't do more than widen her eyes in horror as Philippe stopped in front of her. He extended one hand and gently ran it down the side of her face, making her whole body go even colder.

"I'm really sorry about the spell, but I didn't think you'd calm down without it. We're just lucky that I placed the backdoor in my original protection spell or I don't think even I could have gotten past your shields." He smiled slightly. "You'll be quite the accomplished mage with some more training. And once we get settled, I'll be happy to teach you of course."

She wanted to scream. She even tried, but the only thing that emerged was a kind of whimpering hiss. "Shhhh, chérie," he said, cupping her face and stroking one cheek with his thumb. "It's going to be alright, I promise. You just need time to adjust to all of this. You'll remember in time, how happy we were, how good it feels when we're together. You were so much younger that I guess it was just harder for you when we were apart."

He seemed to sense Cora's panic, or maybe it was just her eyes going even wider that tipped him off. He sighed again. "You'll learn in time. I do want you to be happy. But regardless, we belong together and I'll do everything in my power to make sure we are. You may hate me for a while, but you'll understand eventually. I know it."

Tears slid down Cora's face. She wanted to run, wanted to hide, wanted this to just be a nightmare. But she knew it wasn't and she was trapped. And Warren... She prayed he was still alive. Selena would find him eventually if he was.

"Oh, chérie," Philippe said, using both hands to hold her face now. "Please don't cry. I hate it when you cry. Here, why don't I tell you what the plan is? I've got some ideas I'm sure will make you feel better about this."

He smiled at her. "I was thinking we should settle somewhere big. It'll be harder for people to find us and haven't you always wanted to live in a big city? Somewhere where there's always something to do? I'd thought Toronto before, but that may be a little too close to here for now. We could try Montreal, Vancouver, or maybe Calgary. There are tons of jobs out west, and I'm sure it'd be easy for me to find a good one.

We'll probably have to settle for an apartment at first, but we can save up and eventually get a house. Something with a nice yard. Wouldn't it be great if there was a big tree, like the one here?" he said, gesturing towards the one just in Cora's line of sight. "You remember how much fun we had climbing it as kids. I'm sure it'd be fun even now."

With every word, with every second more of speaking, Cora could feel the waves of hopelessness crash ever higher against her. She knew Selena would look for her, but for how long? What if Philippe succeeded in hiding them away, what if no one ever found them? What if she was trapped?

The tears fell faster. Philippe made more shushing noises for a moment as he stroked her face with both thumbs now. After a few moments, he continued. "You'll be able to decorate the house however you like, since I'm sure your taste is better than mine. I'm sure you'll be able to finish off the rest of high school by correspondence, given how smart you are. Then, depending on how things are going, we can see about local schools. I'm sure one of the colleges or universities where we end up will have a program you'll like. You could be a teacher or a graphic designer, or if you wanted, you could even stay home. Whatever you want."

When Cora's tears didn't stop, he frowned. "Is this about children? Because if you want children, I'd be happy to have some. I'm sure any kid of ours would be adorable."

Cora's body shivered as her muscles contracted. Her body was trying to dry heave, the thought of children by Philippe, of sleeping with him broke into her mind. She would rather kill herself. And that might be the only option of escape if no one found her. She didn't think he'd believe her a second time if she tried to play along, but maybe if she did it long enough she might have a chance...

Already she missed her parents, her brother, Zoe, Moira, everyone she knew and cared about. And Warren... Her tears fell faster. He was hurt because of her, maybe even dead. She shouldn't have called him. She should have just run when she'd had the chance, maybe she could have escaped that way.

She was distracted by something looming into her field of vision. She focused on it to see Philippe's face coming towards her. She fought at the spell holding her still, frantically trying to escape. But it held firm, trapping her in its icy bonds, sealing her movements. She could do nothing but cry harder as Philippe's lips pressed against hers.