Dark Faïz ( Book 1 ) [ COMPLETED]

Chapters 6-3

After driving along the coast for a long time, the car rushed onto a wooded path. The deeper we went into the woods, the more darkness filled the space. The trees with thick foliage blocked out daylight. It was then that we arrived in a clearing with an impressive expanse of greenery.

— "We're here!"

Faïz had regained his seriousness, caught up in reality. He parked under a big oak tree. Through my window, I tried to see the mansion, but to no avail. Yet we were in the right place. A strange feeling crept into me. This disturbing uneasiness accentuated an unexplainable premonition.

— "Zoe, look at me! Everything's gonna be fine. I am here," he tried to comfort me.

His face expressed a thousand concerns about me. In an uncontrolled gesture, the palm of his hand gently stroked my cheek, which liquefied me on the spot. Realizing what he had just done, Faïz immediately regretted his action.

— "I'm afraid to discover that in the end we're all doomed. I mean, look at me! I...I am just a blind woman on an unknown path, a fraud," I declared, distraught.

Faïz, taken aback by my words, looked up, looking for an answer.

— "You're just human. Remember that evil, it can also come out of good."

His voice was intended to be reassuring and persuasive, but his tortured look betrayed fear that I could not explain.

— "The mansion is there," he added.

Faïz pointed, but the house remained impossible to see.

— "Where? I can't see anything!"

— "The little hill. Do you see it?"

— "Yes... But it doesn't look like a mansion at all."

— "From here we can see part of the top floor."

Amazed, I got out of the McLaren, eager to discover this strange place. Faïz followed me. We crossed the clearing and then, after a few meters, a strange house gradually appeared. It was with amazement that I saw a mansion standing in front of me that had just come out of the ground. I was speechless when I realized that the rest of the foundation was built underground. How were we supposed to get in?

— "And now what?" I asked Faïz, who smiled at me.

— "The door is right there."

He squatted down and grabbed the heavy metal handle of a trapdoor under our feet. Without effort, he managed to open it as if it weighed nothing. Although I knew the immensity of his strength, I couldn't help but be surprised again. It would still take me some time to get used to it. Rachelle must have been crazy about it. I shook my head to get those evil thoughts out of my mind. There was no way I could imagine them together. Suddenly, I wondered if she was aware of the Mattew's secrets.

— "What's the matter with you?" Faïz asked me, anxious.

Already engaged in the dark staircase, although the place was lit by a dim light, he stopped, waiting for me. Hesitantly, I prepared to ask him, taking care to choose each word.

— "Rachelle... Does she know about all this?"

Faïz looked around furiously.

— "Not here, Zoe. What's the matter with you? Is it that important?"

His sour voice did not destabilize me.

— "Yes!" I assured myself at the top of the stairs.

Faïz gave me a black look. He rushed up the few steps that separated us to get closer to me. He took a deep breath and finally answering me.

— "No, Rachelle doesn't know anything!" he said, taking care to articulate each word.

— "Are you angry with me?"

— "Of course I am," he roared. "Why the fuck do you always bring it all back to her? Why are you thinking about her now? Tell me, what's the connection with what we're doing here?"

I didn't understand his sudden anger at such a simple question. Wounded, I decided to retaliate.

— "Why is she not aware of anything?"

— "Why the hell not? " He defended himself by raising his arms to heaven."

— "Why do you make her think you're in a serious and solid relationship when in fact she doesn't even know you? Why do you make her hope for a future with you?"

Faïz paled, faced with the reality of my words. Pushed into his last entrenchments, his eyes ordered me to be silent.

— "My relationship with Rachelle is none of your business, and I would ask you in the future to keep your thoughts to yourself!"

— "You really need a shrink!"

I was surprised by my cold words to this man who seemed to lose all control when faced with the truth. Faïz turned on his heels and continued his path without saying anything. I looked up to heaven, annoyed by his changing moods, and decided to follow him down the stairs, which seemed to lead into the bowels of the Earth. After a few meters of a steep descent, we arrived in front of a large dark-colored entrance door, on top of which was engraved, "The Seventh Earth" in gold leaf. Faïz meticulously turned the thick round handle in one direction, then in the other. The door opened immediately, revealing a refined interior. The ceiling moldings, with a magnificent fresco of clouds and clear skies, revealed fine rays of light. It was as if Heaven was painted there. I looked up to analyze the details of this magnificent landscape that seemed to almost move above us. Gold leaf lined both sides of the immense walls of the entrance, and the chandeliers that descended from the ceiling shone with a thousand lights. This manor house with its excessive decoration gave the impression that it was immense, once you were inside.

— "It's this way."

Faïz pointed to the door on the other side of the entrance. I followed him to this room, lit by artificial light. The immaculate white walls were covered with mirrors. The huge library at the back of the room revealed a definite taste for literature. In front of it was an armchair and sofa area, all in a contemporary style. The raw concrete floor gave an original and sober appearance to the place. As I looked up, I discovered again the blue sky, radiant, which was still following us.