Full Figured Chic Ch. 20

"Come down here Jay. It's time to meet with you. I want to speak."

Out of the corner of her eye, Sasha saw Jay disappear into his office and then suddenly he and Greg were running down the stairs to meet the four men. Sasha turned and ran out of her room and made her way down the corridor as well. Something very strange was at work here and she wanted to be right next to jay as they worked it all out together.

"Jay Miles!" She heard Sutomi call out in a booming voice. The voice sent pin pricks rippling up and down Sasha's spine. There was something familiar and yet coldly deceiving about that voice. It seemed way too large for the small thin man who owned its power and yet it came from him shooting out as if it were a thin svelte arrow.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she could see Jay and Greg just a metre in front of her facing Sutomi who had the three enormous men behind him. This close they looked even more menacing than they had from above. They wore dark chain mail armour, out of which hard metal spikes jutted menacingly as if they just waited to be given the opportunity to pierce the skin. These men were ready for a war. They looked as though they could take on an army all alone.

Sasha looked around Jay to get a clearer shot of the three of them to see that each carried a large ancient looking sword and a thick metal heavy chain with a round ball at the end of it. Sasha's belly knotted. She knew serious trouble when she saw it.

Suddenly something brushed against her back and she jumped, clamping her own hand to her mouth so as not to draw attention to herself at the back of the pack. Turning she saw that it was just Estella who had obviously woken herself enough to follow the rest of them downstairs.

"I'm here" said Jay in a voice that would have sounded terrifying if Sasha wasn't staring at three walking lumps of coal from the core of the earth. "What do you want with me?"

Sutomi Lim hissed as Jay stood defiantly before him. The noise came out of him in white smoke as if he were a terrifying steam engine. Sutomi Lim made for a frightening creature, but it was the transformers behind him that struck terror into Sasha. Just as she thought she'd almost faint from the fear of what could possibly be happening here, she felt a small cold hand snake into her own. She gripped it tight recognising Estella's attempt to claim her and stay a little safer.

"It's time Jay Miles. I am here to steal your designs. I know you are trying to beat me to the next show, so I am here to take your work and to claim it as my own."

"You must be joking!" Jay moved forward, a thick corded vein in his neck throbbing. His skin was red, and he looked like he was going to explode. "You can't take the designs. They're not finished, and you don't have the talent to complete the job."

Sasha watched Sutomi as he walked forward, and stood face to face with Jay. He then moved slowly to Jay's left, circling him, as if he were looking at him for the first time; as if her were a shark warming his prey for the attack.

Jay Miles, you think you are safe? You are not safe. You can't do anything in this silly little warehouse to keep me at bay."

By this time he had circled enough to be face to face with Jay again. "And besides," he said, "I don't actually care if your line fails or not. I want you to suffer, not to change the world."

Sasha noticed Jay's hand starting to shake. She knew she had to get near him, to give him some of her strength or this confrontation really would drive him mad. She stepped forward and immediately the guards lifted their swords and took a step forward toward her. Sasha paused, knowing the warning they were metering out to her. She took a breath and moved fast to be beside Jay, slipping her hand into his.

The guards moved forward, but Sutomi Lim held his and up in a Hitler style salute, and they stopped in their tracks. Jay turned to Sasha and started at her almost as if he didn't know who she was and Sasha thought her stomach would burst for the ache in it for him. But she felt his hands tighten around hers and she realised he did draw strength from her.

"There's nothing you can do to hurt me Sutomi." Jay uttered through clenched teeth. "Even if I lose the line, I still have my life, and that is more important to me." At that moment he squeezed Sasha's hand again, and she held back, steadfastly watching what Lim might do next.

Sutomi Lim moved back a little, watching Sasha.

"You are cursed Jay." he spat. "It was decided a long time ago. All the men before you in your line are cursed, and all the men after you are cursed. It is what it is, and I can't change it."

"Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?" Jay cried out.

"I'm the ghost from many Christmases past Jay Miles, here to see that you and your children will suffer for the sins of your fathers."

"He has no children! You have to let him live longer, he has no children."

Sasha turned to see Estella move forward taking her place on the other side of Jay. Suddenly it all started to fall into place for Sasha. This was the story that Estella had told her. Sutomi Lim was the deamon, and these guards were from the gates of hell themselves. She turned back and saw immediately that Sutomi was staring at her smiling.

"Ahhh... you have figured it out at last. How slow and stupid you are. But now you know. And Jay's mother isn't alone anymore."

"Answer me" Estella stepped forward with a small pentagram on a short stand, and she pointed it at Sutomi Lim, as if it would burn or hurt him in some way. While it didn't look as though it were going to make any real difference, it did cause Lim to take a step back. He moved a little closer to his own guards, while keeping his eye on Estella.

"Keep that thing away from me old woman. It won't hurt me enough to protect you; it will just irritate me all the more. I will answer your questions. He does have a child. The woman is pregnant."

Sasha stared at Lim, trying to comprehend what he was talking about. She saw movement out of her peripheral vision and turned slightly to see Estella and Jay staring at her. She suddenly felt guilty as if somehow this was all her fault.

"She'll bare a male child, and I will be back to torture him as soon as he provides me with an heir to replace him." Sutomi Lim moved closer to Jay, glancing more than once at Estella's pentagram. "And I will torture your child Jay. Every son of Alexander will suffer for my rage at the insult inflicted on me."

Suddenly, Jay fell to the floor. Estella cried out "No" and collapsed over her son, as Greg moved forward.

"I've called the police you stupid asshole. You can confess your insane ratings to them, while they lock you in jail for sabotage and the attacks you're perpetrating on Jay. Get away from him, and get away from us."

To Sasha's surprise, Lim backed off. "The police won't be able to do anything, you fool. Nothing will postpone this. Don't you see it has been moving through the ages? You'll never put an end to it, just as I will never cease in my suffering for Aoide."

Suddenly a light turned on over Sasha's head. Ideas and realisations flooded through her as Lim continued.

"I have taken so much pleasure in torturing you Jay, because you had too much. Your life was so perfect; you defied my attempts to drive you mad. So I had to intervene. Now that I am, I am so happy it is going this way. I prefer to see you suffer through human eyes and watch this. You will suffer more today before I take your life, but I will be back. I will be back in twelve hours to see you throw yourself off the top of this building, a fall you won't survive.

There is no way you can defeat me, I can control your mind as easily as I can swat a fly away from my face.

So think today Jay. Think about your unborn male child. The boy your female carries and think of what I will do to that child later in life. Mediate on that as you prepare yourself for death."

Suddenly sirens filled the room, as the police Greg had called gathered out the front of the building. Instantly the three evil looking guards disappeared in a puff of dark grey smoke. Sasha watched in wonder as Lim sprinted forward and ran up the stairs to the top balconies.

The police burst through the front doors, and instantly called out to Lim to stop. He smiled and waved, and dashed into the offices upstairs. A police officer bent to check on Jay as the other two ran upstairs after Lim.

Sasha bent to look at Jay also. "Please stand back. I may need to call an ambulance" the officer demanded as Estella, Greg and Sasha all crowded around jay, desperate to see that he was okay.

The police officer checked him over, and listened for his breathing. Jay started to respond to a wave of the officer's hand in front of his face. His shaking had subsided almost as soon as Lim had moved away. Soon his breathing returned to normal, and thee officer moved him over on to his back.

"He's had a shock. It might be best to get him to a hospital, just to be sure, but I think he's okay." he paused and looked around at all of us. "No one leave the room. We're going to need statements from all of you, and we need to know what is going on here."

Soon the two officers came out from the offices upstairs. "He's gone. The devil knows how. He must have jumped from a window, but I can't see how that is even possible. It's almost like he vanished."

The police officers came down stairs and immediately took over the situation. They examined jay and talked to the other officer, immediately calling an ambulance for him.

Sasha's mind was a blur. She looked at Jay and her hand instinctively went to her belly. Could she really be pregnant with his child? She looked up and saw Estella staring at her, a mix of fear and sympathy on her face. She would no doubt believe that Sasha was pregnant. She could see that this nightmare wasn't over for her nor was it over for Sasha.

Greg emerged with a blanket and pillow for Jay.

He lay quiet, but was starting to show signs of response. The police turned to everyone in the room, "we're going to take statements. We want to know exactly what happened here today. Mr Sabatini, we'll start with you, as you called the police. You all may need to come to the station, but we'll see how we go."

Sasha moved to Jay's side and the officers let her though. She sat next to him, and held his hand. He turned to look at her.

"I'm so sorry I got you into this mess."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else Jay. I love you. I want to be with you."

"I've cursed our child."

Sasha looked carefully at Jay, her mind racing. "We don't know what he said was true Jay. It was a very tall story. We can't trust him."

Jay smiled a faded half smile at her but his eyes were warm and filled with longing. "You saw it, just like I did. You know, just like I know. He's coming to get me Sasha, and nothing is going to stop it. Wish and hope won't help me now; I need these last few moments of acceptance to just be with you."

Anger rose up in Sasha. "No Jay we need to fight this."

"I've been fighting it all my life. Through my poor mother, through my own denial, and finally through insisting this line come out early. I can't fight it anymore Sasha. Not in the face of such overwhelming evidence. It's time for me, and I need to accept it."

Sasha looked at him. The ideas and thoughts that were roaming around in her mind screamed out different plans and strategies. She knew she had to help Jay, but she really needed his support.

"I think there is more to this story. I think I can make a difference. Maybe I can get your mother to help?"

"I don't want you using Mothers schemes to help. She had worse plans for you than I had condemned you to." A flood of warmth rushed through him. "You're pregnant Sasha. You're going to have our baby."

Sasha couldn't think about something like that right now. Sutomi Lim couldn't possibly know about that. It had only been a matter of days that she had been sleeping with Jay; to be pregnant was certainly not part of the equation.

Not that it was physically impossible, just highly unlikely.

"Honey. I need to go and do something, and I need to know that you are going to be okay for a couple of hours without me."

Jay looked at her with some concern in his eyes. "Sasha, we have to accept what is happening to me and enjoy our last moments together." He smiled. "I've been looking for you all my life, I don't want to spend any of my last few precious hours without you."

"I know honey. I feel the same way. But I have something in my mind, and it will destroy me if I don't at least try it. There is something that I think I can do to make a difference here. I want to do it. I won't be away from you for long. Get Greg to have you checked out by a doctor. I will be back soon."

She stood and walked over to Greg. The police had finished questioning him and they were now working with Estella. Sasha moved closer to him. "Can you make sure jay is ok?"

"Yeah sure. Where are you going?"

"I have an idea. I think that I can make a difference here. I think there is more to this story than meets the eye."

"That's for sure. Phew, I don't know what to make of all of this."

"Jay thinks he's going to die by throwing himself off the top of a building tonight."

"Well he'll have to take me with him. I'll lay on his body till sunrise if that is what it is going to take."

Sasha smiled. "Excellent. What would I do without you?"

"I feel exactly the same way. So I will take Jay to the hospital and get him checked over. But it will only take a little while. Now that Lim has gone, he looks like he's feeling a lot better. How long do you think you are going to need?"

"Not long. But I need to give my statement. I'll do that next and then I will go and I will possibly be back before you."

Sasha turned and smiled at Jay, then walked over to the officers who were now waiting for her.

She sat where the others had sat before her and gave her version of events. Of course all their stories corroborated, although Estella had used language about daemons rather than calling Sutomi Lim by his actual name. It didn't take long and she was free to leave.

She gave Jay a kiss and promised him shed only be a couple of hours and left.

She knew exactly where she was going and she knew exactly what she needed to do.

It only took twenty minutes and she was standing in front of the small house that was madam Soltar tarot and palm reading shop. This time she had no problem with going in through the front door. Sasha was on a mission and this woman was about to help her.

The shop was open at this time of the day. As soon as she walked in she saw the place was empty. Madam Soltar must be out the back. The bell over the door had given away that she was in the room, so she assumed Madam Soltar would be out very soon.

Sasha marched around the back of the counter, unafraid and on a mission. She didn't have much time and she needed this woman's help.

As soon as she walked in, she saw the older woman by her kitchen stove. She was brewing something that smelt awful over the stove, making Sasha feel sick to her stomach.

The beaded curtain made a heavy chain rattled sound as Sasha stormed through it. It didn't matter. She had no desire to hide her presence this time.

The woman turned around, and saw Sasha. Her face went white immediately.

"You! I told you never to come back here, and now you do it for the third time. You get out of my house."

"You know why I am here."

Madam Soltar's eyes widened. "No. I do not. Only that you have bad energy. Get out of my house. NOW!"

Sasha moved closer to her. She screamed and held up a small pentagram that she had around her neck on a thin chain.

"That won't work on me. I'm not a daemon. You'll have to do a lot better than that to get rid of me. I'm just a simple human woman."

"I want you out of my house. Why don't you leave?"

"Because you and I have unfinished business."

"We don't. We don't. I am nothing to you. Nothing. I told you I can't help your friend."

"You know I am not here about my friend. I am here about the thing you are trying to keep at bay. I am here because of all this pentagram nonsense. I am here to take you back to where you belong."

The woman looked at her, terror in her eyes.

Like a frightened animal she glanced quickly from side to side at each window at the back of her house. Like a cat, she sprang toward the window Sasha had looked through the last time she was here.

But Sasha was ready for her. She was fast also, and she sprang after her, intercepting her before she reached the window, and grabbing her by her shoulders. Thankfully Sasha was taller and bigger than Madam Soltar, and she knew she could hold her down.

"I swear to god, I will put you on the ground, you stupid woman. You are coming with me now. An innocent person is going to die because of you, and I am going to see that it doesn't happen."

Madam Soltar tried to struggle free of Sasha s hands. No. You get away. I told you, you tell him no!"

Sasha held her tight, so that the woman couldn't get away. "I am not going to tell him that, and you are coming with me .... Aoide."

It was almost exactly four hours later that Sasha walked back into the warehouse with Aoide struggling and pulling at her from behind. It had been an enormous battle to get her into the car.

Once there, Aoide had tried to escape several times. She was, thankfully, useless, and uncoordinated, so that Sasha could hold her in place virtually with one hand held against her as she drove, but she had to pull over and tend to the woman, as she wrestled and tried to get herself free. It was a nightmare, and Sasha received several scratches and kicks.

But Aoide knew not to open the door and jump out, or kick the glass in. Sasha supposes there was a piece of her that knew this was her fate and that it had to happen at some time.

When she walked into the room, it was almost as she had left it. Jay sat in a chair, and Greg sat near him. Greg worked on a large sketch pad, but jay stared in front of him with a blank stare on his face. But it brightened when he saw Sasha. Immediately his eyes fell on the woman next to her. Sasha still held her hands behind her back, but her hair was now wild and her dress torn in one place. Both the women looked bedraggled and worse for wear after their escapade.

Estella appeared, holding a pentagram, from behind the dark stair case hidey hole she used the first day Sasha had arrived. Greg started at the site of the two women, his mouth open. The three of them just looked at Aoide, not saying anything.

Sasha stepped forward. "I'm back. And I've brought the answer to the problem with me." The three said nothing. They just looked at Sasha. Aoide jumped on this opportunity.

"Help me, please. I am an innocent fortune teller. My name is Madam Soltar. This woman came to me for a reading many weeks ago and now she has gone crazy, telling me I have to rescue someone. Can you all talk some sense into her?"

Greg stood up immediately. "Sasha. Are you alright? There seems to be some mistake here...."

Sasha cut him off. "There's no mistake Gregor. This is Aoide."

Estella let out a gasp, and ran forward from the shadows. She looked intently at the woman as Sasha held her wrists behind her back still.

Jay stood up slowly. "Sasha, I'm not sure what you think you are doing, but this woman can't be a woman born over two thousand years ago. I think you might be suffering under the stress of this situation."

"Yes, I agree Sasha." Greg chimed in. "I think it has gotten to you. You need to let this poor lady go."

Sasha's eyes settled on Estella for the briefest moment, and she knew suddenly how the poor woman felt, with no one believing her, and her going to so many different kinds of efforts to make things better for her family. Estella was not looking at her; however, her eyes were fixed firmly on Aoide.