Dark City

38.

Alexandria awoke to a patch of sunlight on her face and Ella's "They Can't Take That Away From Me" cranking out of an old record player. The clarity of the sound resonated in her heart and for a second she wondered if she was dreaming. She was curled up in a papasan chair in a glass house surrounded by rows of bamboo. Leafy ferns hung from chains in the humid warmth and there was a table covered with tall marijuana plants. On the stripes of wall between glass windows, there were shields and swords on display, medieval battle gear of shimmering steel.

Every muscle in her body throbbed with tight agony. She was dressed in a high-collared, vintage dress, possibly Gunne Sax with its long lace sleeves. She sat up disoriented, her legs stiff, her head rocking like a seesaw. She remembered coming to the second party and then nothing.

Tom was nowhere to be seen. She imagined he wound up with a different girl or left that morning so he wouldn't have to face her. She didn't care. Her heart was numb.

A man approached her, holding a fencing saber and examining the edges with his thumb. He wore a white peasant blouse, a black vest, leather britches and black boots. She squinted to make out his face. At first, it was hard for her to see him with all the sunlight against his back.

"Liam?"

"Rise and shine, Daisy," Liam said. "You're in the greenhouse. I brought you here to keep you safe."

"Safe?"

"You wandered into the harem room. You're lucky I saw you. You were definitely messed up and I'm sure you're not ready for what goes on in there."

"Whose dress am I wearing?"

"Courtesy of Hypatia. The one you had on was ruined, so we threw it away."

Memories from the party came in flashes like parts of a dream that didn't make sense. She tried to retrace her steps. She remembered coming to the house. Someone handed her a cup of juice. She threw up on herself. Hypatia took her into a bathroom and stayed with her while she purged into the toilet. Then she vaguely remembered someone throwing her on a bed.

Now her heart weighed heavy in her chest. Tom had just left her there. She wanted so desperately to have woken up in the warmth of his arms. Alex suddenly recalled the arms of Hypatia wrapped around her at one point. It made her physically ill to remember that thick cloud of the witch's perfume that burned the back of her throat. The memories had been dulled when she first awoke, but now it was coming into focus, Hypatia naked and pressing down on Alex, bare skin touching, tingling sensations between her legs.

"What's wrong?" Liam asked.

Alex leaned forward, dizzy with dehydration. "There are parts of last night that are missing and then memories that don't make sense. I can't even remember what order things happened in."

"They call this house the river Styx. Everybody wakes up with amnesia. Drink some tea. You'll feel better." Liam set the saber on the glass teacart. Noticing the cart, she saw an oriental teapot with steam lifting off the spout. Caffeine would be nice. She had a pounding headache and the sun glaring in through the ceiling wasn't helping.

"Do you remember last night?" she said as he poured her what smelled like earl gray.

"After I found you, Hypatia and I looked after you the rest of the night. You really don't remember anything?"

"Nothing," she said. The tea rejuvenated her and soothed her throat. "What happened to Tom?"

Liam's smile hardened like jade. "Did you know he was the son of a detective?"

Alex's heartbeat quickened. "No. Wait? Are you serious?"

"He could have destroyed everything we've built here." Liam's intensity frightened her. Had he gotten rid of Tom? Deep down, Alex knew Tom would have never abandoned her at a party like that.