Louis was still on the phone with Life when he saw the young chauffeur stand outside the limo. He wondered if the boy had heard anything, but quickly dismissed the idea, seeing the calm look on the boy's face. Louis then took a quick look at the girl still lying there next to her. Honestly, he didn't like what he was doing one bit. Yes, he was cruel and did a lot of dirty work for Life in order to remain an immortal, but he'd never kidnapped a minor girl before. If Marcie was not so obsessed with her figure and promiscuity, he'd have had a kid this young girl's age. Thinking about this, a slight fatherly instinct took over and he called out to the boy outside.
"Hey, driver, I need you to get me some water from the store there."
"Sure, sir"
Armel almost jumped with excitement when he heard that. This would only mean he could go over to Ben's store and get as much help as possible from there. But will it be okay to cross the road and leave the girl alone with that grown man in the car? Well, Armel had to take the risk. From what he had seen of Louis, the man didn't seem any creepier than his wife who was still locked in the washroom.
Accepting some cash from the Billionaire, Armel dashed towards his best friend's store. As soon as he entered through the door, Ben jumped on him and started signing in such fear and hurry that Armel couldn't interpret a single thing he was saying! Frustrated, Armel calmed Ben down, forcing him to sit on a chair, and began to explain whatever had unfolded since he had picked up his brother's bosses at the airport.
"Wait, that's Louis and Marcella Beaufort?" Ben's eyes popped out of his sockets in shock.
"Yes," Armel sighed, "I'm shitting my pants right now, but it is only the right thing to do! We need to help that poor girl!"
"Are you kidding me? Calling the police is the last thing we should do if we want to help that girl!" Ben's co-worker who had earlier talked to the police on the phone exclaimed.
"Armel, the Beauforts own all of Paris! They have the police force on their payroll! They'd never get arrested. In fact, they'd be assisted to fulfill their crimes if they'd wave a few hundred Euros at the cops." Ben signed quickly.
Having realized what a big mistake they'd made calling the police, the trio started pacing around the store trying to think of an alternate plan. A plan that didn't include the police in it.
"We need to think of something quick!" Armel was panicking, "The girl's alone in the car with that cruel man!"
"You're sure the lady is locked in the washroom and won't be coming out anytime soon?" The co-worker asked.
"Yes, not unless anybody opens the door from the outside for her. Plus, I made sure no one was around to help her."
"Okay, then go back towards the limo and somehow get that old bastard to leave the car. While they're distracted, Ben and I will swoop in and take the girl away."
***
Shiuli woke up in the morning expecting to have a full house. She had told herself that Death would be back in the morning and with all the creatures that were on their side in the house with them, they'd be all good. Safe and away from those who wanted to tear Shiuli and Death apart. But when she walked out of her bedroom and went around the house looking for others, she found herself alone…again.
"Where are they?"
Shiuli started panicking. Something was not right! They'd never leave her alone, knowing that she was the one they were protecting, relocating here on an unknown island off the coast of Australia!
Shiuli quickly put on her shoes and walked towards the front door, hoping that they'd be right outside, while she was panicking for no reason at all. Having reached the front door, Shiuli took a deep breath in, let it out, and twisted the doorknob to let herself out. As she stepped out into the porch, she saw someone standing in the distance. Feeling relieved but also scared not knowing who it was, Shiuli ran towards the silhouette in the forest. As she approached nearer to the figure, she could make out it was Faith! Having relaxed by this realization, Shiuli slowed down and called out to the trusted creature.
"Faith!" Shiuli called out at the top of her voice, "Hey!"
Faith turned around quickly. Having heard Shiuli calling out to her from in front of the house, Faith didn't know what to do. Should she make up a story so that Shiuli is kept out of all this, or should she just come clean and let her know what they think Death was up to.
Faith's ebony skin gleamed with perspiration. Even though the creatures were divine beings, they still looked and felt very human. Her frown of worry almost aged her by a few years, even though that wasn't possible, considering she was an immortal. Faith strode towards the young human girl who stood there panting, having run towards Faith. She felt guilty to have left Shiuli alone in the house when the other creatures had specifically mentioned to her that she had to stay with Shiuli and protect her.
After the three creatures had stopped Death from irrationally marching into Life's place of residence, they had all come back to the island. But Death refused to step back into the beach house unless he'd made sure he knew where Amisha was. Hence, Death, Time, and Love were by the beach, talking and discussing what had happened, while Faith was asked to return to the house where Shiuli was asleep. Having felt worried for her kin, Faith had stood in between the beach and the hill where the house was located, feeling a little relaxed, knowing she had one eye on each of the places her people were at.
"Faith, what is going on?" Shiuli spoke as Faith reached her.
"Nothing," the creature smiled, "the others are out to get some groceries for the house."
"You mean Time and Love?" Shiuli frowned with confusion, "Both of them went to fetch groceries?"
"Umm yes," lying wasn't Faith's strong suit.
"Okay… and where is Death? Is he back yet?"
"No."
Shiuli couldn't believe her. The way she was fidgeting with her fingers and struggling to talk in a confident tone, Shiuli was convinced Faith was lying. Why would both Time and Love go to fetch groceries? And why was her "No" so curt when asked about Death's return? But Shiuli knew better than to grill a creature who would surely not disclose the truth to her unless she wanted to do so. Hence, Shiuli decided to do what she had done when Death said he was leaving for some time. She decided to trust Faith.
"Shiuli… let's get back to the house. It is really hot and humid out here."
"Sure," Shiuli forced a smile, "let's go and grab something to eat."
"I'll make you a hearty meal. I am super bored from roaming mindlessly around this island. I find cooking really fun and relaxing."
"Can I help you?"
"Sure, you can help me chop the vegetables!"
Even though looking excited, Faith was anxious. She wasn't good at lying and hence, diverting Shiuli's and her own attention to cooking would help her avoid the topic of what the others were truly up to. Shiuli looked like she was choosing to believe Faith's story and didn't really buy it. Knowing that cooking and chatting together would only help them bond, Faith ushered the human girl into the beach house with her.
Once at the kitchen, Faith cleared her mind of all the other thoughts and focused on the present. She was here with Shiuli and she would cook a really yummy meal for the girl who had left behind everything, just to be with the love of her life, Death. Death was Faith's closest friend and a younger brother she loved and cared for dearly. Hence, being his girlfriend, Shiuli was very important to Faith as well. The girl was brave and smart. She was beautiful, yet carried so much pain in her eyes. Faith respected the girl for all that she'd been through.
"When did you know, you had started to fall for him?" Faith asked.
"There is no solid answer to that," Shiuli sported a faint, yet genuine smile, "at first, I hated him. I blamed him for what had happened to my parents and he was very cold towards me as well. And watching his approach towards collecting souls, I just couldn't believe I had gotten myself entangled with Death himself."
"He tends to push people away a lot."
"Of course, he does. He clearly didn't want anything to do with me. Life had forced him into taking me as his apprentice and hence, he was tied to me by duty. And honestly, I felt the same way."
"Then what changed?" Faith was truly curious, "When did you start warming up to each other?"
"I don't know about him, but for me, it all started after he started to open up to me. He was making efforts to understand my emotions and made sure that I was eased into my role as his assistant. For me, I always felt a kind of spark each time our hands or eyes even met. It was as if we were meant to find each other, you know?"
"I know. And that's why it was so evident to us that this was the will of the universe. Shiuli, trust me we all had our doubts, but looking at the happiness you brought to the sad existence of our little brother, we knew…this was meant to happen."
Shiuli loved talking to Faith like this so candidly. It reminded her of the countless conversations she'd had with Amisha growing up. It reminded her of her mom and Amisha's mom too. There was something very motherly about both Love and Faith that always made her feel like she was at home… even though they were away and hiding.
"Okay, so back to the cooking, young lady." Faith changed the subject when she felt Shiuli drift away from the conversation, looking melancholy.
"Yes," Shiuli brought her mind back to the present, "What are we making, chef?"
"I'm not boasting, but being an immortal, I've had enough time to learn almost every cuisine on the planet. So let me know what kind of food you are craving and I'll make it work with all the grocery we already have at home."
"Well, since I'm away from home, I miss Indian food so much."
"Indian food it is then! Would you like some rice, fish curry and papad?" Faith asked accessing the fridge for all the ingredients she could use.
"Absolutely!"
***
"You don't understand, Shiuli will never forgive me if something happens to Amisha!" Death screamed, knowing that the two other creatures in front of him were trying to stop him from going to Life's place.
After having stopped him at the hotel entrance, Faith, Time and Love had brought him back to the island they were all staying at. Time believed that Death was being irrational and was only thinking with his heart, rather than his mind. Even though Death wanted to push him away and go back to Paris, he knew that the other creatures were right. He wasn't being rational.
"You can't just waltz into his room, Death," Love was angry, "Why didn't you seek any of our help?"
"Help?" Death let out a sarcastic laugh, "How would I ask for help, Love? When you went missing and the other two were out looking for you?"
"Don't blame me. I was helping you all this while!"
"Doing what?"
"ENOUGH!"
Time screamed at the top of his voice. This is the last thing they should be doing right now – fighting amongst each other like little children! This was not the time to bicker with each other, they had to come up with a plan where they can rescue Amisha and also not disclose their location at the same time. Walking into Life's lair right now was not the wisest thing to do.
"Death," Time spoke with determination, "Things are getting out of hand and we must work with a plan here. Making impulsive decisions out of fear will only put us more in danger."
"What do you reckon we do?" Death sighed, letting go of his anger.
"I knew Amisha wasn't safe when we left her there, it was only a matter of a few months before Life would start tracking all the mortals Shiuli had left behind. I was hoping he'd not stoop down so low, but we had to be prepared."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I'd placed a tracking spell on Amisha before we left, so that I could trace wherever she was."
"How is that going to help?" Love was confused, "We know he will take her to his home at the hotel! That's the safest place!"
"I know… but I've been tracking Amisha for an hour now. She's stationed at a gas station and hasn't moved a bit."