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Chapter
8: A Destiny Revealed
Gabriel
Bowman sat at his laptop, his eyes staring at the screen with his intentions
clear. He was going to win this auction for Daniel Jones’ guitar, the one he
played on the last tour date of Savage Garden’s “Affirmation” world tour.
He only had a couple of minutes left, and already the auction was up to nearly
$10,000, with him having the higher bid.
The
only other bidder was a rich psycho fan of Savage Garden with the screen name
“Savage_Freak_2002.” He couldn’t help but laugh at the “creativeness”
of the name. After all, it fit the bidder perfectly. Nobody in his or her right
mind would spend that much on a guitar even if it were played during the last
concert before the band broke up.
Gabriel
had to evaluate his own motives for wanting this guitar. After all, he did have
the highest bid, which made him just as crazy as Savage_Freak_2002. For him, it
was the thrill of acquiring something new for his lucrative company,
Talismaniac.com, which specialized in the acquisition and sale of rare
artifacts.
‘Hey,
if it sells for this much on Ebay, then it’s probably gonna make me ten times
the amount if I sold it privately,’ he thought. The bid went up another grand,
leaving only about a minute left before the auction was over. To his left,
Gabriel could hear the door open and someone walk in. “I’ll be right
there!” he yelled, his eyes glued to the screen as the seconds counted down.
“Gabriel,
I never pegged you to be a Savage Garden fan,” Sara said as she walked up
behind him, almost startling him out of his chair.
“Hold
on, Chief. I’ve got a few seconds left,” Gabriel replied as he typed in his
final bid, $15,000.
“Fifteen
grand for some guitar!” Sara exclaimed. “Gabe, you must be crazy.”
“I’m
not crazy. This is a great investment. Look how much people are willing to
spend. Tack on one more zero, and you’ve just made yourself a pretty penny.”
He pressed the send button just in time. The auction ended with his $15,000 bid.
“I am now the proud owner of the guitar Daniel Jones played at the very last
concert of the ‘Affirmation’ world tour.”
“How
ya gonna pay for that? Visa or MasterCard?” she asked.
“Visa,
it’s everywhere you want to be,” he recited the well-known slogan. “So,
what brings you here tonight? Lonely? Bored? Need information? Need a date?”
“Actually,
I need some information,” Sara said just as her cell phone began to ring.
“Hold on.” She turned and looked down at her called ID. “What Vic?” she
asked.
“Got
the results back from that metal. It’s bronze, from nearly two thousand years
ago. It came from a region just outside of Rome. Pez, we got one weird psycho on
our hands. I hope you find him before he strikes again,” Vicky said as she
hung up.
“Let
me guess, another one of those strange cases?” Gabriel said before Sara could
tell him.
“Yep.
There have been two decapitations in the last three nights. And just now I found
out that the metal I found at one of the crime scenes is nearly two thousand
years old.”
“What
kind of metal?”
“Bronze.”
“And
where were the heads severed?”
“Between
the first and second vertebra.”
“Then
you’re probably dealing with someone skilled in Roman gladiatorial warfare.”
“How
do you know that?” Sara was nearly dumbfounded that her friend knew so many
from so few clues.
“Well,
I’ve been digging around the Internet looking for more information about the
Witchblade and found an interesting little article about a woman named Achillia.
She was a female gladiator, a gladiatrix. She, too, had worn the Witchblade. But
that’s where all the similarities with the other wielders end. She had
mastered the Witchblade and was able to wield it like no other woman had done
before her and would do after.
“With
the amount of power she had, Achillia was the woman every man was after,
including the future emperor of Rome, Domitian. He even had arrangements with
her father, a senator, to marry her. Now, this really pissed Achillia off. Her
heart already belonged to a young gladiator named Sebastian.
“Sebastian
had won his freedom in the gladiatorial games and was now making a living
fighting. He was rich, he was famous, he was well liked by almost everyone, but
he wasn’t of noble blood, which made it impossible for him to marry Achillia.
Their love flourished, though. Through secret meeting and arrangements, they
kept seeing each other.
“To
symbolize her love for Sebastian, Achillia did what no woman had ever done, she
allowed him to wear the Witchblade. And contrary to popular belief, the
Witchblade actually accepted Sebastian as its only male wielder.
“Here’s
where things get a little twisted. Achillia’s friend and the sworn protector
of the Witchblade, Amadeus, found out that there was another woman who was
seeking Sebastian. Her name was Amazon, and she was another female gladiator.
She was ready and willing to fight Achillia over him. She challenged Achillia to
a battle in the gladiatorial ring not knowing that she had the Witchblade.
Achillia accepted Amazon’s challenge.
“During
the battle, Achillia got the upper hand and managed to kill Amazon by severing
her head from her neck between the first and second vertebra, but not before
Amazon vowed to return and avenge her death.
“As
fate would have it, Achillia was challenged again, but under different
circumstances. This time, Domitian had hired someone to kill Achillia because he
had found out about her love for Sebastian. In the heat of battle, the
Witchblade had slipped off Achillia’s wrist. Sebastian had seen it fall to the
ground and desperately tried to reach Achillia to warn her, but his warning came
too late. Her opponent had gained the upper hand and sliced through her neck
with her sword as Sebastian watched in horror. Sebastian swore that he would
never love anyone other than Achillia then killed himself,” Gabriel explained.
“Oh,
my God. It’s Romeo and Juliet,” Sara whispered, putting two and two
together. “What kinds of swords did they use during these games?”
“Bronze,”
he simply replied.
Sara
pulled out her cell phone and dialed Jake’s number immediately. “McCarty,
get a background check on all the women that are working for Darren Hayes. I
want to know everything down to their shoe size. Got it?” she ordered.
“Yeah,
Pez. Just one question, why?” he replied.
“Because
I’ve got a hunch. Now do it!” Sara said before she hung up. “Thanks,
Gabe,” she added as she hurried out of his place.
“Why
are you in such a hurry?” he yelled before she was out the door.
“I’m
going out with someone tonight,” she called.
“Pez,
you got a date?” Gabriel replied.
“Yeah,
why does everyone find that so strange? Can’t a girl just go out with someone
and not be harassed? Besides, if my other hunch is correct, then I think I’ve
found Mr. Right.”
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