My heart raced and I scrambled to my feet, but I didn’t even make it out of bed before a wave of dizziness crashed over me, and I fell back onto the soft mattress.

“Where am I? Where are Sol and the others?” I said, my voice not my own.

Fresh fear flooded my system as I gazed down at my body, and in place of my rounded curves and jeans-clad legs, I saw the once muscular and manly body of Pierre Beauford.

“What the fuck?!” I screamed, trying to scramble out of bed, but being unable to get these unfamiliar – and decaying – limbs to work properly.

“Oh, sit down, you’re going to injure yourself,” Catherine said, gently pushing me back into bed then covering me over with the blanket.

“What have you done to me? Where’s my body?”

“I did what was needed to ensure we can talk properly, without the Ancile interfering,” Catherine said simply, like she was telling me she’d done me a huge favour and not inserted my soul into the body of the man I’d watched her murder. “Do what I ask and you’ll have your own body back in no time.”

“Fine. What do you want?” I growled, still shocked to hear a male voice coming from me.

“Call that handsome friend of yours at the Ancile. I have his number on record from the time he worked for Farley Cosmetics. Tell him not to come looking for you. Tell him, if he delivers your body to the Farley Cosmetics building, one of my team will bring it here to us. But only if the Ancile swear not to attack, and not to come looking for you.”

“And what if he doesn’t agree?” I couldn’t imagine Sol and the rest of the Ancile just handing over my body to Catherine without a fight.

“Without a soul inhabiting your body, it will start to decompose. You’ll be stuck in Pierre’s body forever, and frankly, it’s not looking it’s best.”

“Yeah, because you murdered him!”

“Oh, please. He gave himself to me willingly,” Catherine insisted.

“Only because you enthralled him.”

“Details, details.” Catherine waved a dismissive hand. “Are you going to call the Ancile or not?”

“And after I get my body back, then what? Once you let me go, what’s stopping me going straight back to the Ancile, and telling them exactly where you are?”

Catherine laughed like I’d just told her the funniest joke in the world. “Oh darling, you’re not going anywhere. You will remain here, where I can train you to use your celestial abilities, and you will become my apprentice. If you work hard, Roxie, and do exactly as I say, you and I can become very powerful.”

“I’ll never help you!” I spat venomously.

“Then die,” Catherine replied, unconcerned. “Honestly, I don’t think Pierre’s old body has much life left in it. You and the Ancile took much longer to preform the unbinding ritual than I had anticipated.”

My eyes narrowed. “What do you mean? Did you plan this?”

Again, Catherine laughed. Perhaps it was meant to seem light and carefree, but all the sound did was send a chill down my spine. “Why Roxie, you don’t think I hired you simply for your marketing talents, do you? I know exactly what you are, and I’ve been watching you for a long time.”

“You knew I was descended from celestials?” I yelped.

“Yes, and so does that gruff old man from the Ancile, but I don’t suppose he told you that, did he, Roxie?” Catherine peered down at me with a pitying expression. “The Ancile aren’t what you think they are. They’ve been lying to you since the moment you met them. If fact, given that that handsome hunk of yours has been skulking around Fairly Cosmetics in disguise for months, I have to wonder if charming you was all part of the plan.”

A cold, dead weight settled in the pit of my stomach.

“Bernard knew?” I croaked.

“Oh of course. He’s been hunting for a celestial for almost his entire life. He wants to use you as the Ancile’s tool.”

“And you don’t want to use me?” I scoffed.

“Darling, I don’t use people. I make a mutual exchange with those I work with. Take Pierre for example. Did you know he was actually seventy-three? I kept him young. I propelled him to stardom. I made him very, very rich. And in exchange, he happily gave me his soul when the time came.”

“You’re a monster!”

“If I’m a monster, then what are the Ancile? They harbour vampires who kill indiscriminately, without any mutual exchange. At least I give my accomplices something in return. And don’t even get me started on the rest of them. They’re a group of self-righteous, deceitful fustilarians.” Catherine sighed dramatically. “I went to them for help, you know. When all this first started. They turned me away. They said I was ‘too far gone’ to be saved.”

This was all too much. I closed my eyes and laid my head back against the pillow. Nothing I was hearing made sense. I couldn’t believe that Bernard had known what I was all along and never told me. And I definitely couldn’t accept that Sol’s feelings for me were all part of an act to get me to join the Ancile. And Catherine’s revelation that she’d once asked the Ancile for help, and they’d turned her away? Unbelievable.

Taking my lack of response as an indication I wanted to know more, Catherine went on. “It was all John Dee’s fault. I never should have gotten mixed up with that charlatan in the first place. Never trust a person who calls themselves an arcanist. They’re all trouble. I was happy as one of Elizabeth’s ladies-in-waiting, but John insisted I could be more. He’s the one who turned me into what I am today. Well, jokes on him. He died poor and alone, and I’m still here.”

“I don’t want to hear anymore of your lies,” I said, turning my back on her to make it clear this conversation was over.

Catherine remained silent, but she didn’t leave the room. I could feel her presence close by, and I knew she was watching me intently.

There had to be some way out of this. I imagined after Morgan had completed the ritual, and they’d realized my soul was no longer in my body, Sol and then others were working on a way to rescue me. Of course, they didn’t know where I was, and I wasn’t sure Morgan had the abilities to put souls back in their bodies.

Damn it. I didn’t know enough about the supernatural world to know if Catherine was being honest with me when she said she was the only option I had for saving myself.

I drifted in and out of sleep, and the more time that passed, the more certain I became that Sol and the others were never going to find me. It wasn’t like Catherine’s true identity was well-known, and if she had any sense, her estate would be well-hidden. Hadn’t Sol said as much when I’d first come to the H.Q? That he and Bernard has been searching for Catherine’s soul jar for years? Even Lettie had no clue where it was hidden.

But if it was that important, she’d probably have it close by, wouldn’t she? Maybe even here at her estate. And everything I’d learned about celestials made me sure I could defeat Catherine, if I knew what I was doing with my abilities.

And Catherine had already offered to train me. It was perfect! If I accepted, and pretended I wanted to be her apprentice or whatever, I could learn more about her and maybe even find out where she kept her soul jar. Then when I was strong enough, I could destroy it and defeat her. I wouldn’t even need Sol and the others to rescue me.

All I had to do was get a message to Sol. When I called him about getting my body back, I had to make him understand I had a plan, and that he could trust me.

I could do this.

Slowly, I turned back around to face Catherine. “Fine. I’ll do it. I hate the idea of being your apprentice, but it’s better than dying.”

Catherine smiled smugly. “I knew you’d come around, and I’m sure once we start your training, you’ll see being my apprentice has many advantages.”

She slipped a small, thin mobile phone out of her pocket and handed it to me. “The number Sol Purcell gave in his application is already on there. Call him. Tell him to bring your body to the Farley Cosmetics building and hand it over to Lauren. I will let her know to expect it.”

I was scrolling through the list of contacts on the phone, when Catherine added, “And no funny business. If you try to tell him where you are, or ask for help, I will let your body rot.”

I refrained from rolling my eyes. “Got it.”

Finding Sol’s number, I pressed call, and waited for someone to answer. I prayed he hadn’t just given Catherine a fake number, and that I’d actually get in contact with him. If Sol didn’t answer, then what would I do? 

The phone rang for so long that I was starting to think I’d never speak to Sol again. 

Finally he answered.

“Who is this?” he demanded. “How did you get this number?”

“Sol, it’s Roxie!”

Silence.

Of course. I didn’t sound like myself. “I’m being serious,” I said. “I can prove it. Just before Morgan preformed the ritual, we were in your suite. You told me about your mother dying, and then we kissed.”

“Roxie! How? Where are you? Something with the ritual went wrong, your body is just an empty husk,” Sol said, his voice somewhere between full-on panic and relief.

“Catherine did it. I don’t know how, but she transferred my soul into Pierre Beauford’s body.”

“Where are you? We’ll be there to help you immediately.”

“It’s no use,” I told him, and on the other end of the line Sol let out a string of curses. “Catherine said if you try to find me, she’s going to let my actual body die. Only she can put my soul back in my body, so we have to do what she says.”

“It’s a trick. She’s lying to you. There has to be another way?”

“What way, Sol? I don’t even know where I am. If I don’t do what Catherine wants, she’s just going to let me die. Please, just trust me. Bring my body to the Farley Cosmetics building. Don’t start a fight, or try to find me, or anything like that. If you do what Catherine wants, she’s promised to put my soul back in my body.”

“And you believe her?”

I wasn’t sure if I believed her or not, but I felt certain this was the only way. Sol had to trust that I knew what I was doing. Frustration getting the better of me, I bit back, “I believed Bernard, but it turns out he knew I was descended from celestials all along. Did you know that? Were you in on it too?”

The silence on the other end of the line told me Sol hadn’t been privy to Bernard’s secrets, and that gave me hope his feelings for me were genuine.

“Fuck. What else hasn’t he been telling us?”

“You can ask him all about it once you’ve sent my body to Fairly Cosmetics.”

“And then what?” I heard the pain in Sol’s voice. “Catherine isn’t just going to give you your soul back and let you go. What does she want in return?”

“I’ve agreed to be her apprentice. She’s going to train me how to use my abilities.”

“Roxie! No!” Sol cried. “She’s using you. This is a trap.”

“Sol, please, if I ever meant anything to you, trust that I know what I’m doing. Bring my body to Farley Cosmetics, and then forget all about me. It’s the only way.”

Sol was silent again, and I was sure he was going to refuse, and instead insist that he and the rest of the Ancile could save me. Finally, he heaved out a sigh. “Fine. Have it your way Roxie. I’ll bring your body to Farley Cosmetics. Tell Catherine I’ll be there in an hour.”

“Thank you.” I ended the call and handed the phone back to Catherine. “He said he’ll be at Farley Cosmetics with my body in an hour.”

Catherine smiled, and I was getting sick of seeing that smug, self-satisfied expression on her face. God, what I wouldn’t give to punch her in the mouth!

“Perfect. I’ll phone Lauren and make the appropriate arrangements.”

Catherine didn’t move away to speak to Lauren privately, and I listened intently as she spoke to the woman who should have been my direct supervisor.

“I have Roxie, and that idiot from the Ancile is bringing her body to the cosmetics building,” Catherine told Lauren. “Make sure he’s alone, and thoroughly search the body for any tracking devises, before you bring it to the designated meeting place. He’ll be with you in one hour. If you face any resistance, lock everything down.”

“Got it,” I heard Lauren say on the other end of the line. “I’ll call when I’m on the way to the meeting place.”

Catherine ended the call, slipped the phone back into her trouser pocket, and turned to me. “See Roxie, that wasn’t so hard, was it? Soon we’ll have your body back, and then I can give you a proper tour. This room will be yours, and I’ve already made sure you’ll have everything you need.”

The idea that Catherine had planned all this out, going so far as making sure I had a room and everything I might need should have been deeply disturbing, but part of me couldn’t help but feel flattered. Wanted even. Even my own parents and sister didn’t show me such consideration when I went back to visit my hometown.

I’d always been an outsider, never quite fitting in anywhere. That’s part of the reason I’d moved to Stourley in the first place – to have a fresh start. And of course, be closer to Catherine.

I felt disgusted with myself and turned my back on Catherine again. The sooner I learned to control my abilities, and figure out how to defeat her, the better.

“I remember you; you know. When I ‘returned from Europe.’ You were there at the press conference, and we’d briefly spoken.”

I remembered the day well – it was when my obsession with Catherine began. I was fourteen, and it was during -- what was at the time -- the toughest period in my life. My world had been turned upside down when Hayley, my best friend of ten years, dumped me and started hanging around with a different group.

Mum and Dad were far too occupied with Melissa starting her undergraduate degree to have any time for me. When I told Mum that Hayley and I had fallen out, the best advice she could give was, “Don’t worry, love. Friends fall out all the time. By next week you’ll be thick as thieves again.”

I didn’t believe her.

Losing Hayley crushed me. She’d been my one loyal friend through all the ups and downs of people being nice to me because they wanted to get close to Melissa, then ditching me once they realised how much of a dork I was compared to my cooler older sister. I didn’t eat for days and wasn’t sleeping either. Eventually Mum noticed something was wrong and was so worried she took me to the doctor. I didn’t tell the doctor half of what was going on, and finding nothing physically wrong with me, he suggested it was stress and I should take a few days off to rest.

Being at home made me feel even more isolated. I convinced myself I’d live the rest of my life friendless and working a job I hated because I’d chosen the wrong subjects at school.

I needed an escape, a way to forget about Hayley and how miserable I was at school, so I snuck out one day while Mum and Dad were at work. I caught a train into Stourley, figuring a few hours window shopping would take my mind off everything. Arriving in the city centre, I found it alive with activity. A crowd had gathered in the main shopping area, complete with T.V crew, to film the announcement of Catherine Farley becoming the new CEO of Farley Cosmetics. I knew the brand, of course, everyone in the area did. It was impossible not to when the main offices were situated in Stourley. The company was an international success and brought pride to our region. Catherine had been studying abroad in Italy for a number of years and had returned home to head the company so her mother could retire in peace.

As Catherine took to the stage, her voice caught my attention. It was so regal and commanding, it was impossible not to look up. I’d seen Catherine’s mother, Camilla, in magazines and the family resemblance was startlingly obvious, though she hadn’t made any public appearances for several years. Catherine spoke about how she wanted to bring the company into the twenty-first century, and that it was time to take Farley Cosmetics to the next level.

As I watched this assertive woman speak about bringing her family’s company forward into the future, I felt a growing sense of awe. The business world was largely dominated by men, yet here was a company that had been around since the sixteenth century, and always run by women. Catherine had spent years alone in a strange country, and instead of crumbling under the pressure, she adapted. Not just that, but she looked effortlessly beautiful and put together. Teenage me -- who was painfully short for my age and figureless compared to every other girl in my year -- dreamed about looking like her. I wondered if Catherine had ever had an awkward, friendless phase where she doubted her entire future. As if sensing my anguish, Catherine looked directly at me and emphasised that though she’d been lucky to be born into a wealthy family, anyone’s dreams were achievable if they were willing to put in the hard work, and people shouldn’t give up on something they wanted.

When the media appearance ended and the T.V crews dispersed, the members of the public that remained gathered around the PR desks to enter the giveaways hosted by Farley Cosmetics. Hoping to win some freebies that would make Melissa jealous, I spent what little money I had left on a raffle ticket and waited for the winners to be drawn. No such luck! I didn’t even win a naff keyring. More depressed than ever, and not even having enough money left to buy a bar of chocolate, I kicked the litter out of my way as I slinked off and walked straight into someone.

Startled, I looked up at none other than Catherine Farley. I gulped.

Shit. She was going to catch me skiving school.

Her eyes fell on me and a small smile quirked her lips. “I’m sure you have a perfectly good reason for not being at school, so I shall say nothing more.”

The warmth in her smile and lack of judgement in her eyes did something weird to my head. No one ever looked at me like that, not even my own mother. Suddenly I wanted to tell her all my problems, and before I could stop myself, I blurted out the whole situation with Hayley, as tears streamed down my face.

“Shush Darling, it’s okay,” Catherine cooed, taking my arm and leading me gently away from the crowd. “Come with me. We’ll get a hot chocolate, and you can tell me all about it.”

Sniffling, I wiped my eyes on my sleeve, and followed Catherine into a small café where she ordered drinks and cream cakes for both of us. We settled at a table near the back of the room, where it was quiet.

“Tell me about your friend,” Catherine said, patting my hand.

I spilled out all my problems to her. It was so easy. Catherine listened patiently; with a comforting aura I’d seen my mum use with Melissa.

“You probably wouldn’t believe this if I told you, but I was a loner at your age too.”

I doubted anyone like Catherine would be short of friends, but I humoured her. “How about now? I bet you’ve got loads of friends.”

“Actually, I’ve come to realise that those destined for greatness are often the ones who find themselves alone. Maybe this is an indication that you’ll go onto bigger and better things as you grow.”

Meeting Catherine became a turning point in my life. Trying to forget about Hayley, I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do at school. One goal was at the forefront of my mind – I wanted to be like Catherine. She’d gone through a similar phase at my age, and was now one of the richest, most powerful businesswomen in the world. She didn’t need friends, or people to confide in to be successful. She’d done it all herself through hard work and determination. Why couldn’t I do the same?

Everyone was always so focused on Melissa that I resolved to make them notice me in my own right, not as someone’s daughter, sister or friend, but because of what I’d achieved. I wanted people everywhere to know my name, just like everyone worldwide knew Catherine’s. When people asked ‘Do you know Roxie Whitmore?’ I didn’t want the reply to be, ‘Yeah, she’s Melissa Whitmore’s dweebie younger sister’, but rather ‘Yeah, she’s the CEO of England’s most successful company.’

Filled with this desire to make something of my life – to be recognised – I returned to school with renewed focus. It didn’t matter that I’d lost Hayley, because friends would drag me down on the way to the top. I told my teacher I wanted to change courses to business studies and spent the next two years making sure I got top grades in my exams.

The memory caused a whirling war of emotions inside me. It felt like two different parts of myself were fighting with each other; fourteen-year-old Roxie, who just wanted to be noticed, and hung off every word of this elegant, successful woman. And current Roxie, who hated Catherine for the evil she’d done, and wanted to see her demise.