by P. Mattern
He noticed that Lux was still looking at him, bemusement playing at the corners of his mouth.
“Point taken.” He said gruffly. “I’ll follow up on that.”
Lux’s expression became serious. He said aloud what they were both thinking.
“When?” He asked, ”How much time do we have?”
The buckle in Cass’s forehead deepened.
“Weeks - or days, even.” He answered resignation in his voice. ”Celeste doesn’t see ‘months’ any more. We have to be prepared.”
That evening was a quiet and somewhat somber one. Mitzi was still mourning Buttercup, although she was cheerful around the twins and any occasional guests. She wore her sadness like a mantle, though she no longer wept and maintained her dignity as she efficiently ran her household.
Charley was spending nights at the Cottage again. He and Fress had rekindled their relationship, and it was felt by all the vamps that an extra vampire to stay watchful at Fress’s little compound was not a bad idea. The four male energies, Charley, Cary, Avinash and Blue took shifts during the nighttime patrolling the grounds and looking out for anything unusual. Jaxon had begged to be included but was only allowed to patrol with one of the more seasoned male energies present.
Mitzi tumbled into her huge southern monstrosity of a bed, curling up against Cass. They made love as his hands found their way to her exotic places and teased her into a thrice-bitten frenzy of passion. When she was spent Mitzi, lying in the shelter of Cass’s arms, traced along the side of his face with one finger.
“Thank you.” she said, meaning it sincerely. ”I feel better now… and when we make love I have no worries or concerns at all. I’m sorry that I’ve been so mopey lately.”
Cass bent his head to kiss her on her up tilted nose.
“You are so welcome my love, my sweet. Sex is a great tonic. And I have noticed that you are a trifle moody lately… and that’s okay with me. You are entitled to be. Particularly given what I believe is a hormonal surge you’ve been going through.”
Mitzi struggled to sit up in bed and look at her husband, her eyes widening.
“Oh Cass,” she said, ”Maybe I’m going through menopause!”
Cass returned her wide eyed look with his own thoroughly astonished one and they began to laugh uproariously, laughing so hard he was gasping for breath.
“Mitzi!” He finally was able to gasp out, ”Vampires don’t go through menopause! I mean that doesn’t exist! I mean… I think you might be pregunto as they say in Spain!”
“Pregnant?” Mitzi repeated. Although she didn’t speak Spanish she had picked up on the meaning of the word.
Cass reached down gently and spread his broad fingers over her abdomen, caressing it lightly.
“Cradle of love”, he said,” Seat of creation. The Bull’s Eye that I strive to hit each time I’m with you. I think I hit the target my darling. I believe that you are with child.”
Mitzi’s first reaction was the question” Not twins?”
Cass chuckled again.
“Nope. Not this time. I consulted with Celeste and she assures me that it’s a single conception. So this time will be easier, Mitzi. And Charley will have another sibling!”
Mitzi began to smile.
“Did she say boy or girl Cass?”
Cass shook his head.
“I guess you can ask but I told her I didn’t want to know… I thought it might be fun if it was a surprise.”
Mitzi smiled even more widely, her smile lighting up her eyes” Of COURSE! That’s what I really want too! This time I want it to be a surprise!”
Before Cass knew what was happening she was on top of him, kissing him ferociously, demanding a physical celebration of her fertility.
Cass was a happy male energy. He was delighted by Mitzi’s voracious Tribite sexual appetites.
In the darkened room the twins shared, Absolam slit his eyes as he pretended to be asleep. He observed Cory quietly exiting his own four poster bed which was situated across the room from Absolam’s own. Ab saw Cory slip his pajamas off, and saw that he was wearing black skinny jeans and a black tee shirt underneath his night time wear.
Next Ab saw Cory slip his feet into a pair of short black boots. Ab had noticed that Cory had changed his wardrobe lately, favoring warfare gear over trendy summer attire. Ab hadn’t given it much thought, although he had considered that, being a twin, Cory probably wanted to dress differently than Ab did to assert his individuality.
As soon as he saw Cory slip out the doorway of the twin’s room, with the stealth of a shadow, Ab immediately sprang into his own clothing, doing it as quietly as possible. He peered around the doorway into the hall just in time to see Cory coming out of Mitzi’s room carrying a gowned body that lay limp in his arms. Moving at vamp speed Cory closed the distance to the outside door and Ab could hear a ‘click’ when it closes behind him.
His heart pounding and filled with curiosity, Ab followed Cory at vampire speed. When he had exited the door to the Farmhouse he observed Cory, still carrying Mitzi, crossing the short distance over the back meadow toward the forest.
Not wanting to be seen, he waited until Cory had entered the woods before catching up to him. His mind was reeling… he had noticed quite some time ago that Cory was sneaking out at night, and Ab had figured that Cory might be meeting a female vampire on the sly.
But the fact that Cory was taking their mother with him made no sense whatsoever.
Once in the forest, Ab had to hover a little to keep from making noise. The path was clearly marked and eventually he sighted Cory standing in front of a tall tree, their mother still across his arms, facing the trunk of the tree. Even in the soft darkness of the forest Ab could see that the trunk had been marked in some way. It seemed as though a door had been carved into it.
He was standing at least ten feet behind Cory when, without turning around, Cory began to speak.
“Well well well little brother, what a little sneak you’ve become. And not a very good one either - you track like an elephant! I could hear you following me before I left the Farmhouse, you little turd.”
Slowly Cory turned around to face his brother. His smile was chilling.
“SO? How is this going to end? I suppose you have some tiresome questions to ask me. I can’t promise I’m in the mood to answer them however.”
Absolam found his voice.
“Where are you taking mother?” He demanded, relieved that he sounded forceful. ”I knew you were sneaking out but why would you take our MOTHER with you, asswipe?”
“Because my father, my REAL father, told me too. And I do what he says. And he’s teaching me Magick, and I can throw lightning now and fry you on the spot like a bug if you try to interfere you little shitfaced son of a commoner. Get it? Even YOU are not too dumb to get the picture, right? There’s a power differential here and you are on the somewhat lacking end.”
Ab’s heart sunk to his feet, but he strode toward Cory until he was standing right in front of him.
“Go wherever you want, I don’t care. But you are NOT taking our mother with you!”
Cory’s eyes seemed to light up.
“Okay slow learner, watch THIS!” He cried throwing his hand backward and then forward. Ab saw a small globe of what appeared to be flame surrounded by crackling forks of electricity hit one of the tree branches beside his head. It instantly burst into flame.
Ab stood his ground.
“Kid stuff!” he said. “I bet I can deflect them as fast as you throw them at me anyway. Like I said, I don’t care where you go, asshole brother of mine. But you’re not taking our mother, PERIOD.”
At that moment Ab noticed that the indentation in the tree behind Corey began to glow. Cory turned also to see what had captured Ab’s attention. As he watched the glow became a whirling vortex, and Cory turned back to him again looking startled.
“HERE, CATCH!” He shouted, throwing Mitzi’s inert body into his brother’s arms. “I have to get goi
ng before this thing closes! And by the way I’m not coming back! My REAL father needs me now!”
As Absolam watched, Corey turned and threw himself into the vortex, which made a whirring sound before closing, leaving Ab staring at the disfigured trunk of the elm.
Ab turned and was halfway across the meadow, his mother stirring fitfully in his arms from time to time but not responding despite his repeated pleas for her to awaken, when he saw the figure of a male energy in the dimness up ahead.
“Father!” He cried, relieved, thinking it odd that he had called Cass ’Father’ rather than ‘Dad’ as he usually did. Cass was instantly at his side, and took Mitzi from him, giving him a fierce look and holding the sleeping Mitzi against his broad chest.
“What the HELL are you doing Ab?” He snapped fiercely, his face like a thundercloud. ”And where is your brother?”
Absolam’s lip trembled at the harsh tone in his father’s voice, but he answered Cass evenly.
“Saving mother,” he said honestly.
“And Cory…” he added, his own disbelief showing in his expressive eyes, “Cory has run away!”
It was two a.m. but all the lights inside the underground farmhouse were blazing and everyone was awake and gathering in the Great Room. The night outside the farmhouse was disturbed by the sound of cars racing up the long driveway, car doors slamming and groups of vampires talking with their heads together as they walked over the rise of the hill and then floated down on the other side to enter the main door of the underground manse.
Mitzi, still groggy but awake and holding a steaming cup of Earl Grey tea in her hands, was sitting wrapped in an eiderdown quilt between Merilee and Fress. Other vamps were milling around in agitation - Orry, Byron, Lux, Pierre, Ian, Blue, Avi, Cary and Daniel were among these. Dr. Caligare, his vampiress wife Lolita, and their niece Alexiandra were also present, sitting on one of the oversized sofas in the room. Demarcus was sitting in a large wing chair with Makenna on his lap. Nora, Ruthie Lily and Kimbra were sitting together. Even Jaxon was present.
Cass returned to the room, his arm around Ab’s shoulders, and everyone fell silent. He had been questioning Absolam privately concerning what the young man had seen in the woods, and now gestured to a open spot on the end of one of the couches so that Ab could be seated but still close by.
“Mitzi was nearly abducted tonight.” Cass began, his voice clear and quiet but carrying well inside the large room. “The would be abductor was my son Cory. We are all shocked, as you can imagine. Absolam followed Cory into the woods. Cory had somehow taken Mitzi from our bed after using Magick to sedate her.
Cory left through a tree portal… these artificially created nature portals can only be brought into existence by Fourth Bitten Magick. There is only a handful of vampires still in existence with these abilities, and only ONE with any connection to Cory…
…Adrastos!” he finished in a heavy tone, a world - weary look on his face. He threw a worried look over at Mitzi, who had collapsed, weeping quietly on Fress’s shoulder, her face hidden. Hers was a mother’s anguish - Mitzi had loved both the twins equally and unreservedly, and now ostensibly had lost one of them to the Dark.
For Adrastos was the Dark, and would always be so.
Cass nodded to Ab, and whispered in his ear as the young man stood up and faced the roomful of vampires who comprised his extended family. Absolam cleared his throat.
“I’d seen Cory sneaking out at night, but I thought he was meeting a girl and I didn’t want to be a snitch. It was kind of ‘brother stuff’. We promised never to rat on each other if one of us did something wrong. And he didn’t do it very often, maybe once every three or four weeks.
Tonight I wanted to follow him because I was really curious about WHO he was meeting… we sort of both have a crush on the same girl, and I wanted to see if it was her he was seeing, because I was sort of pissed about it. Anyway I saw him go into mother’s room and carry her off like that and I was wierded out because it didn’t make any sense to me that he would do that.
Unless… unless he was taking her to Adrastos.” Ab finished, looking to Cass. Cass nodded and winked at the nervous boy, as a signal to continue his narrative.
“Well there is some sort of Magick portal in the forest, in the trunk of a giant elm that he activates to go to Faquier Hall. It must only stay open for a brief time, because I saw it opening just as we were arguing about his taking our mother with him - I said he couldn’t! And he gave up and threw her to me and plunged into the tree portal just before it closed.”
Merilee, her curly blonde hair gathered back from her forehead in a high ponytail that cascaded wild curls around her sweet face and over her shoulders, raised her hand.
“Yes Merilee?” Cass intoned.
“Absolam you said your brother has been ‘sneaking out’ at night regularly. Was this the first time you followed him?”
Ab tucked the ends of his longish hair nervously behind his ears, in a gesture his father made often. Even given the seriousness of the circumstances Cass couldn’t help but smile, and at that same moment his eyes met Mitzi’s eyes. Mitzi’s eyes were swollen from crying, but even from across the room the couple communicated silently.
The unspoken words that flew between them included “I love you more than my immortal life”, ”I love our son that we had together”, “I’m grateful for your love”, and “we can face anything as long as we have each other.”
Ab answered Merilee’s question earnestly.
“I saw him leave the room - I never thought of following him until last night. He wouldn’t tell me what he’d been doing, but I thought he must be meeting a girl vamp…”
Suddenly Jaxon stood up from his seat across from Fressenda, Mitzi and Merilee.
“I have an announcement to make.” He said, throwing a desperate look over at Fress for support. “I ran into Cory when I left the Cottage without permission late one night last month and he was in the bar district downtown and I saw him kill a human girl and drink her blood. I saw him with my own eyes!“
The room erupted into pandemonium. Lux and Pierre were instantly at Jaxon’s side, Blue and Cary joining them.
“Are you SURE it was Cory?” Cary wanted to know. ”Without a shadow of a doubt?”
Jaxon nodded soberly. Fress had joined the group around the lad and slipped her arm around him for support as Jaxon continued his narration of the horrors he’d seen.
“I had an entire conversation with him. I was really freaked out at what he’d done. He tried to make me drink some of her blood. When I told him that I was telling on him he told me he’d say that I was the one that did it, and no one would believe I didn’t …because I’m an orphan!”
Turning to Fress he added.
“But I KNEW YOU would believe me, Fressenda… because you can always tell when people, or vampires, aren’t telling the truth, right?”
Fress hugged Jaxon, who seemed to be relieved after making his confession.
“Oh Jaxon!” she said, looking into his youthful face with concern, ”You should have come to me right away. I would have believed you!”
“I know.” Jackson answered soberly. ”But I didn’t want to put you through having to tell the Nobles that one of their twins was a murderous little sh - I mean bad boy!” He finished. Looking over at Cass he said, ”I’m sorry, Cass… but everything I said is true. Every word of it.”
Cass stepped forward and held his hand out to Jaxon, who took it solemnly.
“You should be commended for coming forward, Jaxon.” He said, shaking the boy’s hand. “What you’ve revealed is helpful and makes it obvious that some treachery, perpetrated by Adrastos, is behind Cory’s leaving home. I am grateful to you, and I’m sure Mitzi is also.”
“We can’t sort all this out tonight.” Cass said thoughtfully, “But it’s obviously the beginning of some Adrastos generated chaos that may or may not end with the return of the young man he considers his son.”
Cass’s head fe
ll to his chest.
“And I considered him to be my son, and loved him as I would ANY child of my wife. But he has made his choice… and chosen to be part of another house.
And what that means, at least in our world, is that he is no longer part of ours.”
After the meeting, when the crowd of vampires had dispersed, Lux and Cass stood looking at each other in the Great Room. They were both exhausted from the events of the evening, but at the same time overstimulated.
They perused each other in silence for a few moments, then Lux nudged Cass on his upper right arm.
“By the way,” he said in a fake - pleasant voice with a tinge of irony, ”Thanks for naming the EVIL twin after ME. Appreciate that!”
For a moment Lux thought his attempt at jocularity had been a mistake as he noted an angry flash in Cass’s eyes. Then to his surprise Cass threw his head back and laughed heartily.
“Anytime.” He told Lux. ”But I don’t think that you have anything to worry about. He won’t be going by any of the names we gave him. I’m sure he has a brand new name now, one bestowed upon him by Adrastos Animavorous.”
“I’m sure that you’re right. Hadn’t thought about that. How are you doing, bro’… really? And how do you think Mitzi will cope with this latest loss? It just doesn’t seem to stop for her.”
Cass was serious again.
“I’m fine - but I’m a guy. And I did my best to parent both of the twins since I moved back into the Farmhouse, so I can’t even work up a good head of guilt about it. I feel that it might have been inevitable that Cory’s dark side would eventually override the genes he got from Mitzi. Hindsight is always 20/20. Looking back I see that there were signs that I missed somehow, and it didn’t help that I wasn’t able to be here constantly because of the time it took to convalesce from the Oublier Demon bite. So I don’t know. The old rule used to be that the age of 8 months - the equivalent of 8 or 9 years old in human years - is the age of accountability. The age at which a youngster knows the difference between right and wrong and should be held accountable for his actions.
