“So, what’s the deal with your family’s guardian?” she asked, sitting beside him as she removed the silver ring from her cloth napkin and laying it over her lap. “We learned about Leviathan in my religions class last year,” Kitty mentioned. “Isn’t it literally the devil in some cultures? At the very least, isn’t it portrayed as a demon? Your family isn’t some kind of Satanic cult, right?” she huffed a nervous laugh, praying Levi would laugh back. It would be uncomfortable if he did not. The silence between them went on for three awkward seconds too long.
It was a breath of fresh air when Levi finally chuckled. Then he divulged. “We get asked that all the time,” he admitted. “No. We still have church sermons here at the house. Aside from Mauve, who is a self-proclaimed Buddhist, we’re all Christian. We were just raised to have a unique relationship with God. We believe in him and respect his power and glory. However, we also believe in challenging him with our own will and accomplishments. Leviathan represents the power and perseverance of the Lancaster family.”
“Challenging him?” echoed Kitty under her breath. There was concern in her tone.
Levi elaborated. “I’m sure you’re familiar with our father’s famous saying. ‘Greatness only derives from great risk, great perseverance, and great sacrifice’?”
She was unfamiliar with it. Regardless, Kitty coughed and made a hard right turn into a new conversation. She wanted to avoid this topic at all costs. Religion, race, and politics were a bit heavy for a first-time guest anyway.
“Children, I’m afraid Master Lancaster is not feeling well,” warned Bartleby. “Your father will not be joining you tonight for dinner.” There was a chorus of moans and groans amongst the children.
Kitty loved how diverse and distinguished each of the Lancasters were. She expected them to be a monolith—classy, snobby, and intellectually superior to the point that they were obnoxious know-it-alls. However, that was not the case. They all came from various nationalities and although they were all teenagers, aside from Helena, they were different ages with vastly different personalities and hobbies. Levi happened to be from Kenya and was the president of their school’s debate club, despite him being a sophomore at only fifteen years of age.
One of the oldest was Hiroshi at eighteen. He was a muscular titan of a man from Japan and was an undefeated freestyle wrestling champion of Elysium Preparatory Academy.
Mauve, at thirteen, was adopted from Cambodia and headed the school’s philosophy club.
At nineteen, the family elder, Pearl, was a silver medalist skeet shooter. One would never have guessed from meeting her because she had no accent, but she was taken in from New Zealand as a baby.
Blake was Iranian and the third oldest, also at eighteen. He did not need a dime of his father’s money for Harvard as he had a full-ride scholarship from his grades and accomplishments as a world class chess champion.
Cynthia was Brazilian. Although she was only seventeen, she was incredibly gifted and passionate in the software engineering field.
Allister, the other Olympian competitor in the family, was only seventeen and had won several national fencing competitions and nearly placed in the Olympics on multiple occasions. He was brought in directly from Uganda.
Eden was from Russia. In her ten plus years since becoming a Lancaster, she had created her own successful charity organization and raised over two million dollars from strangers around the world in an effort to feed starving children in impoverished nations. Just like Levi, she was also fifteen.
Zara, the self-proclaimed ‘triple-threat’, was a diva at heart ever since she became a Lancaster. The seventeen-year-old originated from India. Although she dabbled in modeling and singing, she most recently starred in a supporting role for her first movie expected to be released early next year. Due to her demanding schedule, she was the only Lancaster who was granted permission to be homeschooled.
Out of the entire family, Troy was the only one to have been adopted from the United States. He was Native American. He had a passion for cuisines and even helped cook the family’s four-course meal this evening. At age sixteen, he was the only other Lancaster to have a full-ride scholarship, but in his case, to a prestigious culinary institute.
Despite his multiple suspensions for mischief and bullying, Sion founded the chemistry club at Elysium Preparatory Academy. He was adopted just two years ago from Puerto Rico and was now thirteen years old.
And last, but certainly not least, silent Helena was the newest addition to the family from Norway as of this year. As for her area of expertise, well, she would find her calling someday. She was the youngest of her siblings at seven years of age and had plenty of time to discover her passion. Even still, despite her silent and sometimes toddler-like mannerisms, she was highly intelligent. Her grades were a testament to that. There was even an argument months back regarding rumors that she came close to dethroning Blake in a game of chess. That is, until the board mysteriously fell over.
Yes, the Lancasters were an amazing family. Simply one of a kind. Their father took them in from every corner of the globe and gave them the best opportunity and drive for success that money, discipline, and prestige could buy. ‘It must have been like winning the lottery,’ thought Kitty. When everyone gathered to the table, Blake grabbed the family’s attention, gently tapping his spoon against his tall glass.
“Levi,” announced Blake once everyone settled down. “The rotation has come full circle. It is your turn to lead in the family prayer.”
Levi looked embarrassed to begin this nightly tradition with his guest joining them at their table, but his brother shook him out of it quickly. “Are you ashamed of your family just because you have a friend over?” scoffed Blake. “She shouldn’t even be here.”
“Nonsense,” Pearl interjected. As the oldest and first to be adopted, she was usually the peacekeeper of their home. She defended Levi like a guardian angel. “Nowhere does it say that we cannot be ourselves in the company of guests.” She took Kitty’s hand and the twelve Lancaster siblings closed their eyes, grabbing their neighbor’s hand on their right and left in what seemed like the start of blessing the food.
But something was off. Something was terribly unsettling.
This was not a simple prayer to God or words of grace that one would usually give before a meal. One of the children dimmed the lights before returning to the table and interlocking fingers, aligning himself back into the ring. Now, the only light sources were the crackling fireplace at the wall and the flickering candles spread throughout the table. For the first minute, no one spoke at all. Kitty wondered if the silence was part of it.
Then it began.
The Lancaster children have been reciting these words for so many years that they did not give them a second thought as they left their shadowy lips.
“Father,” started Levi. He was the loudest, but soon the others joined in fainter echoing voices. Kitty peeked with one eye open as she saw the others mouth the prayer with dignified passion. “I call unto you in the name of the Great Leviathan, mighty serpent of the sea. Thank you for your bounty for we are not yet deserving. I stand proud and pray you acknowledge and accept my sins and fallen graces. For I have already done so. My actions are my own, and in the end, I will defy your whim and power, as it is in your creation that you provided us the will to do so. We challenge you, Lord, to hurl every rock, flame, and beast in our path so that we may grow stronger with each healed wound from the passing day. I shall fight tooth and nail to the bitter end until my blood runs dry and my bones turn to dust. Time devours all—my flesh, my family, and name. But our actions are eternal. As long as we have the will to grow, even you shall fear what I will become.”
Levi finished with, “In the name of the Great Leviathan…”
Simultaneously, all of his siblings pounded a fist against their hearts and opened their eyes.
“Amen!” they chanted in unison.
At that, Sion, the youngest boy, flipped the switch on the wall an
d illuminated the room once again. The Lancaster children reverted back to normal and went about their business.
Just like that, the ominous veil was lifted.
Kitty was left speechless.
Their prayer had satanic undertones and yet none of them seemed to realize it. These were the nicest people, but to the uninformed, one might have guessed that they just sent praise to a demon—this so-called Great Leviathan. And to think, they have been reciting this prayer for years. Just what religion were they again? The only one that acknowledged their odd behavior was Pearl who smiled innocently. “Please don’t think we’re freaky,” she laughed. She whispered through a cupped hand into Kitty’s ear. “It’s more of a family creed than anything else. It basically means the Lancaster family will always persevere in the face of adversity and despair.”
Kitty needed to hear that. She gulped and nodded in agreement. Judging from the tone moments ago, she thought it would not have been out of the realm of possibility for the Lancasters to sacrifice her to this ‘Leviathan’ and mount her head on the wall.
What a thought that was.
However, everything did seem to go back to normal instantly after their prayer.
She was going to ask Levi more about it, but he had his hands full. Little Helena stood silently, extending her plate out with both hands. He intuitively knew what she wanted and began cutting her steak into tiny bite-sized niblits. Without a ‘thank you’, she sat back at her seat beside him. She removed her mask, setting it down gently by her silverware, revealing the lower half of her face and took her time eating.
She even ate silently too.
“Why does Helena wear a facemask?” Kitty asked, noticing her exposed puffy lips and doll-like button nose.
“She has autism,” Levi replied matter-of-factly before taking a swig of his sparkling ice water. “She’s incredibly smart but suffers in some of her social skills. The mask helps her feel safer—like she doesn’t have to talk. It’s more of a security blanket than anything else.”
The energy returned to the dining hall as Kitty enjoyed her meal. It was exquisite. Roasted Kobe beef with sizzled bronze flaky skin, cooked cool red in the center. Fresh leaf-green asparagus. Slices of crisp buttered potatoes on the side. Sparkling water to wash it down. And that was just the main course. Troy, the soon to be chef of the family, helped prepare a chocolate mousse that came next.
Everyone was refined while they ate, and once again, Kitty felt like the odd one out. Feeling the pressure kick in, she tried to remember which of her three forks she was supposed to use. Her hand was frozen in midair until she picked one at random. Sion pointed across the table and bellowed in juvenile snickering. “That’s a salad fork!” he roared, slapping his leg. His outburst did not embarrass her. If anything, it was another sweet bit of relief that the Lancasters were people too—teenagers with faults of their own.
The biggest member of the family, Hiroshi, grabbed his thirteen-year-old brother in a headlock and ground his knuckles against his skull. “That’s not how we act in front of guests,” he joked. Sion, the youngest boy in the family giggled hysterically.
“Stop your horseplay,” chided Pearl. “Hiroshi, you’ll hurt him.” Both boys laughed it off as Sion playfully escaped and pretended to stab the back of the gentle giant’s head with a butter knife.
“You are setting a bad first impression of our family,” Pearl nagged. “Just what do you think Kitty will say when her friends ask how her dining experience was with the Lancasters, hmm? She’ll tell them ‘It was like dining with the chimpanzees at Blyton City Zoo’.”
“Boys will be boys,” sighed Cynthia after taking a spoonful of her savory dessert. “That’s what you get when they don’t have a mother to keep them in line. But I suppose Pearl is the next best thing,” she added, joining in on the amusement.
“Really?” scoffed Mauve from across the table. For a moment, everyone forgot that she was even there. Despite her unique gothic appearance—black lipstick, choker collar, and tinged green hair—something about her bland and bleak personality always had her blending into the wallpaper. No one expected her to be outspoken, or even to be listening to the conversation since her headphones were in the entire time. “The whole ‘boys will be boys’ remark is just feeding into their toxic masculinity. Even father hates that phrase…” she mumbled, picking a piece of asparagus out of her braces.
The vibe was instantly killed. Mauve never spoke that much to begin with, but whenever she did, she was guaranteed to bring everyone down. She seemed to have her own personal raincloud that followed her wherever she went. Everything that came from her mouth was nothing but doom and gloom.
At that, the Lancasters diverged into their own separate conversations until supper ended. After much pleading, Levi obliged Kitty by giving her a tour of Lancaster Manor—most of the estate anyway. It would have taken a full day to go over every room, piece of art and architecture, and amenity. She even let him hold her hand for most of it. He started off at the grand hall dining room with each of their hanging portraits. The Lancaster children looked dashing and beautiful in their matching teal and black suits and dresses. It was the same ones they were wearing now. Levi suited up and fastened his tie as he changed out of his school uniform earlier in the day. They always suited up for dinner when their father was in town. There were thirteen portraits. In the middle was the man himself, Benedict Lancaster, the prestigious billionaire philanthropist. On each of his sides, there were six of his children. Their portraits were arranged with boys on the left and girls on the right from youngest to oldest.
There was no doubt. Their home was the size of their school, if not a little bigger than Elysium Preparatory Academy. Levi and Kitty stepped outside for a bit to take a stroll around the garden. However, they did not bother walking around the tennis court or pool. It would have taken too long. Levi’s family was the epitome of the ‘one percent’.
The hedge maze was dark, but Levi knew every turn and dead end. He decided it was a good opportunity to let Kitty take the lead and to get to know her on more than just a superficial level. It turned out that she transferred from a public school, Mitchelstown High, near downtown Blyton. One of her cheerleading teammates was a mutual acquaintance who used to attend Elysium Academy—some wealthy girl by the name of Vivian. Her father, Constantine Remer, headed Hyperion, a weapon manufacturing company that Father Benedict often did business with.
“Of course, you’d would know Vivian! She’s like super rich,” explained Kitty. “But even the Remers can’t hold a candle to the Lancasters. You could fit a few of her mansions inside yours!” she laughed. “She told me she left Elysium because she didn’t have any friends there.” There was disgust in Kitty’s voice over this next part. “Now, she just hangs with a couple of geeks.” She went on to explain one of the friends with violet died hair.
“I get the appeal and fascination with money and social class, but surely you must think there’s more to life than that,” Levi insisted.
Kitty scrunched her face and had a hard time digesting what he was getting at. It was easy for Levi to say. He already had all those things. After shaking her head, Kitty explained her upbringing. He could tell it was painful for her. Kitty’s parents shared custody over her. From her point of view, it was a tale of two completely different lives. One foot was in the doorway of heaven—the other was past the gateway of hell. Her mother, the current mayor, came from a privileged family of dentists that only knew Hawaiian vacations, cruises, and diamonds. Her father, on the other hand, was a deadbeat. He just so happened to be the deadbeat her mother forever regretted having a summer fling with—some country boy. One weekend, she would cruise the highway in her mother’s BMW. The next, Kitty counted the minutes until she could leave her father’s rancid trailer park. Instead of steak and lobster, she and her father ate cups of microwaveable noodles. Instead of a toasty heater and a queen-sized bed, she remembered freezing during winter break and detesting her father as they warmed thems
elves by a trashcan fire one Christmas.
She hated that part of her upbringing, and her father by association.
“You were adopted into a life of luxury while you were young…,” explained Kitty. “Very young. You haven’t tasted desperate. Money and class are everything.” She caught herself glaring and pointing and snapped out of it. For the first time, she was firm, void of her valley girl bubbly charm.
She was kind enough to recognize her aggression and threw the ball back in Levi’s court, asking him what he valued, if not money and notoriety. From the center of the bushy maze, he stared at the stars that pierced through the swelling clouds. Surely, it would rain soon.
“Harmony,” he breathed. When Kitty furrowed her brow, he elaborated. “Obviously, I want to make my father proud of me. It’s the least I can do to thank him for my privilege. That’s why I put my best effort into my academics, fitness, and the arts. But, if I could have one thing for myself, it would be harmony. I’d love to have a career in law or politics where I can bring people together. That’s what I enjoy about my debate club. I don’t see it as simply arguing. Sure, the goal is to ‘win’ the debate.” He made his fingers into quotations. “I see it as an exchange of ideas. I see it as an opportunity for me to negotiate and have people come together on a single issue or perspective. It’s diplomatic. It’s compromising. It’s balance. It’s peace,” He was getting excited, but finally settled with the word ‘peace’. There was tranquility within him as he mentioned it. He explained that the main reason he was okay with Kitty coming over was because he was a rather big fan of her mother, Mayor Debra Chao. He was inspired by her speeches and debates he caught on the news. She handled herself with such refined dignity and passion. Much of her education and criminal reform policies hit home for him. She was all about helping the community.
The Leviathan Trial Page 3
