by J. J. McAvoy
“Oops.” Melora held up her head and leaving her hands in her pockets, keeping up as we finally stepped outside of the airport. She looked at me and offered me a smile. “I applaud your defiance in mating so quickly. These Thorbørn men are far too used to getting away with whatever they please. We are the only reason they remain level-headed. So, do not fear attacking them. You are most likely in the right.”
“Of all the advice you could give her, you settled on domestic violence?” Theseus grumbled.
“I—” She didn’t get to finish her statement before she too was on her knees.
Ulrik kicked her just as she had done him, stepping up to where she had fallen down. “How are you enjoying the equality of the new age?” he asked her as she bared her teeth.
“Do not mind them,” Theseus whispered, drawing my attention away from his brother and sister-in-law. “They enjoy fighting with each other, and the bigger the spectacle they create, the worse they become. The battered-spouse play of theirs is also an effective method of hunting.”
My eyes widened as I glanced back to Melora and Ulrik who we’re both smacking each other’s hands and pushing each other, trading insults as if it were a competition. They were kind of like young kids who liked each other but didn’t know how to express it, so they just fought.
“Finally,” Theseus whispered as I heard a very familiar engine come up the street in front of the taxis.
“No,” I whispered, unbelieving until I saw it. My vintage black, vintage 1956, oval window, Volkswagen beetle. “Nightingbug!”
“What?” Theseus, Melora, and Ulrik all paused to question me.
“You named this thing?” Ulrik asked, pointing down to my car as the driver came over, handing him the keys.
“Aww, how cute. So mortal.” Melora giggled. “Nightingbug,” she repeated, and I didn’t have a place to hide my embarrassment. Even Theseus grinned at me.
Holding my head high, I let go of his hand. “Yes, I named my car. It’s important to me. So, keys.”
“Do you have an international driver’s license?” he teased me. “I’m not sure how I feel about American’s driving on our streets.”
I glared and stretched out my hand, feeling them tingle again. “Keys.”
Just like that, they disappeared from Theseus’s hand and reappeared in my palm. So quickly, no human could have noticed. But the vampires around us sure did, and for the first time, more than a few stopped, all of their eyes turning to me. I could smell the magic in the air.
Ulrik grinned like a madman and leaned in to me. “That was amazing. I wonder if—”
“No, not here.” Melora pulled his arm, her voice serious. She glared at the other vampires, causing them to look away. “Follow us back to the house, sister.”
She pulled Ulrik over to a where black and silver high-handlebars motorcycle had been parked, illegally and untouched. Ulrik grumbled about her being a killjoy which caused her to punch him in the side.
“Druella,” Theseus called out, already opening the driver’s side door for me. “We should get going.”
Nodding, I walked over, offering him a small thanks before getting inside. It was exactly as I remembered it. In the grand scheme of everything, it hadn’t been long enough for anything to change, but it was still strange to be back in my car. But it was a good strange. It felt like a reminder that I hadn’t lost all of my old self and life.
“Wait,” I paused, looking over to him as he put on his seatbelt all by himself, and I grinned.
“What? Did you wish to help me again?” He smiled back, already moving to undo the seat belt.
“No.” I stopped him. “I just wanted to make sure people drive on the right side of the road here?”
Theseus frowned and then shrugged. “I do not know.”
Right. The automobile was made in the last century, and therefore, road structures, so he didn’t remember. I glanced around us to watch the cars.
“It is the same as America. Do try to keep up in that bug of yours,” Ulrik said, obviously eavesdropping, kicking off the ground with Melora at his back.
“I’m not sure if I’m a fan of your brother,” I said to Theseus as I pulled out and started to drive.
“Unfortunately, time will only make it less clear,” he replied, leaning back in the seat looking out the windows at his home.
And I knew it was cliché, but the moment we left the airport area, I could only describe it as breathtakingly beautiful. Like screensavers brought to life. The rolling green mountain tops, the smell of the sea, the beautiful homes. It was stunning.
“It’s hideous.” Theseus frowned.
“What?” I tried not to laugh.
“They’ve destroyed so much,” he whispered and pointed over to one side. “There used to be a lake there, and on the left, there was a row of farms. You could see the children running and playing in them.”
“We are on different pages,” I said, making sure to stay as close to Ulrik as possible, but the maniac kept changing lanes every five seconds. “I was just thinking it’s beautiful. We are from two different eras; I guess that’s to be expected.”
“Hopefully, home has not changed as much. I wished to show it to you so badly,” he whispered, and his eyes drifted shut. He couldn’t fight off the sleep any longer.
“He’s asleep?” Melora’s voice reached me, as Ulrik slowed a bit.
“Yes.”
“Good, then I can take this time to warn you.”
“Warn me?”
Ulrik grinned and swerved over to the side, slowing down so they could appear right beside my window.
“Mom isn’t too pleased with you,” he said.
“What?” I almost stepped on the brakes. “Mom? As in his mom? Rhea?”
“She isn’t just his mom,” Ulrik frowned. “As the mate to our father, she’s our mother as well. She—”
“Yes,” Melora cut in. “Rhea, Theseus mortal mother, and the mother to our immortal family. Theseus, you can imagine, is her favorite, her pride and joy, and you, miss vampire-witch are refusing to mate him like there is something wrong with him.”
“Well, there is his memory,” Ulrik teased.
She ignored him, looking to me. “I’m just letting you know, in case you wonder, why she gives you less than a warm welcome. I suggest you think of something better than what you told the vampires in Montréal. Your intending excuse will not sit well her.”
“And with Father not yet back to calm her temper,” Ulrik grimaced and glanced to me. But he seemed much more amused than worried. “Good luck, little sister.”
Just like that, they zoomed in front of me, only a hair’s length away from an oncoming semi-truck on the other side of the road.
I sat there, gripping the steering wheel, too confused and baffled to respond. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but a showdown with a potential mother-in-law was not on my list, seeing as how she was the reason he had even come to me.
Every movie, book, or play that I’d ever read where the mother-in-law hated their son’s girlfriend came to mind; I needed a plan, and I needed one fast.
Chapter 22
It was becoming abundantly clear to me that vampires, especially the older ones, were incapable of adequately describing their places of residence. It was that, or I needed a new dictionary. In Montréal, the president’s mansion ended up being a skyscraper. Now in Greece, Ankeiros to vampires, Theseus’s house was actually a country palace. Not a mansion, not a castle, definitely not a skyscraper, but a cream-colored ancient Greek-Roman Beaux-Arts styled palace.
We had driven off the main highway toward what I would have thought was just dense forest had it not been for the perfect slice of road that zigzagged through it. It was wide enough for one single lane. The trees passed by in blurs of green as I sped to keep up with Ulrik, unsure of were in the world he could
have been leading me until I saw it. It appeared like magic like all the trees had parted to reveal the valley in which the palace stood over rolling green grass and hills. The asphalt road ended where the valley began, and in its place was gravel, which led us to the front entrance.
I parked and sat there and just stared…what in the hell?
The front entrance was similar to the Pantheon; no, it was closer to drawings I had seen of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. However, at the top, inside the triangle were not gods but vampires. I could clearly see Ulrik and Melora, though it wasn’t in color. Melora’s short hair, Ulrik’s longer one, but it was the fact that they were both holding swords outward at an enemy and daggers towards each other that was a clear giveaway. Because there were so many people I didn’t recognize, it took me forever, or at least what felt like an unusual length of time to find Theseus. And that’s because I was doing what I did with all art, working from the corners and moving in toward the center.
Theseus was right there, no armor, almost naked, standing in the middle of two bigger characters both on horses. In art, that meant the character was of significant importance. I couldn’t see the larger character’s face on the right due to his ancient helmet. I could only guess it was Theseus’s maker and father. On the left was his mother, her long, wavy hair draped over her arm, and on the side of her horse was a shield. Theseus was in the middle of them both, holding the reigns of their stallions.
Staring, I had so many questions. When had it been created? How did they preserve it? Could I touch it? Also, how many years would it take for me to actually see this whole house if just the entrance looked like this?
I felt like Elizabeth Bennett after seeing Pemberley.
“You plan on coming out?” Melora questioned, stepping beside my door, while Ulrik yanked open the other side. They shouldn’t have opened my door so roughly, almost giving me a panic attack. Before I could yell at him, Ulrik was already yelling in Theseus’s ear.
“Honey, we’re home!”
If it had been me, I would have jumped. Theseus’s eyes only snapped open angrily, and his body remained still.
“Honestly, brother, is this how you win the affections of a woman? Sleeping while she drives you home? No wonder why she hasn’t mated you.”
“We cannot all be as lucky as you, Ulrik and have our mates jump and bite us after a fight,” Theseus muttered as he sat up.
I looked at Melora, the question didn’t even make it out of my mouth before she smiled.
“I’ve always been impulsive, and he was taking way too long to ask.”
“I believe he was scared you’d reject him. Very manly,” Theseus interjected, but he was no longer at the passenger side but rather mine, opening the door for me. He bent inside, taking off my seat belt, allowing me to smell him. His face was close to mine as he looked me over.
“Welcome to my home, hopefully your home.” He asked for my hand and when I gave it to him he helped me out before kissing it.
“It’s a palace,” I whispered, stepping on the gravel and looking up at it. I felt small and insignificant which was the reason why such places were built in the past. I couldn’t imagine how those people must have felt when I, with all of the education and knowledge of democracy and equality, could still feel less than sufficient by their entrance. I wondered how people felt coming here hundreds of years ago.
“You look frightened,” Theseus said beside me.
“I prefer awed,” I replied as we followed Ulrik and Melora up the stairs and through the double iron doors toward revealing mosaic tiles on the left. On the right there were rows of larger-than-life statues underneath the skylight. On the opposite end was another set of stairs behind another pair for doors. However, if that alone wasn’t enough, there were servants—vampire servants—cleaning the statues. Upon seeing us, they all stopped and bowed their heads in respect. “And it just keeps getting better. This is home?”
“This is the court,” Theseus corrected. “Father and Mother, or whomever is given the task to hear petitions, complaints, and hold official formal functions here.”
Right, just like it was in Montréal. They weren’t just vampires; they were leaders.
“Have Father and Hinrik returned?” Theseus questioned his brother.
“No.” Ulrik grumbled something in a language I didn’t understand.
“Don’t mind him. He’s upset Father left him behind,” Melora teased, reaching over to pinch his cheek, and Ulrik just pulled away.
“I’m not upset, just curious,” he shot back and then moved way. “Do not worry, little sister; beyond this point should make you more comfortable.”
He opened the second pair of doors, and once I stepped through, it was like a massive living room with couches, books, a flat screen anchored in the wall over a fireplace, and Turkish carpets covered the floor. If I ignored the hanging tapestry and the columns underneath archways that went to God knows where, the chandeliers, and the double-grand, winding staircase around it which went up to a higher level, it could be seen as a bit cozy.
Who am I kidding? They had tried to make it more modern and home-like, but at the end of the day, a palace was a palace.
“It’s beautiful,” I said, noticing they were all watching me; Theseus especially, as if he were truly anxious for me to like it. I smiled at him. “Though, I would like to know how you managed my tiny little apartment when this is what you call home.”
“Quite easy, after all, your beauty blinded me to all else. I could be in a cave with you and insist it was heaven.” He grinned.
Ugh! How does anyone respond to that?
“You and your lines…” My voice drifted off as I felt a chill go up my spine. I turned around quickly, but found nothing other than the door. But I felt something. I was sure of it.
“Druella?” Theseus questioned.
“Sorry, but…” My voice trailed off again as I looked to the right and backed away slowly, not liking the feeling I got. When it happened again, I felt the coldness on my shoulder, and I was annoyed. “Either, your house is haunted, or I’m losing it?” I said to Theseus.
He was worried for only a second before he too was annoyed. “Arsiein, is that you? Enough, she only just arrived.”
“Arsiein?” I repeated. “The one that can hide things or people from sight?”
He nodded, frowning as he looked about. “He can also hide himself, though normally he has the manners to refrain from doing so at home.”
Once again, I glanced back over my shoulder, feeling something, and then a slight push caused me to stumble forward a bit. Theseus grabbed me before I meet the ground.
“What hell?”
“Arsiein? What in the god’s name is the matter with you?” he hollered into the air. “Ulrik stop him before I do…” His voice trailed off as both Melora and Ulrik were also out of sight. He glanced around once more, holding me. “So, I see this is a family affair now? Since when do we greet mates in this way?”
“She is not your mate.” A vibrant, yet stern voice said from right beside my head, causing me jump again and her to laugh.
“Mother! This is childish…” He didn’t get to finish the statement because he disappeared.
One minute he was beside me, holding me, and the next he was gone. And I understood exactly what was happening. His mother, their mother was already letting me know she disliked me. I had thought she was just going to sneer at me or give me a ‘my son could do much better than you’ but nope; apparently, she was much more extreme. Total isolation in a foreign place was harsh. But on the drive here, I had already determined not to let her hurt me, or let Theseus hurt his relationship with her on my behalf.
Fine, if she wanted to play, so could I.
“Hello is anyone here?” I faked politeness and a poor English accent. “Hello?” I pretended to look around. “I’m Druella Zirie Monroe,”
I said, taking a tiptoe forward, looking to the left and the right. “I guess no one’s home.”
I grinned wide, kicking off my boots, taking my hair out of the bun, and wiggling my fingers, already feeling them tingle. I wasn’t sure how to treat my magic, so I just thought, how does one play music?
“Music.” I heard that voice again and pointed to the record player in the corner. I wasn’t sure what the record was, but I wanted to play something crazy, something this place had most likely never heard before or at least wasn’t common. The grin on my face spread. I must have looked like a crazy person as the song came to mind.
“Stevie Wonder, ‘Superstition.’” I thought, pointing to the record player. When the beat dropped, I started to bob my head, lifting my hands. I spun around and started in the middle of the living room.
“Writings on the wall…” I sang out aloud before moon walking. Not wanting to embarrass myself too much, I decided to dance and look around. Walking by the television, I pointed to it, and it came on to the music video. Listening to the music video as I walked over to the tapestry, I leaned closer to observe the art as I danced. It was beautiful. I reached out to touch it but stopped to look around one more time then did so very gently.
I noticed the discolor ration at the top and wanted to see it.
“Fly.”
How? I tried.
“Swim up.”
I paused for a moment before stretching my hands and then flapping up. My feet lifted off the ground, and I laughed. “I can fly!” I cried out and moved again, flapping more until I got to the corner. It had been replaced, not restored. Cool. Dancing left to right in the sky, I walked backward in the air and moved to the other side.
“Believe in things…” Pretending I had a microphone, I sang into in the air and then spun. I sort of expected to see them all appear after that, but it seemed mama bear was holding on strong. Though I was sure Ulrik was laughing his butt off.
Hearing someone, I floated down only to see an old woman walk inside from the doors. She looked at me wide-eyed and confused. I waved at her.
