“I thought Mommy said Taylor
wasn’t coming home no more ever.” Zoe
said. Beside her, Avery stood,
looking at the still body of their brother.
“He wasn’t.”
Avery answered.
“Well, that’s him, ain’t
it?” The little girl said,
leaning closer.
“Yeah.”
Avery said.
“Michelle said she missed him
‘cuz he wasn’t never coming back, too.” Zoe said.
She stepped up to the bed and looked at his face.
“Is he gonna leave again?” She
asked.
Avery sighed, “I don’t know.
Probably. He always does.”
She said.
“Yeah.”
Zoe said, touching his chin.
She smiled at her sister, “Prickles.”
Avery raised her eyebrow, “I
guess he needs to shave. Like Dad
does.”
“Daddies shave.”
Zoe said. “Taylor’s a
daddy now.” She said it so
easily, Avery had to look at her and remember she wasn’t quite four years old
yet. They’d tried to keep the
little ones from knowing what was going on, but they knew anyway.
They weren’t nearly as unaware of things as adults always thought they
were.
Avery shook her head, “Yeah Zoe,
Taylor’s a Daddy now.” She put
her arm around her little sister’s shoulder, “Let’s go get supper.
I smell cornbread. Maybe Mom’s making chili.”
And the two walked back out of the room and down the stairs.
~~~~~
Melanie opened her eyes.
Camille lay beside her, wearing a supergirl tank top and a pair of
Taylor’s boxers, a safety pin making the waist a little smaller.
She almost laughed. Only
Camille would need to take up the waist of Taylor’s clothing.
On the other bed, Kirk lay, his eyes still closed, his body unmoving.
“Hey…” She
said to Camille, nudging her shoulder. “How
come I’m good enough for you to sleep with suddenly?”
The girl sighed, and opened her
eyes, looking up at the ceiling, then back to her friend, “Taylor’s not
here.”
Melanie smirked, “No kidding.
It’s nice to know I’ve been replaced by a former child rock star with
a dick that only shows up when it feels like it.”
Camille’s mouth flew open,
“Mel! He is the most amazing man
ever—“
“Whatever.”
Melanie waved her off and sat up. “At
least he’s not a wimpy little puss like he used to be.”
She said, stretching.
Camille just rolled her eyes and
turned over, “I’m sleepin’ in.” She
said.
Melanie stood up on the bed and
looked down at the girl, “You are pathetic.
We should make a night of it. Taylor’s
not here to give you the guilts.
Let’s go scare the shit out of some guys then drink ‘til
our guts hang out.” She said
brightly. She then jumped
gracefully onto the floor, barely making a sound and made her way over to where
Kirk lie. “Hey…”
She said, nudging him with her toe.
“Wake up.” She said.
When he didn’t move, she stepped up onto the bed, then straddled him.
She cocked her head and leaned down close to his face, smelling his beard
and looking closely at him, “Kirky Wirky, time to get up.
I think you have some ‘splainin’ to do…”
She sang. Slowly, he opened
his brown eyes. She smiled, “Good
morning, sunshine! It’s five
o’clock, do you know where your children are?”
“Get the fuck off me.”
He growled. She smiled as he
pushed her off him and sat up, his head in his hands.
“Got a little hangover?”
She laughed.
“That mind shit can really leave you rattled, huh?”
She said. “Sonya’s done
that to me a couple times, and man, migraine city.”
Camille rolled back over and
looked at them. “So, where’s
Taylor?” She asked.
Kirk looked up at her, his brow
furrowed, “How do I know where he
is?” He spat.
“Well, you were the last one to
see him supposedly.” Camille
said, pulling her fingers through her hair.
“I don’t know anything.
As usual.” He said.
Melanie looked at him.
“Hmmm…actually, you do know something…” She
said. “You’re just doing a
fairly good job of hiding it. Is
that why Taylor zapped you like that?”
He looked at her out of the corner
of his eye, “Maybe.” He said.
Melanie’s eyes lit up, “What
was it?!” She said, sidling up
next to him and throwing her arm over his shoulder.
“How stupid do you think I
am?” He groused.
“Well, pretty stupid.”
Melanie said.
“You are male, after all.”
Kirk stood up, “You know, Mel,
you keep saying that, but Taylor’s a male, and before you know it, he’s
gonna be the one running this place.” He
said.
“You better not let Beatriz hear
you say that.” She said.
“Beatriz knows it, too.”
Kirk said. “You know
it’s gonna take a while for the old ways to go away.
It won’t matter if she’s more powerful than him, the others are gonna
look to him like they did the elders. She’s
just making sure that she’s the one that gets to sit beside him.”
Now Camille sat up, “She loves
him, that’s why she protects him.” She
said softly.
Kirk raised an eyebrow, “Hmmm,
maybe, but the fact that he’s a dynamo and that the young ones are into him
makes him even more attractive to her.” He
went towards the bathroom, “I need to feed, man.
My head’s all funky feeling…”
He said, and he shut the door behind him.
~~~~~
Taylor opened his eyes.
What light there was in the room was a dark purple, letting him know the
sun had dipped below the trees. He
smiled. Trees were a luxury to him
now, though there were plenty of them in Central Park.
But, to wake up to the sound of leaves rustling outside the window was a
treat he didn’t often get. He
looked around the room. It was
still his room; his books were still on the bookcase and his CD’s and things
were still sitting on his desk, though neatly now, rather than the scattered
order he’d generally kept them in. He
turned his head to inhale the scent of the pillow.
It’d been a long time since he’d seen Michelle, probably close to a
year, so he didn’t recognize her smell, but he found it different than usual.
She must have used different shampoo than his brothers and some sort of
perfume, light and airy smelling. The
smell of infants was heavy in the room—formula, Desitin, the baby powder smell
of bath products for tiny people, something earthy…breastmilk perhaps?
He closed his eyes and shook his head, the thought of the two children
downstairs making his head spin. The
more he’d thought about it, the more he knew it was all true.
Kirk’s disappearance, the way Sonya and Beatriz seemed to be shutting
him out of their minds at times, Mr. Jones’ odd behavior—it all added up to
the fact that they knew of the existence of the babies and had done all they
could to keep the knowledge from him. In
many ways, it outraged him, and in others, he was grateful.
At one time, he thought, Beatriz probably would have just had the girl
killed to avoid any sort of issues that could arise.
At least they’d made sure she’d been there with his
family when she’d had the babies. He
sat up, dying to talk to Zac and Isaac and his mother and find out exactly how
things had gone down. He wanted to
hold both of them and to watch for little parts of himself in them.
With a deep sigh, he stood and made his way down the stairs, hearing once
again the sound of his family as they gathered around the kitchen table to eat
dinner.
Quietly, he stood at the bottom of
the stairs to listen. He smiled as
he heard them talking about their day, getting excited about the prospect of
seeing him again. The smallest were
told that it wouldn’t be long; he’d wake up and be with them.
“Avie…”
He silently called to her, wondering if they’d still have the uncanny
bond between them.
He heard her fork hit her plate.
“…just checking…”
He said as he stepped down and into the kitchen.
At once, she was standing, coming toward him with tears in her eyes, and
then wrapping her arms around his waist. “I
missed you so much.” He said,
placing a kiss on the top of her head. “My
gosh! I think you’re like, six
inches taller than when I last saw you!”
He said.
She looked up at him.
His face was the same and his eyes glittered, not because of any
supernatural reason, but because he too was near tears.
“It’s been a really long time!”
She sniffed.
“I know.”
He said softly. Soon,
he was surrounded. All his siblings
who had yet to see him, and his father, all embracing him and chattering about
his looks and his sudden appearance there with them.
“Son, I can’t believe you’re
actually standing here in front of me.” Walker
said, placing his hand on Taylor’s cheek.
Now, the tears that had threatened
to fall overflowed and trickled down his face. “Dad…God, I missed you so
much—“ Taylor said, loving the feeling of his father’s warm arms around
him. He sniffed, “I’m sorry stuff got crazy again.”
“You’re back now, don’t fret
over anything.” Walker said,
pulling back and looking into his son’s face for the first time in what seemed
like ages. “So, what do you think
of the new additions?” His face
bloomed into a smile, “We never thought we’d get grandchildren so soon,
especially…well, you know.”
“Me neither.”
Taylor said, wiping his eyes. “I
mean, that’s the last thing I ever expected from my life now.”
He said softly.
“God works in mysterious ways,
son.” Walker said, placing his
arm around Taylor’s shoulder.
“You all always say that!”
Taylor said, smiling back at him.
“Because it’s true!”
Diana said, stepping into their huddle.
~~~~~
Beatriz stood in front of the
window, the lights of New York City twinkling behind her.
Before her Camille, Melanie and Kirk stood.
“Alright, now you’re going to do something for me tonight, and it’s
very important.”
The perking of their ears was almost visible.
“I don’t care what you do this evening, I’m sort of giving you the
night off.” She looked to the
girls, “I’ll be meeting with your group of girls tonight, myself.”
She said. “But, when you
come back here tonight, I need you to bring me a snake.
A very big snake would be best…”
She mused, wrinkling her forehead in thought.
Melanie cocked her head, “Um,
did you say a snake?”
She asked.
Beatriz turned and looked out the
window, “Yes, I think that will do.” She
said softly.
“What are you going to do with
it?” Melanie asked, as Camille
elbowed her.
Beatriz turned to face them,
“The universe needs to keep moving. We
need the moon to rise, do we not?” She
reasoned.
“Well,” Melanie replied, “I
always feel better when the moon is up, I’ll give ya that.”
Beatriz smiled, “I knew you’d
understand.” Her face went grim,
“Do not let anyone know that Taylor is not here with us.
I shall handle that myself.”
She said. “It wouldn’t
do for the wrong people to get involved.”
She then spoke to herself it seemed, “I’ll have to say I’ve sent
him on a trip…” She said, as
she walked passed them. “Oh,”
she turned quickly to face them again, “stop by that meat market…maybe go to
the lower east side…”
Kirk cringed.
“Man, that’s pretty far…” He
sighed.
“Yes, it is, and for a young one
as fit as yourself, it will be of no trouble whatsoever.
I’ll need quail feathers…just buy all the quail they
have. Don’t come back here with
little naked birds either, I want them complete!”
Kirk bowed his head, “I’ll do
my best.” He said.
She smiled at him, and raised an
eyebrow, “That’s all I ask.”
In the lobby of the building, they
met Sonya on her way in. Melanie
spoke to her, “Um, I think Beatriz has gone a little whacko.”
She said.
“Oh?
How so?” Sonya
asked, pulling her backpack up on her shoulder.
“Well, she gave us the night
off,” She said, her voice bitter,
“but then, she gave us all this stuff she wanted us to do.
Like, get a snake
for her!”
Sonya smiled and shook her head.
“She’s just worried about Taylor, that’s all.
Don’t worry about it. But,
for God’s sake, get her a snake if that’s what she wants.”
“And quail feathers?”
Camille said.
“What if we can’t find that stuff?”
Sonya waved her hand in the air
dismissively, “Oh, you’ll find it. Some
pet store will have a snake, and if you can’t find quail feathers, just bring
her some fancy bird from the same place. She
just needs colorful feathers for whatever thing she’s doing.
It’s no different than lighting a candle at St. Michael’s…”
And with that, she walked on passed them and into the waiting elevator.
Melanie watched her, her hands on
her hips, “Oh yeah, just find a big snake in the middle of New York City!”
She exclaimed.
“She’s right, there’s plenty
of pet stores around, if we hurry, we can even buy one instead of having to
break in.” Kirk said, looking at
his watch.
“Hmph, I’d rather break in.
I have things I’d rather use my money on than Beatriz’ freaky
religious rituals.” She turned to
Camille and whispered, “You do know she does human sacrifice and stuff,
don’t you?”
“She does?”
Camille’s eyes were wide. Kirk
just rolled his eyes and zipped his jacket.
Melanie nodded, “Yep.
Well, let’s get going so she doesn’t decide to do that instead…”
~~~~~
The Hanson children had been sworn
to secrecy about Taylor’s visit. When
Kelly had shown up to spend some rare time with Isaac, Taylor had been ushered
upstairs where he was now locked in his room with Zac and the babies.
“So, they actually came a little early, right?”
Taylor asked, watching Elijah chew on the ear of a cloth dog.
“Yeah.”
He answered. “She
looked like she was about to pop when she got here.
Mom thought she was lying because she said she was like, seven months,
but it looked more like ten and a half!”
“This is just crazy, man…”
Taylor sighed.
“You’re telling me.”
Zac agreed. “I was
sleeping, minding my own business, when I hear this sound…”
His eyes got a faraway look.
“It was just me and her.” He
now turned and looked directly at his brother, “I was so scared…and I know
she was.
Her water had broke and she was having contractions all over
the place.”
“I can’t believe you did
that.” Taylor said, awe apparent
in his voice.
“Well, thank Heavens Mr. Jones
got here before it got too messy.”
Zac said. “Still, that’s
more of the female body than I ever want to see again.”
He shook his head, “But, it was so amazing, Tay.”
He smiled, “I mean, when I saw him…he was so perfect…”
He looked at the child cradled in his brother’s arms.
“God,” He laughed, “I can’t believe you’re a
father! How freaky is that!?”
“Very very freaky…”
Taylor said softly. “I
still can’t believe it.” He
said, looking up at Zac; in his arms, he held Isabella.
She yawned then, and stretched, her tiny arms barely reaching the top of
her head. “She looks a lot like
Michelle, doesn’t she?” He
mused.
“Well, she doesn’t look nearly
as much like you as that one, so yeah, I think she does.
You’re gonna have a lot of trouble when she gets older,
she’s gonna be a looker!” Zac joked.
Taylor sighed, “God Zac, I’m
gonna have trouble right now. I
mean, nobody even told me about these guys—you know they’re not gonna want
me to just up and buy a little house with a white picket fence and a puppy.
Hell, a puppy wouldn’t even let me come near it.
Dogs hate me.”
Zac laughed.
“You sound so pitiful. Here
you are, the most powerful being in the universe, well, except for Shamu, and
you’re crying ‘cuz puppies don’t like you.”
Taylor raised his eyebrows,
“Have you been talking to Melanie? Because
I am far from “the most powerful being in the universe.”
Wait, it would be Camille, because Melanie thinks that she
is the most powerful being in the universe.”
He smiled and shifted Elijah up on his shoulder as the little boy’s
eyes got heavier. “We’re not
particularly powerful at all, Zac. I
can lock a door without touching it now—wooooo, very scary.”
He placed his cheek against the satiny hair on his son’s head and
closed his eyes. “And of course,
there’s sunrise. I feel so very
powerful as my legs wobble under me and my mind starts to blank out.
But, I guess if I ever need an operation, we won’t need an
anesthesiologist…that’s a good thing, right?”
“Tay, I don’t know what to
tell you about any of this stuff. All
I know is somehow, you created these two with Michelle.
I don’t know how or why—well, I know how, but…you know what I mean.
I think you’re just gonna have to figure out how to make it work.
You know Mom and Dad will take care of them like they’re their own.
Nobody’s gonna hold it against you when you go back.”
For a moment, Taylor just looked
at him. “I don’t want to go
back. There’s nothing for me
there. They want me to do things
that I don’t want to do and be something I’m not.”
“What about Beatriz?”
Zac asked.
Taylor looked away, “She just
uses me. She might care in some
way, but it’s secondary to what she wants from me.”
Zac furrowed his brow, “Do you
really believe that?” He asked.
Taylor hesitated.
“I think so.”
“Hasn’t she risked a lot for
you?” Zac questioned.
Taylor moved closer and touched
the dark hair of his daughter, “I guess.
But, I mean, what would she see in me?
Other than a way to get rid of some of her enemies?”
Zac rolled his eyes.
“Taylor—“ He shook his
head. “I don’t pretend to
understand it, but for some reason, females sort of…lose themselves when
you’re around. You know it’s
true.”
“Whatever.”
Taylor dismissed him.
“Dude!
What did Camille see in you?
What did Michelle see in you? I’m
sure you didn’t see it, but a long list of femme fatales came out of the
Taylor Hanson closet when you…went away.
And that’s not counting all the legions of Hanson fans out there, many
of which are ‘Taylor-girls’.”
Taylor smiled, “I met me an
Ike-girl that was off the charts, man…”
He said. He lay Elijah down
on the bed, careful not to wake him.
Zac returned the smile, “Really?
How did you know she was an Ike-girl?”
“She told me.
In no uncertain terms.” Taylor
said.
“Besides, you can always tell.
The intelligent ones, the stylish ones;
always Ike girls…”
Zac laughed out loud, “Oh, I
think you’re generalizing, but, okay, I’m with ya.
What happened?” Zac
flinched as he untangled his long hair from Isabella’s tiny fingers as Taylor
took her from him.
“Well, you know I’m stupid,
right?” Taylor said, smoothing
her dark hair off her forehead.
Zac chuckled, “At times, I
guess. Yeah.”
“I was walking down the street
and this girl goes, ‘taylor’, and I was off in space or whatever, and I
answered her. But, really, she
hadn’t even really said it, she’d just thought it.”
“That must be freaky, man…”
Zac shook his head.
“Sometimes.”
Taylor agreed.
“Man, look at how she just stares at you!”
Taylor marveled, looking back into the tiny girl’s eyes.
“I know!
Sometimes, it’s creepy.”
Zac said softly.
Taylor’s eyes widened, “Zac,
you don’t think, you know…like, they could be…weird, like me, do ya?”
Zac let out a breath, “I don’t
know. I don’t think so, but heck,
they’re just babies. Who knows
what they’re hearing, or thinking or smelling.
All I know, is they drink formula or breast milk and they don’t sleep
during the day.” He smiled,
“They don’t sleep at night either, but that’s nothing to worry about.
Yet.”
Taylor pulled his knees up,
balancing her carefully on his legs. She
yawned again and he smiled. “No
teeth yet—that should be a good sign, right?”
Zac laughed again, “Yeah, I’d
say that’s a good thing, because Michelle would have been in big trouble if
they had teeth. Especially teeth
like yours.”
“Why did she leave?”
Taylor asked, gently laying his daughter down next to her brother on the
bed.
“I’m not sure, really.” He
answered.
Taylor looked away from her to
lock gazes with his brother, “Didn’t she love them?”
“Of course she did.
At least, she seemed to…” He
said, thinking.
“Mom said she was just too young.
And I think she was just sad about a lot of things; her
folks, and you and stuff like that. And
then the whole Towers thing happened. I
think she just needed to go home.”
He watched Taylor lay down on his
side, his head propped on his elbow, gazing at the two infants on the bed.
Elijah’s lips puckered for a moment, dreaming some sad baby dream, but
then his face went back to peaceful as Taylor stroked his hair.
Isabella wanted to watch, but her belly was full and Taylor had begun to
hum, lulling her into a state of calm that she could no longer fight.
He placed his finger against her satiny cheek and she closed her eyes as
he ran it down to her chin. “So,
what are you going to do?” Zac
asked.
“I’m not going back.”
Taylor said.
It was so soft, Zac hardly heard it.
But it was there.
He raised an eyebrow, “You’re
not? What if they want you to come
back?” He said, knowing that
Taylor had attempted to stay with his family before, only to come to an untimely
end.
For a minute, Taylor just looked
at Isabella, the question hanging there in the air.
She finally gave in and closed her eyes for good and her
father turned to his brother, “I don’t know.
I just…I think I knew I wasn’t going back when I decided to come
home…”
~~~~~
“Well?”
Daniel asked.
“No one has seen the boy for two
days now.” The man in front of
him answered.
“Two days?”
He repeated.
“Not in the park, or the usual gathering places of the
young? What about the penthouse?”
“The Lady’s place?”
The man questioned.
“Yes.”
Daniel answered.
“He hasn’t been seen either
leaving or returning to the building.” The
man answered.
“This is ridiculous.”
Joshua added, looking over at Daniel.
All five of the elders had now turned their attention to the issue of
Taylor and his whereabouts.
“I know this is a big city, but with as many eyes and ears
as we have at our disposal, he can’t just vanish.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow.
“Who says he’s in the city? It’s
not like he’s ever been told he couldn’t leave the city.”
He mused, looking at the others, “At least, not by us.
It’s not like he’s done anything wrong…at least not that we know
of.”
He sighed, rubbing his chin.
“Victor and I have discussed this and we’ve decided it’s time we
welcomed him here to be with us. Beatriz
won’t like it, but, she’ll survive.”
He shook his head, “She always has.”
“Aren’t they lovers?”
Balthazar asked, a tone of disgust in his voice.
“At times.”
Daniel retorted.
“Then what makes you think
she’ll give him up to us?” Nicolai
asked.
“She’ll have no choice.”
Daniel stated.
“If he’s become troublesome,
why not just get rid of him? He’ll
no longer be missed in the human world, Beatriz has already taken care of
that.” Nicolai reasoned.
“That’s a possibility.
But, wouldn’t it be better to bring him to us?
And, it would have the added bonus of bringing in those who are looking
to him for direction.” Daniel
said.
He then turned back to the messenger.
“I’ll need to speak with Roberto this evening.
Call him and tell him to be here within the hour.”
The man nodded and left to carry out his orders.
Daniel smiled, “I’m sure he’d love nothing better than to help us
steal away Beatriz’ little man…”
~~~~~
Taylor sat on the roof of his old
home, his arms wrapped around his knees. In
the house, his two newly discovered children were being looked after by his
little sisters and his mother. He
sighed, wondering what to do next. He
knew if he stayed, he’d only put them all in danger.
He’d already realized that and had cut his ties with them, and now,
he’d gone against his own wishes and come back.
He shook his head, looking into the dark leaves, knowing he wasn’t
alone in the darkness.
Slowly, he stood, walking across the slanted roof until he
could step onto a branch of the tree. His
long arms allowed him to go higher into it with a minimum of effort.
Soon, he found himself face to face with the two vampires he’d met the
night before. “So, what do you
guys do out here all night?”
He asked, stooping down on the branch.
For a moment, they both just
looked at him. “We do what the
Lady has asked us to do.” The
woman replied.
Taylor rolled his eyes.
“The Lady’s not here.” He
said. “What’s your name?”
He asked, trying to remember. “Liza,
right?” He said, his eyes meeting
hers.
She swallowed, nervously,
“Yes.”
“And you’re Bradley?”
He said, looking over at the man. He
nodded. “So, Liza and
Bradley…” Taylor said, pulling
his feet out from under himself and swinging them off the branch he sat on,
“I’m sure you don’t just sit here like statues, staring at the house.
What’s been going down at Casa de Hanson?”
“We’ve only been asked to
watch for possible threats to your family.
Other vampires, etc etc…” The
man answered.
“And?”
Taylor said, cocking his head.
“And so far, the only vampire
who has been here is Kirk and I believe you’d consider him no threat,
correct?” He answered.
Taylor saluted him, “Correct,
Bradley sir.” He was met with
cold stares. “I’m sorry.
I guess really, I should be thanking you again.
I just feel sort of…left out. You
know what I mean? If she thinks
someone’s gonna attack my family, shouldn’t I know that?
And if my bedroom turns into a maternity ward, shouldn’t I know
that?” He asked.
“That would be up to the
Lady.” Liza stated.
Taylor furrowed his brow,
“Bullshit. I think they owe it to
me to keep me in the loop where my loved ones are concerned, don’t you
think?”
“I think the Lady knows best.
And the Elders, of course.” Liza
answered.
Taylor smiled, “Of course, they
do. How silly of me to think it’s
any of my business.”
“It’s best to leave these
things behind when you become one of us.”
Bradley said.
“How old are you?”
Taylor asked.
The man hesitated, “I was born
in 1890.” He answered, deciding
it would do him no good to try and hide anything.
Taylor raised an eyebrow, “Wow,
you’re old. Well, I was born in
1983, and I was very happy with my life and everyone in it.
So, you think that because I was the victim of a supernatural
crush, that I should just ‘put all this behind me’?”
He said, gesturing to the house behind him.
“I should just tell my folks, who love me, that I don’t ever want to
see them again and all my brothers and sisters—“
“If you love them, yes.”
Liza said, softly.
Taylor shut his eyes for a moment,
letting her words sink in. When he
looked back up, the reflections in them weren’t mystical in nature, but just
the physics of water and moonlight. “I
do.” He said.
“And I’ve tried. I
stayed away for seven months. Longer
than that.” He said, shaking his
head. He let out a breath, “When
I saw all those dead people…I just felt like, I had to come back and see them,
while I could. Beatriz and Sonya
and all them, they don’t have anybody anymore because they’re all dead and
gone. My family is alive and they
love me. They miss me.
Why shouldn’t I be here with them?
And why shouldn’t I get to know two new members of the
family?”
“What’s to stop that little
girl, your little sister, from telling all her friends that her dead brother was
home this weekend?” Bradley
asked.
“She’s not gonna tell.”
Taylor said, his voice tinged with frustration at what he perceived as
their lack of understanding.
“How do you know that?”
Bradley retorted.
Taylor crossed his arms over his
chest, “Because she didn’t grow up like other little girls.
We’ve always had to be different.
We’ve always had to be careful. Nothing’s
changed about that.”
“In some ways, I’m sure
you’re right.” The man
conceded. “But don’t think for
a minute that a four year old wouldn’t tell someone something so exciting to
her. You’ve been gone for a
quarter of her life—don’t you think it’s huge for her to suddenly see you
again?”
“Okay.
Let’s say Zoe tells her friend that I was home or whatever.
What makes you think anyone would believe her?”
Taylor asked.
Liza let out a frustrated sigh.
“Reality is beside the point. Maybe
she would, maybe she wouldn’t, and perhaps it wouldn’t make any difference
if she did. But, the fact remains
that the Elders will eliminate any threat to our kind.
And if they were to deem any member of your family as a threat…well,
I’m sure you don’t even want to think of such a thing.”
Taylor’s face went cold and his
eyes hardened so quickly she got goosebumps.
“If anyone ever touches a member of my family, I’ll tear them to
pieces. If it takes me a hundred
years, I’ll make their life miserable.”
“Revenge is sweet, but it
wouldn’t bring back someone who’d been taken from you.”
Bradley said.
Taylor’s shoulders sunk, “I
know that.” He said.
“It’s not fair.”
“I suppose not, but it is the
way that it is and the way it’s always been.
And it’s that way for a reason, as you know.”
The woman said.
Taylor stood suddenly, “Yeah, I
know. Scary old humans would come
after us with stakes and crosses and stuff.”
He waved his hand, and she knew he was done listening.
“I’m hungry.”
He said, rubbing his stomach.
“Can we drink from cows? ‘Cause
I can hear a bunch of them, close.”
Liza wrinkled her nose, “Well, I
suppose you could…but would you
actually want to?
Gah, all that hair in your mouth?”
“Eh, have you seen our fans?
I’ve never seen so much hair in all my life…”
He muttered.
“Um, I don’t believe you could
live on the blood of animals for very long.”
Bradley added.
“Hmmm…”
Taylor thought, as he swung down a branch, moving closer to
the ground. “I guess I’ll just
have to take a little walk then…pay a visit to the neighbors.”
And he was gone.
~~~~~
“Where’s our boy?”
Robert asked as he stepped out of the elevator and into Beatriz’
apartment.
“He’s not here.”
She answered.
She held out a section of onion and Montezuma took it from
her hand with his sharp beak.
“Yes, I’ve gathered that.
God, what is that, it smells horrid.”
He said, sitting down on the couch.
She looked at him, her dark eyes
cold, “It’s an onion, which I’m sure you could tell.
And he loves them.”
Robert shook his head,
“Whatever.” He said.
“So, where is he?”
“Why?”
She said, closing the door to the cage and stepping towards
him.
“Oh, I don’t know…”
He said, crossing one leg over the other, “I guess I was just curious.
You see, when the Elders pay me a visit to ask me things, I like to be
able to tell them something, even if
it is a carefully prepared lie. Now,
where the fuck is he?”
“I’ve sent him on a little
trip.” She said, sitting across
from him.
“And why is that?
We have a great deal of work to be done here. And where did you send him,
pray tell?” He asked, his voice
rising.
“That’s none of your
business.” She answered.
“We’ll still be doing our “work”—just without Taylor’s
presence, at the moment.”
He looked at her so intensely, she
was actually getting uncomfortable. “Beatriz…”
He said, trying to keep his anger from showing, “if we’re going to
pull this thing off, it is my
business.”
“This was YOUR undertaking!”
She spat. “I told you he
wasn’t ready, but you brought attention from the Elders on him, and now,
it’s too late to change it!”
He raised an eyebrow at her
outburst. Then he smiled, “You
don’t know where he is, do you?”
“Of course, I do.”
She snorted.
“Then where is he?
Because the Elders have told me to bring him in.”
He said.
“What?!”
She exclaimed. “What for?”
It was uncommon to see Beatriz on
the verge of panic, but that was what he was picking up from her, “They seem
to have decided it’s time for him to join them.”
He said, leaning back and studying her face.
“When?”
She asked.
“When what?”
He was puzzled.
“Roberto—“
She started.
Her anger at him and the situation was beginning to show in
her eyes as a golden light circled the black iris, “Just tell me what they
said and what they want. I don’t
have time for this.”
“They want him in two days, bags
packed. So, wherever he is, you
need to get him back here ASAP.” He
said.
She narrowed her eyes, “He’s
not a little child that I can pack two changes of clothing and his blankie and
send him off to live with Grandmother.”
Now he was the frustrated one,
“Suit yourself.” He said.
“But I believe this isn’t something they’re giving you a choice
about. It had that “Wanted: Dead
or Alive” feel about it.” He
said.
She turned her face into a scowl
and sputtered off a long line of obscenities in a language even Robert
couldn’t remember.
He laughed, “I thought you’d left that part of you behind
a long time ago.” Now the answer
he received was in a language he understood perfectly.
“Fuck you.
This is all your fault.” She
said.
His eyes widened, “My
fault!!?
I’m not the one
who has lost him. If he were mine,
those lovely wrists would be chained to the wall on the thirteenth floor of this
place.”
“It’s not that easy.”
She retorted.
“No, but it could have been.
He should have been put in his place immediately.
Now you have a dragon—sleeping one moment, burning down your house the
next.”
She looked out the window,
“He’s about to burn down both our houses and
his own…” She said softly.
Robert leaned over to look at her
face, “Where is he, Beatriz? What’s
going on?”
She smiled and shook her head as a
tear rolled down her cheek, “He’s left and he doesn’t want to come
back.” She said.
He just looked at her for a
moment, “Oh. Oh, this isn’t
good at all.” He said, rubbing
his hand across his goatee. “Your
feelings for him are about to cost us a great deal here.”
“It has nothing to do with my
feelings.” She said, her eyes
glassy. She put her hand on her
forehead so he couldn’t see her cry.
He sighed.
It had been many years since he’d seen her in the state she was in.
“What are you going to do?
Do you want me to go after him?”
He asked. “Of course, you
realize, we’ve trained him well enough, that I can’t force him to do anything.”
She wiped her face and sniffed,
“This is ridiculous.” She said.
“He’s not even a year old…”
“Which is why you have to take
control of this now.”
He said. “I’m not sure
you understand exactly what kind of monster you’ve created.”
She rolled her eyes, “Oh, but I
do.” She said.
“You just don’t know what all is going on here…”
She said.
He found himself kneeling in front
of her. “Just let him go.
Let the Elders do what they will. You
and I can still lead the others against them.”
He said, taking her hand.
She shook her head, nearly
laughing, “Oh Robert,” She said, “there’s no place for us at the top.
The young ones aren’t nearly so frightened of us as they used to be.
The Elders have been complacent for so long, their power is meaningless
now. It’s like the Queen of
England. She sits on her thrown and
everyone acts like she’s got power, but she doesn’t.
Taylor is the bridge between us and them.
He somehow missed out on the cynicism of his generation.
He’s an old soul, but he’s still got whatever it is the young are
looking for. Do you know how many
of them have hated him because of who he was, but they see something in him to
lead them out of the dark ages that the old ones live in?
I thought I’d have to protect him from being lynched by them, or just
being teased to death. But it
hasn’t happened. They can feel
something different about him.”
Robert sighed.
“Yes, well,” he said, leaning back again and stretching his long legs
out, “he’s definitely different.”
“Perhaps he’s a new breed of
vampire.” She said.
“Pfft.”
He snorted. “Yes,
a new breed of vampire who drank from a bunch of females, yet was allowed to
live.” His anger was returning.
Beatriz waved her hand in the air,
“If you think he’s the first to try that, then you’re an idiot.
It’s not that.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, “I drank from him, but
it didn’t add anything to my powers…”
“Beatriz, for God’s sake!”
He said. “What’s been
going on here? You would have
killed others for doing these things!
You have!”
She furrowed her brow
dismissively, “It was sex, alright? Nothing
evil or wicked or anything like that. It
just happened.”
He leaned back against the couch,
crossing his arms over his chest again, “Oh, well then, that makes if fine and
dandy.”
“Don’t be jealous.
It’s beneath you.”
She said, standing up. She
picked up the phone, and dialed.
“Sonya—are Camille and Melanie with you?”
Robert watched her, wondering what she was doing.
“Good. Tell them Kirk can
do my little job on his own. I need
them to come home now. And tell the
rest of the girls to wait for me, I’ll be there as soon as I’m done here.”
She hung up the phone. “Now,
I’m going to take care of getting Taylor back here.
So, don’t worry yourself about it, alright?”
She looked at her watch, “Mr. Jones should be getting there very soon
anyway.” She then looked back at
him, “Good night. Thank you for
letting me know the Elders are looking for him.
Tell them I’ve sent him away and I’ll call him back to me.
That’s all they need to know.
I can deal with them if that’s not good enough.”
He stood, brushing off his pants.
“Well, I’m so glad that you’ve got it all under control.”
He said, his voice mocking. He
walked toward the elevator, “Just so you know, he means nothing
to me. So, if I have to make a
choice, I’ll go with what works best for me.”
“I know that.
I’m not as blind or stupid as you think, darling.”
She pushed the down button for him and walked away.
