by Ann Hunter
When he was greeted only by the Vanguard by the highway, and no guards at the crypt, Escalus went on alert. Why would his grandson send the guard away? It was their job to eliminate Romeo, not Paris’.
Escalus descended the stairs woodenly, dreading what he might see. His fingers dug into the stone walls, bits of it crumbling beneath his touch, at the sight of Romeo Montague lying in a pile of ash. Bits of broken glass lay near the head of an empty stone table. He touched it gingerly, then lifted his fingers and smelled.
“The Eversleep.”
He turned back around to the boy and the ashes, slowly piecing together what must have happened. He pivoted, looking for Paris, and instantly knew.
Escalus flew to his side, dropping beside him. He scooped him up in his arms, and wept. “What has become of you? What have you done?”
He kissed his grandson’s brow, choking up in tears. Escalus could have allowed hatred to further grow in his heart, to fly into a rage, to blame it all on the the Montagues, but the agony was too great. Inside, his ancient heart rend in two.
No one was there to hear him scream. He had lost his daughter, and now her son. What was left in the world for him? “I’ve failed you. I put you at risk. I failed.”
Escalus rocked Paris in his arms, like he had when he was a child. His gaze trailed to Romeo, and although he looked upon him bitterly, he could not hate him. He was only a boy. Although the daemon clock had ticked long upon Escalus, he knew both of these young men were too young to die. He had been wrong in the way he’d gone about this, and lost everything.
He carefully carried Paris to the stone table beside Tybalt. He would let him stay until arrangements could be made in their own family crypt. At least he would have company. And something would have to be done with Juliet’s remains.
Escalus leaned against the table, hanging his head. What sort of prince failed his people? The Capulets were entirely childless now, but so was he. Their future gone up in smoke. Never had he felt so helpless, so vulnerable and incompetent. He pulled the stake from Paris’s heart with some effort, and stared at it. Something inside him died.
Outside, a confused voice spoke. “What is this place?”
“Unh!”
“Hello?” the voice called into the crypt.
“Who are you, and how did you find us?” Escalus asked coldly.
“Who are you?”
Escalus turned, baring his fangs in a threatening smile.
The man who had descended the stairs staggered back. He seemed to be about Escalus’s own age, by the human clock.
“You’re one of them,” the man stammered.
“One of them.” Escalus sneered, too numb to be offended.
“I’m Father Laurence. I know Romeo Montague. His brother directed me here.”
Escalus stepped aside so Laurence could see Romeo’s body.
Laurence covered his mouth in shock. “Mary, Mother of…”
“Get him out of my sight,” Escalus said.
Laurence stooped beside Romeo, frowning. “He paid the price.”
“You’re partially to blame for this,” Escalus said.
Laurence looked up at him slowly. “How did you— ”
“I sense it in your thoughts. You’re as much to blame as I am.” Escalus wasn’t sure he could stand being in this room much longer. He backed toward the entrance, and pointed a shaking finger at Laurence. Escalus opened his mouth to speak, closed it, thinking better of the words he wanted to say, then spoke. “One day, I will come for you. This isn’t over.”
A QUIET CAFE
San Francisco, California
Present Day….
“And that is why I have come,” Escalus said.
Laurence shook his head in disbelief. “I’ve been waiting all these years for you to kill me in the night, fearing the shadows, and this is what you meant?”
Escalus’s eyes narrowed. “Why else would I have?” He eyed the dark waitress frozen in time across the room.
“To suck me dry.”
“You humans never change, do you?”
Laurence shrugged.
“I have had some time to let the pain pass, so as not to act out rashly,” Escalus sighed. “There was never a story with quite such woe as Juliet and her Romeo.”
Father Laurence wrapped his hands around his cup of coffee and nodded. “It never should have happened.”
“I have spent a great many hours researching, seeking a way to resolve this. Do you know your cathedral is in the path of a ley line?”
“Ley line? I don’t follow.”
“A magical line of power conveying positive or negative energy. Some people believe in gods, others a mystical higher power to the universe. They can be summed up with the help of ley lines.”
Laurence’s gaze lowered to his coffee, and he frowned.
“You think it’s blasphemy,” Escalus suggested.
“I really don’t like when you do that.”
“I don’t read minds. I see it on your face, plain as newsprint.”
“The fact that you would suggest there isn’t a God…” Laurence said.
“You’re not listening. You hear me, but you’re not listening.”
Laurence sighed. “How do your ley lines solve anything?”
“I believe it’s the solution to everything,” Escalus said. “If one were to send a great pulse of power down into the line, it may very well open a veil between worlds.”
“And?”
Escalus wanted to reach across the table and flick him in the head. “Think, man!”
Were humans really this dull? Laurence was like a damned sheep.
“Use your imagination,” Escalus urged. “Heaven. Hell. Styx. Whatever you wish to call it, a door could open.”
“Romeo and Juliet… could find peace together?” Laurence bumbled through the equation, but he finally got it right.
Escalus threw his hands up. “Yes!”
“Where do I come in?”
“This is something only you can do. I cannot go into your church. I cannot shake the earth as you can.”
Laurence filled his mug, and stirred in a considerable amount of sugar. “What are you saying?”
Escalus’s nose wrinkled. He was glad Laurence wasn’t his type. The blood was probably so saturated, he was pushing diabetes. “Climb the highest tower. Send the pulse into the ground.” He squinted at him, not sure if he could keep this cafe still much longer. His power was fading. “Do you understand what you must do?”
“I… I think so.”
Escalus smiled, keeping his fangs sheathed. He relinquished his hold on time, and the cafe. “Ring the bells, Laurence. Call them from the darkness. Call them to a better place.”
REQUIEM FOR A VAMPIRE
The bells of the cathedral bellowed their song. Together, they made a powerful ruckus, shaking down through the church, far beneath the earth, resonating with the ley lines.
A crack of energy split open the veil between living and dead.
“Do you hear that?” Romeo asked Juliet, reaching forward. A sliver of light vibrated through the eternal dark.
She held tight to his hand, fearing losing him again. “You don’t have to go.”
“Come with me.” Romeo looked back with a smile, only to see Juliet’s uncertainty.
“Stay.”
Another gong shook the sliver of light open wider. Romeo’s heart lit. There was something strange and powerful calling him toward it. “It’s your choice. I want to go, but if you say stay, I’ll stay.”
Gong.
The light shred into a blinding vortex. Juliet shielded her eyes. “It’s so bright.”
Romeo grasped both of her hands, squeezing them. The smile on his face grew wider. Whatever was on the other side of the light made him giddy inside. “Haven’t you always wanted to live in the light?”
“I’m afraid.”
Romeo held her face in his hands and kissed her adamantly. She didn’t have to be afraid anymore.
He knew in his heart that whatever was out there, it wouldn’t stop them from being together. Even in death, they clung to one another. “I think we’ll be happy there. Trust me?”
GONG
The vortex looked like it would shake apart, like it was closing. There wasn’t much time left. Juliet would have to decide.
Her chest swelled as she squinted against the light, She looked back to Romeo. “You trusted me first. Now it’s my turn.”
She wrapped her arm through his, and they raced toward the vortex. Together, they leapt and tumbled through auras that seemed without end. It was a crash of galaxies, stars, and suns. When they finally landed, and opened their eyes, there was nothing but green hills cast against clear, blue sky forever.
“Where are we?” Juliet asked.
Romeo looked around, listening to the birds, inhaling the sweet air, in a paradise meant only for them. He swept Juliet into his arms and lowered his head to hers. “Our next great adventure, cariña.”
She lifted her chin, brushing her nose against his with a sweet smile. She relaxed in his arms, seeming to understand what it all meant. Juliet kissed him with fervor. “Eternity.”
Special thanks to No Fear Shakespeare, and No Sweat Shakespeare, in the making of this fractured retelling of Romeo & Juliet.
Special thanks to YOU for taking a chance on R+J Sucks.
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