Madman’s Cure: Madman Duet Book Two

by Mason, V. F.

Exhaling heavily, I decide to rein in my emotions and allow him to tend to my wounds, because running away bleeding doesn’t put me at much of an advantage.

  Eudard needs to drop his guard before I can escape from his clutches.

  “If I’m not your toy, then who am I?” Bitterness laces my question, and our gazes clash when I wrap my palm over his wrist, stopping him. “You are a serial killer, a monster who brought me to his dungeon.” His expression is blank, but there is an odd light in his green eyes, and the meaning is lost to me now. Like freaking always, he stays an enigma while I am an open book to him, despite my secrets. “Not to mention, a second personality lives inside you. He hurt me. And—” I bite my tongue at the last second, almost slipping the truth about Eachann, but I don’t think he knows about it.

  Who knows what kind of consequences the truth about his brother’s death might bring to him? Maybe he’ll completely lose his marbles and start killing everyone, demanding justice from everyone, with no real guilty party in sight.

  “You are my phoenix that was born from the ashes of the fire of his creation,” he informs me and snatches his hand, picks up the ointment, and squeezes some onto his finger. Then he rubs it onto my throat, the mint scent twitching my nose, and I arch my neck, trying to get away from it.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I change the subject, hoping this time around he will answer my question, because he always ignored it before.

  What kind of nickname is that for the woman you’re dating anyway?

  He finishes applying the ointment and then washes his hands, chuckling, but it lacks any humor. I doubt he finds much amusement in this situation either. “Because you survived the fire.” My brows furrow while my heart pangs painfully in my chest, dreading his next words but not being able to hide from them either. “Didn’t you…, Arianna?”

  A question that changes everything.

  Eudard

  Interesting thing about truths that no one wants to voice?

  Not all of them are wanted.

  Sometimes people prefer the beauty of lies that allow them to live their life freely and without guilt, believing in the illusions surrounding them.

  There is a peace and order to it that no one wants to shake.

  Because the minute someone does, the ground under those lies crumbles, pushing to the surface all the truths that everyone wants to stay buried.

  My life though is different.

  I’ve faced so many bitter truths I almost wish someone would have covered them with lies so the nightmares wouldn’t haunt me every single day of my life.

  Fear and disbelief slash through Cassandra’s face while her eyes remain on me, as if she doesn’t know what to do next with the truth I’ve uncovered.

  Before she can stop me, I cup her chin, almost gluing my stare to her violet eyes that give me back my Arianna. Gazing into them, I haven’t realized how much I needed it.

  Because these eyes used to look at me when I wasn’t a monster.

  But more importantly?

  These eyes were the reason for endless teasing done by my brother.

  “Her eyes remind me of the lavender,” Eachann whispers into my ear and nudges my shoulder while I stare at Arianna gliding on the ice. “Your obsession is showing,” he jokes and throws his arms around me. “Good thing I’m here to point that out.”

  Only this time around, my brother is dead.

  And no matter how much I try, I can never hide from this truth, even if my alter ego lives as him just to create a beautiful lie for me.

  A lie I pretend to believe in.

  It’s the only way to avenge my twin.

  Monsters never seek redemption.

  We are not born this way; we are created by the evil people who deem themselves gods and play with the lives of others like they’re toys. We are nothing but pawns to them, who they transform into creatures that crave blood and terror no matter how wrong it is.

  My darkness came to me when I needed it most, protecting me from the insanity that slowly swallowed me whole and demanded my soul, even if I didn’t have much left of it at that point.

  Nothing can make me turn my back on it.

  Even the love everyone speaks so highly of, but I’ve yet to see the goodness it brings.

  Love is a weakness that has no place in my life.

  But my obsession?

  She forever belongs at my side, even though she can never accept my monsters.

  I should have never claimed Arianna all these years ago.

  But I did.

  And with that, I sealed our fates together, and no one will ever be able to break this bond.

  I’ll kill anyone who tries.

  Chapter Four

  “Twins sitting in a tree.

  Twins singing songs.

  Twins playing along.

  Twins crying in the basement.

  Two lives forever entwined together.

  Until a stranger tears us apart like the lightest of feathers.”

  Eudard

  Eudard, 6 years old

  The wind whooshes inside from the open window, the curtains flying in different directions and bringing cold with it, sending chills down my spine.

  Shivering, I pull the blanket tighter over me and bump into Eachann who snores in my ear, his hand clutching mine.

  Unless we had to go to the bathroom, he hasn’t let go of me ever since we arrived here.

  I can’t blame him, because this place is awful.

  After we greeted Grandpa, the weird man who introduced himself later on as Kirk showed us to the dining room, where they served disgusting dishes like lamb’s brain and snails that made us both gag. We had to settle for mashed potatoes and a bit of cake, all while Grandpa promised us big fun in this mansion once our uncle arrives.

  He claimed we had an awesome cousin too, and we would for sure love each other’s company.

  Eachann and I didn’t need anyone else, not that I told him that. I wasn’t sure he’d have liked it much.

  Once dinner was done, Kirk announced our rooms were ready and took us upstairs, where the walls are filled with so many paintings that show different fights; we didn’t know what to think of them. Daddy never allows any art at home, claiming the images there can make a sane man insane.

  The room had two beds and a bedside table, and nothing else. Eachann whined all evening; we don’t have TV or video games like when we go back to Grandpa’s house or at home. He has been a mess ever since.

  He doesn’t take any change of routine well.

  He whimpers something in his sleep, and I pat his back, soothing him while shivering in the cold room. How come it’s this chilly on a summer night?

  Rolling on my back, I wonder what everyone is doing back in our town without us. Is Mommy still not herself while Daddy worriedly paces his office, shouting at her doctor through the phone?

  Is Arianna missing me at her ice-skating practice?

  I frown when I remember how she fell and her coach screamed at her to get up, and he never changed her routine.

  Eachann held me back from throwing my notebook at his head for being so rude to her.

  I don’t like when Arianna cries, and she cried for hours after that, clenching her skates while Eachann tried to cheer her up with piano music.

  The coach better not make her sad again!

  “You need to sleep,” Eachann says groggily, and I glance at him, his one eye open as he studies me. “No one is hurting Arianna back home.”

  We are twins, so I’m not surprised he knows what I’m thinking.

  Sometimes we don’t even have to talk; we can predict easily what the other will say. “You don’t know that.”

  “She has other friends.” He grins and snuggles his head into the pillow when I lightly punch his shoulder, his words coming muffled. “Okay, okay. We are the only friends she has. Everyone knows not to mess with her.” By everyone, he means the founding five kids, and even though I know Ralph and Ethan won’t do anything, I’m
not so sure about Frank.

  He likes to pick on her, tugging on her braids when he thinks no one is watching or calling her “the help,” because her parents work for ours.

  One time in kindergarten, he bit her chocolate and then dropped it on the floor, so she was the only kid left without any. Then he said she could eat it if she wanted it.

  Everyone laughed while Arianna became red and ran away to cry in the bathroom.

  No one laughed like me, though, when I dragged Frank to the sandpit and pushed his head into it, making him eat that chocolate off the ground himself.

  All the punishment from our teacher Mary and Daddy was worth it, because no one messed with Arianna after that.

  No one hurts my friends… period.

  “Don’t do that again. A week without you in kindergarten was hell,” Eachann says, noticing my grin, and I want to reply that I can’t make such promises, when the door opens, hitting the wall, and bright light floods inside.

  We both jump when two men enter wearing black clothes, and I recognize them from earlier; they guarded the gates. Their hands grab us both, lifting us in the air while our screams fill the room. “Let me go!” I shout, darting my gaze to Eachann who kicks and wiggles in other man’s hold, but it does no good.

  “Your uncle wants to see you” is all they say as they drag us into the hallway where I cover my eyes from the harsh light that makes white dots in my vision. I can’t concentrate on anything, because my heart beats so fast I’m afraid it will jump out of my chest.

  I slap his hands around my waist, but he only grunts and shakes me a little, my teeth snapping against each other. He barks, “Behave, both of you. Your uncle won’t like it.”

  “Eudard,” Eachann calls my name, panic coating it, and I know he wants me to do something.

  But I can’t. “It’s okay, Eachann,” I say to him, even though I don’t understand anything.

  It’s so late, and dangerous men are taking us to an uncle we have never met, all while we pass by even more men in black suits who have no expressions on their faces.

  They look just like those statues; the only difference between them is they are breathing.

  Classical piano music plays in the background; the walls vibrate from it, and it’s so loud I wonder how the entire house is not woken up.

  Finally, we come back to the living room where a man sits on the single chair right by the window, holding a cigar in his hand, and the smoke hides his face from us.

  The only thing visible are his shiny black shoes, gray suit, and a gold watch that glistens under the chandelier.

  He clicks his fingers, and instantly one of the butlers is there with a tray, offering him a glass of whiskey I think since it looks like what Daddy drinks. He picks it up, shaking it a little so the ice rattles inside it while he takes another pull from his cigar.

  The men stop in front of him and drop us on the floor where we land painfully, hitting our knees, and we both groan. I quickly look at Eachann to check on him.

  He raises his eyes to me, blinking in confusion, but I have no answers for his questions either. “Where is Grandpa?” he whispers, but it’s barely audible as the music gets louder on the higher note, the sound of violin echoing in the space.

  “Boys,” the man says, and we both freeze, because I don’t think we’ve ever heard such a cold voice before.

  It sounds almost like Kirk’s, as if he is cutting something with it. It sends chills down my spine, and I sit on my calves, hugging Eachann close, not knowing what he wants from us.

  If he is our uncle, then why is he treating us like this?

  If it hadn’t been for our grandfather being here, I would have thought someone kidnapped us for a ransom. Not sure what that means, but Daddy always warns us about it, ordering us to stay close to Bill and never wander anywhere without protection.

  “You were right, Kirk,” he says to the man who steps inside the living room, his usual grimace present on his face, and he walks to stand on the right side of our uncle, as if waiting for a command. “They are pretty indeed.” He leans forward and we can finally see his face through the smoke, his piercing green eyes just like ours studying us with interest, but his reminds me of a snake.

  But even the reptile has a kinder gaze than him.

  He has Mom’s blond hair and tanned skin and looks like all Dad’s friends.

  With the difference that his friends never glue their gazes to us while shifting their head to the side like he’s trying to guess something.

  “Are you our uncle?” I ask him in this prolonged silence, all while my twin trembles in my arms, holding on to me for dear life, and I detect something wet on my palms.

  Is he crying?

  The man nods, winking at me. “I am indeed.” He presses his back against the chair, taking another pull. “My sister did well raising you,” he praises us, but I want to shrink under it.

  Why does he talk to us like that anyway?

  “Why are we here?” I fire another question, putting on a brave face even if I want to cry just like Eachann.

  But if I do… who will face them?

  I’m the oldest; I have to do it.

  Or that’s what James taught me to do many times; he said the oldest is always responsible for their younger siblings no matter what.

  “It’s time you knew your uncle, don’t you think?” He clacks his tongue. “Family, after all, is everything.”

  My brows furrow at this, and I open my mouth to ask why then does he treat us like this, when a loud shriek fills the room right before another man in a suit brings a girl with long blonde locks into the room, pulling at her hair and throwing her next to us.

  She bumps into me, and I hold us all steady, while she rubs her arms and glares at the man who brought her.

  Then my jaw drops when she spits in his direction, the spit landing on his shoes, and his face darkness. He slaps her right across the face, and her head whips to the side. Once again, she falls on me, quietly crying.

  “Know your place,” my uncle seethes before pointing in my direction with his glass. “You’ve got company now.” The girl stays unmovable, her palm plastered against her cheek while her gaze is cast down. Only by the sound of her heavy breathing, I understand she didn’t pass out from the blow. “Say hello to your cousins, darling.” She stays silent, her hands fisting her white dress, and our uncle sighs, waving his fingers, and it acts like an order.

  Instantly, the suited man comes closer, pulls her hair to arch her head back, and delivers another blow to her, and I think I hear something cracking.

  She groans, but it’s so muffled I think she’s keeping it between her teeth so they won’t hear it.

  Eachann bursts out crying on my chest harder, and I’m so confused, but it’s not like we can’t watch it!

  Without thinking, I hit the man’s hand. He blinks at me and lets go of the girl, pushing her closer to us as droplets of blood drip from her nose.

  Even though fear hits me from every corner so hard I’m afraid to breathe and my pulse races, and I don’t think Daddy truly knows where we are, I don’t show them how I feel.

  “Why are you hurting her?” I exclaim, still holding on to her, and she doesn’t move away from me. Daddy always repeated that girls are like treasures a man has, and they should always be cared for and never hurt.

  “Ah, isn’t it sweet?” he asks, grinning widely at us. “Taking care of your cousin like that. You are a true Campbell, living up to your father’s integrity.” The way he says it though makes it seem like he hates my dad for it rather than likes him. “But even he was stupid enough to send you here. Or rather trusted that driver of yours.”

  The last words freeze me on the spot. Something is very wrong, and I don’t like how he continues to look at us. Not to mention hitting his own kid.

  Just like Ethan’s dad, and he is a bad man.

  No one ever hit us!

  “We want to go home,” I announce and then shout with all my lungs, “Grand
pa! Grandpa! Grandpa!” He is the only familiar person in this scary place, and he will take us home.

  He won’t allow his son to hurt us, and if that’s his idea of family, then he can find another one. “Grandpa!” I shout again and finally hear heavy footsteps on the stairs, and shortly he is with us, his eyes widening when he notices us.

  “Did you have to do it now?” he asks our uncle, and I still, shaking my head in denial.

  He knew about this.

  The evil man chuckles, sipping his drink. “Too pretty to resist, Father.”

  Our grandpa huffs, ordering Kirk, “Give me a glass of scotch.” And then he shifts his attention to us. “It’s time to be part of this family, boys.”

  “Grandpa!” I say, hope slowly dying in my heart from all these men surrounding us, because they want to do bad things.

  I have no doubts now.

  “Stop calling me Grandpa,” he snarls. And for the first time, I see an expression like he hates us. “I can’t fucking stand your father and my whore of a daughter. She turned her back on us when she married your father and settled in that godforsaken town. I acted like the devoted father to lower Ridge’s guard. That’s enough for me.” He takes his drink from Kirk and warns us, “This will teach them a lesson.”

  With that, he walks off while Eachann calls after him, “Grandpa!” But his request falls on deaf ears, because we have no hope left here.

  I might not understand things going on around me, but I do get one thing.

  We are trapped in this mansion with evil men who want revenge on our parents.

  They are like the monsters all the books speak about, hiding behind masks and waiting for midnight to show their true selves. Only then they can hunt for innocent people and destroy them. Daddy used to say he would slay them all.

  But he can’t slay anyone now.

  Back then though, I thought there was a chance of escaping them.

  If I only knew their venom would be forever injected into me and become part of me, just like darkness, I would have never wasted my time on useless dreams.

  Family is supposed to be one place where you can let down your guard and be yourself, because those people will have your back no matter what, protecting you from anyone or anything.