by Aine Massie
“Ah, introductions. Yes, I suppose you would like to know who we are being this is your territory and your humans.” The male stepped forward. At about six–foot three, with shoulder length curly blond hair, he was truly a sight. That isn’t what caught my attention though; his eyes were a strangely–lit violet–blue colour.
I could feel my head tilt and the puzzlement flash across my face. “You, your eyes . . .”
They both laughed in a strange chorus, their voices blending in perfect harmony. “Yes, we’re like you in some ways. Come on, Peony, let us introduce ourselves properly. I can hear her guard, so we should speak before they chose to attack.” His voice had a strange teasing tone to it; he wasn’t worried – though I was happy to hear Nicholas approaching as well.
A girl stepped into view then. She was small, maybe five-feet-one, with black hair in a short, severe inverted A-line bob and her almond-like, nearly metallic silver eyes bright with excitement. Two other aberrations? Could there be more of us? But then, why would they be stalking me?
“Yes, we probably should. I’ve heard her guard is lethal.” She smiled warmly as she stepped to his side, taking his hand.
At that moment, Nicholas slid to my right side, taking a position slightly in front, as if he was my protector.
The male just smiled as he took in Nicholas’s position and stance. “We mean you no harm, honestly. We have actually been looking at both of you, but as she lives without others of our kind, we thought it would be easier to approach her than you, Nicholas. As you are a house of three and she is a house of one plus her strange bloodless one.
“But, I get ahead of myself. My name is Geoffrey and this is Peony,” he added, giving us a great sweeping bow. “We have been seeking others like us. I hope you can forgive our intrusion, your human appears to be rather upset, as do you, Nicholas.”
Nicholas stepped back, so he was again beside me, and dropped the defensive stance, though I could still feel the tension radiating off him. He kept his face calm although I could hear the curiosity. “You were seeking us? But decided to interrupt her date rather than approach either of us at our homes?”
Geoffrey and Peony looked at each other puzzled for a moment before she spoke. “Date? Yes, I suppose we did. Our apologies.”
“We had hoped that alone you would be more willing to speak with us. You’re usually surrounded with many humans since we found you.” He said motioning towards me.
“Please, if you would rather send him home so that you don’t have to worry about his safety.” Peony motioned for us to go ahead. “But we would really prefer to speak to you sooner, rather than later.”
I turned to Nicholas, not sure what to do. They obviously didn’t kill humans, but that didn’t mean Declán would be completely safe either. “Nicholas?”
“I don’t know. If they’re like us, then they’re not the ones stalking you . . .”
“I know. I’ll ask Declán as I don’t really like him left alone right now.” Nicholas nodded, keeping his eyes on our new guests.
I turned and stepped back to the truck motioning for him to lower the window – he would need it down to hear me. “Declán. They wish to speak with Nicholas and me. They are . . . well, their eyes are coloured. Do you remember? The catch is that they’re not the ones stalking me, so sending you home means you would be unprotected.”
“You said I’d be safer because of what you did, right? I can go, just come over as soon as you can and let me know what’s going on.” He looked nervous but okay.
“Are you sure?”
He nodded tightly.
“Alright, just text me as soon as you get to the house, please.”
“I will. You be careful, too,” he said looking past me at the visitors. “Please?”
“I will. Now go, quickly. I’m nervous enough already.”
He winked and drove off, swiftly, toward home.
He’ll be safe . . . he will be safe . . .
Returning to stand with Nicholas, I asked, “There, happy? We are human free for a while. What do you want?”
“I am sorry to cause trouble with your human,” Geoffrey said.
“Ha–ha, one day I am going to convince others that they aren’t my pets. His name is Declán, and he is my boyfriend. Now, not to be rude but back to the topic please, why are you here?” The point would be nice.
“Patience . . . Calm down, Anya. Your voice is going to cause issues if you don’t,” Nicholas whispered.
“Truly though, you tracked us down and interrupted her outing. What are you seeking? We already have someone stalking her, so she’s not likely to be as patient as she normally might be.”
Slowly approaching, they stopped about ten feet away, keeping their motions slow and open. Geoffrey spoke again, “Sincerely, we don’t mean to cause problems or worry. We have been seeking others like us. As you can imagine, most of our kind are not overly sympathetic to our peculiar views on life and dinning.”
Peony continued as if they were one being, “We were hoping to find you, Anya, though once we arrived in the area, we found out about Nicholas and his House as well.”
“Wait, you were seeking me? Why me, specifically?”
Peony continued, “Yes, you Anya. We heard of you as being another aberration, and that you had been located here. I do apologize, Nicholas, but those that spoke of Anya did not inform us of you and your House being here as well. Though, as Geoff said, we would still have sought her out first as there is only one of her and three of you.”
“Actually, Jonathan would be the head of my House, though we prefer the word family. I can understand and am not offended.” He squeezed my hand gently nodding lightly with a knowing look.
“Ah, are you one that sees truth or can you hear the mind?” Peony asked kindly, looking at Nicholas.
“Hear the mind. I wasn’t seeking to offend you, but . . .”
“No, no, we understand,” they chimed-in in unison.
“It’s like watching Kayla and Declán.” I couldn’t help the giggle that slipped out.
“I was just thinking the same,” Nicholas laughed. Turning to them again, he continued, “Are you two family or mates or just together because of need?”
“We are family. We both have the same sire, and we were made at the same time. We are also married, so I’m not sure how you would define us,” Geoffrey said.
“Alright, so what is it, exactly, that you are seeking from me? From us?”
Nicholas jumped in before either of them could respond. “Are you looking for permission to stay in our area or is there more to it?”
Weird. He can hear their thoughts, so why is he asking?
Geoffrey was the one to respond, finally. “We do seek that, but we were actually looking to join you. The larger the house the safer we all are. I know you said you were being stalked, and we have been harassed and chased out of areas before for being as we are.” They both looked at us with eager, hopeful eyes.
Nicholas and I turned toward each other in unison and then back to them. I spoke first, “You want to join us?” Truly, this was going to break my poor, already broken, little brain.
They answered in unison, again, “Yes.”
Peony continued, “We promise not to meddle with your human friends, but we all would be safer, we believe, if we banded together.” Again with the pleading, hopeful eyes.
“I – I don’t know. I’m not the head of my House and you,” Nicholas said turning to me again, “have Star to consider before you could take them. It’s not a bad idea, I don’t think. I’m just not sure it would work.”
I felt my phone buzz just then. Pulling it out to read the message » Home safe, love you « I had an idea.
Addressing Nicholas, I said, “I can call Star and see if she would mind some company, at least temporarily. We could help them set up a home of their own nearby, if needed. What do you think?”
“Well, you’d have a better chance with Star than I would with Amber. You know how she
is about outsiders.”
He turned to them again and said, “But, you would have to swear not to harm the humans, not to interfere with our human friends, not to reveal what you are to them without our prior knowledge, and to be unobtrusive in the community.” With that, he nodded to me and whispered, “Voice.”
Allowing the power in my voice to manifest, “If you agree you will be bound, literally, to follow through, completely. Are you sure you want to join us?”
They stared into each other’s eyes for a minute before turning to face us. In turn, they each agreed.
“I suppose I need to call Star then. Declán isn’t going to be happy as I’m going to be tied up for a while. Oh well, it is late enough he should probably be sleeping anyways.”
Nicholas just shrugged. “I can stop by his window and reassure him, if you wish. I know he was worried about you when he left.”
Leaning in to hug him, I whispered, “Thank you, a mhuirnín. I would appreciate that deeply.
“Just let me call Star before we run to the house. I would offer you a ride, though running is more fun, but Declán took the truck.”
I paced away, so I could have a, mostly, private call with Star.
– Ring – Ring –
“Hey Anya, are you staying out and actually calling me?” She laughed before she could finish.
“No, actually I am calling because I seem to have visitors. I’ll explain more in detail when we get there, but I wanted to make sure it was okay to bring home two more like Nicholas and me.” Would she be comfortable with this?
“Um, should I be worried?”
“No. They have agreed to Nicholas and my rules for the area. The rest I will explain later, promise. Is it allowable?”
I could hear the burning curiosity behind her words. “Er, sure. Bring your friends home. Is Nicholas coming back with you?”
“Not right away. He’s going to speak with Declán for me, and I think he’ll probably need to talk to Amber and Jonathan before they stumble over them and don’t understand. You know how Amber is.”
“True, true. Okay, I guess I will see you in a bit then. Bye.” Click.
Once back to the house, Star pulled me aside to quiz me. “Okay, I get the whole helping others like you thing, but are you sure you want more of your kind here? Less privacy for you and the more of you in an area, the easier it will be to notice that there is something different about you.”
“I do realize that there are dangers, so does Nicholas. But, their eyes, and what he can hear from their minds, back up their story and their earnest desire to be here. Plus, they swore to keep to the rules he put forth under the power of my voice, so they cannot break them even if they wanted.
“And they’re right, there is safety in numbers. They are much weaker, power wise, than Nicholas or I, as well. What would you have me do?”
Sighing hard, she answered. “No, of course I understand. I just worry about you, that’s all. Now for the real question – are you planning to keep them here?”
“Well, that part I was going to need to discuss with you. They want this alliance to be where they join my House, if you understand the terminology. I think I would prefer to keep them close, but this is your home first. I can set them up somewhere close by if you would rather. They’re a couple so, at least, they don’t need separate areas.” Okay, so deferring to someone else felt very ‘not me.’
“No, there’s more than enough room. Most of the second floor is usable as I took the first and you chose the third floor. Set them up there, if you like. Are you confident they’ll be comfortable living with me though? You know most vampires aren’t comfortable near me.”
I could not help the grin on my face; if I could hurt from smiling so hard, I would already. “Don’t be silly Star, they knew about you before they asked. They realize you are part of the deal.
“It’ll just be weird to have them with me. They are older looking than me, how to explain them . . .” Not that much older, maybe early twenties, but still.
“Huh, well, I guess one of them could be an older sibling or a cousin, or . . . I don’t know. Maybe ask them how they would feel most comfortable. But, for now, go; get to know them and they you. Lucky for you, tomorrow is only Sunday. You still have time to work this out before you have to play human again.”
“Thanks.
“Geoffrey? Peony? Come upstairs, please.”
I was still debating how to do all this as I led them up to the second floor. “There are a couple of rooms we could remodel for you to have a space similar to mine. You will have to be patient with human speed on the remodel, though realistically it would only be for a few months.
“The main concerns I have at the moment are what happens come Monday morning? I attend high school with the local humans here. What will you two do? And, of course, how to explain you. Only Declán comes here but still.”
Geoffrey spoke first, “No worries on the speed. We just appreciate that you and your friend Star are willing to allow us to be here. As to the issue of your human, Declán, we won’t interfere. We are a little old looking to have the concern of your strange desire to attend school with them.” He suddenly looked worried as he continued, “I meant no disrespect, I just can’t imagine living so fully in their world. Isn’t it hard?”
Making sure my smile was gentle and my voice soft, “Don’t worry so about offending me. Star and Nicholas don't understand either. I just decided that if I am going to live in their world, I need to learn how to be more like them – how to understand them. But, yes and no. At times, it is exceedingly hard, but worth it.
“Something you’re going to find out, if you do not already know, is that somehow my memory was erased. I don’t remember anything before being with Star, so I have had to learn a great deal to blend in at all. School is part of my learning exercise. There’s a group of humans Nicholas and I hang out with, even if he was a bit taken aback when I first introduced him. He isn’t used to so much human interaction, either. But, the real issues are . . . what do you plan to do now and can you handle the human interactions?”
They looked at each other and then at me with very confused stares. “What do you mean your memory was erased?” Peony asked.
Shrug. “Just that. I have book knowledge. I know many languages and so on but I do not remember my life before being here. I’ve been told some by Nicholas, as he knew me before, and from my sire.” I could hear the annoyance seep into my voice and had to work extra hard to control it quickly. Not quick enough it seemed. They both jumped into defensive stances, staring at me with wide eyes. Damn it!
Working to control my voice, I said soothingly, “Relax, please. That’s the other thing you need to understand about me.”
I waited as they calmed and refocused their thoughts. “What was that?” they asked at the same time looking around slightly.
“Welcome to my ability,” I said sheepishly. “My voice is my power, but if I lose my temper, it has dire consequences for those around me. I didn’t mean to upset you; I just really dislike my sire. I take it whoever sent you didn’t warn you about my voice.”
Peony gave me the oddest look. “No, we were just told you had persuasive abilities and that since you were like us, you would be the best for us to join.”
“Ah, well, maybe they didn’t know. Nicholas and his parents say it wasn’t as defined when I was with them before. Why do you look at me that way?”
“Well,” she continued, “we both are able to concentrate and read surface thoughts, but neither of us has the extra abilities some, like you, have. To have such powers with your voice, wow. No wonder we were told you would be able to accept our differences and provide a powerful house, even though it would be small.”
“Small but powerful? Interesting choice of terms. So, I guess that means there are two sets of three now in the area.”
Just then, I heard Nicholas arrive through my window up a floor. “Silly boyo,” I called to him, “you missed us. Want to join u
s down here?”
Not a moment later, he came springing lightly in the door to our new family’s room. “Hey, Amber and Jonathan okay?”
“Yes, though Amber is, of course, a little nervous.” He leaned over to rest his forehead against mine as he joined us. “You getting on well?” he murmured.
“I think so. This will be their area. We’ll have it remodelled for them a bit but.”
“Geoffrey, Peony, are you okay with this arrangement? If you’re going to be extended family, we want to help.” Nicholas asked, smiling. He seemed totally at ease.
“Yes, this will be more than adequate for us. We were just learning about Anya and about how she does things. Do you have a suggestion on how to explain us to your humans?” asked Geoffrey.
“Hmm . . . well, the story is that she was adopted by Star after suffering a rare form of amnesia and that her parents died a long time ago. Therefore, I think an older sibling and partner of said sibling maybe. You’ll probably do better with closer, as humans would think it odd for distant family to live together. The fact that Anya speaks with a mild Irish accent and neither of you do, might raise some questions with those that meet you.”
Turning towards me, he continued, “If you go with sibling I’d suggest that Geoffrey be your brother, maybe a half brother, Anya. Peony looks too different in hair and facial structure. It would also excuse the accent and any other familial inconsistencies.” Looking among us all, he finished, “Would that work for you?”
“Well,” I began thoughtfully, “I suppose that would work. Geoffrey’s a common English name, which is the accent he carries, if that works for the both of you. And the fact you only just showed up is easy, you sought me out after hearing that I had been adopted out after mom and da died.” That could work; Nicholas is good.
Geoffrey thought for a moment before answering. “Well, I suppose that would work. I have a little sis?” He started smirking, and he fought not to laugh. “Does that mean I get to pick on you and pester the guys you want to date?” He didn’t make it even half way though before he lost the fight and started laughing. Peony joined in with her tinkling giggle.