“Like someone sucked the color out of everything,” Kayla finished for him in a whisper. She couldn’t help whispering—there was sense of foreboding—almost of doom, hanging over the whole place. “This is creepy,” she said. “I don’t like it.”
“I don’t either but this is the only place on the whole damn planet we can get the Lust Blossoms,” Sorin said, frowning. “Come on—we’d better get climbing. Mother Pain’s domicile is supposed to be at the top.”
“Where, though?” Bron complained, frowning as they started the long descent up the steep hill. “I don’t see a fucking thing up there—just more grayness.”
“Even the grass is gray—if it is grass.” Kayla pointed at the short, stubby vegetation which covered the tall hill. “It’s just so weird—there aren’t even any of the colored winds blowing here like there were in Pazzz.”
“Well, everybody was fucking crazy in that fucked up city so I don’t know if that’s such a bad thing,” Bron growled.
“Yes, but—Oh!” The exclamation was drawn from Kayla’s lips when she looked up and saw that the top of the hill, which had formerly been completely bare, was now occupied by a house.
Not only that, it was a house she knew.
“The Haunted Mansion,” she whispered, her heart pounding in her chest. “Oh my God, it’s the Haunted Mansion from Disney World!”
“The what?” Bron frowned and looked up to where she was pointing. “Fuck!” he snarled and took a step back. He might have gone over backwards if Sorin hadn’t gripped his arm.
“What is it, Brother?” he asked.
“The fucking Ghost Tree,” Bron growled, pointing just as Kayla had. “It was a tree at the edge of our village where the spirits of the dead went after evil people died. As a boy my older brothers used to tell me if I walked by it at night, one of them would reach out and grab me.” He shook his head. “Scared the ever-living fuck out of me!”
“The Haunted Mansion scared me too,” Kayla admitted. “My uncle took me on that ride exactly once when I was four and I nearly shouted the house down! They had to close the ride and take me off.” Both of them looked at Sorin.
“What do you see, Brother?” Bron asked him quietly.
Sorin looked up at the crest of the hill and his face went pale.
“I see the Death Grotto,” he said, his voice very low. “It was a cave adjoining my home grotto where all the residents had gotten sick with the Blood Plague and most of them died. No one would live there afterwards—it was said to be cursed.”
“This must be what Y’ax meant about seeing your own reality,” Kayla said in a hushed voice. She couldn’t stop looking at the Haunted Mansion with its fake graves and black wrought iron fence. She knew it was foolish but just seeing the spooky ride still scared her, even now as an adult. Suddenly she realized the three of them were just standing there, not touching. “Here—I have an idea,” she said. “Let’s all hold hands.”
She held out her hands and Bron took her right and Sorin her left at the same time.
Immediately, everything changed.
“Oh!” Kayla gasped as the Haunted Mansion suddenly transformed itself from a spooky house to a lovely, stately Victorian with white, gingerbread trim. Instead of the short gray vegetation, the house was surrounded by a lush flower garden and shaded by several ancient, stately trees. Birds chirped in their branches and butterflies fluttered gently on the warm breeze that now caressed their skin.
“What do you see now, small one?” Bron asked, squinting his eyes as though he wasn’t sure.
“A gorgeous old Victorian mansion,” Kayla told him. “It’s green with white trim and a white picket fence and a garden.”
“I see a green house with white trim now, too.” Sorin sounded bewildered.
“Me as well,” Bron growled. “Where did the fucking Ghost Tree go? Why are we all seeing what Kayla sees?”
“Because she is the focus of your pod,” said a new voice. “The one who draws you all together and makes you a unit, not just three individuals wandering to the musings of their own will.”
Suddenly Kayla saw a nice-looking little old lady with gray hair walking down the path that meandered its way through the colorful garden. She would have sworn on a stack of Bibles there was no one there a moment before, but the old lady seemed so completely solid it was hard to believe she’d appeared out of thin air.
“Where did you come from?” Bron demanded.
“Are you Mother Pain?” Sorin asked.
“I come from everywhere and nowhere at once. And yes, I am the one the Carnalians call Mother Pain.” The old lady nodded her gray head graciously. “Since you are here to see me, I take it you have serious business to discuss. Should we go inside and talk about it over a nice cup of tea?”
Kayla suddenly had a very bad feeling—an even worse feeling than when she’d first looked up and saw that damn Haunted Mansion at the crest of the gray hill.
“We just need some Lust Blossoms,” she said quickly, squeezing her guys’ hands almost panicky-tight. “To cure an, uh, epidemic aboard the Kindred Mother Ship. We can pay you anything you want.”
“Anything?” The old lady raised one gray eyebrow at them and adjusted her spectacles to stare at Kayla sternly.
“Within reason,” Sorin said quickly. “We have deep financial resources—”
“Now, now, dear boy,” Mother Pain said, smiling at him in a way that sent chill bumps down Kayla’s spine. “I cannot believe that whoever gave you the location of my house didn’t tell you that I do not take my payments in credit or any kind of money or riches.”
“How do you take them, then?” Bron growled, glaring at her.
“To learn the answer to that, you must come into my house and have tea. Come…” She crooked a finger at them and turned to go back down the garden path towards the big old Victorian mansion. “I will not ask again,” she added, turned her head to look back at them.
Kayla wanted to hang back. As badly as they needed the Lust Blossoms, she felt in her bones that they would regret it if they entered that house. But when all three of them looked at each other, she knew without speaking that they had to go in.
Bron said what they were all thinking.
“We have to go. How the fuck else are we going to get the Lust Blossoms?” he demanded in a hoarse growl.
Sorin shook his head. “I can’t think of another way either.”
“All right.” Kayla tightened her grip on their hands. “Then we’re going in together. And no matter what happens, we won’t let ourselves be separated.”
“Agreed,” Sorin said and Bron nodded too.
“Okay, then—let’s go.”
And they followed Mother Pain into her house.
Sixteen
Once inside, Kayla expected the house to change again—maybe it would morph back into the Haunted Mansion or into Bron’s Ghost Tree or Sorin’s Death Grotto. But to her surprise, it appeared to be on the inside exactly what it appeared on the outside—a lovely old Victorian mansion filled with antique furniture and old-fashioned decorations.
They walked past a stately Grandfather clock, ticking away in the hallway and through a homey-looking kitchen with an old-fashioned refrigerator with rounded corners and what looked like a wood burning stove. There was a plateful of homemade oatmeal raisin cookies sitting on the broad kitchen table. Mother Pain swept them up and carried them with her as she led them deeper into the house.
They finally came to rest in a living room furnished with a big old sofa with a faded floral print across from a matching chair. There was a long oval coffee table between the couch and chair and on it was a teapot covered in what looked to be a hand-knitted cozy and three mismatched china teacups with saucers, napkins, and spoons. Sugar and milk in a china bowl and pitcher completed the set.
“Do have a seat, my dears and I’ll pour out.” Mother Pain sounded positively grandmotherly as she put down the plate of cookies and motioned to the couch.
&nbs
p; The three of them sat gingerly on the faded print cushions—Kayla in the middle with Bron on her right and Sorin on her left. As Mother Pain poured the tea, Kayla couldn’t help thinking how strange this all was—and how completely opposite it was from what they had been expecting.
“Now, then,” Mother Pain said, when they all had a steaming cup of tea and one of the oatmeal cookies. “Tell me why you’re here and how you think I can help you.”
Sorin took point, explaining the terrorist attack against the Mother Ship, the effects of the Xi-46, and the way they were certain they could synthesize an antidote if only they had fresh samples of the Lust Blossom to work with.
“So now I hope you understand why it’s so urgent that we get some of the Lust Blossoms from you,” he said in conclusion. “We do not want them only for ourselves but for our people as well, all who are suffering from the unpredictable effects of the Xi-46.”
“Don’t want them for yourselves, hmm?” Mother Pain narrowed her faded brown eyes behind her spectacles. “Let me think about that. Drink up, please—go on, drink your tea. Hot tea is good for the soul,” she said, motioning to them.
Casting glances at each other, they raised their teacups to their lips. The tea smelled delicious—like warm honey and cinnamon and some other spice Kayla couldn’t name. But though Sorin took a big drink and Bron nearly drained his cup, she barely let the tea touch her own lips. She only took a tiny nibble of the cookie too, though she broke it up to make it look like she’d had more for politeness’ sake. Auntie Feenie always said, “Don’t take candy from strangers nor nothin’ else neither.”
Which was a lot of double negatives but Kayla tended to agree with it just the same.
“Hmm…” Mother Pain looked up at them after a moment and nodded agreeably. “Now tell me again why you want the blossoms so badly.”
“We told you that already,” Bron growled impatiently. “We want it because we fucking need to make an antidote so Kayla can choose between the two of us so she—” He stopped abruptly, frowning. “Hey, I didn’t mean to say that. I meant to say we need it for our people.”
“Which is a half-truth.” Mother Pain looked at him sharply. “Your first statement was the whole truth—you want the Lust Blossom for personal reasons. Worse, you want it to break up your pod. Now, why would I help you do that?”
“We’re not really in a pod, as your people put it,” Sorin said, frowning.
“Oh no?” Mother Pain raised one gray eyebrow at him. “Are you sure about that?”
“Of course we’re fucking sure,” Bron growled.
“Bron!” Kayla and Sorin both said and Kayla added, “Mind your manners!”
“Sorry, but these questions are fucking getting to me.” Bron put down his mostly empty teacup and tugged at the collar of his crimson uniform shirt as though he was getting overheated.
“Tell me this, Beast Kindred,” Mother Pain said, staring intently at him. “Do both of you love this woman you have between you?”
“Of course we do!” Bron said angrily.
“And do you love each other?” she inquired. “You and the Blood Kindred?”
Kayla wondered how she knew exactly what kind of Kindred Bron and Sorin were but she didn’t know if it would be wise to ask.
“Yes, we love each other,” Sorin answered for him. “Bron is the friend of my heart. Such a relationship only comes about once in a lifetime—and only then if a male is very lucky and blessed by the Goddess.”
“And you feel the same, Beast Kindred?” Mother Pain asked.
Bron nodded. “I would die for Sorin,” he said shortly.
“Then why do you wish so badly to break up this friendship—to end your pod?” she asked, frowning.
Kayla, who was staring at her as she spoke, had a sudden, strange vision. For just a moment instead of a little old lady sitting in the faded flower-print chair, she seemed to see a huge insect—something like a grasshopper or a praying mantis sitting there instead, bent forward in an attitude of listening with its strange, triangular head cocked to one side as it watched them with wide, black eyes.
Then the vision was gone but the after-image lingered in her mind’s eye like a brilliant flash of light lingers behind closed eyelids.
What the hell? she thought uneasily. What’s in this tea, anyway? I don’t think any of us ought to have drunk any of it at all! But it was too late now and she realized the conversation was going on without her.
“I ask you again, the two of you,” Mother Pain said, staring intently at both Bron and Sorin. “Why do you wish so badly to end the love between you and tear your pod apart when it is the best thing in your lives? Tell me the truth!”
Her voice cracked like sudden lightning in the small, cozy little room, making the small hairs on the back of Kayla’s neck stand up. Mother Pain stared directly at Bron.
“You,” she said. “Answer.”
“I…I…” The Beast Kindred’s mouth worked for a moment and then he seemed to speak almost against his will. “I don’t want to break up our relationship,” he said at last. “But I can’t share Kayla, either. A Beast Kindred doesn’t share.”
“Very good, now we’re getting somewhere.” Mother Pain nodded. “And what do you fear would happen if you did?”
“My…my sire would fucking disown me, for one,” Bron said, still seemingly speaking against his will. “It makes a male weak and subservient to the male he’s sharing the female he loves with. It’s just fucking wrong to share.”
“But does it feel wrong?” Mother Pain inquired.
“I…” He shook his head, unable to speak. His golden eyes narrowed with the effort. “It should feel wrong,” he said at last.
“And why is that?”
He opened his mouth to speak again but she raised a hand.
“Never mind. We will explore the root of this feeling shortly.”
“I don’t fucking see how—” Bron began but she was already speaking to Sorin.
“And you, Blood Kindred, why do you wish to end this relationship?”
“Because if the three of us were together—bonded—then I would be bonded to another male as well as Kayla.”
“And why is this disturbing to you?” Mother Pain inquired.
Sorin looked like he wanted to avoid the question. But just as Bron had done, he seemed to answer against his will.
“My people believe it is wrong for a male to be mated to another male,” he said. “We call it ‘Three touching as One.’ My sire would disown me as well.”
“Yes, but those are only fears about other people.” Mother Pain made a dismissive gesture as though such fears hardly counted. “What do you fear for yourself?”
“I fear…I fear…” Sorin licked his lips and swallowed hard. “I fear getting too close to another male. Even Bron. It would be…the wrongest thing I could do. And so, to avoid it, we must get the antidote and Kayla must choose between us.”
“And what would happen if you did touch another male—your friend, say—in that way?” Mother Pain purred.
“I would…I would hate it,” Sorin said quickly. “It would make me hate myself too.”
“Hmm…there is both truth and lie in that statement,” Mother Pain remarked. “Presently we shall delve deeper. And what about you, my dear?” She turned her sharp eyes on Kayla. “How do you feel about all of this?”
Kayla had the idea the other woman was trying to exert her will to make her tell the truth. Possibly she was aided by the tea they had all drunk, which must be some kind of truth serum. She had barely tasted the tea but she didn’t need any help to tell the truth about this.
“I don’t want us to break up our, uh, pod at all,” she told Mother Pain. “I love both Bron and Sorin equally and I don’t think I could ever choose between them. I want to bond with both of them and be together forever.”
“Very good, my dear.” Mother Pain smiled broadly at her, the corners of her faded brown eyes crinkling. “At least one of you has some sens
e!” She arched one gray eyebrow at Kayla. “And what do you most fear?”
“Losing them,” Kayla said quietly. “Losing them both because they want me to choose. I can’t do that—I’ve lost too many people I care about in my life already. I can’t lose my guys.” A lump rose in her throat at the thought and she had to swallow down tears.
“Ah…I perceive that your fear of loss is as deeply rooted as the fears of your males.” Mother Pain nodded wisely. “Yes, very well—we shall see…we shall see…”
She frowned at Bron and Sorin.
“Now as you know, I am not paid in money. What I do accept in payment is truth—which you have all given me in varying amounts—and emotion. Specifically, my kind lives on fear and pain.”
“What?” Kayla began to get a horrible tingling sensation, like cold fingers running down her spine. “Are you going to torture us now?” she demanded. “After giving us cookies and tea and everything?”
“Most certainly not—that would be uncivilized.” Mother Pain frowned at her severely. “No, it is my will that the three of you will torture yourselves. That is, you will face the root of your greatest fear and see what might happen if it comes to pass. It will either make you stronger…” Her voice grew low and ominous. “Or it will break you completely.”
“What?” Sorin demanded.
“How the fuck do you think we’re going to do that?” Bron growled.
Kayla opened her mouth to ask a question too but then the pleasant, old-fashioned living room melted and they found themselves somewhere else entirely.
Seventeen
“Where are we?” Kayla asked, looking around at the stone walls and roof that surrounded her. They appeared to be in some kind of furnished cave with a high roof and elaborate paintings on the smooth stone walls.
“My home grotto,” Sorin whispered, looking around. “Gods, how did we get here?”
“I think you know how.” Mother Pain’s voice startled them all and Kayla looked around but the strange old lady was nowhere to be seen.
“Where are you?” she asked aloud, speaking to the empty air.
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