by Matthew Fish
“I always warned your father that he should not marry a Perpetual,” Fran spoke as she shook her head. “Sure you can have your fun with them, but don’t go for someone that never ages; they’ll just leave when…well, when you look like I do.”
“I don’t want to hear about you having fun times with Perpetuals,” Mark said quietly.
“You’ve taken up with a Perpetual haven’t you? Fran pressed as she began putting coins into cases. “I bet you have, you’re a lot like your father was at this age.”
“I have, actually. The one that burned your house down, long story, but she feels really bad about it,” Mark said as he attempted to keep from dropping too many info bombs on his poor grandma. “Actually though…turns out that I’m a Perpetual too, I guess mom left me a little unexpected gift…”
“A Perpetual Conductor,” Fran said as she shrugged. “Never thought I’d live to see the day, well at least you’re dating. I was getting worried you’d be a shut-in…playing your video games all day and hanging out on the computer taking pictures of your food or whatever the hell it was you were doing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still pissed about the house—but I am glad that you are safe.”
“It is good to see you too,” Mark said as he smiled.
Emily peeked into the ballroom; Maddie was fast upon her heels.
“Well, go in,” Maddie goaded.
“I’m going, bitch hat,” Emily said as she took Maddie’s beach hat and tossed it across the hallway.
“Very clever,” Maddie said sarcastically as she quickly went to retrieve her souvenir.
Emily pushed open the door to find two familiar faces she rushed over to the blue haired girl in the white hoodie and squeezed her tightly. “Yippee, it’s Amelia!” She spun the girl around and she bounced up and down happily.
“I’m so happy to see you, Emily!” Amelia said as she laughed.
“Ahem,” Felecia cleared her throat as she stood by and folded her arms.
“You…” Emily said as her mind was drawing a blank. “Sister…”
“Felecia,” Felecia spoke as she let out a sigh. “We met six years ago, I was supposed to train you before our father pulled me away…?.”
“Oh, fucksakes, sorry—Felecia,” Emily said as he cheeks grew bright red. “You’re all grown up and everything.”
“I was the same age when we met last…”
“That’s what I mean, I’m…older now and so it’s like we’re closer in age…right now,” Emily added as she did some heavy backpedaling. “It’s so good to see you though!”
“I’ll let you two catch up, at least you two lived together so…yeah, I’ll be in the other room,” Felecia spoke as she shook her head.
“Holy shit,” Maddie said as she entered the room with her beach hat firmly attached to her head. “Emily, you’re multiplying.”
“Very funny,” Felecia spoke as she passed by and disappeared down the hallway.
“You cursed!” Emily said as she rushed over and grabbed Maddie by the hand and dragged her over to Amelia. “That’s like…number five, I think. Anyway, this is my sister Amelia. We lived together for what…two years I think?”
“Then our father separated us, said Emily was a bad influence,” Amelia said sadly.
“Amelia is a water Elemental,” Emily said as she covered Amelia’s ears with her hands and whispered. “I’ve never said a single negative thing about a water Elemental.”
“Oh cut the shit, I know what people think of water Elementals,” Amelia said as she pushed Emily’s hands away. “Our father didn’t think you could do all that much either…”
“I can project like…at least, twice as far as I used to,” Emily boasted. “Plus, I make lighters explode, like a whole handful.”
“I learned a trick,” Amelia said as she pulled a water bottle from her backpack. She tossed it at the concrete wall. Just before it was about the strike the concrete slab, she froze it and exploded it towards the targets, shooting fragments of tiny ice shards that ripped apart the papers.
“That’s more than a trick,” Maddie said as she nodded. “That’s impressive.”
“Good thing dad never found out you could do that. He’d probably make you work for him,” Emily said as she squeezed her sister tightly. “What are you bitches doing here anyway?”
“We work for Captain Dickson now, pamplemousse anus,” Amelia said as she poked Emily roughly in the stomach. “Just like you. We went all legit n’ shit.”
“Out of curiosity,” Maddie chimed in as she watched the two sisters banter playfully. “Same mother…?”
“Yep,” Emily said as she pulled Amelia close and rubbed her fingers against the girls blue hair, messing it up. “It’s the eyes right? Mine are like, really light brown or hazel, and hers are super bright brown and shit.”
“Yeah…” Maddie muttered. “It’s definitely…the eyes…and Felecia?”
“She’s my sis from a different mother,” Amelia said as she attempted to sort out her short blue hair. “She’s all old and grumpy, but she’s a good sister. She was supposed to reel me in, make me more like her, all normal and serious and all that twat-trotting stuff.”
“Hey, did you guys change your last name?” Emily asked and continued without waiting for a reply. “Is it Stapleton?”
“It is,” Amelia said as she nodded emphatically. “Fuck Zampa.”
“Yeah…! Fuck Zampa!” Emily shouted as she giggled like a child.
Mark emerged from the staircase. He headed towards the ballroom just as he met an unfamiliar face.
“Felecia,” the short girl with the brown hair and amber colored eyes spoke as she extended a hand. “I’m a Spotter working with Captain Dickson…and I’m also Emily’s sister.”
“Mark,” Mark replied as he nodded and shook Felecia’s hand. “Conductor, technically Grand Conductor—but we don’t really know what we’re doing about all that. So just, yeah, this is my place. It’s nice to meet you.”
“A pleasure,” Felecia said as she took a step to the side. “If you would excuse me—there is an overabundance of Emily going on in there. I would hang out elsewhere for a while, to be honest.”
“I’m actually dating Emily,” Mark said as he shrugged.
“You must have the patience of a saint,” Felecia spoke as walked away.
“Mark!” Emily exclaimed as she dragged him into the room. “This is my sister, Amelia. Amelia, this is my boyfriend and Perpetual Grand Conductor, Mark.”
“That’s quite an impressive title there, Mr. Mark,” Amelia said as she reached for Mark’s hand and shook it rather roughly.
“It’s almost like someone split Emily into two,” Maddie whispered.
“I heard that, bitch hat,” Emily said as she pulled Mark in close. “Amelia here is a water…”
“I’m headed to bed Mark,” Grandma Fran spoke as she paused at the doorway.
“Who is the old lady?” Emily said as she looked confused. “Is she a squatter? Did she get lost on the way to the Old Country Buffet in the sky?”
“This is my grandmother,” Mark said as he cleared his throat loudly. “Grandma Fran…she’s been taking care of the place while we’ve been gone. Grandma, this is Maddie, Amelia, and my girlfriend Emily.”
“Sorry about the old lady…thing, you don’t look a day over seventy,” Emily added.
“I’m only sixty-five,” Fran said as she swatted her hand in a dismissive manner towards the girl.
“I meant fifty…” Emily spoke as she shook her head. “I have sisters that were like, forty or something but you know us Perpetuals…we can’t tell age very well. They’re dead, both of them. But it’s okay.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Fran,” Maddie said as she smiled to the elderly woman.
“Yes,” Amelia said as she smiled widely. “Nice to meet you…”
“Likewise,” Fran said shortly as she pressed her hand against her chin. “What is up with you girls and your crazy hair…never mind—don’t car
e, I’m off to bed.”
“Night Grandma,” Mark added as Fran left the room without another word.
“Hey Mark…” Emily whispered.
“Yes?”
“What kind of underwear does your grandmother wear?” Emily asked as she giggled. “You don’t know do you? If I had to guess, I’d say it Depends.”
“Is that joke even funny anymore?” Maddie asked as she shook her head. Amelia was laughing—apparently some odd people still found it humorous.
“That’s…that’s lovely,” Mark said as he squeezed Emily close against his chest. “You all have your fun in here—or whatever, go for a swim or something. I have some business I have to discuss with Christopher.”
“What are you going to do about Cain?” Emily asked as she paused her joyful mood and remembered back to the axe that now resided in the basement of Red Manor.
“No idea,” Mark said as he began to walk out of the room.
“So I guess this means we’re not heading back west,” Emily said with a tone of sadness in her voice.
“Keep us informed,” Maddie said as she nodded to Mark. She felt sad that trouble had found them once more—even worse that it was someone that they trusted. Maddie did not know whether or not she could handle the decision if she was in Mark’s shoes. After all, Cain played an integral part in facing the Ankou. Although there was no new threat on the horizon, she did not feel that it was wise to start fighting amongst each other.
“Busy night, isn’t it?” Christopher spoke as he sat on the glass table and nursed a small glass of whiskey. Felecia sat on a chair in the corner of the room; she rested her head against the back of the couch and watched the gentle snow fall through a window she pushed open ever-so-slightly.
“Yeah,” Mark said as he let out a sigh. “A lot to take in on my first night back…”
“Your Grandmother is a great person, I mean she’s a wealth of knowledge,” Christopher spoke as he attempted to place the subject upon something a bit more uplifting.
“Yeah, she would have been great to talk to—if my father had allowed it,” Mark said as he pulled up a chair to the table and sat across from Christopher.
“So have you given any thought to our predicament?” Christopher spoke as he took a sip of whiskey and contorted his face as the liquid burned down his throat.
“I’m conflicted,” Mark said as he nodded once. “You are right to be concerned, and you have every right to feel the way you do about Cain’s actions. At the same time, he has been very loyal to us—I do not believe that we would have survived Lake Falls without him.”
“Was it a loyalty that suited his needs? When he was working with my father, wasn’t part of his main mission to gain your trust?”
“I honestly don’t know,” Mark admitted. “I’m not good when it comes to this kind of shit, really…I, I’m more of a person who just tries to do the right thing and hopes for the best possible outcome. I don’t deal well or like going behind people’s backs and dealing in distrust and all that mess.”
“Regardless, Mark, you do realize that you are a leader, correct?” Christopher spoke as he placed his hands upon the table and began to tap his fingernails against the glass. “At the same time, Cain is a leader…one of you is going to have to take your rightful place to lead us into the unknown future. When some threat comes calling, who will we stand beside?”
“I never wanted to be a leader of anything,” Mark said as he rubbed his eyebrows with his fingertips. “Just because nothing threatens us, I don’t want to start fighting our allies.”
“And if he was never your ally?”
“Which side would you choose?”
“Yours, of course,” Christopher said. “I would follow the man that does not want to lead. I would seek to aid the leader that does not seek power—but to aid his friends when they need help.”
“And you feel that Cain would not do this?” Mark asked as the thought weighed heavily upon his mind. “He has not failed us before.”
“He achieved a goal,” Christopher said as he continued to tap his fingernails against the glass as though the motion helped him think. “Since he’s become the leader of the Perpetual Council, he has only ordered Captain Dickson to stop one gun smuggling operation—and that was when you were still around. Once you left, he sent us on countless missions to bases of former council members. He has single mindedly placed all of his resources and attention on finding the man he turned to ash. Now that task is done, I fear that he will seek to gain power—that things will fall back into their old ways. Just in the past month he has gathered wealth; he’s hired Elementals, Conductors, and armed Perpetuals—he’s been real secretive about it…Jenna and I are both members and he believes that we do not know what goes on beneath our very noses.”
“It’s his job to rebuild the council though,” Mark said as he closed his eyes and attempted to work through the problem. “The old council needed to be heavily defended—maybe he fears someone will try and overthrow him…maybe his intentions are good.”
“Well,” Christopher said as he took one final sip from his glass. “He’s requested a meeting with you at the office tomorrow.”
“I will find out what his intentions are,” Mark said as he nodded.
“I’ll drive you,” Christopher said as he picked up his glass. “Alright if we all crash here tonight…?”
“Of course,” Mark replied. “You are always welcome at Red Manor.”
“Thank you,” Christopher said.
“Where is Jenna, by the way?” Mark asked.
“She’s doing a little more digging,” Christopher said as he shook his head. “We’ll pick her up on the way—see if she has anything new to add. Goodnight, Mark.”
“Goodnight,” Mark replied as he ran his hand along the back of his neck and sat down upon the chair and looked to the floor mindlessly.
“I know it’s not my place to butt in,” Felecia said as she turned her attention away from the falling snow from the window. “However, I knew my father fairly well. It’s that taste of power that leads you to want more. It can turn the wrong type of person very dangerous and greedy for more, even if they have good intentions. That’s just my two cents—I don’t work for Cain. Judging by Christopher’s reaction, I wouldn’t want to. My loyalties lie with Captain Dickson—I only encountered this Cain briefly, I can say that he left me feeling rather…unsettled.”
“I think that leaving people unsettled is his natural state,” Mark spoke as he got up to his feet, he had thought enough today on the uneasy subject. “I do appreciate your opinion though. Feel free to butt in at any time—I really don’t know what I’m doing half the time.”
“I have a feeling you’ll learn just fine,” Felecia said as she nodded.
“Any room on the right side of the second floor hall—whenever you’re ready for bed…”
“Thank you,” Felecia said as she returned her gaze to the falling snow. “Do not think me odd…I just find a peacefulness in watching the world turn to white.”
“You are a Stapleton, how could I possibly think you to be odd?”
“Funny,” Felecia said as she shook her head. “You know, my father said that I failed with Emily…I was supposed to be in charge of keeping her in line and getting her to act more serious—I was only with her briefly before my father pulled me away when he tried to hire his own personal conductor…after that fell through he set me to straighten up Amelia, said she was becoming too much like Emily—but I ultimately failed there too.”
“But in this case,” Mark said as he let out a short sigh and scratched at the back of his neck. “Technically you saved both of them. If they had fallen in line, they would have turned out like Eva and Lola.”
“True…and myself as well,” Felecia said in a soft tone as she kept her eyes to the gentle snow. A soft white glow covered the ground beneath a dark orange sky. “After two failures, my father rather lost interest in me.
“Well, in my opinion, it seems
like he gave up on the best,” Mark spoke as she stood in the doorway of the room.
“I am glad that I never turned out like Eva and Lola, I suppose I do have to thank Emily and Amelia for that—his acceptance used to be all I wanted,” Felecia admitted regrettably. She was glad to be the person that she had become. Happy that she missed out on the chance to be one of her father’s favorites. “Anyway, thanks for listening—I’m sure you have a lot on your mind as it is.”
“It’s pretty empty up there most of the time,” Mark said as he knocked on his head with one hand and rapped against the wooden door with the other. “So, plenty of room for listening…I’ll leave you be though, I’m sure we’ll be working together soon.”
“Goodnight,” Felecia said quietly.
Mark drudged up the spiral staircase as he rubbed the temple of his forehead. There was a lot going on—it was no wonder that he believed that he was summoned back. The news regarding Cain was…troubling at best. Had he been too trusting? Cain had been extremely helpful in vanquishing the Ankou—but was he doing that out of his best interest, or everyone’s? Was his loyalty to gain Mark’s trust, only to abuse his overly trusting nature?
“You never wore that worried face out west,” Maddie said as he entered his bedroom.
“He’d wear me on his face,” Emily said as she rested against the bed and placed her arms behind her head.
“Didn’t want to hear about that,” Maddie said as she shook her head. She sat on the bed beside Emily and nervously fidgeted with her beach hat. “So, anything new…?”
“Christopher doesn’t trust Cain…apparently he’s been spending a lot of money hiring Elementals, armed Perpetuals and some Conductors. I have a meeting with him tomorrow and so I guess…I’ll talk to him and see what his intentions are. Anyway, Christopher will take me in the morning when he takes Amelia and Felecia back to William.”
“We should go,” Emily added as she got up and rubbed on Maddie’s shoulders. “Right, bitch hat…?”
“Yeah,” Maddie said as she nodded and got up to her feet. She playfully pushed Emily’s hands away and fought with her for a moment as Emily attempted to grab at her hat. “Em and I will follow behind in my Mustang.”