“Because I know how you hate to have your middle name repeated in public,” she said point blank.
With that, he pulled out his cell phone and hit a couple of buttons which speed dialed Josh’s phone. It rang several times and then Josh’s voicemail answered.
“Hey, son…It’s Dad. Anton dropped us off at the airport this morning and your mother and I are about to get on the plane. We just wanted to relay our well wishes for a fast recovery for Blake and please thank Dominic for everything.”
Anne leaned into the phone and added, “We love you, Josh…come and visit soon.”
“Yes, Dear, I think he knows that since you said it about a dozen times before he left,” Richard said, ignoring the phone for a moment.
“Oh just stop it, Richard, and talk to the boy!” Anne reprimanded.
“Well, we better scoot. Like your mother said, we love you, Son. Come and visit with Melanie any time you get a chance. Hope to see you soon. Bye.”
Richard pressed the end button and turned the phone off. “Don’t forget to turn your phone off, Anne.”
“I know…I know…” Anne said as she found their seat number and sat down nearest the window. “Oh, Richard, can you get my book out of the bag you just put up in the overhead cabinet?”
“You couldn’t have thought of that before I sat down?” Richard said as he got back up, trying to steer clear of passengers trying to make their way past him.
Anne ignored him as she looked out the tiny window. “Aw…Isn’t that sad?”
“What’s that, Dear?” Richard asked as he plopped down next to her, handing her a book.
“There’s a coffin being loaded into the baggage compartment. Someone coming home for the very last time. I wonder if it’s a soldier?” she said.
“That is too bad,” he said as he watched the coffin being carefully loaded into the belly of the plane.
“And there’s my bag,” Anne said suddenly.
“Well, Dear, how could you miss it with all those flowers on it?” he said.
“You are in rare form today, Richard. At least mine is easy to find, whereas yours is black like 50 million others.”
Richard rolled his eyes and sighed deeply as the stewardess started to make her announcement about the safety procedures.
Anne patted his hand casually and leaned her head on his shoulder as she opened the book and started to read.
*****
A dusty little mini cooper drove up the teardrop-shaped driveway. A little toot of the horn and Darby laughed, seeing Devon’s smiling face behind the wheel.
“Well, don’t you look cute with your little straw hat and gloves!” he called out.
“You look pretty handsome yourself. How was your day in town? Get everything squared away?” Darby asked.
“I think so,” he said as he got out of the car, wrapped one arm around her waist, and pulled her to him, planting a kiss on her forehead. “You got a lot done. Wow. It looks great.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” Darby said proudly.
“Anything interesting happen here?” he asked as she grabbed a large basket of cut flowers and led him into the house.
“Actually, yes. I met this very strange woman,” Darby said, setting the basket down on the large, red and white striped envelope, which was now on the kitchen table.
“Oh? What did she want?” he asked.
“I’m not sure she wanted anything, but she scared the bejeebers out of me when I looked up and saw her face in the window of the potting shed,” she admitted.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. I invited her in for tea and we talked a bit. She said she was a ‘peller’,” she explained.
“Your first day here and you run into a local witch? That is interesting,” he said.
“So you know what a peller is? Huh, figures,” Darby said and Devon laughed. “She said she sensed my power and followed it to me.”
“This gets more interesting by the second,” he said as he unpacked the groceries from the bags.
“She said I was a Seer,” she told him.
“Really? That’s cool,” he said.
“I guess. Of course, I’m not ‘seeing’ anything, but she said I will in time.”
“Interesting,” he said as he sat down and watched her start to arrange flowers in a large vase.
“I don’t know. Kind of scary. I’m not sure what I should be seeing, but she said the ‘wee folk’ were everywhere and they seemed to be very interested in me.”
“Oh no…not the ‘wee folk’,” Devon joked as he grabbed her hand, spinning her around and landing her on his lap, just where he wanted her.
“Yes. It’s all a little unnerving,” Darby said with a pout.
He kissed away her pout, then kissed her a little more and before she knew it, he had whisked her away up to the bedroom where he kissed her some more and………
*****
Dominic sat in the family waiting room with Josh and Melanie. Sally and Dean were in Blake’s room with Rowan, who had been sedated again, when Dominic’s cell phone rang.
“Hello,” Dominic answered.
“Dad, it’s Anton,” Anton responded.
“Good to hear from you, Son. Did you get a hold of Devon and Darby yet?”
“No. Not yet, I…”
“Well keep trying, Son. He needs to be here and the sooner the better,” Dominic said.
“Oh no. Then it’s bad news?”
“The worst,” Dominic explained.
“How can that be?” Anton asked.
“Deadman’s Blood.”
“No. That’s not possible. Blake would never…” Anton started.
“I agree, but nonetheless, that’s what it is,” Dominic said.
“Have you spoken with him?”
“No. He’s been in a coma since we got here,” Dominic told him.
“Oh, Dad. I hate to say it, but I have some bad news of my own,” Anton said. “That’s why I called.”
“Bad news? What is it?” Dominic said, alarmed.
“It’s Anne and Richard, Dad,” Anton said.
“What about them?” Dominic asked, glancing at Josh.
“The plane, Dad. There was an explosion in the baggage area and…”
“And what? You’re not saying…” Dominic started.
“I am. It went down,” Anton said sadly.
“No!” Dominic said loudly “No. That can’t be!”
“It is, Dad. It’s all over the news. There were no survivors, Dad. None. There’s barely any of the plane left.”
“You’re absolutely sure they were on it?” Dominic asked.
“Yes. They gave me the plane information when I took them to the airport. When I saw it on the news I checked the flight information. Then I called the hotline when I heard it on the news and they confirmed it,” Anton said. Dominic took his leave from the room and headed down the hall as he listened to Anton. He stopped and leaned against the wall and sighed.
“How am I going to tell him his parents are dead, Anton? How can I do that to him?” Dominic implored.
“I don’t know, Dad. But I do know that you and I are the only family he has now. You’re his father; I know it will be hard, but he’s going to need you now,“ Anton told him.
“Anton. He’s barely even gotten used to the idea that I’m his father. Why is this happening? Blake’s dying, the Brenners are gone. This is a nightmare,” Dominic cried.
“I know. But at least you’re there with both of them. I know this isn’t the time, but I’ve had another one of those dreams. We really need to talk about it when you have some time.”
“Right. Okay…we’ll talk soon. If you hear anything else about the details of the explosion, let me know. I guess I better go talk with him. I’d hate for him to see it on the news before I could say something,” Dominic said solemnly.
“Then you better do it right away, Dad. I’m really sorry about this and I hate being the one to bear the bad news,” Anton said.
“I’ll keep trying. Talk to you later,” Anton said.
“Take care,” Dominic said.
“I will, bye.”
“Wait, Anton?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you, Son. You know that, right?”
“I do. I love you too, Dad.”
“Bye.”
Dominic stood there for a moment gathering his strength and courage, then pushed off the wall and headed back to Josh and Melanie in the waiting room, where he found Josh flipping through the channels on the television.
He quickly made his way to the television and turned it off, getting an odd look from Josh. Josh said, “Did you hear? There’s been a plane crash - looks bad.”
“Josh…that was Anton on the phone. Something’s happened,” Dominic said.
“Yeah? More bad news?” Josh casually sat down next to Melanie and put one arm around her shoulders.
“I’m afraid so,” Dominic started. He paused a long time, and then said, “It’s your parents.”
Josh leaned forward with both elbows on his knees. Melanie stroked his back.
“What about them?” Josh asked timidly.
“There was an explosion on the plane. They don’t seem to know all the details yet, but …” Dominic started.
“But what?” Josh said slightly annoyed, but as he said it, the wheels in his head started to turn. “You’re not saying,” he pointed at the television. “THAT was their plane? Are they okay?”
Dominic bit his lip and cringed, and then said, “There were no survivors, Josh.”
“But…” Tears welled up in his eyes and he dropped his head into his hands. Melanie wrapped her arms around him and held him for only a moment before he got up and paced.
“It can’t be. They’re wrong,” he said pointing at the television. Rage rose in his voice. “NO! They can’t be gone.” His pacing grew faster and faster and Dominic and Melanie could see the anger peaking in him, when he released it on a wall near the door, punching it and going through the sheet wall, hitting a stud, and out the other side of the wall.
That’s when a wave of tears took him and he set his head on the wall he had just demolished. Dominic grabbed his shoulders, pulled him away from the wall, looked him in the eyes and said, “I’m so sorry, Josh,” then pulled him in for an embrace. Josh melted for a moment, letting Dominic be his strength for mere seconds, then more anger welled up and Josh pulled away from Dominic and headed out the door and down the hall.
Melanie started to get up to follow him, tears streaking her face, but Dominic stopped her at the door and said, “Give him a moment, sweetheart. He’s going to need you plenty in the days to come but he needs to vent a bit.”
“But I…” Melanie sobbed. Dominic drew her to him and she cried hard in his chest as Dominic too spilled some tears for his newfound friends that had been suddenly and horribly ripped from their lives.
Chapter Fifteen
A loud rumble outside alerted Anton to a large U-Haul coming up the drive. He stepped out of the house in time to see Mark and Alyssa waving cheerfully from inside the truck.
“Hey, Anton. We’re just bringing a few things in to the cottage,” Mark said out the window as he stopped the truck.
“A few? Looks like a lot.”
“There’s practically nothing in the back. We already dropped off the furniture from both of our places to a storage space in town. Just clothes and personal stuff in the back now,” Mark explained.
“Do you need any help?” Anton asked.
“No. Course I could have used you a few hours ago. Alyssa’s got this humungous wardrobe I had to move.”
“Poor baby…” Alyssa teased from the passenger side.
“Is everything okay? You look kinda, I don’t know, upset or something,” Mark asked.
“Yeah, I am. I’ve got some bad news. When you’re done why don’t you come up to the house and we’ll order pizza or something and talk,” Anton invited.
“Sure. I’m starving,” Mark said.
“We’ll be up in about half an hour, if that’s okay,” Alyssa said.
“Take your time. It’s not something I’m dying to tell you about,” Anton admitted.
Alyssa and Mark both looked at him rather puzzled, but put the big truck into gear and moved it up the drive in front of the cottage, to unload it.
Anton went in and called for a pizza delivery. He hadn’t seen Bernard since he had taken the Brenners to the airport. He thought he would save the news of Bernard’s disappearance for another time since he had already unloaded the news of Richard and Anne’s death. He had made some calls that turned up nothing as to Bernard’s whereabouts.
While he waited for the pizza delivery, he made another call to the messenger service in Ireland and had another notice sent to Devon.
Soon, the pizza had arrived and Mark and Alyssa knocked on the front door and then entered the house. They met up with Anton in the dining room.
“What? No china? Where’s Bernard?” Mark said sitting down at the table next to Alyssa.
Anton tossed him a beer and offered a glass of wine to Alyssa, who pointed at the beer, making Anton chuckle. He tossed her one too, then answered Mark’s question. “Don’t know. Haven’t seen him since this morning.”
“I didn’t know he ever left here. Does he have a home somewhere else?”
“Not that I know of. He’s always lived here.”
“That’s weird. Is that the bad news?” Mark said, loading his plate with several slices of pizza before offering the box to Alyssa.
“I wish. It’s much worse,” Anton said.
“Where’s Dominic?” Alyssa asked.
“California,” Anton said.
“California? I didn’t think he liked to travel,” Alyssa said.
“He doesn’t,” Anton confirmed.
“Then what’s up?” Mark asked.
“It’s Blake,” Anton said.
“What’s wrong with Blake?” Mark said with a mouth full of pizza.
“He’s dying,” Anton said sadly.
Mark and Alyssa both stopped chewing and swallowed hard. Both looked at Anton alarmed, before Alyssa said, “What? How is that possible? He’s a vampire for God’s sake!”
“Deadman’s Blood,” Anton said.
Alyssa said, “Ooooohhhhhhhh! That’s bad.”
Mark looked at Alyssa then back at Anton. “You’re kidding, right? Is that some kind of pirate term? Blimey and Aaaaarrrrgh.”
“No, Mark. Deadman’s Blood is very bad mojo. As far as I know there is no cure,” Alyssa explained.
“Well, you both seem to know what this is; would you mind explaining to the non-vampire, non-gypsy in the room?” Mark said rather annoyed.
“Somehow, someway, Blake has ingested the blood of a dead man,” Anton explained.
“But isn’t that what vampires do?” Mark asked.
Anton looked at him rather insulted. “We most certainly do not. Made vampires on a rampage, maybe, but ALL vampires know not to drain a body beyond life.”
“So you’re saying that as soon as a person dies, their blood instantly goes bad - like someone flipped a switch. That’s ridiculous!” Mark said.
“It’s not, honey. Even humans can’t use a dead man’s blood,” Alyssa said.
“But they harvest kidneys and hearts and what all from the dead, why not the blood?” Mark argued.
“I don’t know,” Anton said, “but she’s right, it can’t be done. Either way, a vampire does not NEED all the blood from a human, so it’s common knowledge to drain just to the cusp of death and stop. Going beyond that boundary is deadly.”
“But Darby told me she made Blake and Devon drink their blood from baggies. They don’t even bite people anymore. How could he have ingested th
e Deadman’s Blood?” Mark asked.
“That’s what they are trying to figure out,” Anton said.
“Why can’t they just ask him?” Mark asked.
“He’s been in a coma since they’ve been there.”
“So what, they’re just going to let him die?” Mark asked.
“I’m not sure there’s anything they can do, but I can assure you if there is anything that can be done, my father will insist upon it,” Anton answered.
“I’m really sorry, Anton. That’s terrible news,” Alyssa said.
“The worst part is that is not all the bad news I have,” Anton continued.
“Oh, come on. How can there be more? He’s already dying,” Mark said.
“Did you hear about the plane that went down today?” Anton asked.
“The one that has been all over the news, how could you not hear about it?” Mark said.
“Josh’s parents were on that plane.”
“What?” Mark exclaimed.
“Oh no. Does Josh know?” Alyssa asked.
“Dominic’s telling him right now - he and Melanie went to California also.”
“How do you know they were on the plane?” Mark asked.
“I took them to the airport this morning. They had been visiting here to meet Melanie, Dad, and me,” Anton explained.
“Oh man. That stinks,” Mark replied.
“Do Devon and Darby know about Blake?” Alyssa asked.
“I’ve been trying to reach them but I haven’t been able to yet. I’ve been sending daily messengers and calling all over Ireland, trying to get the message to them, but nothing so far,” Anton said.
“Geez…how is Rowan doing?” Mark asked.
“Dominic said they’ve been keeping her sedated.”
“Poor thing,” Alyssa said. “Is there anything we can do?”
“Not really, I’m sorry to say.”
They sat together, befuddled and sad. The house was painfully quiet and somehow a little colder.
*****
After Alyssa and Mark headed back down to the cottage to settle in, Anton’s phone rang. It was Dominic.
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