“He must be at his parents house,” I said. “We’re actually headed there now. If I see him, I’ll tell him you need his help.”
“Thanks sweetie,” she said, “Maybe you could talk to him too while you’re there,” she said reluctantly as her eyes nervously dashed to the floor.
“What do you mean, Mom?” I asked.
“Well,” she began, “Ever since he came back to Pine Lake to run the town...he’s just been a different person.”
I looked at my mom anxious to hear what she had to say.
“Maybe it’s nothing,” she said quietly. “He hardly does any work Miranda. He’s mostly up in his suite with some young woman. He introduced her as his assistant, Gabby—but the work is still being dumped on me. When he does show up, he has been dressing much sloppier than normal, which is fine I guess…but it’s unlike him.” She looked upset. “Miranda...I even smelled alcohol on his breath a few times.” She sighed. “I wanted to talk to you about it, but I have been so busy, I haven’t had a chance to travel to Sidhe.”
“It’s okay, Mom,” I acted like I was surprised by what she said. “Don’t worry about anything. I’ll speak with Damon, and in the meantime, maybe Addison and Ayden should take over Pine Lake for now...just until Damon is back on his feet.”
“It’s up to you,” she said, “you’re still the queen.”
“Can you talk to them? I’m sure they would be happy to take over. Then you can spend more time with Dad.”
My mom nodded her head, “Can you come for dinner tonight?”
“I would love to,” I smiled, and Ben nodded his head in agreement.
“I won’t keep you two,” my mother said as she quickly hugged Ben, who had been a good friend of hers when I was still a baby.
Ben and I quickly headed to Damon’s parents’ cottage. When Damon’s mom Delia opened the door, she looked surprised, yet excited to see me.
“Have you seen Damon?” I asked, after she welcomed us in.
“No,” she said quietly, “He’s been at the mansion a lot, but I haven’t seen him in a few days.”
After Ben and I had a seat in her living room, and she poured us a glass of lemonade, she took a seat and looked quite concerned by our presence without Damon.
She quickly told us Nathen, her husband, and my father were both at the mansion training young warriors to help pass the time. They were both growing quite old, and also bored. Although Delia was very old, even older than her husband, as a full-blood fairy, she looked close to the same age as me. Like all full-blood fairies, Delia would live a very long time.
After we were seated for a few moments, I decided to quickly tell Delia everything that happened, including what Luke had done. I begged her to keep it to herself. She said she had to tell her husband, but otherwise the secret was safe with her.
“Delia,” I said, “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do about Luke, and now Damon is missing.”
Delia took a moment to gather her thoughts before she quietly sighed and said, “Miranda, I don’t want to hurt you. I love you as if you were my child, and I know that the three of you are in a tricky situation, but,” she paused and looked cautiously at Ben before she said, “I know bringing Ben back broke my son’s heart.”
“I know Delia,” I said quietly.
She nodded her head and said, “I know that most of the things that happened were done with purpose and thought, but it still hurt Damon. It always did, even when he acted otherwise. I don’t know everything Miranda, but he told me a lot, and I knew the woman he was spending so much time with was more than his assistant.” She sighed, “I didn’t realize he had gotten her pregnant.”
I nodded my head, “What now Delia? I can’t find him anywhere, and what about Luke. What do I do with Luke? He needs his father...his real father.” I felt tears coming to my eyes as she gave me a sympathetic look and Ben quickly gave me a hug to calm me down.
Delia nodded her head. “Check Victor’s house. Damon’s loved you a long time, and he talked to his brother about it more than anyone.” She sighed once more, “As for Luke...he’s a young boy. He couldn’t have known the girl was pregnant. I don’t think he would have done what he did if he knew that...but for an eleven year old boy to use magic like he did...he’s either very, very powerful or in a lot of pain...or both.” She shook her head, “But for now...we need to test him, so we know what he is capable of. He has your superhuman DNA, and between you and Damon, he has quite a bit of fairy. We need to keep this between only those who already know. If the Sidhe counsel finds out...they may want to lock him up for good.”
I nodded my head as I blinked my tear stained eyes.
“You’re going to have to toughen up to get through this honey, and when we find Damon, he needs to be with his son.”
“I know,” I said, “I am hoping Addison and Ayden will take over Pine lake until Luke’s able.”
Delia nodded her head in approval, “Come see me before you go, and let me know if you find my son. Your welcome to stay for dinner.”
I shook my head and said, “Thank you Delia, but I promised my parents we’d eat with them.”
Delia gave both Ben and I a quick hug and walked us to the front door.
“Good luck, Honey,” she said as she kissed my forehead.
Ben and I didn’t have far to go, as Victor, Damon’s brother, and his wife lived just down the street. It only took a minute for the door to open after we knocked, as we stood face to face with Victor, who looked frazzled.
“Miranda,” Victor cried with a look of anguish across his face.
“Is everything okay? Is Damon here?”
Victor nodded his head and opened the door for Ben and I to come in. “He’s in the guest room,” Victor said. “He’s...in bad shape. I swore not to tell anyone he was here…but now that you’re here…”
I headed down the hall through their cozy one story home. I gazed at Ben and gestured for him to stay in the living room. I slowly opened the bedroom door and quickly looked inside. I was not prepared for what I saw behind the bedroom door.
Chapter 5
The moment I entered the room, I immediately smelled vomit looming in the air. Clothes were scattered throughout the room and knick-knacks were thrown to the ground. As I stepped into the bedroom, I nearly walked into a pile of vomit, and when I drew closer to the bed, I realized Damon was passed out in a pile of his own throw up.
“Damon!” I cried as I ran to his bed.
When I reached the bedside, I saw a half empty bottle of vodka next to the bed, and the smell of liquor was almost more powerful than the disgusting stench of his body odor.
“Damon!” I called out louder when he didn’t immediately respond. I reached out my hand to shake him and yelled, “DAMON!”
Finally he began to open his eyes and move around. “Miranda?” he whispered.
“Damon, what’s going!” I cried.
“I feel awful,” he whispered.
“Obviously,” I said feeling quite annoyed. “You have a son back home who needs you and you’re on Earth getting drunk and getting women pregnant. What is wrong with you Damon!”
“It’s not what you think,” he said softly as he wiped his eyes, suddenly realizing he was lying in his own vomit. “Oh Miranda,” he cried.
“Damon, you’re going to get up, take a shower. Then I’ll heal you so you’ll better. Then we’re going to talk. Someone else is going to take care of Pine Lake. You’re going to come back to Sidhe with me, where your son needs you!”
Damon moaned and rubbed his eyes.
“Get up now or I’ll drag you out of bed!” I hissed.
“Oh please baby, just let me sleep a while longer,” he mumbled with his eyes sewn shut.
I went to the curtains and thrust them open as sunlight poured into the small bedroom. Damon moaned from the bed and pulled his soiled covers over his body.
“I’m giving you five seconds to get out of bed before we drag you to the shower.�
� I began to count, and when Damon was still lying still when I reached five, I marched out of the room and returned with Ben and Victor by my side. “Carry him to the shower,” I demanded.
I followed behind as Ben and Victor lifted Damon and carried him to the bathroom.
“God dammit, leave me alone!” Damon howled as he flailed around.
“Knock it off Damon,” Victor cried, “I have children.”
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
Victor shook his head, but said, “It isn’t your fault.”
Victor and Ben hurled Damon into the shower and quickly left the room as I carefully began to remove Damon’s soiled clothing. After four children, I had seen worse, but not from my own husband. When Damon was completely naked, he curled up into the fetal position and shut his eyes, and when I turned on the water, he began to howl in anguish.
“Miranda, please!” he cried out. “Please.”
“You’ll feel better after you’ve had a shower.”
Finally Damon grew reasonable and sat up in the bottom of the shower as I kneeled down to scrub his hair. I used soap to wash him clean as he sat silent and still. Finally when he was completely clean, I turned off the water and wrapped him in a towel. He sat still as I dried him off, and when I looked into his eyes, I saw they were completely bloodshot and swollen. I quickly laid the towel over him to keep him covered as I placed my hands on his shoulders and softly began the healing chant.
After only a few minutes, Damon grew more alert, and in no time, he was acting more like himself. “I’m fine Miranda,” he said, “Let me get dressed.”
He stood up and covered himself with his towel before he headed to the guest room. He tried to shut the door behind him, but I didn’t give him the opportunity as I stepped inside.
“Miranda, I’m fine,” he said.
“I don’t think you are fine, and I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
He rolled his eyes as he began to dress himself while gazing around the room in disgust as he realized what he had done the night before. I felt bad for his brother so I quickly pulled the dirty blankets off the bed and tried to pick up.
“I can clean up,” Damon said.
“Can you?”
“Miranda, please. I just lost another baby. Please just let me be.”
“No, Damon. I’m not letting you be, because I love you, I love my family, and I love my children.” Damon looked to the ground sheepishly as I said, “What happened last night. We thought you were with Gabby, and then you disappeared...and this place is trashed.”
“I know...I know. I just needed to get away. I had too much to drink. I’m sorry, babe. I’m sorry for everything,” he said as he tried taking my hand.
I wanted to accept his love and his apology, but his behavior wasn’t right. “Damon, I saw your suite. It was trashed. There were alcohol bottle all over the place. I know this didn’t start last night. What’s going on? Despite everything you did, I am your wife and I still love you. I will never stop loving you, even if you think Ben is all I want. I want you, and I always will, even after ten years without intimacy.”
“I know you don’t mean that. I know you’re just saying that. After Alice was born you hardly looked my way. You went to Ben’s room night after night as I waited and hoped you’d spend a night with me. I just kept hoping you would give me love for one night—hoping for even another child, and instead Ben got you pregnant again.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? You acted so distant, even disgusted by me. I would have given you another baby. Honestly, I thought you hated me. I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”
“Miranda…” he sighed. “You don’t know how much it hurt me when I found out that Alice was Ben’s child. It broke my heart. I wanted another child with you so much. I’ve been bitter and hurt and even a little bit jealous, but if you would have just come to me. I would have made love to you, I would have forgotten it all, but you stayed away. When I found out the two of you were having another baby, I couldn’t take it anymore.” Damon sighed and he quickly wiped a tear away that fell from his eye.
“I know what I did wasn’t right,” he continued. I was doing too much, trying to rule Sidhe practically alone, while you and Ben played house. Then coming to Pine Lake to help your mother. Everything...it became too much, and occasionally I had a drink to relax and get me through the day. You were so busy, so I hired Gabby to make sure I ate...even slept.” He sighed. “At first she was just my assistant, but she stayed up with me during many late nights and kept me company. The two of us would have a drink or two to make our work more fun, and before I knew it I was kissing her—wishing I were kissing you. The drinks and kissing eventually turned into all night drinking and eventually making love.
“When I slept with her, I only saw you,” he said. “Maybe it was the alcohol or lack of sleep...maybe I’m losing my mind, but so many nights I saw myself making love to you instead of her.”
Damon paused and looked guilty. “Eventually the two of us were drinking every night I was here—making love multiple times a day. Each time I only saw you, and all I could think about was making a baby...but in my screwed up mind, I was making the baby with you. Then the baby happened and reality set in. The baby was supposed to be yours...but it was hers.” he stuttered.
Then his eyes turned into a waterfall, as tears sprung violently down his face, and he began to tremble. “My own son killed it. He killed my baby. Oh God Miranda, what do I do?”
I quickly wrapped my arms around his trembling body and held him as he collapsed against me.
“Oh, why can’t I just have another child,” he sobbed. “I just wanted a family and a baby.”
“You have a family Damon,” I whispered as I stroked his hair. “You have a family who loves and needs you, and Luke is your son, and he needs you right now. I need you Damon.”
Damon continued to sob as I tried to calm him down, but he grew so hysterical, his brother and Ben came in to check on us.
“Damon, please, calm down,” Victor said, “My children are going to get upset if they hear you.”
Damon tried to take deep breaths, but he couldn’t settle down as he was howling and shaking in agony. Finally, Victor placed his hands on his older brother as he quietly chanted a quick spell, and suddenly Damon quieted down and began gazing into space.
“It’s a sedative spell, but it will only work a few minutes,” Victor said. He looked at Ben, “Can you help me carry him? We have to get him to the mansion. Can the two of you take care of him? I have children to think about.”
“Yes, of course. I’m really sorry Victor. I’ll come back and clean up.”
“It’s fine,” Victor said. “I just can’t have him here. He’s scaring my children, and I have the warriors to worry about. I have a lot going on today, but I’ll check in later with you two.”
The two of us nodded as Ben helped lift Damon up, and we began to carry him to Victor’s car. We decided to drive to the mansion, as to not cause a scene. It took longer to load Damon into the car than it took to drive to the royal mansion.
As the men dragged Damon out of the car, I came up with a cover for Damon’s condition, “If we see anyone, Damon has the flu.”
Ben and Victor nodded in agreement.
The three of us successfully carried Damon from the garage in the back of the mansion, all the way to his suite without being spotted. Only seconds after putting Damon in his bed, the magic began to wear away, and Damon was upset once more.
“Miranda,” he said as I was carefully picking up his room, “I want a baby. I want another baby. Please give me another baby.”
“Not now Damon,” I said as Ben gave me an uncomfortable glare. “You just lost your baby yesterday, and you aren’t well. You need to be there for Gabby and you need to be there for Luke.”
“I hate her,” Damon hissed, “She seduced me. She turned me into a drunk.
“You could have said no,” I sighed. “You can’t blame your behav
ior on her. Right now you need to relax and settle down. We need to go home to get back to Luke.”
Damon grunted and yelled, “I want Gabby out of Sidhe!”
“Damon, calm down!” I cried. “As soon as she recovers, she will go. She just lost her child, and…well Luke hurt her some.”
“My child!” Damon screamed at the top of his lungs.
I looked at Ben and shook my head. I didn’t know what to do. We had to take care of Damon, and we had to take care of Luke.
“I’m going to cancel dinner with my parents tonight, and I’ll ask Nathen and Delia to take Damon back to Sidhe with us. We need them.”
Ben agreed. I used the phone in Damon’s suite to first call my parents; then I called Damon’s parents, who agreed to help us to Sidhe.
“We didn’t realize how bad things were,” Nathen said when they arrived.
I shook my head, “I didn’t either. This is all my fault.”
“Now, now, sweetie,” Delia said, “None of this is your fault. The three of you have been put through much more than you deserve. Nathen and I will stay with you until Damon’s better, and we’ll figure out what to do about Luke. We’re here now honey,” she said softly.
Nathen and Delia were somehow able to convince Damon to return to Sidhe with all of us, and when we arrived back home, Nathen stayed with his son, while Delia and I ran some tests on my son.
Delia gathered several potions that would allow us to run magical tests on my son while keeping magic turned off in the dungeon, in case Luke accidentally used his powers again. When the two of us reached my son, I saw that he was sitting at his small table playing a game with his brother. For being trapped in the dungeon, it looked as if the two of them were actually having fun.
When I entered his cell, Benny said goodbye to his brother and headed back to his job as king. Luke was happy to see me, and he was especially happy to see his beloved grandmother.
“Grandmother!” he cried, “Why are you here?”
“Oh sweetie,” she said as she gave him a quick kiss, “It seems your magic may be developing quickly at a young age, and I’m going to run some tests so we can help you.”
The Portal to Sidhe: Book 3 Page 5