I felt tears forming behind my eyelids as I said, “Damon would have to agree before we even considered it.”
“I understand,” Nathen said, “But Miranda, this could be our best and only option. Not only is a vile the kind of heir Taylor and Desmorelda would want, but if nothing else, Luke could be free to be himself at no risk to others. Hell is where incredibly sinful humans fall to when they die. It would be my grandson’s best chance at a decent life.”
I began to cry, but I nodded my head because deep inside, I knew Nathen was completely right.
But how could I even begin to tell Damon any of this. He was hanging on by a thread and had just lost a child. How could I tell him we were considering handing over the only biological child he had to Desmorelda?
The morning after our dinner with Benny, I rose early to the delightful smell of bacon in the air. I went downstairs in my pajamas, expecting to find Ben cooking breakfast. To my surprise, Damon was fully dressed with his hair neatly combed, cooking eggs and bacon. Alice was standing by her stepfather’s side as she stirred a bowl of pancake batter.
“Good Morning, honey,” Damon said as he smiled and turned my way. “Have a seat and relax. I wanted to wake up early and fix a nutritional breakfast for you and the baby.”
His words immediately confused me, so I said, “Damon, you know Isabella can’t eat this kind of food yet.”
“I’m not talking about Isabella honey, I’m talking about the baby growing inside of you.”
“Mother, Damon said you’re having another baby,” Alice cried. “He asked me to help fix you breakfast.”
I gave Damon a daunting glare and said, “Damon, I’m not pregnant. Why would you tell Alice that?”
“But you are!” He said with a smile. “I put a baby in you the other night. Remember?”
“Damon!” I hissed. I looked at my innocent daughter and said, “Alice, Damon isn’t feeling well, and it’s making him confused.”
Alice looked completely lost between the two of us as Damon yelled, “You are pregnant! You’re pregnant with my baby! Don’t’ lie! Don’t lie.”
I quickly pulled my daughter away from the bowl of pancake batter. As I led her from the room, Damon held up his spatula and screamed, “Miranda, don’t go! Don’t go!”
As the two of us quickly shuffled up the stairs, I heard Damon set down the spatula as his footsteps trailed behind us.
When I reached the stop of the stairs, I quickly pulled Alice into the bedroom I shared with Ben and locked the door behind me. I heard Damon screaming as he grew closer to the bedroom, “Miranda, don’t leave me! Don’t take my baby away!”
Ben was in the bedroom getting dressed and looked very confused, “What’s going on?”
Alice ran to Ben and wrapped her arms around him as she started crying, “Daddy, why is Damon screaming!”
“Ben,” I said. “Take Alice into the closet.”
Our closet was a small safe room that locked from the inside. The walls and doors were reinforced with steel to protect us from any threat.
“I’m going to go through Damon’s room and get Isabella.” I said, as our closet was also a passage between Ben and Damon’s bedroom. “Lock the doors behind me,” I continued, “and stay with Alice. Call Vic or someone from security the moment I leave. I’ll lock myself in Isabella’s room until someone can settle Damon down.”
Damon was now beating on our bedroom door and screaming my name. “Miranda! Let me in! Don’t take my baby away!”
Alice was crying as I pushed Ben towards the closet and said, “Go!”
Ben lifted our daughter into his arms as she cried into his shoulder. As they remained behind, I quickly went through the other door and into Damon’s room. I nodded my head as Ben nervously shut and locked the door behind me. I tiptoed through Damon’s bedroom until I reached his front door and peeped through the crack, watching as Damon continued to beat on Ben’s bedroom door.
I stood watching Damon for a moment as I tried to decide what to do next. He was continuously pounding on the door and yelling out my name.
“Miranda, just let me in!” he cried. “I just want to be together. I want to father this baby. Please don’t take my baby away from me.”
Damon believed I had become pregnant after our single passionate night together. His delusions were so warped that he had told our young daughter I was having a baby. Now he was in a panic that I was going to take this baby away.
I continued to watch Damon beat on my bedroom door as I cautiously glanced at Isabella’s room across the hall. Surly Damon’s fit was scaring our infant daughter, and there was no way for my to get to her room without Damon seeing me first. My only option was to confront Damon and calm him down.
I quietly left Damon’s room and carefully walked down the hall. It only took a moment for Damon to notice my presence and turn my way.
“Miranda!” he cried out. I could see tears in his eyes, and his face was bright red. “Why did you leave? I was just making breakfast for you and the baby. I’m just so excited!”
“Damon I’m not pregnant—at least I don’t think I am. Why are you assuming I’m pregnant and telling Alice I’m having a baby?”
“Because you are. Did something happen. Did we lose another baby?” Damon wined.
“No, Damon.” I said, “I’ll see the healing fairy today and see if I’m pregnant, but we only made love yesterday. It’s really to soon to know anything.”
Damon looked at me with a blank stare as if nothing I was saying made sense. He opened his mouth, but not a word came out. It appeared that his tongue was glued to the bottom of his mouth as he stood staring at me.
I quickly put my arm around his as he began to sob, “I tried so hard to put a baby in you. I did everything I could. Why is it so hard to make a baby with you?”
“Damon,” I said calmly, “We don’t know if I’m pregnant or not? I’ll find out today, and we already have a child together—Luke. What about Luke?”
“Where is Luke?” Damon suddenly realized he hadn’t seen his son since his return.
“Damon…he’s in the dungeon. After what happened with…Gabby, we felt it was best.”
“You put my son in the dungeon!” Damon screamed.”
“You disappeared. We didn’t have a choice,” I said calmly.
“He’s a little boy. My little boy! How could you do this!” He screamed as he lifted his fist back, prepared to strike at me.
I quickly ducked and threw my hands over my head as my heart raced in fear. To my surprise, he refrained from hitting me, and instead took a step back.
“Damon please,” I said as I carefully put my hands on him and tried to chant the tranquilizing spell. Before my magic took any effect, he tore my hands off of him and shoved me into the wall behind me.
“Damon!” I screamed. “Stop! You’re scaring me.”
“How could you do this to me?” he screamed. “You leave me for Ben. Then you lock my only son in the dungeon. Now you’re going to take my unborn child away. How can you do this!” he screamed.
“Please calm down,” I said softly. “Let me hold you.”
“No!” Damon screamed. Just then, Vic came charging up the stairs to my rescue.
“Why is he here!” Damon screamed.
“Calm down Damon,” Vic said calmly as he took hold of my husband. “It’s going to be okay.”
“No!” he screamed as he tried to fight him off. Damon’s attempt failed, as Vic was a ridiculously strong vampire.
“What do you need me to do?” Vic asked as he awaited my direction.
“Just hold him. I’m going to use my magic to calm him down.” I said as Damon screamed and yelled while trying to fight Vic away.
Once Vic had Damon still, I quickly placed my hands on my husband and softly chanted the spell that Delia had taught me to sedate him. As Vic held tightly to him, his movements began to slow as his eyes drooped shut. Soon, Damon was fast asleep. I breathed a sigh of relief, but I knew it w
asn’t over yet.
Chapter 7
I felt relief as I left the healing fairy’s office and learned I was not pregnant. I had immediately gone to the infirmary after my episode with Damon, in fear that his claims were true. Instead, it turned out his claims were nothing but wild delusions.
When I returned home, I saw that Ben was in the kitchen making cookies with Alice and her best friend Nick as Isabella sat in her high chair, joyfully playing with her rattle. It seemed that my daughters were mostly unaffected by Damon’s episode, but I was still heavily concerned by Damon’s wild behavior. When Ben noticed me enter the kitchen, he gave me a curious look, and I shook my head in response. He tried to hide it, but I could see a faint smile as he nodded his head, knowing I wasn’t pregnant.
The days continued to fly by like a broken clock spinning irrationally through each hour. Each day our army continued to grow as our small research group tried to find a way to prevent Luke from having to be sent to Hell. Over the next few days, Damon’s mental state continued to deteriorate as delusions loomed his weakened mind.
Luke had been imprisoned in the dungeon for over a week without any sign of aggression, let alone anger. Nathen assured us that at his young age, he would show little to no signs of his vile nature, and that what happened with Gabby was a freak accident. Benny decided we could let him out of the dungeon on the condition that Nathen and Delia moved into our home permanently to help monitor him. Along with extra supervision, he would have three private lessons per week with Emerlee to learn to control his magic. Finally, Benny demanded a guard placed in our house around the clock to be extra safe. Ben and I eagerly agreed to Benny’s conditions, and we were excited for our son to return home.
On top of Luke’s return home, we were all still dealing with my delusional husband. We kept Damon mildly sedated each day and night to keep him calm, but he was smart enough to know something else was going on.
Ben and I rode the castle’s portal as it dove deep below the castle at a swift speed. As we sunk below the earth, I looked at Ben and said, “We need to tell Damon everything.”
Ben twisted his face and said, “Miranda, I don’t think we should. He’s been mildly sedated for days. Do you think it’s a good idea to bring him back to the reality that he already has no grasp upon and tell him this horrifying news?”
“Ready or not, the clock is ticking, and Desmorelda will be coming back in three and a half years for one of our children. If we don’t find a solution for Luke’s vile…Damon needs to know. The clock is ticking.”
Ben nodded his head. “If that’s what you think is best,” he said.
“I do,” I replied.
Luke was thrilled to be released from the dungeon, although he surprisingly considered it an adventure. While he had been locked away, Ben and I decided to wait until he was bit older to explain to him that he was vile. For now, we explained to him that he had very powerful magic that could be dangerous if not controlled. After explaining his special magic power, my son was thrilled to learn about his private magic lessons that would begin that very day.
Before taking Luke to his magic lessons with Emerlee, I stopped by the house to ask Delia to stop Damon’s sedation. While Luke was occupied with his magic lessons, Ben and I decided we would speak with Damon.
When Ben and I returned home after dropping our son off with Emerlee, the pleasant scent of food floated through the air as unexpected laughter echoed from the kitchen. Ben and I looked at one another in confusion as we followed our senses mindlessly to see what was going on.
When we entered the kitchen, Delia and Damon were hard at work cooking a feast, as meat, potatoes and vegetables were sprawled across the counter tops. Delia was smiling as Damon laughed loudly at something she had said.
When Damon saw Ben and I enter the kitchen, he gave us a look of delight and said, “Miranda! I’m feeling wonderful. My mother and I decided to cook a feast!”
Delia gave me a reassuring smile, but Ben looked nervous about Damon’s sudden change in behavior.
“Is there any way we could talk to you for a moment…it’s quite important?” I said.
Delia looked disappointed as she was enjoying her son’s flowering mood, but time was running out, and Damon needed to know about his son. If anything, Damon’s good mood reassured me that now was a better time than ever to tell Damon about his son.
Damon smiled as he followed Ben and I upstairs. We decided to talk to him in his own room in hopes he would feel more comfortable in his most intimate surroundings.
Ben took a seat on Damon’s wingback chair as I joined Damon on his small couch. Once we were seated, Damon looked at me and said, “What did you two need talk about?”
Ben cleared his throat and I sighed as Damon gazed between the two of us in bewilderment.
“Damon,” I began, “we should have told you this week ago, but—,”
“…You left and…weren’t quite yourself,” Ben finished as a smug look spread across his face.
I looked at Ben with a disapproving glare and said, “It’s about Luke.”
“I’ve been wondering where he’s been. Is he still in the dungeon.”
“Not anymore,” I smiled. “He’s with Emerlee now, practicing magic.”
Damon smiled and said, “Where is he? I want to see him.”
“You’ll see him soon,” I said softly as I caressed my fingers against his shoulder. “I need you to stay calm, because we have some very important things to tell you. You’re going to be upset, but it’s essential you know.”
“What?” Damon said.
“Okay,” I sighed. I took Damon’s hand and held it tightly in mine. “Damon, our son…our little boy, he’s…he’s vile.” My eyes turned to broken faucets as tears began to drip from their spouts. From beyond my tear soaked eyes, I heard Damon begin to scream in pain.
“Calm down Damon,” Ben said quietly. “There’s more, and you need to hear all of it.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down dammit!” Damon screamed as he stomped his foot on the ground and shoved my hand out of his.
I looked at Ben with tear soaked eyes for guidance, but he was staring at me with a blank gaze.
It didn’t matter that Damon was screaming, or how he acted in that moment, because Damon needed to know that truth, and he needed to know now. Luke needed his father, and Damon needed to be with his son before it was too late.
“Damon,” I screamed, “If we can’t find a way to fix Luke in the next three and a half years, we’re going to send him with Desmorelda when she returned.”
“Are you fucking kidding me!” Damon screamed, “Are you fucking kidding me!” he repeated again and again.
“Damon please!” Ben cried as Damon stood up and picked up a framed photo of the two of us and thrashed it into the wall. The throw was so hard it dented the wall and sent the frame flying into a million pieces across the floor.
“Damon stop!” I yelled as tears began to flood my eyes once more, “Please stop!”
“No!” he screamed as he went to the bed and grabbed a pillow. With his bear hands, he shredded it in half as cotton stuffing soared through the air.
“Damon please,” Ben said softly as he gently reached forward to pat Damon’s shoulder.
“Leave me alone you bastard!” Damon screamed as he shoved Ben away. As his rage grew, so did his strength. As he shoved Ben away, he sent him flying into the wall.
“Damon stop!” I screamed as Ben slammed into the wall, and I heard a loud crack.
Damon quickly moved to where Ben lay hardly conscious on the ground. He lifted his foot and kicked him directly in the face. Blood began to spray onto the ground as Ben let out a horrifying howl.
“Damon!” I screamed. I slammed my hands forward as I quickly tried to decide what to do. My magic was extremely powerful, and if I used it on Damon, it could kill him. I thought for a moment and quickly flung my fingers as I threw protection magic over Ben’s entire body.
Without know
ing Ben was covered by my magic, Damon pulled his foot back once again and thrashed it forward viciously straight towards Ben’s head. Damon’s quick foot slammed into my protection barrier and cracked loudly as it broke from the impact. My entire body shook as the blow from Damon’s kick was sent straight into the protective wall and absorbed into my body.
“Yowwwww!” Damon screamed as the impact sent him flying back, and with a crash he slammed into the ground.
“Help!” I screamed as I held tightly to the magic surrounding Ben.
“You bitch!” Damon screamed just as the guard assigned for Luke came running through the bedroom door.
“What’s going on?” the guard barked as he saw the room was torn apart and Ben was covered in blood.
“Hold him down!” I yelled pointing to Damon, and when he did as I ordered, I quickly placed my hands over his body, using magic to quickly sedate him.
“Delia!” I screamed, when Damon had finally fallen asleep.
“What’s going on!” Delia yelled as soon as she came into the room.
“I think his foot is broken,” I pointed to Damon. “I need to get Ben to the infirmary. Now!” I cried as I looked at the guard.
The guard quickly went to Ben and lifted him into his arms, and without hesitation he took off towards the infirmary as I followed close behind.
When I caught up with him in the portal he said, “What happened ma’am?”
“I would prefer not to talk about it,” I replied.
“It’s important I report anything back to Benny.”
“We were practicing our magic,” I lied. “Ben accidently got in the way…and things went bad.”
The guard nodded his head, unsure whether to believe me or not.
The moment we entered the infirmary I yelled out, “Someone help” and a healing fairy came running to our side. She took one look at Ben and called for a gurney. An assistant quickly pushed a gurney our way, and the guard dropped Ben on top of.
“Please return to my home. It shouldn’t be left unguarded.” I said.
The Portal to Sidhe: Book 3 Page 7