“Why?” he asked, full of distrust.
“It’s a test, honey,” she said. “It will make you better.”
“Why would I need that? There is nothing wrong with me,” Luke replied. By his behavior, it was hard to tell if his behavior was vile, or if the dungeon was wearing him down.
Delia looked at me for a response.
“There is nothing wrong with you,” I said, “but unfortunately you were born with the vile gene…you know that.”
Luke rolled his eyes, but nodded his head, “how could I forget?”
“It’s why you have so much anger and an impulse to do things that are…not quite acceptable.”
“So?” Luke challenged.
“So, this potion should help you control some of those…negative urges…at least for awhile, so you can have a break from the dungeon.”
“Fine,” Luke grumbled, “Anything to get me outta here.”
“I’m sorry you have to be here,” I said.
Luke rolled his eyes again. “Just give me the potion, and let me out.”
Delia looked at me, and I nodded my head. She handed her grandson the glass vile through the bars, and he quickly took it from her. He glared at it for only a moment, before he looked at me with a cautious look in his eye. Did he no longer trust me? I nodded my head. He returned his gaze to the purple potion, and with one quick move, he gulped the potion down.
When my son began gagging and threw his hand over his neck, I felt my heart begin to race in fear that the potion was hurting him. As I threw my hand over my mouth and stepped forward in a panic, Delia patted my shoulder and said, “It will only take a second.”
I nodded my head, but I was still on edge.
Delia was right, and in less than a minute, Luke stopped gagging and began to look around with a strange look on his face.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“It will take a few moments for the potion to work,” Emerlee whispered. “Give him a minute.”
“How do you feel?” Delia asked my son.
Luke looked towards us with a terribly confused look across his face, “Mom…Grandma…what’s going on?”
“How do you feel?” I asked again.
“I don’t know,” he said as fear swept across his face and tears began to fall from his eyes.
“It’s the guilt and remorse,” Emerlee whispered. “Don’t worry, the potion will help cover up those feelings. It will take a moment.”
As tears rolled down my son’s cheek, I cried out, “I need to be in there with him. Let me in!” I commanded the guard.
The guard nodded his head, and the moment the door was unlocked, I was standing by my son’s side.
“Momma,” he sobbed as his soaking face fell into my shoulder.
“It’s okay. I’m here…I’m here,” I whispered as I stroked his hair.
“Why did I hurt those girls!” he cried as his body began to tremble, “Why did I hurt you!”
“Oh honey, it wasn’t your fault. Just breath,” I sighed.
Luke cried and shook for only a few minutes, but Emerlee was right, just like clockwork, Luke calmed down. Soon, he pulled away from me with a smile upon his face.
As if his personality had flip-flopped he smiled wide and said, “Mom, I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve missed being home so much.”
“I know, I know,” I said. “Me too.” I looked towards Delia and Emerlee. They both were smiling wide and nodded their heads in approval. I looked back towards my son, “Are you feeling okay?”
“I feel great Mom,” he said, “best I’ve felt in awhile.”
I smiled, but quickly changed my expression. “I need to talk to you about something.”
Luke nodded his head as he took a seat on his bed. He seemed so…normal. “Yes?” he asked.
I sat down besides my son and looked him in the eyes. It was if I was looking into the eyes of the boy who was my son only a few years back. I sighed, “Luke you know you’re vile…right? You understand what that means.”
Luke nodded with a solemn look on his face, “Mom, you don’t know how sorry I am for…”
“Oh Luke,” I cried, “No apologizes. I need to talk to you…then lets just have a nice day together.” Luke nodded his head, so I continued, “Emerlee and your grandmother were able to create a potion that will remove your vile without the negative side effects for six hours. After those six hours, your vile will return.”
Luke’s face fell, and he shook his head in displeasure.
“It’s okay though. I will cherish every moment you’re like this.”
“So this is it?” Luke asked. “I have six hours, and then I will be evil again.”
I shook my head. “In three hours Delia is going to run some tests on you, and if all goes well, we’ll let you take more potion in a few days. On that day, we’ll let you leave the cell for four hours, and we can do anything you want for those four hours.”
Luke smiled, but his expression remained glum. “But I’ll go back to being evil after that?”
I nodded my head, “Yes, you will, but you’ll have one last chance to use the potion after that day.” Luke gave me a half smile, so I continued, “Your brother is going to marry Samantha.”
Luke’s smile grew. “I’m happy for him,” he cried.
I told Luke everything Delia and Emerlee had told me about the potion. I told him how he would only have three chances to use it because the consequences it would bring. Luke was very reasonable and understanding, but I could tell by his expressions, that he was disappointed. Although I was honest to my son about the potion, Damon and I agreed to wait until after the wedding, to tell him the reality of his fate. We hated keeping such a disturbing truth from our son, who was now a teenager, but we feared an outburst the truth could bring about.
Only moments after I finished telling Luke about the potion, I heard a set of footsteps just outside the cell. I turned around to see Damon standing by his mother.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner,” Damon said sheepishly.
“Hey Dad,” Luke said with a smile on his face.
“You feeling okay, Son?” Damon asked. Luke nodded his head. Do you mind if I join you?” Damon continued.
Luke smiled, “Sure.”
Damon joined us, and for the next three hours, the three of us played games, and talked like we never had before. For the first time in a long time, Damon wasn’t being burdened by his position as King and Luke was the sweet innocent boy he had been as a child. But like everything else in life, time came and went, and Delia entered the cell to run the required tests on our son. She took a small sample of blood, and a cheek swab of DNA, before she left the dungeon to perform the enchanted tests.
She returned in only a short time with a cheerful look upon her face. “It’s working!” she cried. “The potion is working exactly the way Emerlee and I made it.”
“That’s wonderful!” I cried.
“So, I’ll get to be Benny’s best man!” Luke cried.
“If all goes as planned,” Damon cried.
We hugged our son, and spent a few more amazing hours with our son before the Delia notified us that our time was running short.
“The potion will wear off in ten minutes,” Delia said, “It’s best you leave him now.”
Damon and I reluctantly nodded as we wished our son farewell. Luke tried to hold back his tears, but the moment the tears tumbled from his eyelids, Damon and I couldn’t hold back. With our son sandwiched between us, we wrapped our arms around our teenage boy as if we were saying goodbye for the last time.
Finally, Delia was able to pull us off our son, “The two of you should get some rest while I run the final tests. I will give you the results tonight.”
Damon and I nodded our heads as hand-in-hand, the two of us headed away from Luke’s cell. The moment the portal doors shut behind us, the floodgates burst and we both clung to one another as we sobbed tears of sadness and tears of joy.
“My baby
,” I cried as I soaked Damon’s shirt with my tears. He couldn’t even respond as I felt the wetness from his eyes soak into my hair.
The two of us held onto one another as the portal burst towards the main castle. When we reached the top and the doors opened for us to leave neither of us moved, as we were both in horrible emotional pain.
Since magic was available once more, I quickly threw my fingers towards the portal door, and temporarily sealed it shut as Damon and I sobbed in pain. As we soaked one another in tears, I suddenly felt Damon’s lips press against my tear soaked hair. As his lips pressed against my head, I pressed my own lips into his chest as I pushed my fingers underneath his shirt and pressed them up his sides. I felt the soft vibration of his moan against my forehead as his lips made their way down my face until they pressed into my lips.
Our lips embraced passionately for several moments, and I continued pressing my hands up Damon’s side as I lifted his shirt off of him. As his shirt fell to the floor, he tore off my clothes as quickly as he could, while he took off what was left of his own clothing. When the two of us were undressed, he quickly lifted me off the ground and pressed me against the elevator wall as we aggressively made love to the melody of our pain.
Delia and Emerlee’s testing deemed the potion heavily successful, and two days after our first trial, we decided to give the potion a second try.
One hour after Luke was given the potion, Benny gave the guards the ‘go ahead’, for his temporary release. Benny, Damon, Luke and myself headed towards the main entrance of the castle. By my son’s request, we would be ice fishing with the entire family, for the few hours Luke had of freedom.
We had a warm reunion with everyone when we reached the front of the castle. Alice seemed the happiest of all as she leaped into her brother’s arms and squealed in delight. Luke, now growing into a young man, lifted her from the ground and held her tight without hesitation as he kissed her forehead and both her cheeks. When he set his sister down, his smile remained wide as he enthusiastically embraced the rest of the family. Once he had greeted the others, he quickly returned to his sister, where they remained hand-in-hand, as if they couldn’t be separated.
After a quick reunion, our entire family headed out the castle’s front gates and towards a frozen pond frequently used for ice fishing. We spent the next three hours laughing, hugging and enjoying our time together as a family for one of the last times. The day flew by and quickly came to an end. I escorted Luke back to the dungeon, and left him in the hands of Delia and Emerlee for the last test before Benny’s big day.
Chapter 15
It was just after noon on the day of Benny’s wedding. Luke, Damon, Ben and I were gathered in the living room of our home, as we awaited the ceremony to begin. Benny looked stunning with his thick blond hair combed and styled elegantly as he wore a striking black tailcoat that matched his grace.
My husbands and son looked similarly elegant in their tuxedos, and soon Delia, Nathen and my mother joined us in the living room. Our time was limited and we would be soon heading to the grand hall for the ceremony, so I quickly headed to the powder room to take one last look at myself.
As I pinned away a few stray hairs and gazed upon myself in my navy blue lace dress, I recalled my second wedding day that had taken place only a few years before. Now, the mother of the groom, I remembered how that day was the happiest and worst day of my life. It was the Desmorelda returned, demanding I give her one of my children. Now three years later, in a wild twist of events, I would actually be handing over my second son, only two weeks after Benny was married. I quickly used a tissue to wipe a tear away before it ruined my fresh face. I was crying for both of my boys, tears of joy and tears of sadness.
My son’s wedding was more beautiful than both of my weddings combined, and it was truly a fit for a king. The ceremony was quite long, and after their vows, I was called forward to hand over the crown I once wore to my son, who would place it on his new queen. It was all beautiful and emotional, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd. Even Luke tried to hide a few tears that spilled from his eye.
When the ceremony was through, Luke had two hours to celebrate Benny’s reception before he would be returned to his cell one final time. This time would allow Luke to celebrate with the family, offer his best man’s toast and have a tasty feast. Emerlee and Delia’s potion seemed a miracle as Luke smiled, shook hands, and continuously stood by his brother’s side as his best man. While I was quite busy as the mother of the groom, I tried to enjoy every moment possible with Luke as our time together was drifting away. The potion seemed to grant Luke hope, as he didn’t yet know, that in three weeks he would be sent away, but tomorrow, after our big celebration, Damon and I would give Luke the dreadful news.
Shortly after the reception began, the guests were escorted to their tables for dinner. I was disappointed for my time away from my two sons during dinner, but grateful Benny could have his only brother by his side. Ben and Damon escorted me, one on each arm, to our assigned table. The table was nearby the wedding party, and my mother, Delia, Nathen, Isabella and Roger were also assigned to our table. As the maid of honor, Alice was seated near Samantha and the other bridesmaids.
Once everyone was seated, the band quieted down as Ben headed to the front of the room to start the celebration. Once Ben reached the front of the room, he nervously cleared his throat as he pulled the microphone to his mouth.
As a nervous smile pasted across my husbands face, he began, “Welcome everyone! Humans, vampires, fairies and superhumans…both from Sidhe and Earth. We are gathered here today, to celebrate the marriage between my son Benny and his new wife, Samantha. Not only are we celebrating their marriage today, but we are also celebrating a new Queen.” Ben smiled, “Now I won’t take up much of your time, because I know the best man and maid of honor both have some words for the new couple, but I just want to thank everyone for coming tonight and wish the happy new couple good luck.” Ben smiled as he held his glass up to toast.
The crowd began clinking glasses and clapping their hands in excitement for the new couple. My well-loved son had over four hundred guests at his wedding, so it took awhile for everyone to settle down before my husband spoke once more. “Now,” he began, “I would like to hand over the microphone to my other son, Luke.”
As Luke rose from his seat and headed towards the front, Ben handed him the microphone. The crowd went silent as Luke cleared his throat.
“Hello everyone…” Luke said with a smile upon his face.
As Luke began to speak, I could feel my chest drum as anxiety set in. Delia and Emerlee’s potion had deemed successful, but after everything that happened, there was still a sense of fear floating through my nerves.
“…As everyone knows,” Luke continued, “Benny is my older brother. Not only is he my older brother, but one of my biggest role models and best friend. Benny was the oldest, so I have always looked up to him…for magic, advice and…” he chuckled, “girls.”
The crowd let out a quick laugh as Luke gave everyone a smirk. He paused for a moment, and then he looked towards his brother, “Of course I could go on and on about how wonderful Benny is…but everyone knows that already.”
The crowd let out another quick laugh as Luke paused, but I noticed the expression on my son’s face quickly change. It was so subtle that it was easy to miss, but after raising my son, I knew that look meant he was up to something.
I quickly tapped Damon’s leg and gave him a nervous look, but he smiled at me as if he missed my suggestion. I looked back towards my son just as he began to speak again.
“So,” he said with a strange look upon his face, “I am going to tell you a few things you might not know about him.”
My heart stopped as I began to wonder what my son would say. I quickly reached my hand towards Damon’s and squeezed it in anxiety. Even after squeezing his hand, Damon seemed to miss my uneasy gesture, as he was fixated on his only son.
“Benny and I have a b
it of an age difference, and he’s the oldest, so he has always been a lot more mature than me.” Luke chuckled again and I released my tension as he said, “I used to be really clumsy, and I got hurt a lot, especially during my superhuman and fairy training as a kid. It was pretty embarrassing, especially the last few years when I was almost a teenager. A lot of times, I was too embarrassed to even tell my parents about my injuries, but Benny was always there for me. He was always there for me, cleaning up my wounds and healing me when needed.”
I smiled at my son’s sentiment, as I knew that Luke had been clumsy as a child, and I also knew Benny had always been extremely kind and caring to all his siblings. I relaxed as Luke smiled once more.
“Now that I’ve told you what a kind caring big brother Benny has been, I want to talk about one more thing that most of you don’t know. I’m vile.”
Several guests gasped, and people began looking at one another nervously. My heart began to race once again as I squeeze Damon’s hand once more. This time, Damon seemed just as concerned as the lines across his face seemed to tighten. Benny and Samantha looked at one another in confusion, but no one moved.
Luke smirked again as he said, “Not only am I a vile, but my brother…my very own brother locked me away in the dungeon for almost an entire year.”
Everyone in the crowd began gasped, and looking around at one another in fear. Some of the guards began heading towards Luke as Benny stood up.
“That’s enough Luke,” he said calmly as he headed towards his brother.
With my hand over my mouth, Damon wrapped his arm around me to keep me calm as Ben jumped out of his seat and headed towards his son Benny. Samantha looked horrified, while Luke began to chuckle sadistically into the microphone.
Ben and our son reached Luke at the same time. I could see from my seat, they were trying to calm him down and take the microphone away, but Luke continued to laugh loudly as if his actions were acceptable. Some guests began to leave as if they knew something bad was about to happen, and other chattered in confusion.
Samantha was waving and smiling at the guests to try and calm their nerves as Ben and Benny tried to convince Luke to sit down. When their actions deemed worthless, the guards continued towards Luke to take action. The guard’s efforts only rattled my son more, as he slammed the microphone to the ground and ran across the grand hall. Several guests screamed, and more began to leave.
The Portal to Sidhe: Book 3 Page 15