{Chapter 19}
“Did you see Beth’s shoulder,” Randy snickered as he nuzzled Rose’s neck, his arms tightly around her waist. “It was all kinds of jacked up.”
“She’s probably gonna be scarred,” Rose said leaning back into Randy, smiling when he groaned as she brushed against his crotch. “Something wrong, baby,” she asked innocently. He shook his head no, but she could feel the bulge quickly forming as she continued to lean against him.
“What the hell is the damn hold up,” Adam demanded glancing to the front of the line they were standing in. The bouncer at the door to the club was carding some girls and obviously they weren’t getting in. They had decided to pitch a fit and hold up the line. He groaned raking a hand through his hair.
“What’s with you,” Randy asked.
“Nothing,” Adam murmured.
“Hey have you guys seen…” Rose’s eyes glazed over. Her emerald orbs stared off, not really seeing the two men she was with.
“Rosie,” Randy asked turning her around in his arms. She was practically limp. “Baby? What’s wrong?”
“Shit. Not again,” Adam groaned. “We have to get her home. Give her to me.”
“I got her,” Randy said attempting to pick her up. Adam too attempted to lift her and they wound up in a tug of war over her. “She’s my girlfriend.”
“I can get her back faster,” Adam growled. “Let go.”
~~~~~
“Uncle Glen,” Marcus whined as Glen trailed behind him. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Good, then do it so I can get home,” Glen replied watching Marcus stalking his prey. He took a step and a twig snapped spooking the animal. Marcus groaned when it scurried off. “Aren’t you gonna go after it?”
“But…”
“Go on, boy,” Glen said. “I don’t have all night. I need to eat too.” Marcus sighed and followed the animal deeper into the wooded area.
~~~~~
“You let go,” Randy growled at Adam. They glared at each other, Rose between them.
“Fine,” they both said letting her go. She landed on the ground with a thud, but didn’t snap out of her trance.
“Why’d you let her go,” Adam demanded, crouching down to pick her up.
“I thought you said you had her,” Randy said also crouching down.
“Uncle Glen,” she said, sounding terrified. “No. He can’t be.”
~~~~~
Marcus had just finished burying his kill when he felt the familiar wave of dizziness hit him. He stumbled through the brush toward his uncle. “Uncle Glen,” he groaned as she saw the blonde and brunette man arguing over who was going to take Rose back home.
“Marcus,” Glen asked catching him as he pitched forward. “What happened?”
“The border,” Marcus said, his voice almost ghostlike.
Glen looked around and groaned. How could he have been so careless. “I got you, Marcus,” he said lifting his nephew with ease. Quickly he carried him back within the protective spells. “Was Rose with Mark,” he asked setting Marcus back on his feet.
“No,” Marcus replied, his head still swimming. “She was with two men. One was blonde and the other had dark hair.”
“I have to get you home,” Glen said leading him back to the cottage. When he arrived there he informed Layla of what had happened and told her to remain in the house.
~~~~~
“What’s the meaning of this bickering,” Mark demanded coming down the stairs when he heard Adam and Randy arguing and Rose trying to quiet them.
“Father, I need to speak to you alone,” Rose said. She had recovered from her trance on the way home and spent much of the time telling both men to shut up as they argued.
“Of course, Rosie,” Mark said motioning for her to come with him to his chambers.
Adam and Randy watched her follow her father up the stairs before turning their attention to each other. It was then that something dawned on Randy. “Hey, Adam, you said not again when this shit went down,” he said. “This happened before?”
“About a year ago,” Adam replied. “She just went catatonic. Glen was here when it happened and he ushered her up to her room.”
“What happened though,” Randy asked. “Why’d it happen?”
“I never asked,” Adam replied with a sigh. “I’m goin’ out for a walk.” With that he left the mansion. Randy went up to Rose’s room to wait for her.
~~~~~
“What’d you need to speak to me about,” Mark asked when they entered his room.
“I don’t know if Uncle Glen ever told you about something that happened a while ago,” she said perching on the arm of a chair in the sitting area of the room. Mark took a seat across from her. “He told me I was seeing my dead brother. My twin.” Her words got his attention his eyes penetrated her. “Something about what Uncle Glen said didn’t seem right. It didn’t feel like a dream. It felt like I was there with him.”
“And this happened tonight,” Mark asked, very much intrigued.
Rose nodded. “Uncle Glen was with him,” she said. “Please tell me nothing has happened to Uncle Glen.”
“I assure you, Rosie, your uncle is still alive and well as far as I know,” Mark replied. “I’ll find out what’s going on. Why don’t you head off to…do whatever it is you like to do with your little pet.” He smirked at her when she rolled her eyes at him. “Would you tell Thorn to come see me,” he called as she left the room.
He sat back in his chair stroking his chin. “Glen, you’ve been keeping secrets from me,” he muttered. “And you know how I despise secrets.” Moments later there was a knock on the door. “Enter.”
“You wanted to see me,” Thorn asked closing the door behind him.
In a heartbeat Mark was out of his chair holding Thorn off the floor with one hand. “You’ve been lying to me, Thorn,” he growled.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Master,” Thorn groaned, struggling to break free.
Mark slammed him down onto the floor hard, pinning him there. “MORE LIES,” he growled. “When I asked you to follow Glen to see where he disappeared to…where he STILL disappears to you told me you lost him. Is that jogging your memory?”
Thorn realized what Mark was getting at and internally prepared for what he knew would be coming. “Where does he go,” Mark demanded lifting him up by his throat again. “Not talkin’? Well, I know ways to make you talk. KENNEDY! ORTON! GET YOUR ASSES IN HERE NOW!”
Kennedy and Randy came running when Mark bellowed. They were greeted by Thorn being hurled at them. “Take him down to the dungeon,” Mark demanded. Neither man wanted to argue with him when he was this angry.
“What’s going on,” Rose asked coming out of her room as Kennedy and Randy passed her lugging Thorn. They didn’t stop to explain things to her. She saw her father stalking after them and stepped in front of him to make him stop. “What’s going on,” she demanded.
“Daddy’s got some business to attend to with Thorn,” he replied staring coldly at the man’s retreating form. “Stay in your room, Rosie.” He turned his gaze to her. “That’s not a request. It’s an order. Understood?” Something about his tone frightened her and she nodded, retreating into her room.
~~~~~
An hour later Mark had broken every bone in both of Thorn’s hands and most of his body. “Still won’t talk,” Mark asked, making sure to not injure Thorn’s face. If he broke the man’s jaw he wouldn’t be able to tell him anything.
Thorn panted, not answering him. Mark cocked his foot back again, intent on shattering the last of Thorn’s intact ribs. “All right,” Thorn cried. He had held out for as long as he could and would have welcomed death at this point in time though he knew Mark wouldn’t kill him. “There’s a cottage,” he began, the details of where Mark’s son resided flowing from his mouth freely.
Minutes later Mark flew up the steps. He had to move quickly. The sun would be rising in just a little over three hours and he needed time to spend with his long lost son and his surrogate mother.
~~~~~
It didn’t take him long to find the cottage. He snorted seeing the protective spells surrounding the place. A witch. Killing her wouldn’t be much of a challenge, but he would enjoy the kill just the same.
He crept up to the cottage and peered into the window and saw Layla in the kitchen. It wasn’t long before his son came into view. He smiled seeing what appeared to be a tall, strong boy. Though the boy had sapphire eyes and golden blonde hair the family resemblence was unmistakable. It would be a shame to kill him as well.
Without knocking he entered the cottage. “Evenin’, ma’am,” he said coming face to face with Layla.
“Marcus! Get your Uncle Glen,” Layla yelled. Marcus stood paralyzed in his spot. The man he had only ever seen in visions now stood before him and there was deadly intent in his cold green eyes.
“Yes, Marcus, go get your Uncle Glen,” Mark laughed. “I’m sure he’ll love to watch the two of you die.”
“No,” Layla said clasping her hands together and chanting. She parted her hands as an energy ball formed between them. When it was about the size of a softball she hurled it at Mark.
It hit him in the chest with a spark. “That kinda tickled,” he chuckled. “Is that the best you got, witch?”
“Marcus, go,” Layla demanded. She had dreaded this moment since taking in the boy, but she was willing to give her life to protect him. Marcus finally found his legs and ran from the cottage leaving Layla to fight off Mark alone.
“Alone at last,” Mark sneered. “Just the way I like it.”
“You’ll never get him,” she said through gritted teeth as she formed another energy ball.
Before she could hurl it at him he pounced on her, pinning her to the ground. “Did you honestly think you could fight me,” he growled, his face inches from her face. “You’re a weak, pitiful bitch. I’ll be doing the world a favor by killing you.”
He wrapped his arms around her neck, intent on snapping her neck, but was hit from behind. “Get off of her, you son of bitch,” Marcus growled.
Mark sighed, dropping Layla. “Boy, you’ll just have to wait your turn,” he said as he rounded on his son. As he did so he swung and connected with Marcus’ jaw. The boy flew backwards and hit the wall hard, slumping over with his head in his chest.
{Chapter 20}
“Now, where were we,” Mark asked turning back to Layla. Once again she hit him with an energy ball though it had little effect on him. “Haven’t you learned by now that shit doesn’t work on me?”
She screeched when he roughly pulled her up to her feet by her hair. He dragged her over to the stove and lit the front burner, shoving her face down over the flame. Layla flailed, screeching as the heat licked her delicate skin. She tried everything in her power to break free, but he was just too strong. Soon the flames jumped, igniting her hair and she screeched louder feeling it burning her scalp.
Mark continued to hold her there amused by the sights and sounds, though he could have done without the scent of burning hair and flesh. It was then that he was tackled, making him release Layla. He landed on the floor with a thud and found his son kneeling over him, his face contorted into a sneer.
“You bastard,” Marcus growled as he began to pummel his father. He soon realized that the bigger man was laughing as his fists connected. “What’s so fuckin’ funny?!”
“You’re wastin’ all your energy beatin’ on me and the poor little witch is burnin’ to death,” he chuckled.
“Mama,” Marcus cried turning his attention to Layla, who was lying on the floor, her face and hair a charred mess. “No,” he cried, tears streaming down his cheeks as he tried in vain to put out the flames enveloping her body.
“I guess your uncle never taught you to never turn your back on your enemy,” Mark snarled. Before Marcus could react he found himself flying through the air once again. He crashed through the window in the front of the house and landed several feet from it with a loud thud.
Mark remained in the house for a while longer. When he finally did come out the house exploded behind him. It wasn’t long before the flames overtook the small cottage.
“Mama,” Marcus groaned, getting to his feet. Mark watched him with an amused smile. The boy had heart he’d give him that. “No! Mama!” With that Marcus ran back into the cottage.
“Kid’s got more heart than brains,” Mark muttered shaking his head as he walked away. It wouldn’t be long before the cottage would be burned to the ground. As far as he was concerned he had killed two birds with one stone.
~~~~~
Rose knew she should have stayed home, but something told her to go find her uncle. She had been pacing nervously in her room when she was hit with another vision. This time it was of her father and he was with Marcus. She watched as he brutalized the woman that Marcus called Mama and then Marcus himself. The last thing she saw before the vision went dark was Marcus rushing into the burning cottage.
“Uncle Glen,” she called finally seeing him heading her way.
“What’s wrong,” he asked sensing her uneasiness. She explained to him the visions she had been having.
“You stupid girl,” he growled. “Do you realize what you’ve done?” With that he took off leaping from rooftop to rooftop headed toward the cottage.
When he got to the edge of town he could see the blaze. His heart constricted in his chest as he neared where the cottage had been. He knew the moment he arrived at the blaze that at least Layla was dead. The smell of burning flesh was heavy in the air. He could not see where Marcus was and that worried him.
As the blaze died down he spotted something or someone crawling from the flames. “Marcus,” he exclaimed realizing that his nephew did indeed survive. He rushed to the boy and scooped him up in his arms. “I am so sorry,” he said as he carried Marcus away. His face was burned as were his hands. He could feel that several bones had been broken as well. “I’ll take you to David’s,” he said. “He’ll patch you up.”
~~~~~
“I am so sorry that my father did this to you,” Rose said as she helped Thorn to his bed. She then started bandaging his wounds. Due to the sheer amount of injuries his healing would take time. She managed to bend his fingers back into place so that they would heal properly, but he would be unable to use them for several days.
“It’s not your fault, Rosie,” he replied groaning when she set the last finger in place. “You only did what you thought was right.”
“Uncle Glen seems to think…”
“You’re not responsible for your father’s actions,” he interrupted her. “Leave me for now. I must rest.”
She nodded and left him silently. When she got out into the hall her father passed her on the way to his room. The scent of burning wood and flesh was heavy on him.
“I thought I told you to stay in your room,” he said turning to glare at her.
“Are you going to kill me now,” she demanded. His eyes flashed dangerously at her. “I was taking care of Kevin. Forgive me for actually attempting to have a heart.”
He stalked over to her and grasped her face harshly. “You’re too much like your mother sometimes,” he growled. “You mouth off when you should know your place and shut your fuckin’ mouth. You’ve seen what I do to people who disobey and betray me.” He pointed to Thorn's room to punctuate the sentence. “Don’t make me do it to you.”
She pulled free from him, her green eyes as cold as ice. “I wish you weren’t my father,” she said and stalked off toward her room.
“That makes two of us,” he called, snickering when he saw her visibly flinch at his words.
~~~~~
“David! Let me in,” Glen called kicking the door, unable to knock with Marcus in his arms.
“What’s going…” Heath paused when he saw the condition of Marcus. “Mark found him?” Glen nodded. “Bring him in.” He stepped aside and Glen entered placing Marcus down on the bed so that Heath could take care of him.
“I knew this would happen,” Glen said pacing like a caged animal. “Why the hell did I leave them? I should have stayed.”
“And you would have been killed in the process,” Heath said as he looked Marcus over. “The boy is surprisingly resilient. He’s going to live despite his injuries.” Glen breathed a sigh of relief. “Leave him with me, Glen. I will keep him safe while he heals. You know I will.”
“But what if…”
“Your brother doesn’t like to come see me unless he has to,” Heath said. “Even then it takes a lot to make him come to me. I suspect your niece might need you right now. It couldn’t have been easy for her to witness her father trying to kill her brother.”
Glen nodded and left Heath’s place heading back home, though he didn’t know what he’d do if his brother confronted him once he got there. He hoped that she just might have enough sense to not mention anything to her father about anymore visions of Marcus. She could be a ruthless killer at times, but she also had a heart. Glen knew that was the one piece of Joselyn she had retained.
~~~~~
“Baby,” Randy said wrapping his arms around Rose’s waist as she stood gazing out the window. She hadn’t said a word to him when she came back to her room and that wasn’t like her. He knew that she and her father had exchanged words, but that was hardly something new since he had moved into the mansion. He kissed her neck, nipping it lightly. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Rose replied shrugging him off. “I’m just not in the mood right now, Randy.” With that she walked out of the room, leaving him alone.
She met Glen on the stairs and he looked from her up the stairs and back at her again like he was torn between speaking with her and going to bludgeon his brother. “He’s not home,” she said finally after a while of the awkward silence between them. “He left shortly after he came home and changed into some fresh clothes.”
“Good,” Glen said with a sigh. “I probably would have done something I would regret.”
“Uncle Glen…I’m so sorry,” Rose began, but he waved her off.
“I shouldn’t have lied to you about Marcus. I shouldn’t have lied to Mark either. I just couldn’t let him die the night you two were born.” He reached out and touched her cheek lovingly. “You two were all I had left of my sweet Joselyn.”
“Uncle Glen…” She bit her lip unsure if she wanted to show weakness in front of him. “Why is he so cruel to me,” she finally asked, tears shining in her eyes. “He tells me all the time that I was unwanted, but then he expects me to act like he never said it.” A tear slipped down her cheek and Glen wiped it away.
“Don’t let him get to you, Rosie,” Glen said. “When his time comes…and it will with the amount of enemies he’s made…you’ll be next in line to represent the Calaway name. He fears that because you’ve turned out to be what he could never be. You're both strong and soft at the same time. He doesn't understand that balance.”
“What the fuck are you doing,” Randy demanded seeing the two on the stairs, Glen’s hand still on Rose’s cheek. “Get the fuck off her you dirty old perv.”
Rose pulled away from him grinding the tears out of her eyes. “Don’t ever touch me again,” she hissed going to Randy, who wrapped a protective arm around her.
Glen sighed. Since Randy had moved into the mansion he had been extremely possessive of Rose. He claimed that Glen looked at his niece as if he was mentally undressing her. Though she didn’t believe it for a second she kept up appearances as if she did to appease him.
“One of these days you’re going to be thrown off the pedestal she’s put you on, boy,” Glen growled. “And you’re gonna fall damn hard.”
“Stay the fuck away from her,” Randy said as Glen passed him, his blue eyes growing colder by the second. Rose just cast an apologetic look at her uncle. She wished Randy wasn’t this way, but she was in no mood to fight. “Come on, baby,” Randy said leading her back to her room.
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