Chapter Twenty: Ben Taylor
1257 Words
CHAPTER TWENTY
BEN TAYLOR
The last time I had seen my father, I was twelve years-old. My appendicitis had burst. He came, sat by my bedside with a gun, and didn’t say a word. The last thing I remembered was his back leaving the day that he was discharged.
We didn’t have guests at the estate. People avoided it, unless absolutely necessary. Occasionally, people would come in search of a lost pet but for the most part people stayed away. Which is how we knew that the person knocking at the door was Miklos Houdini.
Louisa and I had been waiting for him to arrive since the call. We sat in the entry way, by the staircase, waiting for him to appear. “I better answer it,” I said, “you might get doused with Holy Water.”
“Noted,” said Louisa.
I opened the door, revealing my father. I took after my mother in looks, and Dad was all Houdini. He had the magicians wide, eyes that saw everything and big nose. His hair was dark brown, and he had a scar down his cheek from where he had been attacked by a werewolf.
“Benedek,” he said curtly. He wore a black shirt, and a long, leather jacket. He looked past me, towards Louisa. “You’re the gatekeeper?”
Louisa nodded. She held out her hand. “I’m Louisa Endless.”
“Nice to meet you,” said Miklos, “I’m Miklos. Mike Houdini, if that’s too much of a mouthful. I heard about the work you did on that siren thing. Seems like you really know your stuff.”
Louisa blushed, and inwardly, I groaned. Miklos Houdini had a certain gravitas that made people immediately attracted to him, and I’d witnessed both men and women of all ages fall prey to it my entire life. Of course, Louisa would be a little bit impressed by him. Maybe even attracted to him.
Not that I had room to be jealous. I had made my choice, to pursue Emma, even though she was now pregnant with another mans child. A faerie king’s child. If anything, that had made me more protective of her knowing that she was going to be carrying Clarks child.
And knowing what had happened to her.
It had been days since she had disappeared, and we hadn’t had word about where she was. Of course, I hadn’t expected that we would. She was under the protection of a demon. A demon who had decided do as she pleased. There was no telling what state Emma would be in.
Dad had a bag with him, the familiar green duffel that he’d had for as long as I could remember. It contained most, if not all, of his hunting supplies. “How’s your Mom?” Dad asked, looking directly at me.
He didn’t ask how I was. Didn’t seemed concerned that I was in an entirely different country, living in an enchanted house. But at least Dad had good taste. He had never gotten over her, even I was the product of a one-night stand. As a Hunter, it was a lot harder for him to have normal relationships, and he tended to keep his distance.
“So, your girlfriend got sucked into hell by Lilith?” Dad asked me.
I winced. “She…. well….”
“They’re not exclusive,” Louisa filled him in, “our adoptive brother, Clark, has been in love with my sister forever. But Emma was part of a bargain my grandfather made with a faerie king as a way to get revenge on him, so he could help set her free. But Emma was engaged to Ben before, because she thought if she could get married before Oberon claimed her, she wouldn’t get taken by him. But Oberon knew exactly what was going on, and they didn’t stand a chance. Clark and Emma reconnected, and they had a moment before Clark took the fey Kings throne. But Emma’s spent her entire life being tormented by faeries, she doesn’t want anything to do with them.”
“Complicated,” Dad grunted, “well, you know how to pick ‘em, son.”
“You know how to leave them,” I retorted.
He chuckled. “True. But we have to get that girl out of Hell, as soon as possible. From what I heard around the rumor mill, she’s carrying a faerie Kings child.”
I stiffened. “How’d you know?”
“The Endlesses are something like royalty in the world of Hunters and faerie. Everyone knows about them. The family who tricked faeries to their will. That’s not something that goes unnoticed in our circles,” Miklos said with a nod, “besides, I’ve had a few faerie cases that involved missing children. I’ve worked with gatekeepers before. The Lumiere’s speak highly of you, by the way, Louisa.”
Louisa smiled, then blushed. “Did you speak with Helene when you’re there?”
“I did,” Miklos answered, “she sends her regards.”
Louisa blushed again. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her.”
“She mentioned that,” said Miklos, “she also mentioned that she called off her engagement with her fiancé, for whatever that’s worth.”
I glanced over at Louisa. “You’ve got a lot of game, don’t you?”
Louisa shrugged. “I’m the mysterious gatekeeper. People are curious. It’s kind of like being James Bond. You’ve got to try him at least once, even though you know he’ll probably kill you in the end.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t ever killed anyone after sleeping with them, have you?”
She grinned. “I never kiss and tell.”
“Alright,” said Miklos, “enough chit chat. We’ve got a demon to raise and vanquish.”
Louisa raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were taking us to hell.”
He laughed. “Sweetheart, no one goes to hell and gets out alive. We can free your sister from this demon, but after that, she’s on her own.”
“Dad!” I begged. “Come on. I thought you were here to help.”
“I am here to help, son. I’m here to make certain a demon doesn’t get their hands on a faerie Kings child. Faeries already complicate the universe enough. Don’t even want to think what would happen if they were able to corrupt the heir to faerie.”
I looked to Louisa. “We’ll vanquish Lilith, and then we’ll go get her ourselves, if necessary.”
“Right,” said Louisa, with doubt in her eyes for the first time since I’d known her, “right.”
Of course, I was right. Because I’d been in love with Emma Endless since the moment I laid eyes on her, and I’d be damned if I would let her be damned.
- Writer
