Trembling With the Strings

“Oh, Gracie! Are you stalking me, dearest sister?” Marcy asked, throwing her arms around me with wild abandonment. “I simply must thank you for getting my big bad brother off my back. Robbie is simply a doll!”

“I know he is,” I agreed, smiling softly as Darius pried me out of her clutches. He helped me out of my coat and hung it up carefully as the boys ran past us and upstairs, Kai included.

“Being in love is simply wonderful!” she chirped, clasping her hands together happily. “Tomorrow is our seven-month, you know? And Dante and Cameron have their fourth year coming up. And you and Darius are charming as ever, of course. So why are you here anyway?”

“That’s what I’d like to know as well,” Darius mumbled in my ear, holding me close. “We’d like to speak to Drakken, if he’s not to busy.”

Marcy shook her head violently, childishly. “Daddy’s just going through boring paperwork. I’m sure he’d be more than glad to be distracted for a few moments. What are you going to talk about?”

I could feel my husband’s gaze, but I thanked him silently when he lied for me.

“It’s about the oncoming wedding that we know is inevitable. Did he propose to Cam yet?”

Marcy scowled. “No. He wants everything to be perfect for that girl. She better realize just how lucky she is.”

“I’m sure she knows,” Darius consoled, smiling softly as he released me to grab my hand. “Shall we?”

I nodded, groaning inwardly. I had wanted to talk to Drakken alone, but Darius had been his neurotic self and proclaimed that if I did not allow him to accompany me, he would declare that I had formed a conspiracy against him. I had naturally given in.

I knocked twice before pushing the door open quietly and peered in to see Drakken smiling from behind his desk. He gestured for us to come in, and Darius closed the door behind us.

“Darius, Gracie,” he bid us with a smile. I forced a smile, but I don’t think either of them bought it. “Gracie, what is the matter? Is everything alright with the marriage?”

I nodded furiously. “No, no, I couldn’t ask for a better man,” I insisted, kissing Darius on the cheek. “It’s about Kai.”

“Oh?” Drakken asked, twining his fingers and resting his chin on his hands. “I thought he was better now, is he not?”

“No, he’s perfectly healthy…”

Drakken glanced to his son, and I saw Darius shrug out of the corner of my eye. I stood up and started pacing.

“I didn’t want to say this, because I think it makes me a horrible mother, but I think I am frightened of my son,” I whispered, aware of the sudden rigidness of the man standing behind me. Drakken breathed calmly, but Darius shot to his feet.

“What are you talking about? Our son is lucky to be alive, and he deserves to be loved by his own mother! I—I can’t believe I’m hearing this, Gracie!” Darius shrieked, gripping my arms tightly. I winced.

“This is why I didn’t want to tell you!” I cried, jerking myself out of his ever-tightening grip and throwing myself towards Drakken’s desk. “What mother doesn’t love her child unconditionally? Tell me that!”

Drakken chuckled softly as I surely went insane, and Darius was raging vocally behind me. It was by something short of a miracle that I was able to tune him out.

“It’s no big deal, Grace. Every woman is unsure of her motherly instincts. I promise you are not afraid of your son—you’re afraid of what could happen to your son.”

I shook my head feverishly. “No, no, no, no, no!” I told him quickly, letting out a shaky breath. “I am very sure of my motherly instincts—I’ve been a mother ever since I was three years old!” I tried to calm down. “I’ve been having these dreams lately…”

“Yeah, and you wake up screaming!” Darius threw in, his ranting coming to an end. “And she never tells me what drove her to the shrieking. Here I am worrying my ass off, and she just casts it aside and runs into Kai’s room and vomits and… Oh no. No, no, no,” he begged, his face twisted in torment. “Please tell me—no…”

I sighed quietly, returning my gaze to Drakken. “Kai always tells me that he knows everything, and I think he does. In my dreams, he… Well, it starts out normal. But then he starts to act out and accuses me of hating him. And then…” I started sobbing, but I choked on, drying my eyes with my arm. “He brings up the horrible mistake I made. What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t let them have my baby! Killing him would save him! But no, he has to throw that in my face. And then Kai—my baby boy—tries to kill me! I wake up and run to his room, and every single time he is waiting for me, just sitting in the dark. He is wide awake, waiting with that same damn smile and that same damn phrase. ‘What’s the matter, Mommy? I know everything, Mommy.’ I’m terrified, Drakken. Terrified.” I decided to keep the baby thing to myself, because for all I knew Kai simply wanted me to believe that thought he was a girl trapped in a boy’s body.

“Gracie,” Drakken started, stuttering and tripping over his words. “I don’t understand. Darius, do you see anything strange?”

“No. But then again, I’m not the one that tried to kill him. That’s still a sore spot with me, Gracie,” he reminded me, sitting down in a vacant seat. I glanced back at him through bloodshot eyes, and Dray eased up quite a bit. “I’m sorry, baby.” He gestured me over, so I sat quietly on his lap, burying my face in his chest and clutching the fabric of his shirt.

“Gracie, your son appears to be intellectually advanced. I would not go as far as to say that he has ESP, but you may want to take into consideration the fact that he is a vampire. His mind is strong, so it is very probable that his special talent lies within that realm. Darius, for example, can pry into minds, a trait which can be rather exasperating on certain occasions.” Darius shrugged harmlessly. “I’m not so sure about you, but this talent thing might only work for born vampires. Talk to Kai, and just try to stay on good terms with him. I had a similar problem with Darius, but proper parenting fixed that to an extent. You had better pray he is not like Darius, or your lives will prove very difficult.”

I smiled at the attempt, and Darius chaffed my shoulder soothingly. “Come on, baby. I’ll be right here to protect you, remember?”

“From your own son?”

“If it comes to that, then yes,” he choked out, helping me stand.