Status: To be updated in micro-segments.
It's Only the Rain
Twelve Delve
I stood motionless and silent, although I didn’t want to be either. I longed to flex my muscles, and test the truth of my brother’s statement. This was just a prank, but the prank went on.
‘You often asked me who Alastair and Daphne were, and whether they were Other Ones. Well, they’re not. There are no “Other Ones”. They’re just like you and me. Did you think our coven was the only one?’ Taylor paced around me, like a wolf circling its prey, but his joy was not predatory. He did not intend to destroy me, but rather, he wanted to make something of me. ‘Everybody was infected when the comet hit,’ he said, matter-of-factly. ‘There were no survivors. There was only us.’
‘What about Mama?’ I felt brave enough to croak. I couldn’t bear to imagine her name sullied, but I thought I could tell what was coming next.
‘Your mother is dead,’ said Alastair. I glared at him. It wasn’t a question for him to answer.
‘That was your coming of age,’ Taylor supplied. ‘We all kill our parents in the end. Mother was strong when I was young, but weak when you came of age, and in as strong of a need of dispatching as you were in need of blood. That’s nothing to be ashamed of. When I was younger, I took my blood from the outside world, but you weren’t ready for that.’
In the warmth of twilight, it seemed like the whole world was a hot, beating heart. So this was my heritage. As if she had read my mind, Daphne spoke again. ‘Best keep it a secret, darling, for the sake of the little ones.’ Moving like water, she sashayed over to the crib where Amy lay, and scooped the infant up. I supposed she was some kind of surrogate mother, a praying black widow, now that Mama was gone.
I finally understood.
‘You often asked me who Alastair and Daphne were, and whether they were Other Ones. Well, they’re not. There are no “Other Ones”. They’re just like you and me. Did you think our coven was the only one?’ Taylor paced around me, like a wolf circling its prey, but his joy was not predatory. He did not intend to destroy me, but rather, he wanted to make something of me. ‘Everybody was infected when the comet hit,’ he said, matter-of-factly. ‘There were no survivors. There was only us.’
‘What about Mama?’ I felt brave enough to croak. I couldn’t bear to imagine her name sullied, but I thought I could tell what was coming next.
‘Your mother is dead,’ said Alastair. I glared at him. It wasn’t a question for him to answer.
‘That was your coming of age,’ Taylor supplied. ‘We all kill our parents in the end. Mother was strong when I was young, but weak when you came of age, and in as strong of a need of dispatching as you were in need of blood. That’s nothing to be ashamed of. When I was younger, I took my blood from the outside world, but you weren’t ready for that.’
In the warmth of twilight, it seemed like the whole world was a hot, beating heart. So this was my heritage. As if she had read my mind, Daphne spoke again. ‘Best keep it a secret, darling, for the sake of the little ones.’ Moving like water, she sashayed over to the crib where Amy lay, and scooped the infant up. I supposed she was some kind of surrogate mother, a praying black widow, now that Mama was gone.
I finally understood.