The Things We Fear

“You’re saying you did sacrifice her, but that she either wasn’t human, or wasn’t innocent?” Marcus asked dryly.

Of all the ways he thought this conversation would go; from out-and-out denial, to threats of sacrificing the boy himself if he ever spoke about it, Marcus had not predicted the other to own up to it. Granted, him admitting to the crime then immediately justifying his actions did fall into what Marcus knew of his father, but it still left him surprised.

“To be honest with you, I’m not one hundred percent certain which night you walked in on, but I do know around that time a lot of bad things happened.”

“Wait. Are you saying you don’t know because it’s been a decade, or you don’t know because there were multiple sacrifices?” Marcus could hear his own voice turning shrill.

“You know about the wards protecting this town, I assume?”

Marcus pulled his brow in at the question, hoping Cassius wasn’t about to tell him the wards were powered by human sacrifice or something such as.

“Vaguely. The vampires mentioned them, but not in great detail.”

“Yes. Well, the wards are about eight years old now,” about the time James was attacked, Cassius didn’t say it, but Marcus caught the implication all the same.

“There was a time when we had a real problem with hunters. I don’t know why exactly. There weren’t any unusual deaths to draw their attentions, just a bunch of gun-toting racists who, now that they couldn’t go after black people anymore, had to justify their hatred elsewhere.”

Marcus couldn’t help wincing at how casually the man talked about such sensitive topics.

“Anyway, someone must have learned we had a thriving community here. They likely told a friend, who told a friend, next thing you know it’s an almost weekly problem. We managed to get a few of them legally. Stricter gun laws in California than wherever these Yahoo’s were coming from, but still, we lost more than one good person to those bastards. Your little friend was just the most recent victim.

“It was lucky you were there actually. When they realised you were human, and a kid, it made them pause. Gave us enough time to get to you. But i digress, there were hunters coming here and trying to kill people constantly.”

“I didn’t know,” he whispered. There certainly weren’t any police reports on the deaths.

“And nor should you. You were a kid. Adults are supposed to protect you from this stuff. Anyway, it had been going on for years by this point. Hunters coming in, usually drawing in other supernaturals who were drawn to the bloodshed, if it wasn’t the human element we were fighting off, it was the rogues of our own kind. I had to put down a necromancer and two dark magic users, I hate wasting magical blood, but these people were unhinged. A true danger to society. More than once, whilst I was still married to your mother, I returned battered and bruised. She’d thought I’d been brawling and at one point asked me if I’d joined a street gang or underground fight club. Though her thinking I was earning some less than legal cash on the side did excuse why I was so flush without ever clueing her in to my supernatural side trade.”

“Drug ring. Call it what it is, your drug ring.”

Cassius shrugged. “This is an expensive century, son. My savings had fast dried up, and I lost my job running around protecting everyone from supernaturals and blood-crazy hunters. Plus, don’t knock my money, it’s what’s kept food on your table,” he gave Marcus a pointed look.

Marcus dipped his head. He didn’t want to feel shamed for this, but his mother had more than once told him off for judging his father and how he helped them financially. Muttering a quick “sorry,” he waited for the man to continue.

“Where was I? Right the wards. It took some time and a lot of energy. The community had to pool our resources. I know a couple of guys went to South America to buy the large crystals we needed at certain points across the territory. I was the main one doing the spell, but it was a group project. We were all afraid of what might happen next. We’d all been threatened, our families had all been threatened, and when you and James were taken, I think that was the last straw for the wolves. Two of their pups in danger.”

“Not a pup.”

“They saw you as one. Still do if Zoe’s behaviour is anything to judge by.”

“Then they cast me aside like the runt of the litter.”

“They had their reasons,” Cassius said, uncharacteristically charitably for him.

He wanted to scoff, or scream, or something, “Whatever,” he said instead, turning away on the bed. It was a lot more comfortable. Now he was no longer strapped to it. His muscles slowly healing and the sharp stabbing pains across his body becoming dull aches.

“They have never confirmed it, but I know enough about shifters to know why they decided distance was needed between you and their son. Imagine on top of normal puberty you had wolf puberty. Then add to that how young pups lose control around whomever they are, shall we say, attracted to?”

A hot flash ran across his face like a steam engine.

“He doesn’t. James isn’t–”

“Yes. yes. Do spare me your tiresome highschool drama. The point it, you and James were pups, and you were taken. The wolves had been more separatist back then. Keeping to their own packs and rarely even interacting with the humans, but after this incident, they saw the value of us all working together.

“When we got you back, the two of you hadn’t even been aware you were kidnapped.”

“She was the school teacher!” He immediately argued, because why would an eight year old doubt their teacher?

“Substitute teacher,” Cassius corrected.

“We were eight.”

“Yes, well, that was the big event, though I believe there was another with you playing in the forest and having to hide from the men with guns?” Another raised eyebrow.

Marcus was starting to feel very judged. Actually, that was the incident he’d thought Cassius was discussing, when the hunters - and he’d thought them the usual animal hunters at the time (not supernatural hunters) - had clipped James with a bullet. They’d had to dodge and hide in the bushes for what felt like forever as a child, before Marcus had carried his best friend home. James had been better a few days later and a younger Marcus hadn’t thought that was odd. Probably because his own magic had been healing him for years and he never noticed that wasn’t the normal human standard. Looking back, there were a lot of clues he had missed.

“I may have missed a few details,” he yielded.

“A few, pfft. But you were a child. It is excusable,” he said the words, but Cassius did not sound like he believed them.

Marcus decided not commenting was the better course of valour.

“So, the wards?” Hoping to get them back on track.

“Yes, the wards were put up. It kept the hunters at bay after that. Anyone with malicious intent, actually, or they are supposed to.”

Marcus’ mind flashed back to the creature from last night. It definitely felt like a being of mal intent.

“What does this have to do with sacrificing people?” he asked bluntly now, hoping to hurry the other towards whatever point he was going around the houses to reach.

“The wards protect us now. However, before them, we were vulnerable. From hunters and from wayward supernaturals. There are as many creatures out there as there are folktales about mythical beings. Likely more. And many of them do not care for societal niceties and yearn for the days of constant warring and bloodshed.”

Marcus said nothing. He could feel the man wanting him to ask questions, but Marcus refused. He deserved answers. He sat there patiently, waiting for Cassius to continue.

Sighing, Cassius went on, “We couldn’t keep dumping all these bodies in the preserve. Animals can scavenge A few bodies is okay. Nature at work. However, we were racking up the dead. It was inconvenient.”

Only Cassius could talk about people dying as an additional problem for him to deal with. Not the tragic loss of life, but the inconvience said dead were to him. Was Marcus surprised? Not in the slightest. Was he horrified? Sadly, no. perhaps it was a twisted sort of Stockholm Syndrome, far too used to Cassius and his lack of morality and sensitivity.

“Again, this was before we were working together properly. Cover-ups were more difficult and body disposal offered money. Money I needed after the divorce.”

Marcus wasn’t sure why hearing this made him feel guilty. It wasn’t his fault any of this happened, but it created a gnawing discomfort in his gut.

“And of course, I knew of different dimensions and beings who would happily swallow a person’s blood, body, and soul. In return for power and knowledge. I had an excess of bodies and an easy solution. So we started disposing of them in the nether realm. Letting the creatures beyond deal with them. At least that was how it started.”

Marcus swallowed in sympathy. “What happened?”

“Several things. The things wanted more than we were willing to give. Which wasn’t difficult. I’m powerful. I could shut them out, but not all those involved could. We found some strange etchings across the town. Then there was a spree of missing people across Breckon County.

“No one local, so it took us a few months to notice. In the meantime, we had a few rogues coming through. Difficult to kill. The things you need pure silver and rare herbs at thousand’s an ounce to deal with, but here I was with these otherworldly things wanting live sacrifices and these living problems. Made perfect sense.

“Me and some of the vampires would catch them, bring them to my basement, and then my coven would do the sacrifice. Which was great. Except once one disappeared, another would come looking. There were twenty of those beasts we ended up having to deal with. That is why I’m not sure which time you saw. And before you feel sorry for them, they ate people by violently ripping their hearts out whilst the victim was alive and they preferred children’s hearts.”

Cassius looked to Marcus’ chest. Reminding him he had been a child at the time.

“Why did you bring a children’s heart eating monster into the house whilst I was staying over?” The words were out of his mouth before he had processed what he was saying.

“We didn’t have much choice on when they would arrive and attack,” Cassius answered flatly.

“Right,” he said a little sheepishly, “So what I saw that night, it was one of these monsters?”

Cassius nodded his head. Looking out the window.

Marcus wasn’t sure how to feel about this new information. A monster who ate children is very different from an innocent woman who his father was killing for power.

“What happened, with the missing people and the person in your coven?”

“I had to take them out. They became what we were trying to protect people from. I believe that was what earned me my respect in this town. I didn’t show favouritism. A danger is a danger. I refused to risk our community for the sake of one person. Any one person. Corrupted follower, or my own son who refuses to tame his gift.”

Marcus swallowed for an entirely different reason.

“Are the wards failing?” he asked, trying to keep looking the other in the eyes.

“No, I checked them last night.”

“Then how–?”

“Someone must have invited it in,” the way his voice dipped, the level of controlled anger that came through, it was enough to have his back straightening.

“That’s… that’s not good.”

“No. it is not.”

“What do we do now?” He asked, hoping there was a solution at hand.

“I’ve called a community meeting for tonight. We will be getting to the bottom of this.”

“But, Theo?” he weakly protested. Wanting to be there, but knowing his best friend needed him close by tonight.

“The vampires will be here. I’d prefer for you to stay close, anyway. This way, you can all be here, behind my personal wards. They would keep a nuclear bomb at bay. Plus, your little wolf friend will be here too. Which I know will make you happy.”

Marcus decided it was best not to comment.