Jelly Babies

Heh. Wouldn\'t you know it? AFF freaks out right before I\'m ready to post the final chapter! Sorry about the huge wait. I hope everyone still remembers what was going on!

During the time AFF was in limbo, I was contacted by someone interested in paying me to write for their website. That website, EnjoyTheSilence, is being constructed right now, and we\'ve been collaborating on the medieval fantasy world that I (and other talented writers) will be setting our stories in. If you want to be notified when it\'s ready, just send me an email at FalconBertille@hotmail.com.

I want to thank everyone who read this story, and especially everyone who took the time leave feedback. Whether you\'ve been with me from the beginning, or just read this now, your words mean a great deal to me. Thanks.

And remember, I truly believe l’amore vincera

Love,
Falcon


Jelly Babies

Chapter Twelve

Nicholas held his breath. Inferno had never seemed so huge, or so ominous. Normally, even when the club was closed, he could hear the sounds of the janitorial staff cleaning up, or the security guards making crude jokes as they smoked cheap cigarettes. But Kale had dismissed all his employees. Only five people remained in the club, and as Nicholas stood in the shadows near its empty bar, he felt himself being swallowed by the silence – swallowed whole, swallowed slow, like a mouse pulled down the long body of snake. He wished he could whistle a jaunty tune. Or hum, or tell himself knock-knock jokes, or anything at all. But the only noise he managed to create was the rustle of his clothes when he shifted positions.

Then, a sound did break the stillness. The unhurried beat of footsteps walking slowly toward him. As they drew closer, Nicholas felt the scar on his cheek begin to burn, and he knew that Aryeh had entered the club. In a flash, he remembered his previous confrontation with God’s Agent. Remembered the searing heat of Aryeh’s sword. And Nicholas’s brain screamed at him to run. But, despite his fear, he held his ground, absently sliding his fingers over the Medal of Saint Michael. Please, he prayed. Let me not fuck this up. If I only get one thing right in my entire life, let it be this.

The footsteps got louder. A moment later, Nicholas saw Aryeh stride into view. God’s Agent walked with unshakable confidence. His gold eyes glowed in the darkness, and his overcoat hung open, its material rustling around his body like restless wings straining to unfold. Instinctively, Nicholas froze. But Aryeh didn’t appear to see him. Instead, God’s Agent reached beneath his coat, and pulled out the hilt of his sword. Holding it aloft, he spoke the command to conjure its fiery blade. And even then, the flame’s light failed to reveal Nicholas’s hiding spot.

Nicholas bit his lip. Every impulse told him to stay very, very still. But he forced himself to reach out and knock a pile of glasses from the bar counter. As they shattered on the floor, Aryeh’s gaze jerked in his direction, golden eyes shining like twin search beacons. Nicholas made sure the Agent got a good, long look at him. Then he turned and ran.

Racing down the dark hallway, Nicholas tried not to think about where he was going, or the people he was leading Aryeh toward. The plan demanded this. It needed to be done. But what had sounded so simple when discussed behind the closed door of Kale’s office, proved to be much more difficult in real life. When he darted inside Marzi’s room, and saw Marzi lying propped up in bed, with Sylvia standing over by the cradle, the pounding in Nicholas’s heart had nothing to do with his recent exertion. Sylvia gave him an inquiring look as she shifted her grip on the small shape she held in her arms, wrapped in a yellow blanket with a knit cap covering the top of its tiny head. Nicholas nodded to her. Then he assumed his own position next to Marzi’s bed.

An eternity seemed to pass. Nicholas knew that they should be putting on a more convincing act, talking and trying to feign a last-minute escape attempt. But none of them seemed capable of any action other than staring at the open doorway. He just hoped Aryeh’s ignorance about human behavior would be enough to keep him from becoming suspicious. And, indeed, when Aryeh stepped into the room, he seemed to take it for granted that his victims would wait for him in dumbfounded awe.

“So, the taintling deserted you,” Aryeh gloated. “I have to admit, that shows far more intelligence than I gave him credit for.”

“Aryeh.” Somehow, despite being bedridden, Marzi managed to make his voice command respect. “Don’t do this. All the prophecy says is that Lolli will decide. You don’t even know what she’ll decide. Have some faith in God, as well as this Plan you keep going on about, and trust her to make the right decision without your intervention.”

But God’s Agent shook his head. “As I’ve explained before, where The Plan is concerned, I’m not inclined to take chances. The child comes with me.” Still holding his sword, he took a step toward Sylvia. Before he could take another, Marzi yanked his gun from beneath the pillows, and fired all seven rounds into Aryeh’s chest.

It would have killed a normal man. But God’s Agent only stumbled back, thrown off balance by the force of the bullets piercing his body. No blood poured from the holes they made. Instead, Aryeh regained his balance, and passed his hand over the fresh wounds, chanting something under his breath. With a mixture of horror and awe, Nicholas watched as seven beams of light burst from the bullet holes, before they healed themselves.

“Human weapons can’t harm me,” Aryeh bragged. “Surely you didn’t expect that to work?”

“No.” Kale’s voice sounded from the hallway behind Aryeh. “But I thought that this might.” And, even as God’s Agent started to turn around, Kale hit him with a tremendous blast of magical energy.

Aryeh’s body jerked, contorted by the fiery red current crackling through it. His sword flew from his fingers, and landed on the floor, where it continued to burn, creating a charred outline on the stone beneath it. For one glorious moment, Nicholas believed that they’d won. Until Aryeh raised his hand, and pointed it at Kale while he hissed another command. Immediately, the energy jumped from his body, striking Kale. With a howl of fury, Kale sank to his knees.

“Give it up,” Aryeh suggested. “Your magic is no match for the will of God.”

“I...won’t let...you hurt them!”

Kale tried to rally himself for a second attack. But Aryeh hit him with another blast, this one shaped from his own power rather than simply repelling Kale’s. As the energy ripped through him, Kale’s eyes rolled back until only the whites were visible, and when it receded, he slumped to the ground, motionless.

“Kale!” Marzi screamed. Unable to help his lover, unable to even attack the creature that had harmed him, Marzi shouted at Aryeh with uncharacteristic fury. “You bastard! How can you even claim to be on the side of anything good?!”

Aryeh shrugged. “A taintling and a criminal. Do you really think his life matters to Almighty God?”

“It matters to me,” Marzi insisted, as tears began to run down his cheeks. “Damn you, it matters to me!”

“Silence! I grow bored with these games.” Striding over to Sylvia, Aryeh yanked the small, wriggling shape from her arms.

Again, Nicholas held his breath. They had one more chance. One more, tiny chance. If they’d made Aryeh angry enough, if they’d managed to distract him sufficiently, he might leave without noticing...

Unfortunately, luck seemed to have deserted them. Before he reached the door, Aryeh hesitated, squinting down at the small body he carried. His lips twisted into a frown. Then, with a snarl of frustration, he threw the baby on the ground, and raised his foot to stomp on her. Despite himself, Nicholas tried to shout a protest. Even though he understood the trick, the illusion looked so convincing, his gut told him that Aryeh was about to crush Lolli. But as Aryeh’s boot came down, it dispelled the last of Kale’s magic, revealing that the baby was only a baby doll, which squeaked “Mama!” as he stepped on it.

“Where is the child?!” With his face contorted by fury, Aryeh no longer looked remotely angelic. “Tell me! Or I’ll kill you one by one. And each of you will beg me for death before I’m done.”

No one answered him.

“Fine.” Turning away from them, Aryeh moved to retrieve his sword. But, before he reached it, something under the bed started to cry, like a baby pleading for the lives of her family.

Time seemed to freeze. Nicholas’s stomach clenched as the future revealed itself to him, like a movie playing in his head. Aryeh would take Lolli, and they would all be killed trying to stop him, and his daughter would grow up with no knowledge of her history, or the five people who had sacrificed so much to bring her into the world. Then, penetrating the buzz of his despair, Nicholas heard two voices, each perfectly clear, despite the fact that they spoke in unison. He heard Sylvia, warning him:

If you ever consume tainted blood – vampire blood, demon blood, whatever – you’ll finish what Cassie started.

And he heard the voice from his dream:

Be brave. When the time comes, God will give you the strength to do what you need to do.

With absolute clarity, like the moment he’d seen Pepper trapped in Balberith’s mirror, Nicholas understood. He knew what he needed to do. And he accepted the price he would pay for doing it. Slipping behind Aryeh, he darted into the hallway, before kneeling beside Kale. To his relief, he found Inferno’s owner still breathing. I’m sorry about this, Nicholas apologized, as he tilted Kale’s head, exposing his unprotected throat. Instinct guided him to the pulsing throb of the main artery. Tracing it with his finger, Nicholas drew one last breath. Let it fill his human body one last time. Then, he extended his fangs, and sunk them deep into Kale’s neck.

It felt like drinking the scotch. It felt like drinking fire, only a hundred times worse, as Kale’s blood – still crackling with its own magic and the residue from Aryeh’s – rushed into Nicholas, burning his veins. His muscles spasmed. His nerves writhed beneath his skin. And all the colors in the world melted away, leaving only shades of red. Still, even as everything good inside of him fought to recoil, he curled his hands into fists, and forced himself to keep drinking.

Until, gasping for breath, Nicholas tore himself free. Unholy strength surged through his body, battering him in waves. His senses lurched about, unreliable as drunken sailors, and nausea threatened to overcome him. But he couldn’t wait for the change to stabilize. Already, Aryeh crouched next to the bed, trying to reach beneath it, while Sylvia kicked him, and Marzi hit him with the butt of his gun. Unfortunately, their efforts seemed no more significant than the assault of insects. Somehow, despite his erratic balance, Nicholas staggered to his feet. Screaming a mute battle cry, he hurled himself at Aryeh.

For a moment, God’s Agent seemed too startled to respond, simply collapsing beneath Nicholas. Desperately, Nicholas yanked him back from the bed. As they rolled across the floor, locked in a dangerous embrace, Aryeh recovered from his surprise enough to fight back, but even then, he used too little force, expecting his opponent to possess the strength of a human, not the terrible vigor of a vampire. Aryeh’s blows hurt. However, they failed to shake Nicholas loose, and Nicholas kicked and punched with blind ferocity. He knew that, ultimately, Aryeh had the advantage. If this went on long enough, God’s Agent would win. His only hope lay in doing something fast. Unfortunately, he had no idea how to kill a creature that had shrugged off Kale’s magic and easily survived having seven bullets fired into its chest.

With a surge of power, Aryeh flipped Nicholas, pinning him to the floor. “Abomination,” he hissed. “How dare you turn away from everything holy?! When I’ve killed the others, I’ll drag you outside, and let God’s light purge—“

But Aryeh never finished his sentence. Something bright flashed in the air, and his head separated from his neck, bouncing off Nicholas’s face as it fell. But no blood spurted from his severed neck. As Nicholas struggled to wriggle out from beneath Aryeh’s suddenly motionless body, he smelled charred flesh. Then, finally, it occurred to him to look up, and he saw Sylvia standing over him, Aryeh’s fiery sword still clutched in her shaking hands.

“Well, how about that?” Marzi marveled. “It turns out that God really did have a plan.”

*****

“There must be something we can do!”

Sadly, Sylvia shook her head. “There’s not. Nicholas drank tainted blood. He’s a vampire now, and no power that I know of can turn him back.”

“But he did it to save Lolli.” Marzi sat in bed, clutching his daughter in his arms, while Kale stood beside him like some protective animal keeping watch over its young. Other than the bandage he wore on his neck, Sylvia’s boss showed no sign of the battle that nearly cost them all their lives. As for Nicholas, he’d fled immediately after Aryeh’s defeat, and no amount of searching had managed to uncover any trace of him. Sylvia tried not to think about him curled up in some forgotten corner of Inferno, silently enduring the aftershocks of his transformation.

“He did it to save all of us,” Kale conceded. “However, that doesn’t make him any less undead.”

“It’s not...it’s not fair!”

Sylvia exchanged a glance with Kale, both of them amazed that Marzi could still be shocked by life’s unfairness. Despite the drugs and the kinky sex, at his core, he remained as innocent as his sister. Perhaps some memory of that lost naiveté was part of what had always attracted Sylvia to him. Sighing, she placed a comforting hand on Marzi’s shoulder. “No. It’s not fair.”

“He should be here.” Marzi shifted his grip on Lolli, so that he could adjust the tiny knit cap, which had slipped down over her eyes. “He will come back, won’t he? Once he’s come to terms with turning? He wouldn’t leave us, leave his daughter, forever? Would he?”

“I don’t know,” Sylvia admitted. Right before he ran, she’d seen the look of revulsion and horror on Nicholas’s face – revulsion for what he’d become, horror for what it might tempt him to do. Sylvia remembered the dish room, remembered her hand caressing Nicholas’s. Did he sense the feelings that had begun to stir in her heart? Did he understand that, even now, they continued to grow? And if he did understand, would that be enough to call him back from the darkness? Peeking at her watch, Sylvia noticed it was nearly morning. Although she couldn’t say why, that realization filled her with a deep, nameless dread.

Unable to find reassurance in her words, Marzi reached out for his lover. But at some moment, unnoticed by both of them, Kale had slipped away.

*****

When Aryeh had entered the club, he’d left the back door open. Now, Nicholas stood a few feet away from it, watching the darkness lift itself from the alley, like a black curtain being raised to reveal a play’s final act. Despite the heavy feeling in his heart, Nicholas smiled. It had been a good play. The heroine proved herself to be as brave as she was beautiful. The hero, although too often stupid and blind, managed to rise above his limitations, serving her as best he could. All of the supporting cast were truly memorable characters. And the script that carried them along was, in turns, a comedy of errors, an epic tragedy, a romance, a burlesque sex show, a musical, a religious fable, and a musing on the miraculous power of love. No, he had no complaints. But the play was over. He knew how it ended. Prepared to make his final exit, Nicholas took a step toward the light.

“This is not your only choice, Nicholas Foster.”

Startled, Nicholas spun around, expecting to see the winged shape of the man who had spoken those words to him in his dream. But behind him, there was only Kale.

Moving with no particular urgency, Kale walked past Nicholas, and leaned against the frame of the open door. Outside, the dawn continued to blossom, casting golden tones across half of Kale’s body, while the other half remained in shadow. “You know,” he began, as if making a completely irrelevant observation, “I once saw a vampire exposed to sunlight. He didn’t immediately dissolve in puff of dust. The light burned away his flesh, layer by layer – took five, maybe ten, minutes before he was dead. And they didn’t look like very pleasant minutes.”

For a moment, Kale’s words made Nicholas hesitate. But only for a moment. It sounded like a horrible way to die. And yet, to live would be even worse. Absently, Nicholas tugged at Cassie’s bracelet, and remembered his last glimpse of her eyes, bright and hollow as glass beads. How long would it be before the bloodlust drove him to violence? How long would it be before the memory of sunlight faded completely from his mind? How long would it be before the endless unnatural years drove him mad, just as they’d driven Cassie mad? Ignoring Kale’s warning, Nicholas took another step forward.

Kale sighed. When he blinked, his eyelashes seemed to trap bits of sunlight, like tiny angels impaled on rusty spikes. “And I suppose it won’t do any good to mention how much they still love you.”

Of course they do. That’s the problem. Marzi and Sylvia would never turn him away, not even now. They would beg him to stay, to help raise his daughter, and as Lolli grew up, she would love him, too – because a child doesn’t understand that she’s not supposed to love vampires. They would try to help him. They would forgive his lapses, ignoring the danger they were in, until it was too late. Nicholas couldn’t forget his dream about the ruined candy shop, and the slaughtered bodies of the people he cared most about. That couldn’t be allowed to happen. Moving forward again, he found himself next to Kale. One more step would take him outside.

“Very well. You leave me with no choice.” Kale shifted positions, and Nicholas tensed, afraid that Inferno’s owner intended to grab him and forcibly drag him back into the safety of darkness. But they both knew that would only postpone the inevitable. Instead of making any move to overpower Nicholas, Kale simply settled back against the doorframe, folding his arms across his chest. “Before you make the same mistake I did, listen to a little hard-earned wisdom.”

“When I was born with a demon’s taint,” Kale continued, “everyone said that God had already turned his back on me. So, I built myself the sort of life I thought a demon should have. I rejected love, and mercy, and hope, convinced that they would only make me weak. I cast myself down into Hell, determined to rob God of the pleasure of doing it Himself.” Kale shook his head. “But the Hell I found myself in was not built by God. It was built by me, with my own hands.”

Unfolding his arms, Kale extended his hand through the open door, and let the morning light play across his fingertips, as if he could catch a strand of it and weave it into some new destiny. “You think that you’re damned because you’re a vampire. You think you don’t have any choice. But blood doesn’t damn us, blood doesn’t redeem us. No demon’s taint or angel’s blessing has that power. Only our own actions.”

Nicholas closed his eyes, squeezing out the tears that had gathered within them. He wanted to believe Kale. He wanted to go back to the people he loved. But there was something inside him now, something hungry and dark, and despite the vow he’d made to Cassie, he wasn’t sure he could control it. Again, Aryeh’s voice echoed in his head. Abomination. Maybe God’s Agent was right. Maybe the only thing to do was let the light burn away his sins. Curling his hands into fists, Nicholas prepared to take his final step.

“If that’s your decision, I won’t stop you,” Kale informed, apparently guessing Nicholas’s intent. “But I think you’re wrong. I think no demon, no matter how fallen, is beyond rising again. And if you don’t believe me, maybe you’ll believe that necklace you’re wearing.”

Nicholas’s eyes snapped open. The Medal of Saint Michael! When Cassie had grabbed the leather cord, it charred her skin. But he felt no pain from its touch. Hesitantly, Nicholas reached up, and let his fingers skim across the tin charm, still expecting it to burn. When it remained cool beneath his caress, he wrapped his hand around it, gripping it so tightly that the engraving pressed its pattern into flesh. Kale was right. He wasn’t damned – not yet. Maybe not ever.

Bowing his head, Nicholas felt his breath hitch in his throat. The tears came faster now. But they were tears of hope, and relief, not despair. Kale waited several minutes, until Nicholas managed to compose himself. Then, he gave the boy an encouraging pat on the back.

“Come on. Our family is waiting for us.”

Epilogue

It was a beautiful day for a trip to the lake.

Stretched out in the shade cast by his enormous beach umbrella, Marzi watched as Kale and Lolli climbed a nearby dune. Lolli had insisted on the expedition, but the shifting sand, and long ascent, eventually proved too much for her small legs. About halfway up, Kale was obliged to pause and hoist her onto his shoulders. Then, he continued onwards, effortlessly supporting her weight. And once again, Marzi marveled at Kale’s endless strength.

The sound of snoring brought Marzi’s attention back to his more immediate surroundings. Equally protected by the umbrella’s shadow, Sylvia lay on the blanket beside him, sleeping deeply. Over time, she’d become more nocturnal in her habits. But when Marzi proposed a visit to Lake Michigan, she’d wanted to come along, despite the fact that the outing would take place during the hours she usually spent in the darkness of a windowless room, arms wrapped tightly around the ageless body of her lover. Looking down at her, Marzi smiled. Instead of the black she used to favor, Sylvia wore a swimsuit colored the same iridescent green as a dragonfly’s body, and her sunglasses were only tools to protect her eyes, rather than shields to hide behind. Fondly, Marzi stroked her cheek. She’d changed so much over the last six years. But then, they all had. Changed, and yet, also remained the same.

“I did it!” Shrieking in triumph, Lolli ran across the beach, oblivious to the flurries of sand kicked up by her bare feet. “I went to the top!”

Marzi caught his daughter as she jumped into his arms. Her features were delicate; her cheekbones high and sharp like his own. And, although her hair fell around her face in the unruly curls she’d inherited from Nicholas, its bright red color was pure Pepper. “All the way to the top? That’s very impressive. What did you find up there? Pirates? Lions? An abandoned castle?”

“All of them,” Lolli decided. “But we tricked the lions into eating the pirates. Then we took over the castle.”

“I see. Well, you must be very tired. And hungry. When your adventuring partner gets here, we’ll all go buy some ice cream.”

Lolli seemed to approve of that idea, because she turned back the way she’d come, and bellowed “Kale! Hurry up!”

When Lolli was still a baby, there had been lengthy discussions about who would be called what – which of them would be “Daddy”, or “Mommy”, or “Uncle”. But it got too complicated. In the end, they decided Lolli should just address them by their first names. She didn’t need labels to know that they were her family. To know that each of them, in their own individual way, loved her dearly.

Soon, Kale arrived, and while Sylvia remained behind to guard their things, Marzi, his lover, and Lolli set off across the beach.

First born from a woman, then born from a man, she is the triple goddess – mother, sister, and daughter to herself. Neither of heaven nor hell, she will come. And she will decide. Again, the words of the prophecy drifted through Marzi’s head, making him tighten his grip on Lolli’s hand. Decide what? Decide when? Aryeh’s defeat had left them with so many unanswered questions. Was their part in this story finished? Or would they once again be called upon to help Lolli? Silently, Marzi vowed that if they ever needed to fight for her, they would fight strong, and they would fight together.

At the snack stand, Marzi and Lolli each got a scoop of chocolate ice cream on a sugar cone, while Kale contented himself with a chilled beer. As soon as Lolli held the cone in her hands, she promptly bit off the bottom, and began to suck the ice cream down through it.

“That’s going to make an ungodly mess,” Marzi observed.

Beside him, Kale snorted. “You’re the one who taught her to do it.”

“I can’t help myself.” Suggestively, Marzi swirled his tongue across the ice cream. “I have an oral fixation.”

“You’re a sick, twisted, little slut,” Kale clarified. Roughly, he pulled Marzi’s mouth to his, the bitterness of beer and the sweetness of chocolate making an odd combination as they kissed. “That’s why I love you.”

Lolli ignored their flirting. “I wish Nicholas could be here,” she murmured, allowing ice cream to dribble from the cone’s broken end. “I wish he could play with me in the sun.”

“I wish that, too.” Marzi ruffled her hair. “But that’s why it’s important for you to remember everything you did today, so you can tell him when we get home. He loves hearing about your day.”

Solemnly, Lolli nodded. “I found some pieces of beach glass. And a broken shell. I’m going to take them back for him.”

By the time Lolli had eaten her ice cream, and Marzi had done his best to clean her up, aided only by a water fountain and handful of napkins, the sun was beginning to go down. Returning to Sylvia, they folded the blanket, collapsed the beach umbrella, and returned to the car.

“Marzi?” Lolli asked, as Sylvia helped fasten her seatbelt. “While we drive back, will you tell me the story?”

Repressing a smile, Marzi feigned ignorance. “The story? Which story is that? Sleeping Beauty? Hansel and Gretel? The Swan Princess?”

“No! The story! About me, when I was Pepper, and about you, and Kale, and Nicholas. You know. The story.”

“Oh, that story. Well, I suppose one more time won’t hurt.” Settling behind the steering wheel, Marzi fastened his own seatbelt, before shifting the car into gear. Then, he started the journey back to Chicago. “The confectionary shop known as Sugar Hearts was located on Lakeshore Drive, inconspicuously nestled between several other high-end stores...”

The End.