Jelly Babies

Many, many thanks to Tenshistar, Snidne, Doll'sEyes, StoryJunkie, and Rin-chan for taking the time to give me such precious encouragement! Again, Rin-chan, I absolutely love the drawing you did of Nicholas. Thank you so much! And a special welcome to my new reader, Alisha Steele! I'm sorry that I made you lose so much sleep, but I'm glad that you were at least compensated with pleasant dreams.

I don't know why, but I haven't been able to sleep for the last couple of days. This section of the story kept demanding to be written. I hope, in my state of semi-delirium, I haven't made any glaring errors.

Love,
Falcon


Jelly Babies

Chapter Eight


Impatiently, Kale shifted his armload of grocery sacks and takeout boxes, until he freed one hand long enough to knock. “Room service!”

After a moment, the door swung open, and all of Kale’s irritability vanished when he saw his lover, dressed in a loose silk kimono which just barely managed to tie shut across his swollen belly. “Room service, huh?” Marzi challenged, leaning against the doorframe. “A likely story. I bet you’re some pervert, come to take sexual advantage of me.”

“Well, there is that. But I did plan on feeding you first.” Stepping past Marzi, Kale entered the room, and set his load down on the wooden table shoved up against one wall. “I swear, Sylvia is exacting her revenge on me by dreaming up increasingly esoteric foods that you need to eat. What the hell are lingonberries? And where in Chicago am I supposed to get fresh fruit at this time of the year? It’s nearly the end of October!”

“I think she’s starting to make things up,” Marzi suggested, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“No, it turns out that they actually exist. I’m having some flown in from somewhere warm. But they won’t be here until tomorrow, so for now, you’ll have to survive on blueberries. I trust that the baby won’t be irrevocably damaged.”

“She seems to be doing fine so far.” Making his way back to the bed, Marzi sat down on its edge. “This afternoon, just to keep my life interesting, she got hiccups. Cute little spasms – scared me damn near to death. I thought I was going into labor. Luckily, Sylvia knew better.”

Kale didn’t answer. He had talked to Sylvia, at great length, about what would happen when the time came for the baby to be born. What would happen if Marzi went into some sort of labor, and what would happen if he didn’t, but the baby needed to be removed. She seemed to have considered every possibility and come up with plans to ensure the safety of both Marzi and the child. But still, Kale worried. However, he knew that any show of anxiety on his part wouldn’t help Marzi, so he busied himself with unpacking Marzi’s dinner.

“There,” he announced, pushing the table over so that Marzi could eat at it while still sitting on the bed. “One poached chicken breast, half a cup of cooked broccoli, half a cup of wild rice, three slices of cheddar cheese, and of course, blueberries. Enjoy. I’m sure that for breakfast, Sylvia will want me to bring you filets of roast unicorn.”

Marzi speared a piece of broccoli with his fork. He never complained about any of Sylvia’s prescribed meals, but Kale could see a distinct lack of enthusiasm as he chewed. “I don’t suppose,” Marzi asked, after washing the mouthful down with a gulp of bottled water, “that roast unicorn tastes anything like fried chicken? Or pepperoni?”

“Mostly, it tastes like horse meat.” Careful not to disturb Marzi, Kale sat down on the bed beside him. “When all this is over, I’ll buy you a bucket of fried chicken, and a pizza three layers deep in pepperoni.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” Gently, Kale placed his hand on Marzi’s stomach. “For now, however, we need to do what’s best for our baby.”

“Our baby? But I told you—“

“I know.” Ever since Marzi told Kale that the baby wasn’t his, Kale had been brooding on the subject. He knew nothing in the world could persuade Marzi to give up the child. Like it or not, if he wanted Marzi in his life, he’d have to accept this other creature. And he’d finally come to terms with how he felt about that. “I know. From a biological standpoint, she’s the result of some kinky threesome between you, your sister, and her dearest. But you are my lover, are you not? My lover and my slave? Forever?”

“Of course I am.”

“Then what’s yours is mine. Your child belongs to me as much as she does to you, or Pepper, or Nicholas. She may not have been created from a part of my body, or a fragment of my spirit, but as long as I love you, she will always have a piece of my heart.”

“Holy fuck, Kale. That’s almost...sweet.”

Briefly, Kale remembered kneeling before Pepper, asking for her forgiveness. Then he snorted and shook his head. “I’ve had a few lapses recently. But don’t get used to it.”

“I won’t. Still, I’m glad you feel that way. It makes asking this a little easier.” Marzi set down his silverware, and turned toward Kale, taking one of his hands. “I want you to promise me something.”

“A bucket of fried chicken and a pizza three layers deep in pepperoni. I remember.”

Marzi smiled, but his eyes were troubled. “When the time comes for the baby to be born. If something goes wrong—“

“Nothing,” Kale snapped, “is going to go wrong.”

A soft sigh escaped Marzi and his grip tightened on Kale’s hand. At first, Kale thought his lover was seeking reassurance. It took him a moment to realize that Marzi was not asking for comfort, but trying to give it. “As far as we know,” Marzi insisted, “I am the only man to ever have a baby. I think that forces us to accept the possibility of something unexpected happening.”

“I won’t let—“

“I wish the universe bent to your will, my love. But if that was true, we wouldn’t be hiding here like rats in a hole, while Aryeh swaggers around bragging about his divine ability to kiss God’s ass.” Still holding Kale’s hand, Marzi raised it to his lips, and kissed it. But he didn’t try to force his lover to look at him. “If something goes wrong during the delivery, if it comes down to a choice between saving the baby or saving me, I want you to promise me that you’ll tell Sylvia to save the baby.”

Again, Kale snorted, trying to loosen the muscles in his throat, which had tightened to the point pain. “As if Sylvia ever does anything I tell her to.”

“If you gave the order, I honestly believe Sylvia would lie down in front of an oncoming train.”

Oddly, Kale believed it, too. But his thoughts weren’t on his healer. Looking up, he allowed his eyes to meet Marzi’s. “If you die, I’ll go mad. I’ll become more evil than I ever was before I met you.”

“No, you won’t. Because you’ll have our child to care for. Or when you said that she’d have a piece of your heart for as long as you loved me, did you mean that your love ends the day that I die?”

“No,” Kale whispered. “I meant for always.”

“Then please, promise me. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t Pepper. But I owe her this. And so do you.”

Kale couldn’t deny that. “Alright,” he grumbled. “I promise.”

“Thank you.”

“But as your master, I order you to live.”

Marzi laughed. “And as your humble slave, I promise to do my utmost to obey that order.”

“Bah. You may be my slave, but humble you are not.” Brushing back the strands of Marzi’s long brown hair, Kale pressed his lips to his lover’s throat, and began to drop kisses down the length of it, like someone leaving a trail of pebbles to mark their path back home. God could forbid him to enter heaven, and all the angels in the sky could line up to block his path, but nothing could stop him from claiming this moment, this tiny taste of paradise.

Moaning softly, Marzi expressed his appreciation. However, just as he turned his face to catch Kale’s lips against his own, a knock interrupted them.

“Mr. Kale? We have a situation.”

Kale swore in a language that had not been commonly spoken for several thousand years. “Can’t it wait?”

“I—I don’t think so. You instructed us to tell you immediately.”

“Tell me what?”

“I was talking to Scott, and he mentioned that a certain someone had been at the bar. Then, a certain someone else joined them, and they went off together. I-I think they may be in THE room.”

It figured. On top of everything else, the boy had lousy timing. Gently, Kale untangled himself from Marzi, and got to his feet. “I’m sorry, my treasure. But I have to deal with this.”

“What’s--?”

Marzi’s question got cut off when Kale lifted one of the chairs that had accompanied the room’s table, and smashed it against the wall. With a screeching crash, the chair tore apart, leaving Kale holding one wooden leg, its end turned into a jagged point by its separation from the base. Kale gave it an approving smile. Then, he started for the door.

“Kale,” Marzi persisted. “What’s going on?”

“Just some unfinished business. You stay right here.” Kale opened the door, revealing the newest member of Inferno’s security team. The young man looked so nervous, a casual observer might have thought he was the one who’d defied Kale’s will. “Find Sylvia,” Kale instructed him. “Make sure she’s in her room. Then resume your duties.”

“But--? Won’t you need any--?”

“Help?” Kale repressed the urge to roll his eyes. If even the act of talking to his employer caused the young man this much anxiety, Kale could only imagine what might happen when he found himself fighting a vampire. “No, I think I can handle this myself.”

With that, Kale pushed past the young man. “It’s just time to take out the trash.”

He traveled a back route, avoiding the crowded dance floor. And, also, avoiding any questions about why the owner of Inferno was striding along with a broken chair leg in his hand and a murderous glint in his eye. I should have killed that psychotic little bloodsucker the moment I had her alone in my office. But no, I had to be fair, I had to give her a chance. And this is the reward for my act of mercy. If being good is what I must do to keep Marzi, then I’ll try to be good, but I swear to god, evil was a hell of a lot easier.

Arriving at the familiar door, Kale shoved it open without slowing his pace. In the center of the room, he could see Cassie, standing on a stepladder, her back to him. But even when the door slammed against the wall, she didn’t turn around. Instead, she placed her hands on either side of Nicholas’s head. “Take one more step,” she hissed, “and I’ll snap his neck.”

“You do, and I’ll make you wish that I’d killed you quick,” Kale vowed. But he stopped.

Shaking her head, Cassie turned toward him. “You have no right to interfere! This is what he wants. I’m doing him a favor.”

“Ah.” Kale arched an eyebrow as he looked at Nicholas, dangling from the manacles. He was unconscious, and blood trickled from the corners of his mouth, as well as from two puncture wounds on the inside of his thigh. “That’s what gratitude looks like, is it? I’d always expected something more...cheerful.”

“He panicked,” Cassie conceded. “Humans always panic. But once I finish the ritual, and he tastes his new life, he’ll be happy.” Bending closer to Nicholas, she licked up some of the blood dribbling down his chin. “You were all mean to him. I won’t be. I’ll be so very, very nice.”

“Yeah. Considering that you threatened to snap his neck less than five minutes ago, I think he’s better off with us.” Kale adjusted his grip on the chair leg. Then, giving Cassie no time to react, he hurled it at her. For an instant, fury and fear contorted Cassie’s features. Her mouth stretched open. But before she could make a sound, the chair leg embedded itself in her chest. Clutching at the improvised stake, Cassie swayed, and toppled off the stepladder. However, her body never hit the ground. Instead, she dissolved into a cloud of dust, except for a single beaded bracelet, which dropped to the floor with a rattle, like a handful of glass tears.

“I warned you to stay away from the boy,” Kale scolded.

Then, moving quickly, Kale retrieved the spare key from its hiding place behind the whip rack, and climbed up the stepladder. When he unlocked the manacles, Nicholas slumped into his arms. Cassie had said she didn’t complete the ritual. But there was still a chance that she’d done enough to turn Nicholas. Or partially turn him. Or, if she hadn’t gotten very far at all, she might still have drained enough blood to kill him. Struggling under Nicholas’s limp weight, Kale descended the stepladder, and laid Nicholas down on the floor. A few quick slaps to the side of the boy’s face finally knocked his eyes open.

Blearily, Nicholas stared up at Kale. Kill...me... he mouthed.

“Don’t think it hasn’t crossed my mind. But things may not come to that.” Kale glanced around for something to use as a rag, and settled on Nicholas’s pants. Tearing off a strip, he wiped away the excess blood from around Nicholas’s mouth, before continuing. “Listen, you need to tell me something. When Cassie tried to make you drink her blood. Did you swallow?”

Don’t know...can’t remember...

Nicholas’s eyes started to slip shut, causing Kale to slap him again, harder than before. “If you don’t remember, we can’t afford to take chances. I’m sorry about this.” Kale rolled Nicholas over onto his side, and then stuck his finger down the boy’s throat until he triggered his gag reflex. Nicholas’s whole body convulsed as he vomited a mixture of scotch, bile, and blood.

“Some, but not much. There may still be a chance for you.” Shrugging off his jacket, Kale wrapped it around Nicholas’s waist, hiding his nakedness. Then he lifted Nicholas back into his arms. “Let’s get you to Sylvia.”

This time, Kale cut straight across the dance floor, not wanting to lose even the few minutes that the back route would have cost him. And, somehow, the club’s patrons sensed the urgency of the situation, parting to let him pass. Several even recognized Nicholas, and their concerned glances followed in Kale’s wake. Then, Kale reached the other side, and soon arrived at Sylvia’s room. Kicking the door with his foot, Kale prayed that the young security guard had done what he requested. And, indeed, after a moment, he heard Sylvia’s voice. “Coming, Boss!” But when she swung open the door, Kale got a nasty shock. His healer wasn’t alone.

“Dammit, Marzi! I told you to stay--!”

Except, of course, the instant Marzi saw Nicholas, Pepper shoved forward, knocking her brother aside as easily as a bear swatting a feather. “Nicholas! Oh my god! What have you done to him?”

Ignoring Pepper’s accusation, Kale set Nicholas down on Sylvia’s bed. Then he turned to Pepper, and took hold of her arm, attempting to lead her out of the room. “Pepper. All this excitement isn’t good for the baby. You need to go back to your room and lie down. Sylvia will take good care of Nicholas.”

“Damn you! I’m not leaving him!” With a surprising burst of strength, Pepper tore free from Kale, and rushed over to the bed. Sinking to her knees beside it, she caressed her lover’s face. “Nicholas? Sweetie? Can you hear me?”

Whether he could or not, her touch certainly provoked a reaction. Nicholas’s hand curled into fist, and his mouth twitched, as if seeking something. Immediately, Kale snatched Pepper, and yanked her back from bed.

“His skin feels so cold,” she babbled. “Why is he so cold and pale?”

Using less gentleness than he would have preferred, Kale pulled her to her feet, and forced her eyes to meet his. “Marzi, listen to me. You need to get your sister out of here. And you need to do it now.”

For a terrible moment, Marzi’s face went completely blank as the two spirits within him struggled for control. Kale felt certain that Pepper put up a good fight, but she’d been getting weaker ever since the baby, and after all, it was Marzi’s body. Eventually, he triumphed. Then, with a quick nod to Kale, Marzi marched out of the room.

“Was that really necessary?” Sylvia challenged.

As if in answer, Nicholas’s mouth twitched again, and then opened, revealing two sharp ivory tips beginning to poke through the flesh of his gums.

“Fuck,” Sylvia cursed, unconsciously quoting Marzi. “Holy fuck.”