Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Crystal ❯ Chapter 4

Crystal, Chapter 4:

 

 

Grandpa Brown came up on Saturday morning. Before we went to meet and greet the nephews he only recently found out he had, we held a family meeting in our den. I was invited, for a change.

 

There was no mistaking who was the true leader of the family. He may have given Kenny and his brother Robert roles as `hunters,' or `keepers' as we had begun to think of them since Johnny was no longer hunted, but Grandpa Brown was the real vampire expert. We all knew it; even Johnny acknowledged it. He and Johnny had an unspoken agreement. Grandpa Brown agreed not to hunt down Johnny as long as Johnny agreed not to kill anyone. They both agreed not to mention Johnny's dietary habits. I think Grandpa Brown turned a blind eye to what he really didn't want to see. Johnny never said he wouldn't kill. And Grandpa never asked.

 

It was better that way.

 

“He's—sleeping?” Grandpa Brown looked inquiringly at me for confirmation. I nodded. Over the last few years they had all started looking to me as the unofficial authority on Johnny. Maybe it was because I `saw' things that they believed I knew more than I actually did. Maybe because the older I get, the more obvious it is that Johnny chose me. They were right. I did know more about Johnny than any of the rest of them did, but I censored what I told them. They would be shocked if they realized what Johnny really was like, although I think Uncle Robert had some inkling.

 

Johnny was ours, however. We would protect him to the end, even Grandpa Brown.

 

“Good,” he said, rubbing his hands together. Johnny was infinitely easier to protect when he was not around. “First of all, we are agreed that no mention of Johnny will be made in front of the cousins. That said, I don't think the situation is as dire as you may have thought. Now that we know there are still active hunters in the old country, we can understand their reasoning. You combined two very strong bloodlines, which should not have been allowed to happen.”

 

He raised his hand, palm out, when Kenny opened his mouth to speak. “Nevertheless, you had my permission. There's precedent. Obviously their own father's bloodline, combined with their mother's, make their births questionable as well. I doubt Robert was even aware of it, considering what care they took not to let him in on their family's connection to the vampires.”

 

We all knew about Uncle Robert's family in Scotland. He had married when he was younger and searching for some truth about our family background. Against his own father's wishes, he had gone to Scotland tracing rumors of vampires, and met a woman who had the blood. He had stayed there, had children, but he always insisted that the American branch of the family had inadvertently brought a vampire with them on the ship to the New World centuries ago. His Scottish wife humored him but didn't really take him seriously and would not let him in to the secrets her own family held, although, apparently, she did pass them on to her sons—who were also Uncle Robert's sons. Uncle Robert eventually returned to the States, without his Scottish children. There were some hard feelings there. Uncle Robert had learned some of the ancient traditions of our bloodline which had been lost to the American branch from his Scottish wife's family, but they had never confirmed or denied that vampires still existed. He had never lost touch with his estranged wife and children, and would have gladly told them about Johnny's existence, but Johnny wouldn't allow it. He had, right before he found out Johnny was still alive, told them the story of how my stepfather Kenny `killed' the vampire they hadn't believed was real. That was when Grandpa Brown and the rest of us found out we had Scottish relatives. That was, indirectly, what led to this meeting. Those Scottish relatives had come to visit us and find out the truth about our bloodlines, and about Johnny.

 

“So you're saying that Paul and Michael Brown are like my brothers?” I asked. Like me? Not even Grandpa Brown knew about my dual bloodline.

 

“Not necessarily,” Grandpa Brown clarified. “We don't know enough about their maternal bloodline to be certain, but at the very least, they have the potential.”

 

There was a crash from the living room, and my mother got up to check on the boys, who were supposed to be watching cartoons and eating their cereal, a treat that she didn't often allow them. Grandpa waited until she settled the matter and returned. “They're fine,” she murmured, holding my brother Ian on her hip. “This one tried to climb over the gate and Kevin knocked over his bowl of cereal trying to stop him.” She smiled, and set Ian down. Ian immediately climbed into Grandpa's lap.

 

“Let's finish this quickly, then,” Grandpa said, jiggling Ian up and down. “Kenny and Lisa, don't worry about the boys. I'll have a talk with the Brown brothers and make sure they know I have a handle on it—we hunters have never stopped keeping track of our own bloodlines. We don't need these Scottish relatives to teach us how to do that. Crystal, you make sure Johnny stays away until these cousins leave.”

 

“Donnie!” Ian picked up on Johnny's name.

 

We all exchanged glances. Kevin and Ian were our weak links.

 

Grandpa Brown answered the question none of us asked aloud. “Keep the boys away from the Scottish cousins.”

 

I knew in my gut that it wouldn't work. Neither keeping Kevin and Ian from our Scottish cousins nor keeping Johnny away. Still, I nodded.

 

I rode over to Uncle Robert's house with Grandpa Brown in his big car. My parents brought Kevin & Ian over to Cara's before they headed over to meet us. Cara was Ellie's Grandma, but she was a lot younger than my grandparents, and was a good friend of my mother's.

 

Uncle Robert had sandwiches waiting for us. When he introduced his two sons to his brother, he couldn't help the proud grin that spread across his face. Whatever else might be going on, Uncle Robert loved his sons.

 

“Hello, Crystal.” Paul smiled at me, and I smiled back a little tentatively. He pulled me into a hug but then let me go right after, and stuck out his hand to shake Grandpa Brown's. “Uncle,” he said courteously. “I'm glad to meet you at last. You look a lot like my father.”

 

Grandpa studied the two young men in front of him. “You do, too,” he observed, glancing from the boys to Kenny and back again. “There's a strong family resemblance.”

 

I had noticed it, too. In a lot of ways, Paul in particular reminded me of Johnny. They all shared his bloodline, and it showed.

 

“We have a lot to discuss,” Grandpa said. “Shall we go into the study?” Grandpa led the way, knowing this house intimately as it had been his mother's before she married. It had belonged to Kenny after that, but Kenny had given it back to Uncle Robert when Uncle Robert agreed to come to Lockwood and take over as `hunter' so Kenny could marry my mother.

 

He stopped me and my mother at the door. “Lisa, you and Crystal wait in the living room. We shouldn't be long.”

 

We were both surprised. “This involves me, too,” my mother said.

 

Kenny caught her eyes with his own. “Lisa, it will be all right,” he said. This was Brown family business. I could accept that, although I was slightly disappointed. When I had been called into our pre-family meeting in the den at our house, I thought I had been needed for my expertise on Johnny. It dawned on me that that might be the very reason Grandpa Brown was excluding me now—I knew too much about Johnny. So did Mom. In my opinion, he was underestimating both of us.

 

“Let's go, Mom,” I said, leading her down the hall.

 

I couldn't help myself. I snooped. Uncle Robert had never taken the biggest bedroom for himself, but he had given it to one of his boys. Michael, I thought, as I brushed through the things he had left scattered on the dresser. Nothing that would help me figure out their plans.

 

My mother was only a little scandalized. She followed me as I peeked into Uncle Robert's room and finally into the one that Paul had taken. It was the smallest of the three, and the most untidy. Paul's things were scattered all over the floor. I looked at his passport photo.

 

“What are you looking for?” my mother asked.

 

“I don't know. Something. Who they are, where they came from.”

 

Mom knew right away I wasn't talking about the degree of relationship the Brown brothers had with us, or the town in Scotland where they were born. “Does Johnny have any ideas?” she asked me.

 

“I don't think so. He was here, the other night.”

 

My mother looked shocked. She shouldn't have. She knew Johnny nearly as well as I did. If someone told him to be careful, he would only become even more reckless. Even though it was broad daylight, and sunny at that, I wouldn't put it past Johnny to be lurking about somewhere nearby. I hoped he had more sense than that, and was `sleeping,' as Grandpa Brown put it. He needed his rest.

 

Paul had pictures on his camera. I skimmed through quickly, with my mother looking over my shoulders. This must be Scotland. A deep, dark lake surrounded by steep mountains. I had seen something similar once upon a time. I had drawn it. This wasn't the same place, though. Similar. Not Johnny's loch. I was very sure of it.

 

Other pictures showed a small house, a garden, a smiling woman a few years older than my mother. Was she Paul's mom? Probably. I heard a noise downstairs and quickly shut off the camera, placing it where I had found it, on the floor. We tiptoed out of Paul's room and down the stairs, taking our seats on the living room couch just before the men walked back into the room. I grinned at my mother and she grinned back at me.

 

“It's all settled,” Grandpa Brown announced. “We cleared the air about the vampire Jonathan Price, and about our record-keeping here in the States. They understand about Kenny and Lisa's boys now. There's no threat, no danger, and we will make sure it stays that way.”

 

Grandpa's gaze focused on me, and I nodded briefly. No need to talk about Johnny anymore.

 

“I still would like to hear about the family in Scotland,” Grandpa persisted, switching his gaze to Michael, the elder brother. “Do we have other relatives there? I'm assuming there is no longer any danger there, if you are monitoring bloodlines.”

 

The Scottish brothers exchanged a long look, and Michael replied, “It seems you killed the last vampire.”

 

“Would you like to see our town?” Paul asked. He went upstairs to get his camera, and set it up so we could all view the pictures on Uncle Robert's television. He cycled through the photos I had already seen, and showed more, people who looked nothing like Johnny, so I knew it was Uncle Robert's bloodline alone which had given his sons their particular faces. If this Scottish village had the blood, it didn't come just from Johnny's line.

 

Paul walked me out to our car. “Can I see you again?” he asked, all polite and formal.

 

I shrugged. I thought we were done talking about my encounter with `the vampire.' What more did Paul want with me? He kissed me lightly on the top of my head and stepped back.

 

When I got home, I took a nap. I was exhausted. I woke up thirsty again, and craving more than just water. Maybe Johnny was right, and the more blood I took, the more I desired it. The phone rang downstairs.

 

“Crystal, it's for you!”

 

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and went to get the phone. It was already dark outside. I'd slept away the rest of the day. “Hello?”

 

“Crystal, it's Paul. I thought you might like to see a film with me tonight. Can I pick you up in an hour?”

 

“A film?” He meant a movie. “I don't know, Paul. I'm kind of tired.”

 

“You can sleep in the theatre,” he said.

 

I was too tired to argue. “All right,” I agreed reluctantly. “In an hour.”

 

I trudged back upstairs to get dressed. Johnny sat on my bed, looking decidedly displeased. It was a look I had often seen him bestow on others, but never on me.

 

“You're going out,” he said flatly. He'd heard.

 

“I don't have to,” I said. I'd call Paul back, cancel. I didn't really want to go in the first place. Now that Johnny was here, my own blood thundered in my ears, and I wanted—no, needed blood. “Let's go back to the mall again,” I said, putting my palms on his chest.

 

“No, go with him,” Johnny said. He took hold of my wrists and lowered my hands although he didn't let go of them. His eyes were black. My own were probably midnight blue in my need. I licked my lips, disappointed that he was not going to bring me out to hunt again. “But first. . . .”

 

Johnny bit my shoulder near where it joined my neck. It didn't hurt, not exactly, but I could feel it. I knew he wanted me to. I leaned into him, my own craving causing my stomach to twist painfully. I was Johnny's as surely as he was mine. He could take as much blood as he wanted and I wouldn't protest. If he took too much, he would have to finish the change in me. A part of me wished he would.

 

But Johnny stopped before he took enough blood to endanger my life, and with a swift slash of his wrist, he offered it all right back to me. His blood was totally different from the teenage girl's blood we had taken the other night. Hers was the moon; his was the sun and the stars combined. He let me take too much. I could see it in the planes of his face as he watched me drink. Johnny would need to feed again, and soon, to make up for the blood loss.

 

Afterward, he held me. Both our wounds had faded as if they'd never been. My belly was warm, contented, and I felt right again. Johnny would have to change me soon, whether he wanted to or not. “I don't want to go to the movies,” I murmured. “I want to stay with you.”

 

Johnny grinned. “Who says I won't be there too?” he asked.

 

“Johnny, you can't!”

 

He kissed me on the top of my head, in the same spot where Paul had kissed me earlier. “You won't see me,” he promised.

 

That didn't set my mind at ease one bit. What if Paul tried to kiss me again? What if Johnny saw him do it? “I think I should cancel,” I said.

 

Johnny's eyes hardened. “Don't,” he said. “I want to watch this Paul Brown. If he touches you, I'll kill him.”

 

Johnny knew. Johnny knew Paul Brown had kissed me. I closed my eyes. That might solve a lot of problems. But Uncle Robert loved his son. And Paul wasn't that bad, really. Except that he was a hunter, and a potential kidnapper, and would probably try to kill Johnny too. I let out a deep breath. No, my family didn't know half of what Johnny was truly capable of. But I did. “Fine,” I grumbled. “I'll go to the damn movies with Paul.” I would just have to slug Paul if he tried anything—for his own good.

 

“Watch your language,” Johnny said mildly, knowing he had won.