Matthias

  Chapter 29 Glass Houses

  Leaving Mehnaz asleep in her home felt like the first right thing in a long time. As much as I regretted putting her through everything I had in the last couple of days, I now had heat I needed. The map, an audience with Myria, and an agreement to meet, to work together and trade. Mehnaz would have no memory, and her father back.

  When I returned, I headed to our kitchen. It was custom built to offer space, little actual cooking space of course, but to leave the room open, useful for other things. We had set up arm chairs and a coffee table in the dining area of the kitchen, and this was where Violet, Camille and Viktor were clearly talking about me. They hushed as I approached. I didn't mind. I had given them lots to talk about over the years. Camille and I especially had grown a little estranged, though we still kept in touch and things were civil. Violet though, had always been my staunchest of supporters. She was always explaining my decisions, my reasoning, or sometimes my complete lack of reasoning to both Viktor and Camille.

  It was hardly surprising that Cam had such an issue with me. My behavior over the last few years had been less than exemplary. While keeping Cassie alive was supposed to have been a short term option, over the years and then decades I had become less concerned with the costs than the outcomes. I stole people away from their lives at a rate of around a person every 2-3 weeks, for Cassie to feed from. And over 25 years, that was a lot of people. So many had died by accident, through weakness or panic, and of the ones who made it, in spite of using trance inducing devices, brainwashing or magic to still them, I knew what I was doing was....well horrible. Torturous for everyone involved, myself included. Violet found ways to help it make sense for me. Ease my mental anguish, which she happily did, because for her, like myself, family had become everything. Her bond with Cassie especially, was stronger then her ethical principals. Viktor almost completely ignored the situation as best he could, preferring to avoid discussing any of it as much as possible. In this way, Viktor and Violet developed a relationship based on other things, distractions, passion, anything but talking about Cassie and the finer details of what was happening under our roof. Besides, I was there to drive everything, do the research, take care of her and keep moving on towards the goal of fixing Cassie for us all.

  Taking that on myself though, making it my responsibility made me different. I had to detach from part of myself that had always wanted to help, not harm. That was not an easy thing to do, and one that I struggled with by keeping to myself and disengaging.

  I had realized how much I had changed and when Cam and I had had our big blow up of '28 as it was now referred to as, I hadn't argued with her when she called me a burgeoning psychopath. I hadn't even responded when she reminded me, that even though I picked off the people I found less desirable in the community, there was a ripple effect for their family, the police hunts, the possibility I might be wrong about them, or who they might turn out to be later. I didn't react because I thought of all these things as well.

  I lie, I did react. I went out more often, found vampires who preyed on the weak, and killed them. I earned myself such a reputation that most fled from the very sight of me. I know on some level it was about atonement but as I became more isolated, I became more hardened and less who I used to be. I became single minded in my determination to rescue Cassandra. To feel her touch me, to earn her back again after everything I had done. Everything I had thought was against my nature. But by the time the day came when everything was falling back into place, I knew after all this, I was going to have to go back to doing the right thing, and I was hungry for it.

  There were other things we did to try and neutralize what we were doing, donating to charities, holding fundraisers, Violet even implanted thoughts for the people we kidnapped who made it through the feeding process, that aimed for them to lead better lives. To stop stealing, raping, dealing and worse. I could argue that our immediate community actually became better for the large part because of what we did, but Cam wouldn't give me that as a win.

  While Camille didn't want anything to happen to Cassie either, the combination of seeing me go off the rails, the reaction she had to Myria being changed in the aftermath of the trauma over Russell dying, it had all been too much and crossed a line for her. Cam's shock, had changed to remorse and guilt, then anger and resentment, before she finally accepted how so much had changed. It had always surprised me that she had never held against me the fact I had changed Myria in to one of us. She had scolded me, sure, but never came out and blamed me for it. I thought it could have been because she had sensed it was always going to happen, or that she understood I had done it in a moment of blind panic where I had not thought things through, just reacted to my loss, like she did to Russell's by trying to kill Myria. Maybe the fact she was going to kill her meant she hadn't really blamed me for actually going through with it. Cam would often take off for a few days or weeks to 'clear her head' as she put it, and I knew she was going somewhere to vent, or to ground herself. I knew though, from the fact she kept speaking to me, distant as she was she would still do anything for me, which is why I had asked her to do me a favour, that I now had to explain to Violet and Viktor. I felt a sense of resolution and of finalizing of everything ahead of me.

  "Hey." Viktor greeted in the usual over stoic manner he reserved for when he had been busy gossiping about me but was unsure if I knew. I was fairly certain I always knew, if only because he would then greet me so stiffly.

  "Hey." I responded without giving anything away. No sense making him feel more awkward.

  Violet was on tenterhooks. "So, what happened."

  "I got to speak to her for a few seconds, which is good news. She said she will do what we ask, but not without us all going together. The deal was to give her the other half of the scroll and she could come back to us, or insist on us all going together." Violet sat back in her seat thoughtfully.

  "At least we don't have to go far." Camille interjected.

  "Everything went well then." I responded and she smiled softly. Cam handed me a velvet bag with a weighted object in it. As I took it from Camille, Violet sat forward in her seat again. I pulled out a crystal from within the bag.

  "Is that..?." Violet queried. Viktor had a broad smile appear on his face.

  "You got there first, grabbed the crystal." Viktor qualified. "A bargaining chip."

  I nodded in affirmation. "When I first got the map, I called Cam and gave her the location in Mesopotamia to get the crystal ahead of time. I had a feeling we would need insurance, so that if I showed Myria the location, but kept the crystal, I still had something she needed until she undoes what she did to Cass."

  "Now all you have is the crystal. No bargaining chips left." Surmised Viktor.

  I shrugged and felt sheepish. "Just have to trust her I guess."

  "Why didn't you tell us." Violet asked.

  "It was a last minute decision." I explained. "I just didn't get around to telling you yet, there was a lot going on." I turned to Cam. "Was everything intact, any problems?"

  "The device was all but torn down." Camille indicated. "I don't think there was going to be any way to make it work anyhow. The crystal was salvageable, but Matt, I have to say, the words on the machine were not the same as the first sight. I don't know if that means anything."

  I shook my head. "All the specifications are the same. All it means is 'Restoration of Original Life'. Nothing much. The words on the first device said 'Restoration of Being'. Same same."

  Viktor picked up the crystal, heavy in his hand and gazed at it curiously. Violet ran her hand over it as it lay his palm. "Amazing isn't it?" She ventured. I was aware that she felt at odds with the fact Viktor hadn't asked too many questions, hadn't become more than vaguely engaged in the whole situation.

  "It is. It's hard to imagine how it all works."

  "Anytime you want, I think I have read just about everything on the topic by now. I'm always happy to share." I suggested this to him, kno
wing he wouldn't take me up on the offer.

  "Maybe another time." Was the reply, and Viktor replaced the crystals on the table.

  "You really have been getting up to speed." Viktor continued. "I saw all the texts on magiks you have as well."

  "I've had time on my hands, but really Cam taught me most of what I know."

  "Then you don't know much." Cam scoffed.

  "I grinned. I know plenty, but it still doesn't speak to me like it does you, or Violet." I added. Violet looked pleased.

  "Cam," I had to hit her up with everything now, not wait. "Myria agreed to meet, here tomorrow, but she wanted you to be there."

  Camille rolled her eyes and inhaled deeply. "I'm not coming Matt. If things go wrong, I'm a liability. Even I don't know what I would do. You'll have to do without me."

  "I'll be there." Violet immediately assured.

  "Vi. I want to go alone, with Cassie, in case something goes wrong." That was partly true, partly me keeping my deal with Viktor.

  Viktor rose from his chair and walked to the bench in the kitchen. Violet eyed him in his movements. She knew. She had to by the way she looked at him. "I want to be there." She spoke without her eyes leaving Viktor. Viktor's grip on the mug he had in his hand tightened and I heard a light crack of the ceramic handle. He poured boiling water onto the instant coffee and it frothed in to a no fuss cappuccino.

  "We can work it out later, but the only reason I asked Cam to be there was because Myria asked her to. I don't want anyone else there. There isn't the need. She's strong enough, she could take us if she wanted. I plan on this being civil, just a chance for us all to move on in our own ways." Violet stared obstinately at the table in front of her for a few seconds before she stood upright, and strode out in a huff. None of us followed knowing it was better not to.

  "You try and bring them up you know, but kids nowdays…..” Viktor said in a mocking tone. My head snapped to face him and my blood ran colder than usual.

  "Why did you say that? Where did you hear that?" I demanded. Those were the exact words Michael had used just before he had been killed.

  "Ugh," Cam sighed. “Belil would always say that about any of us he considered ‘his children’. It got old quickly. After the first 50-60 years it gets hard to find the same quip amusing."

  “I’ll bet.” I sympathised.

  “What is it Matt?” Viktor asked as he eyed me from the bench he leaned against while cradling his coffee.

  “Just something Michael said before he died.” I just shook my head. “Sorry, touchy subject, it was the way you said it, that’s all.”

  Viktor drained his coffee before announcing he was leaving for a teleconference with a company he was discussing opening another club through. Finance wasn't a problem, but location was something we had to be very mindful of. Exactly the right balance between population, competition, thoroughfare, and preferably travelers. Not so simple.

  "Come to the glass house with me Matthias." Cam asked.

  I complied, and we took the internal elevator up the three flights of stairs to the roof. The glass house was an addition we had made that Camille had fallen in love with. She had been known to stay until the very last minute before the sun came up, and as surprise I had recently built her a section in the back for her to be able to sleep in, if she chose. Completely sealed from light, surrounded by low light loving plants such as Chinese Evergreen and Holly Fern among others. Now was as good a time as any to show her.

  "The plant boxes need some attention." Cam remarked as she walked in. Dawn wasn't far off, so we couldn't spend too much time. What time we had, I didn't want to spend debating the wellbeing of flowers. Nor did she, clearly, as she moved on to the point of why she had asked me here. "Every time I'm away, I miss this place. I do wish I could see this place in the daylight." Camille ran her fingers along African Violet petals.

  "Actually, its overrated in the daytime, but I'm glad we're here. I want to show you something." I drew her to the far end, swung back a glass door, and then the purple curtain that shielded the inside. She walked in, impressed enthusiasm highlighting her face. "I wasn't sure if it might be too hot, but I thought ....."

  "Its fabulous. I love it." Was Cam's immediate and semi-enthused response, walking past me so her back faced me.

  "I sense a 'but' in there. I just meant it as a peace offering of sorts, but I understand if things between us stay....tense." I confronted.

  Camille turned to face me again. When she smiled, genuinely at me, I relaxed a little. "You don't need a peace offering. I have difficulty accepting everything that has happened over the years. That is my lot though. My way of not losing myself in the death and carnage that we can so easily cause. I know you think I am staunch, uptight, but the fact is, I have seen the feats I am capable of, so I feel like I have to keep myself reigned back. If I allow too many concessions, there is a good chance I will find it too difficult to come back from the edge. I don't want to end up like Belil, or any of the many others that live for themselves regardless of the consequences. But that's my lot, not yours. You need to do what you think you need to do."

  "You are very perceptive as usual." I observed.

  Camille moved to me and in an unprecedented move, placed her hand to my neck and pulled me to her to hug me. "Thank you for the room Matthias. Thank you for keeping me hoping to get Cassandra back. I am sorry you are doing all this alone." She drew back from me halfway. "I just really hope coming back afterwards isn't hard." Cam let me go completely.

  "I am just wondering if I can, come back. Be who I was, or as much as possible."

  "Of course you can. You have to get Viktor to tell you his story one day. You will have to ask him, or at least Violet. You might get the shorter version from him, but you'll spend a fortune on alcohol before you do.”

  "I'll remember to do that, before I see Myria perhaps -if there's time."

  Camille looked serious again. "I miss her Matt. I miss Myria."

  "I know. It's not surprising." I extended. "I know she misses you."

  "Forgiving what happened to Russell though, it's just not something I can do."

  "If I could put aside what she did to Cassie, I understand acting in the moment. Doing something so selfish, just to have the hope of having someone you love back again." Camille squeezed her eyes shut. "I kind of hoped you might too." I said.

  "You are awfully perceptive yourself Matthias." She responded looking at me again.

  Just then, Violet arrived. "I needed to talk to you both." She announced to us. Tomorrow night, I will be coming whether Viktor, or you, like it. No one makes choices for me."

  "Violet," I smirked. "I think we both learned a long time ago not to try and tell you what to do, but you need to think about Viktor here as well. It's not just your future Violet."

  "She is my sister though. That counts above anything. Always has."

  "I'm not going Violet. Not because I don't care." Camille tried to reason.

  "You have conflicted interests. I know that. I respect that."

  "So do you, is what I think Cam is trying to point out." I said placing a hand on Violet's arm. "Just think about it. It's nearly sunrise. You have all day to decide what you want to do. Spend the night with Viktor, he loves you, and I can take care of this. Or not, either way, we don't all have to throw ourselves on the pyre."

  "I love Viktor too. But he shouldn't expect me to choose. It isn't even a choice. I have let him ignore the situation, danced around what's going on for me, but I am not willing to sit this one out. He needs to understand that."

  "I understand it." Viktor's voice sounded from behind us. "I just hoped that you might at least do something that I asked from you. I think it's fair seeing as I do everything you ask."

  Violet walked over to Viktor and put her hands to his chest. "Then ask me to do something else, anything other than this." He swallowed hard and removed her hands from him. Drawing his lips together he just looked away, then walked out. "Viktor."
She called after him, but there was no response. "Viktor! Mulish Viking."

  "Let me talk with him." I offered.

  "Won't help. Stubborn male." Violet looked at me. "No offence."

  "Can't hurt either." I left Violet on the roof, and Camille retiring to sleep for the day, hoping Viktor wouldn't be too far away.