Chapter 10 #2
Bel nodded and swallowed hard. Marcus picked up the glass of blood, pushing it on Bel again. His brother accepted it and drained it, but Marcus didn’t think he was aware of what he was doing. His stare was distant, and Marcus was willing to bet he was replaying in his mind what happened.
“After I sent the text, I went to check on her. I’d barely stepped into the room when she attacked me, screaming that I was evil.”
Marcus set the empty glass on an end table and resumed running his hand through his brother’s hair. “You’re not evil. And that’s not our mother. She’s sick.”
“But why? Why can’t I fix it? She doesn’t deserve to be like this.”
“I know, Bel. I know.”
Bel closed his eyes, tears slipping down both cheeks now, and Marcus’s heart broke for his brother, broke for all of them. “She wouldn’t want this, Marcus. It would kill her to know that she’s hurting her sons. She wouldn’t want to live like this if she knew.”
Winter had whispered those same broken words to him, and Marcus couldn’t bring himself to disagree. Julianna Varik loved her sons with all her being. She was the soul of kindness and compassion. There wasn’t a bit of hatred, anger, or violence within that woman.
But it was not the woman they loved who attacked them. It was the monster that lived within her.
“We don’t have much choice,” Marcus murmured.
Bel opened his eyes, pain clear there, but also knowledge that they did have one choice, but not one of them had yet voiced those words.
Others had. Meryl had stated very clearly that Julianna needed to be killed in order to save them all.
And Julianna’s death was the only thing that would save them from her attacks.
But she was their mother. Even if she might be the creature that one day ended their immortal existence, they couldn’t bring themselves to end her life to save themselves. They were trapped.
“Marcus?”
“Yes, Bel.”
Bel licked his lips and closed his eyes for a moment. His little brother seemed so tired, as if exhaustion had seeped down into his bones. “Would you play for me? I just want to forget for a little while and your playing…”
“I know,” Marcus murmured. “We’ll need to move to the music room on the third floor. My piano isn’t quite as mobile as your cello.”
Bel smirked at him. “You could invest in one of those electric keyboards.”
“Suggest that again and I’m going to dump you on my doorstep. You know those sound nothing like my baby,” Marcus growled, but it was all for show. He felt lighter to see Bel teasing him. Bel wasn’t as big of a joker as Rafe, but he did go in for a little playful teasing every once in a while.
“Yes, but your baby weighs a ton…” Bel paused on a hiss as Marcus slid an arm under him and helped him sit upright on the couch. “And she doesn’t easily fit through doorways,” he continued through clenched teeth.
Marcus carefully got Bel on his feet and his arm around Bel’s waist to steady him.
“Wait! My bow!” Bel cried before they could take a step.
Marcus bit back a smile as he twisted around and snatched up the cello bow Ethan had gotten.
He handed it over to Bel, who gripped it tightly in his fingers like a security blanket.
More than anything, he could kiss Ethan for picking up that one item.
Music had been so thoroughly ingrained in their upbringing that the instruments calmed them when their world was in chaos around them.
They slowly made it across the room where Marcus jerked open the door.
The elevator was a short distance away down the hall.
Unfortunately, they didn’t get far before the sound of footsteps thundered through the house.
Marcus’s hand tightened on Bel’s waist and he tried to shift his brother so that he was partially behind Marcus’s larger frame.
No one was supposed to be in the house. They should have been alone.
Fangs slid down and Marcus prepared to launch himself at the intruder to protect his injured brother. No one would touch Bel.
Ethan rushed around the corner and came to a sharp stop at the sight of Marcus, his face going pale.
“What are you doing here?” Marcus snarled, fighting to retract his fangs before Ethan could notice them. “I told you to leave!”
“I thought you could use my help,” Ethan replied, his voice wobbling slightly.
“Get out of here or you’re fucking fired!” Marcus shouted. He knew he was being irrational, but Marcus was exhausted and at the end of his emotional rope. The only thought running through his head was that Bel was weak and vulnerable. Everyone not family could be a threat to his brother.
To his surprise, Ethan straightened his shoulders and lifted his head, but didn’t retreat. “Fine. Fire me.”
“What?” He couldn’t have possibly heard him correctly.
“Fire me. If you fire me, then I’m here as a friend, and that means I don’t have to listen to you anymore.”
“What?” Marcus repeated because nothing was making sense.
“Your brother needs help, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Bel surprised Marcus by snickering. He twisted carefully so that he could look at his brother, who was giving him a somewhat crooked grin.
“He’s as stubborn as Winter. I can’t believe you hired him,” Bel teased.
“I have a feeling he was desperate,” Ethan replied.
Marcus’s head whipped back to face Ethan. “No, I wasn’t,” he said sharply.
“What can I do?” Ethan’s voice was even and there was a flush in his cheeks. If Marcus had scared him, he’d moved past it.
“We’re moving to the music room on the third floor. I need you to go into the green bedroom beside it and grab the comforter off the bed. Bring it to the music room. I’m going to place Bel on the couch in there.”
Ethan frowned. “Those have to be locked rooms. I haven’t seen them yet.”
Marcus reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. He shuffled through them with his thumb until he found the right key and then handed it over to Ethan. “Music room is the second door on the right from the stairs. The green room is to the left of the music room.”
With the keys in his hand, Ethan darted off, his footsteps pounding up the stairs in his haste.
“He’s interesting,” Bel said, reminding Marcus that his brother was right there, watching everything.
“Ethan has been a great help for the move,” Marcus replied, ignoring the stiffness in his tone.
“And you asked him to get me a bow?”
“No. I think he overheard you when I called him for supplies.” Marcus got them moving again down the hall to the elevator. He rarely used the elevator since it wasn’t often that he went from the ground floor to the top floor, but it came in handy when one of his brothers was injured.
“Will he move with you to Connecticut?” Bel’s question was broken by pants of pained breaths as he leaned against the wall of the elevator.
Marcus pushed the button for the third floor and closed his eyes. “I don’t think so. The position is just temporary. For the move.”
“But you’ve always had an assistant.”
“He’s going to school for computer coding. I don’t think he wants to spend the next ten years running my errands, no matter how well I pay.”
How would he let Ethan go after spending ten years with him?
As it was, he was dreading saying good-bye after just three short months.
For the past week, they’d started eating lunch at five each day.
They talked about random things, but Marcus had to admit that it was the best hour out of his entire day.
He wasn’t ready for that to end, to go back to his lonely existence.
But he shoved that selfish thought away as the doors silently slid open again on the third floor. As they were stepping out, Marcus caught sight of Ethan heading into the music room, with a comforter and a couple of pillows in his arms. Inside, only two lamps burned, offering up soft, dim light.
Marcus focused on getting Bel set up on the larger sofa and then carefully tucked the blanket around his brother. He could feel Ethan standing just behind his shoulder as if he were waiting for the chance to jump in.
“Comfortable?” Marcus asked, his eyes skimming over Bel.
“As much as I’m going to be.”
“Do you need anything? A glass of water?” Ethan offered.
Marcus stepped back and looked over at Ethan to find his teeth worrying his bottom lip. He looked nervous, as if the confidence he’d shown outside the library had dissolved as he climbed the stairs.
“No, I’m okay. Thank you for my bow.” Bel lifted the bow in his right hand and smiled a little.
Ethan nodded before looking over at Marcus again. “I’m going to go downstairs and finish cleaning up the kitchen and hall. Then I can—”
“Stay,” Marcus cut him off and not just because he didn’t want Ethan going into the library. He wanted him close. “If you’re not returning home, then stay. Rest.” He motioned to a smaller loveseat that was positioned next to Bel’s couch. “I don’t mind an audience.”
Ethan’s smile doubled in size, and Marcus felt an answering skip of his heart. With a nod, Ethan darted over to the sofa and made himself comfortable.
Marcus turned to the gleaming black grand piano. He had three pianos in the house, counting the old upright in the basement and the smaller baby grand in his own bedroom. But the piano in the music room was his favorite. He’d had her the longest, spent the most time with her.
His fingers easily danced over the ivory keys as he mentally shuffled through the mountain of songs that he knew by heart. He played nearly every day and had since he was a boy. It was as much a part of his daily routine as getting dressed or reading the morning paper.
After a moment, he decided against the tried and true concertos written by the old masters and settled on something different, something original.
Taking a deep breath, he started on a song that he’d been tinkering with for the past few years.
It was a slow, haunting song that always made him think of a fox sniffing its way through the underbrush of the forest, slinking along in the low-lying fog until finally catching the scent of a hare.
The chase was on. The notes sped up, nipping on each other’s heels, darting here and there.
But the hare escaped. The fox looked up, finding himself in a new pasture, the night sky spread wide above him with stars sparkling.
The fox felt small and alone, the world pressing down.
He slowly slunk back into the safety of the cover of the woods.
Through the song, Marcus never thought about the notes or the melody he was crafting. Just the lonely fox.
When his hands lifted from the keys, Marcus took a deep breath. He was exhausted, but there was a deeper sense of peace that went with the sadness he could never shake. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been playing. Longer than a couple of minutes.
His smile returned when he looked over at Bel. Long enough for his brother to drift off into sleep.
Hesitantly, he turned his gaze to find Ethan watching him. His wide eyes were a little glassy, but there was a beautiful smile on his face. Marcus watched as Ethan quietly crossed the room and came to stand next to the piano.
“That was gorgeous, but I didn’t recognize it,” he admitted, looking a bit sheepish.
“I’ve never played it for anyone before,” Marcus said.
Ethan’s brow furrowed and he cocked his head to the side. “You…you wrote that?”
“Yes.”
Ethan gave a little shake of his head. “I think the goddess has met her match.”
“I don’t think so, but I’m flattered. I’ve listened to more of her work. She’s quite amazing.”
“And so was that.” Ethan surprised Marcus by extending his hand. “But that’s enough for tonight. You need some sleep.”
Marcus reached for his hand but stopped at the last second when he saw that his were still covered in blood. He started to pull back, but Ethan grabbed his hand, pulling him up to his feet. Marcus didn’t know what was happening, but he was willing to follow Ethan wherever he wanted to go.