“We wanted children. What we got were little monsters.”

- A memory of the Old Ones.

***Carinthia***

***Magnus***

After we left the clean up efforts to Paul and Adam, we returned with the girl to the mansion. It goes without saying that our spoils of war were answered with more than raised eyebrows. The child warranted a big assembly of all the residents of the reality marble. So I find myself with everyone in the living room, having already shared the gist of our discoveries.

Fiacre prods the sleeping child with a finger, curious. “I am afraid that I haven’t taken care of a little one in years. I’ve gotten used to my life in solitude. It would be highly inconvenient to invest tim-”

I growl.

“-eee, but we have to take the big picture into account. If she turns out to be genuine, then she is a good addition to the clan. And she’s cute! Cute things have to be taken care of. I’ll babysit her until she has her power under control. What are two decades to someone like me?”

That’s the correct answer.

Annia joins in. “Oh, yes! I always wanted to be a big sister! I can teach her the basics. But wouldn’t it be much easier for you to relocate to the mansion, Fiacre? There is so much free space here. Having you hide in your house feels as if you are an outcast.”

I want to raise my voice against it when Oilell joins in. “That would be great! To tell the truth, keeping two separate houses in top condition is troublesome. I could place the servant’s quarters under a stasis spell and Fiacre can finally relocate. Then the mansion wouldn’t feel so empty.”

No! Absolutely not! It’s hard enough to tolerate her presence a few minutes per day.

Sely pinches me from the side. She was standing right next to me, listening. I don’t have to guess what she wants to tell me by using her fingernails. Haaah, I still have my apartment if everything else fails. “Fine. Do what’s best.” I certainly won’t waste my time with the child. If Fiacre is busy with her, then it might still be a win in the end. They want to have her as a pet, so let them have her. “Just make sure that she doesn’t turn into an inconvenience.” For me, but I don’t say that aloud.

Sely nods. “Don’t worry. We haven’t taken the research data without a good reason. There may be some hidden information to help all those couples who wish for it, but can’t have children. I’ll study the stuff and see what I can learn.”

I am not against using the knowledge of those sickos, per se, but taking a peek down such a rabbit hole can be troublesome. I pull a grimace. “Do you have any idea of biology? It could take decades to make sense of their research. And studying the research notes of mad men is sickening. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

She shrugs. “I’ve not the slightest idea of medicine. Our bodies heal almost everything and magic takes care of the rest. But it’s not like I don’t have the time to indulge myself in a little research. Especially if it means that I might find out who gave them the body. There must be something of interest in all the data.”

We certainly scrubbed the place clean of any documents, hard-drives or laptops we found. And I certainly won’t demonize her for using the knowledge.

I grumble. “It’s not like I can’t take an educated guess on who gave them a push into the desired direction.”

Sely frowns. “Who?”

I pretend to study my fingernails. “They arrange for the researchers to get their hands on the remains of a corpse. Fresh enough to make a detailed DNA analysis. Then they allow the scientists free reign, knowing exactly that they will need the living thing at one point or the other. Who would be very happy to have a virus that can turn any child into an Old One?”

“Fae!” Fiacre pales in horror.

“Indeed.” I purse my lips. “They would be very happy about having such a virus. Any random human from the street would do to gain their most desired specimen. Or maybe an Old One who desires to increase the numbers of his clan? Either party would be very interested in such research. I myself am not that fond of using a virus. Such things can get out of control.”

“But why do they have their facility in your territory?” Sely asks.

Oilell answers the question. “Because Master’s territory is perfect for hidden operations. He doesn’t allow any other Old Ones within his boundaries and polices the entire region by himself. That means that a lot of time can pass before he does something about a situation. You saw for yourself how far even a stupid organization can get before he’ll deal with them. If it weren’t for the abductions, the ruse might have worked until they achieved the finished product.”

Sely’s eyes wander to me, accusingly. I raise both hands to defend myself. “Do you know how many labs, factories and other companies are in my territory? I am not willing to sneak around and spy on each and every one of them. I could do that all day long and still would monitor just a small fraction. I’ve my hands full with the stuff the Krampus can’t or don’t want to handle.”

She sighs and concentrates her attention on the girl. “It’s okay. Looking back at things, I am just not sure if your way of handling the humans is the right one. We didn’t even ask if the people in the upper floors knew what was going on in the basement.”

I snort. “A lot of them probably did not know about the basement.”

Sely’s eyes widen, so I hurry to continue before she can give me a lesson about morals. “But if you would give it some thought, you would realize that wiping them out wasn’t about justice. It wasn’t about punishing them. It was about sending a message to those who organized the whole operation inside my territory.

“They’ve lost their whole facility, staff, research, equipment. Now they will think twice about rebuilding. At least they won’t do it in a place that was clearly compromised. I don’t care if they rebuild the entire thing in Timbuktu. It’s not my problem as long as they don’t do it under my nose.” Everything that’s threatening to reveal the supernatural community is too much trouble. I won’t have it.

She chews on that thought for several long moments until she nods. “I am just tired and a little shocked about my own behaviour back there. I guess I’ll just go to bed and rest for now.”

Sely gets up and leaves, so I instruct the others to take care of the girl. Then I follow Sely. When I catch up to her she is already in front of her quarters. Realizing my intentions, she raises a hand to my chest. “Listen, I don’t think I feel up to it right now.”

Well, that’s a let down. I take her hand nonetheless, smiling. There is no way that I’ll allow her to increase the distance between us. “Then I’ll be a priest and we’ll go right to sleep. It’s your loss.”

That finally coaxes a smile to her lips. “Anyone ever tell you that your ego is too big?”

I hum and pretend to think about it. “No. Up until now nobody had the balls to do that.”

She rolls her eyes. “Then be glad that I’ve no balls.”

“I’ve to disagree! You’ve two massive eye-catchers there.” I follow her into her quarters.

The next morning I am still half asleep, embracing the soft Sely in my arms. I consider waking her up in a very pleasurable way, when we’re forcefully awoken by Fiacre. She bursts into the bedroom with a mobile phone and two letters in her hands. “Guys, something happened! Oh, damn!”

I sit up, waking Sely completely. “What!?” I scream, causing my aunt to jump.

Sely also starts rubbing her eyes. “Fiacre? What’s so important that you have to cause such a ruckus.”

“I hoped that I would at least walk in on something, but you two are just sleeping instead of working… on… it…” She quickly becomes silent when she realizes that she hasn’t as much leeway with me as she thought. “…there are news. Big news. I’ll wait outside.” She quickly retreats and closes the door.

I exchange a glance with Sely, who seems equally surprised. We get dressed quickly and join Fiacre in the living room to solve this mystery. When both of us are settled on the sofa, she finally decides to share the news. “It seems like the Rhondu organized a joint raid with several other clans. They used the information which Sely and Annia spread all over the web and attacked the Hammons’ main residence.”

Sely perks up. “They did? So soon? What about my mother?”

“They killed at least a fifth of the Hammons and of their servant clans. Twenty-four members of the clan were captured, your mother among them. I’ve no information on your mother’s condition. But Gavin, two of his wives, and his closest supporters fled the battle. Their whereabouts are currently unknown. They must count somewhere from ten to twenty people.”

Fiacre raises the two letters. “The problem is this. One letter is from the Rhondu. It’s a really long and flowery letter, but in essence they claim that Sely and Annia belong to them. Since they are Cecilia’s daughters. They demand your immediate extradition.

“The other is from Emil Baucheaux, who claims that Sely is his legal wife. He also demands that we surrender you to him. Otherwise we have to expect consequences.”

Sely gapes at Fiacre, overwhelmed by the turn of events.

I clench my teeth and focus a spot on the ceiling. How should I’ve known that getting rid of one nuisance just allows the vultures to creep out of their lairs? Are there any other parties who have a claim on the sisters?

And how will Sely react? Aren’t the Rhondu a much better choice for her than the Bathomeus? I turn my attention on the woman who I fell for, but it looks like she herself isn’t sure on how to deal with the new situation.

***Fairy***

***Gardener***

I sprinkle the tree with my watering can, taking great care to moisture the entire woman who is adhered to its bark. She is in her last month and can’t be allowed to dry out. Otherwise the little one might not be delivered correctly.

It’s sad that the fae aren’t willing to find another way of reproduction. The entire procedure sickens me, but at least I can make the women sleep. It’s a small gift. I place my thin, long fingers on her neck to feel her pulse. Sleeping.

So sad. I think most races would have called her beautiful. Now she is nothing more than a vessel.

Unfortunately I am a bad judge of beauty. I simply have no eye for it, even after living for several aeons. I sigh. It’s truly a misfortune that I look like a monster. Only the fae accepted me, even though I don’t feel like one of them. I’ve this thing some call morals, or a conscience? But if I want to stay here, where it is safe, I have to do what I do.

The Old Ones would make no distinction between me and the fae. I originated from the same experiments after all. Sadly, I am one of a kind. Sometimes I dream of how it would be like if there were others of my kind. Maybe then we would’ve been accepted like the elementals.

I whistle a tune and use my overly long legs to traverse the forest, each tree a treasure to take care of. So many children to groom. It turns my belly. The children aren’t at fault, but they’ll soon be like their parents. Twisted, and with the wish to procreate, but unable to. Would I be like them if I had such urges? I never thought of offspring.

On a small glade I find Spring, one of the first fae who were created by the experiments of the Old Ones. One of their queens. There are four of them. Two queens and two kings.

Spring, a red haired beauty like no other, or so am I told. Fair and delicate Spring.

There is the blonde queen, Summer, whose radiant shine woos her subjects.

Autumn, the king who governs with an eternal smile on his lips.

And then there is Winter, his eyes as cold and beautiful as ice crystals.

I move closer, admiring the gracious movements of Spring’s slender body. Movements are something I can appreciate. She’s holding a black orb with a small, shadowy figure inside. One of the other three?

“We simply have to adjust our plans. Aren’t we playing the long game anyway?” The other says.

Spring’s melodic voice answers. “That’s true. But with a failure such as this one, I wonder if our prolonged partnership is worth the effort.”

“We’ll see about that. Once the time comes. Contact me if something changes.” She crushes the orb, dispelling the magic.

Then she turns around and is face to face with me. Surprised, she hisses, revealing her sharp, needle-like teeth. I don’t think that people would have found her attractive in that moment, but I’ve erred many times on such things.

“Gardener, haven’t I told you not to sneak around like that?” She steps away, to a distance she finds comfortable. I’ve been told many times that I often violate people’s comfort zones. That’s another concept I don’t understand.

I drum my six-fingered hand on my watering can. “I can’t help it. All I do is walk and stride and step. But if you wish it, I’ll sing a song the next time I am near you.”

She snorts, as if to say that she doesn’t believe me. “Do something useful and give me advice. I am sure you know all about our big revelation. You are always listening in after all. Are you also of the opinion that it’s the correct choice? I fear for our kind. The things Winter and Summer want to set in motion could spell our end.”

Ah! Our kind! I’ve been indeed with them for too long. They think of me as one of them. But she recognizes that I know a lot of things and always have good advice to give. Well, good advice for me, that’s something they still haven’t figured out. I am smart after all. That’s my gift.

Let’s see, so they are still split in their opinions. Winter and Summer really want to go through with it, while Spring and Autumn are stalling.

I cock my head and widen my eyes, trying to convey surprise. This gives me a little more time to think. I am really depressed recently. The last time I gave advice in a depressed state, the fae had to flee and ended up in Fairy.

I look around and study the trees. And the females. So many. I didn’t intend for this when I set things in motion. I took a gamble and hoped that the fae would learn a different path in their isolation. They didn’t.

Ah, the Old Ones. Such fickle creatures. Hard to predict. I really hoped that they would isolate the fae in Fairy. But they just stopped when it became too much effort to hunt them. Fickle and lazy. They need a really big motivation to do the job which I intended for them… or to finish it.

Let’s see… if the fae do what they plan to do… this… and… that… yeah… really stupid.

I drum my two middle fingers onto my chin, still watching the trees. The wrong words right now might really spell the end. Or leave things unchanged. Or change the world. Or leave things in the hands of the fae. They are numerous enough. Years and years of breeding.

I watch the trees. And smile. “I think you should help Winter and Summer.”