Friday, August 27, 2018

Kendall walked in the living room of his shared apartment with mail in hand. He slung his bag on the couch and started to sort through it.

His sister, Katie, closed the front door behind them.

"Anything interesting?" She asked as she set her bag down in the hall, walked up next to him, glancing at the mail as well. "Bills, more bills...oh. Wait, what's that?"

The handwriting on the envelope was familiar, and Kendall glanced at her, frowning. "It's from Dad. I wonder what he wants."

"Nothing good, I'll bet."

Kendall drew out the single sheet of paper from their father and unfolded it for them both to read. The few lines were all it took for him to almost lose his shit.

"He fucking sold it?!" He asked, turning to look at Katie, struggling to keep his temper in check. "He's sold Mom's old house. What the hell?!"

"Wait." Katie shushed him and continued to read the rest of it. "Look." She pointed at a paragraph a little farther down.

I realize this is not what either of you wanted, but I'm tired of living on virtually nothing when I have all that equity sitting there collecting dust. By the time you get this, the house will already have been sold. It's done.

I'm sure you're aware of the ridiculous stipulations in the will preventing me from selling to just anyone. So don't worry, despite it taking three times as long to sell, the buyers were of the bloodline, albeit very far removed. He has the mark, but I'm not sure he knows what it's for, so don't go poking your nose in his business. Leave the past alone and move on from all this nonsense once and for all.

Kendall skimmed the rest of the letter, then let it drop to the couch. "What the hell?" This was not what he wanted to come back to after a relaxing week away. "Do you think he did it on purpose? Arranged it all so that he could get everything done and the house sold while we were gone?"

Katie shrugged. "It's not like we could have objected. I mean, the house wasin his name. But yeah, maybe." She reached for the discarded envelope. "Do you believe him? About the new owner being of the bloodline?"

"Sort of. It's hard to confirm if we don't know their name, but he wouldn't have been able to sell it otherwise, would he?"

Katie shook her head. "I don't think so." She opened the envelope wide and made a small sound of surprise. Holding up a white business card, she smiled. "At least we know who bought it."

Scott Zevon, BVSC, Veterinary Surgeon.

Kendall stared at it. The surname wasn't one he recognized, but that didn't mean anything. Their family tree was huge, with all manner of distant relatives dotted all over the country. "I don't want to take his word for it. He might have found some way around the stipulation in the will. We can check later, see if that name shows up. I'm too tired to deal with this shit now."

They'd been travelling for most of the day. The drive back home had taken almost eight hours, with only one stop for lunch. Kendall was tired, hungry, and in need of a drink. He scooped up the letter and took the business card from his sister, setting both on the coffee table. "That can wait until tomorrow. For now, let's just order some food and forget what a dick our dad is."

Katie grinned. "Fine. But I don't want to leave it too long. Halloween is only nine weeks away."

"I'm aware." He scrubbed a hand over his forehead and yawned. "Nothing has happened in almost two hundred years. Maybe Dad's right. Maybe it is all just superstitious nonsense."

"You don't believe that any more than I do." She glared at him until he raised his palms in surrender.

"Okay, sorry. You're right. Of course you are. We'll look into it first thing in the morning, I promise."

"Okay. So, any preferences for dinner?"

Kendall closed his eyes, sank back into the cushions, and tried not to think about his dad selling the house that had been in their family for centuries. It might technically still be in their family, but it wasn't the same. "I don't care." He sighed and waved a hand in her general direction. "You pick."

Maybe there was nothing to worry about. God, he hoped so. His mom would turn in her grave if anything happened on their watch.

XxX

The next morning Katie pulled up the website for the vet's practice on her laptop. The place wasn't far from the old house. Maybe that was why Scott had been eager to buy it. "Ooh, he's not bad for an older guy. I wouldn't kick him out of bed."

Kendall shuffled closer to get a better look.

"Gross. He's apparently family." Saying that, Kendall had to agree with her. Scott Zevon was very easy on the eyes. Dark hair, chiseled features and warm-looking brown eyes. The bio didn't say how old he was, but from that photo, Kendall guessed early forties, maybe.

"Mm-hmm." Katie cocked an eyebrow at him. "Very, very distant family, and don't tell me he doesn't do it for you. At least a little bit."

"He's all right, I suppose."

Katie huffed but scrolled through the rest of the text. Not that Kendall had expected much, but the information on the website wasn't all that helpful. It listed his education, training, and work experience but nothing personal. "Go and get the family tree, and let's see if we can find him."

"Okay."

Kendall headed to his bedroom to fetch the sheets of thick A1-size paper that made up the Knight family tree. A lot of it was stored on Katie's laptop now, but not all of it. Besides, Kendall preferred having it in his hands when he was looking for something, or rather, someone. He just found it easier that way.

Having retrieved the sheets from the box at the top of his closet, Kendall carried them to the dining room table and carefully rolled them out flat, securing the corners with two glasses and the salt and pepper shakers.

Katie joined him at the table. "We should make sure this is up to date, too. I bet there's been babies galore since Mom died."

With the house safely owned by their family, they'd become more relaxed at keeping the extended family tree current. Kendall felt a wave of guilt as he remembered the last time he'd done it. He'd helped his mom add Katie's name to it when she was born. He'd only been four at the time, and it was one of his earliest memories.

Neither he nor Katie had updated it since, and he was almost certain his dad had never bothered with it. As direct descendants, their family were responsible, something his mom and her dad before her had been proud of. She'd even kept her maiden name when she married, and made sure he and Katie took it. When his mom died eight years ago, that part of her family history kind of got forgotten without her there to keep the old stories alive.

"Yeah, I'm sure there have been." He pulled out two chairs and gestured for Katie to sit. "You start at that end, and I'll do the ones on the right. I'm guessing he'd have been born around 1975, give or take a few years."

Katie nodded, and used her finger to trace down the tree. Kendall did the same. Zevon was an uncommon enough name, it should stand out. The problem was the plan of their family tree included everyone. Immediate family, cousins, second cousins, and anyone that might have enough Knight blood in them to undo the curse. Everyone they knew about, anyway. Not everyone wore the mark. According to his mom, the story was lost to some generations. To some, the talk of witchcraft and magic was considered too unbelievable to even be taken seriously. That was why whoever owned that house had to have the mark. It was the only way to be one hundred percent sure they were safe.

The first sheet proved useless, as did the second. But on the third, the name jumped out at him.

"Found it." He tapped the paper.

Scott Zevon, born April 10, 1975. Only child to parents Keith and Kelsea, traced back through five generations to Kelsea Knight, cousin of Isaac Knight. Kendall shivered as he remembered the story their mom had told them every year on Halloween, and he wondered, not for the first time, how much truth there was to it.

"He has a son." Katie drew his attention back to the bottom of the tree.

"Yeah, I saw that. Dak Zevon, born May 5, 1993." He glanced at his sister. "Do you think he has the mark?"

"No idea. But if his father bought that house, I think it's a safe bet to assume his son will visit him at some point. It's a shame Dad never checked the son as well as the father."

Katie reached for her phone. "Maybe he did. Do you think he still has the same number?"

Kendall frowned. "I don't know. Try it and see. He didn't put his new address on the letter, so we've got nothing else to go on." They hadn't spoken to their father in almost seven years, and Kendall felt a pang of longing for the family they used to be. He quickly shoved it aside as Katie put her phone on speaker and tapped out the number. After the first tone, Kendall lost track of time as his mind replayed the memory of the last time they'd spoken to their dad.

"You need to sell that bookshop and stop indulging in those stories told to you by your mother. There are no such things as witches, or ghosts, or any of that supernatural bullshit she filled your head with. I told her to stop. I thought she had, but obviously she just did it behind my back!"

Kendall practically vibrated with anger. "It's not bullshit." He hissed, fists clenched at his sides. "I see things. I told you about the-"

"Stop! Just stop!" His dad ran a shaking hand through his hair. "Your mother was…" He bit his lips and shot Kendall and Katie a look of apology. "I'm sorry, I know you don't want to hear it, but her mind-"

"There was nothing wrong with her mind! She saw things, just like I do. She believed me and she understood. So don't you dare call her crazy. That bookshop is her legacy. She left it to us, not you, and we'll sell it over my dead body!"

"Mine too." Katie chimed in, grabbing Kendall's hand.

Her fingers shook against his, and he squeezed tight.

"I can't do this." Their dad looked between them, eyes wild. "I can't talk to you when you refuse to listen to reason, to see that none of what she told you is real. That house? There's nothing special about it. And there's certainly nothing evil lurking in the shadows."

"That's because they banished it."

"Enough!" He stepped closer, a desperate expression clouding his features. "Do you hear yourselves? I won't be a part of this… this madness any longer. I won't have it under my roof."

Kendall glanced at Katie, and she nodded. "Fine."

They moved out of the old farmhouse that night, and into the apartment above the bookshop.

They were both young and neither of them knew anything about running a business. They'd helped out in the shop plenty of times and could work the tills, but not much else. But with the help of Kelly-their mother's friend-they made it work.

It took seven rings before the call connected. The gruff hello on the other end showed no recognition. Had he deleted their numbers?

"Hello, Dad."

Katie sounded far calmer than Kendall felt. Just hearing his dad's voice after so long made his hands shake. She nudged him sharply, pointed at the phone and mouthed, "Well?"

"What?" He mouthed back, wondering if he'd missed something.

"Ask him."

Oh. Okay. If Katie didn't want to talk to their dad beyond a hello, then fine. Kendall would do it.

"Thanks for the letter." Kendall picked up Katie's phone and gestured for her to follow him to the couch. "It's nice to hear from you after all this time." His voice dripped sarcasm, but he didn't care.

Somewhat to his surprise, the heavy sigh on the other end tugged at Kendall's conscience, and he hated it. Hated that even after seven years of radio silence, his father still had the power to make him feel guilty.

"I'm sorry. I know you don't approve, but I needed to move on with my life. I couldn't stay in that house a minute longer."

"You could have at least told us that you planned to sell."

His dad actually laughed at that, the sound harsh with the phone on speaker. "Why? So you could try and stop me? Make it more difficult than it already was to sell that place? Do you have any idea how long it took to find a buyer who satisfied all the stipulations in the will? I thought I'd never get rid of it. When Scott showed an interest, I almost bit his hand off. He may have the mark, but I don't think he has any idea what it's for. It was hard enough checking for it without him realizing. No way was I jeopardising that sale by involving you two."

His words were like a slap to the face, and any lasting guilt slipped away. "You two." There was no fondness in his dad's voice, nothing to show that despite their differences he still loved them. Maybe seven years without contact had erased it all.

"We didn't call to talk about that. The house is sold, we can't undo it." Kendall said in a calm yet cold fashion and hoped his father felt it in every word.

"Then why did you call?"

"Because Scott has a son."

"Yes. His name's Dak, I believe. What's that got to do with anything?"

Katie huffed next to Kendall, and when he looked at her, she rolled her eyes. "Did you check to see if he had the mark as well?"

The extended silence spoke volumes.

"Awesome." Katie slumped back against the sofa with her hands over her face.

Kendall leaned closer to the phone. "So you did just enough checking to get past the safeguards in the will?"

"Yes." Another long drawn-out sigh, and Kendall knew what was coming next before his dad even spoke. "Just let it go. The house is already sold. We're finally free of all that crap. The son doesn't live at home anymore. Nothing's going to happen if he visits. It's just a house, for God's sake."

Kendall picked up the phone, disappointment washing over him. "Bye, Dad."

He ended the call without waiting for a response. Fuck. He dropped his head into his hands. I wish Mom were still alive. She'd never have let this happen.

After sitting in silence for a few minutes, Katie carefully plucked her phone out of Kendall's grasp. "So, now what?"

Kendall sighed. "I guess we'll just have to ask Scott if his son has the mark or not. If the dad has it, there's a good chance he knows why, or at least has some idea. He might not believe a word of it, but hopefully it won't come as that much of a surprise. Worst-case scenario, he'll just think we're crazy."

Just like our own dad.

"Fine. I'll do it. Pass me that business card."

Kendall handed it over. He sat and waited while she made the call and spoke to the vet's receptionist. After saying that a friend had recommended Scott Zevon, Katie glanced at Kendall as she listened to whatever the person on the other end was saying "Oh, I see. When will he be back?" She listened again. "Okay, thank you. I will."

"Well?" Kendall turned on the couch to face her more fully. "What did they say?"

"They said that Mr. Zevon is unavailable for the next three weeks, but his associate is available...or his son, Dak Zevon is available. He just joined the practice."

"Oh."

Katie raised an eyebrow. "So, what do we do now?"

"Good question." Kendall tapped the edge of the coffee table while he thought. "I mean, on one hand, if the dad's away, then there's no one for the son to visit. But if he's already away, who was around to take the keys from the real estate agent? It's got to be the son, right?"

"I guess." Katie didn't appear to be fully convinced.

"Look, Kelly's still covering for us in the shop tomorrow, so why don't we go take a peek at the house, and see if anyone's there. I doubt the vets are open on a holiday, so on Tuesday I'll borrow Chandler and take him to see Dak. He's bound to have free appointments if he's new. Hopefully I can get a look at his wrist while I'm there."

"You can go and spy on the house, I have a week's worth of washing to sort out. And even if Dak does have the mark, he might not have it on his wrist. Not everyone does."

"Then I'll just show him mine and hope that he recognises it enough and says something." Kendall waved off his sister's skeptical expression. "It'll be fine. Don't worry."

Done! So, here we have the first official chapter, along with a little backstory. There will be more dates as the story goes on and will follow the days leading up to Halloween. Also, I'm sorry for any mistakes in this chapter. I kind of posting this was kind of an impulse decision. :P

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter, as well as if you happened to have a favorite part/moment!

Next chapter will introduce both James and Dak and will be up within the next few days!

Until then!

-Epically Obsessed