The Bride of Chase Young Chapter 12

There was a full minute of silence in the kitchen before anyone spoke.

"S-she what?" squeaked Marie. "Mother, is that true?"

"Don't bother asking her for the truth Marie. She's a filthy liar." said Tom vehemently, as though bursting to say this. "Dad wanted you to have a good life, not to grow up with a fiancée you didn't know looming over your head. He stood up to her and they left. Mom was the only one to come back to the hotel."

"B-but Harris!" Marie stammered. Tom glared at Harris furiously.

"He's nothing but a spineless little worm that mom was cheating on dad with."

"She said her husband had been killed in China by a madman!" said Harris fearfully. "I swear I didn't know!"

"And you let her beat Marie until her bones cracked?!" Roared Tom. "And what about Sam? You didn't say anything when she was taken away! Your flesh and blood!"

"What was I supposed to do?!" Harris asked, eyes wide with fear and desperation. "If she could beat Marie that way, she could have killed me! Marie tell him! I was a good Dad, wasn't I?" but Marie was silent. She sat deathly still, staring at the opposite wall.

"Harris! You stupid little Rat!" screamed Tiffany. "How dare you betray me!" Harris shrank down in his chair.

"Everyone always does this! Story of my life!" Tiffany raged. "First, my husband wants me to have kids, then he tells me he wants to give his life so they live! Then my ingrate daughter moves in with the most powerful man in Asia and I get nothing!"

"You were expecting something out of this?" asked Chase, his eyes burning with contempt.

"Of course I was!" Tiffany snarled. "I spent nine months carrying that little brat, and another 17 years training her for you! She's cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars. If it hadn't been for you and Derek's Pro-life attitude, I would have had her aborted when I first found out I was pregnant!" Marie broke out of her trance and looked at her mother in horror.

"You...you what?" she whispered. Tiffany sneered at Marie.

"Damn right I would have! You worthless ungrateful little leech! If it hadn't been for the prospect of a reward at the end of all this, I would have just drowned you!" Tom stood up.

"That's enough!" he barked. Tiffany looked at him, her eyes wide and crazed.

"Don't you tell me what to do!" she said, grabbing a knife from the kitchen counter. "I'm your mother. I gave you life and I can end it!!!"

Several things happened at once that day. As Tiffany stabbed Tom in the shoulder with the knife, Ashanti burst through the door with a vicious roar. Chase dashed forward and knocked Tiffany into the wall and Marie screamed as something blasted through the window in a shower of glass and fire.

When the dust finally settled, the entire family looked to the center of the kitchen floor, where a huge scarlet bird with gold tail feathers and wig tips stood, wings out stretched. Tom tried to sit up to see it better, but fell back with a gasp of pain. The bird turned its golden eyes towards him. Fluttering over, it looked Tom in the eyes before setting its magnificent head on his wound. Thick pearly tears ran from the birds eyes. Marie watched in fascination as the flesh knitted itself back together.

"A phoenix." breathed Chase. Its task completed, the phoenix hopped onto the table. It landed in front of Marie and started to sing. The song was the most beautiful thing Marie had ever heard. It spoke of sadness, betrayal and longing in a few simple notes. Suddenly, Marie's mind was a blur of images, a kind male face, her mother, Chase, a knife, and a river.

The phoenix stopped singing and looked Marie in the eyes. Finally, she understood.

"I missed you too Dad." she said, throwing her arms around his neck. Derek made a soft chirping sound and wrapped his wings around her.

"You've grown so much..." he said. "You're a woman now."

"Dad?" said Tom from the corner. "But how? You died!" Derek turned to look at his son.

"Turns out God is big on reincarnation." he said with a shrug of his feathery shoulders. Slipping out of his daughters hug, he flapped down to the floor again.

"I've been watching the whole family for years from heaven. Especially you." He said, turning a burning golden eye on Tiffany. "Why Tiffany? Wasn't it enough that you killed the man you once said you loved? Why did you have to beat Marie like that? What did she do?" Tiffany shrunk against the wall.

"No. No No! You're dead! I killed you myself! You can't be alive!" She said, her voice getting panicky. Derek's eyes narrowed menacingly.

"And still you show no remorse for it. After 17 years, you still have no grief or sorrow." he growled. "You'll enjoy hell." Tiffany scrambled towards the door, but found her way blocked by a snarling Ashanti.

"You're not going anywhere!" she snapped, swiping out at Tiffany with a deadly paw.

"Oh yes I am!" Yelled Tiffany, dodging her and leaping for the broken window. Ashanti was about to go after her, but Marie stopped her.

"Let her go." she said softly. "I'm not sure, but I don't think her mind is all there. Let her be for now." Tom set an arm around Marie's shoulders.

"I'll be okay Kitten." he said. Marie was very quiet, still staring out the broken window. Without a word, she turned around and headed out the door, motioning for Ashanti to follow.

"Should we really be letting her go out alone like that?" asked Chase when Tom started sweeping up the broken glass.

"When she gets upset like that it's best just to let her go and let her cry it out." he replied. "If she's not back in half an hour, you can look for her." Chase looked unconvinced.

Suddenly, there was a piercing scream and a whinny from the barn.

"Marie!" yelled Tom. "Mom must have doubled back and gone up to the barn. She still has the knife!" Chase, Tom and Ashanti dashed out the door with Derek flying close behind. They burst into the barn to see Tiffany standing over Marie with her eyes crazed and wild once more. Marie's arm was bleeding where Tiffany had slashed it, and Thunder was thrashing wildly in his stall in an attempt to get to his mistress.

"Chase, get Marie out of there. Dad, heal her arm. Ashanti, bar the door." murmured Tom. "I'll distract mom." Quickly grabbing a pitchfork of the wall nearby, Tom gave his mother a sharp poke. Tiffany turned around furiously.

"Stay out of this you rotten little traitor!" she screamed. "That girl's been nothing but trouble since day one. She has to die!" Tom chanced a look over her shoulder. Derek was healing the slash, and Chase was ready to carry her of at a moments notice.

"Mom, I'm sorry it had to come to this, but you've gone stark raving bonkers. After this is over, I'm calling the cops." said Tom in a low voice. At these words, Tiffany became enraged. She lashed out with the blade, screaming

"Never! I won't go to jail!" Tom deflected the blade with the pitchfork handle and glanced at Marie again. She was fully healed and Chase was deftly trying to maneuver their way out of the barn. Unfortunately, Tiffany caught sight of them. She abandoned trying to kill Tom and went after her daughter instead. Chase couldn't fight with Marie in his arms, and their way was blocked by Tiffany.

"Now, you worthless little rat." Tiffany slurred. "You will die!!!!" Marie screamed as the knife plunged towards them.

BAM!!!!!

As fast and as loud as his very name, Thunder broke out of his stall and placed himself before his mistress and her mate. He didn't understand why the the old cranky mare would want to kill her foal, but everything in Thunder told him that he would not, and could not let her do it. Tiffany screamed as he reared with a thunderous neigh and struck out with his huge, iron shod hooves. One blow to the skull was all it took. Tiffany's head caved in and she fell to the ground, her evil brains leaking onto the packed dirt floor.

Marie leaped from Chases arms, throwing her arms around Thunder's huge neck.

"Thunder! You saved us! Oh, thank you Thunder!" she said, stroking the horses mane. Thunder nickered softly, setting his head on Marie's shoulder and pulling her close. Chase came forward and looked Thunder in the eye. Something passed between the warlord and the horse that night. Each understood that the other was an ally and held no ill will towards each other. Thunder snorted once, and in that same moment, Chase raised his hand to pet the giant horse.

"You've done well Thunder." he said. "You're a fine beast."

"So what do we do now?" asked Ashanti from the door. "The authorities are going to wonder where this foul woman went, and I doubt they'll allow a horse who's killed someone to remain alive."

"We have to call the cops. We'll tell them everything that's happened and that Thunder killed her in self defense. It's been known to happen in these parts." said Tom quickly. "Ashanti, you and dad will have to hide somewhere. The cops aren't likely to believe in phoenixes and talking panthers."

An hour later, when both Derek and Ashanti were hidden deep in the forest, everyone sat in the kitchen to for the police to arrive. The shock of her mother trying to murder her had finally set in for Marie and she sat with Chase, shaking like a leaf. Tom was pacing the kitchen floor, checking the window every five minutes and reading the note Harris had left. He had run off when everyone was up at the barn, saying that he wanted no part of this anymore and leaving the whole farm to Tom.

"I can't believe he just up and left." said Tom to no one in particular. "I mean, good riddance to him and all, but you'd think he'd at least stick around to talk to the cops." After several more minutes of pacing, blue and red flashes lit up the front yard.

"Finally some good news!" whooped Tom. "It's Eddie and Tim!"

"Who?" asked Chase.

"They're a pair of cops Tom went to high school with. They hated mom as much as he did, so we're likely to get off easy." said Marie.

Tim and Eddie entered the kitchen with an air of authority, which faded away as soon as they saw Marie.

"Hey there Kitten!" said Tim. "Long time no see."

"That's no kitten." said Eddie. "That's a tigress. Rowr!"

"If you're done ogling my sister guys, we need to get to business." said Tom. Eddie's face turned grim.

"Oh yeah. So what's the deal? You weren't very specific to the chief." he said.

"All we were told was that She-Thing from the bitch lagoon had gone off the deep end." said Tim.

"It's a long story guys. Sit down and I'll tell you everything." It took more than half an hour to fully tell the story, afterwards Eddie and Tim sat completely dumbstruck.

"So what do you think?" asked Tom. "Are we gonna have to get rid of Thunder?" Tim laughed out loud.

"Are you nuts? That horse is a hero! Everyone in town knows Tiffany was going crazy. This was just the boiling point."

"We'll get the Forensics team up here to take the body away and take your statements. Tim and I will take care of the rest." said Eddie. The two stood up and assured them that everything would be taken care of.

"Man, talk about a crazy Christmas." said Tom after they had driven off. Marie stood up and looked out the window.

"Yeah, it's not every year a parent goes nuts." she said, staring into the starry night. Tom leaned against the fridge.

"Think of it this way Kitten: You lost an abuser and gained a dad and a new mom." he said. "Ashanti told me she had adopted you. And you've still got Chase and me."

"He's right Marie." said Derek from the broken window. Ashanti followed quickly, nuzzling her adopted daughters hand affectionately. Marie smiled down at her. She stared out the window for a few more minutes before cracking a grin.

"My father is a bird and my mom is a cat. I am officially the most screwed up creature in existence." she said. Everyone, Chase included, burst out laughing.

"Better than being the offspring of a maniac." Giggled Ashanti. Marie laughed along with her. Then, an idea came to her.

"Tom!" she called. "Do we still have all those old kung-fu movies?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Let's have a movie marathon. We can laugh at how screwy and bad the dubbing is."

"Good idea! I'll make popcorn."

The hours passed quickly for the little family, watching movie after movie and laughing at the corniness.