Chapter 20: Losing Time
Chuck had let Hitchcock out of his cage to stretch his legs a bit, but the bird seemed determined to stay as close to him as possible as he took Blue a pouch of blood; his nervousness that she hadn't moved an inch since she had collapsed into bed hours previously getting the better of him.
When he entered their bedroom, not much had changed as he observed her in the same position as she had been before, which gave him some pause.
"Blue? Babe? Come on, wake up for a minute." He shook her shoulder gently at first, then a bit more forcefully when he hadn't received any response; she was ice cold under his touch.
It took several more shakes and a loud caw from Hitchcock before her puffy eyes fluttered open, squinting into the muted light of the room and focusing blearily on her Mate and their new pet.
"God, if the house is on fire, go ahead and save yourselves." She groaned, wincing when she rubbed her eyes and her wrists gave a sharp twinge of pain.
"You need to drink this, and I need to change those ice packs out," Chuck informed her as she scooted into a sitting position with effort.
Blue managed a few sips from the metal straw, but he could tell that the experience was less than appealing for her.
"Has Victor texted?" Blue asked, glancing around for her phone and looking relieved when he pulled it from his pocket.
"He's been in touch every hour or less, but other than fucking and feeding there's been no changes." He replied with a shrug as she visibly shuddered at the thought.
"If she tries changing him, I'll dust her ass for sure; Brethren or no Brethren." She gritted, the pain in her wrists getting the better of her for a moment.
Seeing her hurting put Chuck in action; he began to unwind her bandages carefully, removing the spent icepacks and discarding them.
"So enlighten me, who are these Brethren people to you and why is Victor all chummy to me all of a sudden?" He asked in an effort to distract her from the pain he was inadvertently causing her.
"Oh I set his ass straight about the way he treat you and Mort on the night of the concert a while back, so he won't be repeating that mistake anytime soon." She assured him, wincing, and drawing her hand away when he got the last of the ace wrap off of it.
"Sorry," He mumbled, both hating to hurt her and feeling awkward apologizing for causing someone pain for a change.
"It's fine. Pain helps me focus," Blue murmured, taking a deep breath and mentally urging herself to keep still.
"Nobody needs to focus this much. Besides, you need to relax as much as you can and conserve your energy." Chuck replied as he cracked two new ice packs and began wrapping her wrists anew.
"A few decades back when I first became an Upir, Victor came looking for me. He said that his gifts lead him to me, but I don't believe that for a second. I just don't think that he's allowed to tell me the truth. Anyhow, he came here one night while I was prepping a body for a visitation and funeral for the following day; at first I thought that a need for blood had drawn him here. Vampires are so much more impatient than Upirs when it comes to the need to feed; they have a nearly uncontrollable thirst that has to be quenched at any cost, whereas our kind have more patience and control over our needs. He was in a panic and looked like shit, he had been traveling for weeks in a roundabout route here in an effort to avoid his own kind; there was an all out war going on that I was blissfully unaware of until his appearance, and to be honest with you I wasn't all that keen to help his plight." She sighed, laying back against the pillows once more when he finished with her wrists and closing her eyes for a moment as the cooling effect of the icepacks took the edge off of her pain.
"You not wanting to save the world? I don't believe it for a second," Chuck scoffed, causing Blue to snort derisively.
"I'm no Mother-fucking-Theresa Chuck. You above all people should know that," She murmured as though he was privy to some darkness about her that was unmentionable.
Chuck frowned in confusion and shook his head, busying himself with sorting some items in the med kit.
"You're talking to The Lakeshore Strangler ya know? I've probably killed more people than you've met between my time as a human and my time as a fucking doll." He reminded her pointedly, which made her laugh in spite of herself.
"It's not a contest, you pretentious ass." She balked, wanting to kiss him or run her hands through his hair in these moments when their banter synced so perfectly.
"Good thing too because you'd definitely lose." He assured her, dodging the throw pillow she lobbed at him easily.
"Can you ever stop pretending to be one-hundred-percent asshole? You know that you aren't!" Blue said, finally losing the battle with herself and reaching out to stroke her fingers along the permanent stitches across the back of his hand.
"Nah, I'm a head and arms and legs and all that anatomical goodness too." He replied with a wink, making her shoulders shake with laughter as he scooted closer to her.
Hitchcock turned his head this way and that, listening to their conversation as he hopped onto the windowsill and nestled down onto it while grooming his feathers.
"So anyways, Victor brings this stupid war to my cozy and quiet doorstep and I'm still trying to figure out what the hell all of my Upir abilities are now that I'm all dead-adjacent; I was discovering new things every other day or so, and all of my special abilities that I had had while I was living had not only remained, they had intensified in ways that I was trying to cope with. This was like a whole new world that I had stumbled into, and I was trying to find my footing as it was without all of this drama going on. I basically told Victor to kick rocks because I had enough problems of my own at the moment, thank you very much. Amazingly, he left immediately; albeit with a reluctant disappointment, but the fact that he just seemed to obey without argument or question bothered me, especially when he had made his situation sound so desperate only moments before I had shut him down. That behavior stuck in my mind and then the body count started up all around us, and all of a sudden Mort and I are thrown into the midst of a shitstorm that we have to both cover up quick and find the source of fast. Vamps were bleeding humans dry from Chicago to New York and they were chucking bodies into rivers, alleys, parks, and you guessed it; fucking cemeteries. The press was having a goddamned field day and the deaths and disappearances of folks were getting hard to ignore or explain away. My new job as nighttime patrol had me finding cadavers left, right, and center! Mort and I had began cremating the poor fucks and scattering the ashes in the memorial gardens, but the body count was getting up there pretty quickly and it was kind of getting like a concentration camp here. We were keeping the crematory running 24/7 and our little morgue here was full to bursting it was so over-occupied. Obviously, something had to freaking give," She recalled, rolling her eyes.
"Sounds like a fuckin' headache," Chuck replied, wincing at the thought.
"Yeah, poor Mort was going apoplectic at the time." Blue sighed, her heart suddenly aching anew as she recalled the cruelty of the words he had spoken to her when he wasn't himself.
Knowing that he was being manipulated and controlled only dulled the pain a fraction for her as she recalled vividly the coldness in his eyes and his voice.
"Yeah, my fuckin' heart bleeds for the bastard." Chuck dead panned.
"You shouldn't hate him too much, most of this shit isn't his fault." She reiterated once more, to which his lips seemed to seal in a flat line as though he were fighting back the tirade he wanted to spew forth at her for being so forgiving.
"So….. cemetery overflowing with bodies that aren't supposed to be here," He prompted her to continue as he busied himself lighting a cigarette and offering her the pack and her lighter.
Blue took the pack and the lighter, putting a cigarette between her full lips but having difficulty with the lighter until Chuck took it from her and helped her light it.
"Ever the gentleman," She murmured with a wink around her first drag.
"When I'm not being an asshole, sure." He shrugged, placing the ashtray between them as she gave him an exasperated look.
"So, the media and the cops are baffled shitless. The Vamps weren't bothering to even try to disguise the cause of death for these poor fuckers, but ya know humans will remain in ignorant denial if something doesn't quite fit right in their little cookie-cutter existence, so they were still going down avenues of some kind of virus or fever of unknown origin, but they couldn't explain away the numerous double puncture marks into main arteries or the complete absence of blood and in some cases the evisceration of the organs due to a mutated venom that's particular to a certain Vampire Coven." She continued, flicking ash off of her cig.
"Lemme guess, the Mondragon's?" Chuck asked and she nodded.
"You got it. They were blatantly attempting to draw as much attention as possible to themselves to provoke the rest of the Vamp community as well as the Upirs and get everyone out in the open. They had a plan to try to gain as many allies as possible and annihilate anyone else who didn't agree with them taking control of all of the covens at large, not to mention they were planning to control the Upirs with the combination of ancient magical artifacts and some of their own abilities. The Mondragon's in particular have always loathed the existence of Upirs. They claim that its because we're unnatural and inferior scum, but I've always thought that they were jealous that we're able to travel in full sunlight as long as we have the right sunglasses." Blue said, stifling a yawn.
"What kind of magical artifacts? What happened to them?" He asked her curiously.
"That's the crux of the issues we're still facing right now. When this war was going on, Malciber Mondragon wasn't the head of his Coven; his Sire Antonio was. Antonio had unearthed some Aztec ceremonial crystals that were used in sacred rituals against their enemies; ancient texts that I've translated say that when used against your adversaries' victory is ensured….at a price. Suffice it to say, Antonio used the crystals to get the upper hand against us, but he was killed by Victor during the final standoff. Once the crystals powers are invoked and the sacrifice to the Aztec Gods are made, their power is supposed to be irreversible, whether the Caster of their powers is living or not. Brethren and Upir alike suffered many casualties that night, but with my abilities… I was able to neutralize the crystals and appease the Aztec deities. There was only one problem after that; one of the crystals had been broken when I was able to retrieve them, and when I reconstructed it later there was a small chip unaccounted for." She explained, laying back into the downy softness of her pillows.
"So, you think the Mondragon's have the missing chip? Where are the other crystals now?" Chuck asked her pensively, wondering what the hell they were going to do with her so weak and close to death; albeit temporarily.
"I don't know where they are, none of us do. We performed a memory binding spell as a fail-safe after we hid them; but that missing chip has always been in the back of my mind. If anyone has it, the Mondragon's do." Blue sighed, her gaze far away as though she were lost in thought.
"And I'm guessing after that, the Brethren had a lot of respect for you, because of what you did?" He surmised.
Blue looked uncharacteristically hesitant in answering him, as though she were afraid of what his reaction might be.
"Victor met with The Covens afterwards to discuss what had happened, as well as to suggest several changes in an effort to reform their rules and practices. As a result, two drastic changes occurred; Upirs were invited to become active members of the Brethren for the first time since its inception, and I was appointed as the impartial Leader of the Brethren; Victor having willingly stepped down to give me the role. Really, it isn't as big of a deal as it sounds; we only convene when there's a serious issue brewing or troublemakers need to be dealt with or sanctioned. I barely think about my role half the time, but now that I officially have a Mate, they'll treat you with the same kind of respect that they show me; or at least they're supposed to, which is why I chewed Victor's ass over the concert night shit. But, you don't have to be involved or do anything if you don't want to, I don't want you to feel obligated because you got stuck with me or something. I know all of my shit is a lot to handle," She said, looking thoroughly drained.
Chuck huffed at her words and the listlessness in her eyes.
"Yeah, you're a handful….." He said, crawling up the bed until he was beside her; trailing his hand along her side, over her stomach, until he palmed a breast in his hand and kissed his way up her collarbone to her neck and finally her lips.
"…..but I wouldn't have it any other way," He husked into her ear, causing a shiver to insinuate along her spine as she reached for him, crashing her lips to his in a sudden desperation to feel him against her again; the connection between them crackling with titillation and mutual want.
He offered his neck to her and she hesitated only a moment before sinking her fangs into him gently, sighing through her nose as the familiar and comforting taste of him flooded her senses and she felt truly home with him there in her arms, peppering her shoulder and neck with needy kisses and mouthings of his own.
The pain in her wrists finally dulled as the nectar of blood combined with the succulent honey of his venom swirled sensually along her tongue and down her throat, the combination of touching him and tasting him enough to drive her over the edge of all of her yearnings. The euphoric combination of love, want, ecstasy, and passion flooding through their bond was likened unto dizzying desperation as they clung to each other; Blue letting forth an aching sob as Chuck's underlying pain at the thought of losing her, even temporarily, made itself known across their link for the first time and her heart clenched painfully.
"I'm so sorry," She spoke across the link sadly.
"It's not your fault," He murmured against her, pressing his face into her neck and inhaling her scent as she retracted her fangs and sealed the small punctures with a lave of her tongue.
He sighed against her lost in thought for several minutes before he spoke again.
"You're sure that this crystal chip is involved? They couldn't be controlling Mort in any other way?" He asked, thinking of other magics that they could be using; ones that he would use if it were him.
"Of course there are other ways to control him, but the signs that its probably the missing chip are all there. When Antonio used the crystals before, he was using them for mind control to turn other vampires against us; as many as he could. He probably would've been more successful at the whole thing if the ceremony didn't require a personal effect of the person or persons you were trying to control. He was sending out as many coven members as he could spare to infiltrate the others and steal as many items as they could. Then there's the specific behavior of the vamps that were controlled; they all became fiercely defensive of the Mondragon's while under the crystals effects. They forgot their loyalty to their own covens, their friends, their Sire's, everything! Mort's behavior is identical! It's as though he could give a shit less about his family or me or anyone. All he knows is Imelda right now and that kind of control over anyone is pretty fucking dangerous." Blue sighed, her concern for Mort evident in her voice.
They must have slept through a mutual exhaustion after that, because the next Chuck knew, the sound of the doorbell was waking them, and he cursed as he looked at Blue's cell and noted several missed messages from Victor; and surprisingly enough, Mort.
"Babe! Babe, wake up." He shook her awake and she groaned, sitting up slowly then panicking slightly when she saw signs of bright daylight through the curtains.
"Fuck! What time is it?" Blue gasped, slipping out of bed and wincing as her aching wrists made their protests known once more.
"Half past ten," He replied, helping her pull on her robe just as her phone rang and Mort's name flashed across the screen.
Blue's eyes widened and her hand trembled slightly as she answered the call.
"Hello?" She rasped; her voice still sleep-addled.
"Akishla? I'm sorry, I know that you probably feel like shit right now; but I really need to talk to you." Mort said uneasily.
"Is that you at the door?" She asked, mixed emotions tangling themselves in the pit of her stomach.
"Yeah, can I come in? Just for a few minutes." He said uncertainly.
"Sure. You have your keys, right?" She asked, motioning for Chuck to hold his horses as his eyes flashed red with rage at the thought of Mort in their home after the way he had treated her.
"Yeah, but take your time coming down. I think I need coffee," He muttered, hanging up.
"Charles, you cannot act like anything is different! I don't think he knows what happened or something, you heard how he sounded just now. Not to mention that we have to be so fucking careful if that chip is involved! One wrong move could do irreparable damage or worse! You understand?" She asked desperately, taking his hand in her own and squeezing as though attempting to find comfort through the touch.
The gesture combined with the look in her eyes had him swallowing his anger and attempting to control his temper as he felt it sear to life within him once more.
"Alright, but he better watch his fuckin' mouth today." Chuck acquiesced, silently hoping that he could actually control himself in Mort's presence.
Ever since he could remember his temper was always short and he could hold a grudge longer than Satan himself.
"According to Victor, Imelda headed back home for the time being, but he still has people tailing her. The Mondragon's must think I'm really fucking stupid! Or just too weak and sick to think straight right now. Oh well, joke's on them!" She shrugged, slipping her phone into the pocket of her robe.
"You're sure that it's safe to talk with him right now?" Chuck pressed, the concern in his eyes tugging at her heart.
"If it wasn't safe, the magical wards on the house wouldn't have let him in. Don't worry, I always have precautions in place," Blue assured him as he followed her closely down the stairs regardless, summoning his new-found pyrotechnic abilities to the surface just in case.
He wasn't above roasting his ass if he had to.
"Hey, what's up?" Blue asked casually as they entered the kitchen, trying her best to act as normally and naturally as possible.
Mort was leaned up against the sink, his hands bracing him on either side and his confusion muddled gaze aimed at the floor as he chewed his lip uncertainly.
"'Kish, I uh….. I have this…. Something strange is going on. I can't really remember anything after driving you guys to my house yesterday," He confessed, carding his hands through his hair in frustration.
"Well, we all got pretty hammered," She shrugged, moving passed him to put the kettle on the stove and retrieve the French press from the drainboard.
Gods, she couldn't wait until their new coffee maker arrived!
"And I guess that my phone got pretty hammered too? I'm missing more than a day according to the date on it," Mort countered, pulling it out of his pocket to show her.
Apparently, his intelligence hadn't taken a snooze as he caught her in her lie easily.
"Listen, it's not a big deal. You're going to have to trust me," She replied, coming to stand before him with her arms crossed and her eyes imploring.
Chuck edged closer to them, his skin crawling and his nerves strung taught; his instinct to protect his Mate overshadowing everything else. Blue was far too close to Mort for his liking right now.
"I can remember bits and pieces of things, but its all fucking garbled together in my brain. I'm not sure what's real and what isn't. Did we… did I do anything to piss you off? Did we fight? I just… I don't feel like myself! I've never been this fucked up before. I thought I remembered you crying, but I just-
"Mort, it's fine. Just sit down and relax," She interrupted, taking him by the elbow and guiding him into a chair at the kitchen table.
"It's not fine! Nothing about how this feels is fine. I feel like there's a goddamn hole in my brain or something," Mort argued foggily, slumping in the chair as though he were exhausted.
"Mort, do you trust me?" Blue asked, coming to sit beside him as Chuck changed tactics and moved to Mort's other side closest to the sink, where he pretended to just busy himself with the kettle and French press.
"What kind of question is that? You know I do," Mort replied shakily, searching her eyes desperately for answers.
"Then you have to just let me handle this. I can't give you any answers right now, but hopefully soon I can." She said reassuringly, just as Chuck brought the press over with the coffee and three cups.
Mort seemed to struggle with the thought of staying in the dark; a number of emotions crossing his features like an open book.
"But you're sick right now! Whatever this is, you can't fix it. I don't want you making yourself any weaker," He said, reaching out and covering her hand with his own.
Chuck's chair scraped across the floor as he jumped to his feet, shoulders hunched and feet spread apart like a wild animal preparing to pounce.
"Charles!" Blue hissed in warning, trying to reassure him across their bond that everything was fine.
Mort removed his hand from hers, a stunned expression coming over his face as apparent realization dawned and he leapt to his feet, backing away from the table.
"It's me, isn't it? I'm part of whatever's wrong," He turned to leave, but Blue flitted to his side and stopped him.
"Mort, it's okay. Please stay, for coffee at least?" She asked him, but he shook his head.
"It's probably better if I go. Here," He pulled the keys to the house out of his pocket and plunked them down onto the kitchen table, his eyes meeting Chuck's from across the room.
"Keep her safe," He said tensely to Chuck over her shoulder before turning to leave, but Blue pulled him into a hug; her emotions suddenly getting the better of her.
Mort's phone rang in his pocket.
"Gotta get back to the office Kiddo. Thanks for holding shit together while I was gone; you forgot to log out of the portal at my desk as usual." Mort said with a watery smile; which she slowly returned.
"No worries, I got your back." She shrugged as he made his way back outside with a final wave before shutting the door behind him.
Blue heaved a heavy sigh as she heard his car's engine turn over before he pulled away quickly as though his mere presence could pause a dangerous threat to her. She closed her eyes and swallowed thickly, raking a shaky hand through her hair in irritation before opening her eyes; the expression on her face cold and deadly as she pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed Victor.
"Tell me some good news," She said without preamble.
"You're very perceptive as always, I was nearly ready to dial you. Matthew Rhiannon was able to infiltrate a coven meeting; the Mondragon's are using the chip as we suspected and they're planning to converge on the cemetery soon. You are their main target of course, but they're planning on killing Mr. Beecher to weaken you enough to use the crystals against you before turning them on the rest of us. Apparently, possessing the chip can lead you to the rest of them. They're foolish to believe that the crystals could kill an Upir, but Mr. Beecher on the other hand…. Well, I'm not so sure. He is a special case after all," Victor surmised grimly as Blue collapsed onto the couch.
"Gather everyone that you can in Chicago, I don't want those crystals back out on the streets in the Mondragon's hands. Hopefully we were smart enough to hide them in different places and not all lumped together, I need you to get here to perform a reversal on the memory binding spell we used so you can at least recall where they're hidden and get to them before they do. I would do it myself, but I don't think it would work, I just don't have the strength right now." Blue sighed shakily, the pain in her wrists throbbing hard enough to almost make her believe she had a pulse again.
"I've already ordered all of the covens to converge there and I'm on my way to you now; Annabeth is driving me. Forgive the suggestion your Grace, but it sounds as though you need rest. I'll arrive tonight, traffic permitting." Victor replied, sounding concerned as always when it came to her.
"Noted. I'll see you soon," She hung up and tossed her phone on the coffee table in front of her just as Chuck arrived with coffee and blood.
"Thanks." She croaked miserably, reaching for the blood with a trembling hand.
Chuck brushed her hand aside and picked it up for her, urging her to lean back and relax.
"I'm okay," Blue sighed, but even as she spoke a wave of exhaustion overtook her and she sank into the plush sofa gratefully.
"You're full of shit too," Chuck replied without missing a beat; which made her laugh softly in spite of her lack of energy.
She took a sip of blood and stared into the sanguine fluid pensively while Hitchcock roamed the perimeter of the living room, his sightless eyes twitching this way and that as his plumage brushed the wall, mapping out his surroundings.
"Poor fucker," Chuck muttered, a part of him still thinking that it may have been more merciful to shoot him and end his misery.
Hitchcock tentatively hopped his way over to him using the sound of his voice and his sense of smell to find him, letting out a soft squawk when he reached his feet and rubbing his head along Chuck's leg like a cat.
"He knows you're thinking of shooting him again," Blue announced monosyllabically.
"Stay outta my head," He replied, but the gleam in his eyes betrayed him as he studied her face.
She closed her eyes as though preparing to go back to sleep, but her mind was racing through scenarios and solutions; studying the merits of some while discarding others that didn't serve her. She could feel Chuck trying to wiggle his way in to read her, but she blocked him with effort and could feel his frustration with her before he voiced it.
"I know that you have no intention of staying out of this shit and letting me and Victor handle it, so if that's what you're trying to hide, I already know you too fuckin well." He said dismissively, making her eyes shoot open and widen in surprise.
"Victor has a lot of potential, but he's nowhere near my level. You probably figured that out the night of the concert," She sighed, draining the blood from the cup more from necessity than actual want.
"And me? You know what I'm capable of. Well, mostly." He asked, meeting her sleepy violet eyes with his intense blue ones.
Blue reached for him then, pulling him onto the sofa beside her and holding onto him as though he were a lifeline.
"I know that you didn't sign up for any of this, but Victor and the others will need you temporarily after I'm gone; and so will Mort. He's important to me, regardless of what Imelda made him say. Not mention that we cannot risk exposure of our kind to Humans," She sighed, looking at him as though she really thought that he could handle all of this shit.
It had been a very, very long time since he had been on the right side of anything. Helping Blue survive the water demon and banish it had been just that; helping his Mate and ensuring her survival. Now, they were nearly out of time, and no matter what he did, she would suffer through her suicide again and he'd be stuck here without her for who knew how long until she awoke on the other side of it once more.
He would definitely need a goddamn shower after being such a goody-fucking-two shoes.
"I'll do whatever I can to help while you're out of commission, I promise." He relented, marveling inwardly about how much love could change a person.
Especially loving the right person.
A quarter of an hour later, they were in her warded sacred room in the basement gathering what Victor would need for a reversal on the memory binding spell.
"This is everything he needs and the instructions are in this scroll," Blue said, replacing the containers they had picked ingredients out of in their proper places on the shelves behind them.
"Sounds good. Let's hope he gets here while we're still young," Chuck grumbled, his patience for the old Vamp wearing thin.
She stood then, brushing her hands off on her pants and sighing, she pulled a small box off of the top shelf which was out of his line of sight due to his height.
"It's nearly dusk, so he'll be here soon. I'm really sorry but I need you to trust me too," She said softly, flitting just beyond the magical barrier of the room.
"Blue! Goddamn it, what the fuck are you up to now?" He growled, trying to force his way beyond the barrier to no avail.
"Just sit tight for five minutes, you'll be out of there as soon as I'm gone. I love you," She murmured before flitting away amidst the sound of Chuck's cursing.