Chapter Nine

London's Calling

Walnut Grove, Missouri

Emma sat leaning back on the old yellow couch in the basement. She sat playing with her hair; soaking up all of what this Aiden MacAlister had explained. He had confirmed all that Layla had confessed to earlier and then some. Apparently he, like many other Abgal Da Brothers, was sent out to collect as many of the incarnates as possible. But, when he arrived he discovered that the head of the Indiana Motherhouse and one of its most powerful initiates was missing.

"You could imagine my utter shock when my investigation into the whereabouts of Mr. Finch led me to discover a Ba Musal incarnate here that we had never knew about and that not only was she the child of TWO Abgal Da Brothers, but she had a TWIN brother who shared that incarnate soul!" Aiden had tried his best to hide his enthusiasm, but, as his sentences grew longer and came faster the trio could easily see that this revelation had meant a great deal to him.

Emma tried to listen to everything that exited his exquisitely sculpted lips but found herself focusing more on their perfect shape and soft appearance than actually hearing the words they were creating. She had shaken herself free from her revelry only to slip into measuring the length of his lengthy eyelashes. It was Layla who her when she had noticed Emma extensively observing his well chiseled buttocks while he paced in front of them.

For now, he paced next to them busily conversing on his wafer thin cellular. Jimmy had taken to tinkering with his gadgets at his work station behind them. It always helped him think if he did so while tinkering. Layla still remained on the tattered old couch with her knees drawn up to her chest and grinning childishly at the deeply pensive Emma.

"I was wrong about you muscles. You found a perfectly good penis with a very nice face all on your own!" She teased.

Emma threw her head back on the couch and tossed a cushion at the Cheshire Layla. "Would you stop it! Just because he's on the phone doesn't mean he can't hear you! Besides, if he's a Brother, then he can probably read minds too!"

"Oh no, he's a telekinetic! Ooo! Just imagine how that would come in handy in the bedroom!" Layla cackled with her face in her hands. She amazed even herself with her last comment.

"Layla!" Emma grunted through her teeth trying desperately for her to be silent. "I can't think with you constantly being a perv! I need to think!" Emma covered her face with her hands and rubbed vigorously.

"And what are you thinking about exactly? Is it the proposal or is it his bum again? Because, if it's the bum, I can't say that I blame you!"

Emma turned her head sharply and glared at Layla threateningly gesturing for her to stop her teasing. Before she could utter another verbal warning, Jimmy appeared and leapt over the back of the couch; sitting in between them. He placed one of Emma's many mechanical feet that he had been working on on the plank wood coffee table and exhaled heavily.

"What do you think? Should we just go?" He took off his glasses and cleaned them on his shirt. Instead of replacing them, he just let them drop to his lap and laid his head on the back of the couch. Looking up at the ceiling, he thought of the many times he had seen this aspect of the room. The times as a child that his father had tossed him in the air playing Sunday morning wrestling. The times they had all come down here to watch a Friday night movie and Jimmy would invariably fall asleep on the couch half way through. There was also the time he had been watching Shea, who had nagged him incessantly to watch her, perform her latest cheerleading routine and then knocked him onto his back when she miscalculated a flip. And of course, when they were allowed back into the house after the cleaners had finished washing and scrubbing away all of the blood. He had somehow discovered a few tiny specs on one of the ceiling squares and lay on his back for what seemed like days staring at them for what seemed like days. He had squinted for so long trying to discover just by vision whose blood it was. For all he knew it could have been Emma's. But whose ever it was, he could remove it. Eventually Emma did. She had scolded him saying it was morbid and even she couldn't stand to look at it or even stand knowing it was there.

All of the training that came next, the building of Emma's legs, discovering Pop's books. All of it under this ceiling As he blinked his eyes memories of him and Emma writhing on the floor with their heads filled with the knowledge of their ancestors unable to get it out, but, Layla did and saved them both. He recalled him a Layla making love for the first time on this couch. Something he knew that if Emma did, she wouldn't be sitting here right then and then she would probably vote to burn it. All of these things that happened right here, and they were thinking of leaving it all not knowing if they would ever return to it. How could they think of leaving a place so pregnant with memories both good and bad? After all, they're all still memories of their lives, weren't they?

Emma had jerked her head up and stared intently at Jimmy. "Oh that's just sick!"

Jimmy pulled out his musing of he and Layla's first encounter and blinking returned his twin's stare.

"I told you! Not anywhere where I sit! ACK! That's a check in the 'FOR LEAVING' column!"

"AHA!" Layla announced pointing at the disgusted Emma who was quickly rising from her seat. "I told you James! She said SIT not EAT! We were totally in the clear last week!"

"Oh My GOD!" Emma gagged and jumped backwards bumping into Aiden. She turned embarrassed and apologized awkwardly. Without thinking about anything other than the way he smiled at her dismissing her need for an apology, she quickly sat back down on the couch. The smile had apparently made her forget her brother and Layla's interlude that she was, not but seconds earlier, so aghast about.

"Sorry about the phone. I don't want to be rude, but that was the Kor Tant Yul." Aiden explained.

"The Kor Tant Yul? Really?" Layla asked impressed.

"The Cornish Mule?" Jimmy asked confused.

"Mules have phones? Mules can talk?" Emma asked equally confused looking to Jimmy for an answer.

"No you git! Layla spat. The Kor Tant Yul! The figure head of the Brotherhood of the Abgal Da. Basically, he's the man in charge!'

"And he's a mule?" Emma asked again.

Before Layla could further insult Emma, Aiden interrupted and continued his explanation. "Mr. Martin Kessler is the Kor Tant Yul and he is anxious to meet you. He was quite insistent that he fly out here immediately. But, I assured him that there would be no need for him to travel because I would have you on a plane within the hour headed for London. So, shall we? Or will I be made into a liar?" He smiled charmingly at the all too smitten Emma who had been mesmerized by his rich, song-like Irish accent.

Jimmy noticed Emma's hypnosis and nudged her to shock her back into reality. "So you want us to just drop everything and flit off to merry ole London, right? We are all just supposed to take everything you say on faith!"

Aiden straightened his back and cleared his throat. "And what would you be leaving behind Jimmy? A book shop that no one frequents, a potentially lucrative engineering career gone the way of the buffalo and a home that has seen more violence and blood than all of Arnold Schwarzenegger's films combined? Honestly, ask yourself why you stay here? Do you have any thing and ONE remaining here in this town to hold you?"

Jimmy and Emma looked at one another. Aiden had made an important point. There was no family left and they had pushed away the only friends they had ever had years ago. This was evident by their experience at the bar last night. Realizing that they had come to the same conclusions, Emma raised an eyebrow and gripped Jimmy's hand.

"He's right ya know. And it's not like we can't come back. We'll just shut things off and take a sabbatical or something."

Jimmy smiled. It was hard. This was the only home they had ever known as children and adults. Such a place to be filled with so many conflicting emotions; maybe that's why they stayed in a town they never really seemed to care if they were there in the first place. Plus, there was the fact that it seemed to be oddly overrun with vampires and no one else seemed to notice.

Layla clapped her hands and gripped Jimmy's shoulders tightly.

"Then it's settled!" Aiden rubbed his hands together and gestured to take Emma's. He aided her to stand motioned for her to go up the stairs. "Pack a bag or two if you like. I have a car out front that will take us to the airport. There are more than one or two people waiting for your arrival and I guarantee that at least one of them will be of interest to the both of you!"

The three made for the stairs and Layla excitedly squeezed Jimmy's hips. "Come on Jimbo hurry your cute arse up! London's calling! HA!"

As soon as they were up the stairs Aiden opened his cell phone once more and pressed a button. Automatically numbers dialed and a phone began to ring.

"Yes?" A woman answered quickly.

"It's done. The twins and Fellows are on the way to London. They look well. What are your instructions?"

"Just make sure they get to the London Motherhouse. I am in route myself. Tell them nothing! Only what they need to know. The rest isn't important for now. And of course, DON'T let them forget the family journals! I will see you soon." Her accent was a thick as his, and her tone was stern.

"Of course Mary Agnes." Aiden quickly closed the phone and slid it back into his pocket. He could hear the small group upstairs bustling to prepare for their journey.

"What's the weather like in London?" Emma exclaimed from her room.

"Naff!" Layla yelled back. "It's bloody cold and wet! Don't you watch the tele?"

"Yes, Merry old fecking England." Aiden scoffed. "I was getting tired of all of this sunshine anyway." With that he adjusted his leather jacket and ascended the stairs.