Chapter 9

Smiling slightly, Mark pulled her and shifted so Brooklynn was sprawled on his chest. "We never talked about what we're going to do once Claira graduates." He said thoughtfully, which, as long as Claira kept her grades up, would be in 2 years. "Now, we both love her, but at the same time, the world kind of opens back up again when she's an adult." And she had just said what he had been feeling lately – restless. "Maybe we need to start getting away more, darlin'."

Getting away more, just the two of them, sounded amazing. They'd already done the family vacation bit all over the country – Niagara Falls, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas -that hadn't been fun for Claira though-, Disney World, Disneyland, New York City, Yellowstone National Park…anywhere Mark wanted to take Claira, they went. Those were just a few of the family vacations they had taken over the years – they made it a point to do one at least once a year. Camping was a favorite of theirs too, though Claira was too girly for it these days.

"It's gotten too routine for us, hasn't it?" She spoke softly, quietly, caressing his jaw with her lips while snuggling against him. "It's time to change it then. After she graduates, let's leave and see the world together. We can go anywhere and do anything we want and we don't necessarily have to do it all in the United States either. Is there somewhere you've always wanted to go?"

"Europe sounds good." Beer abroad, hell yes. Not to mention, even though he was a bit rough around the edges, the other part of him had been quite… worldly and educated, which meant he possessed those traits as well. "We could go eyeball old castles…. and ruins." Except… that would probably mean her gift being triggered, which could definitely ruin the experience. "Darlin'…. have you ever thought about your own abilities being suppressed?" Such as what he hopefully planned on doing for Claira. "Not all the time, but… sometimes."

"No." Brooklynn shook her head gently and rested it on his chest over his beating heart, closing her eyes. "My gift is part of me and, even though it's not easy to deal with sometimes, I would never suppress it. There are people out there, good people, who never get to hear from their loved ones. I can give them at least a little slice of peace, even if a lot of them don't believe me at first." She had already sent the letter onto Ashley Massaro in New York, just as she promised she would. "Old castles and ruins sound amazing." However, Brooklynn had the same thought he did – there would no doubt be countless ghosts and spirits around those places.

"Darlin', they do, but I'm afraid you'd be overwhelmed."

Europe had gone through a very, very dark period regarding the supernatural. The people had known it existed, sure, but they hadn't known how to identify it. That just seemed to be a thing throughout history actually, even here in the States. So they had killed innocents, believing them to be devils or vampires, or anything except proper humans. He bet there were a lot of spirits seeking peace or vengeance.

"Well…you would only suppress it temporarily, right?"

How would that feel not being able to interact or talk to spirits for a time? It wouldn't happen right away, but Brooklynn had to admit, part of her wanted to see what it would be like to feel normal for a change. Mark could do that for her. He had the power and once again thought of her and her wellbeing, how overwhelmed she would be with those spirits.

"I'll do it when the time comes. Does this mean you've found a way to take everything away from Claira?"

"No." Mark shook his head, frowning slightly. That conversation had been only this morning and already it felt like days ago. Today had been a long day, indeed. "There hasn't been time, I will tomorrow… I'll be gone awhile." For safety reasons, he did not keep his library here at home. That was just a recipe for disaster if Claira got in a mood or decided to go poking or snooping around. "But I figure, there has to be SOMETHING; we can't be the only ones who have had this problem." Suppressing abilities hadn't been something he had ever bothered looking into before, so this would be interesting.

His 'library' consisted of some of the darkest magic Brooklynn laid her eyes on. That was Undertaker's influence, the other side of Mark she never wanted to see again. Undertaker was evil, cold, calculating and terrifying. He did not care who he hurt as long as his end goal was met. It'd been 17 years since she'd last seen Taker and Brooklynn was perfectly content with keeping it that way.

"Mark…" The worry suddenly filled her eyes as she sat up to look down at him. "I-I know you have control over…your other half, but…how dark of magic do you think you'll have to use to pull this off? If there's even the slightest chance of Undertaker coming back, don't do it. I love you and I don't want to lose you again."

It wasn't all dark magic in those books, Mark had added his own over the years. There were books on specific types of magics, books on lore and other supernatural entities. His own books of shadows he had written over the years, or the other side of him.

"Reading a book isn't dangerous and I doubt it'll require overly dark magic. Binding and suppressing spells aren't necessarily evil, darlin'." He had Bound Claira's magic with a wave of his hand, sort of. In a nutshell, Mark had tapped into his own magic and, with Bastet's mental guidance, done it. He just liked making things look easier than they were.

"Okay. I trust you."

Brooklynn softly kissed him, enjoying their naked bodies pressed together and gazed into his emerald eyes. He was a beautiful, strong man, from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. Mark took pride in his appearance, though there were times he had gone scruffy, which was also sexy. Currently, he was just a tad scruffy, but nothing over the top. There was one time he actually tried growing a beard out and Brooklynn did not like it, refusing to kiss him until he got rid of it. That had been a month of torture not kissing her man, but she stood her ground, barely, and he finally caved. It was moments like those that were playful and innocent, compared to the gruesome things they had to endure with each other before settling down.

"I lied earlier. I don't wanna move. I love Texas and I know you do too, but getting away for a little while does sound good. I don't think I have the heart to move, though."

Born and bred Texan Mark was, but that did not mean he wouldn't leave Texas behind for her, if that was what Brooklynn wanted. That was one of the strange things about falling in love, about caring for someone besides oneself. True, familiarity sometimes meant becoming so used to something that it became invisible or routine, but at the same time, one would move heaven and hell for the person. Love was definitely strange.

"Lots of breaks, darlin', I think we definitely need those." They did not have to literally stay here for the rest of their lives.

There was an entire world out there waiting on them.

"Yeah, just not right now." Her hand snaked down between them to stroke his already semi-hard cock and felt it coming to life against her touch. She smiled at his groan, nipping his chin and bottom lip to entice him further. "We can have a break later."

Mark bolted upright at her words, wrapping her legs firmly around his waist and slid home inside of her again, making her gasp out. The sheer power this man possessed would never cease to amaze her, not even after 17 years. She knew him even longer, but 17 years is how long they'd been in an actual relationship. By the time they finished, it was well into the early morning hours and instead of sleeping, they talked about anything and everything that came to mind with sex in between.

It was perfect.

This was something they had done years ago, just talk into the early morning hours. Before getting together, he and Brooklynn had had an interesting relationship. The sparks had been there, but… it had taken them forever and a day, it seemed, to get past the blockages both of their own making and the things around them. It wasn't until he heard Claira stirring that he finally glanced at the time, smiling softly and dropped yet another lazy kiss on Brooklynn's forehead.

"I'll get her to school, darlin'." He rumbled huskily. "Why don't you get some sleep?"

"Are you sure?" A kiss on her lips gave her the answer and she smiled, caressing his face. "Thank you, I love you." Brooklynn yawned out, hearing him chuckle and stopped him from leaving, snuggling into her pillow. "Take today off and join me for some sleep when you drop her off."

They could sleep the morning away and then get up to eat together. The shop didn't need him; he was the boss, after all, the owner, and Brooklynn wanted to sleep in his arms. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, telling her he'd see her soon and she was out cold before he left the bedroom.

Except he wasn't coming straight back after taking Claira to school; Mark was going to his library. He'd browse, see what looked promising and then bring the books home, THEN crawl back into bed with her. He figured as long as he disguised the books with a Glamour, and didn't bring home anything too dark, it wouldn't be a major issue. When Mark eventually set foot into the private, hidden library, he inhaled deeply, feeling old magic crackling around him.

When it had just been him, he had kept his library wherever he tended to live, but… it wasn't just him and they had learned the hard way magical books and babies didn't mix. It had taken him a few months to figure out how to get the sigils off Claira when she had learned to crawl. The sigils that prevented her from leaving their house, which had been both cool and a bit of a pain in the backside because it meant Claira had been stuck there too. No more magical books in the house.

"Lynn…"

Brooklynn snapped her eyes open, looking around the room she was in and felt a familiar presence surrounding her. It sent shivers down her spine and throughout her body, her arms wrapped around herself. Looking down, her body was encased in black silk, spaghetti-strapped gown that barely reached her mid-thigh. What was going on? Her heart was beating furiously in her chest as Brooklynn moved from the bed, or started to, only to be stopped…or rather, she couldn't move. Not an inch.

"My beautiful, sweet Lynn…how I've missed you…"

"No…no it…it can't be…!"

That evil demonic laughter resonated around her, piercing through her like a sharp knife and a few seconds later, wide amber orbs met acidic green. "Yessss…"

This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening! He'd been locked away safe and sound for 17 years! "M-Mark…" She gasped out as his hand wrapped tightly around her throat, beginning to squeeze.

"The name is Undertaker, precious. Learn it quickly or you will breathe your last."

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she clawed at his hand and arm, trying to break the grip, her entire body trembling from head to toe.

"Don't be scared, I won't hurt you…unless you give me a reason to."

All she could do was sit there and silently cry as his mouth descended on hers.

Brooklynn bolted upright in bed in a pool of sweat, tears mixing with the sweat on her face and scrambled out of bed. A quick blurred glance at the clock told her it was just after 2 PM in the afternoon. The rain was pouring down in gallons outside, a streak of lightning following. They were in the middle of a raging storm. Claira would have to be picked up in another hour from school…she was home. She wasn't with that monster again…Brooklynn looked down at her shaking hands, not realizing she was still crying and jumped when a meow sounded next to her. Bastet…when did the Familiar join her in bed? Why did she have a dream about the Undertaker after all this time?

"You feeling alright, girl?" She asked softly, reaching out to stroke the feline and frowned, trying to get her own nerves under control.

No, she wasn't. Bastet was feeling old, tired, worn down… she let out a large yawn, revealing her sharp fangs. When the human didn't stop petting her, she moved to curl up in Brooklynn's lap, purring softly. It was kind of nice, not being part of the group anymore because chances were, they'd be on some hunt right now and storms tended to be a power source.

"Fuck…" Mark cursed, shaking himself off before stepping inside, gone a bit longer than he had thought.

"Bastet…"

Brooklynn didn't move her and kept petting her, being gentle. When Familiars died, did they just disappear or would they have to dispose of the body? That thought made fresh tears sting her eyes as Brooklynn held the feline close, a few tears soaking into her fur. They'd been through so much together; Bastet was part of the family and Brooklynn didn't want her to go. What would happen with the darker part of Mark the Familiar held in check? Brooklynn jumped when she heard her name being called and looked up as the tears kept sliding down her cheeks, shook up from her dream and the fact Bastet did not look good.

He could both hear and smell the tears, frowning as he glimpsed through Bastet's eyes. Brooklynn was crying and his Familiar told him that she wasn't in any physical danger. Books in the leather satchel slung over his arm, Mark shed his boots and headed for the bedroom, letting her hear him coming.

"Everything okay, darlin'?" He asked quietly once he spotted her, setting down the bag before walking over to perch on the edge of the bed, green eyes moving to Bastet and frowned.

"Not really, no." Brooklynn didn't know if she should tell him about her dream, chewing her bottom lip nervously and felt his hand on hers, her eyes moving up to lock with his. "I had a nightmare and it shook me up a little."

His touch…how could Mark be this sweet and loving one minute, but have that darkness, that monster, as a counterpart? It made no sense to her, even after all this time. Then again, she hadn't had to deal with the presence of Taker in 17 years.

"Bastet doesn't look good and she was in here beside me when I woke up from my nightmare. Is she…okay?"