Chapter 10

"We have to keep Adam locked up." Quentin explained to George. "At least until the madness leaves him."

"You know that if I lock him up, he will make bail in no time. That's the way the legal system works:"

"But he needs to be locked up for his own protection."

"Wyncliffe might be a safer bet." George said.

"Except that Carolyn will get him out." this was Barnabas.

"We can try to explain things to Carolyn."

"I saw Carolyn. When she looks the way she looked, she does not listen to reason. All she knows how is that Vicky is leaving Collinsport and that has her upset. And, unfortunately, and upset Carolyn is a stubborn Carolyn."

"So that leaves us with only one alternative." Quentin said. "the cell in your basement."

"Fine, you kidnap him and lock him up. And I will know nothing about it." George said " that's all I can do in my official position. "

"You are going to see Barnabas, of course." Sabrina let it be know how little she thought of the idea.

"He's on my schedule. He said that he wants me to talk to Quentin, who has some idea about affordable housing."

"And to tell you how you should run your office, what bills to push, what bills to support, and how to go about it."

"Unsolicited advice is what he does best."

"It is not the unsolicited advice that worries me. It is his possible loss of control"

"That was an exceptional situation."

"Maggie, you push his buttons too much. I do not know why you keep at it. You play this game with him with the memories of 1967. When he wants to talk about it, you have put it behind you. But if he puts it behind him, and lets you know of it, then you start hitting again. You do not want him either to work it out, or forget it. You just enjoy playing games with it."

"Well, he owes me."

"He does not owe it to you to play dangerous games that can end badly. Do you really want him to lose control with you? How many vampires do you know hold elective office? How many have a chance to become Senators? Or have you decided that playing games with Barnabas is more important to you than your political career?"

"Sabrina, you do not understand."

"I understand that it is my job to keep you from destroying yourself. This is worse than Russian Roulette what you are doing."

The mermaid swam almost in a frenzy as the time approached when the female would emerge, hungry, and ready to mate.

Inside the cave, the female had begun to stir, but was not awake yet. The male knew better than to awaken her. The time approached fast for the creation of a new generation of mermaids and gorgons.

"What is it that mermaids and gorgons have to do with each other?' Barnabas was still confused as to what Quentin had told him, even if willing to act.

"They are the same species, male and female."

"Is the gorgon the male?"

"No, the mermaid is the male."

"But they look..."

"Right, like human females. But they are not human. They are like fish. Have you seen any fish with mammaries of any kind?"

"But whales and dolphins..."

"Are not fish but mammals. The mermaid is a fish. She's got the scales and gills, which cetaceans lack.. That's what tipped me off. Adam painted his mermaid right, down to the genital opening in the tail. But it was a male genital opening. He did not realize what he was painting, of course..."

"So the gorgon is the female."

"Makes sense. She is the one guarding the eggs, and thus needs a weapon, a weapon that she may use even against the male of the species if he threatens her young. Predator males are known to eat their young, so the females have to be able to discourage them. The tougher the female, the more successful at raising young."

"But why would they want Adam?"

"For food. They are probably a cannibalistic species, and if the male does not offer the female a meal, he can get eaten before he can mate... If they are a cannibalistic species, then the female does eat the male if she gets hungry."

"Any cannibalistic species in which the male eats the female?"

"If they are, they die out. If the males eat the females before they can lay the eggs, or the young, then there is no next generation."

It was not so much the details of the gorgon-mermaid relationship that fascinated Barnabas as was Quentin's attitude. This was not the Quentin he remembered, the one who could never learn anything, nor care for anything nor anyone outside himself.

Adam had indeed given Quentin a new life. Was is so strange that Quentin sought to repay his debt in every possible way?

Here was a Quentin that he would like to have for a friend.

"Do you think that biting him will be enough? The mermaid must have a great deal of power over him."

"Yes. We will play it by ear. Biting him will ensure that we can get him in the cell with a minimum of fuss. But don't be surprised when your control over him disappears."

It did not take them long to find Adam. Adam greeted Quentin, but was hurried, did not really have the time to talk. There was something that he had to do.

Quentin recognized the urgency, so did Barnabas. The mermaid was pulling at him.

"This is not going to take long, Adam." Quentin said.

Adam tried to pull away. He still did not have all the weapons he needed against the dragon. He must... he must...

Quentin coaxed him into a darkened corner, where Barnabas was waiting.

"What do you want me for? " he asked Barnabas irritated. "Explanations for Phillip? He is crazy. He attacked me with a knife. I had to subdue him."

"We know what you have been up to." Quentin grabbed Adam's wrists, pinioning him, as Barnabas bent over his throat.

Adam fought, but Barnabas got the control that he needed.

"You will come to the Old House now. We will continue this conversation later."

Adam went with them reluctantly, Quentin holding him by the arm, just in case.

"When we are done, I got to show you something that I found a couple of miles from here. You may want to paint that." Quentin said aloud. If there were witnesses, they would report the words to Carolyn, should she start looking for him... And Quentin would swear that he had dropped him at a certain spot...

Adam kept tugging at the mental leash that Barnabas held. It was beginning to fray, because his link with the mermaid was that strong. But all they needed was for him to enter the Old House quietly. Once inside, they could wrestle him of they had to.

"What are you doing to me?;" Adam protested, as they entered. "I am getting out of here!"

Of course, being two against one, and one of them with much greater strength, any struggle that Adam put was doomed from the start. He was taken downstairs, to a cell that he knew only too well..

He screamed when he saw it, clawed and bit at Barnabas and Quentin, but could not keep them from throwing him inside and locking the door after him.