90. Triangle

It was the oddest sensation. From his vantage point on the hill, Vlad could oversee most of the extensive grounds of his castle – the part of it that mattered, anyway, the football field, the rose garden, the pool – and the familiar feeling of power rose up in him once again, the complete satisfaction that he was looking at his property, his grounds, his castle. Wherever he looked – yes, the woods in the distance too – whatever he saw, it was all his.

The gardener, meticulously maintaining the roses. Two chauffeurs, even though he really needed only one. The pilot of his jet. The maids, currently ghosting through the castle, dusting, cleaning, making everything just to his liking.

The raven haired boy, sitting in the shade of a huge parasol close to the house, reading, his drug induced obedience keeping him rooted on the spot Vlad had told him to be hours ago.

The auburn haired woman dressed in a white dress, slowly walking up to him, taking measured steps up the hill.

And down, deep down in the basement, the huge fool in the orange hazmat suit, his former friend, the friend that had stolen his Maddie away from him. For all Vlad cared, he could rot down there, and in fact he had planned to simply seal the entrance to the dungeon – the architect had raised his eyebrows when he had heard of Vlad's rather specific desires for the redesign of his castle, but had quickly closed his mouth when he saw the amount on the check – if Maddie hadn't begged him to save his life.

She still had the power to make him do anything.

He watched her fondly as she approached him, hair swaying in the slight breeze, dress swirling around her legs, her eyes...

"AAARHG!"

Vlad jumped up from the couch, patting his legs where the hot tea that Maddie had 'accidentally' poured on his lap had landed.

"Oops," she said, scowling a little.

Vlad clenched his jaw, and focused his attention back on Jack, who was explaining some ecto weapon that, although looking like it might fall apart any moment, was surprisingly functional and hence dangerous. While forcing his daydreams to the back of his head, he kept a weary eye on the love of his life, who had put the tea pot down on the coffee table and had sat down across from them. She really would look lovely in a white dress...

The door on the other end of the room opened, and a raven haired half ghost teenager stomped into the room, stopping short when he caught sight of Vlad. His slightly bored expression changed into that of a scowl almost as fierce as his mother's.

"What are you doing here," he asked, not even bothering with niceties.

His mother frowned at that, but obviously either she didn't think the boy needed to be raised to be polite to anyone, or it was just him she allowed him to be rude to. Vlad made a mental note to add this to his 'list of things Daniel needs to learn'.

"I was invited by your father," he said politely, to show the boy how it was done, "And how do you do, Daniel?"

Danny's scowl deepened and he muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'fruitloop', before simply turning around and stomping up the stairs to his room. Vlad frowned in annoyance, thinking about his daydream. He made another mental note.

Invent a drug that makes half-ghosts obedient.