Chapter Twenty-Five

The rest of the week went by with no event, and by Friday evening the twins were ready to head to the crater. A series of trains would let them reach the base of the mountain by the next morning. They could walk from there, or possibly catch a boat going downstream. Andrew tagged along as they went down the double staircase and to the main entrance.

'Well, goodbye then,' James said pointedly as Andrew followed them out the doors.

'I'm coming with you,' he insisted, already pushing past them and heading through the path.

'Absolutely not, it's much too dangerous for you,'

'Oh, let him come James, we can keep him hidden inside a bush while we do our hunting.'

James glared at his sister's careless attitude and opened his mouth to disagree.

'I can stay in the bush!' Andrew said quickly, cutting him off, 'I don't mind, really, and I already packed for the trip,' he pointed at his backpack filled with foodstuff and a change of clothes.

His judgement being overruled by the majority, James grumbled to himself about the dangers of the night as he walked rapidly to the station. Marie gave Andrew a sideways wink as she loped behind her brother, and Andrew gladly walked in step with her.

The railway was built into the side of the mountain in a zig-zag pattern, a new set of diagonal tracks appearing at each level. The two-story train stations were made such that the train leaving from the ground floor took them downhill and the train leaving from the top floor travelled uphill. It was necessary to switch trains ever so often as it gradually took them downhill.

They dozed off now and then, not getting much rest at a stretch as they had to keep changing tracks. The twins didn't need much rest anyway, but Andrew insisted that he wasn't too tired.

Both suns had long gone down by the time the group neared the base of the mountain. James had fallen into slumber and Andrew was close to falling asleep as well. Marie gave a long-suffering sigh as she gazed out the window, realizing they still had about an hour left before they reached the crater.

'I'm hungry,' she wailed.

'Hm?' Andrew glanced at her through half-lidded eyes as he tried to hold back a yawn.

Marie turned sly eyes towards the human. 'I'm hungry,' she repeated, enunciating her words carefully.

He blinked a couple of times and then his eyes flew wide open. His jaw went slack as he realized what she was asking.

'Just let me have a sip-

'No!' Andrew exclaimed in horror.

'Just a teensy tiny sip,' she batted her eyelashes, 'I'm starving to death, Andrew— I could actually die.'

Andrew stared at her aghast, the blood draining from his face at her unbelievable request. 'You can die?'

'Yes! I haven't fed since those two men and it was interrupted.' She glared at him to convey that he was responsible for her current thirst. 'It won't hurt that much anyway,' she added, 'I'll just drink a little bit to tide me over till the train stops.'

Andrew swallowed. 'But what if you can't stop?'

'No promises but I'll try-

Andrew was partly worried that she couldn't, and partly worried for her health. Marie could get weak and maybe even "actually die," like how she said, if she waited too long to feed— although, she looked as fit as a fiddle right now.

Andrew nervously reached his hand across the table. It shook a little as she clasped it within both her hands and brought it closer to her face. The skin on her palms felt hardy and rough; iron-like grip uncomfortably tight around his slim wrist.

'Why are you giving me this?' she asked, her voice deep with craving.

'You- you said you were hungry.'

'I want the NECK!'

'Oh she's just messing with you,' James cut in, slowly arousing from his sleep and seeing the terrified look on the human's face. 'She doesn't need to feed for another month at least.'

Marie grinned. 'You should've seen the look on your face.'

'That's not funny!' Andrew pouted as she snorted merrily with laughter. 'I was even considering it.'

James shot him a disapproving look before shutting his eyes again, seemingly too tired to deliver another lecture about the dangers of accompanying a couple of vampyres on a hunting trip.

Andrew rested his face in his hands and watched the suns peeking over the mountain top just as they reached the base. They cast a pink and orange glow on the thick clouds, making the dark night grass look emerald green again.

They got off the train and followed the stream that flowed from the large northern waterfall, catching a ride on a raft and a small boat before they got closer to where most of the housing was.

They split up when they got off the boat, and spoke to a few of the locals, getting odd looks wherever they went. The group walked far into the midst of town with no direction, asking around for information till it was well past noon.

Andrew and Marie walked up a small tributary to where a lady was doing her washing outside the house. Her murky red hair was lined in grey and was tied back loosely from her matching reddish face. She leaned over the stream scrubbing at some baby clothes with a broken piece of soap.

'Hiya!' Marie said chirpily, 'Sorry to disturb you, but do you know if anyone's selling lilies around here?'

The lady looked up in confusion, staring at them like they were aliens. She paused a long moment before she responded; speaking in a thick, lisping accent that they had to strain to understand.

'Them's maighty hard to find nowadays eh lassie, you come down from 'em mountains in search eyy? Is 'spensive after all 'em killin's but yew look laike yews ken afford it.' She looked them up and down appraisingly while Andrew shifted uncomfortably under her keen stare.

She nodded her head to side, giving direction, 'Go on there, pass the bridge an' on the left yew'll see an Ol' mans sittin' out on his rockin' chair. Yews turn left from there, away from that awful pengco compeny mind, and go on straight till yew see a lil lad with 'is bucket... my sisters lil 'un he is.'

They thanked her and left, wondering how to follow her odd directions. They fetched James and the three of them followed the worn-in path to the bridge.

'Oh, she was talking about PENCO,' Andrew said in surprise as they saw the silhouette of PENCO's new building site in the distance, 'That's where my moms worked, back on the island. I didn't know they had a branch here.'

'It's fairly new,' Marie replied, 'But it grew so fast; they basically own the whole crater now.'

It didn't blend in at all with the rest of the modest housing, reaching high above the one-story buildings clustered around it. The iron slats and rods looked out of place among the simple wooden homes.

Andrew and the twins crossed the bridge and sure enough saw an old man, rocking on a chair outside his house. He stared at them in interest as they nodded politely and turned to walk left, to where they were told they'd find the boy.

They came across him about an hour later. He was sitting on an upturned barrel, surrounded by little boxes and buckets filled with various flowers and little trinkets. He swung his little feet making a rhythmic thwacking sound on the side of his barrel; and in his dirty fingernails he clutched bunches of lilies, pale and dull.

The twins had decided it was best to stay hidden until the killer finally showed himself; they didn't want to scare him away in case he spotted them near the boy. Marie silently scaled a tree right above the boy and lounged like a cat on the branches, while James and Andrew held their stakeout in some thick bushes behind it.

Judging by the boy's empty hat he hadn't had a sale all day but he still waited in hope even after the crowd became sparse. They waited for what seemed like ages but someone else also lurked in the shadows, unbeknownst to them. The sun had dipped below the mountains now and the boy looked about to turn in for the night, when the figure pounced.

He did so with such grace that the watchers almost missed him, the boys having somehow dozed off in the cool evening breeze. He pounced like a whisper of a shadow, his fangs already about to sink in when Marie finally noticed him. Realizing with a shock; she fell from her perch on the tree right onto the killer's head.

'Ow...' she groaned, rubbing her side. The eternal lay under her in a daze, not knowing what had happened. His long, light hair fell haphazardly over cloudy, dark eyes as he tried to gather his senses. In a moment he was back on his feet, grabbing the poor boy on the barrel again who didn't know what was going on.

Marie tackled the eternal's leg and then shoved him down hard, internally cursing her stupid brother and his friend for being such useless lumps. He caught himself just before he fell and she quickly pinned him to the tree. Twisting away from under her strong grip, he then spun around quickly, putting the boy between them.

'Why the hell are you going around killing people?' Marie demanded crossly, having had enough of their well-matched tussle.

The little boy's eyes widened in horror as he belatedly realized the terrible flower he held. He let them fall from his fingers, a scream stuck in his throat as he tried to escape the strong hold of the eternal who had seized him again.

The eternal glared at her in anger, 'I beg you stay out of it, my lady. I cause them no pain and they feel no fear. It is the flower which is evil and it is my purpose to put an end to its harm. You cannot have any idea what it has planned.'

'What? The flower?' She looked at him skeptically.

'The only way to rid the world of its harm is to end those who supply it, I cannot allow them to fall into the wrong hands.' His eyes glazed over in memory of a vision, the crater covered in corpses, a white lily lying on each. His hands clenched tightly around the innocent boy he held.

'You don't have to kill him, you dummy, just steal his flowers if you must,' Marie glared at him in annoyance, snapping him out of his vision as a look of befuddlement fell upon his face.

'Is that not frightfully odd, my lady; to dash about simply stealing the poor folks' flowers?'

The boy was in a puddle of tears by now, his snot leaking across his ruddy cheeks and streaking a mess on the eternal's otherwise spotless clothes.

'It's not as "odd" as killing them, and, don't call me that!' She shoved him hard, freeing the boy from his grasp. The little boy ran off to safety, leaving all his goods behind.

'Why ever not? You are Lady Marienne Cleremont, of the Hawthorne Cleremont's?'