Reap This Three: Getting Back Mine

Chapter 1Seamus O’Donnell sat at the big table in the room that served as the library in the old Massachusetts farmhouse in which he had been raised. Although the room was rather large, after sitting there for too many hours to remember, it was starting to feel entirely too small as he skimmed through yet another aged tome. “Want some tea?” his twin brother Ian asked from the doorway. Seamus looked up absentmindedly at Ian, and then turned his head to the clock on the wall. Was it really after ten? Again? For the last year, time seemed to be slipping through Seamus’ fingers, and he didn’t like it a drop. Samhain was soon approaching, and there was much to do before then. He just didn’t know exactly what. Seamus turned back to his brother, trying to consider the question. Instead, he found himself thinking about how now that Ian had quit dying his hair black, and let the natural auburn grow in, at thirty-two they looked more like twins than they ever had. “I asked if you wanted some tea,” Ian said, with a concerned smile. Seamus hesitated a moment, trying to sort his previous thoughts from the question, and pondering all that went into answering it. “I know,” Seamus said. “I’m just debating whether I’ve got anything left in me today. I don’t know whether to call it a night or keep going for a few more hours. After all, it is Friday, and I’m off all weekend.” “For other people, I might say push through, but you’ve been doing nothing but pushing through for almost a year now. You come here every day when you get home from work.” “I know, Ian, but Samhain is coming up, and if I’m going to bring Mine back, that would be the most opportune time to try to get him.” Ian pulled up a chair across from his brother and sat silently for a moment. “I’m sorry,” he finally said. “I know you are,” Seamus said quickly. “I know you are, but this is not your fault. Mine made his decision. We couldn’t have stopped him if we tried. He knew we would though if we’d known. That’s why he didn’t let us know what he was planning.” “Neither did Khnurn, but that seemed to work out for me,” Ian said. “It doesn’t seem fair that I get to spend eternity with the guy I love, and you’re scrolling through books to try to bring back the guy you love, the man who saved us all.” “Well, no one ever said that life was fair, and it’s not like you’ll ever get to see daylight again. You never asked to become a vampire.” “No, but it’s been a better experience than I ever imagined,” Ian confessed. “Speaking of which, where is your other half?” a woman’s voice asked from the doorway. Seamus and Ian turned to see their parents in the doorway. Susanna stood with a tray full of tea and scones. Raferty immediately moved over to the window, pulling the thick velvet blinds shut. “It gets cold in this old house,” Raferty said, and then walked back toward his wife. “Khnurn likes to sleep in. He was just waking when I got up an hour ago. He’s probably in the shower by now. That whole wake up at sunset doesn’t work for everyone. Some of us keep sleeping.” “I was debating whether I wanted tea,” Seamus said. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted caffeine to keep going, or I wanted to call it a night and start fresh tomorrow.” “Well, we brought you Great-Great-Grandma O’Donnell’s sleepy tea,” Susanna said. “And Ian, we brought you and Khnurn Great-Grandma Thompson’s wake-up tea.” “The only thing on the planet stronger than coffee,” Ian said. “I’m just so glad that caffeine still affects me.” “So am I,” Raferty said, taking cups off the tray that Susanna held and placing them in front of each of his sons. “You were never an easy one to wake.” “Although that seems to have all changed since the transition,” Susanna said. “I guess you’re still not a morning person though.” “Funny, Mom!” Ian said. “I do wake up early now, or at least right after the sun goes down. I’m a whole new me.” “And you look like a whole new you now too,” Seamus said. “I think you just like it because I look like you,” Ian replied. “It is a little different,” Raferty said. “Your mother and I have always been able to tell you apart, but mainly because of your vibes, but different colored hair since you two were about twelve didn’t hurt. We’re having to work at it a little more now. Ian suddenly super calm. Seamus suddenly scattered. And now your hair looks the same. It’s a new world for us.” “But it’s a world we love,” Susanna said. “The major journey for all of us is growth.” “That’s easy to say. I’m not crazy about being the scattered one,” Seamus confessed. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said it like that,” Raferty said, placing the last three cups of tea on the table. “You’ve just been so stressed since Mine has gone. You weren’t even this stressed when you were fighting cancer.” “Yes, but it’s easier to not worry about yourself than it is to not worry about someone you love,” Seamus said. “Ain’t that the truth,” Susanna said. “If it makes you feel better, your father and I have been very worried about you and Mine.” “Khnurn and I have been concerned as well,” Ian said, a more serious look on his face than Seamus was used to seeing. “The problem is, worry doesn’t help anything,” Susanna said. “And we’ve all been worried the better part of a year.” “Which is why your mother and I have come to a decision,” Raferty said. “We know that this is your journey, and that part of every life is discovering the things that we must find in that life,” Susanna said. “Acquiring that knowledge,” Raferty added. “But you don’t seem to be finding it,” Susanna said. “You’ve been holed up in this library for the better part of a year since right after last Samhain, and you still don’t have any answers.” “So we’ve decided to intervene,” Raferty said. “We’ve always been on your team, and gods know we’ve intervened in your life, and that of your brother’s, quite often.” “And I’m really thankful for that,” Ian said. “If you hadn’t, gods only know what would have happened to me last Samhain.” “So you have a solution?” Seamus asked, looking to his mother and then his father. “We have some ideas,” Raferty said. “And we’ve invited some people from the coven over tomorrow,” Susanna informed them. “For a ritual?” Seamus asked. “Not tomorrow,” Susanna explained. “Tomorrow we just want to pull on some of the talents and wisdom of our members.” Ian looked around the room. “Our family has run the coven, held its meetings, and stored its records for literally hundreds of years. Wouldn’t all that knowledge be in this room?” “We hold the records. People hold their own powerful gifts though,” Seamus explained to his brother, and then turned to his parents. “Do we really have people in the coven who you think could help?” “Our ancestors always believed one thing,” Raferty began. “They believed that in every situation, we have what we need to face the challenges with which we are presented.” “In other words,” Susanna explained. “We have everything we need in this room, or at least in our coven.” “Of course, what we want to happen and what happens are not always the same thing,” Raferty said. “Sometimes what happens is not what we expected.” “But it might be what’s best for us,” Susanna said. “You mean like when I slept with the Grim Reaper, but it killed my cancer instead of killing me?” Seamus asked with a smile. “Or when I became a vampire, but it saved my life?” Ian added with a laugh. “Yes, exactly those things,” Susanna said. “So be prepared to deal with whatever comes up,” Raferty said. “You’ve both have always been brave.” “Well, sometimes we have no choice,” Seamus said. “That’s true,” Ian agreed. “We’ve been through a lot the last few years. Although, I wasn’t around for all of it. I showed up last Samhain in time to bring trouble.” “You brought some great things here too,” Susanna said. “Like yourself,” Seamus said. “And me,” Khnurn said from the doorway. “Not every family has a vampire straight from Egypt.” “Yes, but you’ve lived here before too, right?” Seamus asked. “That’s correct,” Khnurn said, a pained look crossing his face. “We don’t really talk about it,” Ian said. “Not the happiest of endings.” “I’m sorry. I totally forgot,” Seamus said, looking up at his soon-to-be brother-in-law. “Forgive me, Khnurn. I’ve had my head in these books so far that I forget everything else. I didn’t mean to cause you any pain.” “You have every right to be forgetful, and you weren’t the one who caused me any pain. As for that time,” Khnurn said, walking over to Ian and placing his hand on Ian’s shoulder. “It doesn’t matter now though. I got my happy ending.” “Yes, you did,” Raferty said. “It’s going to be even happier soon. We’re all excited about your wedding.” “Doing it at Winter Solstice is perfect,” Susanna said. “We wanted everyone to be there and Samhain is a little busy this year,” Ian said. “I’ve been waiting centuries to see you again,” Khnurn said. “Another few months isn’t too much.” “And you’re sure you want to spend your honeymoon with us? With the coven?” Susanna asked. “We want you here for Winter Solstice, but we also want you to have your time together.” “We’re going to have centuries together,” Khnurn said, placing his hand on Ian’s. “We wouldn’t be together now the way we are if it weren’t for the coven. There is nowhere else we would rather be on Winter Solstice.” “Now the following day, we might be off to Hawaii,” Ian said with a chuckle. “That sounds beautiful, but is that safe? I mean traveling that far and everything?” Seamus asked. “If you do it carefully,” Khnurn explained. “When I came here from Egypt last year, I rented a private jet. We’ll do the same thing going to Hawaii. We can keep the windows shut and the bedroom dark. It makes for a cozier flight. I know it sounds extravagant, but I’ve been saving money for a very long time.” “Something I’m finally learning to do,” Ian said. “When you think that you’re going to live forever, it changes the way you look at things. Getting a good day’s sleep hasn’t hurt this past year either.” “Speaking of which,” Susanna said, and then looked at Seamus. “We’re going to have an early morning. We invited those coven members we mentioned to join us for breakfast tomorrow. They think it’s cute that breakfast is our family meal together, and we wanted them to get a chance to talk to Ian and Khnurn also. So those of us who aren’t going to live for centuries should probably get some rest, especially you, Seamus.” “So we’re part of this too?” Ian asked. “I think you might be,” Raferty said with a smile. “We were part of why Mine is gone, and we want to be part of bringing him back,” Khnurn said. “Of course,” Ian said. “I’m not sure how helpful we’ll be now that I’m…well, you know, I’m not sure if I can still do magic like I used to.” “Everything alive is full of magic,” Susanna said, reaching over and placing one hand on Ian’s arm, and another on Khnurn’s. “Whatever you may be, you are very much alive, no matter what those old legends say. You are also part of this family, and part of this coven, so we know that you will contribute a great deal, to this and so many things.” “Well, we’ll start with breakfast. It will be ready when you awaken,” Khnurn said. “How many extra guests should we expect?” “Three,” Susanna said. “And I think you’re going to like them all.” * * * * Seamus had strange dreams that night, all of them of Mine. The first hour or so, he slept peacefully. He dreamt of the first time he’d met Mine. Seamus was fragile then, dying of cancer, and summoning things from the great beyond. Mine had looked at him the way no one ever had. It wasn’t just desire he had seen in Mine’s eyes; it had been something else. Was it love? Seamus could almost feel Mine making love to him again, and when he woke to take a sip of water, he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t really been with Mine yet again. When Seamus had fallen back asleep, his dreams changed. Now he saw that spectre, that thing, so like Mine, but so different. Whatever it was, another reaper, an ancient spirit that had followed Ian back from Egypt, it had taken Mine, and the image of it doing so kept running back and forth in Seamus’ mind. Finally, he had slept and dreamt nothing. It was the sleep of exhaustion, the sleep of one who had worked too hard, thought too much, and found respite only in deep sleep. Seamus woke to the sound of his bedroom door opening. “Good morning,” Ian said, approaching the bed with a hot mug of tea in his hand. “Now you get what Khnurn and I had last night. I brought you Great-Grandma Thompson’s wake-up tea.” “It always does the trick,” Seamus said, reaching for the cup. “What time is it?” “It’s a little after four. Sunrise isn’t until about seven today. Our guests are coming at five, and I figured you’d want time to shower.” “Good thinking,” Seamus said. “It’s one thing to come downstairs in pajamas for you all, but I should probably get dressed for company. Do you know who Mom invited from the coven?” “No, she’s kept it a surprise, but I’m not sure why,” Ian said. “Me either. It’s not like Mom and Dad to be secretive. I wonder what’s up.” “I’m wondering too,” Ian said. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough, and you’re probably going to want that shower first.” “Agreed,” Seamus said, taking a big sip of tea as he climbed out of bed.