Forty
I walked into the pool area with a small sense of excitement in my spirit.
The pool area was added a few years ago. The family castle was old, but that didn't mean I couldn't add new amenities to it. I glanced up at the large half dome over the Olympic-sized pool and hot tubs. The half dome was squarish, with stylish crisscross metal bars. The glass was specially made to not only absorb sunlight, but also be bullet and bomb resistant. Can never be too careful in these dangerous times. While yes, the Irish weather can be a bit misty and cloudy, the pool area was heated, making it a bit balmy and warm against the skin.
I heard laughter from the pool as I approached. I smiled as I watched Dana and Beth splashing against Lydia in the shallow end. Lenore sat on the pool edge in a one-piece bathing-suit, her legs in water kicking back and forth.
The sun managed to peak from the clouds outside, giving everything a heated glow.
I had to say it to myself; my heart was warm. A blissful feeling tingled along my nerves, knowing we were going to complete our dark mission and change the world to something grand.
"Gerald," came a voice from the side.
I turned to see Aunty Ivy sitting in one of the three hot tubs. She was wearing a one-piece bathing suit as well, half her body submerged in the churning, bubbly water.
"Come join me," my aunty said with a small warm smile.
I walked over to her and slid down into the hot churning water. It soothed my muscles instantly as I leaned back, opposite of my aunt.
Ivy looked at me with cool eyes, like she was trying to find the right words to say. She didn't know I could read her mind with Aunty Lily's aspect power. She felt uncomfortable being here, knowing she was already going to bend her knee to me. I was almost saddened that she would give in so quickly, but if Lenore was truly in trouble, she would do anything to help her children.
"Thank you again for allowing us to stay at the castle once again, but we should cut through the smoke and talk about our true intentions," she said with hard eyes.
She was quicker with the truth that I thought she would be.
"Yes, I agree. I will help Lenore after you join the blood coven."
Ivy lifted a thin eyebrow. "After I join it? Not all of us?"
I let out a relaxed exhale as I enjoyed the bubble. "Lydia and Lenore have a choice to join if they wish. I will not force anyone to join, not even you. You can join the coven," I stopped, letting the words sink into her mind, "or become a thrall to me."
Ivy regarded my words. "Thrall?"
Before I could answer, happy shouts called from the pool to my mother and her sisters.
I looked over with loving warmth, seeing my mother and aunts wearing skimpy bathing suits. They blew kisses to me as they walked past Ivy and myself. They reached the edge of the pool, stepped out of their water slippers, and made their way down the wide dais steps into the gigantic pool.
I turned back to Ivy with calm eyes. "My mother and Aunt Lily can produce a black milk from their breasts. If you drink, it will ensure your loyalty by making you a thrall to them and me. You will hunger for her black milk from time to time, but that is okay with them and me."
Ivy looked at me with an edge of horror in her eyes.
I continued, "Or join the blood coven. Once you are a part of us, you may be able to earn your way to priestess, in time. The choice is always yours."
"Why is it so draconian for your own family?" Ivy asked with questionable eyes.
"Why?" I chuckled. "Because my father's side of the bloodline is unwilling to join the winning side. When the rifts are opened, I will need many to tame civilization as it crumbles to madness. We must rebuild a new world devoted to the dark gods."
Aunt Ivy looked at me with horror in her eyes. "They will consume us. All of us."
For a moment, I understood my aunt's apprehension. Once the shift of balance was complete, there was nothing stopping the dark elders from stripping me of my power and devouring all of us. But I knew that would not happen. It wasn't blind belief in their generosity. The fuel the dark lords required was faith. Faith was a commodity that simply cannot be forced, only influenced. We needed each other and the world required a powerful figurehead. I was willing to fill the role, but like any great leader, I required those loyal to me to carry out my designs.
I gave my aunt a reassuring look as I moved forward. I knelt in the hot tub and took her hands into mine. I squeezed them with reassurance as she looked at me with manic eyes.
"Aunty, you know me. You have always known me. Do you think me innocent of what is to come?"
Her manic eyes dimmed. The tension relaxed in her shoulders and her hands. She looked at me with only concerned eyes now.
I continued as I gently rubbed her hand, "We have already opened many rifts across the world. We have six more to open and this world will shift to the primal dark. Our gods and elders will have a great influence over everyone. It will take years, decades to change everything to a world free of war, pestilence, and greed.
"The people will be taken care of like the sheep they are. Their minds will drip faith for our glorious dark gods. We will be the heroes.
"Aunty, I want our family to be leading the charge. If you join us, we will be free of society's rules, and we'll create our own societies. Mana will grow again."
"And after that?" Ivy asked with interested eyes.
"Then, we will bring the word to others, from this world, or the many others that fill the cosmos," I said with a wicked smirk.
Ivy looked directly into my eyes. We saw each other, plain as day. I knew she loved power as much as my dad. She couldn't deny the pull and I knew she was changing her mind about everything.
The sound of rushing footsteps filled our ears. My aunt and I turned to see Theo running across the smooth floor. My cousin leapt into the air with a shout. He seemed to hang in the air for eternity before he hit the water with a hard splash.
Everyone laughed and cheered him on. When he splashed up to the surface, he thrusted his fist in the air and the cheers grew louder.
For a tiny moment in time, I glimpsed a small smile from Lenore in the distance. Quickly as it came, her smile melted away as she stared at nothing.
I opened my senses and I could taste the dead in the air. Lenore wasn't afflicted in her mind. She did have a special blessing.
"Room for one more!" Aunty Misty said as she stepped in anyway.
I let go of Ivy's hands and sat back as my voluptuous aunty sat beside me. The moment she sat down, her hand touched my thigh. She gave me a loving smile as her eyes gleamed with intent.
"Always room for one more," I smiled.
She squeezed my thigh again as she looked at her sister.
"Talking business during our holiday? Must it be done dear sister?" Misty said, followed by a bubbly laugh.
Aunty Ivy rolled her eyes.
Aunty Misty turned to me with a wink. "We should be enjoying ourselves! Also, I wanted to thank you for the gift basket. I already took two ecstasy pills and I am beginning to feel the effects."
My aunty Ivy let out an annoyed hiss. "Gerald, that was something else I wanted to address with you. Was it necessary to leave drug-filled gift baskets in our rooms?"
