BROKEN FAMILY

I could hear the blood coursing through my head.



'Anyway you look at it this is going to hurt.' I thought to myself as I slowly sat up so I didn't pass out again. I had tried this when it was still dark but my head had other ideas.



It was barely daylight when I came to my senses for the second time. Maybe I'd have better luck this round.



'OK let me think here. I was walking home with Johnson a co-worker of mine who apparently lost his brain somewhere between the local bar and the court house where we worked. He pulled a knife, I punched him in the face, and ran into of all places the most run down cemetery in the town.



Then there were.....



What?



People?



Animals?



Things that I couldn't begin to explain.



Werewolves didn't exist.



Neither did vampires.



Then how the hell did I wake up on top of a mausoleum? I can't fly. Obviously. The man who grabbed me, how the hell did he lift me off the ground with no effort and what was wrong with his eyes?



Those eyes.....



The color of silver.



Not possible.



Silver isn't an eye color for humans. Was he human? He had to be because anything else would be.....



Something that was making my head hurt more than when I woke up. It wasn't possible. They don't exist. Well they do but only on the pages of books and in scripts for movies. They're not real. Not real.



I have to get out of here.' I thought to myself.



I crawled to the edge and looked down.



My stomach turned.



I hated heights.



'OK no puking. Let's focus. We have to climb down whether we like this or not. We're not that far off the ground so let's just get a grip and climb down. God I hate heights. When I find the guy who threw me up here I'm going to beat the crap out of him.'



I carefully climbed over the edge and braced my foot on the outside doorframe of the mauseleum. Once I did that without losing my balance or being hit by a wave of dizziness I was able to slowly make my way to the ground.



Once on the ground I took a slow step forward and swayed sideways proving my body still wasn't up for the idea of walking in a straight line.



I slammed into the side of the mauseleum. I leaned my head against its cool stone surface to try to think this through.



Another wave of dizziness hit me.



'OK no passing out. Not here. Not now.' I stated to myself.



My head throbbed in time with my heartbeat. The back of my head was killing me.



Curious I put my hand to the back of my head and that was where I felt the stickiness and even without looking I knew it was blood. It was hard to tell it was there just by looking at it. It gave the appearance that my hair was wet. One of the many reasons why I hated having red hair and with it being past my shoulders getting the blood out of it was not only gonna be painful but a load of fun to try to brush out.



'God could I sound any more vain right now?' I thought to myself. 'Quit letting your mind wander because in your condition it just may decide not to come back.'



The vision came to me of what happened last night and how I got where I was this morning.



'He hit me.' I fumed. 'I remember now. All he said was you'll thank me later. For what the fact he may have given me a concussion? Where had Johnson wandered off to? He followed me in here. That I knew. But where had he gone and what happened to him and why did he try to kill me? I knew the guy was kind of off center but I never realized he was a full fledge nutter. Why did I care?' I asked myself making my way to the entrance to get as far away from this creepy cemetery that looked like the only visitors were the dead ones.



I was half way to the iron gates when I smelled something that made my stomach turn.



'No puking!' I screamed to myself. 'You puke you leave DNA. You leave DNA and they'll track you down and destroy what little life you have. Get ahold of yourself and stay calm or at least make an attempt to do so.'



The smell was metallic and I knew it was blood.



I carefully followed the scent to a group of trees at the far end of the cemetery and there, naked with his intestines wrapped around his neck was Johnson. he had also been crucified upside down and nailed to a huge oak tree. Someone had castrated him and removed his eyes.



"Oh my God." I said with my voice shaking.



The smell was awful and flies had started to gather on his corpse.



I backed away slowly and tried to keep the bile down that was creeping up into my throat. I bit my tongue to stop the screams that were forming on my lips.



If I screamed that would bring someone and I sure as hell didn't want to be here when someone other than me found the body. I didn't even want to remotely be connected any of this.



The fact one of my co-workers was dead that was bad enough. If he told anyone that he was leaving the bar to walk me home and I was found here with him, like this.....Oh yeah I'd be spending a year in county lock up easily. It wouldn't take a genius to connect the dots and I'd be screwed.



I had no choice. I had to get out of here as fast as possible.



I bolted like a scalded cat.



I ran straight for the gates and straight out into the road where I almost played tag with a car and lost. Thank God it swerved in just enough time to avoid a head on collision.



He slammed on the brakes, put the car in park, left the engine running, opened the door, and stepped out into the road.



He had dark, spiky, hair with a dark trench coat and sunglasses.



'OK I just stepped from reality straight into The Matrix.'



Trust me he was far from being Keano Reeves.



He removed his sunglasses and placed then inside his coat.



When he looked at me I saw the color of his eyes.



"Oh hell no." I said outloud as I started to back up. Panic had set in and running was about to become an option.



They weren't silver. They were red.



"Are you OK?" he asked taking a few steps towards me.



"Don't come near me whatever you are!" I yelled praying I could put as much distance between him as me as possible.



"You know you really ought to be more careful when you run out into a road like that Serenity you could get hurt."



'He knows my name. How the hell does he know my name? OK I'm not asking and I'm definately not staying here.' I thought to myself as I turned and ran off towards town.



"Damn it don't run you'll just make it worse." he yelled starting to chase after me.



Apparently I hadn't realized it but there had been another person in the car but instead of it joining the pursuit thay headed off in the other direction. I thought it kind of odd but I said a prayer of thanks for one less thing to worry about.



I ran as fast as I could.



My head pounded and my lungs were about to burst when I slammed into the church door almost knocking the wind out of me. I was on Holy Ground and I prayed most of the books were right about werewolves or vampires not being able to cross onto sacred ground without permission. I flung open the door, tripped, and slid to a stop right infront of Father Sebastian.



He took one look at me and then at the open door. Recognition passed across his face when he saw Spiky Hair Guy.



"She's not yours Cloud. At least not today. Tell Cain to leave her alone." he stated with a hatred in his voice I had never heard before.



"She belongs to him and you know it." Cloud stated trying to come inside the church but was being held back by some form of invisible barrier.



I knew what that barrier was. The books were right. They can't cross onto Holy Ground without being given permission to do so. I was safe if only for the moment.



I looked at Father Sebastian and noticed that he had removed what appeared to be a silver cross from around his neck. He rubbed the middle of it and I saw a spike appear at one end. In less than two seconds it had gone from a cross to a weapon that I was sure Father Sebastian would use if it became a necessity.



"Not on my watch. She stays out of this. Whatever pissing match they are into she has no part of. Do you hear me?" he yelled positioning the cross in his hand so he could throw it.



Somehow I almost felt sorry for him.



Almost.



"He'll have her even if it means taking her by force." he stated spitting on the steps of the church and flipping off Father Sebastian.



That was a bad move on his part.



Very bad.



Father Sebastian flung the cross and it slashed across Clouds cheek, bouncing off his cheek bone, and enbedded into the wood of the door.



His cheek smoked and he screamed something in a language that I didn't recognise as he placed his hand on his cheek to try to ease his pain.



A few seconds passed and Cloud removed his hand revealing a completely healed cheek. He smiled at me and bared his teeth.



They weren't human.



They were that of a wolf.



'Oh my God they do exit.' I thought to myself. 'This isn't happening. I was still unconscious on the top of the mausoleum. This was a nightmare that's all. The same kind of nightmares I had when I was a kid.'



My mind couldn't take any more. I let the darkness pull me into its waiting grasp.



Father Sebastian looked from Serenity's unconscious form back to Cloud and with a wave of his hand the church door slammed close in Clouds face. He'd deal with him later.



He carefully picked Serenity up off the floor and carried her to the basement where she would have to be held until he could get Father Tyler there to perform the cleansing ritual. Serenity would have to be cleansed and if they did the ritual right she would be drained completely of her powers and actually be able to live a normal life as a human.













Cloud walked across the street to meet up with Cain.



He hated Father Sebastain with a passion. The rogue priest had hunted and killed most of his family members for years and him interfering was grating on Clouds last nerve. If left to him the priest would have died years ago but according to Cain the timing wasn't right. According to Cain the timing is never right.



Cain took the last puff of his cigarette and snuffed it out in his hand. He placed the butt in his pocket and glared at Cloud.



"You were right she headed straight for the church and she's with him. Why the hell didn't you just let me sedate her after you knocked her out? We could have brought her back with us and the problem would have been solved. You know that prick is gonna want to cleanse her and if he succeeds....."



"He won't." Cain stated matter of factly.



"Why do you do everything the hard way? You know if he gets his claws into her that's another problem we have to deal with." he said lighting a cigarette to try to calm his nerves.



Things were coming together to fast and if they weren't careful they could loose their only shot at any form of survival.



"It's not time and she's not ready. Don't worry Cloud just because Father Sebastian has sealed the church from us doesn't mean I don't have someone on the inside who's more than willing to help. Besides there's a larger picture here. I know you want Father Sebastian and you're not alone. However, I too want something more than just him. If I play my cards right I will finally be able to face off against the man who killed my father and I have been waiting for him for along time. He has stayed away for years but with the opportunity to pull from someone with as much power as Serenity he won't be able to resist and that will be his undoing."



"Not ready. She's already been using her powers. Not much mind you but it's been enough to get Abels attention. Hence the attack on her last night."



"Did you read the prophecy?" Cain asked growing tired of Cloud not being able to see the whole picture.



"About a thousand times."



"Did you understand it?" Cain asked glaring at him.



"What's to understand? There's Abel and you. Dark and light. Then there's her. Whosoever possesses her has power over the other."



"So you read it but you don't understand it. She has to come willingly. She can't be forced or dragged or drugged into one or the other group. The power doesn't work that way. Never has. Never will." he stated removing another cigarette and lighting it with a wave of his hand.



Cloud rolled his eyes.



He knew that it irritated Cloud when he openly did his little parlor tricks because Cloud always feared that some of his tricks would bring unwanted attention to the group but Cain only did them occasionally and generally made sure only their kind was around to see him do it and sometimes he admitted he liked impressing human females. With the tricks he really didn't need any pick up lines.



"Then why did Abel make a move on her if that's true?"



"Because he like you misinterpreted the meaning."



"He'll kill her if he can't get his hands on her. You know this."



"He'll try. What he doesn't know is Father Sebastian has her and as long as she's on Holy Ground that's the safest place she can possibly be for this moment in time. Do I like the idea she's there? No. But with my source on the inside I'll be able to get her out of there befoe she looses her power and we both get what we want. You get the priviledge of killing Father Sebastian and I get to kill Father Tyler. By saving her life one can only hope she'll be so grateful that she'll willfully join us."



"Don't you think Johnson was a bit overkill?" Cloud asked shuttering over what Cain had done to him.



He had begged for his life but the more he begged the more torture Cain did to him until he finally snuffed out his life. Cain could be a very dark person when he chose to be.



"No that was a warning that I wanted Abel to get loud and clear. He'll know I was behind it and that will make him want her now more than ever and hopefully it will cause him to crawl out of the woodwork. He's going to be pissed over loosing his second in command but he needs to learn never send a boy to do a mans job. Next time I'm hoping he'll come after her himself."



"If he doesn't?"



"Than that's another death on his head. Not mine. My brothers slow but not that slow. He'll face me one way or another. Even if I have to offer her to him as a peace offering or make him think I'm going to kill her. He'll come. Trust me. I know him."



"So she's bait? You might want to be careful she seems to have a brain. She showed intelligence running to that church. How did you know she'd go there? Was it just a hunch?" Cloud asked his curiousity peeked.



"She has a brain that I will agree with you. She only ran to the church because that is the only place she's ever felt safe."



"In this case it could lead to her undoing."



"No it could lead to many paople's undoings but she isn't one of them unless she resists then the situation could become very complicated and very deadly for her. We shall see Cloud. We shall see. Call the car back the suns starting to get a good hold in the sky and my skins starting to itch." he said putting out the second cigarette as he did the first.



Cloud flipped open his cell phone and within minutes a black SUV with tinted windows pulled up.



They got in the vehicle and remained silent on the long drive home.



Cloud knew Cain was deep in thought and didn't want to disturb him.



Cloud was troubled because he didn't want to see an innocent loose their life over a power struggle that in the end might not make a difference one way or another.



But try convincing Cain and Abel of that.













With Serenity safely sleeping downstairs Father Sabastian kneeled before the altar and prayed as he never had before.



For his sins, greed, and the unholy act that Father Tyler and him had done so many years ago.



The one he should have stopped but didn't.



How could he have been such a fool to believe they were doing the right thing?



They tore a family apart and for all these years he regretted what they had done and how three innocent children had been affected by the events that night.



All for nothing more than a large donation to the church.



All for a rich couple who had seen a red headed little girl playing with the other children at the day care center the church used to provide free to families that couldn't afford decent child care.



They fixated on her within seconds and that was all they could speak of as they toured the church.



The couple had just moved here from Romania and were looking for a church to start attending.



Once they saw the little girl their thoughts of attending became more of a necessity than anything else and at first Father Sebastian never really thought anything about it.



After a year the couple had been "supposedly" told by doctors that they couldn't have children. Father Sabastian had his doubts but again said nothing.



The couple started to venture down a very dark path. One that involved kidnapping and murder.



It started with approaching him and asking about the childs parents and once he realised what they really wanted to do he wanted no part of it.



Unfortunatily Father Tyler saw an opportunity and took up their cause to try to persuade the family to let them adopt the little girl for a price.....



There was always a price involved in these things.



Always.....



Father Tyler assured the couple that he could obtain the little girl with no problems and even approached Owen RoseArk to purchase his one and only daughter.



They were a poor family and he thought for the right price they would let her go without a second thought.



He was wrong and had severly miscalculated.



Owen would have no part of it no matter how much money was offered. Tyler never understood the Irish ways when it came to triplets.



He didn't know about the legend.....



Didn't know the bloodline.....



Had no idea what he was about to step into and how bad it was eventually going to get.....



In the end.....



A daughter was taken.....



Two sons left behind.....



Owen was killed infront of his children.....



Their mother Jennette RoseArk Owens Beautiful Irish Rose was raped and left with a broken body and mind.



She eventually died several years later. Most people assumed from what happened on the night her daughter was taken but Father Sebastian knew it was not only from the injuries she sustained that night but she died of a broken heart.



She never knew she lost her whole family because a priest got greedy and it led to kidnapping and murder.



Father Sebastian remained silent only because Father Tyler continued to threaten to implicate him in all this if what he had done would ever come to light.



What could he ever say. Everyone thought Father Tyler was perfect.



The smug priest even arranged a grand funeral for both the RoseArks.



If they only knew what kind of evil Tyler kept well hidden under his robes.



A family was broken that night and the curse that plagued all of them throughout their lives was about to play out its final act.



Everything was bought and paid for by the Romanian couple and anything else Father Tyler took care of.



Father Tyler after delivering on his promise took their donation and used it to help completely remodel the church.



Not only did the donation help the church but with several more donations from the couple over several years also helped Father Tyler to advance his position in the church.



He was now residing in the Vadican where it was rumored that in the event of the Pope's death there was a very good possiblity that Tyler could become Pope Tyler.



Father Sebastain always felt it was like turning a fox loose in a hen house.



Father Sebastian let the guilt consume him.



He stayed here to try to ease the burden of his soul.



All was lost to the world.....



Until now.....



He had found her and he had tried so hard to hide and protect her from all this.



Father Tyler was in New Orleans and said he was on his way the minute Sebastain mentioned what was going on. Since New Orleans was only four hours away he knew it wouldn't be long till all of this ended and everything would be peaceful once again.



Peaceful.



Finally.













Father Tyler looked at his old stomping ground with utter disgust.



Several years ago he left this all behind.



Moved up the religious ladder right to the side of the Pope and hopefully if the rumors were true he would be Pope some day soon.



There was a slight problem though and he was looking at that problems backside kneeling infront of the altar praying probably for forgiveness from God for who knew what and who cared why.



Tyler had laid his Demons to rest years ago.



Nothing phased him anymore and there was nothing like getting up early Sunday mornings and going to have a little fun with some of your church goers wives and admittedly he had even more fun with the husbands.



It was so easy to recommend counciling for couples and then ease them into whatever he wanted them to do.



There had been many times he would "see" anywhere from three to five parishiners before a sermon.



Of course they never knew about one another and the church would never know either.



To the church he was the perfect priest and he intended to keep it that way.



Deep in his soul he knew differently but like he cared at his age.



To him he had one minor blimmish he could be connected to and shortly that was going to be fixed.



He had worked it all out when he was driving here.



He had every line ready for the police after he made the 911 call of what he found when he got to the church.



How sad it was that by the time he got here after Father Sebastians frantic phone call that he found Serenity strangled to death and Father Sebastain dead with a bullet in him having committed suicide.



Such a horrible sin and he could never be buried on Holy Ground.



Good thing he had planned for all this. He had bought the gun in Father Sebastians name years ago. Just incase this ever came back to haunt him. Of all of them he never thought it would be the girl he'd have to kill.



He assumed it would be the boys.



After all he made sure they were sent away to a boys workhouse far away from here and the girl was placed among the Malchavey family where she appeared to grow up happy until she turned into a teenager and started to realise things and rebel. She was sent abroad to boarding school and eventually when she refused to stay on the scholastic course her adoptive parents had set for her they cut off all money and ties from her.



He was shocked she'd found her way back here. Her home. How odd she would come back here.



If she was back the boys weren't far behind.



When he used to keep tabs on them they always somehow seemed to reside in the same city whether they knew it or not. He had them watched for his own safety. He had lost track of all of them about five years ago and so much time had passed he thought he was safe.



He had forgotten the golden rule: Your past always has a tendency to sneak up on you when you least expected it.



He was about to stop all this once he killed the girl.



The boys would come for him and he would be ready.



They would be his next victims.



Four more dead bodies to add to the pile he had amassed over the years.



He would eventually be Pope and no one was going to stand in his way.



No one was ever going to doubt his reputation and devotion to the church.



No one.













Abel cursed as he lifted Marcus off the ground and flung him against the far wall.



Marcus landed in a crouched position on the side of the wall and just looked at his leader.



Abel was loosing it and he wasn't the only one who was seeing the cracks starting to develop in Abels strong exterior.



Marcus stepped carefully onto the floor trying to gauge Abel's next move.



Abel began to swear in the old Roman language that wasn't used anymore.



He had oftened wondered where Abel had learned it but didn't think now was a good time to ask.



Here lately it hadn't been a good time to ask him anything.



He was doing stupid things and getting the group deeper and deeper into a situation that could get everyone killed.



There was no could.



Not after what had happened to Johnson.



What leader in their right mind would place their second in command any where near the target they were after?



He should have known Cain had her under his protection and to suddenly decide to move on her like that.



That was suicide.



Anyone should've known that.



Anyone.



"Where the hell is she now?" he growled pushing everything off his desk onto the floor.



"At the church. She's safe for the moment."



"All indications are he can't cross the threshold without an invite. Right?"



"Yes. According to all our data he.....as we.....can't cross without an invitation. I highly doubt either Father is going to allow either of you in a house of the Lord." Marcus spat not at all happy with this mess that in the end somehow he knew he'd have to clean up.



"Where's Johnson's body?" Abel asked pouring himself a glass of whiskey.



Everytime he got pissed he would always drink the hard stuff and now was no exception.



"We removed it from the cemetery and have it downstairs if you want to look at it."



Abel drank the whiskey in one gulp.



"No I already know who killed him. I know all to well."



"Are you ever going to deal with the issue between Cain and you?" Marcus asked not liking Abel's laxing attitude towards what Cain did.



"In due time Marcus. In due time." he said pouring himself another drink.



"In due time? He's killed how many of us and you act like it's nothing more than swatting away a fly. The last fly he swatted was my mate and the time before that it was your cousin."



"Our cousin." Abel stated.



"Stop mocking me! When do you plan on doing something besides climbing into a bottle everytime one of us dies because you were stupid and don't have the guts to act accordingly?"



Abel crossed the room in less than a heartbeat and had Marcus by throat. Within seconds he was being held well up off the ground.



"I like my brother choose my battles very carefully Marcus and don't you forget that you insulant pup. I'm fully aware of every death that has passed through these walls because I'm the one who has to tell their families and trust me there is nothing worse than informing a Mother that her son or daughter has died because of something I have asked or ordered them to do so don't preach to me." he stated slamming Marcus into the far wall causing him to be ingulfed in a cloud of brick dust.



He let go of him so he slid down to the floor with a thud.



"You know nothing of my Demons Marcus. Nothing and you never will. Get out of my sight. Now!" he growled turning to face Marcus with fangs fully extended and eyes glowing black.



Marcus crawled out of the room and when he could finally catch his breath he stood up slowly, well out of the range of vision for Abel and put as much distance between Abel and him as possible.



That arrogant bastard was going to get all of them killed if someone didn't do something soon.



He needed to talk to Riggs.



It was time to consider the possibility of removing Abel as their leader perminantily before someone else got killed.



TO BE CONTINUED.....