The last time Trepidation had been in New York he had been pouting, watching Mother pack his clothes for their trip to Thierry's ranch in Tanzania. Now he was driving up the turnpike dreading seeing The City again. A couple of exits and they would be at the Holland Tunnel. Rozz was complaining of hunger in the seat beside Trepidation. In the back, Mara and Valerie were changing Sadian's diaper. Gatito sat on the floor between the two front seats playing one of Trepidation's video games.
Trepidation rumpled Gatito's hair, "You hungry kid?"
"Uh huh."
"OK, when we get into the city, I'll take you all to a restaurant, what do you want to eat, huh kiddo?"
"Can we eat Mexican food?"
Trepidation laughed, "You ever had Mexican food before, Gatito?"
"No, but I think I'm Mexican."
Trepidation raised his eyebrows, "And what makes you think that?"
"It's just an idea I got."
Trepidation caught Rozz checking the boy out, squinting then leaning back. Gatito had a shade of skin that some Mexican's had. He had those pretty cheekbones that must have earned him his nickname. But he wasn't sure what it said that he had brown hair with gold highlights or honey-coloured eyes.
"Maybe," said Rozz slowly, "The kid's only half, you know, like me being half American and all."
"I don't know if that's the same. You're ethnically Dutch and Polish."
"OK, well culturally..."
"I get the point," said Trepidation. "It's always possible. Unless Mara happens to know what Gatito is..."
"All I know is Thierry taught him Spanish."
"I guess I can stomach Mexican food, Rozz will be grateful, kid."
Gatito smiled up at one older boy and then the other.
The tunnel left them off near Canal Street and Trepidation drove them uptown from there. He gestured to the tree-lined street outside, the old townhouses and cluttered storefront windows, "The Village," he said, "This is where I lived."
Mara stood and walked to the front with her head bowed under the roof. She stood behind Trepidation's chair and looked out the front window. Mara's hand strayed over the back of the chair into Trepidation's hair. He lifted one hand to touch hers before drawing it away and banking the van around a corner. The avenue blocks had less residences than the street blocks. They had more large stores and restaurants. Trepidation zigzagged through another street and onto Sixth Avenue.
He signaled, lowered the underwheels, set down, and pulled immediately right to park along the curb.
They all tumbled out onto the dirty grey sidewalk. It was early evening and neon and mercury were beginning to illuminate the avenue. They looked a bit scruffy even to Trepidation, the long plane ride and the heat of the van's interior in summer hadn't done wonders for hair, clothes or make-up. Trepidation smiled half a smile and led them into the restaurant.
"How many?" asked the hostess.
"Five," said Trepidation, there was no reason to count Sadian among the diners.
"There's a party of six before you on the list, but if you wait, we'll clear a large table for you next."
Trepidation gave one of his indifferent tight lipped smiles. "Sure, we'll wait. He busied himself with dusting his clothes and wiping smudgy eyeliner from under his bottom lashes. Shielded from sight by Valerie who held his mirror Rozz was fixing his face. Mara wiped Sadian's face with a wet towel and then straightened up and dusted off her jacket. Trepidation was almost used to seeing her no longer pregnant.
They were seated not far from the window at a series of tables for two pushed together to make a table for six. Trepidation sat on one end with Mara next to him and the others across the table. Mara lay Sadian in her Swiss army baby carrier on the empty seat to her right. They were given menus and left to decide what they wanted.
Trepidation ordered a vegetarian fajita and a Coke after the others had given their orders. He handed the stack of menus to their waiter and then looked around the table. Gatito was playing with the ice in his glass of water. Rozz was telling Valerie to smack his hands. Trepidation reached a long thin arm across the table and stayed Valerie's hand. She flushed and bowed her head. Trepidation settled back, "Hey kid," he called softly across the table.
Gatito looked at him.
"Not too kewl, kid, don't put your fingers in the water, do you think this is the middle ages here? It's for drinking not cleaning, wouldn't want you to dirty that fine New York City water, comes from glaciers upstate, you know."
"I want to eat a piece."
"Well if you really gotta eat ice, spoon it out."
Gatito picked up his spoon then.
The food was brought to them shortly. Trepidation found he could only eat half the stuff they gave to him, the rest was just too hot for him to stomach. Rozz deftly snatched pimentos off his plate and gobbled them up. The others were busy cleaning their plates, so Trepidation occupied himself with looking around the restaurant. It was dimly lit, his eyes registered that, but it didn't keep him from seeing clearly.
It hit him gradually that there was something just not right about what he was seeing. And when he understood it fully and looked about to make sure he knew what he was seeing some deep wound inside was opened and he became enraged. There were Darkling in this restaurant, he'd let his eyes pause on some, you couldn't mistake them for human, some had lovely pairs of wings on their backs, some had blue or green skin. He saw a Vampyre, one he knew actually, it was Gabriel, whom Trip had seem many times while living with Mother and David, sitting across the table from a human. And what he realized after the fact was that they all sat in the same section. And the hostess had thought he was human, that was the worst insult.
Trepidation had always wished to just be normal, but he didn't want to be ignorantly mistaken for human by someone who would segregate him from all Darkling. Just because he wished he was human many times didn't mean he hated Darkling.
The waiter came and stood at his side. "Is there anything else I can get you?"
"Yeah, there is something you can do for me," said Trepidation licking at a fang rather obviously. He stood up then. "You can just take me and my daughter and move us over to the other side of the restaurant because that's obviously what the management's done with EVERY OTHER DARKLING!"
The waiter looked terrified. Trepidation saw the manager edging toward him. He glanced back at the Darklings across the room. They had all taken notice, some of them were realizing for the first time what had been done.
"Oh, I'm not going to bite you, I'm just going to refuse to pay, that is unless you'd rather I have you brought up on charges of discrimination against Darkling."
The manager rushed forward but said nothing. Trepidation saw Mara and the others getting up from the table. Mara was looking from one side of the restaurant to the other.
Trepidation led them right outside. He stood against the van watching the door. No one from the restaurant came chasing him. Gabriel did come out, the young man with him was dressed in velvet shorts and a shirt made of net, his hair was dyed purple and his eyes were heavily made up. Trepidation knew the humans who dressed like this called themselves Faerie, though they had no relation to immortal Sidhe. They were more club kids who had managed to elevate their lifestyle to a recognized cultural tribe. Some people called the Faeries hippies now, Trepidation didn't know why.
Trepidation did know that in the north, Faerie were favorites of Vampyres a lot of the time, while in the south Faerie were often taunted by Vampyres as being some sort of wannabees.
"Hey, Gabriel."
"I actually get a greeting, most times I don't get even get the evil eye."
Darkling solidarity aside, Trip didn't actually like Gabriel, but he said, "Guess I got a bit soft on adults since I became a father."
Gabriel laughed, behind his purple-tinted glasses his brown eyes swam. Trepidation knew Gabriel was blind, but he was also able to steal vision from those around him, if their minds weren't blocked. Trepidation threw up a block between Gabriel and the other with him, but then he looked down at Sadian and sent that picture right to Gabriel.
Gabriel made some sort of flourish with his hand and laughed again, but under that he felt angry. He likely knew Trepidation was keeping him dependant on him for vision. "How did you get such a beautiful brown baby, Trip?" he said.
Trepidation let Gabriel see Mara and the others for a moment.
"She has a mother."
"Her name's Sadian," Mara said, more politely.
Trepidation knew once he let Gabriel know this it would be spread to all corners of the world within a day. Gabriel was kinda a gossip, and he had connections to all the Vampyres related by blood to Trepidation's mother. But, he thought it was about time it was known - not about Thierry yet - that Trepidation had a woman travelling with him who was the mother of his newly-born daughter. At least that way, if Thierry really were to give them trouble, Trepidation would know the others were on likely already on his side.
"Well you know your Mother isn't in The City, or David."
"I know, we're just passing through. Is Mazaret still the one in charge of the Haven?"
"Yeah."
"Could she get me fake IDs if I asked?"
"Sure. Gotta order them a day or so in advance."
"What about the house? Is it empty?"
"The Lash House? Ganymede went there to shoot some photos, but no one lives there. Are you going to stay?"
"For a while, I guess, I better go now, Gabriel, guess you can tell everyone I said hi. I won't be visiting."
Trepidation got them all in the van. He turned onto twelfth street and drove till he came to the familiar brownstone. There were actually more than one familiar house on the street. There were several others David's family or their friends owned, which he had been made to visit for one reason or another. But the house he was concerned with was the house with a name. The Veronica Lash house.
A little less than two years ago he'd left it. Now he was afraid Thierry would come straight there looking for them.
"I'm going to leave you here with the van. Mara, you have the house keys in your pocket."
He saw Rozz and Mara both question silently. Mara held up the keys on their plain metal ring.
"I'm going to get us IDs, I gotta go alone."
Trepidation saw Mara nod. He collected their real IDs then walked to the corner. He looked back at the empty sidewalk, then turned and walked downtown.
† † †
The house hadn't been prepared for a long vacancy. The furniture was dusty and all in place. Rozz touched a switch and saw the hall flooded with light. The power was on. He followed Mara into the large room at the back of the house.
The living room looked like it had been cleaned more recently. The large A/V system in the corner looked rather large and ominous on standby with it's few red lights lit. Mara sat Sadian in her carrier on one of the chairs. She took the translucent and silken scarf from her neck and spread it over the opening of the carrier to block dust and light from harming her baby.
She left the room then. Rozz thought he knew where she was going. He looked at Valerie. "See if you can get the system up and working. You and Gatito can watch a movie or whatever you want then."
Valerie smiled and skipped to the system. Rozz went back through the hall and up the stairs. Mara was at the landing looking at the plants that had gone brown from lack of water. She gave a glance at Rozz and walked up the second flight. Rozz followed her into the front bedroom. The large frameless bed was covered in black. There furniture was all antiqued black. There was a mirror with an ornate gold frame on the far wall and a long dresser under it. Rozz followed Mara into the closet. He saw the sparse assortment of leather pants and back shirts.
"The room his father stayed in."
"That must have been weird for him, to have his father visit and sleep in here, and his mother would be sleeping in another room with David."
Mara only nodded. Her eyes were closed. "Another person spent many nights in this room. Veronica...no, that wasn't her real name. It was," Mara was silent for a long moment. "Velvet?"
"I know of her. She's one of the vampires related to Trip's mom."
Mara slowly walked from the room. There was a bathroom. They both glanced in but didn't enter. They could already see the two doors at the end of the hall. They were both closed. The one on the right had graffiti on it, Trip had tagged it in thick black marker pen. Mara's hand went to the door knob first. Rozz felt nervous. He knew Mara had to be. Trip was out, and they were going into his room, the room he had lived ten years of his life in.
It was dark, blackly dark when they went in. Rozz groped for a switch anywhere. A red light came from somewhere. Rozz knew he hadn't done it.
"Pretty useful, being a witch," Mara said. She was standing far from the small lamp, but looking right at it. Rozz strained to see the room clearly. The dim red light must have been ideal for Trip to see in, but he had trouble, the weird color the light gave everything made it worse. He couldn't tell if things were really black, or just green or blue and apparently black. The red letters in the poster on the wall that spelled ROBERT'S PILL were the color of blood when it first hits the air. The letters in the poster it overlapped that said VELVET looked an ugly orange colour and Rozz guessed they might in white light be yellow. The thick carpet underfoot looked pink. The rug over it looked blood red. The bed had four posts that were draped with dark gauzy fabric knotted to the posts. There were candles everywhere, mostly melted down to stumps. The room smelled slightly musty, slightly smoky. The walls were most definitely all black. There were all sorts of things tacked to the wall, amateur drawings, full color printouts taken from the net, or news stories, small concert reviews, reports on the war. There were photos of faces Rozz didn't recognize.
Mara lifted a photo in a small wooden frame. Anything made of real wood had to be expensive. "This has to be his father."
Rozz looked at the photo, it wasn't a photo he knew but he knew the face, "Yes, that's Trip's father, Sweet they call him now."
"What's his real name?"
"My mother sometimes calls him John."
Mara went to the bed and sank down onto it. Rozz desperately wished he'd thought of it first, but lying there would only make him want Trip. It was torture enough just being in the room. "It's a really soft bed," Mara said and then actually threw off her jacket, lifted the cover and slipped under. She looked about to fall asleep. Rozz left the room. He glanced at that other door. It gave him a chill.
Rozz went downstairs, back to the living room. Valerie and Gatito were watching an old movie. Valerie kept fiddling with the buttons on the remote. She hit the system. "What are you doing?" Rozz asked.
"This thing is messed up, signals got mixed or something, every channel I switch to this wacky music is in the background."
Rozz stepped closer. Valerie flipped through the hundreds of channels. Everyone she stopped at had a beat in the background, like drums being played. "Maybe the system is generating the noise."
"It's not a mechanical noise, you come try." Valerie said.
Rozz took the remote from her. He switched over to straight audio. The music channels all had the same sound playing under the usual songs, even the talk channels had the beat in them. Rozz dropped the remote to the floor. He darted forward and switched the whole system off then. "Something really weird is happening," he said.
"No kidding," Valerie said.
"Turn it back on, turn it on," Gatito cried.
"Kid, it's messed up," Rozz said.
"I like it, turn it back on, I want to watch the movie."
"What movie?" Rozz asked.
"It's a really old Batman movie. He was watching it before, I thought the noise was part of the movie at first."
Rozz sighed. He hated being in charge with Trip gone. "OK, let him watch."
Valerie took up the remote and turned the Batman movie back on. Rozz mainly knew Who Batman was from the Batman video game Trip had. But he recognized the movie once he saw it. It was a very old film, 21st Century, Rozz and Alaric had gone to see it when they had once gone to Berlin with their families. It had been part of a festival of Batman movies. There had been a Batman revival in Goth a couple years after the war.
Rozz sat down and watched. This plot had both Catwoman and Batman's sidekick, Robin in it. The three of them were teamed up to fight a mad billionare who threatened the company owned by Batman in his secret identity of Mr. Wayne. The mad man was going to use his money and power to destroy the worlds economy or some weird thing like that.
They sat and watched a scene in an office building. Wayne and the mad billionaire were having an innocent sounding conversation. A woman who looked remarkably like the Barbie in Gatito's hands was entering the office.
"Selina, Selina Kyle," said Gatito.
"Selina, Selina Kyle," Selina said and shook the mad man's hand. Kyle and Wayne gazed at eachother.
"Why Mr. Wayne, I haven't seen you since. . . "
And then the woman on the monitor said the same thing.
"Seen this movie before, kid?" Rozz asked.
"Thierry let me watch it lots of times."
Rozz looked at Valerie and found her looking back. Wasn't that the guy who had supposedly treated Gatito and Mara badly? Gatito seemed to speak as if Thierry did all sorts of nice things for him.
Rozz looked down at Gatito. He was reciting everyone of Selina's lines. A scene later Selina was dressing in a black vinyl suit, she was Catwoman. He long blonde hair spilled from the back of a mask, she carried a whip and wore spiked heels. Gatito raised his hand as if he held the whip. Rozz wondered why Gatito wasn't reciting Batman's lines. Then he remembered that Gatito meant little cat.
Trip came home in time to hear Gatito recite the line, "Don't worry, Bruce, Cat's have nine lives."
That strange music still accompanied the lyrics.
"Is Mara all right, where is she?"
"She's upstairs sleeping in your old room," Rozz said, "Why so worried?"
"Don't you hear that music?"
"Yes!" said Valerie, "It's been driving me mad all night."
"It's the ghost. You sure nothing weird happened?"
"Just the music and Gatito reciting everyone of Catwoman's lines."
"Could you hear the music before you turned that movie on?"
"No," said Valerie.
Trip looked a little worried. "I remember it doing a few things last time we saw that movie. I don't know why, that movie and a couple different music albums always make the ghost act up. Just turn it all off."
"Is it safe?" Valerie asked.
"I guess, the ghost never did anything that hurt us when I lived here. I was just kinda worried for all of you here."
Valerie smiled.
"Is it safe to sleep upstairs?" Rozz asked.
"Yeah, You can all sleep in the front bedroom, it was my Dad's room when he visited. Just don't go in the farthest room, that was my Mother's and David's."
Rozz watched Trip walk across the room and pick up Sadian in her swiss army baby carrier. "C'mon, Val, come on Kid, bedtime," Rozz said.
† † †
It was almost a shock seeing his old room. Trepidation didn't feel like the person he'd been when he left it. He set Sadian on the desk and closed the door. He saw the knife beside Sadian's carrier. He hadn't cut himself since he left Poland. He wasn't quite as reclusive as he had been. He allowed himself to be touched in so many ways that he never would have then, and they weren't all kinds of physical contact. He let himself get attached to people.
He pulled off his shirt and boots and slipped into his bed beside Mara. He hoped that if she were awake she would not tell him to get out. He'd never slept in the same bed as her before. Trepidation couldn't imagine not doing it. When Rozz had said Mara was asleep in his old room he'd known he'd go up and get in bed with her.
Still it scared him. What if she woke up and cringed from him? What if he was wrong and now that she'd had his child she wanted nothing to do with him? Trepidation tried to tell himself that was wrong. Mara would never do that. Mara really cared about him, Mara understood him.
Trepidation kissed her face and watched her eyes open. He looked right into them, black in the red light, she felt frightened, but he knew it wasn't really him, it was the very same fear he felt himself. He wanted to explain it, tell her his fear and then snuggle against he when she said, me too. But he just shivered.
"I trust you not to listen to too many thoughts," she said. That gave him a way out. He could just go and take what he needed to know from her, without having to ask. Trepidation pressed his lips lightly to Mara's cheek again and listened. Her thoughts were becoming very familiar, very comfortable mixed in with his own. And he knew then that she was both afraid and full of desire. She was afraid not of any pain he might cause her, and it wasn't even concern about her age or inexperience, Mara just dreaded pregnancy. And the dread made her fear letting herself go. She couldn't relax, and even considering Trip would wear a condom didn't make her feel better.
Trepidation sent his own thoughts to her. Knowing just how she felt he was determined not to rush her to have sex with him. Of course she had to know he wanted to, she was incredibly desirable as he saw it, but he just wouldn't, not until he was certain they both wanted to, because more important on his list of personal priorities than having sex with Mara was that he must keep Mara close, she must stay with him and understand him, or he'd go back to being really depressed all the time.
Trepidation felt Mara's fingers at his mouth. She was touching both fangs with her fingertips. He could sense her touch though he couldn't exactly feel it through the teeth. But when her fingernail scratched at one fang he shivered, the buried nerve inside the bone felt that. Is it really all right for me to bite?
Mara traced his lips with her fingers. She moved up from the pillow to kiss him and groped for his hand. Trepidation felt his hand placed on Mara's cage of ribs, under her shirt. He lifted her shirt as he kissed her. He felt her own hands on his back then.
Trepidation drew away from Mara long enough to lift her shirt off her. He looked down at her a moment. He'd lain naked with her once before but that was different, it had been crazed and rushed and almost painful, and Sadian had taunted them both to make them do it. "I really think you're beautiful, Mara, I mean, well you know."
"I know," she said.
Trepidation let his thumb stray across her right nipple. Her skin was as evenly dark as his was pale. Trepidation's own skin was almost all white. He thought he wanted to suck and bite at her, but he was hesitant. Trepidation knew that Mara had never nursed, that after Sadian was born Rachel had told Mara she had to use the pump she gave her or she'd just be sore and miserable.
Trepidation bowed and took her nipple in his mouth. He could feel Mara's hands in his hair. He was happy Mara didn't hate his hair, he didn't want to have to change it. Trepidation was quite aware that he and Mara were different, even if one could forget he wasn't completely human because he could act almost human there was still the great difference in appearance. Trepidation thought it a wonderful thing that they loved each other, and he thought it more wonderful that they thought each other beautiful. He didn't really find it important, but it was something that impressed him.
Trepidation reached to bite at her neck, but he didn't break her skin. He took her arm from about his neck and brought the crook of it to his mouth. Trepidation bit through the skin there and tasted Mara's blood. He really felt good then, like he had with Mother, only this was even more intense even than that feeling.
"It's hurting a little now," Mara whispered.
Trepidation looked up and pressed his thumb down over the two small puncture points. He licked at his lips.
"Trip."
"Uh huh?"
"You really like being called that, Trepidation?"
"People have always called me Trip. With us, I mean Vampyres you pick a name, almost like vocational names, it isn't just any name, it should say in a word who you are. And I am pretty frightening. I scared my Father to death when I was born. But after the fact no one wanted to really admit it and call me Trepidation all the time, so they started saying Trep, and that got turned into Trip. I don't mind you calling me Trip, say it all you want, Mara."
Mara didn't call him anything. She just kissed him.
Trepidation was really getting into it, loosing what was painful in kissing Mara, then he heard something hit the wall. He raised himself up and turned to the wall. "What?" asked Mara.
"I heard a thud, against that wall." The other side of that wall was Trepidation's Mother's room. No one was supposed to be in there.
"I didn't hear anything."
Trepidation held his finger before his lips. He heard something shatter. That was it. He got up out of bed and rushed to the door. He looked back into the room. Mara was sitting up in his bed. "C'mon," Trepidation whispered.
The door to Mother's bedroom was open. Trepidation darted through and stopped short once he was inside the room. A perfume bottle missed hitting his eye by centimeters. Trepidation felt Mara behind him and blocked the opening with his arm.
"What is it? Let me in," she said.
Trepidation saw she hadn't put her shirt on. He couldn't blame her, he hadn't. Still Trepidation didn't want Mara to be hit, and more than that he didn't want her to see Gatito in the center of a room wild with psychokinetic energy.
Mara ducked under his arm and then stood before Trepidation, her braids lifted and blown back by the tempest in the room. Something swirled through the air with a faint scream carrying powdery makeup around in a cool white blur and covering the pale wooden floor with it. Lipstick wrote on the wall. Trepidation read it to himself, "I am Cat!!!"
Mara turned when she saw it and looked to Trepidation. "Goddess, Trip help me! We have to get Gatito out."
Trepidation couldn't move. He could only stand staring at the whirlwind before him. He blinked powder from his eyes and sneezed. Mara's face, her eyelashes and brows in particular were becoming covered with the pale white and blue colours that were carried by the wind.
"Trip, is this the ghost? Is this the ghost who won't hurt anyone?"
The stereo on the opposite side of the room started playing at its maximum volume. Mara held her hands to her ears. They couldn't hear anything but that music, that pounding dance music. Gatito was in the center of the mess holding his head and crying.
"I don't get it. The ghost never did this before."
Trepidation saw Mara had heard him, only through telepathy but she had heard. But she didn't really know.
"I don't know! I don't know! Mara, you're the witch."
Trepidation watched her turn into the room. Mara walked forward into the tempest toward Gatito. Trepidation heard her scream and then Mara was thrown back through the air at him. Trepidation caught her safely. The blood rushed to her face, coloured it red underneath. That thing had slapped her. The mirror broke. The bed started shaking. Trepidation saw Rozz in the hall screaming to be heard.
"Go back, Go back, get out of the house!" Trepidation told him.
Rozz didn't go.
"Get Val outta here, let me get the others!"
Rozz ran then. Loud growling sounds were coming from the bedroom. Gatito was rolling on the ground apparently in pain. Mara struggled vainly to get to him.
Trepidation grabbed her by the arm and made her look at him. "Mara! You're a witch, you have to talk to it. You have to make it stop. I don't even know what it wants!"
Trepidation saw the tears in her eyes, her bruised cheek and shimmering white skin. She looked a mess. She looked like the dead herself.
Mara stood then and shouted into the whirl, "Stop."
Nothing happened. Trepidation knew why. He understood perfectly what was going on. Mara did know why the ghost was so angered by Gatito who was just a boy. Mara knew very well why it was, she just didn't want Trepidation to know. And that made him mad. So he just glared at her.
She glared back, but she gave in then. Mara turned to the center of the tempest and called, "Emile, a witch commands you to stop the tempest. A witch commands you to release the boy."
The whirlwind stopped. And then Trepidation saw the ghost he'd seen so many times before when the music that would call him was accidentally played by unknowing guests. He was faint, transparent, but a full figure, Trepidation could see his shiny black high heeled boots. And then it hit him. The costume the spirit wore was the exact costume worn by Catwoman in the Batman movie. But this was no long blonde haired woman. This was a youthful man with honey-colored eyes and gold highlights in his brown hair. Suddenly it fit together, all the terrible clues left by Mara and this ghost.
This ghost was the one everyone called Cat. "Cat is acting up again," David would say when music played on it's own. But the ghost's true name, the one the witch called him by was Emile, Emile like the boy Trepidation had killed in Munich, Emile like Gatito was when not called by his nickname, little cat. The boy was the very image of the ghost, only younger. And Trepidation realized what he really should have long ago. Gatito had lived on Thierry's ranch. And the ghost was from a time when Thierry had lived in this house. David hadn't told Trepidation the whole story, but that Cat was someone Thierry knew Trepidation was certain.
Thierry must have been doing much worse things then just impregnating girls with the sperm of others as he pleased. Why if he would do that...The final answer wasn't yet clear to Trepidation, he couldn't even fathom the scope of possibilities Thierry might have started.
"I will take the boy from this house, Emile. Do not cause harm to any others here. It is not the fault of the boy he is as he is."
The ghost appeared to be crying.
Trepidation snatched Gatito up from the floor and grabbed Mara's arm as he ran back to the door. "We're getting out of here."
"Sadian!" Mara said.
Trepidation let her go. When she came back from his room she had her shirt and jacket on, and Sadian in her carrier crying softly. Mara tossed Trepidation his shirt. He caught it in his fingertips, his hold on Gatito was a bit awkward for him to reach out and grab it. Still they all made it down the stairs and out the front door.
Rozz had the van started and was in the front seat. Trepidation ran to the back door where Valerie helped him up with Gatito. Mara and Sadian tumbled in after them and Valerie closed the door. "Just drive, Rozz, drive out of New York," Trepidation said.
"Trip, but...
"Forget it Mara, forget the IDs, forget New York, we're going south. I think you found more than enough in New York."
"But I..."
Trepidation was sorry for being so angry with her. He realized then what Mara was trying to make him understand. She hadn't really known that Gatito was connected in some way to that ghost. She had only been guessing. She knew something about Gatito now, but she hadn't found anything out about herself.
"I'm sorry, But I just can't stay in that city."
-----
Edit 3/23/2016. OK. There's a kind of fake drama in these characters not knowing on whom Mara and Gatito were based. When I wrote the manuscripts, I skipped the whole time period from the end of The Empty World until the beginning of Treasure, which includes decades of Thierry Jewel's lifetime. Then, after writing this, I went back and started planning the book The Freak Show, which completely gives away Thierry's motivations. So, by this point, a reader having read The Freak Show before Saints of Evil, shoud be yelling at the screen/book, "It's so obvious! Where are all the immortal characters who knew Thierry when he was younger to tell you everything that is going on?!"