Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Revelations

--Geri's Perspective--

After walking around town for a while and picking a few things up at a 24 hour grocery store, we finally returned home. I could not believe what we found when we came walking up the street. My absolute joy at seeing Armond curled up and sleeping on our front porch was indescribable. I quickly transferred the bags I was carrying to my sire and ran to the porch.

“OH MY GOD!! Armond, I can’t believe you are here!”

Armond roused from his sleep and looked up at me with a look in his eyes that I had never seen when someone had looked at me before. I knew, somehow, that it must been a reflection of the way I was looking at him.

“Geri, I’ve been waiting for you. I think we need to talk.”

I did not like the sound of that. Every time someone has said that phrase to me it tended to be followed by bad news.

Pasteur walked up at that point, “Hello Armond, What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to Geri and missed you guys at Michael’s party. Victor was kind enough to give me a ride over here when he left.”

”Ok, then why don’t we go inside where it’s a bit more comfortable?” Pasteur moved past us after handing me back the bags I had pawned off on him so that he could open the door and we went inside.

Armond took one of the bags from me and followed us to the kitchen. “Why don’t you guys just put the groceries down on the counter and go into the living room and talk, I’ll put all this away.”

After doing as Pasteur said we went into the living room and sat down.

I looked at Armond with an almost pained expression on my face, “Ok, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Well,” Armond started and then paused for a moment, “I did a lot of thinking this evening after we met, and even went and talked to Michael and Victor about this, and they both did not see any problem, and did not think that any of the other Kindred would have a problem with it either.”

I was starting to get just a little bit exasperated with him. “Would please stop beating around the bush and just tell me. What have you been thinking about and what is it that they have no problem with?”

“Geri,” another slightly uncomfortable pause, “I love you.”

I could not believe my ears. Did I hear him right, did he just confess his love to me, FOR me? This was just to good to be true.

“I know you said earlier that you had never done anything with other guys before, and now you probably don’t want to have anything to do with me again, but I…” I quickly interrupted him and kissed him tenderly and lovingly to get him to stop babbling.

I pulled away from him after what seemed like an eternity of something that I really never want to stop. “Armond, I want you to know that after we left Michaels we went back to the bridge so I could try to find you, but you were gone. I wanted to tell you that I had never felt like this before and that I was in love with you.”

The look of pure joy mixed with relief that washed over his face was a truly beautiful site to behold. I did not think that anything could him seem more beautiful to me, but that look did. He very quickly pounced on me and had me in a lip lock to beat all lip locks.

Finally coming up for air he looked deep into my eyes. “You have just made me so happy. I don’t ever want us to be apart. Even though I will be brought into the Toreador clan in a few months, we will still stay together. It has already been cleared with Michael and Victor.”

“What’s been cleared with Mickey and Vic?” Pasteur asked as he walked into the room.

I looked at my sire with a sheepish look on my face, “Armond and I are in love and want to spend the rest of our lives with each other.”

“Congratulations you two.” Pasteur looked at Armond, “So does this mean that you’re moving in here?”

“Can I?” Armonds joy was obvious at the shear thought.

“Yes Armond, we can fix up one of the spare bedrooms for the two of you.”

Armond was so happy at the news that he instantly planted me with another kiss that amazingly enough surpassed the previous one. Something that I did not think was possible.

“Ok you two,” Pasteur said with a snicker, “The sun will be coming up soon, why don’t you two go pick your room, and make sure the curtains are well closed.”

“Yes sir!” we both said at the same time and ran up the stairs to find us a room.

The next evening I woke up with us wrapped in each others arms and legs. The feeling of Armonds naked warm flesh against mine was like nothing I had ever experienced before. To feel him this close to me. This was a feeling that I never wanted to end.

Armond stirred a bit and opened his beautiful blue eyes. Eyes that I could look into for the rest of eternity and just let myself drown in.

I smiled over at him warmly and kissed him gently, “morning love, did you sleep good?”

Armond stretched a bit in my arms, “yeah, I slept better than I have ever slept before. Something about being in your arms just made me feel so safe and secure.”

I had to snicker a bit at that, “I don’t think ‘Safe and secure’ are words that most people would use when being held by a vampire.”

Armond couldn’t help but snicker himself, “True, but then most people don’t know the Kindred the way I do.”

~~~

A short while later, after taking a not-so-quick shower together we came downstairs to find Pasteur sitting at the kitchen table reading a newspaper. I had never heard of this paper before though. I thought I knew all of the publications in town, but I had never heard of one called ‘The Dark Truth’. “Is that an out of town paper Pasteur? `Cause I don’t recognize the name, and I thought I new every publication in town.”

“Nope, this is the local Kindred news paper. It is only delivered directly to the homes of the Kindred in this area. You must be very careful with it though so as to be certain that it does not fall into mortal hands. For this reason, we burn each issue after we have read it. Not to mention that it makes a great fire starter for the fireplace.”

The look on his face when he said that last told me that a bit of the insanity was seeping through.

Armond leaned over my shoulder, “Can I see the gossip section please? I want to see if there is any mention about you two crashing Michael’s party last night.”

I looked at my lover, “You know about that?”

“Of course I do. Hank told me that he heard Pasteur mention going to the Toreador Elders party, and then I was told about it when I got to Michaels last night shortly after you two left.”
“Ohh”, was all I could say. I looked at Pasteur, “Are there no secrets within this secret society?”

“Not really. If you ever want to know anything about what’s going on or about anyone, just find one of the Nos and ask them. They deal in information and somehow manage to know about everything that is going on around here. Sometimes even before the people involved know about it. It gets a bit spooky at times.” Pasteur gave a shudder with that last statement.

“Here’s a good example of what he means Geri, look at this.” Armond was pointing to an article in the paper:

‘Seems that Pasteur’s new childer is already making
a name for himself after only being embraced two days
ago. The young new Malkavian, Geri, made an impression
on Michael Angelo by displaying knowledge about the
new piece that he was showing off last night. He then
proceeded to take Armond, a young man who has been
promised to Michael by Victor, into his bed last night.
So all you others may want take note that both Armond
And Geri are now off the market.’

I could not believe my eyes. “HOW THE HELL!!!!!???” I yelled out. “Nobody knows about the two of us except for you Pasteur. How can something like that make it into the paper?”

“There are some that think that the paper has one or more Mages on their staff, and others that think the paper has all of our domains bugged somehow. I myself would not be a bit surprised if they have Mages on staff, after all, I know they have Garou there, and I would not be a bit surprised to find a changeling or two running around down there as well, maybe even a few wraiths.”

Ok, my mind just turned to total mush. Vampires I could believe were real, but I had no idea what he was talking about with all those other groups he mentioned. The look on my face, not to mention the fact that my chin was sitting on the floor at the moment, must have gave me away, as Pasteur pointed at me and started laughing his fool head off like we were doing the night before at the party.

Armond looked up from his paper at Pasteur, and then looked at me with a big grin on his face, “What, did you think that Kindred were the only super-natural beings around?”

I slowly turned my head to look at my new lover; the look of total confusion on my face making his grin grow even more than I thought would be possible.

Armond put down the paper and put his hand on my knee, “Babe, there are a lot more out there than just the Kindred, and a lot of them are a lot more dangerous than any vampire ever could be. Some, the Kindred get along with and others they don’t. Here in Huntsville, there is a rather uneasy peace amongst all the super-natural beings, but I fear it would not take much to shatter that peace.”

I looked at Armond with what could amount to a bit of skepticism, “So you’re telling me that Ghost, and witches and the like really do exist?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you. Ghosts are called wraiths, We don’t call them witches or wizards, they are just called Mages. The Garou are what are commonly referred to as werewolves in mortal society, and Changelings are sorta what you might call Fairies. Just as in Kindred society each of these groups can be further divided into houses, tribes and such.” He looked at me, his grin returning, “You still with me?”

All I could do was nod to him as my brain tried to process all of this information.

“Good. Like I said some of them are more dangerous than any of the Kindred. The Garou, for example, when they go into full crinos, that is to say, the giant werewolf form, could easily rip a kindred to shreds in a matter of seconds without even thinking about it. In fact there are some that would like nothing more to do than just that, and would take great delight in doing it.”

Ok, I was starting to get a little scared now. Vampires I could deal with, since I was one, but all this other stuff was beyond my belief. I took Armonds hand and held it in mine, “I know you wouldn’t lie to me about this stuff, but I’m afraid that until I see it for myself I don’t know if I can totally believe it.”

Pasteur had finally stopped rolling on the floor and poked his head up over the edge of the table. “That can be arranged my dear boy, that can be arranged.”

Ok, now I really was scared, “Are you serious? You actually know some of these other creatures?”

“Of course I do my boy. Hell we have a Wraith right here in the house.”

“What?” I could not believe what he was saying, “do you mean this house is haunted?”

Pasteur let out another chuckle, “Not exactly, at least not in the since I’m sure you’re thinking of. I employ a Wraith to watch over us during the day while we sleep.”

My head was swimming so fast that I had to cradle it in my hands with my elbows propped on the table.

Suddenly a load pounding came from the front door, “PASTEUR! OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW BEFORE I BLOW IT OFF ITS HINGES!” I knew I couldn’t be hearing correctly through the fog in my brain, but it almost sounded like my dad.

Pasteur quickly got up and ran to the entry hall to answer the door. “Dr. Atricks, Mrs. Atricks, what a surprise. What brings you to my humble abode this fine night?”

“WHAT BRINGS US HERE!? WHAT BRINGS US HERE!? I’LL TELL YOU WHAT BRINGS US TO THIS SORRY CESPOOL YOU CALL A HOME, THIS!” He shoved the evenings edition of The Dark Truth under Pasteur’s nose, “HAVE YOU SEEN TONIGHTS EDITION!?”

I knew I wasn’t hearing things. I just knew that that was my father yelling at Pasteur in the front hall, but how did my parents and Pasteur know each other. This night was just getting more and more confusing by the minute. I got up from the table and headed into the hall. Coming around the corner I saw both of my parents standing in the entry hall with my dad waving a copy of The Dark Truth in Pasteur’s face.

“MOM, DAD, What are you doing here? And where did you get that paper?” I just had way to many questions running through my head at that moment to do anyone any good any where.

Everyone turned at the sound of my voice and looked at me. My mom came running towards me and grabbed me up in a hug. Pasteur gaped at me and my mom and managed to croak out “Geri is YOUR son? We had no idea, I swear to you Peter; we had absolutely no idea that he was your son. He never told us his last name.”

“HEY! You still haven’t answered my questions.” I said pushing my mother away enough to be able to look at both her and my father.

“We’re sorry dear; this is just a bit of a shock to us, after reading that article in tonight’s issue of The Dark Truth.” My mother told me with a worried and concerned look in her eyes.

Before anyone else could say anything, Armond suggested that everyone go into the living room and sit down so that we could have a bit more of a civilized conversation. Leave it my sweet Armond to be the only one in the hall to be keeping a level and calm head on his shoulders.

Once we were all in the living room and seated, Armond offered to get my parents some coffee, which they gratefully accepted.

While Armond was gone to fetch their drinks, my dad popped off at Pasteur, “I see you got you a new house boy Pasteur. Isn’t he a bit young even for you though?”

Pasteur snickered, “Oh He’s not mine Peter; he’s Geri’s”

My parents both looked at me in a very questioning manner. About that time Armond returned with three cups of coffee and two wine glasses full of some red liquid. He placed the tray down on the coffee table, and handed a cup of coffee to each of my parents and a wine glass to me and Pasteur. I could not believe that he was serving me wine in front of my parents. But when I took a sniff of the glass I was surprised to smell the distinct metallic smell of blood.

Pasteur noticed the look on my face. Through one of his crooked grins he told me to relax “It’s cows blood, I get it from one of the slaughter houses out in the county.”

I took a tentative sip and found that it was not bad. Not as good as Armonds blood, but still drinkable. I pulled Armond down next to me and gave him a quick kiss, “Thank you sweet.” Then it hit me, I could not believe that I had just kissed Armond right there in front of my parents. Who, by the way, where now looking at me with their jaws firmly planted on the floor. “I guess an introduction would be in order,” I said sheepily, “Mom, Dad, this is my boyfriend, Armond. Armond, my parents.”

Nobody moved or said anything for what seemed like an eternity.

My mother was the first one to come around. “Ok Geri, let’s start this from the beginning, there are just way to many questions hanging in the air at the moment. What happened when you left the house 2 days ago?”

I took a deep breath, held Armonds hand in what must have been a death grip, and proceeded to bring my parents up to speed on everything that had happened to me since I left the house.

After I finished my father looked at Pasteur, “I guess we owe you our thanks then Pasteur, for talking Victor out of destroying him outright for being where he did not belong.” I looked at my dad with surprise. “We’re not thrilled that he’s Kindred now, but at least he is still with us.”

Now it was my turn to have my jaw hit the ground. “Ok, now that I answered your question, how about answering a few of mine? For starters, how do you guys know Pasteur and how did you get a copy of The Dark Truth?”

My mom looked at me with compassion on her face. “We were going to tell you yesterday, now that you’re old enough, but you never came home. Your father and I are Mages. So naturally we get a copy of the local paper, as do all of the super-natural folks in the area.”

For the second time of the night I could not believe what I was being told. “You’re WHAT? How come I never knew this?”

“Because, dear, it is our way not to reveal ourselves to our children until they turn 18. That way they are old enough to be able to start their training in our ways as well as being old enough to be able to keep our secrets.”

“Mom, I turned 18 months ago, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well, your father and I decided that we would until you finished school so that you could concentrate on your studies without this added weight on your shoulders. If you had come into your powers before then we would have told you sooner.”

Pasteur had a strange look on his face, “What are you thinking about Pasteur?” I asked him.

“I was just thinking about an ancient prophecy.”

My father looked at him, “You don’t think…?”

“It’s possible, but I can’t be sure just yet.”

Oh great, I thought, more secrets. “What’s this prophecy?”

My parents looked at each other, “There is an old prophecy,” my father said, “that tells of one who will be from 2 worlds that will unit the others in a world of peace.”

“And you guys think that it’s me?” Once again I was having trouble believing what I was hearing.

“Well,” Pasteur said, “You have to admit, you are now from 2 different worlds, the Kindred and Mage worlds.”

“Ok, but how am I supposed to bring peace?”

My father looked at me, “It may not be you at all, there are rumors floating amongst the Mages that there is another up north that is also of 2 worlds. Born of Mage parents like you, but he is a Changeling.”

My mother nodded her head sagely, “So it could be either one of you, really.”

My head was really starting to spin now.

My mother looked at me with sympathy in her eyes, “I think we are overloading him here. Maybe we should stop for tonight and give him time to process all that he’s heard.”

“Good idea,” my father said, “Geri, are you going to stay here with Pasteur or are you going to come home now? Since we know all about the Kindred it would be fine for you to come home if you want.”

“What about Armond? Could he stay with us as well? I really do love him.”

My mother looked at me, “Geri, we thought you were straight, you always seemed to have one of the girls from school on your arm. What happened?”

“It’s not that we disapprove,” my father said, “We’re just more than a bit curious.”

“Well, I guess it was all just a cover. I had never really thought about being with another guy before, but then when I fed off Armond here last night, I could not deny the feelings I was having for him. I guess the feelings were always there; buried deep down somewhere, and then the embrace just brought all my feelings more to the surface. And since Pasteur told me that same sex relationships are not looked down upon in Kindred society the way they are in mortal society, I guess I just felt safer expressing my feelings now.”

My father nodded his head knowingly, “It’s not just Kindred society son, but all of the super-natural world. We all recognize that love comes in many forms, and expresses itself in many different ways. So you are safe to be ‘out’ in our world. There are very few that would bother you for that fact. You’d be more likely to be hassled for mixing with members of other parts of our world, then for that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean for mixing with the Garou or the Changelings.”

“I have never even met any of them, and how would I know if I did meet any of them? I would imagine a Wraith would be easy to recognize, but unless a Garou is in werewolf form how would I know who is one?”

“That’s easy,” Pasteur chimed in, “Just look at their aura. A persons aura will tell you all you need to know about them.”

“Aura? What do you mean?”

“Use your vampire eyes and look, I mean really look, at the 4 of us, you will see that your parents have one color glowing around them, I have another color, and Armond still another color. Each race has its own color; in addition to that, you can also tell a persons moods by the shifting of the color in their aura. But if you see someone with a black aura, be sure to let either myself or Victor know right away.”

“Why? What’s wrong with a black aura?”

“If someone has a black aura that means that they have taken the life of a fellow kindred which is in violation of our laws, and the prince should know about it immediately. If they have killed one kindred, they may very well kill others.”

“Ok, I’ll remember that. So when do I get to meet some of these other groups? You said we had a wraith here in the house. When do I get to meet this specter?”

“Right now if you like, as for the others,” Pasteur looked at my parents, “Did you two throw Geri a graduation party?”

My parents looked at each other and then back to Pasteur, “No, we didn’t, that’s a great idea Pasteur. Your house is considerably bigger then ours is, how about we have it here?”

“That’s what I was thinking too. We’ll invite everyone we know from our world that we know would not have a problem with him being of two worlds. This way he will get to know some of the others in our world. Shall we say tomorrow night? Two hours after sundown?”

Armond and I looked at each other with wry grins on our faces. I could not believe (yeah, I know, I should be getting used to that by now) that my parents and my sire were planning a party for me. And from the sounds of it there would be more super-natural beings here then I could imagine. “Can I invite anyone?”

Pasteur looked at me, “Other than the people you met last night, and ones in this room, who could you invite that would not violate our laws and expose us to mortal society?”

“The only 2 people I want to invite are Victor and Micky” That last one got a smile out of ole Pasteur. “Hell, someone has to show Micky how to throw a proper party.” I said with a chuckle.

“You are SO right.” Pasteur said joining in my chuckle. “I’ll be sure to get word to the two of them tonight.”

“Ok then,” my father said, “tomorrow night it is.” With that he and mother stood up, with the rest of us following suit. My parents gave me a big hug, and then surprised me by giving one to Armond as well. I even heard my mom say something to him that sounded like “welcome to the family.”

With all that planned my parents said their goodbyes and headed out the door till tomorrow night.

As if my head wasn’t already spinning enough from all the information I had been given, now I was wondering just who and what all would be showing up tomorrow night. Guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

END CHAPTER 6