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BACK TO FRASER'S FRACTURED FICTION HENRY VI Part 2, act iv: scene ii (part the third)by A. Fraser
© Copyright 2004 A. Fraser. All rights reserved. Since Calvin and Andrei had both tagged along on the inspection visit of the empty trailers, having the entire Brotherhood go to a restaurant for dinner wasn't an option. Andrei could have been safely left in the car, but what on earth could they do with Calvin? "What did you bring him for, anyway?" Francis asked, gazing up at the enormous stallion. "He just came," Evan shrugged. Calvin closed one glowing red eye, apparently winking at Francis. The blond vampire stepped back. The only horses he trusted were safely under the cowling of his Harley. "Calvin does as he pleases," Gideon said. So, in the end, they settled for an enormous take-out order from Fletcherville's only Chinese restaurant and drove it back up the Cliff Road for what everyone thought of as their last supper in Oakwoods. Evan, Mitch and Mary spread the food out on the table. Josh and Estella put out plates. Ray and Michael got out silverware. Everyone else just drifted around, arguing in low tones or just looking sadly at the beautiful house and contents. It was eerily like a wake. "Any brainstorms yet, Hermione?" Alex asked his lawyer. She shrugged. "None that immediately come to mind. You could just defy them," she suggested. "If push comes to shove, they probably won't actually try to seize the land." "They seemed pretty determined," Alex said doubtfully. "They said they'd get the sheriff to evict us." Ray flexed his fingers, a cold smile on his lips. "I'll tighten the wards," he said. "Nobody but us will be able to set foot on the road." "Why don't you just turn them all into newts?" Galen asked. Ray looked down although not too far down, Galen had done a lot of growing recently at the boy. "You still have a lot of learning to do about magic, kiddo," he said. "You can't actually turn anyone into a newt." "Besides, even if you could," Mitch said, "they get better." Gideon just sighed. He sat down, pushing away a box of spring rolls with total disinterest. "I don't want to leave this house," he said simply. Michael walked over and put his hand on the vampire's shoulder. "You've had to move before," the Archdruid said softly but sympathetically. "We all have." "I know." Gideon's face was set, but his eyes were drawn with pain. "And I know we've been ... foolish to stay here so long, to depend on the good will of this town, to put down roots. To care. But I do care. And I'll be damned if I give up this house without a fight." "The first thing we do," said Nicholas, "is let's kill all the lawyers." Hermione raised an eyebrow. "That's the bard heard from," she quipped. Nicholas bowed to her, amethyst eyes twinkling. "Present company excepted, of course," he said. Pandora put a hand on her husband's arm, but said nothing, merely handed him a plate of food. She tried to interest Aisling in some chicken, but the boy was too busy playing with Pumpkin. Galen and Vivain, however, were addressing the buffet as if they thought they'd never see food again. "Could we buy them out?" Michael asked Hermione, finding himself beside the lawyer in line for the fried rice and spare ribs. "There's not enough time," she replied, shaking her head as she doused her plate with soy sauce. "Why would the sheriff evict us?" Bess asked, leaning past her father to snag an egg roll. "BOO hasn't done a thing for Fletcherville, but you have. And so has Alex, and Gideon. This town owes us." "That won't matter to the sheriff, honey," Mary said, scooping vegetables onto her own plate. "It's the law he has to uphold, not tradition or friendship or obligation." "The townspeople won't like it," Bess said. "He won't get elected again." "He just has a job to do, Bess," Evan sighed from the other side of the table. "We can't blame him." "What is the law, anyway?" Vivain asked. "In general, or specifically?" Hermione replied. "Are you playing Pontius Pilate on me?" The girl looked blank. "Who?" Everyone looked at Vivain's pagan father, who shrugged, but had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. "The law is an ass," said Mitch, Dickensianly. "I just mean," Vivain said patiently, having learned a long time ago in her short life that one had to be crystal clear with some members of the Brotherhood, "that I don't understand what gives the sheriff and BOO the right to evict us." Hermione ate some of her food before replying, giving herself time to think how to frame the answer for an adolescent. "Okay," the lawyer finally said, looking at both twins. "You know that all this land on the Cliff Road belonged to Josephat Fletcher in the 19th century, right?" They both nodded, but didn't stop eating. Other people down the table were also listening, and either eating or completely ignoring the food depending on their species. "Josephat took the deed with him when he travelled to Paris in 1815," Hermione continued, "where he foolishly entered into a game of banquo with a vampire." "Hey," Alex objected, "I did _not_ use my vampire mind powers in that game." "Shut up," several people chorused. "Finding himself somewhat embarrassed for funds for the kitty," Hermione went on as if Alex hadn't spoken, "Josephat offered the deed. He lost. Alex took the deed and settled the land, but did not register the change in ownership of the deed." Both twins looked at Alex. He looked as if he was fascinated by the message in the fortune cookie he'd just crumbled in his hand. "And everything was fine until the Bureau of Occult Obliteration decided that crossbows were out and legal battles were in, and bought the deed from Josephat's descendants. Since the ownership was never legally changed, then the Fletchers still technically own the land." Galen swirled the honey garlic sauce around on his plate and took another helping of fried rice. Vivain picked at her spring roll. "I don't get it," she confessed. "It's really quite straightforward," Hermione insisted. "It would never stand up in court, but it will be good enough for the sheriff and we don't dare fight." "Alex won the deed, right?" Vivain asked. Everyone nodded, even her brother. The girl turned her bright green eyes, carbon copies of her father's, on the tall vampire. "So, you still _have_ it, don't you?" she asked. "Yes, of course," Alex replied, frowning slightly as he tried to see her point. "It's in my wall safe at Valley Mansion." "It should be in a safety deposit box," Hermione chided him. Then she looked thunderstruck. "Holy shit," she breathed. "I can't believe I didn't think of that." Everyone in her family threw their arms around Vivain, nearly knocking her off her chair. Alex got up and hugged her, too, lifting her right off the seat. 'What?" Francis asked, still not getting it, staring at the excited faces around him. "If Alex still has the deed in his possession," Hermione said, turning to the biker vampire, "then what the hell is it BOO has?" Gideon looked up, hope dawning in his dark eyes. "Can we fight them?" he asked. "It may not even come to a fight!" Hermione said, and hugged the startled Baron. "Yahooo!" Galen jumped up on his chair. "We won't have to live in a trailer park!" "Out of the mouths of babes," Pandora chuckled, it being her turn to hug Vivain. The thirteen year old looked indignant. "Who are you calling a babe?" she demanded. Janine looked at her cousin. "You lucked out again," she said, shaking her head. "I can't believe it." "I'm sure I can get you a flight back to Toronto ASAP," Alex replied sweetly. "Now, now," Evan grinned at them. "This isn't victory yet. We still have the formal eviction to face." |
