VITD Chapter 6

“Why the hell not?!” I looked up from tending to my garden at the frightening voice that had cursed my ears. I simply shrugged and returned to tending to my flowers.

Kasch, come inside. The cool, calm voice of my brother rang in my head. My brother Siegfried was a controlling, sadistic man. Even I was a victim, in many cases, of his sexual wrath. Perhaps it was because I looked so feminine—actually, Siegfried made me this way.

Thoughts aside, I walked up to the back porch steps and walked inside to the deep purple and black fining room. In the dining room was a large black wooden table of a gothic nature. At the head of the table sat my brother.

Siegfried was a tall, broad, pale man. He wasn’t the most handsome man, but he wasn’t horrible to look upon either. He had skin so fair and pale, it surpassed even my own (in spite of how much time I spent in the sun), even that of the man whom Dana and Trinity called William. Siegfried called him Hades, not pronounced as the dark lord of the underworld, but pronounced as it is spelled. Siegfried had dark brown, very short hair and hateful, reddish-brown eyes. “Kasch, why did you remain outside in the sun so long?"

“The flowers needed tending to.” I replied dryly, obediently. His strong hands motioned for me to sit down, and so I did. His cold eyes analyzed me with taste and desire. I hated when he looked at me that way. It was not a way in which a brother should look upon his kin, even if we weren’t actually brothers, merely bonded by the blood given to us by our otherworldly master. We were not vampires, but we were close. Demons of the… Almost-divine kind. The Dark Lord who I wouldn’t speak aloud unless appropriate was our father, of sorts. Siegfried touched the side of my face softly.

“If anyone were to find out who we are and what we have done, He would kill us, Kasch.” Siegfried whispered harshly, referring to our Unholy father. I sighed.

“If anyone were to find out what you have done, you mean.” I retorted. Not a smart move. That soft hand that had touched me so gingerly before moved away only to strike me, knocking me to the ground. My vision hazed with black and green spots as I blinked the pain away. Siegfried’s eyes flared a dark red. I cowered away, regretting my sharp tongue’s action.

“If you ever speak to me like that again, I will give you to Lucious!!” he growled. I cowered again. Even though I was stronger than my brother, I did not have the drive to fight nor the wrath of hate on my side.

“I’m sorry,” I sighed weakly. “It will not happen again.” Siegfried smiled maliciously.

“I know.” He said seductively. “Get up, it’s time to go.” He commanded gently. I got up slowly, rubbing my head. “Go get dressed.” He added. I nodded slowly, retreating to my room to put on some black leather pants and a white wife beater. To add the finishing touch, I put on a red dog collar. I could look like a male demon when I wanted to, but Siegfried preferred me to look like a woman. Perhaps it was because he liked to pass me off as his wife at the demon councils.

Minutes later, we were sitting in Dana and Trinity Thompson’s apartment. Trinity, Dana’s 18-year-old sister, sat in my lap, playing with my hair, which was up in a black hair tie. I honestly could care less about her, and she knew it. Trinity was good in bed, and that was the only reason why I kept her around. Trinity knew full well that having a connection through love with me was useless. I often wondered if she was secretly in love with me. I would have hated that fact, had it been confirmed. Dana and Siegfried were talking about our most recent crime, when my neighbor’s name came up. I looked at them both intently, although it was none of my business, and listened.

“—And you know that the young cousin of William is an artist, yes?” Dana asked.

“Yes, and this means what, exactly, to me?” Siegfried asked dryly. Dana simply smiled, crossing her legs so her jeans seemed to tighten. Siegfried looked at her legs suggestively and Dana smirked.

“This means he has the ability to know things without ever showing them. That boy has a split personality. One minute, he has the IQ of a 5 year old, and the next; he’s cold-hearted and at his own age again, even wiser than that. He also appears to look different, if you know what I mean.” She replied in a soft, seductive tone. Siegfried didn’t seem to care about the information anymore. I knew that it would only be Trinity and I going back to our house rather than all four of us for dinner. Trinity looked at me with blue-green eyes. I knew it was time to leave.

“Well,” Trinity started. “I think Kasch and I are going to head over to your house, Siegfried. Don’t bother catching up, okay?” She said, getting up and taking me with her. I could have overpowered her and made her sit back down with a simple movement, but I knew it was best to go.

Moments later, we were outside and I was in the dress again, by magic of course. Trinity knew why I dressed this way when in public. Keeping the appearance of a sweet young woman was the only way I could manage to not really be noticed. We rarely talked the whole way there, knowing how hard it was for me to mask my voice and my demonic aura at the same time. When we reached the house, the guests William and Victor were on the sidewalk, ready to leave. William looked at Trinity suspiciously, seeing the vaguely familiar features through family traits, and then Victor looked at me, and smiled kindly. His smile was an obvious mask. I knew he wasn’t that nice of a human. As the pair got in what I supposed to be William’s car, they drove off into the city. I saw Michael inside, playing piano as beautifully as ever and smiled slightly. Trinity looked at me. We were at the front door.

“Quit drooling and open the door, I’m hungry...” Trinity’s voice broke my gaze upon the young human boy. He was simply fascinating… A wondrous creature of the most beautiful kind. His gaze upon the keys on which he played music to my ears was cold, calm, concentrated and different from what I had ever seen, except when he was painting. I watched him again, more concentrated. Why was he so cold, yet so beautiful? I had seen him around town, and in shops while he was with his cousin and friend. He always seemed so childish… It was almost scary how he was now, in such contrast to how he normally acts. It was a mask, something to hide the pain and ice, but what had made him this way? He was two-faced… Why? I pondered a moment until Trinity jabbed my arm. The muscles in the area where she had hit hardened like a rock, hurting the girl’s hand. “Ow!! C’mon, let’s go inside…” she hissed. I nodded, and obeyed simply. I unlocked the door and stepped inside with her. She closed the door behind us. “What do you plan on doing with the boy?” She growled. “You seem more interested in the artist, than the matters at hand!”

“Maybe I am.” I replied, watching her angry reaction. “Maybe The Artist is more important than the matters at hand. Actually, I do believe he is part of the matters at hand, am I correct?” I had her pinned to the cold white wall of the entry hallway. “Well?”

“I-uh-y-yes….” She whimpered.

“Don’t you dare speak to me like that ever again.” I spat. I wanted to strike her in that moment, but then I remembered… I was the same as Trinity. She was under someone’s power, a slave to someone who would always strike her down for being weak. She was beneath my power as I was under Siegfried’s. And it sickened me. When would the cycle end? I thought I told myself I could not be like my brother. I thought… Perhaps not. I calmed down, looking down at her. “I’m sorry. I should not have lashed out like that.” I said, stepping away from her. She sighed gently, her slender form looking completely vulnerable for the first time in a long time.

“I’m used to it.” She replied, shakily. Those words struck me rather hard, but I did not show it. She touched my shoulder. “Let’s just forget about it, and…”

I interrupted her. “And what? Have sex?”  She winced, but nodded. I knew her too well. “You can’t depend on sexual pleasure from me forever.”

“I can as long as I am able to hold onto you.” She muttered. I sighed.

“Do you love me?”

“Yes.”

“Get out of my house.” The look on her face was pure shock. In spite of the rather harsh blow, she nodded obediently and stepped out of the house once more, in a hurried manner. I locked the door behind her and went outside to tend to my garden again before sunset. The crimson, pink, orange, and blue meshed together, making the mountains in the distance appear indigo. I sighed, checking the flowers thoroughly and watering them once again. I felt icy eyes on me. And I knew who was watching.