Lance Hayward
Something dark and inky had stained the ground, the dried leaves on it, even a fallen twig. A puddle of it that flowed toward a set of two footprints. My power pulsed in me. I thought, for a moment, I saw a tear.
"What the fuck is that?" I demanded. "It's not blood."
"No," said Cali. She bent down and swiped her finger through it. She had some stains on her. She licked it. "Corrupted amniotic fluid. Your mother gave birth to one of the Imprisoned. The Seductress. She used your mother to be freed."
"What?" I demanded.
"Your mother must have fallen under the Seductress's spell," said Cali. She fixed her purple eyes on me. "When you impregnated her this morning, it provided the medium for her rebirth. Your mother must have fallen under the Seductress's power sometime after Virginia was born and before you impregnated her."
"That's the middle of the night," Ms. Docea said. "She would have been in the wards."
"Unless she left them," Cali said.
"That means she must have been, what, charmed?" Ms. Docea asked. "Before she was fully... ensnared."
Cali nodded. "I thought... I thought I saw her behaving strangely around the Seductress's statue, but she had her cleaning supplies. We split up to clean the house yesterday. My apologies for my oversight. I thought the garter would have protected her. She must have had... a susceptibility to charms."
"How could that happen."
"If she had been charmed by an Imprisoned once before, perhaps." Cali shrugged. "I can only speculate."
"The how doesn't matter, Master," Aunt Nancy cut in as more maids were flooding in. "It just matters where they went."
"Yes, where are they?" I demanded.
"The Seductress has retreated to the Otherworld," said Cali. She swept her hand through where I thought I saw that tear. It flashed purple for a moment. "It happened a few hours ago."
"Shit," I growled. "Then we have to go after her. Open the way, Cali!"
"Yes, yes, yes," Kylie said as she quivered on the edge of the clearing. "Do it, Cali!"
"I won't do that," Cali said, fixing me with her purple eyes."
"You won't?" Anger rippled through me. "Which means you can and are refusing my command."
Cali nodded. "You do not have an heir, Master Hayward."
"Fuck that!" I shook with rage. "You open the way right the fuck now!"
"Yes," Aunt Nancy said, her voice as cold as ice. "Or I will bind you with fire until you do."
"Your powers do not affect me." Cali flicked her gaze toward me. "I am sorry, Master, but this is a request that you cannot make me fulfill."
"My mother is on the other side!" I grabbed her arms. "You will obey me."
"It is in my contract. If you break the contract, then I am no longer bound to the Haywards." A smile spread on her lips and her purple eyes gleamed.
"That would be a mistake you would regret, Master. I cannot open the way to the Otherworld for you to enter if you do not have an heir! The bloodline is more important than one woman."
"Keily's my heir!" I pointed to my sister standing right there.
"She's a woman." Cali flicked her gaze over her. "If she had a son, he could be your heir, but she does not. You are the only male Hayward in the world, Master. You die without an Heir, the Hay has no guardian and the Imprisoned have no jailer."
"I'm pregnant!" Bella rushed up from the growing group of maids. "I know I am. I must have the heir in my womb. I can have his son!"
Cali put her hand on my Maid-Wife's belly. Those haunting, purple eyes closed. A smile spread on her lips. A look of relief crossed her face.
"She does have your son in her womb, Master. He is but a day old. This is a risk. If you do not come back, it will be nineteen years and nine months before there is a new master to Hayward Manor. The maids can still clean until then, but they won't be able to do much else. They could maintain the prison, but not capture any more who cross over. You risk the world for one maid."
"My Mother-Maid!" I roared.
"I can make a new silver garter once she dies." Her eyes bored into mine. "And she will, Master. You will fail to save her."
"Fuck that. We're going right the fuck now!"
Cali curtsied. "As you command, Master Hayward."
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