Senemut sat in the living room staring blankly at the television.
He wasn’t really paying attention to what was on.
He was thinking about Hatshepsut’s words.
My guilt .
.
.
After all this time, to finally know the truth about him and Hatshepsut, Senemut had hoped for closure but instead he was feeling more conflicted than ever.
We could have possibly still been together.
But Senemut knew that he couldn’t think about this now.
He had more important matters to think about and now that he had finally eaten, he could concentrate on them.
The bounty.
Will we really be attacked?
Of course we will be attacked.
We’ve been attacked plenty of times before.
Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?
After he drove back, Senemut had called a family meeting so he could tell everyone what Hatshepsut had said.
No one seemed particularly worried until Senemut mentioned the possibility of moving.
The twins knew all too well that demon attacks were the reason they had been moving so often over the years.
“We’re moving again?” Xander asked.
“You promised that we could finish high school here,” Xaria whined.
“I said you could if there was no trouble,” Senemut said.
“Your safety is the most important thing above all else.”
“So is that a yes?” Xander asked.
Senemut couldn’t answer them.
He couldn’t bring himself to say yes to their pleading faces.
Senemut did feel it necessary to move on to a different place, but he didn’t want to mess up the stability that they were finally finding here in New Orleans.
Even he was enjoying the region.
It wasn’t often he could find somewhere that was warm enough to satisfy his cold blood while not being too hot for the kids.
He found his cover job to be gratifying as well.
His students seemed to be interested in his lectures and he was able to teach with enthusiasm since he had lived through most of the history he was teaching.
While moving might be in their best interest, it was not going to be convenient.
“Whatcha thinking about?” Raylin asked, walking into the room.
“This whole bounty thing,” Senemut said.
“I’m trying to figure out the best way to handle it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m trying to decide whether or not we should move now or wait until later.”
“Why move at all?” Raylin asked, sitting down beside him.
“We can just wait until something happens.
Xaria’s powers have proven flawless so far.
I’ve strengthened the barrier around the house to the point that the mystical energy of your tattoo is the only thing allowing you entry.
Xander is making modifications to the alarm system.
I really don’t think we have anything to worry about.”
“I have complete faith in your and Xander’s abilities,” Senemut said, turning off the television, “but we’re not always at home.
You and I will be at the university while Xaria and Xander will be at the high school.
The majority of the day we’re separated, unprotected.”
“You behave like we can’t defend ourselves.”
“I don’t doubt that, but what about the other week?
Hatshepsut almost got away with Xaria and Xander and they put up one hell of a fight.
They even injured her but in the end she still conquered.
What if the next time they’re ambushed by a group or they’re picked off individually?
What if they get us first?
Xander and Xaria would have no one to back them up.”
“I’ve never seen you like this,” Raylin said, sitting down beside him.
“You’re usually so calm and confident.
Why the doubt?
I hope it’s not because of her.”
Senemut looked over at Raylin with his eyebrow cocked.
“You don’t like her very much, do you?” he asked.
“No I don’t.”
“Why not?”
“How can you even ask that?” Raylin asked, outraged.
“She tries to kidnap the Xaria and Xander .
.
.”
“That was a mistake.”
“She’s thirty-five hundred years old.
She considers everyone children.”
“She talks down to you,” Raylin said looking down.
Senemut softened his stare.
He knew that Hatshepsut spoke to him harshly, but he knew there was a reason behind it.
He placed his finger under Raylin’s chin and gently lifted her face up.
“Believe it or not,” he said, “Hatshepsut does that to help me stay humane.
I know that it sounds ridiculous, but she doesn’t know any other way.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Raylin, you are quite aware of what I am.
What you don’t know is how much of a struggle it is not to let that side out.
Hatshepsut’s condescending words provide me with guilt which strengthens my bond with my humanity.
It sounds cruel, but it helps.”
“You are strong enough!” Raylin exclaimed.
“Is Hatshepsut more capable of keeping you humane than we are?
You run into her every century or so.
You’re able to keep yourself together between those times.”
Senemut sat solemnly through her rant.
He knew how well he was able to handle himself between Hatshepsut’s visits.
Sometimes it wasn’t so well.
He looked at Raylin again, afraid of how she may react if he told her the whole truth.
Senemut let out a heavy sigh.
“I don’t always keep myself together between her appearances,” Senemut said, looking down at the floor.
“Yes, you all help me keep it together, but you all do it at a great risk.”
“What are you talking about?” Raylin asked.
“Raylin, I’m going to tell you something horrible.
You can tell Xaria and Xander if you would like.
You may want to leave after I’m finished.
I won’t stop you, but I want you to listen to what I’m about to tell you.”
Raylin looked at Senemut anxiously.
“In the late 1800’s I lived in London.
I was posing as a police officer at Scotland Yard.
A serial killer was running loose.
How the murders were being described, I knew it had to be a demon running amuck.
So I made sure that I was put on the investigation and began to hunt this monstrous creature that was amply named Jack the Ripper.
He had killed four women before I was able to catch up with him.”
“Four?” Raylin asked, confused.
“I thought Jack the Ripper killed five women.”
“That is what was recorded in history, but there’s a side of the story no one knows but me.
.
.”
“I remember the night as if it was yesterday.
It was cool and the night was clear, a perfect night to hunt.
I was following his scent through the back alleys.
That is when I discovered him.
He had found his fifth victim and was about to execute her.
I crept up on him as quiet as the fog that covered the streets.
Just as he was about to strike, I grabbed him preventing the blow, or so I thought.
The woman was too drugged to scream, but was alert enough to get away.
The Ripper turned out to be a surgeon possessed.
He had walked in on his wife with a prostitute.
It seemed that she was very fond of women.
His anger and jealousy was so great that it attracted a jade demon.
Jade demons like to feed on humans’ negative emotions, but while they feed, the emotion multiplies and soon the person is driven to madness.”
“All you had to do was killed the demon, right?” Raylin asked.
“That was what I thought, but he was too far gone.
So, I had to kill him as well.”
“That’s not too bad.
He would have kept killing.”
Senemut looked at Raylin with solemn eyes.
“I haven’t finish telling the story,” Senemut said sadly.
He could feel his shame rise in his throat, choking off the words that he knew he had to say.
He could not stop halfway.
He had to tell her everything.
“After I had finished with the surgeon, I realized that I smelled blood.
I hadn’t prevented the blow after all.
I followed the scent until I found the girl.
It was some shack on the shabby side of town.
I knocked on the door because I wanted to see if she was okay.
She answered and when she saw who I was, she gladly let me in.
I told her I was with Scotland Yard.
I asked her if she was okay and if I could assist her.
That is when she showed me the wound.
Blood was still flowing from it.
I took a piece of my shirt and applied pressure to it.
That was my second mistake.
My first was following her to her home.
Being that close to her, feeling her warmth, smelling her blood, the beast within became .
.
.
unhinged.
I won’t give you the details, but in the end, I consumed half of her and left the rest of her shredded beyond recognition on her bed.” Senemut stopped to gauge Raylin’s reaction.
She sat silently staring at the floor with a blank expression.
Senemut continued with his tale.
“It was Hatshepsut who discovered me, surrounded by my carnage.
I was sitting on the floor beside the bed, covered in that woman’s blood.
I was dazed by my bloodlust.
I almost didn’t recognize Hatshepsut.
I was racked with guilt and self-loathing.
Hatshepsut didn’t say a word.
She took me to the place she was staying, cleaned me up, and watched over me while I tried to pull myself together.
She comforted me and helped to bring me back to humanity.
I know Hatshepsut comes off insensitive and cold, but when I need her, when anyone needs her, she’s there.
Even for a monster like me.”
Senemut turned to face Raylin fully.
“I am a demon.
Don’t ever forget that.
I hope that you can find it in you to be able to trust me again.
I really hope that you can find it in you to make peace with Hatshepsut.
She may not act like it, but she cares about all of you.”
Raylin sat silent, staring at the floor.
“Raylin, please say something,” Senemut said anxiously.
Raylin finally looked at Senemut.
Her eyes were wide and glazed with tears.
“What do you want me to say?” Raylin asked, her voice shaking.
“You just told me that you eat people.
Is that what you do when we’re asleep at night?
Go hunt humans?”
“No!” Senemut exclaimed.
“I hunt animals.
I haven’t had a slip up since London.
The image still haunts me.”
“But you think you will.
That’s why you wanted me to put individual barriers around my room and the twins, a barrier that will only allow you entry if you’re invited.
You think that you might slip up.”
“It’s only a precaution.”
“A useless precaution,” Raylin said, jumping up.
“How would any of us know not to let you in?
You’ve left us in the dark!”
“Everyone here is aware of what I am,” Senemut said.
“I’ve always been honest about that.
I’ve always said that I’m dangerous.
I haven’t tried to be deceitful.
I .
.
.
I just thought it would be easier if I didn’t tell anyone that I crave human flesh.
I hope you can forgive me.”
Raylin stood in silence with her arms wrapped around herself.
Senemut stood up and walked over to her, hoping to comfort her, but she pulled away.
“I have to go think.” she said, looking up at Senemut.
“I don’t know how to absorb this.
Just give me some time.” With that Raylin walked out of the room, leaving Senemut to sulk.