Chapter 1 - The Train Trip Part 1

Norris saw a flash of many things as the vampire dragged him through the strange building. There was a snarling wolf-thing typing a report on a typewriter, a being with many slimy appendages overseeing a slew of other creatures who took many shapes and sizes, and even another vampire feeding messily from a cow.

"I want to go home."

She didn't answer his statement. It wasn't a request, it was a statement of fact. She stopped short in front of a trio of gargoyles. The name on the door was blurred out, like his vision was poor in that particular part of reality—"Welcome to my office."

Her office was surrounded by three gargoyles. Two about the same size either side of the door and the smallest one on top. When she reached the door, she flashed her blue badge again and the one on the right — it did not change its face as it moved, but it seemed to focus on Norris in an uncomfortable way — jerked into motion and pulled the door open, like a mechanical doll.

Norris would forever swear that it was not as creepy as that horrid, bug eyed dog.

"There's candy on the bowl on my desk. I have to let your parents know I have you, sweet child." She shoved him into the room, knocking him to the ground as she uttered one statement before the door slammed shut behind him, "Do not try to escape."

BANG

He looked around the room, quick to notice one disparaging fact.

There were no windows! There were stiletto heels lining the walls, each of varying heights. A well carved desk, with a pen cup on it filled to the brim with pens, and a writing mat on the desk. He got up and about, looking closely at the wall behind the desk. It was loose, he noted as he pushed into it. Could he do whatever that crazy vampire had done and make his way out of wherever here was and get home, to Uncle Cole?

There was a moment of silence and serenity as he started to push on the wall, hoping against all hope that he'd make it back to the park—but…

"Don't do that!"

Norris would never be able to describe the voice as male or female, merely monstrous, as he was yanked backwards and away from his chance to escape. Looking down at him, was the smallest gargoyle which dwarfed him by a whole foot. Without changing its face it pointed to the chair in front of the candy bowl.

It opened its mouth, revealing tongues of flames. From its maw came a tortured scream that made him flinch away as it screeched and urged him to the seat. If he… if he sat down and pretended, would it go away?

So he sat and the gargoyle, with its tri horned face, shut its mouth with a loud resounding thunk that traveled up and down his spine with the chills it caused. He watched as it crawled away, out the door. All before leaping up and resuming its perch atop the door. Norris waited a moment before the door shut, no doubt due to one of the other gargoyles that were standing guard with it.

He stood up and sat back down as the door shook.

He was surrounded by high heeled shoes, basic office furniture. The desk was mahogany and had nothing but a cup on it. It was filled with a variety of pens, more pens, and… a nail file? He knew very little about vampires, his uncle had warned him that they liked to turn people in their teens and older. He said that Norris didn't need to worry about it just yet. He leaned forward and grabbed the nail file, wondering if she had done some shopping before getting them.

He ran his thumb over the edge, smiling when he drew blood. His mind started to race in the best ways to use it. He put his thumb in his mouth in thought. He grinned and wondered if there were any way it would hurt the gargoyles when he tried to break through the wall— "Shoes…"

He released his thumb, sighing as he did so. His captor would just bring him back here. His uncle would come for him—eventually—even if he hadn't promised. Norris grinned as he went to the first pair of shoes, humming as he worked on filing the soles off of the heels themselves. That would teach her to take a child from a loving home!

Norris ran his fingers over the names, spotting many names from Italy and France, the French one being her more prominent taste. He never understood why women chose to label themselves with a man's name. He grimaced as he realized that she had another layer of shoes smaller than the last one. They were all the same size, but these were written in characters he wouldn't ever be able to decipher.

She really liked shoes, he used the file to rip through the soles of some flats that looked like ballet shoes and he sighed as he realized that he'd completely ruined her shoe collection. It was fun. He looked around, careful to look for anything that would make her feel his wrath. He knew enough to know he wouldn't be able to take her on a fair fight, without—he saw stars. His head pounded once, twice, except it was now being squeezed. Dropping the nail file as he tried to do something, Norris groaned as the pain grew worse. He couldn't fall, he couldn't move, and—

"Off of the boy!" The familiar voice of the vampire snapped. Her arms found him and he realized that the nail file would have been useful in this situation.

"Madam—" A masculine voice that felt and sounded off came.

"Mister and Mrs. Benedict, may I present to you, your son! He has been living in the nineteen sixties with your brother. You know, the former time mage—Cole Benedict!"

"What is his name?" A deep, but feminine voice demanded. "I had no idea your brother was so grimy, Felix."

"His name, according to my research, is Norris Octavious Benedict." He gasped and bit back a whimper as a hand prodded his aching head. "Those gargoyles don't do too well when my orders are disobeyed."

"No problem." The other woman said as his vision returned to him. He saw them now, the man looked like his uncle, but far less fit, and the other was a slender blond who didn't match the mildly overweight man next to her. She smiled as she caught his eyes.

"Hey, Norris, it's me… your mom. Do you know my name?" He was about to answer a positive when she continued as he sucked in a breath. "I am Lucy Benedict nee Lewis."

"I know." Norris interrupted back, "I also know you married my bore of a father because of me being on the way and left me to my uncle because I cried too much compared to the other kid."

She covered her mouth with both of her hands, hiding what her exact expression was. He supposed that the tears and the way her eyes crinkled were not out of happiness. The man's face turned red as he reacted and wrapped his arms around the softly sobbing woman.

"We had some things to take care of—your uncle needed to watch you for a mere week, Norris, not abuse his chosen vocational specialty to make us forget we even had a son." Norris sucked in a breath to argue, to defend his uncle. The vampire put a gentle hand over his mouth.

"We can get to know each other after we've concluded the contract and made payments, yes?"

"He's bleeding in the head." Norris's eyes rolled to the high heavens as he realized that his father was a true bore of a businessman, as his uncle had warned him. He was bargaining for Norris!

"Well, I'm sure he's a sweet child, even if he was raised by that type of person, however—we need to discuss other things you'll have to pay for… it took me a while to meet a time wizard capable of pinpointing me to the exact time and location and it wasn't easy to get this boy here!"

Norris inhaled the pine fresh scent on her fingers before he stuck his tongue, pleased when she flinched away from his spit. Vampires could take any metal, but they couldn't handle them when they were drenched in saliva.

"I don't mind going to an orphanage." He just needed to go back to his uncle's favorite city to live there. If he could cause the right amount of trouble, maybe steal a map—the woman held out her arms.

"Please, madam, let me hold him." Norris was too big to be treated like that! He flinched away as Lucy approached and ran a hand up his arm, pausing at his shoulder. Her touch reminded him of something he hadn't thought he needed, something he had missed. She was touching his face, something he couldn't even let Uncle Cole do.

Her fingers were rougher than the old women who liked to pinch his cheeks in exchange for candy, her thumb ran over his right eye and he sighed in contentment as the peace overwhelmed him and—she was putting him to sleep! Drat, it was too late to push it off. He leaned into the vampire when his other eye was sealed.

She snapped her fingers and he did as his uncle had taught him to avoid spells like this. Holding his breath as the magic tried to take effect, Norris cleared his mind and waited for his mother to relax.

When the hold of her magic had ended, Norris made sure to keep his eyes shut and keep his breathing even. Uncle Cole often did this when doing business with fellow magicians and he knew that this was where things would be interesting. If the vampire could tell he was sleeping, she didn't comment. It was either that or she didn't care what he heard.

"Now, the price." The vampire said as she placed him on the floor. "How much is your son worth to you, Mister Benedict?"

Norris listened to the way his father sounded closer than ever.

"If you had gotten him at an earlier age…"

"That man homeschooled your boy - they were always together. This was the night your son would spend the most time alone. At least according my divining friend."

"Does my brother know you have him?"

"He came back and said something about a park. This was to your son."

"I see… he's seen your face and knows what you are?" His mother said something that almost brought a gasp out of him. "He may be making plans to put you in sunlight, madam. He was my father-in-law's best assassin."

"I have my own time wizard who will require compensation for the effort they put into it."

"Our government—" His father started.

"I will write down a number. You may take it or leave it. We don't want the boy to know how little you value his life when he wakes up." Norris didn't get to see the numbers that the vampire offered. "He is still non existent in our records, so if this is too high—"

"It is." His father said.

"A wealthy member of law enforcement, the head of our people's Justice Department—oh good heavens!" the vampire gasped dramatically. "You weren't trying to find your boy, you were going after your brother."

"He has killed many people." His father said.

"Felix!" Lucy shouted, enraged. Norris turned his head, looking at the couple from the vampire's arms. "This is our chance to help our daughter!"

"That was the icing on the cake. This boy - oh my goodness, Lulu…" Norris continued to stare at the couple and managed one question before the vampire hung her head.

"Why didn't you leave me with Uncle Cole? I was happy with him."

"You…" Norris stood up, examining the price on the paper between them. It was about $2,000 in US currency if his numbers were correct. Norris also knew that the vampire's shoe collection - which he'd vandalized - was worth more. The vampire released him and he spoke to the stricken woman.

"Do you love my sister?" He hesitated, wondering who he wanted to punish more. The vampire had done a job, and Uncle Cole had promised they would meet again. He looked between them.

"Of course!" The woman said with absolute certainty. He didn't hear an answer from the man who was his father. He smiled at them and the man palmed his face. "Dear, what…?"

"You should take the amount she is charging you." The man - Felix—father, hadn't answered in a single moment. Norris's grin widened when the man immediately did so.

"We'll take the lump sum for your services. Anything that happens from here on out is your responsibility. I'll let my lawyers know you did your end and we'll be on our way."

Norris followed after them and said just before the door shut, "I like your shoes, they were fun to mess with… Miss Vampire."

The door shut with a click and the family walked down the hall. The vampire who had torn him away from his beloved Uncle gave a bloodcurdling scream as they went to his home.

[***]

"There is not a single ray of sunlight down here, child." His mother said as they entered a large station. He looked around, seeing various entities lining up to go through the many tunnels that lined the walls and floor in a disorganized mess. Looking up yielded more tunnels. At least each had labels… Some words looked romanized, like a familiar dream. His father placed his hand on his shoulder as they entered through a floor tunnel on the far right.

He smiled, recalling a time when Uncle Cole took him to the New York subways while on summer vacation. His frown met her smiling face as Lucy caught him and helped him catch his balance.

"Why do the trains look so… boring…nixed, I guess? And why do they have windows, then?" It was the shape of a silver bullet, but much larger and far longer. Norris supposed that magical civilization could only go so far ahead of the nixed who hunted them.

"I'll answer your second question. I'm not a design engineer. Riders need to see if it's our stop within the void… the driver and crew need to make sure that if there is an attack on the cars they can fight who or whatever appears."

"Don't scare the boy, Lucy." Norris frowned as his father pulled out a baton and tapped the button next to the entrance three times, held out his hand and closed his hand into a fist. When he rounded on them, he had three bronze tickets in his palm.

"Get a better class, dear." Lucy snapped. "I don't want to risk him getting kidnapped again."

"I just… the gold train doesn't come for another hour."

"We'll make do with silver." her temper was close to flaring and Norris took a quiet step away, unnerved by the subtle, warm smile that lit his father's face as he watched his mom tap her foot, hands on her hips.

Once they'd procured the tickets, Norris followed them as they muttered and stalked through the crowd that seemed to make way for the well dressed couple. He stayed close enough to maintain his position in their bubble. They sat nearest to where the trains were coming and going. There was a stone-faced man seated nearby, dressed in all black that caught his eye when his parents sat down, rather… his son, who held a silver ticket in his gloved right hand. They looked like they were the same age, or so he thought.

(Hoped, really…)

The boy was different from the kids Uncle Cole introduced him to. This one wasn't smiling a creepy, too-wide smile, his pupils weren't weird. Sometimes, the kids he introduced had pupils so big that Norris could see himself in them. Alas, those days were over until he could make his way to the park.

"Hi, I'm Norris." He introduced himself to the boy first, refraining from mentioning his family name. It was as Norris had learned from Uncle Cole. The man took one look at him, in his proper clothes before looking at his tear stained cheeks. It was his father that spoke up.

"Play with him, Jason." Norris took in his features, a silver haired boy with hazel eyes that were so broken that Norris could almost feel pity for him. He then remembered what Uncle Cole had taught him: nothing was worth losing one's dignity as a man.

Norris heard Lucy release a shout and both boys rounded a corner to where a woman floated, playing a sitar. Her eyes had a set of bandages over them, but her hair was long and luxurious, almost to the ground from where she floated, and though Norris was tempted to take one of the coins within her case, he could tell by her clothing that she needed it more than him. She was wearing very little.

"Where are we?" Norris asked, looking around in an exaggerated show of fear. He knew the exact way back. He grinned as the other boy began to cry. "Buddy, relax… we're gonna be okay. You can find a new mommy and daddy—"

"Mommy!" Norris flinched at the volume of his voice as he began to sob on the spot. His screaming drew attention as the floating lady stopped playing, looking in his general direction. Her eyes were still covered, but Norris figured it was okay. She wasn't the only one staring at the baby in front of him. His initial goal was ruined as Jason's father reappeared, he wasn't too happy that his parents were with the man. He sighed and held out his arms to the boy. "What—?"

"C'mere, fool." His whispered words were met with a fierce and tight hug. Norris patted his back, covering up his escape attempt as something that was entirely this boy's fault. Norris chuckled and whispered into the calming boy's ear: "Don't scream so much next time, you big baby."

He nudged once, twice then was released as the boy's father grabbed him by the shoulder and Norris was grabbed by the scruff of his shirt and yanked backwards with more force than he thought was necessary.

"The train is here." Lucy said with a forced smile.