Trefoil (20 page)

Their father paused and took in a deep breath as if steading himself for what he was about to say.

“Your mother is afraid that I will obstruct you in some way.  If there comes a time where you have to give your life to preserve peace, she knows I would never allow it.  She knows I would protect you with my own life which in turn would put your life in danger. 
If you are trying to save me all the time, then who will be watching out for you.
  It might be necessary for me to be somewhere else while all of this is going on, hiding somewhere else in this world.  Your mother has asked me to do as much in the letter.  She has asked me to leave you and not try to find you.  I think she thought I would remarry.  In her letter she indicates that I should save myself and my loved ones and let you do your duty.  This is why she hasn’t answered.  She was waiting for me to read the letter and tell you that I wasn’t going to go.”

“But dad you can’t leave us.”  Tears were flowing down Kellan’s face.  This just might push her over the edge.  “I won’t go if you don’t.”

“This is the last time we are going to talk about this until your mother responds.”  He said.  “If she says no, I will go away.  I have everything in place to leave, so no one will be able find me here.  I have some ideas of where I’d like to hide if I have to.  It will be like an early retirement.  There is enough money to last a lifetime.  Actually there is enough to last my lifetime, your lifetime, and your children’s lifetime.  So I will start making plans for that option.  If I have to leave, we will find a way for you to contact me.  I will leave word with my lawyer and set up a mailbox somewhere for correspondence.  Then it can be forwarded anywhere in the world.”

“That I love you three enough to walk away should tell you how much I respect your mother.  I know she is trying to do what is best for everyone in this world and in hers.  So it’s time you forgive her.  You will need her if I’m gone.  You will need to trust her.  If I can ask you three for one thing, then I ask you to forgive her, for me.”  Their father left the room and his three children to
think about what he had said.

Chapter
24…

The garden had been transformed with long flowing linen curtains and plush couches.  The ballroom was filled with linen clothed tables set with fine china and silver and a stage had been erected in one corner of the dance floor in which a DJ had begun setting up. 

It was the evening of the triplets’ eighteenth birthday party and the day had been filled with last minute emergencies and overlooked details.  Everything had come together beautifully in the end.  Their party planner Doreen had out done herself with the food that was being delivered at this moment.  The house smelled of delicious hors devours, roasted chicken, prime rib, and various other foods that would be available this evening.

Meckenzie had finished getting ready and was searching the house for anyone who actually lived there.  There were cater-waiters milling about in the ballroom listening to the DJ test his sound equipment with a little Katy Perry.  Adam, the party decorator, was in the garden adding last minute decorating touches. 

“Have you seen any of my family?”  Meckenzie surprised Adam. He had not realized she had entered the garden.

“Oh my
gawd
girl, you look fantastic?”  Adam rushed over to Meckenzie and spun her around.  “Is this Vintage?”

Meckenzie was wearing a dress that she had found while going through some trunks in the storage space downstairs.  It had been her mom’s dress.  It was a classic sweetheart floor length gown of a shimmering gold fabric that flowed behind her like a river of honey.  Meckenzie’s mask matched it perfectly.  Kellan had found a dress to wear as well and had it taken out for an emergency fitting.  She was broader than Meckenzie and their mom, but the seamstress had been able to alter the dress and Kellan had looked gorgeous in it.  It had a rainbow iridescence that matched her butterfly mask.

“Yes, it was my mom’s dress.”  Meckenzie twirled as Adam shrieked with delight.   “Have you seen Taggart or Kellan?”

“No, but that aunt of yours was through here a minute ago adjusting cameras and talking on her cell phone.
  I swear I saw her moving rocks around too, but it’s been a long day and I could have been seeing things.”

“Thanks Adam.  I’ll see you later.”  Meckenzie headed downstairs where she assumed everyone had gathered.  Sure enough, she found Isabel, Bowen, Taggart, and Arden assembled around the potion table.  Ardan was wearing a tuxedo and looked absolutely dashing.  His hair had gotten a little longer so it was curling up over his collar.  There was a place inside of Meckenzie that wanted to run her fingers through that hair.  Twist her fingers into his beautiful locks and pull his mouth down to hers.  Meckenzie cleared her head of these thoughts.  They had done a great job of working together without letting their feelings find their way into it. 

“Hey guys, what are we doing in our secret spy lab?”  Meckenzie was feeling great this evening and her sense of humor had started coming back the last couple of days.

They all turned in Meckenzie’s direction.  Ardan’s eyes met hers and she could see the desire spark in them. 

“You look beautiful sis.”  Taggart smiled.

“You look handsome too, bro.”

Meckenzie rubbed his hair so that Taggart would have to fix it before the party.  Everyone’s mood seemed to be on the happy side this evening.

“We are putting some extra precautions into place.  With all the people flowing in and out of the house, it is best if we are cautious.  Here,” Isabel handed Meckenzie a couple of vials, “keep these in your purse.  One is a smoke bomb that your brother came up with; it should be thrown on the ground.  It will cause a dense fog.  The other is a paralyzing potion.  Throw it on the person you want to paralyze.  This will help you avoid paralyzing everyone on Central Park West.”  They all laughed at Meckenzie’s ability to project a spell in a large radius. 

“The magic alarms are set.  Anyone with fairy blood will be able to feel it when they go off.  It will buzz you like an electric fence.  It won’t hurt, but you will feel the vibration.”  Bowen had upgraded the magical alarms when he had first moved in.  “We will be monitoring the party from down here.  We set up a viewing station for the many cameras around the house in the corner of our room.  We have brought a couple of extra people over for security.  They will be here any minute.  Ardan will be in the ballroom with you three all night.  Isabel and I will come and go, as we will be monitoring the perimeters as well as communicating with the others.”

“Has anyone seen Kellan?”  Meckenzie was wondering where her sister had gotten off to. 

“I thought she was getting ready.”  Taggart said absently as he mixed another potion.

“I’m right here.”  Kellan came down the stairs looking lovely.

“You look amazing.”  Meckenzie rushed over to give her a hug.  “You ready to turn eighteen?”

“Technically we are already eighteen.” 

“Okay, ready to blow out some candles?” 

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”  Kellan was very aloof.  She seemed to have something on her mind, but Meckenzie didn’t have time to ask because Bowen began to go over the security measures for the evening with Kellan.  Isabel gave Kellan the same potions to keep in her purse. 

The trips and Ardan headed upstairs to the party.  Guests would start arriving at any minute and it was important that they were there to greet them.  Their father was already in the sitting room on the first floor with two gentlemen dressed in all black.  They were discussing the cameras positioned over the door and in the entry.

Bowen entered and greeted them as old friends; they must be the extra security detail Meckenzie realized.  As Bowen introduced them, they bowed to the triplets.  It was the first time someone had addressed them as royalty.  Meckenzie felt uncomfortable and Kellan snickered.  Before it got uncomfortable, Bowen took them down to show them the ballroom and garden. 

“I’m glad I get to see you three before this shindig starts up.  I have something for you.”  Their father pulled out three small ring boxes from his pocket.  He handed the red one to Taggart, the green one to Kellan and the blue one to Meckenzie.  “I hope you like them.”

The triplets opened the boxes to find they each had been given a ring.  Taggart’s was inset with a ruby and eight small diamonds in a large square platinum setting.  Kellan’s had a large princess cut diamond set off by two emeralds in a platinum setting.  Meckenzie was amazed that he had taken the color of their necklaces into designing these rings.  Meckenzie’s ring was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.  There were a half a dozen sapphires and diamonds sprinkled through a platinum band.  It sparkled from every angle.

“Thank you so much, this is so beautiful.”  Kellan hugged their father tightly. 

“Now they don’t have any magical powers, but I thought no matter what happens, that you would always have a piece of me with you.”

“Thanks dad.”  Taggart gave him a hug.

Meckenzie was on the verge of tears.  She knew she couldn’t cry though, she didn’t have enough time to fix her makeup.  She hugged her father; she buried her head in his chest and breathed in deep.  Her dad smelled as he had always smelled, sandalwood and citrus.  It was some cologne that he had worn since the 70’s.  Meckenzie loved the smell of it.  

“Well, there will be guests arriving soon.”  As if on cue the doorbell rang and everyone went off to greet the first guests.

People began pouring in and were shown down to the ballroom.  The masquerade ball was a huge success; everyone was drinking, eating and laughing.  The triplets’ friends from school had asked about their absence.  The trips just confirmed the story that they were dealing with a personal family matter and needed to be home. 

When it was time to cut the cake, the lights were turned off as a huge cake was wheeled in.  The triplets circled around with their father to blow out the candles as everyone sang happy birthday.  Meckenzie got ready to make her wish, but the only wish she could think of was that this would all be over soon so that they could get on with their lives and be near their father.

Applause erupted as they blew out the candles and the lights came back on.  Meckenzie saw her first at the back of the room.  She was standing next to the door holding a mask to her chest.  Her blond hair was pulled away from her face and she looked a little older, but it was her. 

Meckenzie must have stopped breathing because Taggart touched her shoulder, but Meckenzie couldn’t take her eyes off of her; she might disappear if that happened.  So when Taggart followed her eyes to the back of the room, his hand dropped back to his side.

“Mom.”
  He whispered.

Chapter
25…

For the first time in eight years, they were in the same room as their mom.  Doreen was urging them to cut into the cake so that they could start serving it.  Taggart numbly took the knife made a slice and handed Doreen the knife to begin serving the guests.  The triplets made their way through the crowd accepting congratulations as they went, but never taking their eyes off their mom.  Kellan’s breathing had accelerated the moment she had spotted their mother.  She was getting angry, which could spell trouble if she was unable to control her powers.

Their mother smiled at them as they approached her.  Meckenzie still couldn’t believe she was really there.  Their father had followed them to the back of the room and was the first to speak.

“
Deidra
you don’t seem to have aged a day, you are lovelier than I remember.”   He was mesmerized by her smile.  “Maybe we should go somewhere more private.”

“I think that would be best.”  She led them out of the room and headed for the stairs.  Bowen was standing outside the ballroom and led the way up the stairs.  He seemed to be aware of their mother’s desire for privacy and he led them to Lawrence’s study.

Everyone took seats and Bowen closed the door as he stepped back outside to guard it.

“You girls look beautiful.  I do believe those are my old dresses.  I can’t say that I ever looked as lovely in them as you do.”  The smile that played across their mom’s face was enchanting. 

Kellan was not enchanted.  She was angry.

“You just waltz back in here and think that everything is going to be okay because you showed up for our eighteenth birthday party.  What about the seven you missed?  What about the Christmases and the school plays?  What about everything else?  You run off and then you expect us to jump for joy and come with you.  So you have showed up to fetch us have you?”  Kellan was sobbing, her body trembling with anger.

“I’m sorry Kellan.  I really am.  Life doesn’t always go the way you want it to.  Sometimes when all you want in the whole world is to be a mom, you have to be the Queen instead.”  Their mother’s face was filled with sorrow.

“You didn’t have to go back.  You could have stayed.  You didn’t have to leave us.”

“Yes Kellan, I had to leave.  I had thousands of people depending on me to lead them.  I needed to be there to protect them.  I needed to be there in order to protect you.”

“But it didn’t protect us did it.  They came here and attacked us.  They burned me, and if Taggart wasn’t a healer what would have happened?  I’d be in a hospital right now, or dead.”  Kellan was visibly turning red in the face.  Meckenzie was afraid that she would do her she-hulk routine right here in the middle of the study.

“Kellan calm down.  You’re going to change into your larger self if you don’t.”  Taggart placed his hand on her back trying to relax her.  It had the opposite effect.  Kellan jumped to her feet.

“I’m not going to sit here with her.  You guys can do what you want; I’m going back to the party.”  With that she stormed out of the study.

“Do you two feel the same way she does?”  
Deidra
asked them.  The smile was gone from her eyes; it had been replaced with eight years of pain and distance.

“I’m not going to say I completely understand how you left, but I do understand why.”  Taggart’s level headedness was one of his best features. 

“I could say the same thing as Taggart.  I’m happy you are here though and I am happy that you cared enough to come back.”  Meckenzie stood up and went to hug her mother for the first time in eight years.

Deidra
held on tight.  There were all those years to make up for.  Taggart joined them and they had a good family hug. 

“Well, there is much to discuss, but I think it can wait till after the party.  If you don’t mind I would like to talk to your father alone and I think someone should go find Kellan and make sure she is okay.” 

Meckenzie and Taggart left their mother and father in the study.  Meckenzie was curious if they were discussing where their father would be spending the next few years.  It really involved all of them, so she was a little frustrated that they had not been asked to join the conversation.  She toyed with the idea of eavesdropping with her mental gifts on the private conversation, but decided it was probably more important to take care of Kellan.

Bowen was positioned outside the door still.  He must be guarding the Queen.  Meckenzie thought he had probably seen which way Kellan had gone.

“Did you see Kellan leave?”

“Yes, she went up to her room, I think.”  Bowen smiled knowing Kellan’s temper.

Meckenzie turned to Taggart, “I’ll go get her.  You go to the party and make sure that people don’t start wondering where we all have run off to.”

There wasn’t much that Meckenzie could say to Kellan that would ease her anger.  This was a suicide mission and Meckenzie knew she was going to have to take the fall and be the bad guy to get Kellan back to the party.  She knocked on Kellan’s door, but there was no response.

“Kellan, its Meckenzie.  Can I come in?”  There was still no response.  “Kellan I’m coming in.” 

Meckenzie opened the door, but the room was dark.  As she flipped on the light switch she noticed that the room looked like someone had riffled through all of Kellan’s clothes and belongings.  Stuff was scattered all over the room and some of Kellan’s things were missing.  The photo of the family that she kept beside her bed was missing.  Kellan’s laptop was gone as well, the cords hanging all over her desk.

Meckenzie walked over to the desk.  Set against the speakers was an envelope addressed to Meckenzie and Taggart.  Just as she was sliding her finger in the envelope to tear it open, her body started buzzing.  It was just as Bowen had described it, an electrical fence without the pain.  The magical alarm was going off.

Meckenzie took the envelope and ran down the stairs.  As she hit the second floor her mother, father and Bowen were coming out of the study.  They all moved towards the stairs, someone was in the house but they didn’t know where.

“Did you find Kellan?”   Bowen was taking the stairs two at a time as he yelled back to her.

“No, she wasn’t there.  There was this note.”  Meckenzie held up the envelope so everyone could see it.

Meckenzie’s father had put himself in front of their mother and was headed cautiously down the stairs.  Meckenzie fished the potions out of her purse and prepared to paralyze anyone who might be coming up behind them.

There were so many things happening at once, that Meckenzie didn’t know where they should go, but Bowen obviously had a plan.  When they reached the landing of the first floor, he was headed to the front door to check with the guard.  Unfortunately, the guard was not there and there were no signs of anyone forcing their way in. 
The sounds of the party still going echoed up the stair way into the foyer.
  The DJ was encouraging people to dance as he started playing Party Rock by LMFAO.  Meckenzie couldn’t help but think of how much Kellan loved this song, which made her hope that Kellan was downstairs safe right now.

“I think we should get the Queen to the gym, we can protect her better down there.  Meckenzie try and find Kellan and Taggart.”

The magical alarm was still rattling through Meckenzie’s body as they started down the stairs. They met Taggart, Ardan and Isabel at the foot of the stairs.  Kellan wasn’t with them, which meant she was still missing.  Meckenzie pulled the letter out of her bag and tore into it. 

Dear brother and sister,

I know that you think we should run off and fight this war.  I know that you have forgiven mom, but I have not.  I am going to run away.  I have saved up a lot of money and have a friend that is going to let me stay with her.  I won’t come back until this war is over.  Don’t try and find me.  I will just run again if you do.

Tell dad I’m sorry.  I really didn’t want to leave him, but I had to choose myself this time. Stay safe.

Love

Kellan

Meckenzie was shocked.  Where had she gone?  She needed to tell everyone.

As they started to discuss what to do next, Meckenzie yelled it out.  “Kellan’s run away.”

Everyone stopped and looked at Meckenzie.  She held out the letter she had just read.  Her father took it from her hands and read it aloud for everyone to hear.  Now they had two problems, there was someone in the house who wanted to hurt them.  And Kellan wasn’t in the house anymore.   At that moment the magical alarm stopped buzzing Meckenzie bones.  Everyone noticed it at the same time.

“Whoever was here is gone.”  Ardan stated.  “We should try to find Kellan.”

“Let’s go to the gym first and look at the tapes.  We need to know when and how Kellan left.  Plus we might be able to see who was here.”  Bowen led them downstairs to his room, the makeshift security room.  Their father excused himself to find Doreen so he could end the party. 

Meckenzie realized she hadn’t even gotten a piece of her own birthday cake.  It seemed like such a trivial thought considering her sister had just run away and someone had broken into their house.  They say just before you go crazy, your mind starts to think of mundane things.  Meckenzie thought maybe she was going crazy.