Beyond Time

Reincarnation

I wandered down in the city, the sun hiding behind white clouds. Isaac and Napoleon were in the centre of a group of kids down near the fountain. Isaac seemed to be teaching the kids something, and Napoleon waved at me, gesturing to come join them. My surprise at seeing a ten-year old kid learning calculus was unparalleled. I'd failed calculus at the age of sixteen. Twice.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Napoleon.

"Isaac and I sometimes teach the underprivileged kids in the city," he said, casually indicating Isaac, who was currently being mauled by a child.

"Lin!" called a young boy.

"Seren!" I said with pleasant surprise as he launched himself into my arms. "How did it go with the flowers?"

His face fell as he shook his head. "Mom didn't like them." I ruffled his hair absent-mindedly, and he turned to Napoleon. "Will you teach us fencing today?"

Napoleon shook his head. "Maybe tomorrow. It's a little too late to practice today."

"Why fencing?"

"I want to get stronger so no one can hurt me."

I was right, something was wrong. "Seren, is everything okay in your home?"

He considered that. "Mom loves me. She's just a bit rough."

I had many questions. Napoleon and I shared a look as Isaac called him, getting his attention. "Sunset is here."

"We'll continue tomorrow then."

I heard various noises of disappointment, Seren's voice joining them. I laughed. "You're both popular."

Napoleon smiled as he stood up, and I took the hand he offered me, letting him pull me up. The children began to disband. Seren raised a hand in farewell as he took off down the street. "Lin, we're heading home."

Isaac nodded.

"You two go ahead." I jerked my head towards Seren. "There's something I want to take care of."

They nodded and left, after making me promise I'd come back to the mansion in time for dinner. As soon as they left, I followed the path Seren had taken, feeling like a stalker. I watched him knock on the door to a house before he entered. The hair on the back of my neck rose like the voices I heard from the house.

I stifled a gasp as Seren was tossed out of the house, the door locking behind him. "Go somewhere and die!" yelled a woman's shrill voice. Well, that was... sad and interesting.

Seren sat outside the door, as if maybe if he waited long enough, they'd let him back in. I walked up to him, and his dark eyes brightened slightly. I placed a finger on my lips and gestured to him. We walked down the street together, heading back to the fountain. I waited to see if he wanted to talk.

"I wish she'd love me."

I bit my lip. "Do you need her to love you? Would it be fine if someone else would?"

He took a seat on the dais, raising his legs. "I don't know," he said, burying his face in his knees.

I decided to get straight to the point. "Do you want to stay with her?"

He raised his face to look at me. "It hurts. It's confusing. Everyone says there's no way your parents would hate you. I'm scared." He shook his head before burying his face in his knees again.

We sat there for a while, and I ran through every option I could think of. There's no way I could bring him back to Comte's mansion. Them being vampires aside, I didn't exactly have a right to bring someone to stay there—I was a guest myself after all. I knew someone else who lived alone. He might be a vampire too, but I think he'd have a better idea on what to do. I stood up, holding out a hand to him. "Come on. We're finding you a place to go."