All For Not

Page 78

"Uncle? What are you doing here?" I sat up quickly, Xavier tensing as he stood up looking at the tall bald man with deep dark circles, "why I came to see you of course..." His eyes drifted over to Xavier, "and, who is this?"

"Xavier, meet my uncle Fester..." He swallows, "the guy Wednesday said ate girl scouts?" I frowned, "no, no, he's recently escaped prison, he's traveling through Siberia..." I trail off as the door bursts open, "Davina, hello."

"Uhm, hi..." Her eyes drift around the room, landing on the two others near my bedside first, her eyes yellowing lightly, an emotional reaction I assumed. Perhaps, anger...

"Xavier, what are you doing here?" My brow raised curiously, also looking at him in wait for his reply, "what do you mean? I brought her here." Their eyes seemed to clash, a stand off as my uncle grinned winking at me, showing little sparks on his fingertips as a suggestive curiosity. I paused thinking of both Xavier and Kent, "I suppose, you are most likely, correct uncle..."

He chuckled giggly and both of my peers eyed him, "who the hell is that?"

"My uncle, Fester..."

"Like, rotting, fester?" I nodded at her question, mimicking my uncle's movement as he spoke up, "oh yes, yes just like the rot."

"Oh, almost forgot!" I watched with peaked curiosity as he reached into his large dark coat, shadows pulling from the confines before he whipped his hand out suddenly and my eyes practically sparkled at what he held in his hand, "this is for you, my dear cousin has been quite worried about you little niece," he held it out to me but when I reached for it with an almost urgent movement he yanked it back.

"On one condition I'll give Itt's letter to you," I froze, my eyes glowing in seething rage, "I could incinerate you instead," he paused with his shocked expression before waving me off, "fine, fine here you are," I snatched it, excitedly ripping it open with sharp edged talons. I needed it as much as I needed heat, deprived too long of my connection to my favorite non-uncle cousin.

"Now, where is Thing, is he upset with me by any chance," I pulled the letter out, opening it softly as I sat back crossing my legs, answering him, "he's cross with you for the job still, wishes ill upon you should you ever cause the air to spark. His words are not mine..."

"Oh, I see. Well...I'm sure he'll be happy to see me... So, come on, spill the daggers, what does it say?" My eyes travel across the paper, line by line of cursive filling my sight as I slowly sit up onto my knees excitedly, my eyes widening bit by bit until they seemed owlish and a light purring came from my throat, almost as if I was a parrot and not a phoenix.

The last line had me bursting into flames, my body overheating in excitement, "oh no... Morella, sweety, calm down before they catch me now..." I ignored everything in favor of looking over the surprisingly fireproof letter once more as a form of double checking. Finding myself flinging myself off the bed and into my uncle as I laughed happily.

His giddy giggles followed my insanely happy giggles as we hopped around in a circular pattern holding onto each other's arms, "what'd it say, what'd it say?!"

"He's having another child! He wishes for me to visit him this summer as soon as school is over and they've come home from Romania. I am to be the first to see!" We stop jumping up and down as I become breathless and my fire diminishes, while fireproof he still had to pat out the lingering embers left to grow on his coat's arms, "oh that is good news... Are you alright?"

I nodded fervently, my smile wide and bright as I almost heaved, heavily breathing as Davina came up to my side. I had forgotten the other two were present as she helped me sit back onto the bed, "Matter of fact why are you in the infirmary? You should be healthy like a nice burning bonfire..."

"She was attacked," Xavier stepped over, keeping his distance from the tall bald man, "Attacked? What on earth would attack you of all things?" I relaxed against Davina, her hand on my face cooling me, something I needed despite having been so happy to get rid of after my amulet was displaced from my body.

"No one knows what it is," Xavier speaks as I sit and recuperate with some of her help, "Xavi... Can you show him a drawing of it?" He looks stunned at my words for a few different reasons before nodding, grabbing the sketchbook he had kept at my bedside since the night before.

"Wait uncle, you're here at Nevermore, why..." He shrugged as plainly as possible, "just blew into town this morning and was hit by a wave of nostalgia."

"You didn't go to Nevermore though." He smiled another shrug off his shoulders, "I didn't. Your dad got all the brains, but I used to drop in on him, usually from the ceiling with a dagger clutched between my teeth. Just to keep him on his toes but of course he filled me in on what's been going on. Monsters, murder, mayhem. What fun! I told him I had a job in Boston, but I'd be checking up on you and your sister, of course Gomez was a little concerned but I promised to behave..."

Nodding, I sat there, "I hope you are not here for thing as I said-" he interrupted me with a wave of his hand and a laugh, "he's cross with me, I heard. No, I promised I'd check in on you and deliver that letter, besides your mother had a vision of blood and claws, and you my dear were at the center..."

I swallowed, Xavier finally finding the page and showing it to the older man, his eyes frantic as they looked up at me, "were you bitten or scratched by this thing?" I nodded slowly, "where? It wasn't across the chest or tendons were they?" I shook my head, pulling the sweater down from my shoulders, turning my back to him a bit.

"Oh dear... Well nothing to worry about, you'll be fine soon I'm sure of it."

"It's called a Hyde." My eyes narrow as I turn back from showing him, "the Jekyll and Hyde? I thought none were allowed here anymore..." He nodded looking down at the drawing, "you've seen one before?"

He answered Xavier quickly and casually much to the teens surprise, "oh yeah. In '83, during my vacay at the Zurich Institute for the Criminally Insane." I perked up just the slightest, "oh, where you got your first lobotomy." He nodded, "but you know lobotomies. They're like tattoos, can't just get one," I smiled, fully agreeing.

"Olga Malacova. Jeez. She had it all. Beauty, brains, and a penchant for necrophilia." Davina and Xavier made a face, the latter of the two stepping away from him. "Olga was a concert pianist, until one night she transformed in the middle of a Chopin sonata. Massacred a dozen audience members. And three music critics."

"Was it a bad score? It's quite an easy piece..." He frowned, "no idea. I only saw her in group electroshock therapy." I nodded, understanding, "will you be finding Wednesday then?" He nodded, speaking up quickly and curiously, "but, when will you be allowed to come find me again?"

"You found me first uncle... But as soon as my heat is back up I can leave..."

"Ahh, I see, would you like me to shock you?" He lifted his hands with a gleam in his eyes. I paused, contemplating it before I glanced at the two students in the room with consideration, "maybe later, I fear you will scare my companions..."

"I see, well the toxins should pass soon, I'm afraid you're allergic, just like your father."

"Allergic?" He nodded with a broad smile, "oh yeah, don't worry about it though it's not like a human allergy after all. Think of it as if you've been bitten by something that makes your blood clot all over until you die, nothing to worry about."

"I was curious as to why it felt like this..." Xavier and Davina were in shocked horror, dazed by the words and collectively concerned for my well being, "but how are you aware of this?"

"Oh, well on one of my visits I found your father and the only attending Hyde fighting over your mother, she just couldn't let her go... Both so very territorial..." He gave a hum, shrugging as he continued, "she scratched your father up real bad I'm afraid, took him a whole week to get his fire back. After that incident, Hydes were banned from Nevermore, I'm curious to know why there's one sneaking around these woods attacking my darling niece though..."

Within seconds he vanished into the shadows of the room, no doubt jumping from one of the windows like a trained Addams assassin, "so..." I look between the two teens with me, "you can set yourself on fire?" I blinked at her question.