Tuesday

Geraldine

Mercy General Hospital was like any other hospital he had ever been in, stark with an underlying chemical scent. Finding her room had been easy, information had been glad to help, but now that he was up here, on the floor where they kept terminal patients, Cliff paused. It was difficult to think of Geraldine Ward as a terminal patient. The last time he had seen her had been just after Vincent’s funeral and while she had been mourning, she had still been vibrant and full of life. He did not know what to expect when he opened the door, but terminal did not do her justice.

“Good morning Geraldine.” Cliff spoke softly to the wasted form of the woman he had once known on the bed.

“Cliff? Cliff Bath is that you?” she peered in his general direction.

“Yes, Geraldine, it’s me. What’s going on with you?” He pulled one of the chairs over next to the bed and sat down.

“Brain tumor they say, eating away at my head from the inside. Soon I’ll be helpless as a babe. Not far from it now.” She smiled. “Did you come to talk to me about the boys?”

“I did.” He admitted to her. He saw no sense in lying to a dying woman.

“Vincent told me he contracted the boys. I refused to let him contract the girls. I don’t want them anywhere near the guild, not my girls. I’ve made them promise. Will you promise me too?”

“I can promise you I know nothing about any contracts for the girls, and that I can support your wish that they be allowed to make their own choices, but Geraldine, if the girls want to join the guild, I can do nothing to stop them.”

“Remind them of their promise, it should be enough.”

“I can do that.” He agreed.

“Thank you, Cliff. Are you taking care of Hunter now?”

“I am, he is one hard-headed boy. He refuses to leave home so long as there is family to care for.”

“He is like his papa — family first, always — family first, guild second, then the world. Did the club come for Cordell yet? He is old enough for his Cleansing.”

“I do believe Chester said he wanted to wait until Cordell was at least seventeen, his clients prefer older boys, but with the way things are going,” he looked around the room, “I believe he will make an exception of a few months. It is Jiovanni I am more concerned about, he is still several months away from the earliest date for his Cleansing, and there is no way that William can take him early unless Jiovanni requests him in a certain manner, and due to the laws, no one can tell Jiovanni the way to do it.”

“Have you spoken to William?” Geraldine asked.

“Not for a year at least.”

“Then maybe you should talk to him.”

“Why, do you think… how would Jiovanni know?”

“Vincent wasn’t so concerned with the legal system on his deathbed he spoke to Jiovanni for hours alone. Odessa too. Hunter and Cordell received their time alone, but not the same amount by far. I don’t know what Vincent told Jiovanni, he always came out of the sick room a bit dazed and went straight to bed, to think on it, he said. The one he spent the least amount of time with was Elaina. I asked him about it and he said she was too unpredictable at this time, but her future was secure. It was after their papa died that Odessa declared she would remain under Hestia’s Protection until further notice. She still is. A year later, Hunter joined the guild, as you well know. I do believe Vincent told him to do it. He just got up that morning of his birthday and left early to go to the guildhall before breakfast. By the time I found out what was going on, his classes at school had been changed and he was an official member with his Cleansing scheduled with you.”

“Why do you think Cordell didn’t go down to the guildhall on his last birthday?”

“He might have been told to go down on his seventeenth instead. I do not know. Or he might have been told to listen to Hunter.”

“And Jiovanni?”

“He came to visit, and he was doing his best to hide bruises. Vincent was right about my baby, his blood burns. I do not know how he purges the burn yet, but he is handling the ache.”

“But if he’s hiding the bruises, then it’s not good for his emotional development. He missed school yesterday claiming a headache. I wonder if he was still recovering from bruises.”

“From what I saw, it’s very possible. If he had not been wearing one of Hunter’s old shirts, then he would have been picked up and sent to Juvie.”

“Ganami school shirt?”

“Yes that’s the one.”

Cliff did some quick thinking. If the boy had been being paid as an Erebi, then that would explain the money in Hunter’s account. However, he would have had to have gone out between ten and fifteen times. A non-contracted Erebi was rare, but they did happen. It just meant that Jiovanni had to negotiate each session before agreeing. Cliff’s mind boggled. Had Vincent actually taught Jiovanni how to negotiate on his deathbed? Or did it just come natural to the boy?

While he was sitting, pondering one of the nurses came in to administer a medication. “I’m sorry sir, but this may make her sleepy.”

Cliff nodded his understanding and sat with Geraldine discussing mundane things until she nodded off, then he slipped out of the room quietly. Hunter was right to be worried, and someone would have to sit down and talk to Odessa. Maybe he could get one of Chester’s ladies to do it. He sighed as he exited the building and flipped open his phone. These were two calls he did not want to make. The first call was to his secretary, Lucy, to let her know he would be taking a bit longer than he anticipated, could she reschedule anything on his schedule with his apologies until after lunch.

Cliff

He drove home so he could have some privacy for the other two calls. His house, a modest two-story on a decent sized piece of land, was rather private, and that was the way he liked it. The gate opened for his car automatically, but most others would be stalled here until allowed to enter. The shrub and tree lined driveway curved to the left then back toward the right before going to the house, which could not be seen from the street even with a good pair of binoculars. The foliage took care of that, and he paid the gardener well to make sure it stayed that way.

Bailey met him at the door, as expected. “The Missus is out, Sir, and the girls are still at school.”

“Good, good, I’ll be in the study if anyone needs me.”

Bailey nodded and closed the door as Cliff headed for his study. Once there, he opened his files and found the numbers he needed. There was a single knock before Bailey entered with tea service and a tray of sweets. A polite nod, a smile later, and he was gone again. Cliff chuckled. That young man was coming along rather well.

Cliff called Chester first, but he was not in. He left a message with his secretary concerning Cordell and Geraldine Ward’s condition. He would know what to do and would set the proper things in motion from his end. Then he took a deep breath and called William.

“Chains of Prometheus, what’s your pleasure?” a soft male voice answered the telephone.

“William Reed please.”

“One moment.” The phone clicked, went silent, clicked again and a new voice picked up.

“Mulciber Reed speaking.”

“Hello William, Cliff Bath, calling concerning a young man you hold the contract for.”

“I hold a lot of contracts, Cliff, care to be more specific.”

“Jiovanni Ward.”

“Ah, yes I do hold his contract.”

“Do you mind if I inquire its status?”

“Just one moment.”

Cliff was placed on hold and while he listened to the odd music, he wondered why William would have to look up the status of a contract that he should be familiar with if Jiovanni had gone to him recently as Geraldine had suggested. The phone clicked again.

“I have the contract right here, the boy in question will be sixteen next spirng. So the contract hasn’t been opened yet.”

“Is there any doubt the boy is an Erebi?”

“According to Vincent, the probability was high, 90th percentile when the contract was written. The boy hadn’t experienced his first burning yet, and as far as I know he hasn’t.”

“How sure are you?”

“Every Mulciber in the state knows Jiovanni is mine. If he burns hot enough to go seeking, they would bring him to me for a proper breaking. Why do you ask?”

“Geraldine is terminally ill. I went to see her in the hospital today. She seems to think he has sought you out. She mentioned some bruising he was hiding and was concerned about his emotional health.” Cliff held the phone away from his ear as loud swearing commenced. When it died down, he put the receiver back next to his ear.

“…hands on that boy. I should just go over there now and pick him up regardless of his age, regardless of the law, but I can’t do a damn thing until his mother dies. Then I become his legal guardian, and I can punish him properly for fucking around underage.”

“Erebi do it all the time from what I understand.”

“Yes they do, but they are in training, and there is a proper protocol. They aren’t just out on the streets picking up who knows what from who knows whom. It’s a process. Damn it. That boy had so much potential, if he’s ruined I’ll kill the…”

Cliff moved the phone away from his ear again. When he moved it back there was silence. “William?”

“Yes.”

“Jiovanni does not know about the contract.”

“Excuse me?”

“Jiovanni has not been told he is under contract and is acting in good faith, what ever he is doing.”

“Why was he not told?”

Cliff was glad to hear William sounded calmer, “When Vincent died, Geraldine did not want the boys to be influenced about whether or not to join the guild, so she didn’t tell them. She thought Poseidon’s Pleasure House had closed down.”

“Chester’s place? It’s a legend. Why would she think that?”

“Because Chester didn’t come after Cordell when he was sixteen, and Cordell has chosen not to join the guild as of yet, so no one told him he could be living there if he wanted to.”

“Geraldine’s terminal you said?”

“Yes, Hunter seems to think that she won’t last out the month. I’d say more like a week. The nurses say soon. You might want to get a place ready for Jiovanni just in case. He has this thing for his privacy.”

“Most Erebi do, believe it or not, especially after they have started their training. A lot of it is done publicly, so when they can get a few private moments, they cherish them. Soon, huh, I’ve got a room he can have until he asks for training.”

“And if he’s already begun training with someone?”

“Then that someone and I will have a little chat. Word was out that boy is mine; it has been out since the day the contract was signed. Every new Mulciber is told personally, and no Mulciber-in-training would dare begin training a boy without discussing the specifics with their mentor. I cannot think of any way he could have begun training without me knowing.”

“Just remember it may not have been their fault. I have the feeling there is more going on in the Ward household than any of them are saying.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Cliff. Thanks for calling. Keep me posted about Geraldine. Just tell the boy on the front phone it is an emergency if I’m not in. Give him the code, ‘barbed cuffs’.”

Cliff wrote it down, “I will, William. Thanks for taking my call. Wish it could have been on better circumstances.”

“Well it’s not like we walk in the same circles.”

Cliff laughed with him. “No, it’s not. Have a pleasant day.” A few minutes later he was hanging up the phone, glad that conversation was over.