36 | I've Seen It All

Seaside, California November 1, 2012

Celesta

IT took us well into the early morning hours to get that house cleaned up. Scott and Lily were still upstairs. Laura and I hadn't slept at all, but after chugging coffee I felt fine. Amberly came tumbling downstairs at about seven.

Eddie had crashed on the couch next to Samuel. The amount of whiskey Samuel drank last night was astounding. He didn't even seem fazed.

Amberly was still convinced Eddie needed to go to the hospital; Samuel suggested something else.

To go see Zach's father.

He believed Markus would know what Eddie was. Zach was convinced he was a werewolf for some reason.

I knew he wasn't. He would have shifted by now.

Not long after breakfast Amberly, Eddie, Zach and I headed over to Zach's house. We left after Laura filled us all up with omelets.

Zach had eaten 10 of them.

"So what is your Dad going to say exactly?" Eddie inquired. "I feel human. I don't have powers or super strength."

"Doesn't matter, you should have staples in your head right now or be dead," Zach muttered as he turned in his driveway.

"Maybe you're an alien," Amberly suggested and started to giggle. "You could be related to ET!"

Eddie just sighed.

Once we were pulled up to the house, we all got out. Markus was already on the porch, his arms folded across his chest.

Zach and I walked over to him, but I turned and noticed Eddie and Amberly were still lingering near the truck.

"Guys?" Zach called out.

Amberly poked Eddie in the back, causing him to walk forward. He looked scared shitless. Was he afraid of Zach's father? The man did look like he would break you in half with one arm, but honestly, he was very nice.

At least to me anyway.

"We are coming!" Amberly squeaked, poking Eddie in the back again, forcing him to walk over to us.

Markus motioned for us to follow him to the shed. I had never seen Eddie so nervous in his life as we entered.

The shed was large, big enough to fit at least 2 cars in it. A long table was put up in the back, an array of crap on it. I noticed however that there were weapons on it.

"So, what exactly do you want me to do?" Eddie pondered, staring at the weapons like an idiot.

Zach's father strode over to a long machete. He picked it up and threw it at Eddie without notice.

All of us shouted at once, Amberly the loudest.  The machete sailed right toward Eddie's head. But Eddie moved quickly and caught it by the hilt, his expression bewildered at what he had just done.

"I want you to defend yourself," his father said nonchalantly and lifted a dual-edged blade.

All of us stood there, our mouths agape.

"Dad what the hell are you doing?!" Zach thundered and started charging at his father.

Markus spun to meet his son, the blade pointed at him. "Stay out of this if you know what is good for you," his father warned.

I pulled Zach backward. I'm sure his father knew what he was doing.

Even though I wasn't quite sure what fighting had to do with anything.

"Uh, Mr. Pierce I love that you think I have any chance of fighting you but is there any other way of finding out what I am?" Eddie asked nervously as Markus edged closer to him.

"That is what we are doing right now," Markus replied as he swung at Eddie.

Eddie ducked right as the blade cut through the air. Eddie backed further away and finally held the machete in front of him, albeit with an awkward stance.

"Oh, my God!" Amberly exclaimed, "Somebody please—"

She didn't finish what she was saying, she just slumped backward and fell.

"Did—" Zach paused and glanced at me, eyes wide. "Did she just pass out?!"

"Yes, yes she did," I muttered. I turned back to the melee, Markus had Eddie backed into a corner now.

This was pointless. What was sword fighting going to tell us other than Eddie had no common sense or fighting capabilities?

Zach bent down to check on Amberly as I started stalking toward Markus.

Then Markus came down near Eddie's arm and sliced it, causing Eddie to drop the machete onto the ground. Markus went to strike at him again till I intervened.

"Enough!" I yelled and sent Markus flying against the other wall with a wave of my hand.

Markus slammed against the wall, the air getting knocked out of him. The blade dropped from his grip and clattered onto the floor.

Eddie sunk to his knees, holding his arm as it bled profusely.

"What the hell Dad!" Zach roared and rushed to Eddie as did I, but I never let my gaze off of Markus as I forcefully held him to the wall.

"Just watch," his father choked out. Seeing I was probably using too much of my magic to hold him, I released him.

Zach and I glanced at Eddie's wound, only to see it start to heal before our very eyes.

I turned to Markus as he was getting up from the ground. "You made him do all of that just to fucking see what we have already seen?!" I exclaimed.

"Have you ever held a weapon in your life boy?" Markus asked, ignoring me altogether.

"No," Eddie spat. "I never had to try and stop my friend's father from trying to kill me either."

"The way you held that weapon and the way you moved tells me otherwise," Markus decreed.

Well from what I have seen, for being athletic Eddie was uncoordinated as shit. Then again, I've been trained in just about everything thanks to my lunatic father.

Eddie finally saw his passed-out girlfriend and rushed over to her. Markus walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a rag. He handed it to Eddie, who took it hesitantly.

"My methods, while extreme," Markus finally admitted, glancing at us wearily, "Showed me just exactly what you are."

"Which is?" I put forth before anyone else spoke.

"He is a hunter," Markus remarked, the last word with a lace of malice. "They are born with the ability to heal, have above-average strength, and so on. I tested to see how good he was with a weapon he has never held in his life."

"So what, do hunters just have the instinct to know how to use any weapon?" I asked.

"Yes, which is exactly what happened. I'm surprised he didn't disarm me," Markus chuckled, trying to ease the tension he caused.

"Are you kidding me? You were about to kill me!" Eddie yelled.

"Yes, yet you were not even attempting to fight back," Markus reiterated. "If you had let your natural instincts take over, I bet you would have done more damage than I have done to you."

"I—" Eddie stopped, looking unsure of everything that has been said.

I stood there silently beside Zach, reeling in all the information.

"Hunters are born with amazing capabilities, you have just never been trained, much less know what you truly were. Hunters normally come into their abilities young, have you ever gotten sick or been injured?" Markus asked.

Eddie thought for a moment. "No, I don't think I have. Even getting injured on the field, it has never held me down for long. It just took a few minutes and I was back up and running."

"Who are your parents?" Markus queried.

"It has always just been my mother and me," Eddie muttered. "I don't even know my father's name. Much less anything about her own family."

"Then perhaps I believe it is time you go confront your mother," Markus announced. "Only she can answer your questions now."

NOT even an hour later, Amberly, Eddie, and I were standing awkwardly at Eddie's house. I had never seen his house before, only that his mother was a homebody. She worked from home doing some sort of computer job.

Zach had taken me back to Lily's to get my car and Eddie's truck since Markus didn't want him going with us. He was wary of hunters since apparently some factions of them were known to kill any supernatural they came across.

Obviously, Eddie's mother wasn't involved in that. She never even told her son about his father. Hell, maybe she was human and had no idea about hunters.

After I was done here I had to return to help Lily plan yet another party. I still don't know why she keeps asking me to help decorate, I literally do nothing but stand there.

"You ready?" I asked Eddie for the tenth time.

We had been standing here for five minutes.

"Yes, I think so," Eddie muttered and fumbled his way to the door and turned the knob.

We were met with a very large orange tabby cat, the thing looked like it was the size of a watermelon.

"Hey, Peaches!" Amberly cooed and lifted up the fat thing.

Eddie started his way to the kitchen, while I looked around and judged his mother's decorating. It was at least better than my mother's. Everything in here screamed rustic, but it was put together nicely.

Amberly sat down on the couch still holding Peaches, I turned to the kitchen only to see Eddie walk back this time with his mother in tow.

"Hi, Sophia!" Amberly beamed.

"Hey Amberly, haven't seen you in a while!" his mother greeted warmly, then glanced at me, a strange look crossing her face for just a second.

Maybe she was a hunter.

"You must be Amberly's cousin Celesta," Sophia murmured. "My son just told me you had a question for me. Not to be rude, but do I know you from somewhere?"

"Uh, what?" I gawked. I glared at Eddie, anger welling up in me. "I told you to talk to her yourself!"

"I panicked, okay?!" Eddie cried.

"I told you to just ask! How hard is it to ask your own mother what the hell you are?!" I fumed.

"Okay, can someone tell me what in the hell is going on here?" Sophia demanded, exasperated. "What do you mean what you are? Eddie, I don't—"

"Oh my God, we know he is a hunter!" Amberly shouted; I didn't even see her get up from the couch. She was still holding that cat.

Sophia's eyes widened in horror as she stared at her son, realization falling across her face.

She sat on the couch slowly, her eyes never leaving Eddie.

We all stood there in silence till his mother finally spoke. "How did you find out?"

"After I got my head bashed in," Eddie remarked. "We can talk about all of that later. Right now I just you to tell me what the hell I am."

Sophia glanced at Amberly and me wearily till Eddie sighed.

"Anything you say to me you can say to them," Eddie told Sophia and sat down next to her. "Besides, they know all about the supernatural."

"Yep, I'm a witch, Celesta is a witch," Amberly mumbled as she petted Peaches. "Hell just about everyone I know is one."

"You are?" Sophia asked, surprised. "I knew your cousin was one but not you."

"Well, I'm technically not one yet until I turn eighteen," Amberly clarified.

"How did you know what I was when you saw me?" I voiced.

"I sensed it," Sophia put forth.

"Sensed?" Eddie inquired.

Sophia sighed and clasped Eddie's hands in hers. "It is something we can do, among other things. You learned you can heal, and we will have a very long talk about how that occurred later. But we are also able to sense other supernaturals around us."

"But you didn't know Amberly was a witch," Eddie put in.

"She is still human," his mother explained.

"Okay, can you tell me why you have never spoken about my father? Was he like us?" Eddie questioned. "And our family? You have never mentioned anything about your past."

"It was for a good reason Eddie," Sophia lamented. "My family were not good people. Nor was your father. I didn't want that life for you, I wanted you to grow up away from the supernatural, but it looks like I have failed you on that."

"You didn't fail me in anything Mom," Eddie assured, "Things happen and they cannot be changed. I just want to know why you have never spoken about anyone from our family, how bad could they have been?"

"I saw something that I should have not seen Eddie," Sophia spoke after a long pause.

I could tell how hard it was for her to even say anything, whatever memory was going through her mind was not pleasant.

"My family comes from a long line of hunters, as did your fathers. He and I were put into an arranged marriage, and I was foolish enough to fall in love with him. Then I discovered something I should not have. After that, I fled from my entire life when I found out I was having you."

Sophia smiled at her son and tucked a stray piece of his hair behind his ear.

"I will say nothing more about him, Eddie. He was a monster," she breathed. "Something you must never be."

Eddie just nodded, looking completely disheartened. I felt horrible for him, not knowing anything about family only to learn they were a bunch of assholes.

"I will teach you everything I know about hunters," Sophia affirmed. "But first thing is first, I want to know everything that has been going on."

I took a seat beside Amberly and when I did, Peaches decided to plop its fat ass right onto my lap. The thing had to weigh at least 30 pounds.

"We are gonna be here awhile," I whispered to Amberly just as Eddie started right from the beginning.

MUCH later into the day, after hearing Eddie talk for an hour straight I was more than happy to leave the mother and son to continue talking about whatever. Even Amberly was ready to leave, and she herself was a damn chatterbox.

Amberly and I went back to Lily's after she texted us paragraphs of directions on how to set up Scott's "super secret" surprise party.

"So, do you think this is enough balloons?" I heard Amberly call across the room from me.

"Yes, I think I counted at least 500 already," I muttered.

Samuel came into the dining room and just glanced around and started to shake his head.

"Samuel—" Laura began but she was just answered with a wave of his hand.

"I don't want to know," he sighed. "I'll be in the den for the rest of the evening."

I eyed Laura as she continued taping balloons to everything. She finally noticed me staring.

"He will get over it," Laura muttered and stepped out of the room.

I knew he was angry at his wife for letting Lily get away with throwing a house party, and now letting her throw a birthday party.

I also knew their alcohol stash was down in the den as well; which was what he was probably doing now.

Zach came back over before Lily and Scott were expected back. She kept texting me about how far away they were. She was so anxious over parties that it was ridiculous.

"Damn, that is a lot of balloons," Zach guffawed as he walked into the foyer. "I could see them through the windows outside."

As Zach was taking his shoes off, Laura returned, this time with a large cake.

"When did you have time to make that?!" I exclaimed. We had been decorating for the last three hours!

"Multi-tasking my dear," Laura replied and winked. "Now let's finish getting set up! They will be here in two minutes!"

Like mother like daughter. Those two were truly a pair. Poor Samuel, I'm surprised his wife or daughter hadn't caused him to have a stroke.

I thought I had seen it all, but those two were always stirring up something.

"This is awesome," I heard Zach chuckle from behind me.

I turned to him, confused.

"I thought I had seen all of Lily's crazy decorating antics, but what she told you all to do with the balloons is insane," Zach commented.

I looked up to the ceiling, the balloons had created spirals of color throughout the room and down to the bottom of the wall. It was in Scott's favorite colors. Red, blue, and black. I still don't know how Laura had all of these balloons.

"This is nothing," I grinned. "You should've seen our sixteenth birthday."

Amberly and Laura were rushing around shutting off lights now and closing the curtains in the dining room.

I looked through the window to see Scott's Camaro coming up the driveway. I found myself starting to smile.

Hopefully, now we could all just go back to our regular lives. But looking around this balloon-infested room, we were never normal.

We were absolutely insane.