Julien Gregg's Moreau Witches Part Two Chapter 3

 THREE

Lucas sat with the boys when they got back from the funeral. He loved that they didn't seem to know what was going on. They smiled and cooed at him. He smiled back and hugged them. Then he put them on the floor and let them walk around. They looked to be about two years old now. He'd be potty training them sooner than he thought. Stephan was with his family, which was where he should be. Rustan came into the sitting room and watched the twins walking around.

"They're advanced, but I love them so much," Lucas said as he watched them.

"They should start to slow down now that she's gone," Rustan said. "I can't believe that this happened."

"I know," Lucas said. "I hope that the boys do slow down. I don't want their lives to be short because hers ended."

"I hadn't thought of that," said Rustan. "I'm sure they'll be fine."

"I hope so," Lucas sighed. "This was all too much. Why did Stella do this?"

"She thought she was in love with you," Rustan said. "I think it was more to do with you being the Heir in Waiting."

"That's a bunch of bullshit," Lucas snapped. "She had to know that I'll be the Heir in Waiting for years. Dad isn't going to step down and he's not going to die."

"I know," he said. "I'm just telling you what I think was in Stella's head."

"Yeah," Lucas sighed again. "It's just such a waste."

"It sure is," Rustan said. "I am alive and I plan to stay that way. No dark magic is going to take my life force."

"Mine either," Lucas said. "I have made a charm against spells and curses. Do you want me to make you one, too?"

"Sure," he said. "It couldn't hurt."

Lucas went into the bedroom and got the stuff he'd used to make his charm. He sat and fashioned a charm much like the one he wore. He put it on a leather cord and tied it off. Then he handed it to Rustan. He put it around his neck and smiled. He thanked him for it. They sat there with the boys until Philippe called them down for lunch. Lucas picked up the boys and took them downstairs. He put them in their high chairs and gave them teething cookies. Then he sat at the table with Rustan, Shane, and his father to eat lunch.

"How are you feeling?" Philippe asked him.

"Low," he said. "I can't believe this happened. Things were going to so good. Then she decided to use dark magic to make herself pregnant to trap me. Now she's gone, and the boys are so far advanced. I don't know what to think. I made charms to ward off spells and curses. I'm wearing one, and Rustan is wearing one. We're not letting anyone do anything more to us."

"That's a good idea, but don't go looking for trouble," Shane said. "You have your boys to think of."

"I am thinking of them," Lucas said. "I don't want any witches cursing me or casting spells on me when I have to take care of my sons. I'm making charms for them, too. They can be pinned on their outfits. I don't want magic to interfere with any of us."

"Son, I didn't know you were feeling this way," Philippe said. "That's not healthy."

"Let him do what he's doing," Shane said. "He's worried about the safety of his family. It isn't too far out of normal. If it gets worse then we'll talk to him again."

"Okay," Philippe said. "I just don't want him to go off the deep end on this."

"I won't," Lucas said. "One witch used a dark spell, and I got twin boys who are advanced. That witch died for what she did. I don't want to give another witch the chance to do that to me."

"I get it," Philippe said. "I just hope that you figure out that most of the witches are not going to do this kind of thing to you."

"Dad, this is what I need to feel safe right now," he said. "Please understand."

"I do understand," Philippe said. "That's the rub. I understand the urge, and I even think it's a good idea in the abstract. But I don't want you to look for trouble around every corner. Stella is dead, and no one is using dark magic to hurt you. Please understand that."

"I will, Dad," he said. "I will."

He made the charms for the boys after lunch. He pinned them to the outfits. They smiled and cooed as he did this. Could they feel the magic? He was sure they could. He hoped they were so advanced that they got their powers early. That would suck. He wanted them to have full lives. It wasn't the next day that they started to potty train, but it was the day after. He bought them pull up type diapers and let them go. They used their little potty chairs quite a lot. They'd look at him and say, "Potty." He'd take them to the potty chair. He had a time washing them out. Stephan finally came back, and Lucas made him a charm. He was alarmed. He asked if someone was casting spells on them. Lucas told him this was purely a precaution. He wore it, but he didn't look happy about it. He spoke to Philippe and Shane about it. They told him to go with it for a while and see what happened.

On Lucas's seventeenth birthday, there was a party. Philippe watched both him and Rustan as the party went on. Lucas was lively and happy, and for that he was thankful. He hung out with the cousins from the baseball team and had a good time. No one commented on the new piece of jewelry he wore. They did notice that both Rustan and Stephan had matching pieces around their necks. The twins even had matching pieces pinned to their shirts. They wondered but didn't ask.

When the party was over, Lucas took the boys upstairs and gave them baths. Then he sat them in the sitting room to walk around and play with their toys. They were talking already, saying words but not making full sentences. They said a total of ten words. Daddy, potty, hungry, sleepy, and please were among them. They had perfect diction. He thought it was cute, and he tried not to think of why they could talk already. They looked to be about two years old still, so it seemed to be slowing down. He hoped it was slowing down. Dr. Mike at Moreau Medical was taking care of them. He'd been brought up to speed about the spell that had been cast to create them. He knew how to counter the effects after a fashion. He was taking their case as a personal problem to solve. It made Lucas happy that the doctor was so involved.

"It's so much like what we went through with you and Marcel," Shane was saying to Philippe when Lucas came down to make bottles. "The spell that Josephine got her mother to cast on her to get her pregnant with Quinn's baby had the same after effect. I wonder if it was the same spell. Charlie and Lestan are as advanced as you two were when you were born. Things are going much the way they did for you two."

"Well, we'll never know exactly which spell Josephine and Angelique used to get pregnant with me and Marcel," Philippe said. "We do know which spell Stella cast. It was a bit different than the one that Josephine and Angelique cast to get her pregnant. She tied the boys' life forces to hers. It backfired in a way that Josephine and Angelique's didn't."

"But Quinn bound them when he found out what had happened," Shane said. "Maybe the backfire was put off by the binding."

"Maybe," Philippe said. "I wasn't born when all of that was going on, so I don't know. I do know that Mike has the boys in hand. It's slowing down much the way it did for me and Marcel. They'll be fine."

"Well, that's a relief," Shane said. "Lucas looks so much like your father it's uncanny. Rustan is even starting to look more like him. It's crazy."

"Well, no one knows the effect of Lestan taking over Rustan's body," Philippe said. "We didn't look for those kinds of changes in you. Your brothers didn't notice anything out of the ordinary either. This change is more to do with the fact that they were both Moreau witches, I think. Or, Rustan would have grown to look more like my father on his own."

"That's probably what's at play here," Shane said. "I've been the same man since the take over. I never changed. I mean I'm getting older, but that's just age."

"What is it about the girls in this family?" Philippe asked. "Casting spells to get pregnant. Running amok with dark magic. I don't understand it."

"I don't either," Shane said. "I thought Josephine and Angelique were the exception."

"Apparently not," Philippe said. "Still, if it weren't for that spell we wouldn't have the boys."

"I know," he said. "I love them so much."

"So do I," said Philippe. "I'm so proud of Lucas, but I'm a bit worried about this charm business. He's got charms pinned to the boys's shirts."

"Let him go with it," Shane said. "He'll figure out that there aren't dark witches all over the family. It will just take some time. Did you think what Stella did wasn't working on him?"

"I hadn't thought about it," Philippe said. "Did dad make charms after that?"

"No, Lorette did," he said. "She came in and handed them out because they were using the power sync to unbind Josephine and Angelique."

"Well, charms were made then, too," Philippe said. "It didn't stop her from casting spells on the boat."

"No, it didn't," said Shane. "We know the aftermath of that, though."

"We got you," said Philippe.

"Years later," Shane said. "It just happened faster for Rustan."

"It did, didn't it?" Philippe said.

"What do you really think of Lestan taking over Rustan's body?" Shane asked.

"I'm fine with it," Philippe said. "I was upset about it for like two seconds until I remembered that Rustan went into the light to be reborn. Lestan was born, died, and was a ghost like you for a long time. Then he found a body that could hold him. I am happy to have him among us. He's still my son. He's just not my first born anymore."

"Well, I love Rustan the way he is today," Shane said.

"So do I," replied Philippe.

Lucas went to make bottles after that. He'd eavesdropped enough. So they were worried about him. He knew that already. He'd gotten a fascinating glimpse into what Josephine and Angelique had done. He was glad they were both dead. He was glad that Stella was dead if he was honest. He didn't want dark witches around his children. There were no dark witches, but the charms would stay. It didn't take dark witches to cast spells on other witches.

He went back upstairs and he and Stephan fed the boys. They really should have had sippy cups. He went to the store and bought several of those. He also bought juice to put in them. They loved it. They took the sippy cups like toddlers. They weren't even a year old yet. He was amazed by their advancement. But after hearing that his father and uncle had been just as advanced, his worry that they'd have short lives was assuaged. They would be all right. Dr. Mike would tell him if there was a problem.

By the time school started, they were eating solid food. It was a miracle actually. They sat in their high chairs but they were getting to be too big for those. By Christmas they were sitting at the table with the rest of them. They were good kids, too. They rarely cried. They didn't fight, and they shared their toys with each other. Lucas was happy that they were happy little guys most of the time. They got a bit cranky when they were tired but they slept the night through. They were usually up when he got up and they were jabbering back and forth to each other in that twin language.

He spent a fortune on them for Christmas. They got a lot of clothes, but they got toys and teddy bears which they loved. He wasn't even as worried about what he got for Christmas as making sure they had a great Christmas. This was his senior year of high school, and soon he'd be in college. He hoped the boys were ready for that. He was going to take business with a big emphasis on finance and marketing. That way when he took over the Legacy he could hit the ground running. He hoped that his kids were normal by the time he started college. Mike had said they were no longer growing at a rapid rate. They truly were two or three year olds. They had the bodies of the three year old. They also had the vocabulary of a three year old. Some complete sentences, but they were still primitive.

They now chose what to wear, and they didn't match anymore. They were showing their personalities. Lucas was having a ball watching them develop into people. He was doing rather well in school, too. Girls flocked to him, but he rebuffed them swiftly and sometimes harshly. He and Stephan were doing fine. He loved Stephan, and Stephan loved him. There was no reason to upset the apple cart. He had his lover, his boys, and his family. He didn't need anything else.

He bought an SUV to tote the twins around in. His father called it sensible. He'd laughed at that. He drove it back and forth to school. He took the boys to the park, and he took them car riding when they asked. He did homework while they played with toys, and he went to the circle every Saturday night. The boys stayed with the maids on circle nights. He cast spells on his own little herb garden and made them grow, and he made more charms for the baseball team. They'd started to ask for pendants like the ones that he, Rustan, and Stephan wore. Before long the entire team was wearing charms to ward off spells and curses. Philippe noticed but said nothing. This wasn't his son going off the deep end. It was the team wanting to be like him, Rustan, and Stephan.

He'd already been accepted at Ashdon for Business. So when he geared up for graduation from high school, they took the boys and sat in the crowd. First Lucas got up there to get his diploma. Then Rustan, and then Stephan. Henri and Lyla were in the audience as well. They sat together. The boys had their diplomas, and the valedictorian gave her speech. Then there was a party. The twins were a hit at the party. The girls wanted to hold them. Lucas consented to this, but it didn't last long. He and Rustan wanted to leave the party, and the boys were getting tired. They took them home and put them to bed. Philippe and Shane came in with Stephan a little later. They asked why they'd left, but Lucas said the boys were getting cranky and telling him they were tired. So he brought them home and put them to bed.

"How does it feel to be a high school graduate?" Philippe asked him and Rustan.

"Weird," Lucas said. Rustan nodded. "It's like I've been going forever. Now that it's over, I'm tired."

"You're tired?" Philippe asked with a smile. "What do you have to be tired about?"

"All of the studying," Lucas said. "It was relentless. It was one class after another all day long every day."

"Well, I can see that," he said. "It's over now and you have the summer to get over it."

"Yeah, then I start Ashdon in the fall," he said. "That should be a bit better. I won't have a full day of classes like high school."

"Ashdon has a wing dedicated to your grandfather," Philippe said. "You'll have classes almost exclusively in that wing."

"What wing is that?" Lucas asked.

"It's the Business Wing," he said. "It's called the Quinn Moreau Wing of the school. He donated a lot of money to Ashdon when he was first made Heir of the Legacy."

"That's cool," Lucas said. "I went to a high school dedicated to Angelique Moreau. Now I'll got to college in a building of the college that's dedicated to my grandfather. My name is all over this town."

"It is," he said. "We even opened a bank here. The Moreau Savings and Loan. It's controlled exclusively by the Legacy."

"Didn't you buy the Family Fun Center?" Lucas asked.

"We did," he said. "It's being renamed the Moreau Family Fun Center. That's happening soon."

"Wow," Lucas said. "Is there anything in this town that we don't own?"

"We don't own the Moonlight Bay Diner," he said. "We don't own the Main Street Cafe either. We own Moreau Grocery and Sundries, The Flower Pot, The Family Fun Center, The Moreau Nail Salon, and many other businesses in Keller Village. We open them as fast as we can. The family owns the nail salon and the grocery store. Did you know that the family used to have a prejudice against those born to the family without magic?"

"I didn't know that," Lucas said. "That's stupid. It wasn't their fault that they weren't born witches. They can still cast spells and participate in rituals. They're at every circle."

"They're just as important to the coven and the natural witches," Philippe said. "My father saw that the prejudice was stamped out."

"That's good," Lucas said. "I don't know what I'm going to do as the Heir. It seems my grandfather did it all."

"There's a section of land that I want to buy. I want to expand Moonlight Bay," said Philippe. "I'm in negotiations with the town about it. It's owned by the town but no one has ever developed it. There's another power sync there as well. It's west of the town. If they let me buy it, I'll develop it and Moonlight Bay will grow. I think they're tired of the witches gaining power over the town, though. So far they're putting up road blocks. I've contacted the state."

"That's a good thing," Lucas said. "This town is run by witches. They can't be stingy when it comes to unincorporated land."

"There aren't many mundane still living in Moonlight Bay," Philippe said. "A lot of them moved out when we came back from the compound in New York."

"That sucks," Lucas said. "But we can be a town of witches and their families. We don't need the mundanes. The coven functioned just fine on the compound didn't it?"

"Yes," he said. "It was like a little town unto itself. It's still there, and things have started to grow there again. When Maggie cast the obscurite, nothing grew and nothing worked. There's a family living on the land, and they have power and gas. It takes a generation for that spell to wear off."

"She was a dark witch," Lucas said.

"One of the darkest," Philippe said. "I remember what life was like when Starlight was a coven."

"It's not anymore?" Lucas asked.

"No," he said. "It's Sunbeam now. It's run by some of the people who fled when Maggie took over Starlight and it went dark."

"That's good," Lucas said. "At least it's run in the light."

"Yes," Philippe said. "We travel out there now and then to help them with this and that. A lot of them work at Moreau Medical and Moreau Legal there in Rochester."

"That's good," Lucas said. "Moreau Medical and Moreau Legal are both run by witches, right?"

"And those in the family without natural magic," Philippe said.

"At least they're letting those without natural magic in the door now," Lucas said.

"They're the ones opening new businesses in Keller Village," said Philippe. "There are now two nail salons, a beauty salon, and ice cream shop, a grocery store, a hardware store, and an antique store. They're trying to open a pet store, and a feed store. Some of the land around Moonlight Bay is owned by Moreau farmers. They have livestock, and there's nowhere around here to buy feed for them for a hundred miles or so."

"That will be good if they open that," Lucas said.

"I approved the loan yesterday," Philippe said. "I've been feeling a bit run down lately. I can't seem to shake this stomach ache. I've been to Moreau Legal, but they can't find anything wrong with me. I'm going to have Marcel take a look soon."

"I hope everything is all right," Lucas said. "You don't think it's cancer do you?"

"If it is, they haven't found it," Philippe said. "I'm young to have it, though. It didn't strike my father until he was in his fifties. I'm only in my forties."

"I know," Lucas said. Now he was scared for his father. "I want you to live until old age."

"From your lips to the Goddess's ears," Philippe said. "I didn't mean to worry you, though. I was just letting you know that there's a medical thing going on with me. I'm sure whatever it is, Marcel can cure it."

"Call him," Lucas said.

Philippe called his brother, and Lucas, Rustan, and Stephan sat with them while they talked. Marcel, Quinn, and Giselle came to the manor and sat in the living room with them. Giselle played with the boys. The guys all watched Marcel as he put his hands on Philippe and started to delve him. He clucked his tongue and scared them. Then he got quiet, and Philippe sat very still. Marcel had his hands on him with his eyes closed for close to four hours. Then he sat back, clearly drained.

"I got it," he said. "It was cancer, Philippe. You should have called me sooner. I found it. It was in your stomach and spreading to your liver and bones. I got it all."

"Thank you," Philippe said. "Go upstairs and lie down."

"I'm going to," Marcel said. "If it comes back let me know at once."

"I will, brother," he said. "Thank you for healing me."

"I love you, brother," Marcel said. Stephan helped him up the stairs.

"Does it always tire him out like that?" Lucas asked.

"Cancer always does," Philippe said. "I can't believe it was cancer already."

"Will it come back?" Lucas asked.

"Probably," he said. "This is just what killed Dad."

"I don't want you to die, Dad," Lucas said.

"I don't want to die either," he said. "I've got so much going on. I want to see the twins grow up. I'm not ready. Don't worry, though. Marcel couldn't heal Dad at all. He healed me. So it isn't the same thing. I guess I was just predisposed to get it."

"Well, I hope it never comes back," Lucas said. "I don't want you to die."

"I'll be all right," Philippe said. "We need to make it rain. It hasn't rained in awhile. Help me."

I took his hands and we closed our eyes and then the rain began to fall. We smiled at each other and let go of each other and looked out the windows. It wasn't pouring it was just raining, a gentle rain. I looked at him, and he nodded at me. Then he left the room. He told me he was going to take a nap. I checked on the boys, and they were out of the room. I went to look for them and found that Quinn and Giselle had taken them to the potty chairs. I smiled at them when I found them.

"Daddy!" they cried at the same time.

"Hey boys," I said, smiling at them again.

"Potty!" one said.

"I pottied," said the other. Lestan was standing up. Quinn wiped him down and then he emptied the potty chair. "Potty gone," Lestan said. He clapped his hands. "Big boy!"

"Yes, big boy!" I said, clapping my hands.

"Me, too," said Charlie as he stood up. Giselle wiped him down as Quinn came out of the bathroom. Then she took the potty chair to the bathroom to clean it out.

"Yes, you are big boy, too, Charlie," I said, clapping again.

"Daddy, hungry," Lestan said.

"Yes!" Charlie said.

I took them both downstairs and put them at the table and gave them some biscuits. They were teething. I knew that this would happen. They were one year olds now and they looked three years old. Dr. Mike told me that they were not growing any faster than they had been. He said that they were getting better growing like they're supposed to. He told me that the spell was gone now. I was happy to hear it. I didn't want them to keep growing like that.

I spent the afternoon with my boys. I fed them two biscuits each. They loved them. It wouldn't be long and they'd have teeth. I was looking forward to it so I didn't have to mash their food. Giselle and Quinn came to sit with us. I smiled at them and clapped my hands when the biscuits were gone. They looked at the table and saw they were gone. They clapped their hands and both said, "Big boy!"

"Yes, big boys," I said. "You ate it up."

"Ate it up," said Charlie.

"Me, too," said Lestan.

I took them into the living room and Quinn and Giselle followed me. We sat and watched them play. I was so happy that they were growing normal now. I told the twins about what Dr. Mike had told me. They smiled, and Quinn told me that it was good. Giselle said they look like their three. I nodded. I was happy that was over. I wanted them to be normal now. I didn't want to buy so much clothes for them. It was time that they grow like they were supposed to.

"So the spell wore off," Quinn said. "I'm glad that it did. I was worried that they would continue to grow like that."

"Yes," Giselle said. "They're so happy all of the time, but I was worried about them, too."

"Oh, I was, too," I said. "Dr. Mike kept giving the tests and he finally told me that they were growing normal."

"Well, at least that happened," Quinn said. "I love the boys so much. I know that you named them after Shane, and I love that you used my first name for the middle name for one of them."

"Well, he's named after you and Grandpa," I said with a smile.

"Yes," Quinn said. "I'm named after Grandpa. I miss him like crazy."

"So do I," said Giselle. "He was so happy when Dad named us after him and his sister."

"Never got to meet Aunt Giselle," I said. "I never got to meet Grandpa, either."

"You came a month after he died," Quinn said. "We were all so sad. Then you came and that made us happy. Philippe was devastated when Rustan was hit by the truck. Then he was in a coma for nearly a year before he woke up. He's changed so much, though."

"They say that's normal for coma patients to be a little different when and if they wake up," said Quinn.

They had no idea that Lestan had taken over Rustan's body. That was a secret between us all. No one knew other than Dad and Uncle Marcel, and of course Grandpa Shane. I was so happy to have him in a body, but I thought about the original Rustan. I never got to meet him either. It would have been good to know him before the truck hit him. But I was so happy to have Lestan alive that I rarely thought of the original Rustan anymore. That was sad.

"You got a dark look on your face for a moment," Quinn said.

"Just remembering things," I said. "Sometimes it's mind blowing how fast my life changed. I was living with my mother in Arizona, and then she died. I was devastated when she died. Then I was with my honorary Aunt Lisa for a week before she had to call Social Services. At least she told them who my father was. Then I was here, and so much happened so fast. I'm a father, and I'm the Heir in Waiting. I do hope the cancer is gone for good from my dad, though. I don't want to lose him."

"You'd be the heir then," Giselle said.

"Even that can wait as far as I'm concerned," I said. "I'd rather have my father than to be the Heir to the Legacy."

"I hear you," Quinn said. "Uncle Philippe is my favorite uncle. He always had good things for us when we were little. Now we're more like buddies. I like our relationship."

"I like our relationship, too," I said. "I was so afraid to tell him that Stella was pregnant. Of course, we didn't know then what we know about it now. That would have been so much worse. As it was, I was so pissed off about the spell she cast. She tampered with my condom and stopped taking the pill. She didn't have to cast a spell. Girls to stop the pill are so much more fertile afterward. She would probably have gotten pregnant all on her own."

"Well, she chose dark magic," Quinn said. "Some of those spells are a bit out there. Some don't seem so dark until you cast them and they backfire. I've never even tried to cast one of those. I would never."

"I wouldn't either," Giselle said. "There's nothing that I need or want so bad that I can't get it without magic."

"That's it, exactly," I said, smiling. "I love to spell my herbs to make them grow. I love to read the runes and the tarot, but I would never try to use magic to get things that I can't get normally. I believe that if I can't get something, I wasn't meant to have it."

"That's a good attitude," Giselle said as Shane came into the room.

"Where's you dad?" he asked.

"He went to take a nap after Marcel healed him," I said. "Marcel is upstairs sleeping it off."

"So, it was cancer?" Shane asked.

"Yes, it was in his stomach and it was spreading to his liver and his bones," I said. "Marcel got it all, though."

"That's good," he said. "He couldn't heal your grandfather at all."

"It was his destiny to die at that time then," I said. "I'm starting to understand destiny. Did you know that I dreamt of a baby before Stella told me she was pregnant. The dream confused me until she said she was pregnant and we had to get married."

"You had a prophetic dream," Shane said. "You're powers grew after initiation. You discovered a new one."

"I don't like that power," I said. "I'd rather be in the dark. I'd hate to be able to see the future all of the time."

"There isn't a witch in the family that can see the future," he said. "I've never heard of one in the Moreau family. It would be a curse more than a gift."

"Well, I can think of a few instances where it would be like a gift," Quinn said. "But you're right. Normally, it would be a curse."

"There's never been one in the family?" I asked.

"Not that I'm aware of," Shane said. "I admit I don't know the powers of every witch in the family. There could be one, but I'd think we'd have heard something about it by now."

"Probably," I said. "I'm going to wake Dad and Marcel around dinner time. They've already missed lunch."

"Dad could sleep the night away after healing cancer," Giselle said. "He usually does."

"What he needs is a hot meal in his stomach more than sleep," Quinn said. "When he naps and then eats, he's fine."

"He says he always feels like he has a hangover when he heals cancer," Giselle said. "As it was the healing wasn't as long for Uncle Philippe as it usually is when it's cancer. There must not have been a whole lot of it."

"He got it all, though?" Shane asked.

"He said he did," she said. "He wouldn't have said it if he didn't. Not this time."

"No, I didn't mean that he would say he did when he didn't," Shane said. "I'm just a little leery of cancer. It's what killed your grandpa."

"We know," Quinn said. "It was awful."

"Yes, it was," Shane said.

I got up and went to get the boys a sippy of juice. I brought it to the living room and they put their little hands up. I handed them over. Then I sat back down. It made me uncomfortable to think of my dad with cancer. It was what had killed my mother. Marcel hadn't been around to heal hers. I was quiet for a while after that. I had dark thoughts in my head about my mother's death and my grandfather's death. Cancer was evil. I wished it could be cured entirely.

Stephan came to sit with me. He took my hand and smiled at me. I smiled back. We sat there, the five of us watching the boys for a while. They were drinking their juice and playing with their toys. It was like nothing could be wrong in the world when you watched children play. Of course, it didn't last. First Charlie and then Lestan said, "Potty." Of course. They'd drank juice. They had to let it out. Quinn grabbed Lestan and I grabbed Charlie. We took them to the potty chairs down on the first floor and they let it fly. Then we cleaned the chairs out and clapped our hands because they were big boys. Then it was back to the living room to their toys.

"Did you and Philippe make it rain?" Shane asked suddenly.

"Dad said it hadn't rained in such a long time," Lucas said. "We made it rain gently."

"I ask because it's still raining and they didn't call for rain today," he said. "I think it's nice that you made it rain. It's been so hot lately."

"Well, we cooled things down a bit," Lucas said. "It was nice to use my power with my dad."

"I'll bet," he said. "Where is Rustan?"

"Out with Tomas," Lucas said. "He'll be back for dinner. They just went to the Family Fun Center."

"You know your dad bought that property," Shane said.

"He told me," Lucas said. "He's trying to buy that undeveloped piece of land to the west of the town from the city, but they're putting up roadblocks."

"He'll get it though," Shane said. "He put in a call to the congressman. He's a Moreau."

"That helps," Lucas laughed. "I didn't know any of the family was in politics."

"Your cousin Marcus Senior is the priest at Our Lady of Sorrows," Shane said.

"I knew that," Lucas said. "That's not what I meant by politics, though."

"You've got a couple of cousins that are trying to get on the city board," said Shane. "If they do that piece of land is your father's."

"Yeah, that would be nice," Lucas said. "This town runs off the witches."

"Yes, it does," Shane said. "There aren't many mundane still in town. Sometimes I wish they'd all leave."

"That's no way to be," Quinn said. "They pay for things here, too."

"Yes, but they hate witches," Shane said. "I hear it every time I got to the city with your uncle."

"I know," Quinn said. "But if they all went away it would just be the coven."

"It was just the coven on the compound and we did just fine," Shane pointed out. "We don't need them."

"That's just another form of prejudice," Giselle said.

"It is, and I'm sorry for that, but it's the way I feel," Shane said.

"Well, I don't know any mundanes," Lucas said. "Moreaus work at the Family Fun Center. They work at the diner. I think the cook is a mundane. He's been there for years, though."

"Not much longer," Quinn said. "He's quitting because Dad bought the place."

"When did he do that?" Lucas asked, stunned.

"Yesterday," Quinn said. "He didn't tell you?"

"I don't remember if he did or not," Lucas said. "He told me a lot of things about the town."

"Well, we now own the Moonlight Bay Diner," Quinn said. "Harvey, the cook said he was quitting the day the sale went through. You know your dad bought it from Harvey."

"That seems sad," I said. "He can't even stay on just because Dad bought the place?"

"Oh, it isn't because of that," Giselle said. "He wants to live near his son. He lives in Pennsylvania."

"Oh," Lucas said after a second.

"Another coven has moved into Hope Falls," Shane said. "The Cirrus Coven."

"That's the one that absorbed Rios," Lucas said. "My maternal grandparents are part of that coven. They never wanted anything to do with me though."

"They might now that we're being friendly with them," Shane said. "They've reached out to us to aid them with a few things. The youngsters are making friends quickly."

"Well, if I meet my grandparents I'll tell them what a mistake it was to turn their backs on my mother," Lucas said.

"You might want to let sleeping dogs lie," Shane said. "If they come to meet you, just have an open mind."

"I'll think about it," Lucas said as Rustan came into the living room.

"Why is everyone in here?" he asked.

"Marcel came to heal Dad," Lucas told him. "It was cancer, but he healed it. They're both upstairs sleeping. I'm going to wake them for dinner. Marla is making a big meal for them."

"He had cancer?" Rustan asked, sitting down. "Just like Grandpa?"

"No," Shane said. "Your grandpa had cancer of the lymph nodes that spread to his bones. Your dad had cancer of the stomach that was spreading to his liver and his bones, but Marcel got it all. If you remember, Marcel couldn't heal your dad at all."

"That's right," he said. "I had to think about it for a minute. Sometimes I'm slow with memories."

"I completely understand," Shane said.

Lucas looked at them for a moment. They had come dangerously close to saying something they shouldn't in front of Quinn and Giselle. I was almost tired of keeping the secret. They often wondered how he and Rustan had grown so close so quickly. Lucas just told them he liked having a living brother. They knew about Lestan, but they thought he had gone to the Goddess to be reborn. They didn't know that Rustan was Lestan.

"Dinner will be ready in a bit," Marla said from the doorway.

"I'll wake dad," Lucas said as he stood.

"I'll wake mine," said Quinn as he stood, too.

Lucas went to his dad's room and woke him up. He told him that dinner was about ready. Philippe thanked him for waking him. He left the room while Philippe went into his bathroom to wash his face and hands. He went back downstairs. They took the boys to the dining room and sat them at the table. He went into the kitchen to get a bit of food to mash up for them. Marla told him she would do that, so he went back to the dining room. Marla came in a minute later with plates of mashed food for the boys. Then she pushed a cart out of the kitchen and filled drinks. Dad and Marcel came to the table, and Marla began to serve dinner. She'd made a huge pot roast with noodles, potatoes, and carrots. There was even salad and bread rolls. They ate heartily that night. Marcel ate enough for three. But that was normal after healing cancer.

The days began to move again now that Philippe was feeling better. He got a response from Congressman Moreau who had paved the way for him to buy the land. The three cousins who were trying to get on the city board found themselves ahead. They were elected in a landslide recall election. Things began to change. More mundanes left Moonlight Bay. Houses were suddenly for sale, and Philippe bought them up for the Legacy. The bank manager of the Moonlight Mercantile Bank quit and he and his family moved to Santa Barbara. Lucas thought it was funny that they only moved to Santa Barbara. There were Moreaus there, too.

The Moonlight Bay Mercantile was going to close, but Philippe bought it and turned it into a second branch of Moreau Savings and Loan. That pissed off a lot of mundanes. They left, too. Before the end of summer there wasn't a mundane that wasn't family in the town. The entire town was the coven. More and more Moreau family moved to Moonlight Bay with houses to buy that were big enough for their families. Lucas met more cousins. Summer was drawing to a close, and he was getting ready for his time at Ashdon College. He'd already gone over there to pay his tuition and pick his classes. There were thirteen Moreau young men and women attending Ashdon already and sixteen more were enrolled for the coming fall semester. The college was nearly overtaken by the Moreau family.

Then a funny thing happened. Roberto and Mary Moreau had no natural magic. However their thirteen year old son suddenly had powers. He could move things with his mind. They were thrilled. The family celebrated. Lucas thought it was silly to celebrate the fact that one child was born a natural witch from a couple who were not natural witches. It was still in the blood. It had just skipped them for some reason. He didn't know why. Kelvin Moreau was telekinetic. That was nice for him. There were several of those in the family.

Instead of celebrating, Lucas went to his first day of classes at Ashdon College. He did very well that day. There were no assignments, but when asked why business by the professor, he told him he was the Heir in waiting to the Moreau Family Legacy. That seemed to impress the professor. He was a mundane, one of the few who hadn't left Moonlight Bay but then he had tenure at the college. He was the head of the business department.

After classes he spent time with his boys. He'd set it up to have two classes every day. He had Intro to Business Essentials on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at eleven and then Rhetoric and Composition I on at one. On Tuesdays and Thursdays he had Intro to Marketing I at ten and Music Appreciation at one. They had told him that electives were part of the degree. He needed a well rounded education. He decided on Music Appreciation because he loved music.

He started to play the piano. He'd had lessons as a boy, but had given them up when school proved to be difficult at first. He was self taught after that and he was rather good. Giselle loved to hear him play and often came over just to hear him play. The boys would sway to the music when he played. He smiled at that. He loved his boys so much, and anything they did was a miracle to him. They got their first teeth right after the fall semester began. It was the day before they had no teeth and then suddenly they both had three breaking the surface. He smiled at this and took their picture. He had two printed and put them in the baby books as first teeth came in. He even marked on the diagram which teeth they were. It was odd that they both got the same three teeth.