Marriage is Murder

Brant chuckled at Angus's comment and shook his head " now don't we all have a dark side inside us some place." He said softly and folded his arms as he lent against the door frame watching them both. Brant stood up listening to Angus talk of Michael and James. He looked to Edward hoping he could hear what had happened and frowned. "More people for him to kill." he said softly wishing he could help with the fight but he was a potioneer not a fighter like Angus and the others. Brant shook his head and heded down to the gym changing his clothes he began his work out.

Still thinking of James it made his work out go quicker since he took out all his anger on the machines. Walking abck up he wiped his sweat frm the back of his neck and went to the kitchen for a glass of cold water. "hows it going smells good " he said dowing the water in one.

"Very true," Edward said.

"Well, put this into your cauldron and brew it awhile," Angus said from the kitchen. "Lee Shepherd, at this moment, has Abbey, and he's not bringing her back until morning at least."

"Now why would he need a three year old?" Edward frowned.

"He doesn't. She needs him," Angus said. "Lee took her out for a bit of fun. She was pretty perceptive about this business with her mother. A few hours later, we got an owl from Lee. James apparently found them somehow and must have attempted to get to Abbey because he's not bringing her back here tonight."

"Where's the owl?" Edward frowned.

"Here," Angus said, handing it to them. Edward read it, frowning deeper. "How did he know where she was?"

"I can't be sure. But I can guess. Either he saw them by coincidence and took the opportunity. Or--his pack is bigger than it used to be. Or he's gotten a brain transplant and exchanged that big, dumb brain of his for some smarter grey matter," Edward said. He smelled some of the cooking in the kitchen. "Potatoes? Leeks? Onions? That's your big surprise?"

"No," Angus said. "You'll have to wait. The potatoes are just a side dish."

Brant listened and chuckled " Ah well, shes as safe as in a bank with him." he said poring a second glass "gez didn't know I'd gotten so dihydrated" he said but stood listening to them both and sighed " seems I missed a lot being in my little lab." he spoke softly but smile smelling the food in the air. He raised an eyebrow at Angus saying potatoes were a side dish " oow got to be good if hes keeping it close to his chest" he said and chuckled.

"My guess is if he found them it was by chance, wrong time wrong place maybe." he said " Lee is very fastiduios in security and keeping others safe." He wiped his face and neck again and lent against the counter again waiting for them to continue.

"You're probably right," Edward said. "But Le is going to be extremely cautious. Overprotective. And that's good. The whole damned country has gone to hell in a handbasket because of whoever hexed Robert, an overgrown werewolf with a dictator complex, and some nut in the ministry who's trying to create a better world somehow by forcing us to go back in civilization by returning to arranged marriages.

"As Lee would see it, England is grinding to a halt in favor of barbarianism, and I think he's right. He's here because he believes what we all believe in, and he's willing to lay that all on the line to protect us.

"Right now, he's honoring a pact I'm betting he made with Robert--that no matter what, he'd keep his family safe. He had Abbey when this went sour today, and he's decided that instead of letting anyone use her to try to draw Robert out of hiding, Lee is taking Abbey out of play. Lee is an unknown here. When Lee disappeared with her, he virtually took that child off the map, and no one will find her but him. That forces James back to the drawing board for a new strategy if he wants the Lupins. And I'm not entirely opposed to that."

Brant could not help himself when Edward spoke " Um..what..arranged marrages, what are we in the middle east?"he said and shook his head " ow no, no way in hell this guy is getting married, too much to do and see." He said and pace back and forth " ow Michael aint going to stand for that ether" he shook his head " no,not the point right now." He said focusing on her eand now and right now Khaat and Marcus life was all that mattered.


"You don't think he'd try to come here again would he?" Brant asked " Imean James, I know hes tried before I over hed the others talking in paris." he said now sipping his water.

"Then, unless we find a way to get Robert back in his office, you'd better decide whether you're ready to travel with someone else along or not. You haven't been reading, have you? Not the newspapers, not the law, nor your own letter--which you probably overlooked," Edward said casually. "I'm sure Angus doesn't like it any better than you do. Nor is Michael particularly fond of it."

"I prefer it to Azkaban," Angus said, "but not by much."

"The penalty is Azkaban," Edward confirmed Angus's comment. "Think twice before you decide to rebel. The consequence could hinder your style more than a wife."

"And the sad part is that it could all be put to rights with Robert's signature on the right document to overturn it," Angus said.

"And we could get him to do that," Edward said, "But then we don't find the doofus that designed it in the first place."

"Even if we do find who it is, what do we do then?" Angus asked.

"Its fairly elementary," Edward said as casually as if he were picking the color of a hirt. "We kill them."

"What?" Angus frowned.

"You have a better option?" Edward asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do!" Angus frowned. "Robert might be mute..."

"And bewitched..." Edward said.

"But he can still make that choice!" Angus said.

"And no one at the Ministry would take him seriously, no matter what state of mind he was in," Edward said.

"That doesn't mean we shouldn't!" Angus said. "We are not murderers."

"Then perhaps its time we start," Edward said seriously.

Brant sighed and shook his head " I guess its a no choice thing" he said " I just hope she likes travel and potions " he said softly as he listened again to his uncle as he spoke of the new order that they had to marry. " Im with Angus, its not right what if were matched with some...." he paused " well some one not compatable" he said shivering at the idea "Theres me thinking I had lots of time before finding a woman and ... setteling down to having kids." he said not liking the idea one bit.


He heard Edward and stood up " so what your plan?" he said now intrested in what they were going to do about it as even he would help if it ment no marrage for him.

Before Edward could speak, Michael apparated back in. Edward looked at him a moment.

"Robert," Edward said quietly, gently, "How is she? Is the surgery over?" Robert nodded. The polyjuice potion wore off, leaving him in Michael's clothes, which were oversized for Robert. The transformation back was tiring. He sank down into a chair, deeply fatigued by the potions, his own curse that he carried, and the hours of surgery.

"She's still critical?" Edward asked, gesturing to Angus. Robert nodded. Angus hurried to the kitchen and got Robert a cup of Earl Grey and brought it to him. Robert took the tea, grateful. "Did you stop the bleeding?" Edward asked. Robert nodded. "So now we wait," Edward said. "Do you have enough staff there with her for now?" Robert nodded.

"How can we help?" Edward asked. "I presume Kate will stay?" Robert nodded. "Robert, I presume you are here because, for some reason, you don't feel that even with the polyjuice, you can stay, do you?"

He shook his head. Edward could see how tortured Robert felt at being held at a distance from his child.

"You can't tell us yet why you can't touch some of us? Particularly her?" Edward asked. Robert accio'd a dictionary. He opened the book to a word and pointed it out. The word was "Transferrable."

Brant stepped back seeing Michael arrive or was it he saw th tale tale signs it wasn't and saw Robert emerge from the potion he listened as Edward spoke to him.

"oow thats hard curse, especialy if its tranpherable" he said seeing the word he pointed to. he frowned and thought or amoment " must be something about them in paticuler that make it transpherable" he said listening again and looking at Robert " maybe he should rest first " he said looking at Edward then Robert. Steven and Cassidy walked in and saw Robert both breathed out and looekd to Edward.

"How is she?" cassidy asked looking at Edward then to Robert as she stood holding Stevens hand tight in her own hoping it was good news

"Still alive, still critical," Edward said to Cassidy. "But the surgery is over. Kate and Brian are staying, and Robert believes Marcus will stay. Robert, is Jess staying?"

Robert shrugged. He didn't know. He figured that Jess and Brian would work that out because they would need to space their energies so that one or the other was always available for life support work.

"Let me get back to my question," Edward said to Robert. "You believe the curse that is affecting you is transferrable, correct?" Robert nodded. "Alright, then, why some of us and not others? So far, you can't touch me, Kate, Khaat, Jess, or Brian. You can touch Michael, Angus, Jack, Jim, Steven, and Belby. I thought I had it because some of us are seers."

Robert nodded.

"But Brian isn't a seer," Edward frowned. Robert wiggled and stretched his hands, trying to show what the differences were. He flipped the dictionary to show the word "Healer." "So, seers and healers," Edward said. Robert nodded. "Wait..." Edward frowned. "You think its transferred by energy work, don't you?"

Robert nodded emphatically.

"You felt the energy transfer when you were cursed, didn't you?" Edward asked. Robert nodded again, relieved that someone finally got it. "But...he's not a healer...." Edward frowned, knowing that Robert's assailant was not an energy worker at all.

Robert flipped the pages again to the word "Misfire."

Edward groaned. "The spell was miscast, wasn't it?" Robert nodded. "He made a mistake. Intended to kill you and cursed you instead. Transferred part of a curse he himself carried instead. And you don't want to transfer it to anyone else who would be vulnerable to get it from you by touch."

Robert nodded slowly, leaning back and closing his eyes. Now they had it, or most of it. And Robert fully believed he had no choice but to take it to his grave and let the curse die with him, rather than to let anyone else have it.

Edward suddenly understood so much about why he fought so violently. Robert didn't hate anyone. He loved them. He was protecting them--from himself.