The Ancient's Vendetta

Chapter 3: When a tree falls in the woods...

“Hello boys”, Priya said, with a hint of enjoyment at the shock on her sons’ faces.

“Hey mom!” Joaquim shouted.

Pyotr raised his chin a fraction of an inch.

“I didn’t think you’d be back for a while longer”, Remy said as he shuffled a bit to the left, trying to block his mother’s view of the living room. It still looked like a scene out of ‘Money Heist’. It was too late though he watched his mother as she gawked at his handy work.

Priya was frustrated, “I won’t wait to be invited into my own home, move aside will you?”

As she side stepped her sons she pointed into the living room, “what… is… that?” she said, taking the time to enunciate each word. Remy just stood there dumbfounded.

Pyotr spoke up, “it’s work”.

Priya raised an eyebrow, “go on”.

Remy glanced at Joaquim who had turned so that his back was facing the group. He was pretending to have suddenly realized Priya’s bookshelf held some great literary treasures.

Remy rolled his eyes.

“This is how we’ve been earning some extra money”, he said.

“Hmm, earning is an interesting word to use, isn’t it? You mean stealing, don’t you?” she said as she made her way to the make shift command center. “How much did you get?”

Joaquim’s ears perked up at the question. His mother seemed curious, which meant she wasn’t made, which meant, it was safe to turn around.

“We haven’t counted it yet, but we think around 250 thousand”, he quipped.

Priya gave him a disarming smile and motioned for them all to make their way to have a seat on the living room couch.

She looked at each of her sons and said, “tell me everything, and spare no detail.”

So they did.

Pyotr told his mother about his healing abilities and strength, Joaquim boasted about his sudden ability to puppet master anyone to whom he could speak, and Remy relayed the details of his out-of-body experience, combined with some type of time travel. For two hours, they rehashed everything they could remember and when they were done they were even more awed by their supernatural feats

Priya, however, remained stoic.

“That is absolutely unbelievable”, she said flatly.

“Then why don’t you look surprised?” Remy asked.

“Well, I happen to be the beneficiary of some foreknowledge, specifically, as it relates to the three of you. Let me guess, this is the first time you’ve felt the presence of these abilities, right?”

They all shook their heads in affirmation.

“Well if you want more details you’ll oblige my request to stay in tonight, here at my place”, she shot Joaquim a glance.

“Why?” Joaquim asked, clearly a bit annoyed about an evening at home.

“I need to take you to see someone tomorrow, it’ll be a long trip, and I want to get started early.”

Pyotr rolled his eyes, “Why are you being so cryptic, just tell us. This is annoying.”

Priya stared at him and sighed, “these last several months, I’ve been with your uncle Monty.”

Remy eyebrows raised, “Uncle M, what’s he got to do with any of this?”

Priya raised her hands, “I’m tired you’ll find out more tomorrow.” She leaned over to pointedly stare at the duffle bags of money, “and no more stealing. Goodnight boys, see you in the morning.”

As she left the room, Pyotr yelled, “We’re keeping the money! In case you were wondering.”

Joaquim stood up and stretched his arms wide, “okay, so where are we going fellas?”

Pyotr gave him a sneer, “I’m going to bed.”

“Bed?!” Joaquim asked, incredulously.

“Yeah me too, it's been a long day” Remy said, as he gave Joaquim an apologetic nod.

“Guys, it’s barely after 8:30pm…come on”, Joaquim pleaded as his brothers left the room.

Remy and Pyotr didn’t care, and after an unbearable five minutes of sitting alone in the living room Joaquim begrudgingly went to bed.

The next morning Priya was the first person to the kitchen. She checked the time on her cell phone, and then decided it was time to fire up the Bratza Encore. Her pour over coffee ritual was inevitable. Plus, nothing roused her sons from sleep like the intoxicating aroma of high quality, ground coffee beans, swamped in a vat of 200° water.

Remy was the first son to wake, he joined Priya in the kitchen, poured himself a cup of coffee and took a seat at the table.

“Mom, how did you sle….” Remy stopped mid-question when the front door opened. Pyotr walked in carrying a gym bag and an extra pair of shoes.

“How’s everyone doing, had to get my workout in” , he said as he tossed his gym bag on the couch.

Priya started to protest his brutish treatment of her furniture, but decided to let it go, “We’re good, though I’m surprised Joaquim isn’t awake yet?”

“He’s still sleep?!” Pyotr asked a little too excitedly. Suddenly, he scurried through the kitchen, filled a glass of water and then raced to Joaquim’s room.

“Ahh, bro!” Joaquim yelled, as Pyotr laughed his way out of the room.

“He’s awake now.” Remy said, as he and Priya shared a smile.

Fifteen minutes later, Pyotr was showered, Joaquim was dry, and everyone sat around the table drinking coffee and eating bagels.

“So where are we going?” Pyotr asked

“I told you, to see your Uncle Montgomery”, Priya said, giving Pyotr a face that suggested he must be confused.

“That’s who we're going to see, that doesn’t tell us where we’re going.”

Remy gestured at Priya, his body saying, ‘he has a point’.

“Oh right, we’re going upstate”, the words ‘upstate’ echoed in her coffee cup as she took a sip.

“ ‘Upstate’, that is so very specific, thank you” Pyotr said in mock appreciation. “When are we leaving?” he said while chewing the last piece of his bagel.

“Now is good.” Priya glanced at her wrist watch. “ The pilot should be all set.”

“What pilot?” Remy asked.

“The helicopter pilot…” Priya paused to take in her son’s bewildered stares, then continued, “Well, we can’t drive, your uncle is quite eccentric. There are no roads to his place, I helped him build something quite…self sustaining, but it isn’t easily accessible. Which he prefers, he loves to live ‘out there’.

Joaquim dropped his bagel, “that sounds so fabulous for him”, in a tone that contradicted the pleasantness of his words.

“How long of a ride is it?” Remy asked.

“Oh, about 45 minutes”, Priya said as she stood from the table.

“When are we coming back?” Joaquim asked, hoping that the answer would be, tonight.

“Well, right now that’s open ended…”

Priya turned to walk toward the living room door and quickly did an about-face. After two quick paces she had reclaimed her chair at the table. “I need to tell you something, it isn’t anything major. There are going to be a lot of revelations during our time at my brother’s place, but there’s one that’s mine to tell.”

“What is it?” Remy asked.

The brothers watched their mom take a deep breath, “you all have the same birthday. When I adopted each of you I took the liberty of amending your dates of birth. I wanted you all to have a special day, so I spaced them out. March, June, and September. I decided your birth order by the order in which you were adopted. Remy, Pyotr, then Joaquim. In all honesty, you’re the same age, down to the minute, maybe even the second, Monty will know more.”

Everyone sat there silent.

“That’s a weird thing to lie about”, Pyotr huffed.

“So, what day should we be celebrating?” Joaquim asked.

“January 1st!” Priya yelled, ecstatically.

“Please tell me we’ll be back in the city by then, please.” Joqauim said, raising his hands in prayer.

Remy rubbed his chin, “So how old are we going to be? You didn’t change our birth years did you?”

“No, Remy, I’m not a monster.” Priya said feigning offense. “You all will turn 25 on January 1st 2025.”

Priya stood and walked away and this time she didn’t come back. She yelled over her shoulder, “make sure you use the restrooms before we go…I’m sure you understand why.”

Joaquim looked at his brothers, “we’re triplets!”

“Yes, Joaquim, we’re triplets. Triplets with different sets of parents.” Pyotr said, shaking his head as he stood to leave.

They left Priya’s house and took the external stairs to the roof of the building. As they crested the final step they saw a helicopter with a matte black veneer waiting for their departure. The helicopter was roomy, and there were four captain seats. As they took their spots they donned the headphones attached to each of their chairs.

Pyotr sat facing Remy and Joaquim sat facing Priya. As soon as the helicopter was airborne Pyotr went to sleep, a rare manifestation of motion sickness. Remy spent the 45 minute flight watching the forest below. In the city the transition between summer and fall feels seamless. But here in the forests you can still see the bits of space that summer has not yet ceded to autumn’s advance.

Joaquim spent 45 minutes asking Priya if the pilot could hear him (he could not) because he wanted to be sure the return flight was handled expediently.

So Priya spent the entire trip asking Joaquim to stop asking.

The helicopter landed in an empty field that flowed into a gravel driveway about the size of a two lane road. A very large, and very modern, wooden manor sat off in the distance. Halfway to the estate, they crossed into the forest and everyone paused to take in its beauty. The silence seemed to magnify the aesthetic charm of the area and the remoteness of this place was like a balm to their nervous systems. The contrast between the exquisite house and the rustic wilderness was awe inspiring.

They were lost in reverie.

“This place is magical, isn’t it?” Remy asked.

Priya turned to face him, “that’s exactly what I thought the first time…”

Priya flinched, something fast whistled between Remy and Pyotr and struck the tree between them. Its trunk was split in two by the moving object, the smaller part was still firmly rooted in the ground, but the larger part teetered then plummeted, threatening to land right where they stood.