House Of Madness

Chapter 19 Dead Man Talking

Victor watched in horror as Alice started to flatline in the fish tank.
His creature, the child he had taken from the SkyWood forest all those years ago was now dying in front of him.

Ivy had woken up strapped to a bed.
Finn was there, he looked sick.
Ivy hadn't remembered him ever looking that ill.
"At least you know now."
Ivy felt the tears run down her face, "I know nothing."
As soon as Victor heard Alice he had ran into the recovery room.
"Hello Alice."
Ivy had looked to him, "I don't understand."
Victor frowned a little, "what do you not understand?"
"You took Alice, why?"
"I have been a scientist all my life, I have specialize in research of immortality."
"I don't understand."
"I came up with a theory about ten years ago, my theory was anyone could be immortal if they had a certain genre.
I need evidence to prove my theory like all scientists do.
I needed a subject that did not have immortality, children have strong immune systems, that can easily be tampered with.
Human children were the perfect test."
"What are you saying?" Ivy hadn't wanted to know, but she needed to.
"Those dreams weren't dreams, those were memories. You are Alice."
"You're lying!" Ivy screamed!
"No I'm not! One thousand, eight hundred and seventeen children, tested! One thousand, eight hundred and seventeen children I tried to make immortal.
Within the last decade!
Guess how many are still alive?
Guess how many are immortal?
GUESS!" Victor screamed!
"I DON'T KNOW!"
"ONE! YOU ARE MY ONE SUCCESS!"
"NO! NO! NO! MY NAME IS IVY MCQUINN!
I HAD TWO PARENTS THAT LOVED ME AND TWO BROTHERS THEY DIED BEFORE I WAS ELVEN! WHEN THEY DIED I STOLE A WATCH AND THAN I GOT PUT IN JAIL! THAT IS MY STORY!"
"I am sorry to tell you that story is a lie.
A lie that was created by me."
"NO!" Ivy screamed!
"Like you saw you were abandoned as a newborn, Nivens found you.
He and Terrett adopted you as their own.
You were loved by them, you went to school.
At school you were treated terrible until you captured the heart of a boy four years your senior.
Than you than captured his brothers heart a boy two years your senior.
You had a good life until you wondered into SkyWood forest and found one of my test subjects who had somehow gotten free.
In your attempt to help her you ended up getting both of you caught-"
"Beth? Was her name? What happened to her?"
"Like I said, one.
One of my test subjects is still alive and she is laying strapped to a bed in front of me.
"What else?" Ivy had felt like balling for days but she needed to know.
"I made you immortal.
I made you immune to every sickness. You can feel pain but you cannot die.
I gave you the gift of immortality."
"Why? What's the point in making humans immortals?"
"Fae bloodlines go back too far, many fae especially high fae are supremists.
They want their offspring to have the most power possible to carry on the name.
This resulted in inbreeding, with inbreeding came birth defects and death.
In simple words the fae genre pool isn't big enough.
Humans are easy to get, but more importantly unlike animal and mythical fae their genes aren't dominant.
For example Ari, is half dragon fae, (mythical fae) that tampers with his high fae gifts it blocks them.
Making him less powerful than his brother.
"That's not true!"
Victor continued like Ivy hadn't said anything, "there is no one for Nik or Ari to breed with that is high fae, that they aren't already related to.
Queen Hestia knows this, her and I have been working on a way for the monarchy to continue.
If a human was to mate with a high fae they would act as a way to widen the gene pool with their submissive genes.
There is strong evidence to support the idea if humans could become immortal they would be able to carry a fae child to term.
A fae child that would have the advantages of being fully fae but with a wider gene pool."
A scary thought came to Ivy's head, "so I'm cattle.
I am to be breed with the prince of SkyWood."
"No", Ivy instantly relaxed.
"You are cattle that is to be breed with the next king of SkyWood when the time comes."
Like always Ivy had relaxed too soon.
She didn't have time to be worried now, that would come later, she needed the whole story.
"Why let me go?"
Victor relaxed this was a easy question, "by the time I was done, you were merely ten.
Way too young you needed an environment to be a human child."
"Why didn't I go back to living with Nivens and Terrett?"
"Because I made sure you couldn't.
You needed to spend time with your own kind.
I dropped you off in a human area in SkyWood, with the expectation they would welcome you."
"Let me get this straight, you thought if you dropped me off with a blank memory, sorry my bad, a memory full of fake memories I would be welcomed with open arms?"
"Yes!" Victor said very relieved she was starting to understand, "instead the humans were crazed! I had made the mistake of assuming humans were civil."
'That's because They're so poor and hungry', they act that way.
Ivy had bitten her tongue to keep from yelling that out at Victor.
"Why now? Why do you want me to remember now?"
"Back to my story, after I realized how crazy the humans were I made you live on your own. It was best.
As a back up plan, because I knew how dangerous it was for you to be alone.
I made it so if you were ever in danger you would find the compass."
"Danger? I wasn't in danger when I took the compass", Ivy said confused.
Victor levelled his eyes, "you had been very suicidal. You were a danger to yourself.
I put the compass in the pawnshop Nivens worked at with the knowledge he would take it."
"How could you possibly know that?"
"Because he made a deal with me", said a rich accented voice.
"He said if I spelled it to catch Nivens eye, if I made it so Nivens would never take it off, you would be safe."
"Why would you do that?" Ivy asked.
"I thought she knew?" Nik asked Victor.
"She does", Victor said.
"I spelled it to keep you safe because I loved you."
Ivy felt her heart drop, "what? Why?"
Nik smiled, "why does anyone love anyone?"
"I was eight the last time you saw me! You would have been twelve!"
"Don't get your panties in a twist, I loved you like a little sister."
That shouldn't of disappointed Ivy but it had.
"Did you know?" Ivy demanded.
"Know what? You got to be more specific, love. I know a lot of things."
"Did you know what he was trying, what he did to me?"
"No. Not until recently."
"You still didn't answer my question, why now. I was in the House Of Madness for years, you could of told me than."
Victor laughed, "you wouldn't of believed me without proof.
Besides, you needed to experience your own memories again."
"So?"
"When I took your memories I had to put them somewhere, somewhere safe... a magical object."
"Like the deck of cards from Chessler?" Ivy asked.
"The compass you stole from Nivens, when the compass broke your memories would return.
I was supposed to break the compass when you were ready.
Or when Nik or Ari became king.
Unfortunately the compass broke before.
Hence why you stared to remember on your own."
There was one more thing Ivy needed to know, "so my family, my mom, dad and brothers?"
"For the second time, fake."
'Fake', her whole life, all the memories she had were fake.
A lie.
A lie, planted by Victor as a way to keep her on a leash close by for when he needed her.
'Close by for when he needed her to reproduce with either Ari or Nik.'
The thought made Ivy sick.
"I don't know how, I don't know when but mark my words." Ivy looked right at Victor,
"I will make you pay."