The Birth of Bane (41 page)

She sat in her
bed, her husband’s heavy breathing next to her, feeling more than a
little bad for her reaction on the Sunday before. Maybe it had been
over the top. Maybe she had been too hard on him. He deserved the
recognition he was finally getting. He had worked hard to become a
writer of professional stature. He had paid his dues, riding the
ridicule their extended family sometimes threw his way when he
first works hadn’t produced much viable funds for him and his
wife.

Myra had been
the main source of income for them for many years now. Her being a
licensed psychologist and her ensuing successful practice had been
more than enough to sustain them. They owned a nice home on the
slopes of Eagle Rock beneath the 210 freeway. They drove nice cars
and, most importantly, they were happy. If Myra didn’t have a
problem over her husband’s lofty goals, then why should anyone
else? Who’s right was it to judge him, or her? If they were happy,
that’s all that mattered. They didn’t have any kids like her and
Martin. It had always been just the two of them, so maybe they
could afford to live a little more on the cuff than she and Martin
could or Elijah and his wife Joyce. Her and her youngest brother
had children, Jerry and Myra had dogs.

In addition to
all of that, she knew her brother spoiled his wife. He did all the
cooking, most of the cleaning, the laundry and made sure when she
came home she had nothing to worry about other than rest. How many
times had she heard her boast of his care of her?

Too many
times
, she laughed
inwardly.

Besides, who
really knows what goes on inside anyone’s marriage other than ones’
own? Marriage is so much like
the abyssal ocean with never-ending thermoclines, some warmer
than others, some as icy as death itself. If Myra wasn’t ok with
it, Valerie was more than sure Jerry would’ve been doing something
else by now.

She smiled at
the thought of wily sister-in-law, the girl who had swept her
brother off his feet when they’d been teenagers, the girl she had
grown to love over the years. She must be proud of Jerry too. After
all, she’d been there a most of those nights when things were bad,
when things had turned violent. Myra had earned her stripes early
to gain permanent entrance into their family.

She must be
ecstatic over the possibility the book might make them
independently wealthy.

…
If everything
goes well.

Martin stirred
in his sleep. She reached out and placed a hand upon his shoulder,
a thing she always did when he mumbled or looked like he was about
to awaken. Like now, it had always served to calm him, banish
whatever had been bothering him.

I had no right
to be so mean to my brother at lunch the other
day
, she thought, a decision
made.
Tomorrow, I’m going to
call him. I’m going to tell him I was wrong. I’m going to tell him
the book was awesome, and I’m going to commend him on his bravery.
Writing this story took courage – courage I never possessed. I’m
going to tell him he got -.

Her thoughts
stopped so suddenly she went rigid, shaking the bed, forgetting
about Martin, who started in the middle of his slumber.

“
Oh my god!” she said loudly, reaching over toward the
nightstand, toppling Jerry’s book onto the floor with a
hallow
thump!

“
Wha-what?”
muttered Martin, half-awake. His head came up from the pillow he’d
been laying on.

Valerie ignored
him. She swung her legs about, her bare feet touching the thick
carpeting of their bedroom, reaching for her cell phone and the
book simultaneously. The awkward move over-balanced her. Though she
was able to grab both items, she felt to the floor on her knees.
Yet, she cared little.

She swiped at
the Gorilla-glass of her smartphone, saying, “Dial, Jerry”, as she
frantically searched for the correct page within the
book.

On the fifth
ring he picked up. “Jesus, Val, is everything ok?” he asked,
worried.

In the
background, she could hear Myra saying the same thing.

Too distraught
to hear what he’d said, let alone answer, she vomited forth,
“Jerry! Oh, Jerry! How could you?!?”

There was
stunned silence from the other end.

“
Jerry! Jerry,
are you there? Did you hear me?” She was almost
frenzied.

At her side,
Martin sat up, a concerned look on his face.

“
Valerie, what’s
the matter?” Jerry asked flummoxed, annoyed now that she was coming
at him for the second time in less than forty-eight
hours.

“
Jerry, why did
you put the actual address in the book?”

“
What?” He
sounded surprised.

Had he not
realized he’d put the real address just about every place in the
book? Jesus Christ, it was the title of the first
chapter!

“
The address, Jeremiah! 1052 Lincoln Drive! You put it in the
book! Don’t you remember what she was the last thing she told you
right before she began to torment our father?
Don’t you remember?!?
” She was nearly screaming at him now.

She could only
hear what sounded like someone being strangled.

Jerry
had
remembered, all too well.

“
You take good
care of that little woman of yours. I’ll be watching…”

“
What if she’s
still watching, Jerry? What if someone like Dad moves in? Then
what, Jerry? What do you think she’ll do!?!”

“
What’re you
talking about? I didn’t put the address in the book. Do you think
I’m that stupid?”

“
Jerry, this is
not the time for games. The address is stated time and again,
throughout the entire book for Christ Sake!” She was close to tears
she was so distraught.

It sounded like
Jerry was mumbling incoherently through the phone.

Her mind was
ablaze. “Do you have a copy of the book?”

More mumbling,
then: “W-what?”

“
Do you have a
copy of the book?!?” she nearly screamed at him.

“
Of
course.”

“
Get it! Look
for yourself. The address is everywhere, Jerry!”

Through the
phone, she heard her brother fumbling about, rummaging, her
sister-in-law’s muffled voice in the background.

In her ear,
Jeremiah Favor breathed the only two words he could think
of,
“Oooh shit…”
He trailed off, horrified.

“
How could you,
Jerry?”

“
B-but, I didn’t, sis! I swear I
never
would‘ve put the
actual address in the book. That would be… I don’t know…
dangerous…”

“
Jesus Christ,
Jerry, if you didn’t, then who the fuck did?”

The silence that
followed made them both sick to their stomachs.

Like he was
seventeen again, Jerry cried. “What have I done?”

~~~~~~~<<<
ᴥ
>>>~~~~~~~

Richard Heredia was born
in 1969 in the Canal Zone of Panama City, Panama. Having spent the
first year of his life there, he has since moved to Los Angeles,
California where he lives with his wife and children. Wanting to be
a writer at a very young age, he began learning his craft through
avid reading, after his mentor suggested he read as much as
possible in order to learn from the best. Since that summer day in
1984, he has never stopped.

After a long hiatus, five
years ago, he finally decided to sit down and commit himself to his
lifelong dream of writing novels. He is the author of the first two
volumes of the Saga of the Twelve’s –
The
Unwanted Winter and Winter’s Fury
– and
book one of the Shadow Seed Series –
The
Misbegotten
.

The Birth of Bane
is his first foray into the supernatural and is
based primarily on a series of incidents, notions and feelings from
his childhood (which ones exactly, he will
never
tell).

Aside from reading and
writing, he enjoys listening to music, dancing with his babies,
camping, fishing and playing the odd video game with his
son.

Keep an eye out for the
Third Volume of the Saga of the Twelve’s –
The Shroud of the Lesser -
due out
in summer 2015.

Richard has slated
Estefan’s Death
, Book
Two of the Shadow Seed Series, for publication sometime in
2016.

There will also
undoubtedly be a sprinkling of the much smaller
Bane
novels interspersed throughout
the coming years. Keep an eye out!

~~~~~~~<<<
ᴥ
>>>~~~~~~~

Hopefully, you been joyed
The Birth of Bane as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please visit the
following links below and let me know what you think about the
first installation of The Bane Series at:

Smashwords:

Thank you so much,
precious reader,

Richard M.
Heredia

February 2014

in the night.
They could be grateful, caring, even convey love when compelled,
had enough strength. At first, I was amazed. It was wondrous.
Then, he brought the anger and malice in his heart. He brought
destruction and death, intent on killing us all.
That was when She rose up. She began to change. Bane was born to
defend the helpless from inexhaustible evil.
And, she was ruthless.
in the
night. They could be grateful, caring, even convey love when
compelled, had enough strength. At first, I was amazed. It was
wondrous.
Then, he brought the anger and malice in his heart. He brought
destruction and death, intent on killing us all.
That was when She rose up. She began to change. Bane was born to
defend the helpless from inexhaustible evil.
And, she was ruthless. in the night. They could be grateful,
caring, even convey love when compelled, had enough strength. At
first, I was amazed. It was wondrous.
Then, he brought the anger and malice in his heart. He brought
destruction and death, intent on killing us all.
That was when She rose up. She began to change. Bane was born to
defend the helpless from inexhaustible evil.
And, she was ruthless.