Cape Town Library
Tuesday, August 10^th
10:00am

The Cape Town Library was actually a large home converted into a library. Mulder and Scully walked up the porch and entered the building. The smell of oiled, oak bookcases and old, fine dust pervaded the air. The noise of the door opening and closing must have alerted the librarian. A small and frail old man came out of a side room to greet them.

"Hello. You two must be the FBI agents that are trying to solve the mystery of the killings. I am Ivan Tadinov " the old man said.

"This is my partner Special Agent Dana Scully and I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder," he told the old man. "We were wondering if you could tell us the history of the town?"

The old man beamed. "I would be most happy to tell you about the history of Cape Town. Cape Town was founded several years after the mysterious disappearance of the colony on Roanoke Island on the Outer Banks. It was felt that a colony based on the mainland would be safer. Explorers traveling up the Pamlico River found a wide tributary of that river that led to a fertile area largely clear of forests and swamp. The tributary was named after the expedition's leader, Captain Thomas Feared. The first settlers were brought to Cape Town in the late 1660's. They established relatively good relations with the local Native American tribes in the area especially with the Digga, an offshoot of the Waccamaw-Siouan tribe. One interesting thing to note is that the Waccamaw-Siouan called themselves the 'People of the Fallen Star,' recalling an old legend

which tells of a ball of fire falling to earth and creating Lake Waccamaw. Well, the Digga went further and said that their ancestors first went into the lake and were changed by spirits that came from the fallen star into a new people. They traveled here and were the only tribe that would actually set foot in town. The others were under the impression that the land was a center of powerful magic and stayed away.

Mulder's interest had picked up when he heard about the "fallen star" description. He turned to his partner who was wearing her "no don't go there" look on her face. The old man stopped to catch his breath. He seemed to be enjoying talking about the town's history, Mulder could understand that since the town was small and everyone probably knew the history by heart.

The old man continued, "With the absence of the threat of violence from the Indians, the town and its surroundings flourished. The land was particular fertile for tobacco so it became the cash crop. Many more slaves had to be brought in then in other parts of the South due to the high rate of suicide among them. It was said that they feared the land and so were willing to die rather then stay here. It took a particular harsh type of person to become successful here. The most successful planters were the Spenders. They started a process that was particularly brutal. They would take a child from a couple and tell the couple that they would take the child away to live safely away from Cape Town if the parents did not try to escape or suicide. Of course, they lied and each child was sold to someone else. It did keep the Spender's from having to replenish their stock of slaves as much as their neighbors and so they prospered."

Scully's eyes had widened at the comments about slavery. She knew her partner was already sensitive about his family's participation in the Consortium, the added guilt that his family was involved so horribly with human slavery probably made things worse. She knew they would have to talk about it.

"The town flourished for quite awhile until the middle 1800's when there was an exodus of people leaving. It has since become a quiet little town," the old man finished. His brow was wet with sweat and he coughed a few times.

"Mr. Tadinov, that was fascinating, but you left out some of the more interesting points, like how did a traveling family of gypsies decide to settle down in one place after centuries of traveling and why did a rash of murders begin in this town," Mulder said to the elderly librarian. He didn't want to sound too harsh but the man glossed over the details. He knew that the librarian was part of the family that ran this town, but he was hoping to get some answers.

"Agent Mulder, there isn't much to tell. The gypsies decided that farming was more practical and decided to settle down. As to the murders, well those are all old wives tales," Tadinov finished worriedly. He should have not said anything to these two. He would be punished for sure for revealing so much, but he was tired of all the innocents being killed. And he was old, he knew his time would be soon anyway so he was less afraid then he used to be as a boy, hearing about how his ancestor Alexander was killed by the Spender family. If he could save this young man from the fate that awaited him he would be happy.

"Well, there is something that goes into detail about all of the 'secret' history of the town. Why don't you two wait here," the old man said as he wandered into the back.

"Mulder, you might give the old man some slack," Scully chided.

"Scully, he knows something and I get the feeling he's willing to share it,"

Ivan Tadinov found the thin volume he had hidden in the back far from the eyes of the elders. They thought this manuscript destroyed, but they were wrong. He would give this to the FBI agents and they would know that they should leave this cursed place. He thanked God once again that he never had children and so felt free to give this information. Ivan was so relieved to find the manuscript that he didn't hear the first sound.

His ears pricked up when he realized there was sound like metal scratching the oak wood. He knew what that sound meant and hurried to the agents. He turned around to see the rage contorted face of his ancestor. He was about to scream his terror when his throat was ripped open from one end to another.

"Trying to keep my beloved from me my wretched child? Well, you will die slowly," the voice of his ancestor's ghost told him. Ivan fell to the floor, the manuscript fell to his side. He lay there dying thinking he had wasted his last chance to redeem his family from these killings. He reached out with a bloody hand and as he lay dying wrote out the letter 'A'.

"Mulder, maybe we should go see what's taking our friend so long," Scully suggested.

"I'll go. Why don't you look for anything you can find out here," Mulder said as he walked toward the back.

He came upon the gruesome sight of the dead librarian. He was about to shout out for Scully when he found his mouth covered and a hook placed across his neck.

"Hush, beloved we don't want that meddlesome partner of yours disturbing us would we?" Alexander said as he rubbed his all too real erection against Mulder's buttocks. "I will release your mouth, but if you scream I will kill her," Alexander released Mulder when Mulder nodded his assent.

"Good, you see what I do to those who seek to keep us apart," Alexander said to Mulder.

"Alexander, he was a harmless old man how can you do this?" Mulder asked in horror.

"It is because I love you and because of this," Alexander said as he pushed Mulder against the bookcase. The cruel hook quickly tore Mulder's clothes from his body. When Mulder lay naked with his clothes laying on the floor, Alexander pushed himself hard against him. Mulder whimpered as Alexander quickly undid the buttons on his breeches and released his massive member. He quickly spat on his fingers and began to probe Mulder's opening.

Mulder tried to stifle a moan, knowing that if he said a word Scully would rush head long into her own death. He tried to stay quiet as impatient fingers worked to loosen him up. Finally, he felt the blunt head of Alexander's cock press against his opening. He bit down knowing what was next.

Alexander was in ecstasy. The extra power he received when he killed the old man was allowing him to remain corporeal and able to take his lover as he did in the past. He pushed hard against his Fox's tight opening. He could hear his beloved moan as his cock lanced through the defenseless opening. Alexander moaned as the all too real sensation of being sheath overcame him. He pushed himself hard against the back of his beloved, nippy at the strong white neck with his teeth only to kiss it to make it feel better.

Feeling the thick member stroke in and out of his anus, stretching it caused his own cock to thicken with lust. He was disgusted with himself, but couldn't escape the feelings. He was soon pushing back and doing the things he did with Walter to cause the cock within him to shoot quickly.

Alexander could not believe how skilled his love had become. Fox had always been a passionate lover, but he was really skillful. He always wanted to be filled by Alexander's cock and so gave great pleasure, but he never knew how to contract his muscles like this. Alexander groaned in both pleasure and regret, knowing that once he came he would be depleted of the energy needed to remain corporeal. He decided this was too good to give up so he grabbed his lover tenderly by the waist and began to thrust in violently. He couldn't help it, but the hook cut into his lover's side quickly. The intense pain caused his Fox to react by tensing his body. This caused his anus to clamp down on Alexander's member and soon Alexander was shooting his load deep into his lover's body.

"You will always be mine. Always," Alexander said as he disappeared. Mulder lay with his head on his arms whimpering with shame and the fact that his cock was begging release. He opened his eyes. He wasn’t leaning against the bookshelf but instead was in the same position as when he found the dead man. In fact, he was still fully dressed. However, he did feel a throbbing in his ass.

He heard a gurgling sound and looked down again at Mr. Tadinov. The man's eyes were brilliant they had seen what had happened.

"Scully, come here quick. Mr. Tadinov has been attacked," Mulder yelled. The old man pushed a slim book towards Mulder. Mulder took it and slipped it into his jacket pocket. The old man pointed toward the letter 'A' written in blood and then closed his eyes.

Scully came racing in with her weapon held at the ready. When she saw the dying man she quickly sat down to see what she could do. He knew it was hopeless, this man's carotid arteries had been completely severed and he had lost most of his blood. She simply could do nothing but watch as the man died before her. She looked up at Mulder and shook her head. There was nothing to be done, but catch the killer. Her mind flashed briefly with rage that someone would hurt such an old man. Her instincts to protect which led her to be a doctor and then to be in law enforcement kicked in.

 

"Mulder, what did you see?" she asked.

"Nothing. I came back here and saw the man with his throat slashed. I called out for you and that is it. I'm going to check out if the perp left through the back. Why don't you call the sheriff," he replied. He drew his gun, mostly for Scully's benefit because he knew that bullets couldn't stop the killer and began to walk to the back. He came to the back door. It was closed with a simple latch holding it locked.

"You will always be mine, don't ever forget that, beloved," a voice whispered in his ear. He whirled around trying to spot Alexander. There was nothing, but air. He turned back toward the door and it's single lock. With the tip of his gun he lifted the hook out of the latch and let it drop. He walked back to his partner.

"Scully, the perp must have escaped through the back. There is a backdoor that is unlocked," Mulder lied to his partner. She had already donned the ubiquitous latex gloves she carried as she examined the body.

"One large gash to the throat. The cut was made in a left-right motion and in a downward stroke. To get the type of gash the assailant was probably left handed wielding some type of jagged weapon," she intoned in the manner she used when he had to autopsy a victim. "Mulder, I don't understand. To have killed Mr. Tadinov in such close range the killer should have been drenched in blood and there should be bloody footprints leading to the back if he escaped that way. I don't understand it," Scully said as she continued to look at all the blood around the victim and on the absence of blood on the escape route.

"Mulder, look!" Scully said as she pointed toward the letter 'A' written in blood. "This is a definite clue. Mr. Tadinov most have known his assailant and was trying to warn us."

Mulder was still a bit shocked at the sight of all this carnage and the memories of Alexander raping him. "Yes, that sounds right, Scully. Maybe the killer quickly removed his shoes and then ran out the back door," Mulder replied.

Scully looked at her partner as if he had lost his mind. While she could always accuse him of being obsessive and even deranged in some of his theories, she could never say he was complacent. He responded to her questions with the most idiotic possibility of how the killer was able to leave without leaving tracks. She took a good look at her partner and realized that his forehead was beaded with sweat and he looked extremely pale. He's in shock, she told herself. That's why he is acting so odd. I have to get him back to the motel.

"Mulder, are you all right?" she asked. He nodded his head, but his eyes looked glazed over.

Sheriff Dmitry Kriuchek came bounding into the library. When he heard Agent Scully call him to the back room he came running. He took in the site immediately. On the floor in a pool of his own blood lay Ivan Tadinov, one of Dmitry's distant great uncles. From the wound on the man's neck, Dmitry knew he ran a foul of their mutual ancestor.

"Shit," he said out loud and then a silent stream of Russian curses as he tried to figure out a way to keep these agents from calling in the entire FBI. It was coming to close when Mulder would have to be sacrificed to his ancestor's spirit. He looked at the agent that had caused such turmoil in his life and gasped. The man looked like a ghost himself. He was pale and clammy looking.

"Agent Scully, Agent Mulder, are you both okay?" he asked.

"Sheriff, we are both fine. We came here to ask some questions about the town's history and Mr. Tadinov was helping us. He left us to bring out some more documents and then Agent Mulder went back to investigate why Mr. Tadinov was taking so long. And then we discovered this," Scully said indicating the murdered body of the librarian. "Agent Mulder followed and believes the murderer left through a back exit. However, I cannot determine why there are not blood trails leading outside."

Dmitry knew why she wouldn't find any marks. However, the first thing to do was to get these two away from here. "Agent Scully, I can have my deputy take both of your statements later. I will like to talk with you later as well, but I think Agent Mulder may be ill," he said pointing toward the standing figure of Agent Mulder. Mulder was standing steady, but there was a distant look to his eyes and he was pale. "You might want to head back to the motel."

Scully nodded her head. He felt it would be best for Mulder to get away from this scene. "Mulder come on, we can give our statements later. Let's give the sheriff the room he needs to conduct his investigation. Sheriff Kriuchek, I can be available if you need an autopsy," she finished.

Sheriff Kriuchek looked at her with a grimace, "Thank you, Agent Scully but I seriously doubt anyone will question how Mr. Tadinov was killed," he said. He watched as both agents walked out of the library.

"Oh, you poor stupid soul Ivan," Sheriff Kriuchek said to the corpse.

Moon Dust Motel
Tuesday, August 10^th
12:15pm

Scully drove the two of them back to the motel. Mulder immediately got out of the car and began to walk towards his room.

"Mulder, will you be okay? I'm going to grab us some take out lunch. I'll meet you back in your room in about thirty minutes," Scully said as she started walking toward the town diner. Several times she looked back at the motel deciding if she should forget about lunch and go back to her partner. She decided he needed to get something in his stomach first.

***

Mulder lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. He had to protect Scully or Alexander would do to her what was done to Mr. Tadinov. He shuddered at the thought of someone hurting his best friend. He didn't want to again lose someone he loved and be powerless to protect them. No, this time he did have something to protect his love ones with. His body. If he could keep the ghost of Alexander occupied he could prevent Scully from getting hurt.

He remembered the manuscript that Mr. Tadinov had pointed out to him to take. He pulled it out of his pocket. It was a hand written journal. It was tattered but readable. Mulder opened the journal and began to read.

1, January, 1915

I, Boris Kriuchek seek to cleanse my soul of the blood of innocents. I believe God has freed me from my obligations to my accursed family by taking into his kingdom my beloved wife Olga and our children through consumption.

This will be my testament to all, of the crimes committed against my family and by my family. This is an old tale that should begin at the start. Our family left the lands we roamed for untold generations with the other families of Roma in the land called Russia for more agreeable land further West. We can to Holland in the late 1700s and from there we set sail for the new world. The elders of our family said we were to seek out new places of spiritual power free from the restrictions of the powers in Europe. We came to the new world in 1810 in the state of Virginia. Our elders told us to go further South, and as our kind was used to traveling we found ourselves in the state of North Carolina in a place called Cape Town.

Here our elders told us we had found the place we had been searching for. We adapted easily, assuming the role of tinkers and such. While the townspeople treated us in typical fashion we did provide skills they did not have and soon our camps were filled with pots and pans to fix.

Everything seemed fine until the head of our house fell for a local lad. While we had no problem with our leader taking a lad to his bed since he had already sired an heir, the lad's family was very angry. So much so that the lad's father killed our leader. But not before the father was cursed. Cursed with the most terrible of curses and being in such a place of spiritual power the curse was made manifest. The father of the lad our leader had loved married him off and sent him far away. The first sign of the curse came about when we tried to move on. One by one each succeeding leader of our family was horribly killed. We sought out our elders and asked how we could stop the deaths.

We were told that only when the love of our murdered leader came back to him would the curse be lifted. Until then we would have to stay here and feed our leader's ghost with blood sacrifice. Our family has been waiting ever since. We gave up our lives of wandering and our freedom to protect our children and ourselves from the wrath of our ancestor.

We hope to be free of this curse when each new generation of Spender comes to this town seeking out their inheritance. They have all been rejected by our ancestor. The elders say that one will come that will calm the ghost and free us. We wait.

I believe …

"Mulder, I was only able to get sandwiches, but I brought you fries," Scully interrupted. Mulder quickly hid the journal before Scully could see it.

"Thanks Scully, I'm feeling better anyway. It smells great," Mulder said as Scully placed the food on the bed. They both dug into their food. Scully knew that when he was ready Mulder would talk. Until then she would just look after her friend.

***

Krycek turned away from the camera. He had to see what the hell Mulder was reading.

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