An Eternal Family 1

by Stein Willard

  He remained quiet and looked straight ahead as the boat began to move. At least the air was not permeated with that ominous aura that vampires gave off. Now all he had to do, was keep it together for the next eight hours until he was back in his penthouse. There, he would find something to exorcise the past couple of hours from his mind.

  “Are you okay, sir?”

  He nodded curtly.

  †

  Paloma lay in the darkness, her senses finely tuned to the sounds around her. It was quiet, except for the soft breathing of Inger and Isis. Both her girls were exhausted. Iris had begun to fade after her evening feeding. Inger, however, had been a bit of a challenge, albeit a very pleasurable one. Their lovemaking had been passionate tonight. Unlike their usual playful intro, it had started with an urgency that built throughout and had left Inger breathless and trembling at the end. Paloma had been left mute and shaken, convinced that the inside of her skull must’ve been cracked by the powerful orgasm. She was grateful when Inger had rolled into her arms and almost immediately fallen asleep, for Paloma doubted she would’ve been able to conduct a coherent conversation had Inger initiated one. A soft sigh came from the crib and she gently slid from the bed, careful not to wake Inger and then moved to the crib. The baby was asleep, her tiny, pink mouth slightly open. Like mother like daughter. She held a finger to her lips and pressed the kiss to the baby’s cheek.

  “Sleep well, my little angel.”

  She returned to the bathroom to don her clothes and left the room. A few guards were stationed around the hallway and she nodded at them as she made her way towards the lifts. The lift open onto a busy foyer and she shook her head at the mostly youthful patrons piling into the room that housed the bar. Lucky for them they had booked the whole top floor, far away from the bustling downstairs. She crossed the foyer, ignoring the whistling that followed her. Had they been in a less public setting, the two brave studs would’ve made a great meal. It was humid outside and opening her senses, she turned left, keeping to the shadows. Paloma noticed that there were an awful lot of tourists in the city, making her wonder how they had managed to book a whole floor during what seemed like peak season. She stopped and delicately sniffed the air. Her eyes cut to a dark alley on her right. She slowly made her way into the dark passage dogging a spooked cat and a few rats. The smell of urine and vomit was overwhelming and getting stronger the deeper she went down the alley. Something wasn’t right. She stopped.

  “What’s wrong?”

  There was a long silence and just as she was about to go find out for herself, Syria stepped out of the darkness. Paloma’s gaze sharpened as she took in the tall vampire. She wasn’t bleeding. Nor was she vomiting. She had also lost much of that emaciated look. All good signs. But it was evident that something was very wrong. Whatever it was, was going to affect the babies. She approached the other woman, who stood looking at her feet.

  “I’ll ask you again, Syria. What is the matter with you?”

  “I’m not sure,” came the forlorn answer.

  Sweet heavens! Tahlia was going to go on a murderous rampage if the babies were to fall ill again. She needed to fix this.

  “How come you’re alone? I thought you would be assigned some protection until you are strong again.”

  “I sent them all back.”

  Paloma bit down on her jaw. “Why?”

  “I didn’t want to share,” Syria said softly.

  Then she giggled!

  †

  Copernicus felt the plane lift off and sighed deeply. It was going to take some doing before he left the safety of the United States again. Back home he had an army of vampires, although not very effective against the Royals, they would’ve been against Mopi’helma and his lizards.

  “Would you like one, sir?”

  He looked up and saw one of the soldiers holding out a can of beer. He hated beer, but at the moment he could do with anything stronger than water or coffee. “Yes, thanks.” He cracked it open and took a long swig. The cool frothy brew tasted heavenly. Maybe beer wasn’t so bad. He could get used to it. Change was good after all and he was going to make a lot a changes in his life.

  He had no intention of paying the rest of Mopi’helma’s fee. A billion dollars for zilch. Who in his right mind would do that? Not him. He took another long drink from his beer. Some changes he considered, were moving to his bunker outside the city. New York was getting too hot for him. Moreover, he’d have to beef up his security. His eyes wandered to where the soldiers sat talking loudly and laughing. They had conducted themselves well back in the jungle. Maybe he could talk to them. His human army could benefit from the men’s experience. He finished his beer and stood.

  There was no better time than right now.

  †

  Leo studied Tahlia closely.

  The vampire queen was quiet. Unmoving. Her black eyes were fixed with laser intensity on the Outlander.

  “Has she said anything?” she asked Nimiri, who had sought her out immediately after her return from the jungle. She was greatly displeased with Nimiri for disobeying her and leaving Athanas without a military leader in Leo’s absence. That, however, was not a conversation for now. Presently, they were all in Syria’s room waiting almost breathlessly for Tahlia to react. The queen’s head suddenly snapped up from where she stood, staring at Syria. The Outlander was lying on her back her hands weaving through the air, as if she as trying to pluck stars from the sky. She had an enormous smile on her face and the pupils in her eyes were dilated. It was evident to anyone in the room that the Outlander was drugged out of her mind. Not that it made sense at all, since vampires were immune to any mind-altering substances.

  “She looks content.”

  Everyone’s eyes in the room shifted from Syria to Tahlia. She looked content? That was it? After having stared at the drugged vampire for almost five minutes that was what Tahlia came up with? She glanced at Nimiri, who shrugged. When she looked at Paloma, she found a strange, little smile tugging at the Assassin’s lips. Pierre and Jonas looked fascinated, but not concerned or affected by Tahlia’s anticlimactic reaction. Trinity, Clarissa and Lake were all staring at Tahlia with dumbstruck expressions on their faces.

  “You know what, hon?” Jemima’s voice sounded loud in the perplexed silence that hung in the room. Everyone’s attention snapped to Jemima where she stood next to her wife. She looked wildly sensual with her mussed blonde hair, sleepy blue eyes and black satin dressing gown. Tahlia, on the other hand, looked as immaculate as always, dressed in black. Jemima turned to Tahlia and curled her arm around the dark woman’s waist. “Why don’t we bring the babies to her? They could all trip together.”

  Had the situation been less tense, Leo would’ve laughed at the look of utter horror on Tahlia’s face. Jemima was grinning widely.

  “If she’s tripping on ayahuasca, then I’m sure they are, too, and that they are already chasing bubbles together in their dreams.” Tahlia blinked at her wife, completely speechless. “Believe me, babe, they’re going to love it.”

  A quick glance at the others, showed that they were thoroughly enjoying Tahlia’s discomposure. At that moment, Leo couldn’t help but wonder if their daughter would be as mischievous as her blonde mother. If so, she could expect to find herself in Tahlia’s shoes quite often.

  Tahlia dropped her face in her hands and Jemima gently rubbed her back. “It’s okay, love, I’ll go get Aria.”

  As soon as Jemima left the room, Tahlia looked up. Everyone quickly schooled their faces into masks of indifference. The black eyes flitted over them.

  “She might vomit again as the drug is expelled from her body. Someone needs to watch over them.” Then she left.

  †

  Tahlia stared out the window at the city below, but was looking at nothing in particular. Her thoughts were down the hallway. She could hear the conversations clearly and according to what she heard, it seemed that the babies were ecstatic at the reunion with their big sister. She shook her head.
She couldn’t wait for Aria to grow up, lest their accident- prone sister get them all killed by mistake. She leaned her head against the cool window pane.

  “She makes a terrible vampire. Are we going to have to constantly brace ourselves for whatever she will contract or eat?”

  “I know.”

  She turned from the window to look at Jemima. The blonde was seated on the bed, an amused expression on her face. “I can’t see the humor in all this, Jemima.”

  “I know that too, my love.” She came over to Tahlia and wrapped her arms around her waist. “We’ve been through worse in the past few hours. Our baby tripping…” She giggled when Tahlia closed her eyes tightly. “…is the least of all that has happened lately.”

  Tahlia grimaced. “When you say tripping, you make it sounds like the babies actually chose to take the drug, instead of their…sister.” She hissed out the last word and Jemima actually laughed. Her blue eyes were filled with intense love.

  “I love you, you know. I adore the way you love us all and worry about us.” She brushed a kiss over Tahlia’s lips. “Grinolde must’ve been a great mother to have raised such a magnificent woman.”

  The sound of her mother’s name unexpectedly had her yearning for the woman. She was ashamed to say that over the centuries, her mother’s face had begun to fade to the point that she could only remember fleeting details. Like the feel of her roughened palms. Her gentle eyes. She searched Jemima’s face. “Would you like to meet her?”

  The smile on the blonde’s face froze. “Honey?”

  “Would you?” she pressed gently.

  “I don’t understand?”

  Tahlia kissed her gently. “Aria will be busy for the next few hours and will be supervised by Inger and Lake.” Jemima still looked unconvinced. “What do you say?”

  “How?”

  “I can show you, but you need to get dressed. Come on, go on.” She steered a tense Jemima towards the cupboard.

  †

  Lake swallowed as she took in the sight before her. Syria’s arms were filled with a dozing baby. Two others were curled up in her lap and a fourth had fallen asleep behind Syria, her small head pressed up against Syria’s broad back. It was probably one of the most beautiful images she had ever seen. The moment the babies were brought into the room, they had squealed excitedly at the sight of Syria. The excitement had quickly worn off as the effects of the drug had kicked in. With her sisters surrounding her, Syria seemed more tranquil. Her eyes, though still hazy, kept flitting between the babies.

  “I love seeing them together like this,” Inger said next to her and Lake turned to face her. “They take sisterly love to a whole new level.”

  “Do you have a sister?”

  “Yes, adopted.” She pointed to the baby that was held tenderly in Syria’s arms. “That’s her daughter, Noa. She’s also known as the Fourth Pillar.”

  Lake watched Syria as she looked down at the baby—a look of fierce love and longing on her face. She was an only child, but she would’ve liked to have had an older sister to look out for her. To love her as much as Syria loved her sisters.

  “And the others?” When she looked at Inger, she found Inger already watching her. “I would like to know more about them.”

  “I could tell you, but I’m not sure.”

  Lake nodded her head. “I understand. I also understand that you don’t trust me after I tried to…hurt Syria.”

  “You mean kill her?”

  Blushing, she nodded again. “Yes. I didn’t know how she fits into all this.” Lake wondered what her fate would’ve been, had she succeeded in killing Syria. She had been horrified when she found out that the babies and Syria had an emotional, psychic and physical bond. Killing her could’ve meant that the babies would’ve… She couldn’t let herself finish the thought. “I’m sorry for what I almost did. All I wanted, was to make it right, take my life back and feel in control again.” One of the babies in Syria’s lap rolled over and almost rolled off had it not been for a gentle hand catching her. “Had I had known what I do now, I would’ve dropped everything immediately.”

  “I know you wouldn’t have wanted to hurt them.” Inger’s voice was gentle. “If you promise to never be part of anything that will hurt my daughter…” She pointed at the baby sleeping against Syria’s back. “…or my baby sister.”

  Lake’s head snapped around to look at Inger. “That’s the queen’s daughter?”

  “Yes, she is.”

  She searched the woman’s eyes. For being the offspring of the queen, Inger didn’t look threatening in any way. If anything, she exhibited the same impishness as the queen’s wife. There was so much she needed to learn about her new clan, starting with the Pillars, her adopted family.

  “Will you tell me more about the babies?”

  Inger smiled. “Sure.”

  She pointed at the queen’s baby. “That’s Aria, short for Ariadne. She’s the First Pillar, the leader of the Outlanders. Syria is the Second Pillar and the explorer of the Race. She usually goes out and assess situations.” She rose and walked over to gather the restless baby in Syria lap. “The baby on Syria’s lap is mine. Her name’s Isis and she’s the Third Pillar, also referred to as the diplomat.” She gently kissed the baby in her arms and the girl smiled in her sleep. Lake was tempted to reach out and touch the smooth cheek. She had always loved children and had thought she might have a baby one day when everything with Copernicus had settled. She looked away from the baby. That was something of the past now. “This one is Raven, the Fifth Pillar and the fixer of the Race.” She kissed the baby again. “She fills the role that Paloma does in the Royals.”

  “Where does Copernicus fit in? If they had such a strong structure how did he manage to slip through the cracks?”

  “He didn’t.”

  “But isn’t he a …”

  “Yes, he’s an Outlander.” She returned the baby to Syria, who had placed Noa on her lap. Lake noticed that Syria looked perceptively relieved to have the baby near. “Only, he waited until the Pillars gave up corporeal form to embark on his killing spree. He’s been active for the past four hundred years.”

  “What do you mean with corporeal form?”

  “Their natural form is non-corporeal. It helps them to remain anonymous as the governing council of the Race. They would take corporeal form for short periods at a time.”

  Why would the leaders remain anonymous? Wouldn’t it be good governance to be visible and be amongst their people?

  “Why would they hide from their own people?”

  Inger shrugged. “To promote equality and individualism, perhaps. Syria didn’t say much about that.” She glanced at the wet bar. “You seem to have a lot of questions. Maybe we could see what’s in the bar fridge before we continue.”

  Lake smiled at the woman. “That’s a great idea.”

  She wanted to know as much as she could about Syria and the babies. She couldn’t protect her father against Copernicus, but she could help protect the Pillars against Copernicus. They found a small bottle of red wine and four of vodka. Inger looked dismayed at their poor loot. “You can do the wine and I’ll deal with the vodka,” Lake offered. Inger smiled and pulled a small can of soda from the fridge.

  “Can’t take a chance, especially after the day the babies’ are having.”

  They retook their position at the small table. Syria had finally lost the fight and was dozing amongst her sisters. Her tall, powerful frame making the babies look even smaller.

  “So, what is it with you and Syria?”

  Almost spitting out her mouthful of vodka, Lake’s head swirled to meet Inger’s gaze. “Me and Syria? Nothing. There’s nothing between us.” She sat back and took another sip. “What would make you think that there’s something?”

  Inger pulled a face. “The fact that you’re here, maybe. Also, you haven’t taken your eyes off her in the last hour.”

  Was it true? Had she been staring at Syria? She would’ve known if she had
. And if she had, then it was most definitely because Syria was holding the babies. She stole a glance at Inger and found the blue eyes still watching her.

  “You’re definitely imagining it.” She glanced at the babies. “I think you left out one of the babies.” The one that was resting on Syria’s chest.

  “Oh, I did, didn’t I? That little imp is called Noa, the fourth Pillar, and the brains of the group. Aptly referred to as the scientist.”

  Inger lapsed further into history of the Outlander race, but whereas Lake had been interested in the topic before, she was only listening with a half an ear now.

  Did everyone really think that she had a romantic interest in Syria? That wouldn’t do. Now that she had a clear purpose for her life, love and all its fixings, would have to wait. She wanted to earn her place in her new family and taking a shortcut like sleeping with Syria would not be a good idea

  XXI

  After being jostled for the umpteenth time, Jemima reached for Tahlia’s hand. The vampire’s hand immediately tightened over hers. She felt a gentle tug and Tahlia pulled her to the side out of the bustling stream of humans.

  “Are you okay?”

  Jemima nodded. “Yes. It’s just so…” She looked around her. The streets were filled with people, animals and wagons. It was like an ant colony. Everyone was bumping into each other. She shook her head. It was so loud with merchants shouting over the monotonous calls of young flower sellers. She turned to Tahlia and found her studying her intently.

  “We can go back.”

  Go back? Pshaw! That was not an option. She was ‘walking back’. How many people alive can say that they’ve had the opportunity to visit the past? Maybe only Inger. Paloma once took her back to a small Spanish fishing village to meet her doppelgänger. Jemima looked around her again. She was walking amongst real-live Romans, for crying out loud. Two centurions walked past them and she shook her head.