“It smiled at me.” I closed my eyes tight and mumbled to myself.
“I think you just need some fresh air. Get dressed,” he laughed, taking a seat on the bed.
I turned to look at him and frowned.
“What do you think you are doing?” I asked him.
“What? It’s not like you don’t have anything I haven’t already seen,” he teased me.
I gave him an irritated scowl.
“Please,” I stated.
My heart was still pounding. All I could see was Prudence staring back at me with that hole in her head. It was by far the most disturbing image I had seen since becoming a Warden. It is one thing to be the target; it is quite another to see who had really been executed that day in the mountain.
“Fine.” He gave in. “You have ten minutes.”
“That’s all I need,” I smiled as he got up from the bed and left the room, looking over his shoulder twice before shutting the door.
The moment he was gone, I collapsed on the bed, trying to steady my breathing. Why did I see things? I pulled on my clothes and brushed my wet hair, putting it in a loop on the top of my head, to keep the wet strands from leaving watermarks on my clothing. My jeans were looser than usual, which amazed me. I had never been a large girl, but the size sevens I was wearing used to fit tight on my hips.
“You done in there?” Wesley asked from outside the door. I cracked a smile and turned the knob.
“Sure,” I replied as he looked at me.
“I have to admit I think I like what you were sleeping in better.” He teased me, and I reached over and smacked him on the arm.
“Do I look thinner?” I asked, pulling on the waist of my jeans.
“A bit. Don’t worry; we will put some weight on you.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and led me down the stairs.
“I think you need it more than me.” I put my hand on his stomach, and he rolled his eyes.
“Unlike you, no matter what I eat, I will gain absolutely nothing.” We stopped in the entryway. “Call it the curse of my mother.”
“Why did we stop?” I asked.
“You aren’t the only one that miraculously got well overnight. Helen was able to have her neck brace taken off today. Your brother offered her the same deal I offered you. He told me to wait here for them.” Wesley grinned and looked around the room.
“I find it odd you know this place so well,” I laughed.
“Of course, when I came here, your room still had a crib in it. Your parents really had a thing for pink,” he shivered.
“I detest pink,” I said, making a disgusted face. “When I get the chance, I’m going to change the walls.”
“Why not do it later? You sure have the power to change things into something better. I watched you do it.” Wesley raised his eyebrows, and I admit I had forgotten the small trinkets I had made out of something old.
“I didn’t think of that,” I said, shrugging. “What would I do without you?”
“Live in a pink room forever,” he teased.
My back was turned to the stairs, so I did not see when Helen reached the bottom. All I felt were two arms circling me and crushing me to a small female body.
“Thank you.” Her voice was sweet in my ear. I turned around and looked at Helen. Her face was flushed, but the hole in her neck had healed brilliantly. Not even a scar remained.
“What did I do?” I asked. I flashed back to the battle, remembering the vampire pressed to her body. The electricity I had sent through him had shocked him from his attack, giving her time to kill him.
“You saved my life,” she stated, hugging me again.
“You’re welcome,” I replied slowly, slightly confused.
“She hasn’t shut up about seeing you today,” Shawn mentioned, walking up. His blond hair was tucked under a baseball cap.
“I’m just glad she’s ok. How is Rose?” I asked, wishing Helen would let me go.
“After last night’s events, she is back to square one. I say give it a few days, and she will be up and moving.” He shook Wesley’s hand. “How are you feeling today?”
“I’m all right. Sorry about yesterday,” Wesley said, blushing.
“What happened yesterday?” I looked at Wesley, and he glanced away.
“A few of the unknown bloodlines started to surface. We had some emotional issues.” Shawn left it at that. My interest was piqued, but I had a feeling I wasn’t going to get any more answers.
“That sounds frightening,” I said as Helen finally let me go.
“Just a bit,” Wesley murmured softly.
“Well, ladies, are you ready to see what all our hard work has gone into?” Shawn asked, offering his arm to Helen. She took it with a smile, and we started walking toward the back of the house.
“Do they think this is going to happen again?” Helen asked, shaking her head. “You would think they would get the hint. We are not going down without a fight.”
“Not all the compounds were as successful as we were. The idea behind this is to make sure we are adequately set up should this happen again,” Shawn stated, opening the door, and leading us outside.
The air was warm, and the sun hit my face with a prickle. I shielded my eyes and looked out over the field. The makeshift carnival was still standing, though slightly worn by the winds and weather. I felt a ping of sadness; we never had the chance to finish the celebration my mother had worked so hard to put together for mine and Wesley’s birthday.
We walked toward the second structure and went inside. The place was amazingly quiet. Nobody was in the entertainment rooms, and there was no sound of children playing.
“Where is everyone?” I asked, looking around doors and walls.
“We had the children sent to the other barn during the day. Your mother has started a school, something she had been planning for some time.” Shawn shook his head. He had a large amount of respect for my mother. Even with his demon blood, he envied her for her compassion.
“There are quite a few teachers here, so she wanted to put their skills to good use. She’s been working on this for a while now. Finally, she got the approval,” Wesley pointed out. It amazed me at how quickly he had fallen into place amongst the allies. I had figured it would take quite some time for him to be accepted, but they had taken to him as if he had always been there.
“So, this is long term,” I sighed.
“Very. Harrisville residents are opening their homes as well,” Shawn mentioned.
“Well, their eyes were opened to a whole new part of the world,” I said, matter-of-fact.
“This is true. Of course, there are some discriminatory thoughts. They aren’t as keen to open their doors to the vampires in fear of being attacked,” Wesley said as we walked to the far end of the building where an elevator had been put in.
“As long as it doesn’t cause problems with the people, I don’t see a problem with it,” I said with a shrug as we climbed in, and Shawn hit a button on the wall panel.
“Not at all, they tend to stay in covens anyway, so they weren’t as willing to move as some of the others,” Shawn said as the elevator began to move.
“Good,” I muttered to myself. Wesley’s hand grasped mine as we descended from the first floor.
“So many things are changing,” Helen stated as she grasped my other hand.
“What do you mean?” I asked, looking at her.
“I mean, the world is changing. We fight to save it while we have others fighting to destroy it. It’s going to split the world in two.” She looked dazed, her lips parted to speak again, but nothing came out. However, there was truth in Helen’s words. The world was changing, and if we didn’t find a balance soon, it would be split.
We stepped into a sanitized hallway with two double doors at the far end. The walls were still nothing more than plaster and plastic, but there was potential. We were led through the doors to another hallway; there were rooms on both sides, reaching what felt like infinity. Each
room had a bed, couch, counter, and a bathroom. It was apparent they were planning additional items but had not figured out what else they wanted to do with the rooms.
“Including me, there were six doctors in the compound. Though all work is pro bono, with no insurance payments, we have offsite pharmaceutical companies chipping in to stock the shelves as well as keep Harrisville overstocked for the town’s size,” Shawn said, leading us to a nurse’s station.
“How is that possible?” I asked softly.
“I told you once, some of the largest corporations are run by either a pureblood or a hybrid. In this case, I know of two companies dealing in medicines that are run by and employ those with ‘special’ blood.” He looked at the desk area.
“You put a lot of thought to this in only a few days?” I felt woozy from all the walking. Maybe I wasn’t as ready to leave the prison as I had thought.
“Not a few days. This has been an ongoing conversation that has spanned out since we started this whole thing: the school, a hospital, food, all necessities. We wanted to plan, slowly expand things a little at a time. However, the attack on the town, as well as the country, has us moving a little faster than anticipated.” Shawn motioned for us to follow him further.
“How big are the other compounds?” I asked as we walked through another set of doors.
“They range from ten to three hundred. The compounds not only offer safety to those of mythical blood, but they also offer sanctuary to the families of these individuals. Many of the fighters on the fields around the country were human,” he answered me as we came to a stop in front of a glass wall.
“The media refuses to cover the incidences as the mess is cleaned up before they even get news crews to the sites. These attacks are not happening in big cities: New York, Los Angeles, Dallas. They are all safe. Instead, they are hitting the smaller towns, places where the Carriers are more apt to hide and take refuge. Areas where a hybrid clan could be hiding out, trying to stay out of sight. If you ask me, I say we move this compound to downtown St. Louis, cloaked in magic, and her Army will be none the wiser.” Wesley had obviously put a lot of thought into his speech.
His rant did make sense. If large cities were not being targeted, the safest place to be was in the center of one surrounded by the magic wards and hidden amongst humans. It would be an excellent place to build an Army just in case the cities were overthrown. We all knew humans were next on the list for anialation.
“Damn,” I heard Helen breathe, and I was pulled away from my thoughts.
“Why aren’t we involved with the creation of this new society?” I asked, becoming more interested in this story.
“But you are,” Shawn smiled.
“How so?”
“Think about it. You are the Wardens!” He held his arms out wide and looked at Helen.
“We are the focal pieces,” I said, shrugging. “In other words, we are the front line, but another government runs the underlying plans. It’s like being a token. Sure, we have gifts and powers that others don’t, but the war isn’t fought by us alone.”
“Right, it’s being fought by those who believe the Queen is wrong in her thinking. We are trying to preserve the world while she is trying to destroy it,” Helen interjected, her eyes focused on everything around us.
“Don’t be fooled about the token piece. You are just as important, if not more, than any other fighter in this war.” Shawn raised his finger and poked me in the chest.
“I don’t want the fate of the world on my shoulders. Personally, I don’t think any of us want that. All we want is to make sure everyone stays safe. The less bloodshed, the better.” I shrugged my shoulders.
“And that is why we are strong,” Shawn smiled.
We stood in silence for a few moments reflecting, even mourning those who had passed. Shawn was right, but then again, so was I. The Wardens were tokens in the divine plan, but we were also skilled. Creatures would listen to us because of what we stood for. It did make me feel a little better about who I was, yet it also seemed to increase the responsibility of it all.
Chapter Sixteen
Sweet Surrender
We had been wandering the halls of the lower levels listening to Shawn explain the ins and outs of the hospital process. The reasons for this room and that, and how it was going to be able to assist any creature no matter the bloodline. Once we were standing in front of a tiny room, Shawn turned to look at me.
“Do you want to know what this is?” Shawn asked as he placed his hand on a large window.
I looked at the glass wall and stepped forward. The room had little bins on rollers with padding placed inside. I had seen these before, but I couldn’t remember the last time I had actually ambled around a hospital.
“What is it?” I asked, intrigued by the room before me.
“A nursery,” he said, excited. “Want to know why we have a nursery?”
“Because it helps babies?” Helen asked, her voice rising and falling in a sarcastic manner.
“You are too smart for your own good.” Shawn shook his head and looked at Wesley. “We have several expectant mothers.”
“Do what?” My eyes went wide. How could they possibly think of having children when there was a war going on?
“Don’t sound so upset. You do realize most of these families are part human. They have children.” Shawn wasn’t impressed by my not-so-enthusiastic question.
“I’m not upset.” I looked down the hall. “I just don’t understand.”
“What is there to understand?” Wesley took my hand. “Don’t you want children someday?”
I saw Shawn stiffen, and Helen looked in the other direction. Nobody had explained to him the fertility of the female angel. I didn’t have the heart to tell him at this moment, so I just changed the subject.
“So, there is a maternity ward, huh?” I looked at Shawn, my eyes pleading.
“Of course. We even have several birthing rooms,” he obliged me.
Thank you, I thought, giving him a smile.
Sooner or later, you are going to have to tell him, Shawn answered me, raising half his mouth into a smile.
“How did you get all this done in such a short time?” Helen asked. I had never been more grateful for her intrusion.
“It was somewhat in development before Dawn left. Otherwise lots of magic and man-hours. We used the abilities of those who wanted to help. Leading laboratories and universities are donating the equipment. It won’t be state of the art yet, but it will be enough to make this work.” Shawn looked at Wesley.
Admittingly, I was slightly shocked by the respect the two men were giving to one another. It made me wonder what had happened those days I was stuck in bed, not knowing what was going on outside my window.
“Though some compounds have clinics or small emergency care centers, we are the first to incorporate a full-service hospital. If it works, we will roll out plans to the other compounds,” Wesley stated. He was quite educated with the work being conducted.
“How did you become so knowledgeable in all of this?” I asked, crossing my arms and giving him an awkward smile.
“Your father thinks I am useful.” He straightened his back and pulled his lips together.
I believed he was a little too proud of his accomplishment. Just because my father thought he was useful, did not mean he approved of the two of us being together. At least not after what had happened over the last few months.
“Dawn!” I heard a voice behind me, and I stopped walking.
It was after dark; the day had gone by in a flash while we were inspecting the new hospital. Once we had returned to the main house, I had decided I wanted to go for a walk. I needed some time to think. While I was excited about the concept of the hospital, the thoughts of bringing children into this world still plagued me. If I didn’t take the time to think about the day, I was going to implode.
I turned around as Edmund jogged up the hill toward me. His long black hair was pulled back, and
he was wearing a black short-sleeved button-up shirt with dark jeans. I looked down at my black-and-white polka-dotted dress and sighed. I had decided to wear this outfit when I got up that morning. Now I felt overdressed for a stroll.
I gave him a warm smile as he came to a stop in front of me.
“What’s going on, Edmund?” I asked, feeling his power consume me. This man was so incredibly swoon-worthy; I had to fight to keep my composure.
“I wanted to talk to you away from everyone.” He gave me a toothy grin.
“Oh? What about?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. It must have been vital if he hunted me down.
There was an awkward silence between the two of us. I could see the wheels turning in his head as he struggled to get the words out.
“I need to speak to her,” he requested, his eyes started to glisten.
“Speak with who?” I was confused. To whom could he possibly need to talk? It didn’t make sense for him to ask my permission to speak with someone. No matter how many faces flashed in my head, none of them were connected to the vampire.
“Prudence.” He gave me another smile; this one had a little more of his natural charm.
I felt a cold chill run up my back. Had he not got the memo?
“She’s dead,” I said harshly and started to turn.
“No, she isn’t. She’s inside of you.” Edmund grabbed my arm roughly forcing me to face him.
I felt the low guttural growl in my chest as anger took me over. I didn’t like his request, not one bit. Why did he have to be so demanding?
“What are you talking about?” I asked, trying to get free from his firm grasp.
“After our date, I took some time to reflect. No woman has ever left me as mesmerized as she did. I knew I had seen her before,” he stated, his fangs glowed in the moonlight.
“No shit, Edmund, she has my face.” I finally got free and glared at him.
“Damn it, Dawn, listen to me before you jump to conclusions,” Edmund yelled, and I paused.
I crossed my arms, awaiting his reason. I was trying to come to terms with Prudence’s death myself; the last thing I needed was someone telling me she was still alive inside of me. What could that possibly mean? Prudence was dead! I lived in that room for three days, unable to say who I was. It was I who took the bullet to the temple, killing the Priestess. Her death brought me back. So why was he demanding to speak with her?
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