by L.H. Cosway
Oh, shit. A grin tugged at my lips. There was a small metal hook where his hand used to be, thanks to Ira biting it off. I had to hold in the urge to smile as I glanced at Alora and told her what I saw. She seemed pleased at the reminder that Ridley lost his hand during her escape from his capture.
“You sure you’re okay with this?” I asked her.
She nodded stoically. “Yes. I’m sure.”
Roman began constructing an invisible bubble of magic around her so that when she approached Ridley, he wouldn’t be able to harm her. I put my arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick hug before she stepped out from behind the trees and started walking toward the house.
The second Ridley spotted her his entire body tensed, and his beady eyes darted back and forth to scan the area for threats. When he was satisfied that she was alone, he gave a predatory smile. It made me want to punch him.
“I knew you’d come back,” he said, walking toward her.
I clenched my fists at the smug look on his face. Patience. All I needed was to be patient.
Alora stopped just outside the gates to the house, going no farther. This was all a part of the plan. We needed him to come outside the house, outside the zone of Theodore’s protection.
“My family have fled the city. I didn’t have anyone else to turn to,” Alora said in a purposefully meek voice.
“You’ll always have a place with me, child. I might even find it in my heart to forgive you for what that mutt did to my hand. That is, of course, if you have any good predictions for me.”
Ira growled low in his throat when Ridley called him a mutt, but I placed my hand on his shoulder as a sign for him not to make any more noise. We couldn’t afford for the warlock to discover we were there.
“I’ve had a number of visions over the past few days. I’m sure you’re eager to know what I’ve seen.”
Ridley continued to get closer to her, but when he reached the gate, he simply opened it and gestured for her to come inside. Damn, he wasn’t going to leave the parameter of the house.
I was gearing up to intervene when Roman put a hand out to stop me.
“Patience, Mr Roe,” he whispered. “We need to wait for her to touch him.”
My eyes were drawn back to Ridley and Alora, and I saw that he was holding out his hand to her, the one that wasn’t a hook. Time seemed to move in slow motion as she reached out to take it. The second their palms met, Roman emerged from his hiding spot. His lips moved rapidly as he cast a whispered spell, and a variety of colours streamed from his body. Ridley froze in place when he saw the sorcerer advancing on him. He tried to pull his hand from Alora’s, but she gripped it tight.
“You stole this young lady’s sight, warlock,” Roman announced. “Now I shall take one of your senses to return the eyes you took from her.”
Wait, what? Yes! Go Roman!
“What madness is this!?” Ridley shouted desperately. “I have already lost a hand because of her.”
“That was nobody’s fault but your own. To attempt to steal the power of another is one of the worst crimes a warlock can commit. You must be punished.”
Roman threw a blast of golden magic at Ridley’s face. It slithered right into his ears, and he started to scream. Alora was still holding his hand, still listening to what Roman was doing to Ridley with a mix of horror and fascination on her face.
With only the slightest nod of his head, the magic shot from Ridley’s ears into Alora’s eyes. I’d seen some crazy shit in my time, and now I had another to add to the list. She whimpered and finally loosened her hold. I hurried to her side, catching her in my arms before she hit the ground. She stared at me as I took her in, blinking her eyes as they focused on me.
She could see.
“Hey,” I murmured, rubbing my thumb along the base of her neck.
“Hi,” she murmured back, staring at me in amazement. I smiled, and she returned the expression, eyes wide as she took in every inch of my face.
“Like what you see?” I asked huskily.
“Yes, actually,” she replied, a shy look marking her features. “I do.”
“I can’t hear! I can’t hear!” Ridley shouted, clutching at his ears.
Roman grabbed him and made a motion akin to stuffing a gag in someone’s mouth, and Ridley fell completely silent. A second later, the door to the house flew open and Marcel emerged. He took in the scene before him, his mouth gaping wide.
“What have you done to him?” he asked, stunned.
“Take us to Theodore, or I will end his life here and now,” Roman threatened.
Marcel looked at the sorcerer properly, and his mouth fell open even wider. “Roman Patel, it cannot be,” he whispered in shock.
“I’m afraid it can and it is. Now, take us to Theodore, or you are both as good as dead.”
Finally, Marcel came to his senses and led us inside the house.
Tegan
I wondered if I was dreaming.
I’d been stupid. No, we’d been stupid. Ethan and I had been too lost in each other, too eager to sate our passions and desires that we hadn’t given a single thought to the possible consequences. I was on the pill, sure, but we should’ve been using protection, too. The problem was, after that first time without a condom, we pretty much abandoned the idea altogether. It felt too good not to use one, and now, well, now we were paying the price.
The weird thing was, I didn’t exactly hate the thought of having Ethan’s baby. In fact, the opposite was true. Everything was moving way too fast, but I still felt a weird sense of contentment at the idea of us having a child.
But it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. Far from it.
According to Delilah, a high percentage of mothers carrying dhampir babies didn’t survive the birth. And then other times the baby didn’t survive. An overwhelming sense of grief hit me at the thought of losing my child. I’d only just discovered I was pregnant, and I already couldn’t stand the idea of losing the baby. I wasn’t strong enough to deal with that kind of heartbreak right now. There was already so much else to deal with.
I looked up at Ethan, and there was no mistaking the utter joy on his face, tinged with an edge of guilt. He was remorseful that he hadn’t been more careful with me, but his joy was so intense that it outshone the remorse tenfold. He wanted this. He really, really wanted it, and whatever worry he might be feeling that something could happen to me or the child was eclipsed by the sheer intensity of his want. He wanted us to have a family together, and though I was fearful of what might happen, I wanted a family with him, too.
I reassured myself with the fact that I was half-witch. I also had power in my blood. It felt like those factors strengthened the possibility of both me and the baby surviving.
I had to hold onto optimism if I was going to get through this.
Delilah must’ve sensed we needed privacy because she quickly made her excuses and turned to leave. Before she made it out the door, she stuck her head back in and asked, “Um, should I tell the others?”
I shrugged and turned to stare out the window. “Sure, if you want.”
I didn’t really care about them knowing. I was too wrapped up in my own worries. I tugged the blankets tight around myself, my stomach queasy as hell. It rumbled, and a stab of pain shot through my gut. Bloody hell. I didn’t know much about regular human pregnancies, but I had a feeling they weren’t anything like getting knocked up by a vampire. Delilah mentioned something about the foetus forming a lot faster and that it could be faster still, considering I was half-witch.
I didn’t make eye contact with Ethan when I said, “There’s a chance she could be mistaken, right? This could just be a case of food poisoning, or a bug or something.”
He frowned and stood, walking over to sit on the edge of the bed. Taking my hand into his, he gave me a tender look. His other hand moved across my chest and down to my belly.
In a low voice, he replied, “Food poisoning doesn’t put an extra heartbeat inside of you, Tega
n. I wasn’t paying enough attention before. Now that I am, I can hear it beating as loud as a drum in my ears.”
“You can hear it?” I whispered.
His only response was a smile.
After a few moments of quiet, I asked, “You really want a baby with me?”
“Of course, I do. I adore you. I love you. Knowing you are with child makes this one of the happiest days of my life,” he answered fervently.
“Well, that’s certainly high praise considering just how many days you’ve been alive,” I joked half-heartedly to distract myself from my inner turmoil.
Ethan laughed softly. “It’s rude to remind a vampire of his age, you know.”
“Yeah, I know,” I grinned. “That’s why I did it.”
A tinge of sadness entered his gaze. “I should have been more careful—”
“Don’t,” I interrupted. “There’s no point in that kind of talk. I have your child inside me now, and all we can do is try our best to ensure its survival. Besides, it does take two to tango. I was careless as well.”
He moved deeper onto the bed and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “You continually amaze me with your strength,” he said tenderly before his expression sobered. “I’ll arrange for a vampire physician to come and examine you. We need to know how far along you are. It can’t be more than a week or so, but I want to ensure you’re at optimum health.”
“Okay, that sounds like the responsible thing to do.”
I drifted off for a nap, Ethan’s arms around me a reassuring comfort. I was woken up a few hours later by Delilah, who gave me an uncharacteristically gentle smile that held too many emotions. I wished she’d stop. I couldn’t handle smiles like that right now.
“Dr Hendricks is here,” she said softly. “Is it okay for him to come in?”
“Sure.”
She returned quickly with a young-looking vampire with brown hair and dark eyes. He introduced himself and congratulated me on the baby. I didn’t know how to react to congratulations just yet, so I didn’t say anything. It was kind of weird being congratulated when both you and your child had a slim chance of surviving.
Dr Hendricks asked me an endless number of questions before examining me.
“How long does this take?” I asked, and he quirked a curious eyebrow at me. “I mean, how long am I going to be pregnant? Is it nine months like human births?”
He pursed his lips and began packing away his stethoscope. “No. Dhampir gestation periods are usually between three and four months. Development is much quicker in these … sorts of cases. That’s why there’s already a heartbeat.”
“Well, that’s good, isn’t it? It means I won’t be the size of an elephant for too long,” I said, trying to inject some humour into the conversation that I definitely didn’t feel.
“May I speak frankly?” he asked, and I nodded, my nerves building. I sensed I wasn’t going to like what he had to say next.
“Vampire babies take just two months to be born from the date of conception. Dhampirs take longer because you are essentially putting a vampire foetus in a human body that is not equipped with the proper genetics to carry it, which is why both mother and baby often … do not survive.”
“Yes, I know that already.”
He grew quiet for a moment, almost like he was hesitating over whether or not to say something else. “I’ve been informed of your, shall we say, powers. Perhaps there’s a way you could channel your magic into the foetus?”
“I wish I knew how to do that,” I told him honestly.
“Are there any female relatives you might consult with?” he suggested.
I bit my lip, thinking of Emilia. The chances of her giving me pregnancy advice were slim to none. “No, sadly not.”
At this, Ethan entered the room and asked how everything was going. He and the doctor stepped away, speaking in hushed tones. I tried to follow their conversation but found my mind drifting off. I’d never considered myself to be a particularly maternal person, but all of a sudden, I felt like I’d die to protect this tiny little being that was growing inside of me.
I felt almost primal in my need to protect my child, to ensure its survival, and the instinct was incredibly jarring. Yesterday, I’d barely given having a family a second thought. Now here I was, desperate for both me and my baby to survive. I’d do whatever it took.
And that included getting down on my knees and grovelling to Emilia to help me find a way to save it.
14.
Finn
Marcel marched into the house like a moody housewife whose visitors had shown up before she had the chance to make the place presentable. Roman still had a hold on Ridley, who was seething with barely contained rage.
I almost felt sorry for the bloke, but then I remembered that this was the same man who set fire to Rita and Noreen’s house all those weeks ago. He was also the same man who kept Alora locked up in his house like a prisoner.
Yep, not feeling so bad for him anymore.
Inside, there was barely a scrap of furniture to be found, just white walls and beige carpets.
“I really love what you’ve done with the place. Minimalism is so hot right now,” I joked, and Marcel narrowed his eyes to slits.
We walked through the house and out to the back. It seemed that all the effort to jazz up the place had been put into the garden. There were swings, monkey bars, and a variety of playground toys amidst the perfectly segmented flowers and bushes. While Theodore hung upside down by the legs from one of the monkey bars, Rita was perched on the swing set wearing a long black dress. Rebecca was standing perfectly still on a large, brightly coloured box by a blossoming rose bush. The little girl’s eyes were closed, as though she’d been induced into a magical slumber, and there were tubes coming from her arms with blood flowing through them.
Okay, what the fuck?
I half expected Emilia to be lounging nearby with a glass of lemonade in hand, but she wasn’t. She was sitting on a bench, her arms tied behind her back with duct tape, and the same went for her legs. She must have been crying at some stage because her mascara had run down her face.
I stared at Rebecca again and understood exactly why Emilia had been crying. The little girl’s blood was flowing through the tubes and out of her body, where it floated in the air in the shape of a rose. Theodore swished his hands at the blood when he saw me looking, and the shape changed into a monstrous face. I jumped because he did it so quickly. He giggled, and the face dissolved and transformed into glittering star shapes.
“This blood really is a wonder,” he mused, seeming not at all bothered by our sudden presence. He swept his hand out in front of him, and the blood stars turned into glittering red rubies hovering in the air. Rita continued to swing back and forth, taking us in with no reaction. Roman, on the other hand, stared at her with interest.
As the blood swished through the air around Rebecca, I saw that she was standing on a human-sized music box. The blood began to whistle as it moved rapidly through the air, creating a shiver-inducing tune. Rebecca’s body started to turn around in circles, and Theodore clapped in delight as he watched his horrific creation. He was playing with her blood, entertaining himself with the power it contained.
The sorcerer’s eyes flicked to Roman. “I felt your presence return to the city, young Roman. Welcome home. It’s been a while.”
“That it has,” Roman replied, and I wondered if I was the only one who found it odd that Theodore referred to him as young. It begged the question, exactly how old was Theodore?
“We’ve come for Emilia and the girl,” Roman went on. “Release them and there will be no bloodshed.”
Theodore suddenly looked intrigued. “Is that a threat?”
“Of course.”
“I don’t like threats.”
“Few people do.”
“You know, I was once threatened by another sorcerer about your age,” Theodore recalled. “I cut out his heart for doing so. It was actually a lucky thing becau
se I needed the heart for a spell I was casting.”
“Fresh hearts are a rare commodity,” Roman agreed blandly.
It was almost funny how they spoke in such benign tones, as if they were having a friendly chat over a cup of tea.
“This is outrageous,” Marcel exclaimed. “They have taken Michael’s hearing! Something needs to be done.”
“Hush now,” Theodore said, motioning him to quiet before returning his attention to Roman. “Why do you want them?”
“They are not yours to keep, and I have promised my kin that I would assist her in this matter.”
Now Theodore really looked intrigued. “Your kin?”
“Tegan,” Rita said out of nowhere. I’d started to think she’d lost the ability to talk since it’d been so long since I’d heard her voice. “His magic looks like Tegan’s.”
Roman smiled widely at her, so wide it was a little creepy. I couldn’t tell whether he wanted to kiss her or kill her—perhaps a mixture of the two.
“You are related to my dear little Treasure?” Theodore questioned with a disconcertingly cheerful expression. “Why, this is a cause to celebrate.”
“I’m afraid I won’t be doing that, Theodore,” Roman disagreed. “Now, return the girl’s blood to her body so that we can be done here. I will kill this warlock I am holding if you refuse.”
“Go ahead and kill him. I have no use for a deaf warlock,” Theodore said with startling casualness.
“Theodore!” Marcel cried. “Michael is our friend. We can’t let him die just like that.”
“Yeah,” I interjected. “Poor old Captain Hook here already lost his hand.” Almost everyone ignored my comment, which, might I add, was pretty funny.
“Would you prefer I gave up Emilia and the girl?” Theodore questioned sharply, and I saw the crazy coming out in his eyes.
Marcel fell silent.
Unexpectedly, Roman released his hold on Ridley, shoving him away. I was about to ask him what the hell he thought he was doing when he disappeared. Seconds later, he reappeared behind Rita. He took the chain of the swing she was perched on and wrapped it tight around her neck.
