The Taste of Magic
Page 22
She opened her mind to him just a little, enough to feel the familiar warmth. Please, understand. I need some time.
He nodded, then disappeared from the room. Katerina turned to her mother and Stefan, anxious to hear what they had to say. When she'd awakened to her mother's frantic chanting, and seen the fear in her eyes, she'd known something was terribly wrong. But Olga wouldn't tell her anything. Now that Stefan was here, she wanted some answers. "Mama, are you going to tell me what's wrong with me?" She folded her arms expectantly.
"Your mother wants me to confirm something first," said Stefan. "In a moment, we'll be able to tell you."
Stefan stepped closer and held his arms out above her head. He closed his eyes, and Katerina watched as his hands, hovering a few inches above her, moved down along her body. When he reached her stomach, he stopped, fingers trembling. Please, no, he couldn't be checking for… she forced the thought aside, unwilling to even consider it. Impossible. Vampires couldn't sire children. Her heart pounded as she waited for her teacher to finish whatever he was doing.
He held the position for several moments, then opened his eyes and met her gaze.
"Olga, you were right." He held Katerina's gaze, and the intensity of his concern made her stomach clench.
"Right about what?" The effort to keep her voice calm and steady drained Katerina.
Olga sat beside her, taking her hands in her own. "I didn't think it could happen, but it has."
"Mama, tell me already."
Olga nodded. "Katerina, my child, you are pregnant."
Silence filled the room. Katerina stared at her mother. Her brain seemed to have shorted out at hearing that word. Not a single half-coherent thought could form, except her forbidden suspicions had indeed been correct. A baby. She was going to have a baby. Adrian's baby. A euphoric rush filled her. A moment later, despair and fear overcame the joy. Too many emotions tumbled through her, and she couldn't latch onto any of them long enough to dwell on them, let them grow.
A baby. She wrapped her arms around herself, suppressing the smile determined to come out. Aware both Stefan and her mother watched her anxiously, she didn't want to reveal anything. Yet.
"Do you understand what this means?" Stefan asked. "Yes, it means in a few months, I'm going to have a baby."
"It means you've bonded to him in a way…none of us can save you now."
Stefan waved his hand and frowned before turning away.
"Save me from what?"
"He will take you, Katerina." Olga grabbed her hand. "He will turn you."
Katerina shook her head. No, he wouldn't. He'd promised. But he'd lied before, and he would probably lie again, if it got him what he wanted. And he wanted her. She had no illusions his ultimate goal would be to turn her, but she couldn't let him drink from her to the point of death. What if she didn't come back? What if something went wrong, and she was really and truly dead?
She placed a hand on her stomach. "Mama, I have to trust Adrian will honor his word. I don't have much choice. But just to make sure, I'm not going to tell him yet. He's got too much going on with Machiavelli, and I don't want to give him another distraction. Besides, I have no idea how he feels about children."
"Well, you'd better find out soon," Stefan snapped, his back still to them.
"Can't anyone around here just speak plainly? What do you mean?"
Olga cleared her throat. "Katerina, you are carrying a vampire's child. Your pregnancy will not be like a normal human woman's."
Her stomach churned, her shoulders and neck tensed. What could possibly be worse? "I'm afraid to ask. Is my baby going to have…horns or something?"
Olga shook her head. "No, but she'll develop at a much faster rate."
"And…?"
"You'll give birth in about four months."
Katerina stared. Surely she'd misheard."That's impossible," she whispered.
Stefan finally turned back to her. "A vampire's child develops at a much faster rate than normal humans. You would have eventually learned that, if you hadn't rushed into this foolish situation."
Katerina's anger at her teacher grew. She recalled what she'd learned since she'd seen him last.
"How do you happen to know that, Stefan? Is it because you're a vampire hunter, as well as a wizard?"
His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth as if about to speak, then shut it again. His gaze held hers, and she could almost hear him trying to put together an explanation. This should be good. She folded her arms and waited. Finally, he spoke.
"When the time was right, you would have known everything." Katerina threw back the covers, ignoring her mother's protests as she stood. "You lied to me. You all did. Adrian isn't the only one at fault here."
Katerina turned to her mother. "Did you ask Stefan to teach me because you wanted him to destroy Adrian? Or because you wanted him to teach me how to do it?"
Olga lifted her chin. "You know nothing about this. You don't understand."
"You're right, I don't. But the reason I don't know anything is your fault. You sent me away. You kept this all a secret from me. You let me give myself to him, to free Papa, fat lot of good that did."
She turned away and strode to the window. She was aware of her mother following, but ignored her. There would be time later to learn more about her mother's reasons for keeping secrets. She had more urgent concerns now. She was pregnant, with a vampire's child. If anyone else fed her more lies, she was afraid she might explode. She needed to get away from all of them and be alone, to take some time and sort through everything. There was a child to consider now.
Stefan finally broke the silence. "Katerina, your child will affect countless others' lives."
She rolled her eyes and turned to face him. "Here we go again. I don't want to hear it. As of now, you are no longer my teacher. I'll find someone else."
"There is no one else," Olga protested.
"There's only one thing he's really going to teach me, isn't that right, Stefan?" She fixed him with a glare, daring him to deny it.
"Yes. I was to teach you how to use your magic to destroy vampires."
Hearing her teacher say it out loud was still unexpected. The words made it real. He wanted to make her a killer. Thunder sounded outside as she clenched her jaw and waved her hand. A vase flew past Stefan's face. He stepped back, slightly pale. But he recovered quickly, eyes narrowing as he stormed over to her.
"Don't think to go against me that way. I am far more powerful and can easily render you helpless."
She swallowed against the sudden fear thickening her throat. Her fingers curled and uncurled. For the first time she had a sense of how dangerous her teacher could be. Going against him would not be wise, but she wouldn't let him use her for his own purposes. No one would, ever again. "Maybe so, but don't think I'm going to sit back and let you use me to destroy people. Not anymore. You're on your own. And don't think I won't do everything in my power to stop you."
"You would waste your gift on him? You were to be a force to be reckoned with. Your mother and I had plans for you."
She shook her head, grimacing with disgust. "Everyone has plans for me. My whole life has been organized by others. Now I see it was you two more than anyone else. You set this all in motion, didn't you?"
She didn't give them a chance to respond as she angrily paced. "But I ruined everything, didn't I? I fell in love with him, and you hadn't counted on that." Finally she turned to face her mother. Olga's suddenly weary face betrayed her part in this strange twisted plot Katerina still didn't understand.
Olga looked away from her daughter, and went to Stefan's side. "Katerina, there is much that is at risk."
"So why don't you tell me? There've been enough secrets already."
Olga shook her head. "It is not my place."
Katerina threw her arms up in frustration. There was a lot more to all of this, but she just couldn't face any more shocks today. "I'm done. I can't do this anymore." She grabbed her purse and dug out her car keys.
"None of your business. I don't want to see either of you. Not for a while." She strode to the door and slammed it shut behind her. Hesitating for the briefest moment, she hurried to the front door, before Adrian appeared and could stop her. Thankfully, her car was close by and she was in it and speeding down the mountain as Adrian and her parents appeared in her rear view mirror.
The tendrils of Adrian's thoughts poked at her and she opened her mind to him.
I need time alone. I want all of you to stay away.
What happened? You shouldn't be alone, not while you're ill.
She forced herself not to think of that. I'm fine. I'll be back when I'm ready.
But…
Not now. Give me this time alone. Please.
She sensed his resignation before he agreed to her demand. The link closed. She hoped he'd continue to honor her request.
Chapter Twenty-One
For almost an hour, Katerina drove aimlessly. When her nausea started to rise again, she knew she would have to stop. At least she knew why she was so ill. Damn, this had come on practically…overnight.
Last night. It had to be. Why not? Nothing else about this whole situation could be considered remotely normal. A hazy recollection of Adrian offering her juice when she'd wakened in the pre-dawn hours became clear. Pomegranate juice. Even she knew the symbolic meaning. And what it was supposed to enhance. Fertility.
Had he done this on purpose? Did he know she carried his child? She calmed her growing ire as she recalled the other various healing powers of the pomegranate. Perhaps it had been innocent, and all he'd wanted was to make her recover more quickly. He had been truly concerned when she'd been ill, and seemed genuinely surprised. Was she looking for deceit where there was none? When it came to Adrian, mistrust was an automatic reflex.
Her stomach rumbled, this time with hunger. She rested a hand on her abdomen, imagining a baby there. She had to eat something, if for no other reason than to nourish her child. After a quick stop at a grocery, she pulled up in front of her flat. Her only sanctuary.
She let herself in, and took the home pregnancy test out of the bag. Hands shaking, she read the instructions and performed the test. She had no idea if it would even work. This wasn't a normal baby, after all. But after the prescribed three minutes, the window clearly showed a dark pink line. The confirmation put all doubt to rest. As if in response, her hunger rose anew. She made herself a sandwich, her mind focused on the new life she knew for certain grew within her. Despite her concerns, she was becoming used to the idea. She would guard her child fiercely, now and after it was born. Which would be sooner than she had thought.
How could she be ready to give birth in four months? She would need her mother to help, but right now, she wasn't ready to face Olga. Who else could she talk to? As if in answer to her unspoken question, there was a knock on the door.
"Who's there?" she called.
"Joshua."
She wondered how the hunter had known she was here. She unlocked and opened the door, and motioned him inside.
"Are you all right?" Joshua asked.
"I'm fine. How did you…?"
"A lucky guess. I went to the castle and du Lac was out of sorts. I wanted to tell him we were making progress, I located some hidden bank accounts and was able to raid them."
Katerina sighed and went back to the kitchen. "Get to the point. Why are you here?"
Joshua followed. "du Lac wasn't even pleased, and then your mother and Malinay came down. I thought du Lac's head would explode. It was all I could do to keep them from tearing each other apart."
Katerina stared. "They didn't…"
Joshua shook his head. "No. Malinay left, and your mother did, too. That's when du Lac told me you were ill and had gone."
"So you came to find me." She sat down and took a bite of her sandwich.
Joshua seated himself across the table. "Sort of. Machiavelli's still out there, and du Lac is worried you're in danger. He could be right."
"I can handle myself."
"What happened? When I left last night, you two seemed to have patched up your differences."
Katerina shook her head. "You're not going to believe this."
"What?"
"I found out today I'm…" she paused, not sure she should tell the hunter.
"What? Katerina, I didn't come here on du Lac's request. It's unsafe for you to be alone. I…am concerned for you."
She smiled. "Thank you. If I tell you, you have to keep it from Adrian. I haven't told him yet, and I don't know when I will."
"Okay."
Katerina held his gaze steadily. "I'm pregnant."
Joshua's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"
She nodded. "I just took a test to confirm it."
"It's du Lac's?"
Katerina nodded. "Who else's could it be?"
"How did this happen? I've never heard of a vampire impregnating…wait a minute. Of course, that's it!"
"What's it? You know how he got me pregnant?"
"Maybe. There was a legend I heard once, something about only a witch on a full moon conceiving a vampire's child. And the conditions have to be just right. I have to go find the book. The moon was definitely full last night. I'd guess the conditions were right."
Katerina shrugged. "Apparently. Are you sure about the legend?"
"Yes, but I'll confirm it. But I can't help thinking there's something more. I'll send a few inquiries."
"It's not as if I can go to any doctor and ask. Especially since I'm supposed to give birth in four months."
Joshua stared at her for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Vining."
"What about him?"
"You can ask him.
"I have no idea how to get a hold of him."
"I do. I've got his number right here, as a matter of fact." Joshua reached into his jacket and removed a small portfolio. He flipped through several pages, and stopped, skimming the page. "Here."
Katerina eyed him cautiously. "Do you always carry the local vampires' home telephone numbers with you?"
He reddened and shrugged. Katerina still didn't fully trust the hunter, but he was the only one who could help her right now, no matter his methods. She picked up the phone and dialed the number Joshua recited. When the vampire answered, she quickly explained her urgent need to see him. She'd barely hung up when he materialized in the flat.
"Talk about house calls," she muttered.
Vining smiled. "I take it du Lac doesn't know you've summoned me." Katerina shook her head. "I don't want him to know yet, not until I have all the facts. And I need your word you won't tell him."
"About your pregnancy?"
Katerina's mouth fell open. "How did you know?"
"There are signs. Besides, there is a very distinct energy from a witch carrying a vampire's child."
"I see. So, will you honor my request?"
Vining nodded. "I won't tell him anything. Unless it's necessary." Katerina folded her arms. "It won't be. I'll tell him soon enough. It's not like I can keep it a secret for very long."
Vining smiled, his dark gaze moving over her. "No, I'd say you'll start to show in a few weeks. He'll know then."
Katerina closed her eyes and turned away. "I didn't know who else to call. Actually, Joshua suggested I talk to you. I can't exactly go to a regular doctor or hospital, not like this."
Vining was suddenly before her. "You're right. And I think maybe you need a check-up, see how you're doing."
"But…"
"Your health is all I'm concerned with. Yours and the child's. How much do you know about this?"
Katerina sighed. "I barely know anything about a normal pregnancy. This…all I know is what my mother and Stefan told me."
Vining turned to Joshua. "You'll excuse us for a few minut
es?"
"Joshua, call us if…anyone shows up."
Katerina led the vampire doctor into her bedroom and shut the door. For several moments, she simply stood there, silent. This was nothing like any doctor's exam she'd ever had before. Vining smiled reassuringly, and took her elbow, guiding her to the chair by the window.
"Relax, Ms. Romanov. I'm going to check your blood pressure, and other vitals. We can wait to do an internal exam until you can come to my office."