“Tavish, the baby,” she cried.
“Yes, Tavish, the baby,” Remo snarled.
Mercy gasped then howled again for Tavish. Her back was in agony, she couldn’t breathe. A ragged groan tore from her agonized lips. Remo had shoved his claws up into her spine. Mercy was paralyzed. Her mouth opened but no more sound came out. Her head dropped when Ursus grabbed Remo by the throat. Mercy slipped lower. She saw Ursus rip open Remo’s chest and crush his heart between her massive jaws. No one stopped her. Not even a vampire wanted to get between the enraged polar bear and her kill.
Mercy could feel herself being lifted gently then settled onto the ground. She heard Tavish’s words laced with horror. He was yelling for Caine to do something. Mercy’s eyes remained wide, she couldn’t blink. Her surrounding was surreal. She was dying. Her family life was dying.
“Tavish she’s paralyzed, her spine has been severed,” she heard Caine say. “She’s bleeding out. I can’t fix her. Only you can save her.”
“No, no,” Tavish wept.
“You need to make a decision. She’s dying. Tavish, if you turn her I don’t know what will happen to the baby. It could continue to live inside her forever. She would hear the heartbeat, forever.” Caine’s words rang in her ears.
Hear her little one but never touch? Sentence herself to the life she once had? Never feel its first kick, or see its first smile. Never nurse from her breasts. The irony of the fates was too much of a blow. Tavish had said she had been privy to two hard and extreme worlds. The weight was crushing her.
“I can’t live without her,” Tavish said and wept. “Mercy, I’m so sorry, but I can’t let you die. Please stay with me. Please don’t leave me all alone again.”
Mercy knew what he meant about being alone. His men surrounded him. He loved and was loved, but he had never let anyone in, until she came around. His heart was in her hands. But she was dying. Tavish was leaning over her. He looked devastated. His gentle words soothed her. He told her he loved her. Mercy felt his fangs at her throat. He was turning her. He was killing their baby. But she would die anyway; their baby would die if she did, regardless. She felt her blood flow down his throat as he swallowed. They were mixed together. It was like the running of a tap—she heard the sensation as well as felt it. The memories came. His memories, ones he had never shared before, he shared them now. His mother dying, his family burning. Anguish, sorrow, fear, hurt, fury, revenge. She witnessed his father being speared in the back as Tavish was tossed to the air.
Live my son.
She saw what Tavish saw as he watched his father fall. She felt the hate and humiliation, the aloneness. Decades flew by then centuries turned into thousands of years. Years without giving into love. But he had formed unbreakable bonds. She saw him laughing with Laken as the pyramids were built, saying they would never last. She watched as he and Caine shook their heads in the coliseum while Rhett fought a lion. Rhett was ripped to shreds and still he lay grinning as he died and Tavish had to have him. She watched Ryker swing his sword with a vengeance and demand to be taken to Valhalla. Tavish cut him down and admired his courage. Each addition to his coven was welcomed with pride. Mercy watched as each man was chosen and why. Decisions to turn anyone wasn’t ever on a whim…but she was. Tavish had only one reason to turn her.
Most importantly she felt his love for her. She knew if she died he would. The loss would be too much for him to handle. After keeping his emotions at bay for thousands of years, she felt each one. They were easier to feel as his tears mixed with her blood. He knew she wouldn’t drink from him. Mercy knew this was how he had turned Ursus.
She knew all of him now. He had gifted her with everything. She would have eternity to replay his memories and emotions. They were joined in death. Mercy felt herself falling. She wasn’t afraid. There was darkness for a few mere seconds then light. She was surprised when a bright white light shined onto where her family waited. Her mother was smiling. Her father beckoned to her. Her cousins were there, all of them. Grampy blew her a kiss, and there was nothing remotely cold about it. It looked so peaceful. And they looked proud of her. She felt no anger aimed towards her, no betrayal or treason. Mercy only felt their love, it surrounded her, invaded her. It was so tempting to move forward to be with them.
Mother, Father, I love you.
A noise tugged at her, stopping her from moving forward into the light. She could hear Tavish’s frantic calls. He loved her; he was saying it over and over and over, begging her to stay with him. She had been a child of the ice and now was a woman of the coven.
A thought flowed through her. The night Tavish had asked if she would really stay with him. The intensity in his eyes as he had awaited her response. She understood now. Mercy understood why he had shown her how his men were turned. He could bite her. But the choice was ultimately hers.
Chapter 13
Mercy woke and began sobbing. She was in Tavish’s bed. Mercy sat up, there was no pain. She was no longer paralyzed. Tavish kissed her and thanked her for returning to him. His forehead pressed to hers. They could both hear the faint hum of their little one’s heartbeat.
“Oh, Tavish,” she wept. “What will we do? I can’t stand it. The agony is killing me.”
Tavish was then on his knees before her. He gripped her hands in his. “There’s hope, Mercy.”
“What hope? I’m a vampire. My child, our child will never be born. Tavish I’m dying inside with the thought. I wanted our baby so badly.” A heart-wrenching sob tore from her throat.
“Listen to me, little cub. Trust me to do what’s right for all of us.” Tavish’s voice was urgent. “For some reason, you have been turned and yet not fully.”
“But I feel different. I can hear the baby’s heartbeat. My senses are heightened. It’s so confusing, I hear other voices too.”
“I know but listen carefully. Block the others out. You can do it.”
Mercy cocked her head. She heard the baby’s heart strong and sure. A daily reminder of what she lost. Never would she be able to block the sound of her child. She didn’t think she could stand it. The noise would drive her insane. Always knowing her only child was forever out of her reach—would never grow. She was so devastated, she almost didn’t hear as another noise sounded. A blip. Then a few moments later another. It was her heartbeat.
“You said the heart of a vampire still beats.”
“Not like yours, Mercy,” Tavish said and smiled. She concentrated; hers was a beat a minute. “Listen to what your body needs. You haven’t asked me for blood. By now you should be begging for it, craving it.” Tavish practically climbed into her mouth with his fingers. “No fangs.”
“I am hungry. But no, not for blood. A steak, Tavish, I want a steak—rare. And water. I need water.”
“You have been turned. I can tell,” Tavish said. He got up and sat beside her. “The baby was already part vampire, more human before but now closer to half and half. You are half and half. There’s a chance the baby had to sacrifice part of its human side so it could grow. Vampires can heal themselves. Give it time, little cub. I won’t let you go crazy. But please give it a little time.”
“All right. For us, I will give it time. But the choice is mine, Tavish.”
Tavish nodded his agreement. Mercy would wait. She had all the time in the world. But could she stand to listen to the baby’s heartbeat for years, decades, centuries? She trusted Tavish, but that didn’t stop her from burying her head into his chest and sobbing her heart out.
* * * *
“You know what this means?” Laken said.
“Yes.” Tavish rubbed his hands across his face.
“We have no idea how old Remo’s child is,” Rhett said.
The female vampire who had killed Tanya would only have been turned for one reason. She must have been Remo’s chosen. No doubt the babe would be a full-blooded human unless Remo had someone like Caine who had come to the same conclusion. But was Remo’s child a baby or full-grown man? There w
as no doubt in Tavish’s mind the child was male. And they still had yet to determine how old the child was and if he had been turned.
“I’m guessing the boy is still a child,” Caine said.
All forty-one vampires sat or stood in the eating hall. “Why is that?” Tavish asked. He rubbed his eyes, feeling weary. Mercy was on his mind. Killing another was far from his thoughts.
“Because he wasn’t the one helping his father. It was Remo’s chosen.”
It made sense. “That means there is another caring for the boy. It could be a human female. A nanny or wet nurse. If we find them, we may never know.” Tavish felt a headache growing; he hadn’t had a headache in over a thousand years. He had no wish to murder a baby or child, even Remo’s.
“We need to find him. Maybe Ursus can smell him. Remo’s scent should still be on him,” Ryker said.
“I won’t kill a baby,” Tavish said. All of his vampires looked at him with sympathy. “I can send Ursus out looking. If there is a babe, there is no one left of Remo’s coven. The child and whoever is with him will be desperate. Humans will turn them away because he is illegal as far as they are concerned and not their problem. They will be starving shortly.”
“What will you do with him?” Laken asked.
“It depends on his age,” Tavish said and sighed. “If he was aware he was supposed to be co-coven leader he will be too dangerous.”
Tavish understood the rage in losing a parent. He supposed it was why he had spared Remo in the first place. Revenge was sweet but not when tempered with guilt. The same problem would now arise with the child. Tavish had killed the boy’s father and his mother. Tavish crossed his fingers the child would be young, or turned.
Three days later Ursus found them. Tavish approached the female who was on her knees in the ice cave. She was human and sobbing. She looked cold and hungry. Wrapped in her arms was a baby of no more than five or six months. Tavish breathed a sigh of relief. The young female raised her hands to him pitifully.
“No humans will have us. You are a vampire. Please take us home with you,” she begged.
“Do you wish to live?” Tavish asked. He was alone. He had sent Ursus away when he arrived. Whatever needed to be done he would do alone.
“Please don’t hurt us.”
“If you lie to me you will die. Do you understand?” She was perhaps eighteen, tiny and shivering. She looked so pitiful it was hard to keep his gruff exterior. Tavish was bluffing, but she wouldn’t know that. After living with Remo, she would no doubt know cruelty.
“I won’t lie, I won’t lie,” she said, weeping. Her body was curled around the baby.
“How old is the babe?”
“Six months.”
“He is Remo’s son?”
She looked terrified. “Don’t hurt him, please don’t, he is only a baby.”
“Answer my question.”
“No, he is mine now; he is mine. His father and mother never came back for him. I feed him. I kept him safe. My baby was stillborn and this is my son. This is my son.”
It was no wonder she clung so tight. “Would you like to keep your son?”
“Yes.” She looked hopeful. The baby made a soft protest at the firm grip she had on him. Her blue eyes were watery and Tavish knew she would do anything for him. She was open for suggestion, tired, afraid, weary and alone; it would take nothing at all.
Tavish went and crouched before her. He cupped her face in his hands; she didn’t resist. He heard her heart pounding. “You never had a stillborn baby.” Tavish shined his glowing white eyes into hers. “This boy is your son. He has always been your son. He was born to you. You love him because he is your own. When he was born you held him in your arms and cried with happiness because he cried and was filled with life. He nurses from your breasts. You gave him life. Do you understand?”
She nodded and Tavish continued. “What have you named your son?”
By God, I’m going to give one woman a baby to hold and love.
“Kale. After his father. Remo’s chosen killed him when she was turned. He was the sacrifice.”
“What’s your name?”
“Felicity.”
“Felicity, your son, Kale, is beautiful. His father would be proud. When you wake you will give me your son to hold. You will feel no fear. You are both mine to protect and neither of you will ever be harmed again.”
Tavish released her from his stare. She blinked and looked confused for a second until she looked into her arms. She smiled at the baby, hugging him. “Would you like to hold him?” she asked shyly.
“Yes.”
Tavish took the boy, turned slightly and shined his white eyes down on him. The baby was completely human. You will obey your masters, child. No harm will come to you. You will be happy and love your mother, Felicity, until the day she dies. Tavish chuckled slightly when the baby resisted at first. Remo had no doubt given him another message. But the baby was no match for Tavish’s power. The young were easily swayed. All of Remo’s instructions were vanquished.
Tavish handed the boy back to his mother and once more looked deeply into her eyes. “I’m going to wrap the both of you well against the cold. You will sleep until I command you to wake. When you wake you will be warm. You will be safe. You will be happy, and you will feel loved—no more fear, sweetheart.”
“Thank you, Master,” she whispered.
Tavish wished he could do the same for Mercy. When Felicity slumped, and the baby whimpered, Tavish put the baby to sleep. Being a vampire was a boon when it came to crying infants. There was no such thing as colic in his coven. No terrible twos, no temper tantrums. No teething pains. No pains of any kinds.
Tavish wrapped Felicity in warm furs while Ursus, who had appeared at his request, held the baby in a huge paw.
Ursus had her nose wrinkled. A smell only a mother could love.
“He won’t smell like Remo for much longer,” Tavish said and chuckled.
That’s good, or you would have to tie flowers around his neck for the other children to play with him.
Tavish took the baby. He held him against his chest enjoying his warmth. The boy should be his. It wasn’t right, it wasn’t fair.
Master?
“I need to get back to Mercy.”
I love you, Tavish.
“I love you, too.”
Tavish tucked the baby in with his mother. He then double-wrapped them against the cold. A blizzard had started up outside and the temperature had dropped. Tavish took to the sky. Mercy needed him. He needed her more.
Epilogue
Tavish sat watching the rise and fall of Mercy’s chest while she slumbered in their bed. It had been only five minutes since her last heartbeat. His eyes closed briefly when he heard the telltale thump. As she aged it would lessen. Except for the last beat, Tavish was only vaguely aware of the blip of his every ten years or so. Mercy muttered something in her sleep and rolled over. There was a smile on her face. Tavish could watch her forever. Her unmarred beauty was now completely eternal.
Mercy was tired. She had done well. During her last month in her last trimester all she wanted to eat was bloody raw meat. Tavish had felt some concern, but Caine seemed interested and theorized the baby was half human, half vampire. It would need both food and blood for sustenance. Caine had been surprised the baby had even grown to term and hadn’t been reabsorbed or sentenced to an embryonic lifeform for eternity.
Tavish knew Caine had been a bit worried the embryo might mature while staying the same size then linger into a voice that would eventually drive Mercy insane if not removed. Once removed, it would be up to Tavish to end his only child’s existence. The idea was numbing, but he would do what it would take for Mercy’s safety, survival and sanity.
They had all watched Mercy’s advancing pregnancy with excited wariness. Caine had followed her around until Tavish was surprised the man hadn’t insisted on sleeping with them in case he missed something. The first kick of his infant inside her was fe
lt with elation. His babe was strong. Their hopes rose. Mercy’s belly expanded and it was, in Tavish’s opinion, the sweetest pregnancy he had ever experienced.
Mercy had been good-natured, not prone to outbursts. It was a common sight to witness her wandering the grounds with one of the Anivamps. Lucile was now a favorite with many. Lovel caught sticks and balls the children threw. Rhino kept to himself but seemed to enjoy being around the coven as well. Druid scared the humans. They watched with amazement as Mercy ruffled his mane and kissed his muzzle, but they gave him a healthy space. Druid didn’t seem to mind. Tavish knew the big cat had added the interior of the coven to his domain. Tavish had taken to calling him King of the Coven.
Tavish looked down into the sweet face of his newborn son, Galf. Mercy had asked Tavish to name their child even before the baby was born—girl or boy. She reminded him she didn’t know many children’s names, having grown up in a family of forty. Though the irony of naming their baby Dante after her father was tempting, Tavish had no intention of later telling the boy he was named after a hypocrite. Mercy had been allowed life; her son would have been murdered by his own grandfather. Galf was a good name. Tavish had loved his father—he would be proud of his new family.
Galf stirred in his arms. The material he was swaddled in was warm. The babe could generate body heat. When his son looked into his eyes, Tavish smiled. He embraced his fatherhood with open arms and knew now why his own father had died for him; he would do no less for his son, the child of his heart. The babe stared back with clear blue eyes, Tavish’s eyes. Thick white-blond hair covered his tiny head, sticking up here and there in tufts. Tavish was happy he was blond like his mother. Galf was beyond beautiful.
“Well, little cub junior,” Tavish whispered as not to disturb Mercy’s much-needed rest. “Are you a resister like your mother?”
Tavish’s direct gaze settled onto the boy’s eyes. Tavish let his eyes glow bright white. He was startled when the babe returned the gaze, his eyes also turning snowy white. Their minds met and mixed. A deeper bond formed. With human babes, they were commanded to obey him from infancy; the males reminded him of gangly little colts, the females sweet fillies. From Galf’s stare, Tavish knew he held a tiny but headstrong stallion. Already there was a strength about his babe.
The Brethren Of Tavish [Vampire Coven Book 1] Page 15
