by Strider, Jez
A small sound broke through the calm quiet of the light. I hesitated briefly before continuing on. Then it happened again. It was a cry. Were the angels crying for me? No. Surely angels didn’t weep for one soul. I stopped once more. I’d never heard it before and yet it was somehow familiar.
Vincent. The name was a whisper in my mind. My baby. I turned my back on the light with the dawning realization. I was not done living yet. I was still needed. Someone took my hand, leading me away from the glow. It was Ashley. I couldn’t see her face for some reason, but I knew who was helping me.
Disorientation and fear consumed me when I awoke. Had I died? I was struggling to open my eyes, the lids heavy. Finally, I opened them and they stayed. Medical equipment filled my vision. An I.V. was in my arm. It was all surreal. In my entire lifetime, I’d never been admitted to a hospital. It had never been necessary. Vampires rarely benefited from conventional medicine.
Marcus was sitting in a nearby chair, looking down at something in his hands. His attention was focused on it, but I couldn’t see what it was. My throat was dry and my voice came out low and harsh. What had happened to me?
The sound caught Marc’s attention and he stood up slowly. That’s when I finally saw what he was so enamored with. The baby was eating aggressively from a bottle…filled with milk. Thank god he’s drinking milk. It was my first coherent thought.
“Hey, Evey. How are you feeling?” Marcus said in a soft whisper.
I looked from the baby back up to Marc and tried to sit up higher in the bed. My mind was cloudy, but it was clearing with each passing moment. I put my hands delicately on my stomach. The last thing I remembered was hitting Taya with the bat and hearing Fate’s voice. I didn’t remember giving birth.
“I…I don’t know. I think I’m alright. Weak.” I bit down on my lip when it started to tremble.
He offered me the child and I extended my arms. Little Vincent Hart opened his eyes and looked up at me when the bottle was taken away. I expected him to cry, but he just stared at me with innocent blue eyes. The hair on his head was like blonde peach fuzz. There was no question about who his father was now. Not with those eyes. Every one of Marc’s sisters and his mom all had blonde hair, too. My mother did as well, though a darker shade.
“All that worrying was for nothing, huh?” Marcus lightly stroked my hair as he watched us, seemingly reading my mind. “He’s doing great and you’ll be fine soon.”
I didn’t cry. Happiness rarely made me weep. I had always thought it made me weird. “He’s not a vampire or anything?” I shook my head in disbelief of the perfection of the tiny creature.
Marc sat carefully on the side of the bed. “No. Then again, it seems that his momma isn’t either.”
“What?” It certainly made sense considering how I was feeling. But me? A mortal? I couldn’t fathom it. “How?”
“Some vamp friends of Antonio stopped by. They took some of your blood while you were recovering. They wanted to take Vincent’s, but I wouldn’t let them near him. Anyway, from what they understand so far, your body had begun developing antibodies to the virus. You know, because you fed from Tony and Dante. There was some sort of incompatibility. The blood transfusion only quickened the process.” He smirked crookedly at me. “Whatever all that shit means.”
It was a lot to take in. I lightly touched Vincent’s tiny fingers as I thought about it. “Why did I need a transfusion?” Then I recalled the blood before I collapsed. “Oh….”
My husband frowned slightly and I could see a glimpse of the fear he’d faced. “We almost lost you, babe. Fate could sense how close you were to dying. It was real bad.”
“Is everyone else okay? What happened to Taya?”
“Taya is dead…Tony made sure of that in a graphic manner. Real horror movie vamp murder. Fate’s alright, though I’m not sure she’ll ever get extensions again. She says her mom helped save you. I think she’s a bit crazy.” He laughed and shrugged. “But I’m starting to believe anything is possible.”
“Fate’s telling the truth. Ashley did help us.” My baby was breathing softly and contently, having gone to sleep. “What do we do now? I haven’t been a normal human in so long.”
The answer seemed simple when Marc leaned down and kissed my lips. “We love and we live…like normal married couples. Until a ripe old age.”
After centuries of not aging, I thought I’d be scared. The truth was I had never felt more alive. Every moment had suddenly taken on a new meaning and importance. I smiled. “That is one thing I never thought I would do…grow old.”
There was a brief knock on the door. Then, a nurse walked in. “Ah, so we’re awake!” She told me in a friendly tone.
“I’ll go tell our friends you’re up.” He gave me a kiss on the cheek and Vincent a soft peck on the top of his head before leaving the room.
The first thing I asked the nurse was, “When can I go home?”
Fate wandered into my room first. She lifted her hand in a cautious wave as she walked closer. Her being there meant a great deal to me. I knew how much she hated hospitals. Also, she had to deal with the shock of Taya’s words about my son’s potential father. Antonio moved in behind her, but leaned against the wall near the doorway without saying anything.
“How are you feeling?” She asked.
“Tired…and different. Cautiously happy.” I smiled a little. “How about you? I’m sorry you had to go through something so terrible again.”
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. I could tell she was trying to reign in her emotions. “I’m okay. A bit overwhelmed. It was scary. I thought I was going to die, you were going to die, the baby was going to die….”
All I could do was let her get it all out, so I just nodded and waited for her to continue. I stole a glance at Antonio. He seemed as regretful as I did for what she’d endured.
“Mom helping us, saving us…. It helps to know she’s still watching out. Anyway, I’ll let you rest. You know you’re my best friend. That stuff that chick said…I don’t care about it.”
“Thanks, Fate. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
She reached out and gave my hand a squeeze before walking to the door. For a moment, she paused in front of Antonio.
His tone was monotonous when he spoke. “I’ll be down in a minute to take you home.”
After giving a small nod, she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. Then, she gave me another wave before exiting the room.
Antonio hesitated, not looking at me, before finally walking over to my bedside. He looked from the baby up to me. His expression seemed neutral, but I could sense him repressing some feeling. I didn’t have to be a vampire to know he was wrestling with inner turmoil.
“Talk to me about it.”
He let out a deep sigh, sitting down heavily. Both his hands rubbed over his face. “I don’t think now is a good time to spill my concerns onto you, Evelina. It is a great day in your life, despite all that transpired.”
I echoed the sigh. “Come on, Antonio. We understand each other pretty well. Our history has made sure of that. Go on.”
“For a while, I selfishly wished your child would end up being mine. Later, as I fell for Fate and accepted you and Marcus were meant to be, I wished the opposite. Now, I’m just lost on what I should do with my life at all.” He reached out toward my son and Vincent attempted to put his small hand around Antonio’s finger.
His raw confession caught me somewhat off guard. “What would make you happy in life? Surely, this association with the Society and running our maker’s business isn’t what you want.”
A small smile formed on his face just briefly as he watched my child. “It’s not that simple. I have responsibilities and obligations to many people, our people.” I wasn’t one of his people anymore and the thought must have shown on my face. “You’ll always be the Queen to many of them.” He said.
“That doesn’t answer my question. What do you want? What will make
life worthwhile?” I repeated myself. I wasn’t letting him off easy. He’d been through just as much as the rest of us, if not more, and I wanted him to know happiness.
He frowned and the confusion was evident in his brown eyes. “I want to be with Fate. Give her everything. I just don’t think it is right to pull her into my world. Look what’s happened so far to her, to Taya, to you…. I’m not like her.”
To hear him speak of caring deeply for someone else would have made me jealous a few months earlier, but I found myself smiling and genuinely happy that he was moving on. It had been a long road for us and it had led us both straight through Hell.
“She’s going to do what she wants. It’s her decision. Fate is old enough and perfectly capable of deciding her own…fate?” I grinned at Antonio and he cracked another smile.
“You know, she’s right about one thing?” He said.
“What?”
He laughed, standing up and kissing my cheek. “You’re a nerd.”
I feigned looking offended. “I’ll take it as a compliment.”
“Make your madre rest.” Vincent’s eyes fluttered a little as if he knew Antonio was speaking to him. “See you both soon.”
“Alright.” I yawned. “Thanks for everything.”
Antonio left without glancing back at me and I wondered why he hadn’t mentioned anything about me being human or the baby not being a vampire. Too much to say, too little time, I guessed.
It was the first time my son and I had been alone together. I was so tired. “Well, little guy, we made it. I’d say we make a good team. Neither one of us gives up without a fight.”
Suddenly, my eyes were too heavy to keep open. It may have been the medication coursing through my veins or just exhaustion. I saw Marcus watching me from the doorway. Carefully, he took our son from me and into his arms. I didn’t want to sleep. If I could have, I would have stayed up all day and night with my husband and child.
“And you’re both beautiful.” Marc added to my observations. I wanted to thank him and tell him I loved him more than anything. It was too late, though. I fell into a deep, restful slumber.
The doctor released me to go home a few days later. It took every bit of my charm and persuasion to convince him I was ready. Apparently, a person almost bleeding to death is a big deal. I didn’t care. I was going home. My protests against being carted out in a wheel chair fell on deaf ears, though. It was irritating and hard to explain the frustrations of being weak when I’d been a vampire for centuries.
Marcus took the lead, taking the baby in the carrier. The nurse pushed me through the hallway behind them. I looked down at the flowers I was carrying in my lap. Roger Nathis had sent them. It was a shocking gift considering we had all accused him of murder.
The card read,
All of us at CAVE wish you a speedy recovery!
-Roger Nathis, Division of Safety
The orchid arrangement was lovely. Despite Roger’s innocence concerning Ashley’s murder, his association with CAVE made me uneasy. I shook the thoughts away, glancing at the balloon attached to the vase. It was blue and said “Congratulations.” Fate and Antonio had brought a it as a gift instead of flowers. She didn’t want to give me flowers because flowers would die. Dead flowers were “super depressing,” she’d informed me.
The nurse stayed with me while I signed the final paper work to be discharged from the hospital. Marcus retrieved the car. He stepped out of the vehicle while we waited on the sidewalk. Only…it wasn’t my car. It was a white four-door I had never seen before and there was an infant car seat already in the back.
“Umm…did you sell my car?” I asked abruptly when I’d stood up and the nurse retreated. Marc had secured Vincent in the back and was helping me into the front.
“Yeah, it didn’t have enough power. Hybrid piece of junk.” I don’t know how he managed it, but he kept a straight face for a few seconds while I glared at him. I adored my hybrid and was about to go on a rant about the environment before he let the grin slip onto his face. “I’m just kidding, babe! Don’t beat the hell outta me. I traded my motorcycle in on it.”
My anger shifted immediately. “You love your bike.” I said softly.
“Yeah, so? I love you and Vinny more. Gonna be hard to put a baby on the back of a motorcycle.” Once again, after giving up things he adored, he seemed unconcerned. “And I’m pretty sure it’s illegal in most places to tie a baby on the back of a bike. I mean, we might be able to move somewhere it’s allowed.”
His joke made me laugh. “You never cease to amaze me. How did you even find time to trade?” I watched him through the window when he shut the door. He just shrugged before walking around the car, checking it out for safety, I assume.
Marcus took his seat on the driver side. Then, he shifted the car into gear. “My buddy helped me finish up the deal. I’d been negotiating for a while before all the shit went down. It was supposed to be a surprise, but I guess it still worked out that way.”
Traffic was backed up, so a drive that was normally ten minutes took us closer to a half hour. Vincent was not happy and his wailing gave us a clear picture of the nights to come. I let myself out of the car when we arrived at our house, not waiting for assistance from my husband.
“Let me help you!” He was frantic, as if I would break. Which, I’ll admit, I felt like it wouldn’t take much to take me down.
I pointed at the back seat. “Take care of him. I’m fine. Promise.” My smile reassured Marcus enough for him to agree. The mailbox was near where we parked, so I grabbed the mail on my way inside.
Vincent stopped crying after he was out of the car. I’d always thought babies liked to ride around. I’m not entirely sure why I thought it. Maybe from that commercial I saw on television a while back. Of course, my knowledge of kids was minimal since he was my first born. Would he be my only child? I wondered. Humanity seemed to be giving me more and more options.
Marc unlocked the door and I stepped inside the house. Immediately, my eyes were drawn to the door way leading to the bedroom. No signs of the struggle remained. Not even a visible blood stain. I walked forward, peering into my room. A cradle was against the wall and an old rocking chair in the corner.
Marcus walked up behind me, resting his chin against my shoulder gently. “We’ll work on Vince’s room as soon as we can run Fate off.”
I laughed. “I want to keep him close by. For a while, anyway.”
“Yeah, Fate is like having a free nanny, too.”
I nudged him with my elbow and he winced. “You’re terrible.”
Both of us were grinning. “I know.” He urged me into the room.
We tucked the baby into his crib and he was sleeping soundly. After a few minutes of gazing at the miracle we’d made, we headed into the living room. I’d forgotten about the mail, so I opened it while Marcus made lunch. An envelope without postage and no outside markings caught my eye. At first, I figured it was a card congratulating me on the baby. It was…but not entirely.
I was still looking over the card when Marc brought over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
“Is that from mom? She said she was sending something.” He snatched the paper out of my hand and was looking it over before I could respond.
“Not unless your mom is a secret member of the Vampire Society….” The message made me nervous, but I hid my concern as I reached out and casually took a bite of my sandwich.
He read silently, not speaking until he was finished. “So let me get this straight. These vamps want to make you an honorary member of the Society…even though you are free of the virus? They also want you to bring our son to one of their doctors for periodic testing to see if he will become a vampire?” Even though the volume of his voice was low, I could perceive the frustration.
“Yeah, I guess so. I’m not interested.”
“Our son is fine. I don’t trust them at all. For all we know they would infect him! And try to brainwash him like…A Clockwork Orange status
.” He was reading over the paper again.
I reached out calmly and took the card from his hands. He was overreacting out of concern for his child. In a quick motion, I ripped the paper in half once, then again before tossing it onto the coffee table. Marc sighed and sat down beside me, slipping his arm around my shoulder.
“Nothing is going to happen to any of us. You’ll be bored with how normal life is going to be from now on.” I reassured him as I snuggled comfortably against him. At that precise moment, Vincent started crying again.
“Well…maybe not bored….” He said as I pulled away from him.
We both looked at each other and burst into laughter. “Yeah…I get the feeling this will be more difficult than defeating vampires and crazed stalkers.”
“Fine with me.” Marc said. “I’ve had my fill of insane people and evil fucking vampires.”
“Mr. Hart! You’re a father now. Watch your language.” I grinned as he stared at me then, went to check on Vincent.
From the Author
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