She still hadn’t decided if her best course of action was to move away and start fresh in a new city, give her baby the best opportunity to grow up away from the Queen she was supposed to defeat. Maybe if she ran away her daughter would have a chance at a normal life; maybe the Queen would never learn of her existence and their life could almost be normal.
She would just have to learn to live without Adam, which two weeks apart from him had proven how difficult it was to do so. But how could she take on the world when she hadn’t even worked up the courage to tell Kim what was going on? She carefully avoided any conversations that had to do with Adam, babies, prophecies and cravings for strange foods, the latest one being chocolate milk and spicy chicken wings. Perhaps if she knew all of the details, Kim would be willing to make a fresh start.
Knocking as she pushed the door open, she ducked her head inside and saw her dad hovering over a table with flasks and beakers and an entire ass-load of strange, scientific gadgetry. He truly looked the role of mad scientist, his prematurely white hair sticking out in every direction as if he had been pulling on it; his thick goggles reflecting the light from the Bunsen burners; the white overcoat. “Hey, dad.”
Stephen startled, looking around to see who had interrupted his work. His eyes landed on her and he stared at her blankly for a few moments and Celeste's heart sank. He had always been distant, giving Celeste her mother's maiden name instead of sharing his own name with her she just wasn't sure why it still hurt her.
Closing his eyes briefly, he shook his head and grumbled, “Celeste, what are you doing here?”
“I am on my lunch break,” she murmured, stepping further into the room, glancing around at the equipment and not having a clue what any of it was or what it did. There were charts and diagrams strewn throughout the room; tubes and wiring coiled together, connecting various beakers. It was madness. “I thought I’d stop up and see if you might like to join me for a quick bite.”
“I’m in the middle of something really important,” he said with annoyance in his voice as his attention began to return to the microscope.
“What are you working on?” Celeste asked, wishing they had a better relationship, especially since her world was spinning out of control and she needed something to hold her steady. She glanced at her father and knew that it wasn't going to be him. With a sigh, she continued to look around the room, stopping when she spotted a small onyx box that practically screamed her name. Curious, she picked it up, “What does this do?”
“Don’t touch that,” he objected, his hands reaching out to take it from her.
She pressed a button and a three-dimensional image of various waves popped up. There were so many colors, and an almost discernible pattern; it was like living embroidery. It was beautiful. With awe, she asked, “What is this?”
“Bio Tapestry,” he bit out, taking it from her hands and turning it off. “It keeps track of life.”
“Very cool,” she murmured, staring at the magical little box. Her hand automatically reached out to run a finger along the smooth edge but her father pushed the onyx box out of the way. She could tell he was peeved by her presence; he wanted her to leave. But she didn’t want to go; everything was changing and she knew that their relationship was going to be even more strained, even if it wasn’t much of a relationship to begin with. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“No,” he answered quickly, bending his head and looking at the slide once more. Abruptly, he stood up and narrowed his eyes at her. “Actually, while you’re here, you might as well make yourself useful. Hop up into that chair and roll up your left sleeve.”
Celeste glanced around the room and frowned, wondering what his intentions were. Shrugging, she obeyed his peculiar order, sitting down and rolling up her sleeve. “What are you going to do?”
He was busy doing whatever it was that he was doing and didn’t bother to answer; he was muttering to himself instead. Turning back, he tied a rubber tourniquet around her upper arm and started pressing into her elbow pit. Finding a suitable vein, he stuck a capped needle into her arm making Celeste wince. “Dad, what are you doing?”
“I need some more blood samples,” he murmured, still fanatically obsessed with his work. Reaching behind him, he grabbed four vials and placed all but one of them on the table next to him. The forth he clamped onto the needle and blood spurted in, filling it quickly.
“Why?” she asked, watching as the blood moved, red and eager.
“I study how Apocritae blood corrupts human blood,” he grunted, replacing the filled tube with an empty one. He mumbled something about life’s work but Celeste didn’t quite catch it. "I want to know if there is a cure."
“Ah,” Celeste nodded her head, doubting he would find the answer in the lab. Her brow puckered; her blood probably wasn’t the best blood to be using in such an experiment since she was pregnant with an Apocritum baby. It would probably muck up whatever test he wanted to run and all of his efforts would be wasted. “Dad, I don’t think this will work.”
“I’m almost done,” he said distractedly, replacing the second vial with a third.
She started to fidget but the needle pulled in her arm and pain spiked outwards from the point. “Ouch.”
“Don’t move, I’m almost finished,” he grumbled, putting the final vial on the tap as he reached across his arm and grabbed a cotton ball. Pushing the cotton ball against the tip of the needle, he slid the syringe from her arm. “Hold this.”
Celeste automatically pressed two fingers to the white fuzz and bent her arm, feeling a little woozy from the amount of blood her father just borrowed. Granted, Adam always took more when…. Damn, she didn’t want to think of him. Forcing a smile, she cheerfully asked, “Are you sure you didn’t take too much?”
“I could have taken far more without incident,” he returned, busy marking the vials with whatever he was marking them with. His thoughts were on his task, cataloging the different tests he would perform with the samples.
“Of course,” she murmured, glancing around the room while chewing on her lower lip. There were so many interesting things in this large room and suddenly she was very curious about her father's work. “Dad? What all do you do in here?”
“What?” he asked, looking over his shoulder, acting a little surprised to see that she was still sitting on the stool. His thoughts had already returned to his work. Warily, he watched his daughter stand up, steadying herself slightly on the edge of the table. Perhaps he did take a bit too much blood. Shrugging his shoulders at the thought, he turned back to entering the sample number into the computer so he could return to his experiments as soon as the girl left.
“Dad?” she asked, walking around the desk to the little black box once more. Bio Tapestry sounded so neat; she wanted to see it again. Running her finger along the smooth edge, she waited for her father to reply. But he didn’t, again and she used the opportunity to study the fascinating box.
Pushing the button, the gorgeous display of lights and waves appeared, swirling in the area in front of her. There were so many different colors, colors that shouldn’t go together but did. They danced in such a way that was exquisite and strangely familiar, reminding her of the first time she had sex with Adam and he plunged his teeth into her throat. Had it been the tapestry of life she had seen?
“The whole truly is much more beautiful,” she murmured to herself, tilting her head to the side as she noticed a strand that seemed a little off. Instead of detracting from the beauty, though, it made the whole thing even more spectacular; creating a new path in its wake. Delicately, she touched the wave with the tip of her finger. The slight jolt she felt intrigued her; the tingling sensation ran through her body as her finger remained on the peculiar light.
Her eyes closed and she could sense the other lights around her, the changes already taking place to those closest to her: to Kim, whose own powers seemed to be growing. No, that wasn’t right; they were… waking. Interesting. She felt her fathe
r, the distance he held himself from her, the distance he had always held himself. But there was something different there as well, as if he were close to discovering what he had been looking for over the last twenty-three years.
Holding still, she could feel Adam, feel him inside of her, tightening around her heart as her body and soul called out to him. She could sense the Hive around him but he was no longer a part of it, and he was distancing himself further and further every day. But he was still trapped by a single thread that refused to break. Concentrating, she followed the thread to its source and gasped at the power she beheld. Whatever it was that continued to hold him, Adam needed to learn about the child; it was important for him to know; he would be able to protect them….
“What are you doing?” her father screeched, grabbing the Bio Tapestry box out of her hand and breaking the connection she had felt so strongly. Her eyes opened and she was staring at the horrified expression on her father’s face. What was he searching for? “Celeste, you cannot touch anything while you are in my lab, do you understand?”
“Yes,” she said softly, the tingling sensation subsiding.
Her father’s eyes widened in horror and she looked down to see a trail of blood slowly coursing down her arm. Grabbing another cotton ball, he pressed it to the pin prick, “Good God, Celeste, I told you to hold the cotton in place. I cannot have cross contamination in my lab; it will destroy the work I have in progress.”
Celeste glanced down at her arm again and winced; the blood had almost reached her wrist and she had been completely unaware of it. Why would she keep bleeding from a stupid little needle? With a grimace, she put her fingers back over the white ball and took a step back, away from her father. “Thanks, dad.”
“You need to get out of here,” he told her anxiously, pushing her towards the door in his haste to make her leave. “Take an iron pill, or something.”
“I will,” she nodded, saddened by her father’s casual dismissal; from the entire encounter. Instead of taking an iron pill, she was going to find Adam. She never continued to bleed after he was… well, after he drank of her. Maybe she needed him more than she realized. And since she already needed him more than was good for her she cursed under her breath as she left the lab and her father.
Lifting the cotton ball, she was dismayed to note that the pin prick was still bleeding and it showed no signs of letting up. A few weeks ago this would not have happened. Of course a few weeks ago, she was just a girl; plain, boring Celeste, enamored of a world she only heard stories of; of a race of beings she could only imagine. Now, she was pregnant with the new Queen of that elusive race and having no clue what was going to be expected of her child. She was also in love with the most enigmatic Apocritum of them all: Adam Vespari. And she had to tell him. That is, if the current Queen didn't kill her first for having the audacity for getting pregnant in the first place.
If only this new gig came with a few powers, maybe even the power to prevent her from slowly bleeding to death from a pin prick. At any rate, anything would be appreciated that might aid her in not dying before the current Queen came hunting for her, which was going to occur in the near future, fates be damned. Maybe Adam would be more willing to protect her since he could drink his fill of her blood and then some; that had to count for something, didn’t it? If not, it should, by golly; it should count for a lot. Who was she kidding; she was still just a lowly human with delusions of grandeur and Adam was, well, he was a god.
What if the only thing keeping her human was the baby she carried? What was going to happen once the child was born? Would she become a Calix when Adam bit her? Or worse, a Thraell is he didn't give her his blood afterwards? She knew that he was searching for a wrinkle; perhaps he already knew she was the hiccup. Perhaps he was just biding his time until she felt safe and then he would pounce. Well, whatever Adam might do, she had to tell him about the baby. The connection between them was simply too strong to ignore and she knew that she was going to have to trust the one person who could destroy her completely. Even if it meant immediate death and dismemberment in case she was mistaken about Adam and the Hive.
With a low grumble, she trudged down the hall, debating whether she should ask for directions or if that would appear too desperate. At that moment she was feeling a little desperate since the bleeding didn’t seem to be slowing. She was surprised that such a little wound could bleed so freaking much. Taking a deep breath, she continued walking through the corridors, knowing that they would eventually lead her to Adam, whom she could feel in her soul.
*****
Adam paced the length of the long room as Auberon read from the ancient scroll, the words printed eons ago on human skin and then preserved in the traditional Apocritum manner. The scroll had been hidden amongst the lesser prophecy scrolls; hidden in plain sight, which Auberon appreciated. It surprised both of them when the lowly assistant deposited it in front of them earlier in the morning, as if it was waiting for the right time to appear.
The first stanza roughly translated to:
The Center of the Universe returns bringing with her
A shift in planetary alignment, a changing of the stars
Angels and Demons bleed together
The World ends and begins again once more
“Sound familiar?” Auberon asked with a crooked grin on his lush lips. "It's about Beck."
Adam came to an abrupt halt behind his brother’s chair, looking over his shoulder at the ancient words written in Apocritum blood. Though the first stanza was clear, the words coming true even as they sat there, there was another stanza just below it, words that hadn't been there before. The markings moved across the page until Adam whispered the revelation spell. Markings began to rearrange themselves, still struggling against his will. “There’s more.”
“Apparently,” Auberon answered wryly, working with his brother to make the words form. “It should prove quite enlightening.”
“Read it,” Adam ordered softly, watching the concealment spells fighting to keep the words hidden even as he held them at bay. Thoughts of Celeste filled his head; he worried about her as she continued to avoid his attempts of reaching her. When she walked out of the restaurant she had looked shell shocked, contemplative. She definitely had a lot on her mind and even as she desired distance he had kept an eye on her. She was never completely beyond his protection even if she wasn't aware of it.
“Hold the words steady, Adam,” Auberon urged, keeping the archaic words in focus as they swirled about trying to remain hidden.
Forcing himself back to the matter at hand, Adam doubled his efforts until four lines came together. “Read, Auberon.”
“Authura maylise frazha,” he began in the Ancient tongue, laughing as he heard Adam growl behind him. “Very well:
A Queen will be born after the Heavens open up
When the Goddess arrives, the time will come
A mother’s love, a final gift from beyond the grave
She will be found, a light in the darkest night
"Interesting,” Auberon commented, leaning back in his chair, studying the words. It was apparent that the 'Heavens opening up' was in reference to Beck Lewis, the Angel made flesh. “The timing is right, Adam.”
“I know,” he murmured, sitting down next to Auberon and letting the concealing spell return; he got what he was looking for. Celeste was born approximately three years after Beck; and with the recent birth of the Goddess…. His brows furrowed as he considered the last two lines, “Her mother is dead, which is within the realm of the prophecy, but humans cannot come back to life.”
“It is intriguing,” Auberon agreed, leaning back in his chair regarding his brother. Concern etched fine lines around Adam’s mouth. He was worried about the girl, her reluctance to accept what he offered; her ability to defy a direct order. Knowing it was far-fetched, he had to say, “Perhaps Celeste is not destined to be the new Queen; perhaps she is just a harbinger of things to come. Maybe she is not the wrinkle Mother fea
rs.”
“The thought has crossed my mind,” Adam admitted. “But what good would it do? She is but one person, a human at that, as you have so often pointed out; how can she be a part of this?”
“Stranger things have happened,” Auberon reminded him. “The Cosmos have a way of thwarting the best-laid plans and if nothing else is said of Mother’s plans, they are best-laid.”
Adam’s lips formed a wry smile; they could only hope Celeste was nothing more than a pawn. But she was hiding something from them; she was able to hide a great deal from him. He was unable to enter her thoughts and read her mind and he had never had the ability to influence her decisions. Maybe he was weakening; maybe feeding from her made him lose his powers. Yet he still had all of his abilities when dealing with other beings, other humans; in fact, they were… stronger. “She’s changing me, Auberon.”
Auberon stared at his brother as Adam sat there, lost in his thoughts. Curiosity gnawed at his innards; what was it about Celeste that drove his brother to distraction? What would it be like to bite her, drink of her, to experience the bliss of drinking her blood without consequence? She was definitely a wrinkle but she couldn't possibly be a Queen; she was human. However, her behavior was odd; she fought them as if trying to protect something and suddenly he knew. “Adam, could she be carrying a Queen?”
“Maybe,” Adam answered, shaking his head, truly at a loss even as the thought had crossed his mind at least a dozen times since he last held her. “If she is she must be terrified. I don’t know why she wouldn’t tell me, though.”
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