by Audra Hart
Morna and Luca just sit there staring dumbly at the phone in her hands for a minute. Then Morna says, “Did that really happen? Did my sister, whom I haven’t spoken to in over 500 years just telephone me and tell that she saw me and you… did she really say that?” Morna knows she is blushing bright red because her face feels very hot.
Luca laughs, “I am afraid so darling, afraid so! She has always been such a wild little spirit. But she’s fiercely protective of you. She said that she would never give up searching for a way to free you, to free us from this curse. She’s a tenacious and loyal little thing, isn’t she?” He laughs, “Enthusiastic too!”
“Seriously though, are you okay?” He asks. “Last night was physically very, very… shall we say strenuous? No pain?”
Morna smiles brightly and shakes her head no. “I feel amazing Luca. I think all that physical and emotional outpouring was very healing for me. And then that last time we came together. It was so beautiful, I want to weep with joy just thinking about it. I feel like my soul has been completely melded to yours. And it’s an amazing feeling. Do you know what I mean?”
“Beyond a doubt, baby!” he replies huskily. He unwraps the quilt from around her body and drinks in the sight of her. Every inch of her is so very, very precious to him. She reaches up and touches his face, his neck, his chest as though she is trying to memorize every tiny part of him. They come together in a deeply passionate kiss that rekindles their fires of lust and longing. As Luca is trailing his hard cold mouth toward her breast, he murmurs, “I sure hope your sister isn’t watching now!” And they both chuckle, then continue to celebrate each other’s bodies.
It is nearly 7:45 before Morna says, “Oh gosh Luca. I wonder how the kids are doing downstairs.”
“They are fine,” he assures her. “Damian came back two hours ago, and I am thinking Mac was drawing all night. I could hear paper rustling and pencils scratching on paper all night long. She repeated that same line from the Wizard of Oz all through the night. But she did tell Damian that she was hungry a minute ago. I was going to go call them up and cook something for her to eat.”
Amazement shows on her face. “I know you can pay attention to many different things at once. But how did you keep up with them after the night we have had?”
“Honestly, I didn’t really keep tight tabs on her all night. For instance, when you went all warrior goddess on me last night.” He grins at the memory. “You had my full attention most of the night. As you said, we had a pretty intense night.”
“Well I better get dressed,” she says, rising out the bed, fluidly and stretching, feeling strong and pain free. “What are we going to do with them while we are out?”
“Damian doesn’t need a babysitter Morna. He has been taking care of Mac for a long time.”
“I know, but we bring them home with us, and then we are leaving Sunday night. I just feel like I am letting them down,” she admits.
“Nonsense. Besides, I was thinking of sending them shopping today. It is overcast and drizzly today, so Damian can safely go out. She wants to paint her room purple. She will probably want bed sheets and curtains that match. Maybe special towels. And I bet she needs another ream of plain white paper and more pencils,” he chuckles. “That should keep them busy most of the day, don’t you think?” he asks.
“Sounds like a solid plan to me,” she agrees. “Well, I better go put on my ‘Professional Face.’ I have teacher things to do today.” She giggles at the memory of her sister’s enthusiasm for Morna’s teaching career.
She walks back over to the wardrobe and cringes at the sight of the destroyed door. Then on impulse, she reaches out and effortlessly breaks off a piece of the wood that hadn‘t been destroyed. She’s staring at it in her hand, speechless, when she realizes Luca is standing beside her with a similar bemused expression on his face. “Morna, did you weave and an iron-lion, or was that all you?” he whispers.
“Me… I guess. What is going on?” she squeaks.
He spins her around to face him, and orders, “Morna, knock me down!”
“Like hell!” she sputters.
“Do it!” he commands. She reaches out and shoves him pretty hard, but still holding back. He flies backwards and slams into the opposite wall. She is so shocked, she just sits down on the floor. He gets up and comes to sit beside her. He takes her hands into his own to reassure her.
“How the hell did that happen?” she asks breathlessly.
“I don’t know, but you are definitely stronger than I have ever, ever seen you!” He replies. They just stare at each other for several seconds, and then her cell phone rings.
Luca goes to get it off the bedside table, it’s the same number as earlier. “It’s Breena. I’ll put her on speaker phone.” he says.
“Morna! I told you not to break your man! Hey, can you two chill out with all the lovey-dovey stuff until I can figure out how to interrupt this connection? Seriously, give the terminally single lady a break, Okay?”
“Breena! You are still watching us?” Morna demands.
“No, not watching, I told you I am experiencing and seeing, hearing everything that you do. It’s like I am in your skin. So please, please give me a break. I may never be able to look Luca in the eyes again as it is. Okay?”
Morna and Luca look at each other mortified.
“Oh, and Luca, of course I would welcome you to come see me anytime. I can’t believe you have spent all these centuries thinking that I didn’t want to see you. You are my brother, dumb ass! I meant to tell you that when I called earlier.” All three laugh weakly. Then Breena says, “Well get up and get moving you two. Just chill with lovey stuff till I call you and tell you that you are alone. Okay?”
“Sure Breena. No problem. Bye.” mutters Morna.
“This sooo weird,” breathes Morna. “I must be drawing strength from her or something.” She stands up gracefully and goes into the bathroom to get ready. She takes some more Advil because her head is still pounding miserably. “Can you make me some coffee?” she calls over her shoulder. Maybe the caffeine will help. She rubs her temples gingerly, praying the headache will let up a little so she can function.
“Yeah, no problem,” comes Luca’s reply. He dresses quickly then goes to the kitchen to make her coffee. While he’s pouring the water into the pot, his cell phone rings. He looks at the number then answers. “Brigid, everything okay?”
“That is what I was going to ask you,” she says. “Morna is reaching out to Aideen. She’s ecstatic because she can feel Morna’s essence. What is going on?”
“I really don’t know, Brigid. Right now, she’s hard wired to Breena. Breena sees and hears, even feels everything Morna does. Please tell me that’s not the case with Aideen.”
“No, no. Nothing like that,” she assures him.
Luca exhales loudly at this welcome information. “You have no idea what a relief that is,” he breathes.
Brigid laughs and says, “I know you two from way back, remember? I can imagine what you are referring to.” She chuckles wickedly.
Luca is silent for a minute. “Brigid, I am really overwhelmed at all that is happening. You don’t know what’s going on with Morna. She’s nearly as strong as me without the iron-lion. She’s been pulling spells out of thin air for days. She just remembers disjointed bits and pieces of our lives in Airendell. Oh yes, she did remember Kylor the Eldest. Apparently she recalls nothing after we left the glen three weeks after my changing, nothing about... It is so bizarre!”
“Maybe you guys shouldn’t wait till Monday to come here,” Brigid suggests.
“Yes, I was thinking the same thing. Let me talk to Morna and get back to you, okay?”
“Sure Lucian. Let me know. I will let Aideen know what is going on there. Call me back soon, okay?
“I will. Bye.”
Luca hangs up, then makes a couple of quick calls to clear his schedule for the day and next week. When Luca turns around from the coffee maker, Morna is watching
him intently. He is clearly surprised to see her standing there. “Morna, I think you are becoming half vampire. I didn’t hear you come up.”
“You may have something there. I could hear you on the phone while I was in the bathroom and getting dressed in the bedroom. What is going on in Chicago?” she demands softly.
“I am honestly not sure. Brigid said that some of the folks from Airendell that she has gathered there can sense your presence. It’s like your mind is reaching out to them or something. Maybe, we should go ahead and fly out there tonight. I am really in the dark right now and I don’t like it,” he admits.
“Me too,” she admits. Luca takes her into his arms and holds her tenderly. Then he kisses her gently. Morna feels the fires in her body reignite. She chuckles and whispers, “Sorry sis.” She reluctantly pulls out of Luca’s embrace. “How about I go downstairs and get the kids?”
“Fine,” he agrees and reluctantly releases her. He turns to start some breakfast for the humans, but stops long enough to fish out his phone when he is sure Morna is on the other side of the buffer spell. He quickly dials Breena. “Did you hear?” he asks. “She’s reaching out to Aideen too.”
“Yes, I really don’t know what to make of all this. Oh, Mac is a sweety. And that teenage vamp you guys adopted is absolutely beautiful. You think he might wanna fool around? Gee, sorry. You guys have me all muddled,” Breena admits.
Luca laughs. “Welcome to my world with your sister!” he smirks. “Do you think we should contact Magdrid?” he asks.
“NO!” Breena snaps. “I don’t think she will have Morna’s best interests at heart, she never has. Magdrid will be irate when she learns about Aideen. Morna needs to be up to speed with all of her memories before she deals with Magdrid. I think I may contact Alberich, Elf Lord of Alfheim though. I am thinking this is bigger than just Spell Weaver magic. Hey, she’s coming back. Hang up before she can hear you.” Click! Luca quickly drops his phone in his pocket as he scoops scrambled eggs onto two plates. Then he turns to pull the toast of the toaster.
Mac is very, very happy to see her Shining Man. She sits down with Morna to eat her breakfast. Morna looks up at Luca and Damian. “Okay boys, I know you don’t have to eat as often as we do, but you can still sit down with us.” The men comply and Morna watches Mac thoughtfully as she eats. “Mac are you tired? Did you sleep any last night?”
“Miss Morna, I am not tired, I don’t always sleep at night,” she replies without looking up from single-mindedly shoveling her eggs into her mouth.
“Damian, Mac… we may have to go out of town tonight or tomorrow, definitely by Sunday night. I am not sure how long we will be gone. You guys will be okay on your own?” Morna asks.
Phil shrugs, “Yeah, don’t see why not. You guys really gonna be okay with leaving us here in your house while you are gone?”
Luca laughs and says, “Why not? You plan on wrecking the joint?”
“No, I am just not used to people trusting me,” Damian answers honestly.
“We will always trust you unless you give us a reason not to,” Luca assures him. Luca considers the matter closed and moves on the next order of business. “Damian, do you drive?” At his nod, Luca continues, “Can you take your sister shopping today? I think she might want to get her rooms painted soon. Maybe get matching sheets and towels, drawing supplies, any clothes she might need, and the like.”
“I’d love to,” Damian says. “But…”
Luca hands Damian a pre-paid debit card. “PIN 4393. There’s $1500.00 on that. It should be enough to get everything you guys need today, clothing, etc. And you can use it for expenses while we are gone to Chicago. You won’t have access to the upstairs to cook, so you can bring in whatever takeout food you need for Mac. There is a fridge in my office downstairs. I sometimes store bagged blood in there for emergencies. You can store food and drinks in there for Mac for daylight hours when you can’t go outside.”
“Just work it out however you two want. If you start running low on money, just call me on my cell. If for some reason you need to hunt before we get back, just drop Mac off at The Bridge. Morna can let them know that Mac might come by to spend the night now and then.” He gets up to retrieve a pad of sticky notes from the drawer, sits down and writes down their cell phone numbers and hands them to Damian, all of this takes about two seconds. Morna just shakes her head and mutters, “Show off.” Mac giggles and plays with her napkin.
I don’t have a cell,” Damian replies. “Never have anyone to call.”
“Well you do now,” says Morna as she reaches over to pat his hand that is resting on the table. “Get a good one today and call those numbers so we will have your number.”
Damian leans back in his chair, looking at Morna and Luca. It’s obvious that he respects Luca a great deal, but his regard for Morna is little more intense. Morna is mildly concerned, but decides not to dwell on it and says nothing.
Luca stands up and loads Morna’s dishes in the dishwasher, then turns to get Mac’s, but she gets up and copies Luca’s actions, before looking expectantly at Luca. Luca rewards her with one of Morna’s favorite lopsided grins and says, “Nice work Mac.” Mac responds to him by looking him directly in the eyes and smiling.
Luca hands Damian the set of keys to his Jeep and says, “Well, it is time for us to go,” he shoulders Morna’s monster purse and an umbrella for her, and indicates the stairs.
Luca opens the garage with his remote on his key, indicates an identical remote on the key ring that Damian is holding. When the doors open, Damian’s eyes bug out. The garage holds a sleek black BMW and a huge green Jeep, obviously designed for off roading. Morna giggles because she regards the reaction as pretty typical for a teenage boy, vampire or not. “Boys and their toys!” She smiles happily at his completely normal reaction in the midst of all of this strangeness.
Once they are on their way, Morna takes out her cell and calls Sandra Dickerson at The Bridge to give her a heads up that Damian might need to bring Mac by there for a night or two while they are gone, and to tell them that she may leave town as early as tonight. “Oh, since I am not sure how long I will be gone, you can call Carlisle at the firm if you guys need anything before I get back, and for salaries, etc. We are also trying to hire additional help for you guys. Our most likely candidate is a lady named Rinda Fine. She‘s very bright and loving and an excellent therapist.” Sandra thanks Morna and assures her that everything is under control and wishes them a good trip.
Morna then dials Carlisle to have him watch out for The Bridge while she is gone, the lawyer is authorized to provide for any expenses the halfway house might have in her absence. Morna also tells her attorney that she is trying to procure the services of a lady named Rinda Fine to act as therapist for the girls, and that they should be prepared to offer her a generous salary if she should contact them. Carlisle chuckles and says, “I know Rinda well, Morna.” Morna is quiet for a minute and then says, “Yeah, I forgot. I guess you would know who Rinda Fine is. Sorry. Bear with me, my memories of this life time seem to supersede memories of past lifetimes.”
When she gets off the phone she turns to Luca, “Do you want to go tonight or wait until Sunday night? It will probably cost a fortune to change the tickets.”
Luca scoffs, “I think that’s pretty irrelevant, don’t you?”
Morna nods and replies, “I guess you are right.”
“I’ll call and change all of our reservations while you are in your 9:30 meeting. Just call me when you are done and I can take you for a quick lunch before your evaluation appointment at Noon.” He says as he reaches over to rub her shoulder. “Morna, I can see you getting tense. Are you sure that you want to meet this child today?”
“I really can’t ignore every disabled child on the planet just because it might make me miss my son. Almost everything under the sun makes me miss my babies. I just have to deal with it Luca. But thank you for being so concerned. I will be fine. Besides you will be there with me,” she re
minds him.
By now they are parking in front of the administration building that houses Sharon’s office and several conference rooms. Luca reaches over and takes her face into his hands and kisses her softly, and then looks searchingly into her eyes. “Yes, I can see you can handle this.” He kisses her again, more deeply and passionately this time. “I will be waiting eagerly for you. Call me when you are finished with this meeting.”
The early meeting went by quickly, as expected the child’s mother didn’t come. Morna always feels sad when a parent chooses to skip meetings and conferences. But she knows there’s nothing she can do about it, that‘s just the way it is, sometimes. The school district cannot force a parent to attend a meeting, and after the parents attend the initial meeting and sign off of the child receiving specialized services, the IEP team can make decisions to provide whatever the child needs. She thanks heaven for that. She enjoys working with the IEP team to review the child’s progress and firm up plans for continuing services. Once everyone signs off on all the necessary forms, the meeting breaks up. Morna is on her way out of the administration building when Sharon catches up with her and asks if she has a minute to talk.
Once seated in Sharon’s office, Morna wonders why Sharon is acting so nervous. “What’s up lady?” she asks.
“Well, I want to ask you something, and I know I probably shouldn’t. It really isn’t any of my business,” begins Sharon. “Oh my, I guess I will just jump in! The gentleman that dropped you off this morning…”
Morna smiles happily, she just can‘t help herself. “His name is Lucian Michaels. He’s a very dear friend.”
