by Tara Sampson
“NO!” Leo shook his head from side to side. “This can’t be happening.”
“It is happening, Leo and its happening right now.” Alex took a chance and closed some of the distance between them. Speaking softly, he had to make Leo see. “Think, Leo. You know Clara. She will protect Shelby with every ounce of power that she possesses. Her daughter, Anissa, has been watching out for Shelby since the day that you gave her your blood. The wheels were set in motion years ago. Why do you think a ten year old child was run off the road in the first place? Certain people knew back then who the vessel was. They knew it was her and tried to take her out when she was at her most vulnerable.” Alex half smiled. “Why do you think I sent you on a mission that day in an area that typically lacked a supernatural presence? Clara had a vision then too.”
“You knew what was going to happen back then?” Leo stared at Alex and narrowed his eyes in accusation. “You knew that she would be put in danger and you didn’t bother to say anything to me about it?”
“It was a need to know basis, Leo. If I had told you back then that you were going to save your future bride who happened to be human, you would have balked at me and refused to go. Clara’s visions have always been very clear and I couldn’t take the chance. I told you what you needed to know to get you there. Everything else just happened.”
Leo sagged back against the wall. He knew what Alex was saying was the truth. Until he set his eyes on little Shelby’s broken body, he would have never thought twice about a human. But the moment that he did set his eyes on her, the choice was out of his hands. She belonged to him and he did what he had to do to make her his.
Knowing in his heart that his old friend and Clara were only doing what was best for him and Shelby, he conceded.
“So,” he started and lifted his head up, “what do we do now?”
Alex went on to explain Clara’s vision, telling him about his mother and Marko’s traitorous involvement. He told him how Tatiana planned to seduce him while he was unconscious in order to solidify a new bond and how this was all supposed to happen tonight, beginning with dinner.
Leo listened intently while Alex told him that Clara had given him the antidote to counter the bloodroot. He would take it just before dinner so that Marko and his mother would think that everything was going according to their plan. They would claim that Shelby wasn’t feeling well to explain her absence.
“And later in the evening, when they make their move, we’ll be ready for them,” Alex finished. “We will end this once and for all.”
Leo pushed himself off the wall and started to pace back and forth. He couldn’t believe that his mother would go that far and to think that his servant was involved too. That just made the betrayal worse. Only two people mattered to him now—Shelby and their son. Anyone who dared to threaten them no longer existed in his world. It would be their first and their last mistake.
“They are dead,” Leo declared confidently, “every last one of them—dead!”
Chapter 31
Shelby fell on her butt and blinked. One minute she was staring at Leo and the next everything had gone black.
“There you are. We’ve been waiting for you.” It was Anissa’s voice that broke through her haze.
“Anissa?” she called out and rubbed at her eyes. Her vision had yet to come into focus.
She felt warm hands grab her own.
“Yes, it’s me. Here, let me help you up. It takes a minute to clear but you should be able to see in just a minute. We had to pull you out in a hurry and had to hide any traces of your disappearance so that no one could find you.” She pulled her up to a standing position. “But don’t worry, you’re safe here.”
“Safe? What exactly is that supposed to mean?” Her eyes still felt grainy and she rubbed at them again. Several different shades of light began to color her vision. “Anissa, where am I? Where did Leo go?”
“Calm down,” Anissa told her friend. “Leo is right where you left him. By now, he knows where you’re at and he knows that you’re safe. There is nothing to worry about except for yourself and that little fella growing in your belly.”
This was starting to be too much.
“Whoa! Wait a minute,” Shelby swayed and reached over to place her hands on the first thing that she could find. She was finally able to see clearly and noticed that it just so happened to be a smooth granite table top and from the looks of it, a very old antique table at that. Regardless of how old it was, she used it to steady herself and then stared back at her friend. “What are you saying? Are you telling me that I’m pregnant?”
Anissa gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth and looked ashamed.
“Oops! I forgot that I wasn’t supposed to say anything. Not yet anyway.”
“What do you mean you weren’t supposed to say anything? Anissa,” feeling steadier, Shelby stepped forward and grabbed a hold of her wrist. “Are you seriously telling me that I’m supposed to pregnant?”
“Well,” she wavered and then tried her best to smile at Shelby. Her mother had told her not to say anything yet; not until they were sure that Leo knew. But now, the cat was out of the bag so to speak. Shelby deserved to know the truth.
“Anissa, please,” Shelby begged her friend, feeling frantic. “Tell me. Tell me something. I need to know.”
“Yes. Yes you are Shelby but it’s more than that. The heir that you’re carrying now, well…he’s going to be special. He’s the one that the Prophecy speaks of. Your son will be the one to lead us into the new millennium.”
Shelby shrank back, feeling faint all of a sudden.
This is crazy, she thought to herself.
“How is this even possible?”
Anissa saw her friend pale and immediately moved to grab a chair, pushing it up behind her.
“Sit down,” she instructed Shelby, guiding her to the seat. Once Shelby was seated she walked around the chair and knelt down in front of her. “Now take a breath,” she told her softly.
Shelby still looked extremely pale and her eyes were hugely dilated but she did as she was told. She breathed in and then she breathed out. She breathed in again and then back out.
“Another one,” Anissa urged, breathing with her.
She sucked air in, mimicking her friend and then she slowly exhaled. At this point she felt like she didn’t have much of a choice. Her mind was on overload. She just couldn’t understand how any of this was even possible. A little over a month ago she was a human. Now she wasn’t only a vampire but she was now expecting a vampire’s baby.
“One more for me, okay? Then we’ll talk and I promise to tell you everything.” Shelby nodded and dragged air in through her nose and let it out through her mouth. “Better?”
Shelby took stock of herself. She didn’t feel faint anymore and that clawing panic she first felt when Anissa told her about the baby had ebbed.
“How,” she shook her head, still unable to fully process what was happening. “How can this even happen? I mean I didn’t think that vampires could have children. Aren’t they supposed to be dead or like frozen in time? How in the world can they procreate?”
“Sweetie, you’re a vampire. You’re not dead at all.” To prove her point, Anissa took Shelby’s hand and placed it over her heart. “Feel that? It’s your heart beating just as strong as ever. And you’re most certainly not frozen in time. Your bio-clock has slowed down but you will age just at a much, much slower rate than everyone else. A better way of describing you is enhanced. Blood feeds that enhancement making you stronger than the average human, giving you the power to teleport and dream walk. In every way that matters, you are alive; just…better. Anissa placed her hand on Shelby’s stomach. “And this one,” she smiled, “is very much alive as well.”
“I don’t know,” Shelby started to speak. “I don’t think I can do this. I’m not fit to be a mother. I’ve told you about my own parents. What if I’m a bad mother? What if I do something wrong and the baby suffers for it?” Shelby t
ried to stand up feeling the fingers of panic slowly creeping back inside her chest. “No…I can’t-”
Anissa placed her hands firmly on Shelby’s shoulders.
“Yes you can and you will. You will be a wonderful mother and Leo is going to be a very doting and attentive father. I’ve seen it already; the future. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Everything will be fine as long as Leo can put a stop to his mother’s plans tonight.”
Leo? She’d forgotten all about him.
“What plans?” she asked, frustration riding her hard. Why would anyone tell her anything? She was sick and tired of being on the outside looking in; especially now that she may possibly be pregnant. She wanted information. Information was power. Her best offense was going to be able to have a defense and if everyone continued to keep her in the dark then she would have nothing to protect herself or her baby with.
The familiar feel of her fangs pressing through her gums didn’t bother her anymore. She felt her temper raise and had no doubt that her eyes were probably flashing red. To any other person that saw her right now, she would look every bit the vampire that she had become.
She leaned in and brought her face just scant inches from her friend. When she spoke, her voice sounded husky with a lilt.
“You’re talking in circles, Anissa and only making half sense. I’m tired of playing games. I want to know the truth and I want it now. My patience is worn thin and I won’t take anything less.”
“Stop right there, Shelby.” A new voice spoke from behind her; one that she didn't recognize.
“You don’t tell me what to do,” she snapped, not daring to turn away from Anissa. Their gazes were locked but Anissa didn’t look at all worried about Shelby’s beastly state.
“Shelby,” she said calmly, “this is my mother, Clara. She is also head of the coven and a seer. She’s the one that saw your fate, realized you were the one that the Prophecy spoke of. She also saw what was supposed to happen tonight and stepped in to stop it. She’s warned Alex and Leo and they’re making the appropriate preparations to deal with the threat that tonight was supposed to bring.”
A calm soothing blanket seemed to wrap itself around Shelby, cocooning her in a warmth of comfort. Her frustrations seemed to just evaporate and a cloud of peace settled around her.
Anissa sat back, watching Shelby’s fiery red orbs go back to their normal black obsidian color. Her mother was the most powerful witch that she’d ever seen. She had the ability to control emotions amongst other things. She looked over Shelby’s head and nodded at her when she was sure that she had resumed a more placid state.
“Can you go and check on dinner?” her mother asked. “Shelby and I need to have a long, detailed talk. She’s right about one thing; she’s been kept in the dark for too long. It’s time she saw the truth—the whole truth. She needs to know what she’s going to have to face in the future.”
Anissa stood up and let out a sigh.
“Are you sure that now is the time? Maybe, she would take this better if Leo was here.”
“No,” Clara cut her off. “I think that’s part of the problem. We’ve depended on Leo far too much to guide her into our world. She should have been introduced far earlier in my opinion. Everything wouldn’t seem so overwhelming now.”
Anissa glanced back warily at Shelby. Over the last few years they had become great friends and she hated to see her like this.
“Don’t worry. I’ll ease her into it, child. She’s much stronger than any of you give her credit for. Trust that I know what I’m doing. Now run along and do as I asked.”
She hesitated but didn’t dare disobey. Bowing her head, she folded her hands together.
“Blessed be.”
Clara returned the gesture and inclined her head.
“Blessed be,” she replied and then watched her young daughter exit the room.
When she was alone with Shelby, she grabbed a chair and pulled it around in front of her. Before speaking, she studied her for a moment. All these years she had watched her through the visions of her ball. She watched her grow up into quite the upstanding lady and then transition into their world with courage and grace. No, Shelby was no meek being. She wasn’t weak nor was she incompetent. She was strong and Clara had no doubt that Shelby would fight to her death for the unborn child that she carried in her body. The higher beings couldn’t have made a better choice when they decided to deign her as the vessel for the new generation’s leader.
“Shelby,” she spoke softly, “I want you to hear something first. I’m going to touch your stomach and I want you to tell me what you hear.”
She didn’t respond. Shelby just sat there watching Clara with hawk eyes. That fierce mother intuitive protectiveness was already taking its hold on her. She couldn’t help but to smile.
Leaning forward, she lifted Shelby’s shirt and placed her palm flat against her belly. She watched Shelby’s face and knew the moment that she heard it. Her eyes widened at the sound of her son’s heart beating fast and strong.
“Is that what I think it is?” she asked, her face taking on a mask of awe. She wasn’t sure how she was hearing the small repetitive tha-dump…tha-dump…tha-dump, but she was and instinctively, she somehow knew that it had to be her child—her son—the son that she and Leo had created out of their love for each other.
Clara smiled.
“It’s your son,” she confirmed. “I wanted to make it real to you. I’ve known who you were, little one as well as your importance to our kind since you were but a babe in the crib. Over the years, I’ve watched over you, sending protectors to you. You are almost like a daughter to me in many ways. I know that you can’t understand that right now but I hope in time that you will; maybe even come to trust me.”
She pulled back and let Shelby push her shirt back down. There was resignation in her eyes and she couldn’t blame her. She would have to earn her trust.
“So you knew about Leo and the car accident?”
She nodded.
“I did. I’m the one that had Alex send Leo to you.”
“And Anissa?”
“Yes. Anissa is of my blood. She’s my daughter and when the time came, I sent her as well. You have always been under my watchful eye, Shelby. You were far too important not to be.”
Shelby closed her eyes and let all this sink in. After a long minute passed, she opened them again and touched her necklace.
“And this, you are responsible for giving me this?”
“I am,” she confirmed. “A consecration pendant carries very powerful magic. There are only a total of five of them in existence. You’re wearing one of them. It’s the reason I was able to pull you here today without Leo being able to track you.”
“Leo,” Shelby breathed. “Anissa said that he was taking care of something. Will you tell me what’s going on?”
“You’re a bright girl, Shelby. If you look inside yourself then I think you’ll figure it out.”
Her hands covered her stomach.
“My baby?” Her eyes shot up to stare at Clara. “They want my baby?”
“He is going to be a very important political figure in our future. Many of us have heard of the Prophecy and many will do anything they can to stop it. Some don’t want to maintain the peaceful existence that we’ve had with humans for some time now. Some,” Clara sighed, “are greedy and want to imprison the humans. There will be a war and your son will be the one to end it,” she said very matter-of-factly.
Shelby digested that bit of information. They would probably be on the run for the rest of their lives. There was always going to be someone out there wanting to kill their son. She growled low in her throat. She wouldn’t let it happen. She would protect him with all of her being and she knew that Leo would do no less.
Leo!
“But Leo? He’s in danger now?” She jumped up from her chair, knocking it backwards in the process. “Shouldn’t we be there helping him?”
“No,” Clara reached out and just b
arely touched her hand. A calming wave washed over Shelby, stealing away her breath. “We will stay here. Alex and Leo have it all under control and know what needs to be done.”
Clara opened her hands, palm facing up and a white dusty cloud formed in front of her.
“Watch,” she told her and without moving her hands, she commanded the chair that Shelby knocked to the floor to stand itself back up on four legs. “If you were still there with Leo, he would only worry about you. You would be more a hindrance to him than any help, child. Since we know what’s coming and he knows that you’re safe, we can eliminate the threat. Sit down and I will show you everything. No more secrets; no more lies. This is the truth.”
In the center of the cloud, a vision of Leo staring at himself in the mirror, adjusting his tie formed.
“That’s him,” Shelby pointed out.
“Yes, it is. The show is just now getting ready to start. Come,” Clara told her again. “Come sit and you will see.”
Shelby sat down and inside her head she heard a knock at the door. She watched Leo step away from the mirror and call out.
“Who is it?”
Again, she heard his voice inside her head instead of around her but the picture was playing like a movie in front of her.
“It’s me Leo, Alex. I have the antidote for you. It’s time.”
Chapter 32
Leo strode across the room and wrenched open the door with a heavy hand. Ever since his earlier conversation with Alex, he was having a hard time tamping down the beast that lived inside of him. Someone had wanted to hurt his Shelby; no, they wanted to steal her away from him and kill her. Not just her but his child too and that put him on the defensive.
“Here,” Alex thrust a small vial into Leo’s hand. “Clara said to drink this in its entirety right before we go down for dinner. It will counteract the effects of the bloodroot. Mark will have it slipped into your wine so for appearances sake, you need to drink the entire glass and before dinner’s over, excuse yourself claiming exhaustion. When you get back to your room, Tatiana should be here if Clara’s vision holds true.”
