Mark instantly turned back into a human as he dropped to the ground with an arrow protruding from his abdomen. Now smoldering and charred, Dr. Rowe made his way back to Dominic when Devon, Darby, Blake, Rowan, Anton, and Julianna filed into the warehouse.
*****
Anton was horrified, as were the others, by the macabre scene of bodies strewn all around. But these weren’t just bodies, these were friends, family, and loved ones. There was only one standing, limping slowly towards them, scorched beyond recognition with strange, peg-like things protruding from all over his body.
“You Larsens are like lice. Once infested, it’s impossible to get rid of you,” Dr. Rowe said, exasperated.
Rowan transformed into her wolf form and set him on fire again with her thoughts. Darby formed lightning balls in her hands, ready to take aim. Devon swept forward, quickly tripping Dr. Rowe up in the net that had been used earlier. Using telekinesis, Blake pelted him with arrows that had been abandoned on the floor as he, Anton, and Julianna made their way towards the blackened man. They descended on him like a pack of hungry wolves and for a moment it looked as though they had the upper hand, when suddenly, Rowan was thrown out of the dog pile, yelping with a charred arrow in her side. Next, Blake was heaved out, moaning in pain when his already broken arm was injured on the way down. He blacked out from the intense pain.
After Darby had deposited her lightning balls on Dr. Rowe, she made her way to Bernard. Katarina had gotten Alyssa somewhat coherent and was halfway to the door when Darby put Bernard’s arm over her neck and worked her way towards Katarina.
Devon had been bit badly by Dr. Rowe and was bleeding everywhere; Anton was beating on Dr. Rowe furiously as was Julianna. In her weakened condition, Julianna was ripped from the pile with a snapping sound that Anton was sure was her shoulder, but she never made a sound despite the pain he knew she must be in.
A poison-laced arrow grazed Devon’s open wound, weakening him when a sharp kick to the ribs sent him flying from the shrinking pile. Now it was just Anton, and though Dr. Rowe had been burned, poisoned, electrocuted, pummeled, and shot, he had a death grip on Anton’s throat. Anton was starting to see stars and was sure this was the end, when he heard a familiar voice in his head. Like the dreams he had of being in Jules’s head, he could see that she had a sword-like weapon from a cane he had seen her with before. It caught the light and shone like a bright star. As if from a far off distance, Anton heard one word from Jules, “Roll.”
With the last bit of strength he had with Dr. Rowe still clinging to his throat, he rolled, sending Dr. Rowe away from him and to the side. The sword struck and sang with a high-pitched reverberation when the blade met and cleared its goal and hit the concrete floor underneath. Anton’s head finally cleared enough that he could see Jules hunched over Dr. Rowe’s body, sword still in hand. An object wobbled just out of view and Anton moved his head to see what the object was, only to find two frightened eyes staring at him from a head with no body. Jules had decapitated Dr. Rowe. Anton looked back at Jules just in time to see her smile and then fall sideways, away from Dr. Rowe’s body.
Chapter Twenty Eight
It had been touch and go there for a while with Julianna. Josh got in contact with Dr. Donaldson who revealed the part Julianna had played in the procedure to save Blake, Devon, and Anton. Once Dr. Donaldson had Julianna under his care, she was quickly healed with plenty of blood.
Katarina and Darby got Bernard and Alyssa to safety and thankfully, they remembered very little of the fiasco they had endured. Bernard, due to his age, was hospitalized to be rehydrated and to make sure that he hadn’t been injured internally.
Devon had been grazed with a yew-laced arrow, however, due to the flow of blood, it had been flushed on its own and he healed very quickly. Melanie, Anton, and Sally escaped with minor bruising. Sally had a concussion and Anton had a really sore throat.
Blake and Dean had matching casts. Blake’s elbow was completely shattered and Dean’s forearm was completely broken in half. But due to their fast healing the casts were only on for four days. Dominic had a couple of broken ribs, a bruised kidney, and his jaw had to be wired for a couple of days to heal properly.
Luckily, the arrow in Rowan’s side didn’t hit anything, however, Mark’s punctured his spleen. He would have to be hospitalized for a while. Josh’s punctures were minimal and thanks to Melanie, all the humans were helped along with their healing, making a speedy recovery and keeping Mark from being hospitalized as initially thought. When the mess was cleaned up in the warehouse and Dr. Rowe’s body disposed of, Anton, Devon, and Blake checked out the office to find a wall safe. The three other rings were in the safe. The building was burned to make sure there would be no lingering evidence to point guilt towards the Larsens.
When casts were taken off, wiring removed, and Bernard was rehydrated, everyone descended on Ireland for the long awaited wedding to remember.
*****
On Friday, July 1, a rehearsal dinner was in progress. Several large tents canopied a lovely evening of champagne, food, family, and friends. It poured outside, but music went on under a few million twinkle lights. It was a casual dinner and there was much to be celebrated. Tomorrow would be a simple ceremony and a handfasting. The dress had been found, the flowers bought, the food catered, the friends had arrived, everything was planned, and all was perfect. Darby had decided that even if something went wrong with the plans, she was perfectly happy with just a ceremony, but if all went well, she certainly wouldn’t complain. Rowan thought this was hysterical and laughed for a good, long time. Her over-organized sister had finally found a balance in life - and it was Devon.
After dinner when there was much talking, there was also a lot of whispering. Darby was sure there was something up, and Devon seemed to know the secret. Whatever it was, it was a doozy and seemed to involve most of the guys. She just hoped it didn’t include kidnapping Devon for a bachelor party.
The lights flashed on and off and when they came back on there were three chairs in the middle of the parquet dance floor set up for the next day’s wedding reception. Devon tapped the edge of his champagne glass.
“Excuse me, everyone…we have something important to attend to. Will Rowan O’Reilly, Katarina Jansson, and Melanie Harper please take a seat here?” Devon said. The girls looked at one another and reluctantly got up, making their way through the crowd.
“Take a seat. We have a surprise for each of you,” Devon announced. When the girls were seated and Devon made his way back to his bride-to-be, the lights went out and a spotlight took its place near the entrance to the tent. The lights went out one last time and a spotlight found its way back to the door where a dashing Josh stood with an acoustic guitar in his hands. Another spotlight shone on Melanie. Josh began to play a simple tune on the guitar and sang:
My nights were cold
The days were long
I never knew that it was wrong
Until I met you
Your eyes of blue
Your special touch
In your arms I long to rush
I never knew…
I’ll be your knight
I’ll be your clown
You’ll be my queen in pure white gown
I’ll be your lover
I’ll be your chef
You’ll be my girl ’til my last breath
Say you’ll always be
For all eternity
In love with me...
Josh kneeled in front of Lanie and continued to play. The lights went out again and a spotlight appeared at the door, revealing a tuxedo-clad Blake and another spotlight appeared on Rowan. Blake sang:
Many changes
And ups and downs
I made mistakes and made you frown
And I missed you...
We worked it out
The battle has been won
And we’ve only just begun
Because of you…
I’ll be your knight
/> I’ll be your clown
You’ll be my queen in pure white gown
I’ll be your lover
I’ll be your chef
You’ll be my girl ’til my last breath
Say you’ll always be
For all eternity
In love with me...
Blake kneeled in front of Rowan when he finished. The music continued and the lights went out one last time and a spotlight found its way back to the door where a dashing Dominic stood. Another spotlight shone on Katarina. Dominic began to sing:
Years have passed
A life we missed
But our love it still persists
When I found you...
A dream came true
A midnight kiss
A second chance at happiness
I so love you…
I’ll be your knight
I’ll be your clown
You’ll be my queen in pure white gown.
I’ll be your lover
I’ll be your chef
You’ll be my girl ’til my last breath.
Say you’ll always be
For all eternity
In love with me...
When Dominic ended the song, he was on his knees in front of Lanie. All the lights came back up. On cue, all three of the men pulled out tiny boxes from their pockets. As if choreographed, all three boxes opened at the same time and all three men asked the woman in front of him “Will you marry me?”
There were sobs of happiness and stifled screams of delight from the three women. Three separate ‘yes’s’ were spoken from three beautiful women, making three handsome men incredibly happy.
Cheering and applauding resounded all around and the stunned ladies followed their gentlemen back to their tables, donning their new rings.
Darby then stood up and tapped her glass.
“Congratulations, guys. That was awesome. Trust me, folks, I’m not going to sing, but I do have a gift I would like to give Devon in front of all of you. I’ll admit it’s not easy finding a gift for a vampire who has everything,” she smiled, “but I think I may have found a truly unique gift that we can all share. As some of you may or may not know, I had a little adventure in Ireland before Devon got sick and for my role in helping the Summer Queen back to health, she gave me this.”
Darby opened a handkerchief and revealed to Devon a pin of gold in the shape of a phoenix. She then explained, “No, I don’t expect you wear it, it’s more of a wish I’m bestowing on you. ‘Like the Phoenix who rises from the ash and flame, being born over and over again’, this pin will allow you a visit with a passed loved one. I thought that given how much you miss your parents, especially on our wedding day, you could wish for your mother or father to share the day with us. Twenty four hours you can spend with your loved one.”
Devon was stunned, “Oh my God, Darby. That’s the most amazing gift anyone could have given me. Thank you.” He took the pin into his hands carefully and said, “So what do I have to do?”
“I think you just say what you wish for,” Darby said. Devon’s eyes welled up with excitement and gratitude.
“I wish for my mother to share this day with us,” Devon said with his eyes closed. He wasn’t sure if that was necessary, but it seemed appropriate.
The lights flickered for a moment and no one was sure if it was the electrical storm outside or the magic in the tent. A glowing light came through the ceiling of the tent and grew in intensity. As it got brighter, it also got bigger until it was hard to look at the light. Some of the people in the room covered their eyes, and slowly the light dissipated and in its place a form appeared - a lovely, delicate form in a flowing royal blue dress, a favorite of hers in life, for the form that appeared was Abigail Larsen Bloomington.
Tears poured from Dominic’s eyes. He blinked several times as did Blake and Devon when they all rushed to her at the same time. This was truly a treasured gift that no one would ever forget. Devon pulled away for a moment, gathering his composure, and rushed to Darby to lead her to meet the honored guest. In seeing this, Dominic and Blake followed suit, gathering Katarina and Rowan for introductions.
“Mom…I never thought I’d be saying this but I’d like you to meet Darby O’Reilly. Tomorrow we are to be married and she’s arranged for you to share it with us and visit with us for twenty-four hours,” Devon explained.
The beautiful, gracious, blonde woman with blazing blue eyes stepped forward with a smile that could light up the sky and Darby knew instantly that it was she who had given her sons their amazing smiles. She looked exactly as the painting in the study back in Connecticut. She opened her arms wide and welcoming.
“Thank you, my sweet Darby, for this wonderful gift,” Abby said, drawing Darby in and holding her tight. “Thank you so much.”
The rest of the night was full of introductions, laughing, and stories from the past. There was no sleeping this night, but it was well worth it. Darby had never seen Devon so happy as he was holding her close, and spending time with his mother.
*****
The day of the wedding was a chaotic flurry of people coming and going until well into the late afternoon. Darby had just finished putting on her dress and was touching up her makeup when Rowan came into the bedroom. There stood Darby in a beautiful gown. It had a halter v-neckline, fitted waist, and was elegant beyond compare. An organza overlay of lace covered two-thirds of the length of the gown, with a delicate, flowing chiffon skirt beneath its confines which ended in a sweeping train.
“Oh Darby, you are so beautiful,” Rowan said.
Darby turned and smiled as she put the final pin into her floor length veil. A few ringlets from her updo fell forward onto her shoulder as she did so.
“Thank you, sweetie,” Darby said.
“Here is your bouquet. The coach just pulled up. Are you ready?” Rowan asked.
“I am,” Darby said excitedly.
Rowan stepped around Darby to grab her train and she followed Darby down the stairs, picking up her own bouquet on the way out of the house. There in the tear-drop-shaped gravel driveway was a white coach. The finely dressed coachman helped the two beauties into the coach and shut the door. There was no rain just yet, but it had been threatening all day.
The coachman climbed to his perch and made a clicking sound with his tongue as the two black and white gypsy vanner draft horses moved forward. Long fur flowed down their legs and past their hooves, and their long manes had flowers braided into their hair which reached past their knees. Like the clickity-clack of a train, the horse clopping was somehow calming as they made their way down the dirt road to the lovely chapel made of stone just down the road. Darby admired her bouquet of white and palest pink peonies and the delicious smell of gardenia that filled the coach. She knew she would remember every detail of the gorgeous specimen.
Rowan adjusted her royal blue gown that accentuated and complimented her figure. The girls were giddy as they took in the beautiful scenery.
Once at the chapel, the coachman deposited them at the door. A string quartet could be heard over the low murmur of people chatting and getting seated in the chapel. Rowan and Darby made their way to the Bride Room for some final adjustments and preening. There was a knock at the door and a dashing Dominic stood there, boutonniere in place, saying, “It’s time.” When Darby stepped into view, tears welled up in his eyes.
“You are absolutely a vision, Darby,” Dominic complimented.
“You look pretty darn handsome yourself,” Darby said.
“Well, thanks. Are you ready to be given away?” Dominic asked.
“I am. Lead the way,” Darby said as Rowan adjusted Darby’s veil and grabbed the bouquets.
The door opened at the back of the chapel and the string quartet began to play Pachelbel’s Canon in D. After Rowan adjusted Darby’s train and handed her the bouquet she, herself, stood at the door and began to move slowly down the aisle. Thick garlands of hydrangeas, ivy, and roses were draped over the ends
of the pews, and large candelabras with hundreds of candles lit the path to the altar where two incredibly handsome men stood waiting for her and her sister to join them. The smell of the candles and the flowers was intoxicating. Her new diamond ring flashed prisms on the floor from a passing candle and she smiled as she felt it on her finger, knowing that soon she would be meeting Blake at an altar and they would be declaring their vows to one another. She smiled from ear to ear as the thought overwhelmed her with joy. She made her way to her place on the altar and turned to find Darby and Dominic starting their descent down the aisle. Everyone stood at the sight of the bride. Rowan watched her beautiful sister glide down the aisle, full of confidence and a smile that seemed to make her glow from the inside. When they arrived at the bottom of the altar, the music stopped and the minister said.
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