by Tanya Holmes
“I’ve got to go.” Braeden didn’t say goodbye. He immediately dialed Xavier. When the answering machine picked up, he let out a string of curses.
Ten minutes later, Xavier finally called him back. “Hey, what’s with the potty mouth?”
“We’ve lost her,” Braeden said, his tone hopeless. “She’s pregnant and I’ve no idea where she is.”
“So we knocked her up after all,” Xavier said in a stunned voice. “Wow. I guess this makes me…. Hmmm. What? A half-father? You’re the doctor. What do you—”
“Shut up!” He weaved around a caravan of RVs. “We’ve no time for your nonsense. She’s out here somewhere driving with the Fever, and it’ll only get worse.”
Xavier sighed. Static crackled. “Are you done?”
Braeden set his jaw.
“Good,” Xavier said. “Now where are you?”
“On 495. She ditched me on the parkway. She was heading north. Possibly to Baltimore. Angela said she mentioned a room. Maybe a hotel or a motel.”
“Hold on.”
Braeden heard riffling in the background.
Seconds later, Xavier said, “I can tell you exactly where she’s headed.”
A horn blared when he drifted too close to a passing minivan. Braeden floored the gas and shot ahead of them. “How?”
White noise filled the silence. “I…ah…I GPS’d her car.”
“You what?”
Another guilty pause. “I installed it last night—well, technically it was this morning but…. Hell, I thought you’d be happy considering how batshit you got about her leaving the house.”
He snatched a glance at his rearview mirror then darted into the other lane. “Why would you do that?”
Silence.
“Xavier?”
“Huh?”
“Why did you GPS her car?”
“Because.”
“Because what?”
More silence.
“Xavier!”
“Fine! I didn’t like not knowing where she was yesterday! Satisfied?” A beat passed. “Now do you want to know where she’s going or not?”
* * *
2675 TREASURE COVE RD.
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND
Denieve
____________________________
Luke gave the bathroom door a gentle tap. “You still alive in there?”
Barely. Chills wracked my body one minute. Hot flashes burned me the next. I slipped into a nightgown, pulled a robe over my shoulders, and stared blindly at the three pregnancy test sticks sprawled across the counter.
Adrenaline surged through me as I slapped a hand to my mouth to keep from crying out.
“Deni?”
I caught my breath, swallowed. “I’m fine,” I managed. “Just…just give me five more minutes. I need to dry my hair.”
“Okay. Soup’s on in ten.”
Sweat trickled down my forehead. “I’m not hungry, Luke.”
“You gotta eat something, babe,” he said, his retreating footsteps fading down the hall.
Another chill rattled me. The thought of food made my stomach lurch. When I arrived at Luke’s an hour ago, looking like death on crack, I’d spent ten minutes assuring him I was fighting the same bug he’d had. Then, with a bag full of pregnancy tests hidden in my purse, I’d ducked into the bathroom to grab a shower while I waited for the results. I’d been in here ever since.
I picked up test stick number three and sat on the narrow edge of the tub. The faint pink plus sign had darkened to deep mauve.
Positive. Just like the last two.
Tears rushed down my face. Oh. God. Oh. God. Oh. God. My emotions hovered somewhere between joy and terror. The impossible had happened. I was pregnant—pregnant with Braeden’s baby.
Yes, this was really happening.
For sanity’s sake, I’d buried the idea of babies years ago. When I left home after the accident, I wanted to go someplace where I didn’t have to see the resentment in Caryn’s eyes. So I moved and we never spoke again. But the city’s distractions only went so far. The crash still haunted me. From sunup to sundown I was reminded that I’d killed my best friend’s dream of having children. Yet I was whole.
Most might think getting a tubal ligation was foolish and rash. Some would even call it crazy. But honestly? I just wanted the nightmares to stop. And they did for years afterward. I convinced myself I’d made the right decision, that I had no regrets, but then I met Braeden. Once I realized I was falling in love, I mourned the babies I thought I’d never be able to give him.
I gaped in disbelief at the test stick again as my bemused mind raced to connect the dots. There were too damn many…
‘Tonight changed everything—for the both of you.’
That’s what Caryn had said during the storm. She knew. Even then! And what about Braeden? Had he suspected all along? He must have. Why else would he have given me all those blood tests? Or nagged me about getting another GYN exam, despite the fact that I’d had one months ago.
But that didn’t make sense either. He’d known about my tubal ligation. So how could he have thought pregnancy was even a possibility?
I crammed the test sticks into my purse and headed straight to Luke’s guestroom to fish Caryn’s book from my suitcase. The mattress squeaked as I sat on the bed and wrapped a wool throw around my trembling shoulders.
Once I was settled, I flipped the heavy tome open to the bookmarked page and read.
CHAPTER 13
2675 TREASURE COVE RD.
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND
Denieve
____________________________
THE SCRIBE’S OATH: A CHRONICLE
OF THE SECRET RACES
Yoreck and The Tree, cont…
So He drove the man out and at the
east of the Garden of Eden. He stationed
the cherubim and the flaming sword,
which turned in every direction to guard
the way to the Tree of Life
—Genesis 3:24
….noneso shrouded in mystery as the Yoreck. However, most scholars agree humans first took note of them at or around 1650 BC. Though differing accounts of their mythological origins surfaced over the years, the epic fall of the great cherub Umiem ²¹ remains the most popular, this likely due to the story’s romantic bent.
Unlike the chubby, baby-faced depictions in Renaissance paintings, true biblical cherubim were no less than seven feet tall. They were giant, winged warrior beings, having powerful bodies and four distinct yet congruent faces, (i.e. personalities): a Man, a Lion, an Ox, and an Eagle.
The Man’s face possessed heart, soul, and frailty, while the Lion exuded cunning, determination, and ruthlessness. The Ox personified brute strength, endurance, and obstinacy, and the Eagle was the embodiment of reason, intelligence, and pride. Despite these contrary dispositions, each face dwelled harmoniously within its angelic host, making them a true One.
According to legend, the angel Umiem, one of two cherubs who stood sentry east of the Garden of Eden, fell in love with Tishpa²², a mortal woman. To save her from growing old and dying, the mighty angel used his divine breath to immobilize the flaming sword God had placed before the Tree of Life. This bold act of sedition enabled Tishpa to eat of the sacred fruit, thereby making her immortal.
God’s wrath was swift. After removing Umiem’s wings, He renamed him ‘Uuoric,’ later transliterated as ‘Yoreck.’ He then bound the rebellious cherub’s angelic essence within the body of his weakest face—that of the Man. Now tethered within the Man, the other three faces became rivals, warring with each other for dominance. The internal war continued in later Yoreck generations until only two faces remained, with the two joining forces to absorb equal parts of the third.
Yoreck and Tishpa’s descendants, while neither fully human nor divine, became a secret and unique species, cursed to walk the earth in constant fear of discovery by humans.
By all accounts, the Yoreck’s abilities defied nat
ural law. Superhuman strength, speed, and telepathy were just a few of their innumerable talents. Yoreck males could even transform or ‘Turn’ mortal females Yoreck through procreation. The men were especially virile following provisional death. Once resurrected, the entranced male’s sole objective was to mate. As a result, their reanimated bodies produced a powerful pheromone for several hours afterward. This biochemical siren’s song was so potent only a ‘paréãë∫etrix’²³ woman could resist its lure. Paréãë∫etrix women were immune to all other Yoreck male pheromones.
Braeden’s words came back to me:
“If anything, I’m the one who owes you an apology,” he’d insisted tornado night. “This was my fault…Mine, Miss Reed. I’m to blame. All I can do now is ask for your forgiveness.”
So my whorish behavior wasn’t my doing. It was his. Unintentionally so, but still his just the same. Then there was the stuff about “turning.” According to the book, this pregnancy would make me like them.
Which meant what exactly?
And what of the four “faces?” Was his doppelganger one of them? Was there another personality trapped inside of him too, laying dormant somehow? Maybe there was something to the DID thing after all. Whatever the case, one thing was for sure: I was pregnant.
PREGNANT.
With a “Yoreck” baby, a child whose father was descended from a…cherub?
“What are you reading?”
I shot a look at the door to see Luke standing there. Shoving the marker in the heavy tome, I snapped it shut. “Just some research.”
He gave the book a curious glance as he came around the bed carrying a wicker tray with food. The mingled odor of chicken and garlic preceded him.
“I already told you I’m not hungry.”
“You can’t take Motrin on an empty stomach, babe.” He arranged everything on the nightstand: chicken soup, a sleeve of saltines, mint tea, a crystal vase with African violets peeking out. Concern deepened the faint lines in his face. “You still look like shit. Here.” He plucked a bud from the plant and tucked it behind my ear. “There. That’s a little better.”
“I’m afraid it’ll take more than a few flowers to fix me up, Luke.” He repositioned the throw on my shoulders. “Stop fussing over me already.”
“I can’t stop,” he said with a flicker of a smile. “I’ll always fuss.”
Yes, he would. “Can I just have some water?”
“Yeah, but first….” He grabbed a thermometer off the tray and slid it under my tongue. “It’s 101.1,” he announced a minute later. “I’m getting the Motrin.” On his way out he said, “You can either eat now or be force-fed.”
I sighed and sank into the pillows. No wonder Braeden had been so secretive. And my being here may have put Luke in danger. I should’ve gone the extra thirty miles to the room I’d booked in Baltimore, but Luke had insisted I come here, and frankly, I wasn’t sure I could’ve driven any further. I’d barely had enough energy to stop at the drugstore down the street. On top of the dizziness, my stomach was on fire, I had migraine, my eyes were blurring, and I was running hot and cold.
“At the moment, your fever is low-grade, and you may feel fine now, but it’ll get much worse in a few hours. Soon you’ll be seeing things that aren’t there. Vivid hallucinations.”
Luke returned with water and the pills. I made a grab for the glass. He stared in disturbed silence as I gulped it down. “Jeez, Deni, take your time.”
I set the empty glass aside, scooted off the bed, and started grabbing my belongings. “I have to go.”
In my haste, my purse tipped over. One of the pregnancy test sticks tumbled out.
Luke snatched it up immediately. His gaze leapt to the pink plus sign, then darted back to me. “What. The. Fuck?”
My face fell. “I shouldn’t have come.”
“Is it his?” He waved the stick around. “Answer me!”
I went to gather the rest of my things, but he forced me back down and a wave of dizziness rocked me. The Fever was getting worse. Just like Braeden said it would. But I’d run away from him, the one man who could help me.
“Luke, please. I need to leave.”
He took a few beats to size me up. “What the hell is going on?”
“Damn it, will you just let me go?”
“Ain’t happening, babe.”
“I’m trying to protect you!”
“Really.” A brow lifted. “From Frost?”
“No, no, no! I don’t want to pull you into our drama. We had this big fight after I told him the truth. He doesn’t know where I am and I’d rather keep it that way.”
Luke wasn’t buying it. “You come here scared, pregnant, and burning with fever. How can you be sure this…thing you got isn’t something else? People have a habit of dying around this man, or have you forgotten?”
I’d said too much already. For Luke’s sake, Braeden couldn’t know I was here. Considering this “Protocol” situation, connecting Luke with the Yoreck was dangerous. If I could just make it to the hotel, I could call Braeden to come and get me.
“I need a cab,” I said. “I’ve got a reservation in Baltimore.”
“Forget it. You’re not going anywhere.” He pushed my purse, the book, and my suitcase to the side. “Frost’s medical partner? Dead.”
I shut my eyes when the room started spinning.
“Caryn, Gubczyk, the nineteen, and now this partner,” he continued. “Mark my words, they’re all connected.”
Luke was like a bloodhound once he caught a scent. He would never give up. Which was why I had to put as much distance between us as possible. “Look, I’ll tell you everything,” I lied. “But not tonight. Let me get some rest first. Okay?”
Affection smoothed the hard edges in his expression. He leaned in and kissed my lips, a kiss unlike any of the others he’d given. It was a tangle of tenderness and bridled passion. “Stay with me,” he whispered. “I promise I’ll love that baby as my own.”
“Luke…”
“I never stopped loving you, babe. I don’t believe I ever will.”
If only I could’ve said it back, but I was in love with a… jeez, what was Braeden?
“Just think about it, all right?” he asked.
I nodded as the tugging sensation returned. But it was stronger. Twice the strength as before. He was coming here. How the hell had he found me? Panic sent my heart skipping all over my chest. If I didn’t leave now…
“Babe? You okay?”
I gave what I hoped would pass for a smile. “Since you’re keeping me prisoner, will you at least let me use the bathroom?”
He brushed the hair from my face and kissed my forehead. “Only if you promise to eat something.”
“You got it,” I lied. Again.
* * *
OUTSIDE 2675 TREASURE COVE RD.
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND
BRAEDEN
____________________________
The sun had already set by the time he found the house and the temperature had plummeted. The large Cape Cod sat on a half acre of treelined land in a sleepy little neighborhood. He pulled into the narrow driveway behind Denieve’s car, lights off, and was about to head up to the house when Xavier materialized in the passenger seat.
Braeden did a double take. “Where the devil did you come from?”
“I’m parked around the corner,” he said, blowing into his hands. “This weather is nuts. Five hundred degrees this afternoon, now it’s cold as hell. What took you so long?”
“I had to go back for my medical bag.”
Xavier slipped a gun from the holster strapped to his chest and checked the barrel.
Braeden glared down at the bulky Smith & Wesson. “What did you bring that for?”
“Never know what we might run into.” He reached behind and tucked the .45 in the waistband of his jeans. “Just trying to cover all bases.”
“I don’t want you here,” Braeden warned. “Now take your toy and get lost.”
&nbs
p; “You need me.”
“No, I don’t. You’ll only make matters worse.”
“I doubt that. You’ve already fucked shit up quite nicely.” He looked at Braeden, his eyes grave. “If you’d let me kill the bastard like I planned, none of this would’ve happened.”
“What are you blathering about?”
“Your mercy mission backfired. I just got a call from Janette. Janette Sikes. My Scrubber contact. Milton Vogel was arrested forty-five minutes ago. Two state troopers stopped him for negligent driving. They spotted an empty flask of whiskey in the car.”
“He wasn’t drinking when I left him.”
“Well, he failed a field sobriety test. They said his pants were wet too. He’d pissed himself. The idiot folded after only five minutes. He called you a demon with unnatural strength and speed. So I’m going to assume you did one of your shock and awe demonstrations again. Which is surprising since I would’ve thought you’d learned your lesson with Hannah.” He shrugged. “Anyway, the stupid shit consented to a vehicle search. Guess what they found?”
Braeden sank his head against the steering wheel. “Shit.”
“Yeah, shit’s right. Money, fake passport, credit cards—everything. But that’s not the worst of it. He gave you up. Spilled his guts all over the place before any of us could silence him. He told them about your little parking garage demonstration. Now they’ll tie Vogel to Gubczyk, which’ll lead them straight back to you. And me. Hell, if they don’t get us first, the Elders will.” Xavier shook his head. “We’re done here. You understand that, right?”
“Done” as in he—they couldn’t go home. Ever. Couldn’t be seen. By anyone. “Done” as in guaranteed Forced Asylum. Or Detainment. “Done” as in having to deal with the bigots at Torrance Hospital a lot sooner than he’d planned.
So many thoughts swam in his head. Topping them was one question. How to convince Denieve to go with him?
“Who else is involved?” Xavier asked.
“That they can tie to me? Just Jim. Jim Colona. That’s where he got the passport.”
