by C. L. Quinn
“Did you see that sequined scarf I had in my hands ten minutes ago?”
Getting Naji out of the house to work was not easy. Everything had to be perfect, and she was kind of a scatter-brain about her belongings.
“Did you leave it in the bathroom?” Nikolai asked.
“Would I ask you if you had seen it if I knew where it was? Baby, go look, please. And see if you can find those blue strappy sandals with the sequined bows on top.”
Sarah sat on a plush recliner with two bowls in front of her, one with tortilla chips and a second one with spicy melted cheese.
She watched Nikolai racing around searching for Naji’s clothes and shoes, Naji grabbing a last minute cup of strong coffee and a cinnamon roll, and looked back at the seventy inch television screen that Naji had brought with her to the apartment. It was like watching real life, the TV was so large and clear. Sarah had fallen in love with it.
God, though, it would be a pleasure when the baby was born and she could get back out and see the real world. Right now, she felt like a baby-making blimp. Her legs hurt and her feet felt like concrete blocks attached to her ankles. Eillia had told her that a human Shoazan would have all of the usual pregnancy issues of any normal pregnancy.
However, Park wanted to deliver the baby. Her strong medical background and the fact that she was first blood meant the birth would be safer for the baby and risk no exposure to uninitiated humans. Sarah was thrilled that Park would be here to take care of her and Zia.
Pulling on the sequin-bowed shoes, Naji raced over to the sofa, kissed Sarah on the forehead, yelled, “Have a wonderful day, love,” kissed Nikolai in a very different way, and raced out the door, satchel flying behind her, keys jingling wildly in her hand.
Nikolai began to walk back to their bedroom to prepare for work himself when Sarah, just getting ready to pop a chip in her mouth, squeaked.
“Sarah?”
“Um, I’m okay. Just a sharp pain, but it went away immediately. Nothing to worry about.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah, I’m just a week from delivery, so…”
With no warning, another pain hit and Sarah doubled over. Nikolai flew to her side.
“Sarah! What can I do? Should I call the hospital?”
“No! Get my cell…oh! Uh, call Park.”
Nikolai grabbed her phone and did exactly as asked.
A sleepy voice answered. “Hello?”
“Park?” Nikolai inquired.
“Umm, yeah. Who am I speaking to? It’s the middle of the day here and you woke me.”
“I’m sorry. This is Nikolai, Sarah’s friend, calling from Boston. She’s having some sharp pain. It just started.”
“Ah. Okay, do you have a tablet or laptop where I can see her?”
“Yeah, uh, let me get it…” Nikolai hurried across the apartment, which he now decided was definitely too big, and brought back a large tablet computer with a camera, set it up for videoconferencing, and brought it to Sarah.
“Sarah, it’s Park. Sweetie, tell me about the pain and show me where it is located.”
Collapsed over, holding her body with shaking arms, Sarah forced herself to sit upright.
“Here, sharp pains shot through from one side to the other and I couldn’t sit up. They’ve subsided, but now I’m cramping. The cramps seem to encompass the entire womb. I can feel her, Park, she’s panicking. What’s wrong? What can I do to help her?”
“I can’t say. Your symptoms are atypical of a vampire pregnancy. Recently, you haven’t eaten anything strange that might have made you sick, or taken any falls, hurt yourself, anything that might have harmed your human body? It won’t kill you or the child, but you could still be in a lot of pain.”
“I don’t think so. I can’t think of anything. Park, what am I to do?”
“Sarah, the only thing that I can think of right now is vampire blood. I’m trying to think who might be close to you.”
“Does it have to be a first blood?”
“Ideally, yes. Any vampire blood should help, but I’m going to send David, since he’s the nearest geographically to you. Sarah, he won’t be able to come until tonight. You realize this is unprecedented. Vampire pregnancies are uncomplicated, so I really don’t know what may be going on. I suspect it has something to do with the unusual nature of the parentage.”
“I’m afraid of that too. Park, I can’t lose this baby.”
“We’ll do all that we can. Tamesine and I will leave at sundown, so we’ll be there as soon as possible. Sweetie, I’m sure she’s okay, vampire children are almost indestructible.”
“Which is why I’m terrified.”
“It won’t help her if you’re stressed. Nikolai, can you stay with Sarah?”
“Of course.”
“Keep her calm, keep her hydrated, and get her to eat if you can do so. We’ll be with you shortly.”
After Park rang off, Nikolai went into the kitchen and then returned to sit beside Sarah. “They’ll be here, and they’ll help you. Here, drink this.”
He handed Sarah bottled water with the cap already removed. She killed it in little more than one gulp.
“It’s easing. Some. Nik, I can’t let anything happen to Mies’s child. It’s all I have of him.”
“She’s going to be okay, I believe that. Sarah, you’ve had faith all along, don’t abandon it now. Let me make you something to eat and then why don’t you lie down for a while. I’ll watch over you both.”
Sarah cupped Nikolai’s face with her hands. “You always do. We’ve carved a beautiful life out here with Naji. I pray that it will not change.”
“It won’t. Now, I’ll be back with more pasta than a small woman can eat.”
Sarah slept the rest of the day. She woke only twice with slight cramps but they subsided quickly and she fell back to sleep almost like she’d been drugged. Nikolai slid in beside her in the huge bed she’d chosen so that there would be plenty of room for the baby to sleep with her.
Wrapping his arms around her, he put his head against Sarah’s belly and listened to the calm gurgles. He wouldn’t tell her, but he was equally as terrified that they might lose this child.
“Stay with us, kotyonok.”
Moments later, his eyes closed, he heard her speak quietly. “You call her kitten.”
“She is to me, this tiny precious life that must be protected at all costs. I love her already, Sarah.”
“I know.” Sarah sighed and kissed Nikolai on the top of his head. “I know,” she repeated.
They fell asleep and were still there, curled close, four hours later when Naji came home. She watched them together with no jealousy at all because they were family and she trusted them completely. There was also the fact that she knew Sarah’s heart almost as much as she knew her own, and that girl was still very much in love with her missing baby daddy.
Although she accepted Sarah and Nikolai’s story about the vampires existence, the evidence they’d said they would present had never happened. No vampires ever came to Boston or proved to Naji that they were real. She’d long ago forgotten about her initial knee-jerk response. She loved these people when she had never expected to love anyone, and that was all that mattered.
He was sleeping so nicely, but Naji couldn’t help herself. Whenever she was with him, Naji had to touch Nikolai and this moment was no different. Her fingertips slid along his neck and up his left cheek into his hair. Even though her touch was light, he felt it and stirred. When his eyes opened, he smiled.
“Lady,” he said. “You’re home. Thank God. We’ve had a problem.”
Naji’s brows came together. “Problem?”
Nikolai rolled off the bed careful not to disturb Sarah, who seemed to be sleeping easily.
“Come,” he whispered, and led Naji from Sarah’s bedroom and out onto the balcony, easing the sliding door shut. He noticed, gratefully, that the sun was nearly gone. Taking her hand, he pulled Naji to the railing so that he could see Sa
rah’s bedroom door from where they stood.
“There may be a problem with the baby.”
“What?” Alarmed, Naji glanced in toward Sarah’s bedroom.
“After you left for work this morning, she had some abdominal pain.”
“Did you get her to the hospital?”
“They can’t help her.”
“Oh, Nik, you guys need to get a grip. If there’s a problem, Sarah needs to see an OB. She has to know that.”
“Vampire babies don’t have problems like this.”
Naji didn’t say a word for the count of ten. She’d learned to hold her ire until she calmed down. Once she had, she captured Nikolai’s eyes.
“We have to call an ambulance. Nikolai, don’t fight me on this. I know what you two believe, and I honor that, but this is the baby’s life. Maybe Sarah’s life too. You understand?”
The sun was dropping quickly now, only a slight glow left at the waterline. Nikolai prayed that the vampires would be here soon. He put a hand on Naji’s wrist.
“If you honor what we’ve told you, you’ll give us a few more hours before you feel compelled to do something that won’t help, and might hurt. Please, Naj, you have to trust us.”
Shaking her head as she shook off Nikolai’s grip, exhausted from standing on high heels all day and coming home to a serious concern for her friend and her baby, Naji walked back into the bedroom and knelt next to Sarah. She brushed her hair from where it had fallen over her face.
“Sarah? Love, wake up, I want to see how you’re feeling. Sarah?”
As her eyes opened slowly, Sarah came aware quickly. She smiled at Naji and remembered immediately that she’d experienced significant pain earlier in the day. Shooting into a sitting position didn’t help any, the tenderness caught her breath and made her gasp.
“Sarah, I’m going to call an ambulance and Dr. Leo, okay?”
“No!” Sarah spoke harsher than she’d intended to. To soften the response, she repeated it. “No, Naji, I have help coming.”
Naji pushed off the bed.
“Vampires?”
Sarah didn’t miss the condescension in Naji’s voice.
“Yes, the only ones who might really be able to help me protect Zia.”
“I don’t know how to get through to you two.” Naji walked quickly from the bedroom into the main living room, frustrated and worried.
Nikolai followed her and headed to the kitchen. He poured two glasses of wine and carried them back, gave one to Naji, and sipped the other. “I told you, we just need a little time to prove all of this to you. Two vampires will be here shortly, and two more will be here by tomorrow night.”
After another interval, Naji sat on the sofa, still, her eyes closed. When Sarah showed up, moving slowly toward them, they popped open.
“I’m sorry, I’m calling for real help,” Naji announced.
The knock on the door startled all three residents of the apartment.
Sarah sighed with relief and carefully lowered onto the sofa. “Nik, bring them in.”
Nikolai hurried to the door, and when he opened it, Naji sat transfixed as an extraordinarily beautiful woman entered followed by a huge piece of sex on a heavily muscled stick. Her eyes wide, she couldn’t tear them away from the mesmerizing couple.
“Naj?”
Several seconds passed before she realized that Sarah was trying to get her attention. “Naji, this is Cherise and David, from Iceland. And they are vampires.”
Naji’s head swiveled back to Sarah. “You’re kidding, right?”
“You never really did believe us all of these months, did you?”
“Darling, I love you and Nikolai, but vampires don’t exist.”
“They do. You’ll see.”
Cherise moved closer and stepped between Naji and Sarah.
“May I?’ she inquired.
Naji nodded and moved back to allow Cherise to sit beside Sarah.
“How are you two doing now?”
“Better once you talk to Zia.”
“Zia?”
“Oh, yes, you don’t know yet. We’ve named our daughter after the ancient vampire from Mies’s time that gave her life to help find a cure to the vampire virus. Her name was Crezia, and Mies said that she was one of the most warmhearted and devoted of their clan. I thought it a fitting name for our little lady. We’ve started calling her Zia for short.”
“It’s lovely. And a fitting homage to Mies. Okay, let’s see how she’s doing.”
Naji watched, fascinated, when Cherise placed her hands on Sarah’s belly and closed her eyes.
“She’s okay. I sense…something…I’m not sure what it is, but there is something going on with her. I think…”
Cherise looked confused, and Sarah leaned in.
“What? What’s wrong?” Sarah asked, so quietly, Cherise barely heard her.
“I’m not sure. I think Park is right. David, I believe Sarah needs some blood.”
Naji had watched as the stunning woman did the bizarre thing with Sarah, but when the woman mentioned blood, she stepped closer, her hands out, ready to stop them.
“Hold on. I don’t know what you’re doing here, but I…”
“Naji, stop. Cherise, would you introduce Naji to Zia?”
“Happily.” Motioning to Naji to come closer, Cherise caught her eyes. “Come here, young woman.”
Naji, unsure, didn’t move and then suddenly, against her will, she was beside Cherise. What the hell?
“Kneel,” Cherise commanded, and Naji did so immediately, once again without intending to do so.
“Put your hands on Sarah’s belly.”
This time, she wasn’t as stunned, but her hands moved of their own volition. Cherise placed her hands over Naji’s and closed her eyes again.
The world fell away from Naji, a dizziness assaulted her and then, a feeling, a presence, invaded her mind and smiled to her. Hello, it said, you have been with my mother from the beginning. I cannot wait to meet you. No words, just sensations and images, the message clear and incontrovertible. Naji knew, without doubt, that this was the precious baby they had been waiting for and that she had just met her before she was even born. The emotion shocked her. She pulled her hands away and backed up into the big man, who steadied her when she lost balance.
“What was that? I mean, how did you…” She looked up into the handsome face above her.
David smiled. “My mate has some very special magic,” he explained.
“Magic? That isn’t… Sarah, what did she do to me?”
“Cherise is an empath. Her vampire nature has heightened her ability of empathic connection to all living things. She just allowed you to meet Crezia.”
“It isn’t possible. I mean, I feel like I did, but I couldn’t have…could I? I’m freaking out a little here.”
Nikolai came forward and pulled Naji from David’s hold. “Naj, what we have been telling you for the past several months is true. We told you that we would eventually show you proof that we weren’t nuts, and this is it. David and Cherise are vampires.”
David grinned and gave Naji a two-finger salute. “They are telling the truth, pretty lady.”
Cherise stood. “They are. First order now, though, is to get some vampire blood into Sarah to see if its healing power will help her pain. David?”
With a brisk nod, David slid in next to Sarah as Cherise backed away. He slit his wrist with a small stiletto and brought it to her lips as blood began to flow.
Sarah cupped his wrist with her fingers and held it as she drew the blood in.
Naji watched, amazed that this was really happening, that Sarah sucked this man’s blood with no hesitation.
Even now, though, after the strange visit with the child, the obvious presence of people who were beyond ordinarily beautiful, Sarah and Nikolai’s insistence that it was all true, a thread of understanding and acceptance began to weave into her mind.
Could it be true, then? Vampires, supernatural beings, a
ctually existed? And there were two of them right here in her apartment? That were helping Sarah protect a vampire child?
Overwhelming didn’t come close.
Naji pulled away from Nikolai to keep all of them at bay.
“Wait. Just let me think…”
Nikolai stepped close again. “It’s true,” he said. “Plain and simple. You must accept this because you’re a very smart woman and evidence is in front of you that is unexplainable any other way. Also, the two people you love and trust most in this world are telling you that it is.”
He was right. At the core of everything that Naji knew in her life, he was right. If she loved them, and she did, then she had to trust that, however impossible this claim seemed, it was true. Vampires were real.
She lifted her eyes to his. “Okay,” was all she said.
Sarah watched her friend’s reaction to all of this as she drew on David’s blood. It was already interacting with the baby, moving through her body, redefining it, reactivating an embedded memory of blood traces, leaving her wholly human, but plumping up her immune system and aiding in her body’s ability to function. It was what she needed.
David pulled from her and used a moist towel that Cherise handed to him to gently wipe Sarah’s mouth.
“There you go, young woman. Your color is already better.”
“Everything is. The baby is doing all right, too. Thank you both for coming so quickly. I really didn’t know what was wrong.”
Cherise took David’s place at Sarah’s side. “We still don’t. Sarah, you should not have had this pain, it isn’t normal. Park will do some tests when she gets here, but in the meantime, I’m glad your symptoms have improved. May I feel the child again?”
“Sure,” Sarah agreed and leaned back while Cherise entered the spiritual realm to contact the baby.
When she pulled free moments later, Cherise smiled, but the smile was tight. “She’s better, too.”
Rising, Cherise looked around the apartment. “Very lovely. And what a gorgeous view. Can we bring in some food for a first meal?”
“I will take care of everything,” Nikolai volunteered. “Naj, why don’t you come with me?”
