Everlasting Embrace (Embrace Series)

by Blackwell, Charlotte

  “Okay, so we keep quiet about both of them, for now, and let fate play out before us.”

  “Agreed. Now, where is that husband of mine? He was with Nate, and I want to see what Alex is picking up on the students.” Spotting them over in the corner, we go to join our two men.

  I can tell something is going on. Alexander looks like he’s deep in concentration.

  With my hand on his shoulder I ask, “What’s wrong Alexander?”

  “Not sure. I just think we better go check on Ben and the students who went for a walk. Hey Caspian, I need you for a minute; come on,” Alexander shouts.

  Matilda, Alexander, Caspian and myself race out of the pool hall. Alexander telepathically fills Elijah and the rest of the family in on what’s going on, and asks them to watch the rest of the students. I know Nathanial won’t like me rushing off to danger without him, but he knows that sometimes we have separate missions; and this just may be one of them.

    

  We find Ben and about five of the students in the park, around the same area of Nathanial’s attack. A few years ago, shortly after we moved to Wenham, during our winter formal, Nathanial and I went for a walk alone in the park. We were attacked by a rogue vampire. Nathanial didn’t know about my family at the time, and I didn’t want to tip him off. When Alexander came to our rescue, the vampire stabbed Nathanial, and I use my powers to heal him. It was only a few short weeks later that my secret was out and Nathanial accepted me, fangs and all. I never wanted this life for him, but when his parents died—when the Cerberus attacked and their baby was born a day walker, half-mortal, half vampire—there was no other choice. Now we are married, and raising his day walker brother, Nik, while his older brother, Luke, goes to school. This park holds so many memories; everything seems to happen here: Nathanial’s attack, his parents attack…this is even where he proposed to me. Now, we are back here again, not sure what we are facing.

  Walking down the stone path, towards the large, white gazebo, the park is starting to bloom after the winter, and it looks prettier than ever. The white lights twinkle around the gazebo, and bright tulips line the path and circle around the pergola where Nathanial dropped to one knee only a few short months ago. In the distance, I see the others chasing each other and playing around. Everything seems to be normal.

  “Alexander, I don’t get it. I don’t see anything wrong,” I mention.

  He looks at the fun going on before us, and looks back at us appearing just as confused. “I swear! It seemed like one of them sensed something. I couldn’t figure out which one it was, but I…I don’t know what to say.”

  “Maybe, because Ben is a nephilim, he can sense things, and he just doesn’t realize it. Or maybe even one of the other students has this power. We know some of their powers, but not all of them. Some of the students don’t even know what powers they possess. That’s why they are here—to learn,” Matilda adds with comfort.

  “Well, it doesn’t matter how, but that angel hunter is back,” Caspian shouts as he takes off with lightening speed toward the students.

  We see the angelic figure standing before them, wings spread. I only hope the cloak works.

  “Where is the boy? It has been months and I told you I would be checking on him. You’ve evaded me for too long now. I can’t sense him here any longer. Where have you hidden him? I must destroy this abomination.”

  “You’re most right. He is no longer here. I guess you’re gonna have to move on,” Alex speaks up with slight anger.

  “You will slip up at some point—I will keep my eyes on you. Is this what you really want? A heavenly war?”

  “What kind of angel are you, threatening us? Maybe you need to do a little research! We’re the good guys!” I say, knowing my words won’t help. The only one that can help us is Michael. I know he has to go back to Crossroads to keep up his strength and health, but now would be a great time for him to be here.

  “Listen to me, vampire. I will find him, even if it means destroying all of you to get to him. This is your final warning.” With a strong flap of his wings he flies off into the night.

  “I think we need to get back to the pool hall. I still don’t feel right about this,” Alexander points out.

  “I agree, Alexander. My senses are off the radar, and it’s not coming from any of us. Evil is coming, and we need to prepare,” Caspian informs us of his concerns.

  Chapter 18

  Surprise

  All the students have been deep in angel research. It’s difficult, as there’s not much documentation on angels. Michael has been a great help. He can provide information that we can never find here on earth, although he is still limited in his knowledge and in what he can share. From my understanding, things at Crossroads are handled on a need to know basis. It also turns out he knows nothing about guardians, so he can’t check on Matt for us.

  Ebony and Eliza have been working hard with the few witch students we have. Mackenzie is proving to be a quick study. Her powers are growing every day, and we have realized her power of tracking may be very useful. She is young, but with each day, growing more powerful.

  “Ms. Ebony, I feel it—the tingling sensation again.”

  “It’s okay, Mackenzie; just focus on it. Tell us what you’re tracking, and where you sense it. Concentrate all your energy on the tingle.” Ebony turns to me and whispers, “We’ve been charging items magickally and hiding them for her training, so that she can recognize the feeling.”

  “Now, will she only be able to track magickal items?”

  “No. Once she learns how to focus on it, she will have the ability to track anything she desires.”

  “What about evil, and things coming after us? Will she be able to track what is coming for us as well?”

  “Ms. Ebony, this doesn’t feel right. I feel something evil coming. I...I don’t understand. Something is coming from Boston—coming tonight!” Mackenzie snaps out of her trance, with tears streaming down her face.

  Ebony sits next to her young student. “Tell us more. What is it you felt? What did you see?”

  “I felt the tingle. You know…the one I get when I’m supposed to find something, or searching for something. I tried to visualize it, but I couldn’t. Everything was black, and cold. I saw a map, and Boston was glowing. That’s how I know where—the where always glows in my mind. It’s just other than that, all I saw was darkness, so it must be evil.”

  Ebony and I both look at each other with disbelief. “The Cerberus.”

  “You mean the rogue vampires Mr. Caspian has been teaching us about?”

  “That’s exactly who we mean,” I confirm.

  With a large thud, Shilah barges through the doors. “They’re back. They came back. I saw them while doing my rounds.”

  “Calm down a minute. What do you mean?” I place my hand on the young shape shifters shoulder. “Now slow down, and tell us who it is that’s back? Who is here?”

  With a deep breath, Shilah looks at us with his dark brown eyes. “The Cerberus are back, and it’s not just their fighters. Cyrus and Drake are with them this time.”

  “Thank you. Go get the other shifters, and we will meet in the conference room,” I order with a sense of urgency.

    

  Alexander alerts the others, and now we are all gathering around, ready to plan our attack yet again. I can’t help but wonder if we will ever be rid of them.

  “So, we had a slight warning. We just didn’t realize it would be so soon. Student Mackenzie tracked them; she knew evil was coming. A short time later, Shilah saw the Cerberus while on patrol. We don’t have time to set up. They are too close already,” Ebony attempts to explain.

  “When I was out doing my rounds, I saw them. The Cerberus have set up a perimeter around the forest, surrounding the house. It is going to happen tonight—and here.”

  “Well it appears we don’t have much time, so let’s get what we can. Tonight, our students will fight in their first battle. Before we
get our supplies, Caspian, are there any students you do not feel are ready to assist in the fight?” As always Elijah takes the lead, his fatherly instinct taking over as he feels protective of those in his care.

  Caspian looks around the room. “We’ve been preparing these students since the day they arrived. Although it has only been a few months, they have worked very hard. Yes, some are more prepared than others, but we have to face what is forthcoming. And to defeat Cyrus and Drake, we’ll need everyone. Don’t get me wrong; there will be some injuries. We may even loose a few. But we have to give it our all, once and for all.”

  We agree, and begin to gather supplies. Ebony and Eliza go to collect spells, potions and crystals to aid in the fight. Thankfully, Eliza and Luke are still here. They are scheduled to return to Boston tomorrow. Luke has been able to miss more classes than most, due to a specialized learning plan he managed to set up with the dean. Everyone wants to help to keep him in school since the baby was born, and self-learning and email assignment hand-ins has been very helpful.

  Isaac, Nathanial, and Alexander retreat to the storage room to gather weapons, and silver boxes for the ashes. When killing a vampire, all precautions must be taken. Silver doesn’t bode well with vampires; it hinders the healing process, usually killing the victim. Not only do we decapitate the vampire, we then burn it and place its ashes in the silver box before burying it deep beneath the surface. Staking can kill, but the vampire can always be brought back if the stake is removed and the vampire is fed. Blood allows for healing, so we take no chances, even separating the ashes into various boxes, leaving nothing to chance. When handling these boxes, the boys wear neoprene gloves for protection. Without the gloves, the silver could burn the boys, and I’ve heard it can be deadly if the silver seeps into the blood system. We don’t want to take any chances with our own, either.

  As the supplies begin to make it into the front corridor, we begin to separate them into groups, trying to ensure each group has similar supplies. Everyone’s been alerted to the situation, and we’ll explain it more to them as a group. They prepare, changing into fight clothes, and the girls are all tying up their hair. I fear for the young students we have, but we all know this is what we’ve been training for. I suppose we can look at this as more of a test.

  “Okay, students, this is it. I know your training is nowhere near complete, but we have a dangerous fight ahead of us, and everyone needs to be alert,” Caspian begins his pep talk.

  As Caspian explains the situation at hand, Florence hands out blood rations to all the vampires to ensure full strength. Luke and the babies take cover in Ben’s room; we still have a protection spell on it, so they should be safe there.

  We have seventeen experienced fighters, and twenty-four inexperienced fighters, which includes Nathanial and Ben. We need to organize groups strategically. The shifters need to stay together and be in form, which will make it difficult for them to take on any students, except for Xander the werewolf. Our only problem is that tonight is only a crescent moon; he needs the full moon to change. Eliza suggests using a plant called wolfsbane, a pretty yellow flower, and one of the most poisonous plants in the world. Wolfsbane can be found in the Himalayas, through Europe to Great Britain. There are two different kinds of wolfsbane, one just as powerful as the other. Eliza explains that there are many magickal uses for this plant, but in this case, we`ll be using it to transform Xander into his werewolf form, without the power of the moon.

  Eliza continues, “Lore says wolfsbane was the invention of Hercate (a powerful demon), from the form of the three-headed dog that guards the gates of the underworld. I found this interesting. Wolfsbane has historically been used to help cure werewolves. It was also used to protect one from werewolves and vampires. Of course, it all depends on how it is magickally blessed. We have some in stock, and Ebony and I already blessed it. When ready, Xander needs to place a drop on his tongue, and within ten minutes, he should be transformed.”

  “How long will it last, and how does he turn back?” I question.

  “I’m not sure how long it will last, since we haven’t had a chance to test it. That’s why we’ll have the vial strapped to him. He will be able to feel the change happening either way, and can administer another drop. Then to turn him back, we have a vial blessed in reverse, and he takes a drop of that.”

  “Perfect; you really did think of everything.”

  “Yay. I only wish we could have tested it all before hand. What if it doesn’t work?”

  “Your magick always works; but if for some reason it doesn’t, well, he knows hand-to-hand combat well enough to escape and retreat back to the house,” I try to comfort the others.

  “Okay girls, we don’t have time for all this chit-chat. Let’s get our teams organized and get out there. Xander is with the shifters. I think the youngest students should be split between us elders: myself and Florence, Isaac, Constance, and Caspian. The rest of you can take some of the older students,” Elijah begins to organize the teams.

  Because there are so many of us involved, I make a list of all the teams, to ensure everyone is accounted for.

  Team Shifter:

  Tamo, fourty-five, wolf

  Dakota, eighteen, wolf

  Makaya, thirteen, hawk

  Shilah, nineteen, cougar

  Mika, seventeen, cougar

  Skah, twenty-two, mountain lion

  Xander, twenty-one, lycan

  Team Elijah:

  Enrique, thirteen, demigod

  Samantha, fifteen, changling

  Team Florence:

  Carlina, sixteen, fairy

  Shawnee, fourteen, vampire

  Team Isaac:

  Keyna, fourteen, pixie

  Russell, fourteen, drac

  Team Constance:

  Anissa, sixteen, vampire

  Vaughn, fifteen, half-demon

  Team Caspian:

  Renelle, eighteen, skin walker

  Janae, thirteen, skin walker

  Team Alexander:

  Jorden, twenty, vampire

  Yaneek, nineteen, fairy

  Team Matilda:

  Siobhan, twenty-three, vampire

  Logan, twenty-two, dalaketnon

  Team Sophia:

  Nathanial, eighteen, vampire

  Zachary, twenty-three, wendigo

  Team Danika:

  Kaylee, twenty, fairy

  Tanner, twenty-two, vampire

  Team Ebony:

  Ben, eighteen, nephilim

  Celine, twenty-one, mermaid

  Team Eliza:

  Mackenzie, nineteen, witch

  Ian, twenty, future guardian

  Ethan, fifteen, future nephilim

  With the teams organized and documented, Elijah goes over a few more ground rules. “I want everyone to fight with their teams. We have a few students we placed on Eliza team, but you will not fight. You will have a protection spell placed on you and have your own special duties. Ethan is only fifteen, and a future nephilim, so he has no powers yet, as well as Ian, who is twenty, and a future guardian. You will both be in charge of all the potions. I need you both on high alert at all times, and if at any time we are in need of any potions, you need to be ready. If anyone is injured, you need to throw a healing potion and protection potion at them…this will give them a chance to heal. If Sophia is near them and notices, she can assist the healing, so make sure she is covered with the protection as well. Alex will have all our thoughts connected, as you know. We can talk freely to one another with this, without physically speaking. I only want the experienced elders to go after Cyrus and Drake. They are going to be difficult to destroy. We aren’t even sure if the regular methods work on them, as they are both thousands of years old. If you get near them, try to get away and let us know; one of us will take over. Now—is everyone ready? This is what we’ve been training you for. Are there any questions?”

  Everyone appears ready for battle, and we have all our weapons and potions, much more than we’ve eve
r carried before. The Cerberus have caught us unprepared, but they don’t know we’re aware of their presence yet. We don’t know how many warriors they have, but we do know they’re near; we’ll set up around the forest. Mackenzie has tracked their location with more detail, marking their approximate whereabouts on a map I drew of the area. Our perimeter will be just outside the Cerberus’ perimeter. Eliza and Ebony will place a protection spell on the house as an extra precaution, as well as an alarm-type spell. If anyone attempts to breach the house, we will all know it. The time is here and now, deep breath, let’s go! I tell myself.

  Chapter 19

  Out For Blood

  We head out with our teams to various places in the forest, which were beginning to fill in with the spring that’s upon us. We are all semi-visible to one another as we begin to prepare. In a small cave off to the side, which must have been home to some animals over the winter, we set up the potions and the Magnificent Ones place a protection spell over it. This is the safest place for them. They can’t get attacked from behind, yet have a full view of the surroundings. We’re taking every precaution for the safety of the students that don’t have active powers. The ground is soft from the winter melt; we’ll have to watch for sinkholes. Without any further time to prepare, Cyrus and Drake show themselves in a bold move.

  “Well, we finally find our old friend. How are you doing, Cas?” Drake asks with sheer sarcasm.

  “Better, now that you’re here.”

  “Oh, you think so, do you? Did you really think I would allow you to betray me a second time?”

  “Just as much as you thought I would be happy to do your evil bidding for you.”

  “I must thank you for bringing my queen with you. I’ve missed you my dear, and can’t wait to bring you back home with us.”