QUID 4
Quid 4
LITTLEHAWK
Dedicated to my adopted big sister, Sandra, who always encouraged me in all the crazy, half-witted, hair-brained, slightly insane things I did throughout my life. It gave me something to write about…she is an inspiration to me since she did them first and I was just following her.
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Quids. We're called Quids. My name is Faith and I'm a Quid. Sort of. Quid 4 is one of four planets in the Nelan Sector. Quid 4 is literally flowing with Suquidal. That's what humans call this silver substance on Earth. Suquidal on Quid 4 is so fine, pure and of such fine quality that it is in liquid form. The other three Quid planets are basically mining planets. Like Earth, these planets are being destroyed by the mining of Suquidal. There the Suquidal is like silver on Earth. A precious mineral. On Quid 4, it's just part of the planet.
Quid 4 is different. The Suquidal flows through Quid 4. You see it in every leaf, tree, blade of grass and flowing in every stream, lake or ocean. It's subtle in its sparkling appearance. It's just a heavy mineral. My father told me that it reminded him of mercury, another liquid metal. The Suquidal also flows through the inhabitants of Quid 4. It's seen as silver flecks in their eyes and on the sweat that glistens on their bodies.
Every Quid is born with Suquidal in them. That's how you know a human from a Quid. It's a part of the planet they're from. They always have part of Quid 4 in them. It gives their blood a rich metal taste, more so than the iron already there. Quid 4 is very lush with oceans, mountains, deserts and so much like Earth that we understand why our ancestors fought so hard for their home planet. But they failed. Earth was lost long ago, only no one really knew it. Except the vampires.
Quid 4 has a different atmosphere than Earth. On Quid 4, the oxygen is thinner. My father told me it was like being on Mount Everest. I read about Mount Everest and kind of understand. On Quid 4 the gravitational pull is different too. Humans are very light. We can float. Sort of. Well, we can glide very well if we want. It's hard to walk. You really have to work at it. It's kind of like walking with all the air blowing up from under you. You feel like you have to hold on to something or you'll float away. I did that for the first year I was here, then I got used to it. I adapted.
Humans adapt well. Especially as each generation is born. Since I wasn't born on Quid 4, I'm different. I'm faster, stronger and I can glide. I love running because if I get going fast enough, it feels like I'm flying. Human children under the age of ten adapt very well and quickly to the atmosphere. I had no trouble breathing in the heavy liquid air. I came to Quid 4 when I was 4, but I am an oddity. I'm one of the few humans not born on Quid 4 who survived to adulthood without any side effects such as light headedness, shortness of breath, or heart palpitations.
The history of Quid 4 is simple. A lot simpler than people believe. Earth was long ago doomed. People ruined it slowly with pollution and the destroying of the forest and natural resources. Time. Humans needed time to restore the planet. They didn't have it. Earth died. There was one resource that survived. Man. With the help of another race.
They had been coming to Earth since the beginning of our history. They knew what it was like to lose a natural resource. Their planet was in a solar system with two moons and only one sun. They had several planets in the solar system. One of them was Declar. This is the home planet of vampires. Long nights and
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short days. There are colonies on the moons where there is nothing but total darkness, but Declar is better for the Quids. There is sunlight there.
Our history and legends were filled with lore. All of it deadly. Truth be told, the legends were false. They actually valued human life. We called them monsters. They considered us equals to cattle. We feared them. Whether we believed in them or not, we feared them. They became the saviors of the human species without meaning to. Their name was Vampire.
The first few humans taken to be bred died soon after landing on Declar. Declar is a whole universe away. We think it's crazy that the vampires can travel so far and so well, but they can. They are different than us. They need very little oxygen to survive and adapt better than humans. In a way, that one fact does make them superior to us. Their one downfall is their need for us. For Blood.
Declar's atmosphere was deadly to humans. The first humans brought to Declar died shortly after their arrival. The oxygen in their blood was too low, their lungs filled with fluid and they literally drowned. Not only that, but human blood with low oxygen was deadly to the vampires. Our blood is like a fine wine or a well-aged whiskey. Low blood oxygen made human blood equivalent to heroin or cocaine. Many vampires drank it and overdosed. So the vampires had to find a compromise. Either travel to Earth to dine or think of a way to help the humans adapt.
History tells of bloodsucking killers who killed the ones they bit. They were monsters who ripped people apart in the middle of the night. Then of course, the ones bitten were turned into vampires or zombies, or so the legend says. The legends were false. That was ancient history. Movies and books gave them a romantic, glamorous twist. The fantasy that they lived among us as super strong beings who burst into flames in the daylight was also false. Vampires are not monsters. They have an allergy to sunlight. They don't burst into flames. Their skin burns. The more severe the allergy, the more potent the sun. It wasn't the sun that killed, it was the nasty infection that came with the blistering burns.
Vampires were mostly curious and in need. A virus had taken its toll on their herds, herds that were very similar to humans. Vampires do drink our blood. A Quid's blood is what sustains them. Male blood is like whiskey while a female's is like wine. The younger the blood the better. Infant blood is deadly though. Only children over the age of five can be harvested, and even then the vampires are pushing it. A compromise was made and the mandate was that only after a girl becomes a woman could she be harvested and only males over the age of thirteen. Anyone younger, and their antibodies would eat away at the Vampire's intestines. Many vampires like the taste of young blood, but it is forbidden since is it addicting and deadly.
Another thing that is true is that human blood is potent. The power of it can kill a vampire when drunk on Declar. The rich oxygenation of a human's blood and the atmospheric pressure create a potent reaction. It's intoxicating almost instantly to a vampire. This is the reason for the horror stories. If a vampire tasted of a human it was too hard to stop, and many humans died. The dilution of the blood on Quid 4 from the atmosphere made Quid's blood perfect for consumption. At least for vampires.
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Most think this is sickening. But humans raised cattle and other animals all through history for food, fur and labor. To the vampire, we're the animals. Animals they need to survive, so Quids are treated very well. At least as long as Quids are of use. On Earth, humans were not. A solution had to be found for the survival of the vampire race. So the vampires began a breeding colony on Quid 4. Here humans would be brought, housed, fed, clothed, cared for, bred and harvested. Their blood would be harvested. The first humans were free men. Not slaves and not owned. It was their offspring that were owned. The Quids.
After the first generation was born, there was a sort of rebellion. The humans wanted to return to Earth with their children. They were allowed to, but found that on Earth, the Quid children died just as quickly as the humans died on Declar. Humans returned to Quid 4 to save their children and brought back stories of just how bad Earth was. There was desolation, hunger, sickness and death. The governments had fallen and bands of ruthless men roamed. No one was safe. Earth was at its end.
There were other human colonies on other planets, but they were not welcoming of any life form that came from Quid 4. The resources on these planets were limited. The Quids that were accepted were no more than slaves. There was a hatred of Quids, especially Hybrids. Hybrids were feared in many places and killed instantly. Even the small children. The child of a male vampire and a human woman was seen not only as an abomination, but also as a potential killer.
Hybrids did not require blood to live. They did drink it occasionally as someone would drink a glass of wine. They were, however, stronger than Quids and far stronger than humans. Like vampires, they were able to see in pitch dark and smell from miles away. Their minds worked faster and they reacted quickly to any situation. And Hybrids grew larger and faster than most humans. At least the males. The females weren't as big, but they were as strong. Hybrids adapted well in any atmosphere and could travel in space easily. They looked human, with the exception of the longer canines and the strong silver tinge to their pale eyes.
So most Quids stayed on Quid 4 to live out their lives in comfort as opposed to what life they might have elsewhere. Quids in the breeding compound were never harvested until they were sold. It was a simple existence, comparable to how a cow is to a human. They are cared for, milked and lived a comfortable life. They know they are owned and know what they are to give in return. Blood. To the vampire humans, Quids and Hybrids are cattle.
One whole part of Quid 4 is set up for breeding. There are large, one room houses that have gardens where children are brought, a mixture of Hybrids and Quids. There are twenty to a herd, ten male and ten female. They live together until the oldest male is of age. He is the breeder. This is important. Herds must grow to be of use. Once they are twenty, the herd is sold and transported to Declar or any of the other six planets that are the home to vampires. The children in a herd range in age from toddler to eighteen. After a mandate was issued, two extra females were added to a herd, since some younger females had died in childbirth. So herd sizes were increased to twenty-two to compensate for the loss.
This part of Quid4 is where I came to live at the age of four. My father was a minister. He saw what was happening on Earth and decided to bring my mother,
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me, my sister and two brothers to Quid 4 to minister and give us a chance at life. We had all heard tales of how wonderful Quid 4 was, but also that humans were eaten raw. My father did not believe the latter. So we came and lived in the breeding colony, teaching and preaching. Well, my parents did.
My mother was a nurse and she helped the girls learn to care for children and taught them about childbirth. My brothers worked alongside the Quids and Hybrids in the fields in exchange for food. My sister helped my mother in the clinic and I ran free to play with the young Quid. My best friends were Elsie and Kathy, two Hybrid sisters who lived in the breeding compound.
Elsie was the same age as me and Kathy, a year younger. They were simply beautiful with their sharp Hybrid features and lovely soft blue eyes with silver tinge that made them mystical. We spent our days playing in the sunlight.
The one true fact about vampires that is their allergy to the sun. They don't turn to ash in direct sunlight, but they do get a nasty sunburn. The burn dehydrates them and can kill them. Their skin will blister, fester, get infected and cause them great pain. And not only is their skin at risk but it can also blind them. Vampire eyes are very powerful and sensitive. Hybrids, rarely had this condition.
The Overseers of Quid 4 were vampires, but they were only seen early in the morning, late in the evening, or at night when the sun was close to rising or setting. And then they wore hats and long sleeves to protect their delicate skin from the sun. They were not cruel or monstrous. They were just there to enforce the rules and laws. The rules were very few and they were very simple; basically, the ten commandments of man's God.
Law was different. It was enforced by the vampire overseers. There were only three true laws. The first was that Hybrids could not breed with Quids, only other Hybrids. They could choose a Quid as a mate, but never have children together. Hybrids and Quids mating sometimes caused horrible birth defects and many young female Quids had died in childbirth. So to protect the expansion of the herd, two extra females were added.
The second law was no feeding, which meant no biting. Blood was drawn with needles and stored in containers fit for transportation to vampire planets for medical purposes and for consumption. Harvesting had to be done in a sterile manner to ensure the quality of the blood and for the health of the vampires, Quids and Hybrids.
The third and final law was that humans who came to Quid were never to go to Declar or any of the other vampire planets because they would die. If they did die, then their remains could be infected with a blood disease and it could pollute the planet. This law was the most important. The vampires had seen what could happen with disease and they did everything they could to prevent it.
We all learned to live by these rules and laws.
My first years on Quid 4 were wonderful. It was just like my father had told me that Earth was like. There was tall blue grass to run through, multi-colored flowers to pick and make necklaces out of, and then the pesky bugs. But I loved it all. I loved fishing in the lakes, climbing the rolling hills and running barefoot through the grass with my friends. And I loved Eldon. I think I fell in love with Eldon the very first time I met him.
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Eldon was a Hybrid. He was the head of his own family at age eleven. Elsie and Kathy went to live with him in the compound. I followed them to play. Eldon was only a year older than me, but he was much older in many ways. He was responsible for his growing family. And to me, he was so handsome, with his silver tinged brown eyes and his soft brown hair. His features were sharp and chiseled. He looked mean, almost feral, until he smiled. When he laughed, it was loud and booming. I loved to hear him laugh.
Aside from Eldon, Elsie and Kathy, there was Borna, another Hybrid, and two younger girls, Bobbie and Joanie and the three young boys, Jerry, Dusty and Tancid. We were all about ten or a little older or younger. We were at the carefree age of fun, laughter and innocence. I loved the members of the herd. They were my friends, but I was madly in love with Eldon.
Then the blood illness came. It hit like the wind coming from the north, cold and deadly. At first it was only Quids that were infected, but it quickly spread to humans. Soon, many were dying. Blood harvesting was stopped completely. All those infected were quarantined. My brothers fell early in the epidemic. My sister was pregnant with her first child when she became ill. Her husband, Lutha, was a Hybrid. As the epidemic spread, Lutha watched over me as my parents fought to save souls and lives. They failed miserably.
Hybrids were immune to the blood illness. And for some odd reason, so was I. Neither Lutha nor I were ill. We stayed to the very end and buried my family. We did this in secret. The vampires had mandated that all infected corpses be burned. Lutha kissed my sister's head and laid her in the grave with my mother and father. We buried my family under a large red tree late one afternoon when the sun was high and no vampires were out. My brother's bodies were lost to us. I felt bad about that. I had not seen them die. I was spared that horror.
I was alone. I had Lutha, but he was not free. He would be expected to breed again. He would be sent to another family. We stood on the hillside in the coming dark, saying the last of the prayers I could think of. I cried quietly. I wanted to be brave. I failed.
"I cannot keep you, Little Sister." Lutha spoke in his deep voice. He was dark. He told me his mother was African American. Unlike other Hybrids, he was a dark brown. I looked up at him, his sharp features distinct in the moonlight. The silver in his brown eyes glistened. "They will destroy you. You were near the sickness." I nodded and reached out to take his large hand.
"Okay." I said. He would have to turn me over to the vampires.
I knew Lutha didn't want to turn me over, but he had to. I didn't care anyway. Death was better than being alone. I wasn't where I should have been, and without my family, I had no desire to stay. I couldn't return to Earth and I couldn't stay on Quid 4. Heaven seemed like a good place to go next. I was just twelve and tired of living.
Lutha held my hand in his as we walked into the night. Vampires were out and about. He needed to find one to turn me over to. I was well known in the area. They would know that I had been near the illness. They would destroy me. I didn't look up. I just followed Lutha. I was very surprised when we stopped at the house, not an overseer's house, but Eldon's house.
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Eldon opened the door and looked out at me. All I could really see in the darkness was his silver glowing eyes. He stepped out to talk to Lutha and I was pushed into the house and into the arms of my friends. Kathy and Elsie held me as I cried. I was alone. I was going to be killed and I had come to say goodbye. But then I was beckoned back to Lutha.
"Little Sister, be good. Lutha touched my head. He hugged me and kissed the top of my head. He smiled at me sadly and then turned and disappeared into the night. I knew I would never see him again.
Eldon shut the door and stood staring at me. I was filthy and had nothing but the clothes on my back. Even my shoes had been lost in the insanity. He stood at least a foot taller than me and even then was broad across the chest. I stood waiting, uncertain about what was about to happen to me. Elsie and Kathy stood on either side of me, holding me up.
"I'm not sure if I made a bad decision just now," Eldon spoke calmly, but I could tell he was upset. "I've just told Lutha that we would hide you."
Elsie and Kathy ran to hug him, leaving me alone. I ended up sitting on the floor. I had stopped crying, but I was exhausted. Eldon lifted me into his arms and carried me over to the dining area. The others were sent to bed. He helped Elsie and Kathy undress me and bathe me. He held me on his lap and fed me. I fell asleep in his arms. And I fell in madly love with him.
That was five years ago. Now I sit on the shuttle with the twenty-two children that I travel with. We have been sold to a vampire on Declar. We have seven Hybrids among us, four boys and three girls. No master is allowed more than half of his herd to be Hybrids because there is a fear that one day the Hybrids will revolt. That isn't so farfetched, since Hybrids can be very aggressive. Well, most. Our family has grown, and with the addition of little Zoe, who is just two, and Margie who is fourteen, we are complete.
Eldon smiles at me as we hit a bit of turbulence. He is dark with his tanned skin and hair, his eyes, a pale brown. He is protective of us. We are his family. I think he thinks I like him more than a friend. I do, but I can't. Hybrids must breed with Hybrids. I am not a Hybrid. The fact that I'm not a Quid has caused a problem. We must keep my being human a secret.
The outer shield is opened and I look out the window at the beautiful planet we are landing on and fill with hope.
It still amazes me, space travel, that is. My father told me that when man went to the moon, it took them four days to reach it. That seems impossible now. We have traveled across the system in only one day. Of course, we were all sick at first. Space travel is no vacation. You are moving so fast that your body is knocked off balance and you find yourself ill. It takes time to get used to the fast movement and when you finally do get used to it, you're at your destination. The younger children are sedated and sleep most of the way. It's just easier that way.
Elsie and Kathy watch my face as I gasp. We are entering the atmosphere and I try not to be sick again. Borna looks past the groggy, smaller children with his sharp eyes. I smile at him. He nods to Chas. Chas is watching me. He is so serious at such a young age. Both boy's hair is dark and that makes their soft green eyes flicker with the silver flecks. They know my secret. Only these five know. I breathe
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slowly and hope I don't get sick.
We are getting close. I hold little Zoe on my lap. She is sleeping. I'm grateful for this. Eldon's nervous. I feel Chas' eyes on me, I'm the twenty-third person on board. We are hoping no one takes a headcount, but we have a plan for that. I hope it works. I hug the little girl close and shiver. She's warm, but I'm not cold. I'm frightened.
My name is Faith, no last name, not until I land on Declar. Then I will bear the brand and name of the master who bought me. I'm almost 17. I'm a Quid. Sort of. I hope I can pass as a Quid. I hold Zoe closer as the shuttle jerks. We are landing. I'm frightened. Kathy sets her hand over mine and squeezes. I nod. She is my best friend. She is a Hybrid. I have to hide behind her.
"Breathe easy, Sister," Kathy orders. I nod.
"We are home." Eldon announces as he stands, motioning the children to gather their things. The shuttle has stopped. So has my heart.
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"Come along!" George orders.
He is a big Quid. His hair and face are dark. His eyebrows are big and thick and outline his pale eyes, making him look mean. I duck my head and hold Zoe closer. Her little head is tucked under my chin. My hair is long and I wore it loose. It's a soft brown. Eldon says it looks golden in the sun. I blush when he tells me that. Its late afternoon.
I let my hair fall over Zoe's soft gold head. The two year-old pushes some of it out of her face. Kathy moves to quickly inject little Zoe with a sedative. We need her asleep. Just for now. Zoe whimpers, then sighs, relaxing. Kathy moves my hair over Zoe.
"Are you okay?" she hisses. I nod.
"Move along!" George yells.
Eldon pulls me along. He's so tall that I'm hidden behind him. The younger children cling to my skirts and I pray they don't pull too hard or I might fall over. I feel the difference in the atmosphere almost instantly. I feel like I'm floating. Chas has his hand on my shoulder. He's a Hybrid. He's eleven and he's very protective of me. He's the fifth one who knows my secret.
"Remember," Eldon says. The younger children hold tightly to me.
All the children are young, none over the age of eighteen. Eldon is almost the age of a man, but not quite. Elsie is to my left, Kathy to my right and Borna and Chas are behind me. Eldon leads the way off the shuttle. I feel the heat of the atmosphere hit my face. I take in a slow breath and follow along quickly, basically being carried by my family.
"Are they all there?" The voice is calm.
I peer around Eldon to see our new master. He is sitting in a covered carriage that protects him from the sun. We are in a shuttle hanger so the door to the carriage is open and I can see him clearly. He is a true vampire, pale and distinctly tall. His hair is wispy and looks soft. His blue-silver eyes are piercing. I duck back behind Eldon and wait. I feel little hands tugging at my skirt. Zoe is getting heavy and I feel faint. Kathy is holding me by the elbow. I slowly breathe in and try not to fall over or faint.
"Count them!" The order is given.
I duck my head. As George begins to count us, the vampire walks around to inspect us, he is sizing up Eldon. I hold my breath. George is mumbling as he counts. He messes up and starts over. I feel someone under my skirt. I don't know which child has climbed under there, but I freeze! A little hand on my bare thigh is quite unsettling. The count goes on.
"All here," George announces and the hand moves away.
"Load them," the vampire orders.
We are led to a large horse-drawn wagon and move as one onto it. We don't want to file onto the wagon in case they count us again. I sit in a corner with Zoe and sigh in relief. I'm lightheaded. I can't take much more stress. The wagon moves and I settle back. The air is thin. I fight to keep calm. Eldon is sitting next to me. He pats my knee. The carriage is closed tightly and leaves the hanger. The
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wagon follows. I breathe easier as the sunlight hits us out in the open.
Our group is not unique. The girls are half teens and half younger. The boys are all teens, except one. Since the boys work the fields they need to be ready to work. The girls are house servants and work the gardens. They little ones are kept close to the house. And the older girls. Especially when they are bearing children. I shudder, thinking about it.
One of the girls will be chosen by the master to bear his children. Maybe more than one, depending on the master. Hybrids are expected. They personalize the herd. The masters are known to have one girl as a concubine. Even if the master has a mate, it is expected. The female vampire may have a boy as her 'toy', but she cannot get pregnant by her 'toy'. This is forbidden. These accidental children are killed when they are born. A female vampire's seeds are few and precious and must be withheld for her mate. Pure vampire children are priceless.
"It's gonna be a long ride," Borna noted, looking out into the fields.
Escape is not even thought of. Where would a runaway go? Quid 4 is on the other side of the system. Plus, the idea of space travel does not sit well with Quids. Being sick is not enjoyable. To go back would be suicide. Literally. Escaped Quids are killed on the spot. And Quid 4 is the only planet Quids can even go to. Earth is too far away, and it's almost desolate. To try and live there would be suicide. Everything died there a long time ago. Plus the fact that we would die almost instantly because of the atmosphere.
"How are you?" Eldon asks. I nod. I'm afraid to open my mouth. I might be sick all over Zoe. "I'm here," I nod.
I notice Margie glaring at me. I look away. She's a Hybrid and she's in love with Eldon. He has not chosen his mate yet. It will either be Elsie or Kathy, not me. But Margie is 14 and jealous. She is of breeding age. She wants to breed with Eldon. Margie's not one of us. She's new. She and Zoe were added because we were only twenty. We were supposed to be twenty-two, but we are twenty-three.
The youngest of us is Lindsay, who is 5. We were all brought together to bond as a family. A new child was brought every few months until we were twenty in number. Since the new law of two additional females was enacted, Zoe and Margie were added to our family. I adored Zoe, but I didn't trust Margie.
I cared for Zoe from day one. Eldon was very taken with her and we spent a lot of time together, just the three of us. I think it was a test. Tests were given often. If we had acted on the attraction, Eldon would have been whipped and I would have been taken away. The overseer just assumed I was a Quid. All of us were careful about how we acted. We never even teased about it, and I made sure Kathy was with Eldon and me when I could.
Margie was a cold Hybrid. She had been bred to be aggressive. Her dark face matched her heart. The other children avoided her. She had been with us for less than three months and was not yet a part of our family. She was still a cold outsider. Eldon kept a close eye on her. Twice he had to pull her off another child. Margie could be dangerous. And she was immensely jealous of Zoe. And me. I kept Zoe close to me at all times.
"We're here!" George announced.
The wagon slowed and lurched to a stop. I looked about and saw lush
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grounds. A farm! I was happy. I didn't want to live in a city. Farms would be easier to hide in. On the horizon I saw the two moons. Moons in the daytime was new to me, the sun on one side of the planet and two moons on the other. This is why the gravity was so different. And why it was cold in the night. It was dark more than it was light on Declar. I watched the setting sun for a moment and then turned to see the two moons on the other horizon. Strange. I stood, holding little Zoe close and letting Kathy tuck my hair over her.
"It's cold!" Borna announced.
Elsie lifted the hood of my cape over my head to help hide the child I carried. We all put on our coats and capes. Eldon pulled up the hood on his jacket, darkening his face even more. He turned to inspect us and I saw the silver tinge to his eyes. Hybrids can have vampire eyes. Silver, and they can see in the dark. If a light shines on them, their eyes glow. I liked that. Eldon looked at me and smiled. I smiled back.
"Stick close," he ordered as we climbed from the wagon.
The sun was quickly moving below the horizon. We stepped into the courtyard and George was speaking to the two vampires who had stepped from the covered carriage. Since the daylight was waning, it was safe for them. The one I focused on was watching the light while the other came to inspect us.
This one was older than any vampire I had ever seen. I ducked my head. He walked around us, slowly and distinctly. Once again I felt the little hands holding onto my skirt. He stopped to look at Debbie. He breathed deeply and smiled at her. It was a cold smile that reeked of the thirst. I had never seen it, but I had heard of the thirst.
Debbie was a very thin girl of thirteen with big brown eyes and matching brown hair. I winced. She had started her cycle and I had tried to keep her clean and had her change her pads often, but a vampire can smell blood for miles. Debbie ducked her head. The man reached out to touch her hair. Debbie whimpered. Chas growled. Eldon reached back and smacked eleven year-old Chas on the back of the head. The boy dropped his eyes. Chas had to learn his place. He was a Hybrid and very impulsive. I reached to take his hand. He calmed instantly. Borna rolled his eyes. He keeps telling me to quit babying Chas.
"This is Tullo, your master," George spoke to us. We all turned to find a vampire that stepped from the shadows. We bowed our heads to Tullo. Faith Tullo. I let the name roll around in my mind. Faith of Tullo? No, Faith Tullo.
Tullo was young, for a vampire. He was tall and thin with pale skin, hair, and the same piercing blue silver eyes as the man who had met us at the port. Only Tullo was very handsome. His eyes traveled over us slowly and I saw something there in his eyes as they fell on me. I think it was distaste. I was very plain compared to the Quids and Hybrids. Nothing on me glowered or shimmered. I ducked my head.
"Thank you Father. Brother." Tullo turned and bowed his head to the two vampires. "I can manage from here."
"Fine. Beat that big one the first chance you get. He'll give you trouble if you don't," the older vampire ordered.
I shuddered, looking at Eldon's back. My dear friend didn't even flinch.
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Kathy and Elsie did. Tullo only nodded. I leaned my head into Eldon's back. He reached back with his hand and held me up. George and the other two vampires departed in the carriage and wagon. I was happy to see them go, though I didn't know why.
We stood, shivering in the night air. Darkness fell on us, bringing with it the icy cold air. I was shocked at how quickly it got cold and how cold it got.
"Shall I have problems with you?" Tullo asked looking at Eldon. I peered around him to find Tullo standing before him with his hands behind his back. He looked very comfortable looking up at Eldon, almost amused at the idea.
"No, Master," Eldon spoke clearly. Tullo nodded and walked around to look us over. So far we had been inspected ten times. I was tired of it.
"I understand you all have been together for some time?" Tullo asked.
"Yes," Eldon answered.
"How long?"
"Ten years for the older ones."
"Ten years," Tullo was standing to my left, looking at me. I breathed slowly. Zoe shifted and I fought to keep her still and not fall over. Tullo breathed deeply and I felt his eyes boring into me. "Do you live as a family? Together?"
"Yes," Eldon said.
Tullo nodded and walked over to Debbie. Pour Debbie was shaking in her shoes. I wanted to comfort the girl, but to do so I would have to drop Zoe. We just stood. I was thankful that Chas did nothing as Tullo stood gazing at the girl who had only recently become a woman.
"I shall allow you to live so as long as you obey me. Disobey me and I will take the girls away, the little ones first." He set his hand on Lindsay's head. She whimpered. Elsie reached out to hold the girl's hand. "Do you understand?"
"Yes," Eldon said.
"All of you?" Tullo warned.
"Yes," we answered.
"You know why you are here?" Tullo continued to walk around us.
"Yes," we answered.
"I'm a new home owner. I have no other pets." I moved to look at him. Why had he said 'pets'? "You are the first. Think of this as your home. Care for it well and you shall be well cared for. I do not like administering discipline. Do not make me." He stopped, walking to look at us. We stood shivering. Someone's stomach growled and we all shifted a bit. It had been a long trip. Tullo frowned at us and then sighed. "Follow me."
Tullo walked past the main house, which was huge, and towards a barn. It was huge too. On the other side of the barn sat a big house. It was three times the size of our home on Quid 4. Tullo stopped and we stopped. He turned to face us. His eyes were almost a solid silver in the moonlight. I shuddered and moved behind Eldon. I was lightheaded again. Chas moved closer to hold me up.
"There is food prepared in the kitchen. You will cook your own food from now on." Tullo spoke evenly as he walked around us. "Your day is my night. I sleep during the high hours of the sun. Try not to wake me." He stopped to stare at Eldon. "Screaming is forbidden."
11
"Yes, Master," Eldon said.
"I will not pamper you. Gifts and privileges are earned, not given. Favor is won." He was staring straight at me. I gulped back the urge to vomit. "I will find favor in some." He moved closer to me.
Eldon moved to the side, bowing his head. I was shaking violently. Eldon was too. Tullo breathed deeply. I prayed Zoe's scent covered my secret. I tried not to move. The other little ones were clinging to me. Tullo looked from me to the younger children and then at Elsie. His hand reached out to lift Elsie's face up for inspection.
"Open your mouth, my pretty," he ordered coldly. Elsie did and her long canines glimmered in the moonlight. "A Hybrid? Pity."
He looked us over and I readied myself. Tullo's hand moved quickly and Joanie was his next victim. She was fifteen and almost as pale as Tullo. His hand held her chin. Joanie continued to look down, but opened her mouth on command. Tullo smiled, his own canines blinding. He released Joanie's chin and reached to untie the cape she wore. It fell to the ground and poor Joanie stood shivering. I wasn't so sure it was from the cold.
"Pretty," Tullo noted, "Very pretty."
I was taking deep little breaths and thinking to myself that I was lucky that Joanie was pretty. Maybe she would be the chosen one. We all knew it could not be me. I had to stay hidden. I had to lay low. I had to… I jumped as the hood to my cape was thrown back and my chin was held in his hand.
Tullo's hand was ice cold. I tried to pull my face away, but he held it tightly. I opened my mouth. His hand caressed my cheek and he tilted his head to the side to inspect me. I closed my eyes. I prayed he didn't push the cape back and see Zoe. I felt the cape being pushed back. I felt myself begin to sway. The cold air hit my body. Zoe whimpered.
"What have we here?" Tullo reached to take Zoe from me.
I wanted on to hold her, but I could barely stand. Tullo held Zoe up for inspection. He smiled at her pretty little sleepy face. He couldn't count us! He looked at me with a cold suspicious eye just as Zoe opened her mouth. She vomited on him. Tullo hissed angrily and thrust Zoe away from him. Eldon dove and caught Zoe before she hit the ground. Tullo staggered to the main house. We all stood watching him go.
"That was close," Eldon chuckled, holding a sleepy Zoe in his arms. He fell back on the ground in relief. I fainted.
"Steady!" Elsie warned.
I sat up, gasping for air. It was cold. The air was cold. It was night. I felt as if I were floating. If I had been, Elsie was holding me down. I breathed in cold air and felt lightheaded again. I knew we had failed.
"Here." The older woman handed me a portable oxygen canister and I held the plastic mask to my face. I instantly felt better. "Some Quids take time getting used to the thinner air. It takes time." The woman patted my head. "Some never adjust."
"Faith will adjust," Elsie said. I nodded. The woman nodded grimly.
She was a large female Quid, round and tall. I thought she could have taken all
12
of us on and won, but she had a pleasant face. Her eyes traveled over me and I looked down at Zoe. I knew I was darker than the rest. I tanned. They didn't. I had tried to stay out of the sun as much as possible. I knew now that it would be easy. With two moons and a shorter orbital path there was less sun here on Declar. A lot less. I liked the sun.
"I'm Mercy," the older woman announced. "I run the house. You girls will answer to me and I answer to Tullo."
"Yes, Ma'am." Kathy was behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see her unpacking our things. Zoe was lying in the bed with me, still asleep.
"You will be expected to work in shifts. Half in the house and half in the garden. I prefer the older girls to look after the younger and help train them." I nodded. "You older girls will be prepared for harvesting. Once a week." I set a hand on Zoe. Mercy caught my movement. "Only those who are now a woman." She patted my hand and paused. Yes, I was warmer than the other Quids. "You'll see me more than anyone. Tullo lives in the night. I'm the day shift. Eat well and rest tonight."
"Thank you," I said from behind my mask and looked away. There was no silver in my eyes brown eyes.
"Not you," Mercy stepped back to gaze at me, "Your blood is weak. Can't have you making Tullo ill. He's a beast to deal with when ill." She looked at Elsie and Kathy. "You get the little ones fed, changed and to bed. Tomorrow comes early around here."
As Mercy left us I took mental count. Kathy, Elsie, Debbie, Margie, and Joanie had all become women. Zoe, Luna, Trina, Jenny, Lindsay, Mary and Bobbie had not. Bobbie was thirteen and on the brink. How to set them up? Kathy knew my mind was spinning on that.
"Six bedrooms," Kathy said as she sat with me. "We put Eldon, Borna, and Dusty in one, Billy, Jerry and Tancid in another, and Willie, Chas, Harry and Jonah in another. We put me, you, Elsie, and Zoe in here, Debbie, Margie, Bobbie and Joanie down the hall and Trina, Jenny, Lindsay, Mary and Luna across the hall. Boys downstairs and girls upstairs." I nodded in relief. Kathy could handle anything.
"We have a nice kitchen," Elsie added, "It's big and there's food. And Suquidal water!"
I smiled. I loved the taste of the water on Quid 4. It was probably the one thing I would have missed the most. We had been told it would be made readily available to us.
"Eldon said to unpack and get settled, then we can eat. We have to be ready to be harvested tomorrow."
I shuddered and Kathy smiled. "Faith, you know that's what we're here for!"
"I know," I mumbled, moving the oxygen mask away. "I don't like it."
"Well, I ain't thrilled by it." Elsie stood straightening her skirt. "How much will they take?"
"A pint a week." Kathy stood to finish unpacking.
I gave Zoe a pat on the head and climbed from the bed to help. The room was big, holding four beds. Zoe would sleep with me so we could use the extra bed to
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pile clothes on. We all shared our clothes. What didn't fit one went to another. I began to sort through the work clothes. Jeans, boots and t-shirts. We would be wearing these more than the dresses. We had a bunch of heavy over shirts. Only the girls who worked in the house would wear dresses, mainly the older girls. I would work the gardens and fields with the younger girls. Hopefully, I could just slip in and out of the house to check on the children.
"Aprons," Elsie spat, opening the closet door. She did hate housework. Except in our home. I sighed and helped her hang the dresses and skirts.
"I know." Kathy was carrying an armful of night clothes for the smaller children. "And petticoats. Ugh! Be right back."
I looked at the hanging undergarments. We had been told that Declar was a lot colder than Quid 4 and we girls would be required to wear at least two petticoats under our skirts. Quids didn't get sick often, but our master wasn't taking chances. We were bred to be their food. We had to be healthy.
"Do you know how they harvest?" I asked, feeling my stomach churn.
"Needles. It flows into a bag. They store it or drink it. It's not like one of them is on the other side of the tube sucking on it."
"Ew!" I groaned.
"They used to do that," Elsie sighed, "My mom told me that right before I left. She said that was how they used to do it."
I thought about the kids. None of them knew their parents past the weaning age. Elsie had been a sick child and was with her mother until she was five. Usually at age two children, when the child was weaned, they were separated from their parents. I had both my parents in my home until I was almost twelve. I was lucky. My mom taught me about medicine and healing. My father taught me about God.
Children are sold before they reach adulthood or they stayed to be bred on Quid 4. Most kids want to be sold. That way they can keep at least one of their offspring. We were excited about the sale. Except Eldon. He would now be forced to choose a mate. That bothered him. He knew it would have to be Kathy or Elsie and he loved them as sisters. The choice was a hard one for him. He would now have to breed. The question was not when, but with who.
I had known for a long time that Eldon liked me. He hadn't said so. He couldn't. I didn't encourage his attention. We avoided each other. There were times we didn't talk for days. Kathy and Elsie ran interference. We still weren't sure how it had happened, but somehow I had become the mother figure for the children. That honor should have gone to Elsie or Kathy, although they didn't seem to mind.
"A pint isn't much, is it?" Elsie asked quietly.
"No," I smiled. I hoped it wasn't.
"You don't have to worry about it," Elsie said as she folded shirts.
The words hurt. I knew I didn't have to worry, but I did. The thought of vampires harvesting from the children terrified me. I looked to Zoe. One day she would be harvested and bred. My stomach clenched. I guess I moaned. I sat down. Elsie sat next to me, holding the canister of oxygen out to me. With a sigh I held it to my mouth and breathed deeply.
Elsie's own brown hair hung loose about her shoulders. She was a very pretty girl. And sweet. I thought she was prettier than Kathy, and kinder. Kathy could be
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brash. That was a good thing at times and a bad thing at others. Elsie was the more caring of the two. If something did happen to me I knew Elsie would care for the children.
The children. That was why I had done it. I could have stayed on Quid 4 and found another family to latch onto, but this was my family. These were my children. I couldn't let them go and not ever know what happened to them. It was selfish on my part. Now the children might have to watch me die if I couldn't get used to the atmosphere. Eldon had promised me that he would take me off into the woods and let me die alone, then bury me there. He had promised.
"What are you two looking all sad about?" Kathy asked, coming back in the room.
"Thinking of the harvest," Elsie pouted, "I'm kind of worried."
"Nothing to it. Just like getting a shot in the arm. You get lots of sweets afterwards." Kathy always thought of food.
"Me, you, Debbie, Margie and Joanie," Elsie sighed.
"And Bobbie. She's close." Kathy picked up clothes to put away.
"Bobbie? I thought it was forbidden!" I know I sounded like a cornered animal. "She's not a woman. Not yet!"
"Close enough. You know how vampires are about virgin blood. It's like an instant high. Mercy told me they'll store her blood for special occasions and mix it with wine and other blood. Aged, it will be high quality."
"That's sick!" I spat, throwing the canister on the bed.
"That's the way it is," Kathy shrugged. "Be glad he hasn't decided to breed with her. Sometimes they get carried away and the girl dies. She's still too little." I reached for the oxygen. I felt faint. "It happens. Vampires are very big. Wide and long. That tears a virgin. Then his feeding on her only makes it worse."
"Stop!" I moaned, sucking in air.
"Faith, we're bred for this." Kathy sat on the bed across from us. "We know from a young age what's in store for us. Mercy has assured me that Tullo is a good master. He only wants us to run the farm. His parents gave him this farm in hopes he would chose a mate. So far he hasn't. He could choose one of us." I saw the hope in her eye.
"He won't choose a Hybrid," Elsie spat.
"He might," Kathy smiled and flashed us her long canines. "Being the lady of this house would be nice!"
"I don't know how I'd feel about him mounting me each night," Elsie said. I agreed with Elsie.
"He's not ugly. And he isn't old. Being his lady and living in that big house and having everything I want sounds good to me." Kathy busily folded clothes.
"And being bled each day?" Elsie groaned.
"No, not every day. A concubine is only harvested every other week. She needs the strength to bear his children."
"Lucky her," I sighed, taking the oxygen away from my face. I couldn't grow too dependent to it.
"Well, all the boys are to be harvested too. All but Jonah." There was a knock at the door and we all jumped.
15
"Come eat." Eldon leaned in.
His eyes lighted on me and I smiled to tell him I was alright. He stepped into the room and lifted Zoe into his arms. He said nothing to me as he carried her down to eat. We followed, gathering the other girls as we did. Kathy, Elsie and I hurried to set the table and direct the other girls to set the food on the table. The food smelled good and was still warm. We served the food and settled down. Eldon sat at the head of the table. I sat down in the middle, between Lindsay and a sleepy Zoe. Zoe yawned widely and rubbed her eyes.
"Faith is to sit there." Eldon's voice was cold.
I looked up to see that Margie had sat herself at the other end of the long table. The other head. I watched the rage cross Eldon's face. Margie made no attempt to stand. Kathy and Elsie both had taken seats with Eldon. One on each side of him. Neither of them looked up. I knew they had expected him to name one of them. He had to begin to think of who to choose. It could not be me.
"I can't," I spoke up, "It cannot be me." Eldon's eyes moved to glare at me. Yes, I was defying him at his table. I dropped my eyes. That was grounds for disciplinary action. "It would be dangerous." I made sure my voice was low. I heard Eldon growl under his breath. He did that when he knew I was right and he couldn't argue.
"Elsie, you are the oldest. Sit there," Eldon ordered with a sharp nod of his head.
Elsie rose to her feet, without looking up, and walked over to the other end of the table. Margie did not move. Elsie looked at Eldon. Kathy shot a look at me. To the girls, it was confusing. Was Eldon choosing Kathy to sit by him or Elsie to be his mate? I knew the tension would rise as soon as we got settled because Margie saw that she was in the running to be his mate. She too was a Hybrid. No one moved. No one but Margie. She leaned forward on her elbows on the table. Defying Eldon. Eldon stood up so violently that his chair fell over.
"Margie, please?" I stood begging. "Not tonight. Not the first meal. Can you please take your seat next to Eldon?"
Next to Eldon. On his right side. Margie looked at the empty chair with sudden interest. She picked up the fork, licked it, drank from the glass then spat on the plate. She stood up, kicking the chair away from her. I closed my eyes and waited. Elsie stood waiting, patiently. I knew my friend wanted to slap Margie. I hoped she didn't. This was now Eldon's house. It was for him to deal with.
Margie stepped in front of Elsie, forcing Elsie to step back, then walked to the other end of the long table. She started to sit in the chair, after fluffing out her skirts, and straightening her blouse. Margie did have a flair for the theatrics. But unfortunately, so did Eldon.
Before Margie could sit, Eldon grabbed her arm and jerked her away from the table. We all froze. Margie snarled like an animal as she fought his hold. He dragged her across the room and into a room that I would later discover was Eldon's study. Zoe cried out and fell into my arms. She was already confused at waking up in a strange place. The screams terrified her. Lindsay was holding onto my arm.
The screams were that of a wild animal. Then we heard the noise of the leather
16
belt against bare flesh. Then there were howls of pain. All the children sat waiting. All of them had been disciplined by Eldon. All of them but me. Eldon had never touched me. I stood up, prying Zoe off me.
"Don't!" Elsie spoke as she righted the chair and sat. I stopped. Kathy hurried to get her sister a clean plate, silverware and glass.
"She needs to learn her place." Kathy stared at the door. I sat down. I was now a guest in this house. I too had to learn my place. We sat waiting.
The door to the study opened and Eldon stepped out pulling his belt on. The crumbled body lay sobbing on the floor. It was too much. I jumped up to run to Margie. Eldon grabbed my arm above the elbow and stopped me. I tried to jerk away. He held me tighter and jerked the belt from its loops.
"Do not question me or my methods or I will use this on you!"
I stood, unsure of what to do. Margie was sobbing, breaking my heart, and Eldon was breaking my arm. He was holding his folded belt in my face. Our eyes locked. Before we came here I would have pushed his hand away and gone to Margie. He didn't want to hit me, but he would have. "Sit across from Kathy," he ordered with a sharp push. I basically glided back to the table. I stood debating.
"Now!"
I sat.
Kathy looked up at me and I looked away. I knew it would come to this. I would have to step aside. I looked down the table at the faces of the children and felt the tears building. Eldon sat down. He laid his folded belt on the table to send a message. a message I resented since he set the belt before me. I was being warned.
"Bless us and this food we are about to eat. May God give us strength to survive our new home. Amen."
We ate.
I opted out of bathing the children and getting them ready for bed. Kathy and I did the dishes and put the food away. I noticed that all the doors were locked from the inside. We had never had locked doors before. It was unsettling. We were told that there were wild croaners on Declar. Some were big and dangerous. They were like the cats on Earth but they ranged from the size of housecats to the size of lions.
I was fascinated by locks. The last time I had seen them was in our house on Earth. I remembered my mother telling me that everyone on Earth locked their doors to protect themselves. I had asked her what they were protecting themselves from. She had told me each other. I never understood that.
The kitchen here was a lot bigger than the one in the compound. There were plenty of dishes. We wouldn't have to eat in shifts. Usually we fed the little ones first and then we ate. Now we could eat daily as a family daily. Eldon had told us so. He had finished his meal and gone to the study, pushing Margie out and shutting the door behind him.
It was then I rushed to console the crying girl. I got her face cleaned and settled at the table between Zoe and Lindsay to eat. She didn't eat at first, just cried. Slowly, she ate. She was the last to leave the table. She and I. We sat in silence for a bit.
"I'm sorry," I finally said. Many times before I had stepped in between Eldon
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and her punishment. Margie was hardheaded.
"Don't be," Margie sniffed, coldly. "At least he didn't choose you!" She stood and limped from the room.
That was one way to look at it. I sat for a bit, building strength before I began to gather the dishes. I emptied the uneaten food into a bucket for whatever livestock there was and filled the cart with dishes. I was halfway through when Kathy appeared to help me. We didn't talk as we filled the sink with hot water and soap. I washed, she rinsed and we explored the kitchen cupboards, freezer, refrigerator and pantry.
Mentally we were estimating and planning meals. Elsie was better to deal with the children and Kathy the dealings of a home. I wondered if Eldon would choose them both. We found large pots, pans and bowls, flour, yeast, sugar, shortening and other ingredients and without really thinking we were making bread.
Pounding on the dough was therapy for me. I could think and pretend the dough was Eldon. I beat it with all my might. There would be no lumps in this bread. Kathy smiled and set to making biscuits. We would use those for breakfast. I thought of that belt shoved in my face and pounded the dough again.
"Thinking of me?" Eldon's voice was amused. I didn't look up. Kathy was still working next to me.
"Leave us."
Without hesitation I was deserted.
I began to form the loaves and tried to ignore him. He walked around the large island we had been working on. I was covered in flour. By beating the dough I had sent puffs of flour all over me. He picked up a dish towel, moistened it and touched it to my cheek. I pushed his hand away. He caught my hand in his and held it.
"Don't make me beat you," he was begging.
"I'm not asking you to." I tried to pull my hand away. He held it.
"Are you angry because I didn't order you to take that seat?"
"What? No! It cannot be me."
"Why?"
"I'm not a Hybrid." I glared at him. He knew the law.
"You're also not a Quid." The words hurt more than he realized. I wanted to be a Quid.
"I must choose a Hybrid or another, not a Quid." His eyes traveled over my face. "You're not a Quid. You're a…" I slapped my hand over his mouth. He could not say it out loud.
"It must be a Hybrid." I said.
"Do you not wonder?" His hand pushed mine away so he could speak.
"I can't. It's too dangerous!"
"That's what you said when I brought you into my family." He smiled at me warmly. "So far so good."
"No one has questioned." I pounded on the bread again. Now I would have to reform the loaves. "If it was only me and you…" I fought the feelings I had been holding back. "I could think about it. I…"
"I know." He pulled me away from the dough. I faced him, but looked down. "I wish for things that can never be. I wish for a home of my own. A farm of my
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own. Children of my own. Children I will be able to watch grow up. And you." His hand cupped my chin and lifted it up to make my eyes meet his. "They will know when they come to harvest you. We could ask."
"To mate or breed? Our children would be prizes!" I spat.
"To mate. We already have plenty of children." He wasn't teasing.
"You are expected to breed!"
"I know." His voice was hurt.
"I'm not going to make it." I moved my face from his hand. "The air is killing me. You know it and I know it."
"Then why did you come?" his voice was trembling.
"To make sure they would be okay."
"You didn't trust me to care for them?" Now I had really hurt him.
"Oh, I trust you," I dusted the flour from my dress, "I just wanted to know. For myself."
"Know what? That they would be alright or how I felt?" Eldon could read me so well. I busied myself with dusting off the flour that covered me. "Do I have to say it?"
"Don't!" I felt the sob rising. "I won't make it but a couple of more days. Remember your promise."
"It won't come to that. You'll adapt."
"If I do, then you can tell me how you feel." I pushed him away and went back to pounding the dough.
His hand lighted on my hair. I felt him stroking it and sighed. Why did he have to do this to me? His hand settled on my shoulder. It was cold. He was cold. Hybrids ran at about 76 degrees, humans 97 degrees and Quids at about 85 degrees. Vampires were always 60 degrees cold. I shivered as his fingers touched my neck. Eldon leaned down to kiss my cheek. I closed my eyes. His breath on me face was making me lightheaded. I leaned into him. His arms encircled me. His lips traveled to mine. I felt myself slipping away from consciousness. He pulled back and smiled at me.
"We can ask." He winked at me and left me leaning on the counter.
Kathy came back in as if nothing had happened. I put the loaves in the bread pans and covered them to rise. Kathy was putting biscuits in the oven. I helped her with the next batch. These would be for snacking on. We drizzled honey and butter over them. I licked some off my finger and Kathy giggled. We always made a mess when we made these.
Elsie and Joanie came to help. We had to get things ready for the morning. It would be get up, get feed, get dress and get out the door. We had no idea how long it would be before our next meal so we had to make sure we ate. Especially the little ones. Joanie was a lot more like Elsie than Kathy. They were half-sisters and had the same pale blue eyes and light brown hair. Like their mother. Elsie had the sharp nose of her vampire father, Kathy the vampire eyes. Joanie had the combined beauty of all. They were less than a year apart, but also a world apart. One a Quid and two Hybrids.
"Noodles?" Joanie asked looking through the pantry.
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"Simple enough." Elsie was pulling out meat. "With this."
The meat wasn't labeled. I wanted to ask what kind of meat it was, but decided not to. We were on a different planet. I was actually afraid to find out what animal it was from. I knew that a lot of food was imported from Quid for us, but still. Everything was different.
Even the water tasted different. It was cold, crisp and didn't have the strong taste of metal. Not at all unpleasant, but not what we were used to. I like the taste of Suquidal in my water. We were told we would be able to mix our water with water brought from Quid 4 for drinking and cooking. The vampires thought it was better for our digestion. They said it would give us less stomach problems during the adaption period. I wasn't sure how I would like 'watered down' water. I had been drinking it straight and loving it. Kathy had given me a look when I downed a full glass. I guess we would have to adapt.
Kathy was fixing a plate of fresh butter and honey biscuits and a glass of milk. I finished cleaning the mess I had made and settled down to help with the next day's menu. Kathy handed me the plate and glass of milk. I gave her a questioning look and she nodded to the hallway. It was for Eldon. Kathy wanted us to make peace. I looked at her. She smiled. I took the plate and glass and trudged for the study.
"Come in!" came the reply to my knock. I stepped into the room to find Eldon sitting behind a large desk with a stack of books next to him. He looked up at me and smiled. I hesitated. "Come on. I won't bite you."
"Or beat me?" I asked shutting the door behind me. The room was big with shelves filled with books, a breeding table in one corner and a bed in the other. I avoided them and stepped up to the desk.
"I don't know about that." He took the plate and glass. I stepped back from him. The rules had changed. Drastically.
"What are you doing?" I asked looking at the large volumes.
"Research."
He nodded for me to come closer. I hesitated. Eldon set down the glass and held his hand out to me. I set my hand in his and let him pull me to him. He moved to pull me to sit in his lap. I was trembling as his arms came around me.
"Are you cold?" he asked, hugging me to him. I shook my head. He moved my hair off my shoulder and sat looking at my profile. I was looking at the books.
"History?" I reached for the one he was reading. It was Earth's history and there were other history books of Quid 4, Declar and various vampire colonies.
"It's expected that I know all of this." He leaned in to kiss my cheek.
"Stop." I tried to move away, but he held me. I leaned forward to pick up a book on the history of Declar. "Can I read this?"
"Maybe." Eldon kissed my cheek.
"Please?" I turned to face him. My eyes were harsh. He was not behaving himself. He knew it.
"Yes." He leaned back in the chair. I felt his eyes travel over me. I sat trying to ignore him. "How long until you think they demand that I bred?" His fingers were tugging at my hair. I shrugged. I truly didn't know. "I have to choose a mate or one will be chosen for me."
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"I know." I gulped as his fingers slid down my back.
"Elsie, Kathy or Margie." I turned to give him a look. Margie? He gave me a big grin at that. It was nice to see him grin. He had a great laugh. I hadn't heard him laugh in a long time. "Or you?"
"I cannot." I started to stand and he held me.
"Why not?" he sat forward again, "I've been looking through all of these mandates, laws and ordinances and I have found nothing of Hybrids choosing a human as a mate on Declar. It's done on Quid 4."
"Eldon…"
"Listen to me," he begged, so I kept my thoughts to myself, "Humans mated with Hybrids or Quids off Quid 4. Their children had to be born on Quid 4. The atmosphere. Humans cannot bear children from Hybrids or Quids if they are not on Quid 4. You won't be able to have children. Not here."
"It has happened," I pointed out.
"Yes, rarely, and that's why the children of humans and Quids or Hybrids are so special." Eldon was very excited.
"You will still have to breed!" I snapped.
"But you could be my mate." I turned to look at him in astonishment. "I know it's an odd situation..."
"Odd?" I did stand up then. Eldon sat back from me. He knew me well enough to know when I was angry. "You want me to share you with other women? You want me in your bed nightly, by your side while you breed during the day? You want me to help raise the children you have with others?" I dropped the book on the desk and left him in his study, slamming the door behind me.
"That went well," Kathy smiled, as she headed up the steps. I stomped into the kitchen to pound on my bread.
I winced inwardly as Elsie washed her hands. The bruise on her inner arm was horrid. I said a prayer before sitting down to peel vegetables. The six older girls had been taken to the main house to be examined and harvested. I stayed in our house with the younger girls. All the boys went to the fields. They would be examined and harvested after dinner. All but eight year-old Jonah.
Elsie came to care for the children. Eldon had made that decision. The other girls were to stay at the main house to be trained as servants and maids. Zoe was hanging onto my skirts. Since our arrival she was never far from me. Lindsay was attached to Elsie.
Luna, Trina, Jenny, and Mary were all independent and in need of little supervision. Elsie sent them out to clean up the garden area. The four girls went skipping and laughing. We could see them clearly through the open kitchen doors. Luna wasn't the oldest, but she was clearly the leader. I could see her little blonde head bobbing about.
"How bad was it?" I finally asked. Elsie was looking out the door at the children. Lindsay and Zoe were sitting on the floor at my feet, playing with sock dolls Elsie had made.
"Not as bad as I thought." Elsie sat down, patting Lindsay's head. "They were very nice." I peeled, she talked. "Mercy was there. She took us in one at a
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time. She held our hand and told us not to worry. The needle hurt at first, but then nothing else." Elsie sighed heavily. "I never even saw the blood leaving my body. Lay down on the table, relax, you'll feel a pinch and then we can get you a drink and a sweetie."
I giggled as Elsie imitated Mercy's voice. Elsie smiled. She handed apple slices to the little girls at our feet. She offered me one and I took it. I was feeling lightheaded again. Hiding inside was hard. I longed to be outside with the little ones. I longed for the sun.
"Bobbie fainted." I jumped at the words. "Tullo himself carried her to a bed to rest. He's nice. Not at all what I expected." Elsie's face was soft. "I think he was truly concerned for her."
"I hope he is." In my mind I hoped he would always care for the children, even after I was gone.
"Maybe he likes Bobbie for himself?"
"She's too young!" I objected.
"Once she's a woman?" The words were forewarning. I sat back to look out at the girls in the garden. One day they would be women. One day they would be harvested and bred.
"He was looking you girls over?" I suddenly had a sick feeling come over me. "You think he's looking for a mate?"
"I don't know," Elsie shrugged. "He wasn't there when we were examined. We were asked to disrobe. Mercy was the one who did that. It was just height, weight, teeth, hair, how we looked and if we needed more food and such. She counted our toes and fingers and checked our fangs." Elsie winked at me.
"How nice." I continued to peel away.
"She asked about you." I looked up at Elsie. "Joanie said she was fine. Mercy gave her the stink eye. She's old so I don't know if she realized that Joanie wasn't you." Joanie looked a lot like me in build and coloring. We had hoped the resemblance was close enough. "Stay indoors for a while. Eldon said to keep you inside with the children."
"I'm good at babysitting," I mumbled.
"Keep that oxygen close by. Just in case." Elsie's eyes met mine. She too knew that I was not long for this life. I nodded and peeled away. The sounds of the children's laughter eased my aching head.
"Faith? Can I go outside?" Zoe asked, climbing into my lap to hug me. "I want to play." I looked to Elsie.
"Me too?" Lindsay stood up, ready to dash out the door.
"You take them and I'll get the vegetables going," I said, setting Zoe down and stood with the bowl of peeled vegetables.
"Come on, then." Elsie held onto the girls' hand and they ran out to the garden. "How are we doing?" she called to the older girls who were playing more than cleaning.
I stepped up to the sink to wash the vegetables and watch them all playing in the sunlight. I longed to be with them. How long would I last? How long could I hide out? How long would I live? How much danger was I putting the children in with my selfish actions?
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"Don't scratch." I warned Dusty. He frowned at me, but stopped clawing at his arm.
Dusty was playing chess with Harry. The two brothers looked like twins. It was hard to believe that there were two years between them and different fathers. At sixteen, Dusty was thinking of a mate. I watched his eyes fall on Joanie and sighed. It was bound to happen. I had hoped later, but it seemed sooner. Jerry had already asked Eldon for permission to favor Debbie. Jerry was fifteen and Debbie was thirteen. Eldon had said yes. I had thought they were too young. I was told to stay out of it.
"The breeding is not up to you," Eldon said evenly. True. It wasn't.
Breeding. Like a herd of cattle. I knew I was different. I knew the Quids were meant for this. For this breeding. To be taken care of in return for the blood of their children. Not all of it. Just enough to sustain a race of vampires. Like pets.
I remembered crime. I remembered having to lock the doors on the car so that no one jumped in to rob you. I could remember the last car I rode in. It was a van. Daddy had told us that we were going to Quid 4. He felt it was his mission. My mother was excited. We bought supplies. I remembered going to the store and all the people fighting for the dwindling packages on the shelves. Daddy filled the van up with gas and we drove until it was almost empty. We left it on the street in front of the shuttle station. Daddy said someone would take it and use it.
We left Earth with two suitcases each and one large crate of supplies. The church allowed families to travel to spread the word of God. My father believed he could do that and save us at the same time. Daddy had worked for the government and he had insight to what was coming. There were no more food or fuel reserves. The planet was almost depleted. Daddy called Quid 4 a new world. Back to basics and back to nature.
Quid 4 was lush with trees, grass, crops, mountains, oceans and lots of people. Well, lots of Quids and a bunch of humans. We had a small house. We ran freely without worrying about being shot, robbed, run down or harassed. Everyone was so nice. There were no locks on the doors. There was no lack of food. Daddy traded, we had a garden, Mommy nursed the ill, my brothers worked in the fields with the Quids and my sister fell in love with Lutha. My father married them. I was the flower girl. These were things I wanted to hold onto.
Chas yawned widely and his fangs clicked against his lower teeth. I always thought he was handsome. His face was more chiseled than most Hybrids. He favored his father. The strong distinct nose, sharp eyes, bold chin and high cheek bones. He looked more vampire than the rest. At eleven, he had a few more years to grow into his beauty. I knew that he would be chosen by a female vampire to breed with her favorite pet. I wasn't sure how I felt about this. I did know that his children would be beautiful.
He looked over at me and smiled. He always knew where I was. We had a connection. He was much like my own child. Chas had been eight when he had been brought to us. It was just after the epidemic had ended. His first family had been infected and died. He was the only one who had not been destroyed. He was a sad, lonely little boy who clung to me. I allowed it. Eldon didn't want me to baby him, but I felt the loss too.
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Not long after he came to us, Chas had taken ill. It brought great concern. Hybrids rarely got ill. I cared for him. We had thought it was the sickness again. Little Chas was suffering so that I thought that killing him would be merciful. I had cried all night as Chas fought to live. I laid next to him and held him. Somewhere in the night I fell asleep but woke to sudden pain. I screamed. Eldon had to pull Chas off me. Chas had bitten my hand. I still have the scars of his teeth ripping my flesh. But just that little drink of my blood had brought him back from the brink of death.
That night was the first night Eldon had ever threatened to strike me. I was still new to the family. It is forbidden for Hybrids to feed from humans, mostly because human blood is so strong. Stronger than any drug and very addictive. Human blood could be mixed with other blood, diluted, but to drink it straight was strictly forbidden.
Eldon went to get a bandage. I had held my bleeding hand over a cup and watched the blood drip into it. Why? I really didn't know. Or maybe I did. I held the cup to Chas' mouth. He drank it. Eldon saw me and charged.
That night was the first for a lot of things. It was the first time I had made Eldon mad. It was the first time I had felt ultimately helpless. It was the first time I had felt hope. And it was the first time I realized that I was very different than Quids and Hybrids. Eldon charged me. I took my hand and shoved him away. He spun away and crashed into the wall.
There is no way to explain it except to compare it to a comic book hero, like Superman. He came from a different planet with a different type of gravity and atmosphere. He was super strong and could fly. For me, it was similar. I glided. I was strong. I wasn't sure if I could fly, but I could run very fast. That night, I had run very fast to get away from Eldon. Chas had recovered and we had a secret. After that I was wary of Eldon, and he me.
I had not been at odds with Eldon again. I was protective of the children and this he understood. He made me understand that they were his to raise. He was responsible for them. If something happened to them, it was Eldon would be held responsible. And he would have to pay. Spankings and other discipline were handed down as needed and that was the only time I ever argued with him. I usually lost the argument.
Our lives on Declar fell into place. The first month was uneventful. I struggled daily just to keep going. I was weak and grew tired easily. Time was taking its toll on me. I knew I was dying a little each day. I was willing to accept that. I just wanted to make sure the children were alright before I died. I worked at prying Zoe off of me and hoped she would attach herself to Elsie. I wanted Chas to stop worrying about me.
I finished the dishes and listened to Elsie and Joanie planning the next day's meals. Roast beast, two vegetables and sweet honey biscuits for desert. Kathy was still dealing with the younger children. They had been rowdy all evening. I smiled at the silly arguing of small girls. I felt my time was nearing. I needed to talk to Eldon, someone I had been avoiding.
After the children had all settled in for the night I took sweet bread and milk
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to the study for Eldon. He was reading again. I set the plate and glass on the desk and turned to leave. He took my hand in his and pulled me into his lap. I went, leaning my head onto his shoulder and relaxing.
"Your lips are so blue," he noted, pushing my hair back. I knew they were. I was tired. He kissed me tenderly and I felt the world fade. "Kathy!" he yelled. I came around and tried to stand. He held me. I sat. I had no energy to fight. Kathy was there. "Get the oxygen!" I heard my friend scurry away.
It was getting closer. I was thinking more of my family, long dead. I felt as if they were calling to me to come and join them. I was ready. I tugged at the bandage on Eldon's arm. The boys had been harvested that day. Eldon peeled the bandage off and tossed it to the side. The concerned look in his eyes was comforting to me. To die in his arms would be nice. I did love him. I always had and I always would.
"Here!" Kathy held the oxygen canister to my face and I breathed in. "Faith! You have to take it easy!" she scolded me. I felt the tears sliding down my cheeks. I would be here with the two of them as I died. I was content.
"Get something for her to drink," Eldon ordered. Kathy hurried from the room. "You will not die on me!" He hissed kissing my temple. "You will not leave me alone!"
I wanted to argue. Dying seemed like a good idea. I felt death skirting around the edge of darkness, waiting for me. I was having such a hard time breathing that I actually welcomed death. It felt as if my lungs were full of liquid. I was drowning. The pain was growing. Kathy came back with a glass of juice. She held it for me to drink. I held tightly to the oxygen mask. I felt bad for frightening her.
"Go keep the others out of here until she can regain her strength." Eldon took the glass from Kathy. I watched her hurry from the room with a worried look back at me.
"This won't last," I said, holding the oxygen mask to my face.
"No, you will adapt." He kissed my cheek and then my lips as if to breathe life into me. It was hopeless. "Stay in the house. Do not exert yourself. You have to ease into this."
My body wasn't listening. He stood and carried me over to the bed that sat in the corner. He set me down and squatted down before me to gaze at me. I breathed in deeply of the oxygen and felt better, but I knew as well as he that the oxygen would not last. Where would he get more? It was then I saw them hanging from his belt. The breeding straps. I stared at them. Eldon smiled at me.
"I was told today that I need to breed and choose."
"Yes, you do." I brushed my skirts and smoothed them out. I didn't want to look at those straps.
"They're for breeding." He reached down to move them on his belt. I wouldn't look at them.
Breeding was done under a strict regimen of rules. The breeder kept records of the female cycles. He would then select one and bring her to where the breeding would take place. The female's hands were tied behind her back and she was bent forward. A thick strap was placed between her teeth and tied around her head. It was a bridle used to gag and control her. The male took her from behind. This happened on each of her cycles until she was with child.
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"It's inhumane," I mumbled.
"You believe in love." We had this argument often.
"I do. That's not love."
"It's breeding." Eldon touched my cheek. "It's not what I'd want for you."
I frowned at him. "Take it easy?" He was pulling me into his arms.
"I will." I leaned back away from him.
"You're so selfish," he noted, calmly.
"What?" I took the oxygen mask away from my face.
"You won't share me." He kissed me lightly on the lips.
"No, I won't." I tried to pull away.
"What if I command you?" I stopped pulling away to glare at him.
"You cannot." True. But not too believable.
"I could beg." His eyes were sad. A fake sad. I began to wiggle again.
"Don't!" Now I was begging.
"Don't make me."
"Eldon!" I began to fight harder.
"Stay with me tonight?"
"No!"
"Just to sleep. Like we used to."
I sighed. When we were younger, and I was scared, I would climb into his bed and we would talk as the moonlight streamed in through the window. We were too young to think of sex, love or breeding. We giggled, talked and dreamed. Then the dreams were simple. To stay together. I missed that time in our life.
"Please? I'll behave." He was begging now.
"What will the girls think?" I did worry about Elsie and Kathy.
"I will say that you are sleeping in here so I can keep an eye on you and to not frighten any of the children." He pushed my hair aside from my face. I leaned into his touch.
"I need to go change into my sleeping clothes."
"You are not going to climb those stairs tonight." He lifted me off his lap and settled me down on the bed. "Strip down and I will go get your night dress."
"Send Kathy. I don't want you to wake Zoe."
Eldon nodded and left me. I took off my skirt, petticoats, shirt and basic underwear. I wrapped a blanket around me and sat waiting. I held the oxygen at the ready in case anyone walked in. I stood and walked over to the window to look out at the moons. Here, they were closer than the sun. As the sun rose they would slide below the horizon. They were beautiful. Silver in the sky. Just like the silver eyes of vampires.
I read the book on vampire history that Eldon had. There was a colony of vampires on the farthest moon. Since vampires did not need air to survive they traveled throughout the universe and then some. How wonderful it must have been to look at Declar from the moon. To decide to leave the planet and just go. To travel there and look back would be surreal. I stared up at the moon closest to us, almost hypnotized by it. When the face appeared I screamed, stepped back and fell.
His eyes were piercing. I pulled the blanket over me and fought to get up. Tullo stood there calmly, gazing at me. He tilted his head to the side and stared. I
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crawled away from the window. Eldon opened the door and hurried to help me up. He saw Tullo at the window, handed me my night dress and hurried to open the front door. I slipped my night dress on, pulled the blanket around me and held the oxygen mask to my face. It would hide my face and I needed the oxygen.
Tullo stepped into the study and gazed at me. I wasn't sure what to do. I was sitting on Eldon's bed wrapped in a blanket. Tullo was looking for answers to unasked questions. If he got too close, he would be able to smell me. Humans had a very distinct scent. Especially in our sweat. Our fear was in our sweat and I was terrified right then. I held the blanket closer, hoping that it smelled of Eldon. Tullo moved closer and I looked down. He knelt down to gaze into my eyes.
For a vampire, Tullo's eyes were serene. Caring. He was also handsome. Very handsome. As all vampires, he had a very distinctive and distinguished air about him. His movements were graceful and swift. I hardly saw his hand as he reached for my face. His hand was ice cold. I shivered. He moved his hand away. Tullo looked from me to Eldon.
"She is not a Hybrid," Tullo spoke. His voice was liquid. Alluring.
"She's not well. The atmosphere." Eldon said.
Tullo stood slowly and gracefully. His eyes traveled over me again. He knew! How could he not know? I breathed deeply. Tullo spun on his heel and left. I heard the gasps from the girls as he entered the kitchen. Elsie and Kathy would have been getting things ready for the next day. Eldon motioned for me to get into the bed and hurried after our master. I slid under the covers, breathing deeply from the oxygen.
"She has not been harvested," Tullo said as he walked around our dining room table.
"She is ill. Mercy said not until she was well. Her blood might make you ill." Eldon replied.
"Are you trying to keep her from me?" Tullo asked.
"No. Ask Miss Mercy, Sir. She will tell you."
"How long?"
"I do not know. I've never been here before. I've never seen this type of illness. Mercy gave us the oxygen."
"What's her name?" I heard Tullo ask as he walked about.
"Faith."
"Her age?"
"Seventeen." Eldon was nervous. "Almost."
"Bring her to the house in ten days. She will be harvested then." Tullo must have walked out the door because I heard Eldon shut it and lock it. And I heard him sigh heavily.
"Go to bed," he ordered the girls in the kitchen.
"What about what he said?" Elsie asked. "Ten days!"
"We won't worry about that," Eldon sighed.
"Eldon! Ten days!" Elsie was close to panic.
"Elsie, he means that Faith won't live that long." Kathy spoke softly. There was a silence that was frightening.
"Go to bed," Eldon ordered again.
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I lay listening to the girls as they climbed the stairs. Eldon walked through the house to check it. He came into the study and turned off the light. I watched him undress and climb into bed with me. He was naked. I didn't pull away as he held me. He kissed my head. I laid with my head on his chest. The moons were beautiful.
Eldon moved me so that I was on my back, beneath him. He gazed into my eyes and traced my face with his fingertips. He kissed me tenderly and closed his eyes as if to imprint my face into his memory. I felt his body come alive and shook my head. He kissed me again.
"Before you die, I will make love to you. This I swear." He kissed me again, then rolled onto his back and held me against him.
I had been on Declar almost a month. I had made it for a month. I sighed and let sleep fill me.
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3
"We're not having those again, are we?" Zoe asked with a pout.
I would miss her the most. She did hate vegetables though. I nodded and she pouted harder. I handed her a piece of sweet roll. She sat at my feet eating it. I looked out the door to see Elsie and the others in the garden tilling it up and planting.
The day was grey and overcast. Rain was coming and with it came the hot mugginess. I looked out and sighed. I had hoped my last day would be sunny. I loved the sun. I wanted it to warm me one last time. That was one desire I would be denied. My clothes stuck to my flesh from sweat.
It had been nine days since Tullo had come into our home and told us that I would be harvested. He had sent more oxygen. That I was thankful for. It eased the pain. Especially at night. When I slept, I felt as if I were drowning. I had been sleeping in Eldon's bed with him. Each day it was harder than the last to deny him. Now I had one more day. And one more night. I had a plan.
My life had never been adventurous or romantic. I was a realistic. I was going to make a fabulous dinner. One that would make us all happy. We would laugh and enjoy ourselves. Our last night. Then I would tuck all my children in and go to the study. I would strip to nothing and climb into bed with Eldon and let him make love to me. I would then leave his bed and go to the woods, find a nice tree, sit down and stop breathing.
Eldon would find me. He would look. He would find me before anyone else. He would hold me and bury me. Tullo would never find me. He might never know. I hoped he wouldn't find out the truth. I wanted my end to be subtle.
I sat most of the day spinning my plan. The thought of making love to Eldon was more and more intriguing. The forbidden love and secret desires was over the top of romantic. I was impatient for the day to be over with. I was impatient to die. The laughter from the garden made me smile. The children were all happy. We had settled into a good life. I was happy. I could die knowing my family would go on.
It's so strange how easily a dream can be shattered. I was daydreaming about my time alone with Eldon. My time before I died. The scream made me jump. It was Bobbie. I knew her scream. I jumped up and ran for the garden. The others girls were screaming, but Bobbie was terrified. I almost tripped over Zoe as I ran out the door. It was dreary and wet out, but hot. It was the heat that made snakes come out. One had been in the garden and was now ready to strike Bobbie. I listened to her screams as I ran to her.
It happened so fast. Elsie was pushing the other children back. I grabbed the ax off the woodpile and swung it wildly. I missed the snake with the first swing. It turned towards me. I cut it in half with the second swing. I shoved Bobbie out of the way and brought the axe down again, this time hitting the snake in the head, crushing it. I fell to the ground, fighting for air and reaching for Bobbie. She fell into my arms, crying.
I felt life slipping away from me. My dreams were ruined, but Bobbie was alive. That was all that mattered. We were clinging to each other when he stepped up to us. I saw his shadow first, as I gasped. I felt Zoe fall into my lap crying. I held
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both girls and waited for death to take me. This was as good as it was going to get.
Instead of darkness and death, an oxygen canister was thrust into my hand. I held the oxygen mask against my face and blinked. I breathed deeply and everything became clear. I wished it weren't. I knew we had broken the only rule Tullo had given us. I looked up at him and winced. Zoe held onto me and Bobbie whimpered.
Tullo looked angry as he stepped around us wearing the large floppy hat. He looked at the snake, the girls, me and the axe. He picked the remains of the snake up and examined it closely. His face softened as he looked at us again. Suddenly Eldon was there with the boys. They had come running. I felt Eldon's glare. I had disobeyed him. He too had plans for our last evening together. The evening that a snake, and me, had just ruined.
"You disturbed my sleep." Tullo spoke evenly.
I breathed deeply and looked up at him. Why couldn't it be sunny? His shiny, silver eyes went from me to Bobbie. Tullo licked his lips and I knew he was thirsting. I held tightly to the girls and stood, pulling them up with me. I had renewed strength. His eyes covered me, Bobbie and Zoe. He nodded to Bobbie.
"Go to the house. Tell Mercy that I thirst." Bobbie backed into me. I pushed her behind me, shaking my head.
I expected Tullo to be angry. I expected him to yell, snarl, strike out or do whatever angry vampires whose sleep was disturbed would do. He simply reached past me for Bobbie. I dropped the oxygen and stepped forward, blocking him. He looked surprised, but not angry.
"No!" I spoke defiantly to our master, Tullo. A very bad move.
"You wish to take her place then?" Tullo asked in a serious, yet amused tone. His eyes traveled over me with a lust that turned my stomach. I took a step back. I looked at the children behind me and the ones with Elsie. I decided now was as good a time as any to die. I started to step forward.
"No!" Eldon stepped forward in a rage. He stopped before me and calmed himself. I reached out to lean into his broad back. He was steady, I was trembling. "Take me." I felt his arm come back around, holding me.
"No!" I jumped boldly from my hiding spot. Tullo's lips curved up slightly at me. He wasn't even looking at Eldon.
"It's my fault that they woke you." Eldon ignored me completely. "I will take the punishment." Before I could object, I fell into the darkness.
The oxygen was on my face and I was being helped into the house. Borna was carrying me. He was crying. I saw that Dusty was too. The girls were inconsolable. I had done this. I had caused this. I began to cry. We all sat to wait. Time passed so slowly that I wanted to die just to end it. I was terrified of what Tullo would do to Eldon for defying him. Defying a master was punishable by death. I held the oxygen to my face and cried.
Dinner was on the table when Eldon stepped into the house. We sat waiting. He looked as if he were confused. He held onto the door handle and looked at all of us. His eyes fell on me. He looked away. What had happened? He moved toward us and stopped.
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"Eat." He ordered and walked to his study. He shut the door. I left everyone at the table and hurried to him. "Go away," he hissed, sitting on his bed. He was trying to take his shirt off.
"I'm sorry!" I cried.
"Faith. Stop." He winced and I moved to help him. "No!" He leaned too far forward and almost fell over. I hurried to help him. His arms went around me. I smelled the blood.
"No!" I hugged him.
"Only six," Eldon chuckled ruefully.
I helped him off with his shirt and to lay face down on the bed. The six bloody strikes across his back were horrific to me. I leaned out the door and told Kathy and Elsie to get the medical kit. They hurried to help me. A pan of fresh clean water and cloths were brought in. The three of us cleaned his wounds, and put antibiotic cream on the slashes across his broad back. We covered them with clean bandages. Eldon held my hand tightly.
"Don't cry," he whispered, brushing a tear off my cheek. "Where's your oxygen?"
That made me cry harder. He was worried about me? I looked at the bite mark on his wrist and sobbed, kissing it. Eldon was responsible. He had taken that on himself. I had disobeyed and gone out. I had been seen. I had done this. His hand held mine. I cried into the bedding.
"Here it is," came the answer to Eldon's question.
We turned to see Tullo holding the oxygen in one hand and Zoe's hand in the other. I stood up, ready to strike at him. Eldon held my hand tightly. Tullo held the oxygen out to me. His lips were still a bright, bloody red. I wanted to puke on him. I took the oxygen and held it to my face.
"Come with me."
Tullo turned and guided Zoe out the door and towards the main house. I had no choice but to follow. Zoe stumbled as she tried to reach back for me. My heart was breaking, seeing the little tears stream down her face. She was terrified. As little as Zoe was, she knew what she was to Tullo and what he could do to her. I hurried to keep up with his long strides.
We walked into the large kitchen. It was dark. I stopped in the moonlit doorway and waited. I couldn't see anything but blackness. Vampire homes don't have lights. They don't need them. They see better in the dark than the light. They only have Hybrids in their home at night, Quids in the day. I was neither.
"Come on in," Tullo ordered.
"I can't… Where are you?" I asked.
"Faith!" Zoe wailed out.
"You can't see in the dark?" Tullo asked. I shook my head.
Then a candle was lit and I saw Mercy pouring fresh blood into a crystal glass. I wondered if it was Eldon's blood. My stomach clenched. Tullo guided us in. I stood breathing hard. Mercy looked from Tullo to me to Zoe and then back to Tullo. He reached out to pull the oxygen mask from my face.
"Is this the girl you told me about?" Tullo asked Mercy.
"Yes." Mercy answered.
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Tullo nodded. He released Zoe's hand and pushed her towards Mercy. Zoe tried to come to me. Tullo shook his head and pushed the crying girl on. Mercy took Zoe's hand and guided her to the table where there was bread and butter. The woman spoke to the child, trying to get her to calm down and to not look at me.
"Tell me what's going on." Tullo had turned his attention to me. I shook my head not knowing what to say. "Tell me what's going on or I'll drain that child." I dropped the oxygen and tried to run to Zoe. Tullo caught my arm in his cold hand and held me back. "Tell me!"
"I don't know what you want to know." I tried to pull away.
"I purchased a herd of twenty with two extra females of breeding age. There are twenty-three of you. Is she your child?" he nodded to Zoe. I shook my head. "Then tell me who you are." I looked at Zoe who was really crying now. I had no choice.
"Let her go. Please! I'll tell you, but please, let her go." I was fighting for air. "Let Zoe go!"
Tullo stood studying me. He snatched the fallen oxygen up and handed it to me. I held it to my face. He released my arm and walked around me. I was trying to stop crying so that Zoe would calm down. She was wailing now.
"Take the child back," Tullo ordered. Mercy scooped up Zoe and hurried out the door.
"Come with me." Tullo walked through the house with a lit candle. I followed. Me and my trusty oxygen canister.
We climbed the stairs. I was barely able to make it to the landing. Tullo stood watching me in unconcerned confusion. He led the way to a door, opened it and I froze. It was a bedroom. He held the door for me. I took a deep breath and stepped in. He set the candle down and lit more. As the light grew I saw the breeding table, the dining table and the desk. I looked at the bed and saw the leather strap lying on it. It had to be the one he had used on Eldon. I hated Tullo with all my heart. He sat down in a chair, crossed his legs and set his hands in his lap. Very proper.
"Tell me."
"I'm not part of the herd. I've been with them for years. You got a freebie." He didn't look amused. I let the oxygen fall away. I was going to die so I figured I should go out with a bang. "I'm human."
I finally got a reaction from Tullo. His eyes narrowed and he looked me over again. He sat forward. I thought he might jump up, but he only gazed at me with renewed interest.
"My parents were missionaries. They died in the plague. I was alone and Eldon took me in." The air did not seem to be so bad in the room. I had figured that I would be laid out by now.
"Human?" he asked. I nodded.
"You have bred?" I shook my head.
"A virgin?" I nodded.
"How old are you? Seventeen?"
"Almost."
"How is that?" I shrugged. What did he want to know? How I was seventeen or how I was still a virgin. "You're dying." I nodded.
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"I know. Humans can't live on Declar."
"You knew this and still came?"
"I have no one else. They're my family. They're all that I have."
Tullo sat back as if taking in my words. He looked at the strap and I hoped that I would black out before he used it on me. He stood suddenly and moved towards me. It took me off guard and I glided back, away from him. He smiled at me slightly. I was mad that I amused him.
"A glider!"
"It has to do with the gravity." I said. He nodded, reaching for me and I glided out of his way.
"Interesting," he mused, watching me move away from him. "You can't leave this room or you'll die."
"Ever?" I looked about.
"The air is lighter. It's pumped in. Like that canister."
"So I have to stay here?"
"For now." He stood and walked around me. "A virgin?" I blushed and nodded. "And Eldon?" I shook my head.
"He's a Hybrid. It's forbidden."
"You are not a Quid." Tullo spoke slowly.
"No." I breathed deeply, feeling better.
"You will die unless I send you back to Quid 4." I sniffled at the thought. I would be alone there and I wasn't sure if I could handle that.
"I just wanted to be with my family." I felt the tears falling.
"There is another way." I looked up at him. "One you will not like." He reached out to touch my hair. He moved to sit back down. I stood waiting. "I will take you."
"Where?"
"You are now mine." I shook my head and backed away. The door came to meet me. I pulled at it, but it wouldn't budge. I turned and leaned back against it. The air was good in here, but I felt it leave my body.
"No." I tried to sound aggressive.
"Either you or Zoe." The words cut into my heart.
"She's a baby!" I stepped forward ready to claw his eyes out.
"She is mine also. I own her."
"You don't own me!" I stamped my foot.
"No, you can't be owned. But you are a stowaway. A criminal. Should I turn you over to the authorities?" He was looking at me, amused. I was suffering from a mixture of anger and fear. "The choice is yours."
Choice? I had no choice. I was going to have to be his lover. I had wanted Eldon and now I was Tullo's. Or I would be. I shook my head, but didn't run. I couldn't. Zoe. None of the girls would be Tullo's. Not if I could help it. If I was lucky, Tullo would kill me.
"You will, of course, understand that there is the matter of you lying to me." Tullo stood and walked over to the bed. He picked up the strap. I felt my nails claw at the door. "You or the boy? Which shall it be? He took six for you very easily. Could he take six more for you? Or will it cripple him?"
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I shook my head. Tullo motioned for me to come to him. I stumbled forward. He held his hand out and I set mine in his. It was so cold! He guided me to the bed. I stood looking at it. I didn't know what he wanted. I looked at him. He was thirsting. His eyes were a solid silver color. I looked away from him.
"Bend over and lift up your skirts."
I had never been beaten. My father was a man of peace and love. I had always been a good girl. I stared at the bed and fought the urge to run. But run where? I looked over at Tullo. He was smiling. I thought of Zoe and leaned forward on the bed. I felt the strap lightly hit my backside.
"Lift them." Came the order.
I was shaking so much that I could barely lift the skirts up. I fixed my eyes on the mountain of pillows at the head of the bed and listened as he walked around me. I wished he would get it over with. The tension was mounting and I was trembling. The air was cold on my bare legs. Tullo hit me lightly with the strap again.
"Shed them." I slid my underwear off.
I screamed as the first blow hit. It was more from shock than pain. The sound was deafening. I breathed in and held my breath for the next blow. By the third one, I was numb. After number six he tossed the strap aside and moved behind me. I felt his hands glide over my buttocks. I was crying now. He stepped away from me.
"Stand." I stood up slowly. He sat down in the chair, crossed his legs and set his hands in his lap. "Disrobe."
My fingers barely worked as I unbuttoned my blouse. I slid it off my shoulders and laid it over the back of a chair. I did the same with my skirt and petticoat. Tullo said nothing. I kicked off my boots and slid off my stockings and then unbuttoned my slip. I let it slide down. I picked it and my underwear up and folded them before I set them in the chair. I stood waiting, naked.
"Turn around." I did as I was told. Slowly I turned and when I came full circle Tullo was before me.
His eyes were now glistening silver. They darted over me. I looked away as he walked around me, taking me in. I felt his hand light on my hair, back and shoulder. He stopped to rub my swollen buttocks. The icy touch was soothing. One arm went around my waist to hold me steady while the other hand rubbed, then moved forward to rub more. I gasped as the cold long fingers entered me. I grabbed his arm to keep from falling over.
"Would you prefer I bind you? That is how it is done, is it not?" his voice asked as his face nuzzled my hair, "Should we stay with tradition?"
Tethered. A breeder would tether a female. Tying her hands behind her back. If she fought he would tie her legs to separate table legs to keep them open for him. After the bridle was fitted in her mouth for her to bite on. She would then be bent over and taken from behind. It was impersonal and simply a job to the breeder. The girls were impregnated. They were bred. When a breeder had the leather straps hanging from his belt girls knew that it was breeding time.
"I'm not a Quid." I answered. I suddenly wished I was. I also wished I was with Eldon.
"It's time for you to be harvested." He moved to open a drawer on the desk. I jumped at the sight of the needles and bags. "Sit." I sat.
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I was self-conscious about being naked. I had folded my arms across my chest. Tullo held out his hand to me. I set my hand in his and he extended it across the desktop. With great care he cleansed my arm, inserted the needle and we sat watching my blood fill the pint size plastic bags at the end of the tube. I trembled as I was harvested.
I thought it would take longer. There was no pain, just a slight pinch as the needle slid under my skin. Tullo watched the blood with interest. I looked away. I wasn't sure which bothered me more, the fact I was being harvested or that this had been done to the children. The bag was filled. Tullo filled three more, and I felt very lightheaded. By the time he removed the needle from my arm I was shaking.
"Can I go?" I asked.
"No." He took my hand and pulled me to my feet. Blood trickled from the needle mark. Tullo sighed deeply. "It'll make it easier for you." He was moving me to the bed. His hands moved over my body. Again he reached between my legs to massage me.
"Please? Stop?" I begged, feeling more lightheaded.
"No, I will make you comfortable. I'll try not to hurt you." I said nothing, but gasped as his massaging brought my body alive. "Until you learn what I want." He slid another finger in, stretching my tender flesh. I cried out and tried to kick. "I think binding you is best." He lifted me onto the bed
Tullo did not finish with me until the sun was high in the sky the next day. He lay next to me sleeping as I stared at the ceiling. It did hurt. I was weak, but I was still breathing. I had been subdued and bled. I wished for death to take me.
My hands ached. I had been tied hand and foot to the bed. I didn't fight. Looking back, I should have. Tullo had been true to his word. He had not hurt me. Not at first. He sat on the bed and massaged me, making me whimper, cry and beg. My body screamed in pleasured pain for him. I watched his face as he enjoyed watching me suffer. Then he had invaded me with is tongue and suckled me. Horrified, I had screamed. Then he had bitten into the soft tissue of my inner thigh and gorged himself.
Thankfully, I passed out. He roused me with a cup full of blood. I tried to turn away from it. He grabbed a handful of my hair and forced me to drink. His wrist was bleeding. It was his blood. I fought him, which got me a sharp slap to the face.
"Drink!" he hissed. "Or another will take your place!" I cried, but I drank it.
Vampire blood is hot, spicy and strong. Like a drug. It makes you feel drunk. I was focusing on the fact that Tullo was cold and his blood was hot. I fought to focus as he ran his hands over my body and he kissed me, my breasts and nibbled at me. I felt the sharp teeth dig into a breast, my shoulder and again my thigh. Then he was telling me to relax.
The pain of being penetrated by him was excruciating. I screamed and screamed. He was so big and cold. The thrusting hurt the tender folds of my flesh. My body responded and moistened his path, but it still hurt. I actually felt the tearing and my warm blood gush forth. He did too. His face held euphoria over mine as he reached his destination. Tullo snarled and threw his head back as he trust deeper into me. I did not pass out. For this I was conscious.
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The abuse went on for hours. He took his pleasures then rested. He woke, drank fresh blood from a decanter on the table and then from me. After the assault he forced me to drink more of his blood. He drank from my tender inner thigh. His suckling aggravated a nerve and my leg developed a tremor. He laughed at that and began kissing his way down to my foot.
As the sun rose, Tullo's endurance faded. He took me again then fell into the bed with me, his hand gently pushing my hair back. He lay staring at me tenderly. I was too tired to cry. Death had not come. I had prayed and it had not. I felt deserted. Tullo's hand caressed my cheek, then it fell on my breast as he slept. I lay half beneath him, praying.
For hours I lay there. I slept some. I was too tired to fight. My body began to ache and cramp. When the sun began to set he stirred. Tullo sat up and looked at me. He seemed cold as he untied my ankles and wrists. He helped me sit up and rubbed my back and shoulders. I took comfort in the act. He pushed my hair back and sighed.
"I guess now I must breed you."
"What?" I asked hoarsely. What had he just done to me?
"Yes, I must." He was mostly talking to himself.
He snatched up a piece of the leather he had used to bind me and turned me face down into the bed. My arms were quickly tied behind me and I was lifted me off the bed. I was set before the breeding table and bent over it. I could barely stand. I kept trying to keep my legs closed.
"Should I tie your legs open?" He asked calmly.
"Please don't!" I was terrified.
"Then keep them separated." His hands were cold on my back. "I'm forgetting something." He mumbled more to himself than me. Suddenly I had become nothing more than a piece of furniture. "What am I forgetting? I really need to review the protocol. Oh! Yes!" he grabbed a thicker piece of leather and slid it in my mouth. "Bite down. This time it will hurt." He said matter of factly. I bit down. He began and true to his word, it hurt. I screamed.
Mercy. It was a wonderful name and a perfect description of the woman who came to my rescue. Tullo had lifted me up and laid me on the bed, on my side. He did not untie me. I lay trembling in pain. His hand smoothed my hair back and he leaned down to kiss my cheek.
"I cannot untie you. There must be proof." I didn't understand. He left me. I lay waiting for Death. Once again, Death disappointed me. Damn him!
"There now." Mercy was there untying me. She helped me sit up and gently pulled the bridle from my mouth. She gave me water to drink. "Let's get you cleaned up."
Mercy filled the tub with hot water and suds and deposited me into it. I sat soaking as she stripped the bed and remade it with clean bedding. I was almost asleep when she came in and washed my hair. I was rinsed, taken out, dried, dressed in a very lovely night dress and deposited in the clean bed. Fluffy pillows were tucked around me. I winced and moaned as I tried to get settled in. Every inch of me ached.
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"It gets better," Mercy noted, patting my head.
Better? This would happen again? I felt the tears of despair roll down my cheeks. It was hopeless. What about my family? What were they thinking? What of Eldon? I shifted and my bottom ached.
"Let me get you some food. You need to eat." Mercy left the room. I looked out the window at the fading sunlight.
"Are you well?" Tullo asked, stepping into the room. He winced as the setting sunlight hit him. He stepped over to shut the curtains then walked over to me. The sun was setting. It was his morning. I sat waiting. "Have you eaten yet?" I shook my head.
He walked around the room. My eyes followed him. I wasn't sure if he was going to jump on me or what. He sighed and looked over at me then walked on. He closed another curtain. I watched him carry the chair over to the bed. He sat, crossed his legs and set his hands in his lap.
"The next time will be easier." His words were even. I nodded. I was holding tightly to the bedding. My plan was to duck under them if he came at me again. He must have known what I was thinking, he stood up and began to pace. "Do you have concerns?"
"When can I go home?" I spoke in a low whisper. He stopped pacing to look at me in surprise.
"You want to go back and live there?" You would have thought that I was talking about living in a sewer. I nodded. "Why?"
"I came here to be with my family." My simple reply shocked him because he sat down suddenly.
"You're lonely?" he asked in bewilderment. I nodded. He nodded with me and looked unsure. He stood suddenly and I jumped at the movement.
"Here we are!" Mercy came in carrying a tray of food.
"Eat. Rest," Tullo ordered and hurried from the room.
I hadn't realized how hungry I was. The food looked so good. I tried to sit up better and winced. Mercy quickly helped me and stuffed pillows behind me. I settled back. She hurriedly got the room in order and left me, shutting the door behind her. I wondered if the door was locked. I ate with my eyes focused on the door. But for some reason I could barely keep my eyes open. I slept on and off.
I dreamed of Quid 4. I wanted to be there with the family. Not just the one I had traveled with, but my parents and brothers, sister and Lutha. I missed them. I hadn't really missed them in a long time. Now it felt as if they were calling me home. I wanted to go. Then I dreamed of Eldon, Elsie, Kathy and all the other children. We could run through the fields and I wouldn't be out of breath. I missed our little home. I missed eating in shifts and I missed the carefree lifestyle.
"Let me take this." Tullo's liquid voice was speaking. His cold hand took the glass I was holding from my grasp. I had fallen asleep holding it. He was carrying the remains of my meal away. "Are you rested?" he asked. I looked about in the darkness. I had slept for quite some time. I nodded sleepily. "Good! You have company."
I sat up and peered into the darkness. The candle was lit and I saw Zoe, Jenny and Lindsay standing by the door, holding each other. As soon as they saw me they
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squealed in delight and ran to jump in the huge bed. Jenny was six and had no problem. Lindsay at five, struggled, but was hugging me instantly. Zoe was only two and couldn't climb that huge bed. Tullo gently lifted her up and set her next to me to hold. I was hugged and kissed and I was crying.
"I didn't want you to be lonely." Tullo sat down in the chair. "They were ready for bed and I thought they might like to stay the night with you. It might help you recover."
I wanted to climb out of the bed and kiss Tullo. The girls were talking all at once and asking questions. We were chatting and they were telling me how scared they were and that everyone thought I was dead. They had been sad. Zoe clung to me and had taken to sucking her thumb. I kept pulling it from her mouth.
"Sweeties?" Mercy came in with a tray of breads. The girls squealed in delight at the fancy pastries. "I brought milk too! Come to the table my sweeties!" The girls all scampered for the table. The breeding table was covered with a cloth. I was happy for that. I didn't think the younger girls knew what it was but I didn't want them to see it anyway.
I began to slide off the bed and Tullo stopped me. He set a soft robe over my shoulders and carried me over to sit in a chair at the table. He brought a light blanket and tucked it in around me. The girls watched him with mouthfuls of sweet bread and curious eyes. I bit into the sweet bread and it melted in my mouth. It was delicious. Tullo sat across from me and had one himself.
We had an enjoyable time watching the happy little girls talking, eating and yawning between stuffing themselves with sweeties. It must have been late. Zoe came to climb in my lap. I winced reaching for her. Tullo picked her up and set her in his lap. She pouted at him.
"Faith is sick. Let her heal and then you can climb all over her again." He spoke seriously to the little girl.
Zoe glared at him and put her thumb in her mouth. I finished my milk and by then, Zoe was asleep in his arms. The other girls were yawning. I couldn't tell how late it was. Mercy saw me looking at the window and hurried to open the curtains. The moonlight streamed in and I saw the two moons high at opposite sides of the sky. It was very late.
Tullo carried Zoe over and tucked her into bed. The other two followed without invitation and climbed in with her. They didn't fight about who was to sleep where, but cuddled up under the covers. I stood and limped over to the window. I leaned on the window sill to steady myself. I felt him behind me. I turned to face him.
"Thank you." I was very grateful. I tried to smile, but was too tired.
"I like it when you smile." His cold finger traced my lips. I shivered. "You smile when you sleep." He lifted me up and tucked me into the bed. "Especially in Eldon's arms."
"How do you know?" I asked getting comfortable in the warm bed.
"I watched you." His smile was soft. "I've been watching you." He seemed embarrassed by is words.
"Since when?"
"Since the night you first arrived." I felt lightheaded again. "I knew there
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were too many, that something was amiss but I had no clue you were human. You hid your scent well with the children." He smiled at me. "I thought maybe the little one was yours and you were afraid I would rid you of her."
"No, I have no children of my own. I am…," I had to stop myself, "I was a virgin."
"I know." He smiled widely at me. His cold hand caressed my cheek. I shivered at his touch. It was so cold.
"You need to rest." He laid another blanket over me and Zoe. I curled my aching body next to hers and fell asleep almost instantly.
"Breakfast!" Mercy came in with a large tray food. Elsie and Kathy were behind her. We all fell into each other's arms. The little girls woke full of energy and were jumping in the bed. "You'd think we took them to the moon!" Mercy teased as the little girls told the older ones of their adventure filled night. She waved and left us alone.
"We were scared!" Lindsay was saying as she sat down next to me.
"We walked and walked and walked and it was dark!" Jenny added. Zoe nodded in agreement with her thumb stuck in her mouth. "Tuo was so scary!" Zoe nodded again.
"How did this happen?" I asked pulling Zoe into my lap and her thumb from her mouth.
"We were putting them to bed and he was there," Kathy whispered, "Tullo. He asked which three were the youngest. I just stood there."
"I told him." Elsie spoke up. "I was afraid he had killed you and would kill us. Eldon stood holding Chas back."
"Margie offered to come." Kathy rolled her eyes as she spoke "I knocked her one after he left."
"You shouldn't hit her." I noted.
"She was mean!" Elsie hissed as she reached for a Jenny. As she spoke Elsie began to redress the girl in clothes she had brought. Kathy had a hairbrush and clips for their hair. "She actually asked Tullo if he had killed you! He glared at her and she backed away."
"He didn't kill me." I tried to sound light.
"What did he do?" Elsie asked in a hushed voice.
"I took six for lying. I guess me and Eldon are the first to be taught our place." Kathy looked me over with a critical eye. "I won't be sitting on anything hard for a while."
"Ouch!" Elsie was more sympathetic. She held Lindsay and passed Jenny to Kathy to deal with the hair.
"Yeah." I looked out the window at the sunshine. Tullo would be asleep now. "How's Eldon?"
"Three days without you and he's a basket case." Kathy gazed at me.
I couldn't tell if it was concern for me or for her place in the family. Now that Tullo knew I was human, Eldon could choose me as a mate. If he did, then Kathy and Elsie would only be bred by him. They would have to find mates elsewhere. I knew there were more Quids and Hybrids on Declar but we hadn't seen any, other
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than us and the few other Quids on the farm. There were six to ten and they were older.
"Three?" I was shocked and glad that we could talk of something else. "Has it been three days?"
"Yes, not a word from you. We thought you had died. We wanted to ask, but Eldon said it wasn't our place." Kathy was braiding hair and watching me. "He kept pacing. I thought he might ask. When we came to the main house yesterday, Mercy said you were still ill. At least we knew you were alive. We are forbidden to come to this end of the hall. I was tempted, but didn't want to piss them off."
"I had no idea. I thought it was just yesterday I was brought here." I was truly stunned that I had lost time.
"Well, then last night, Tullo just walks in and asks which three girls were the youngest." Elsie reached for Zoe. She clung to me so I took the dress and got her ready for her day.
"And?" I smoothed Zoe's hair and pulled the thumb from her mouth.
"I told him and he took Jenny's hand and picked Zoe up. He told Lindsay to follow and just walked out." Elsie was hugging Lindsay to her. "We were terrified!"
"I bet you were." I took the brush and worked on Zoe's hair. She was squirming and staring at the breakfast on the table.
"Let me get them fed." Elsie was herding them to the table. I sat back, sighing. My body still ached.
"Mercy came this morning and told me and Elsie to bring clothes for the girls and to come to the house. When we got here she just told us to follow her." Kathy was talking but I was watching the children eat. "Faith?"
"What?" I turned to face her.
"Did he breed you?" I stared at her for a long moment. I felt the words in my throat. I couldn't say them. I nodded. "Did he bleed you?" Again I nodded. She reached out and patted my hand. We sat waiting for one of us to move. Kathy climbed into the bed and held me as I cried.
I knew that it was forbidden for any Quid or Hybrid to drink the blood of a vampire. Only mates drank of each other. I knew what Tullo had done. He had made me his and taken Eldon from me. I belonged to Tullo in more ways than one. Not only was I now his lover, I was now his mate. A lifelong commitment. One I wasn't sure I wanted.
"You need to come eat." Elsie called.
Kathy and I climbed from the bed and went to the table. I limped less, but my body still ached. I sat down and pulled Zoe into my lap. We ate fresh pastries, fruit and milk. The little girls again stuffed their faces. I laughed watching them. Elsie and Kathy both ate with us.
I saw the covered mug sitting on the tray and tried to ignore it. I had seen it before, in my half sleep stupor and knew that there was blood in it. I knew it was for me and I was expected to drink it, but I wouldn't do that with my family watching. Kathy was eyeing it. Elsie was better at ignoring.
"Time to start the day," Mercy announced, coming into the room.
Kathy and Elsie hurried to get the little ones cleaned up and the table straight.
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Zoe hugged me tightly. I held her. I didn't want to let her go but she couldn't stay locked in the house with me. She needed sunlight and the outdoors. Kathy pulled her from my hold and hugged me. Elsie took the three little girls home and Kathy went down to tend to her duties. Mercy watched them go.
"You have to drink it. Cold is worse than warm." Mercy set the mug in front of me. "Hot and fresh is best."
"Why?" I asked, curling my lip at the mug.
"Because the cold makes it slimey."
"No, why do I have to drink it?" The thought turned my stomach.
"To get better." Mercy sighed and sat down heavily in a chair. "That there is the Master's blood. Tullo don't give his blood so freely. You should feel privileged." She was actually scolding me for not wanting to drink blood? I sighed and sank in my seat.
"I don't want to be here. I want to go home." I knew I was sounding like a small child. I didn't care.
"You can once you're well." Mercy reached out to pat my hand. "For visits. Your home is here now."
"I don't want this to be my home!"
"Sweetie, once the child comes you don't want to be leaving it. You can't take a child of a vampire to live in the quarters with the herd."
"Why not? And what child?" I felt confusion taking over.
"You are his. You have to be bred. He chose you."
"Only to keep me alive!" I brushed away tears.
"What's a better reason for having a child?"
"Love!" I moaned.
"Oh. I forget that you're human." Mercy's voice was full of pity. "We don't make children for love. We breed. We mate for love, comfort and if we're lucky, a child of ours to keep, but we are meant to breed. You're lucky that Tullo chose you. There is no way you would have survived a trip back to Quid 4."
"I won't survive a child. I'll never be able to breathe this air!" I felt the flood of tears coming.
"But you are!"
"What?" I sat looking at the room. "In here! Tullo said the air in here was different!"
"It is when it's pumped in. He stopped the pumping last night. He didn't want the little ones ill. Too much oxygen can hurt young Quids."
"So I'm breathing regular Declar air?" She nodded with a smile. "How is that possible?"
"You are his now. He gave to you what you gave to him." I sat staring and not understanding. "He gave you his blood. It's helping to filter the air and build up tolerance. Your blood has been altered."
"I'm no longer human?" I almost screamed.
"No, you're still human." The way she said it was as if it were a bad thing to be human. "You've just been altered a bit. As has he." She looked to the door.
"He's altered? How?"
"He drank of you. Your blood was dying and it made him sick. He was out
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for a day fighting the sickness." I looked to the door and felt for Tullo.
My blood had made him ill? I knew how easily it could have killed him. The chance he took had been great and dangerous. My drinking his blood could have gotten us both in trouble with the Vampire High Council, the leaders of the vampire world. I now understood what Tullo had done. He had taken a risk with his own life for me. He had left me tethered to make it look good in case Mercy was questioned. And he had brought my family to me to keep me from being lonely. I picked up the mug and drank.
"Good girl." Mercy gathered the mess and left me. "One more day or so and you should be right as rain."
I choked down the blood and frowned. I breathed deeply. There was no pain and I wasn't lightheaded. But maybe it was the room. I looked about for my clothes. I found them washed and put away. I dressed quickly and opened the bedroom door slowly. It was unlocked. I stepped out into the hallway. No one yelled for me to stop.
At the top of the stairs I looked down at the door. No one was around. I felt light and energetic. I leapt forward and with the handrail to guide me, I glided to the first floor and stood waiting to be tackled and dragged back to the bedroom. Nothing happened. I practically ran down out the door.
The sunlight hit me and I stood soaking it in. I heard the children laughing. It was floating on the air. I lifted my skirts and ran from the house, past the barn and to the garden. I was running. The light breeze propelled me forward. I wasn't panting for air. I wasn't gasping or fainting. I was running. I wasn't dreaming. Zoe saw me and ran to me. I caught her in my arms and swung her around.
"Faith!" Elsie ran to me. We hugged each other and fell to the ground laughing. The younger girls came running to hug me and we all sat on the ground laughing. "You're better!"
"I think I am!" I laughed.
"What happened?" Elsie was trying to get the girls settled so we could talk. Something I didn't want to do.
"Let's not wake Tullo! Let's talk as we work." I stood and started pulling little girls to their feet, dusting them off.
We ran back to the garden. The planting was almost done. We worked at weeding and finished planting more vegetables, which Zoe let us know she hated. It felt good to have the soil on my hands. It felt real and warm. Alive. We hurried to the kitchen to get dinner started. I worked quickly and didn't have to stop to rest. I felt renewed.
Kathy and the others came in and we all laughed and hugged. Then we talked as we finished dinner. It wasn't planned. We just let it happen. The table was set. The food ready. We were having so much fun that we didn't realize that the boys had come home. I stepped out carrying a platter of Zoe's much hated steaming vegetables and almost walked right into Eldon. The shock on his face was priceless.
"What…" he snatched the platter from me and passed it to Dusty. I didn't have time to speak. Eldon grabbed my hand and dragged me into the study. He slammed the door and glared at me. "What are you doing here?" he snarled. I took a step back from him.
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"I'm home," I said timidly. I had expected him to be happy to see me.
"This is not your home. You belong to him!" I shook my head. "Do you want him to come and take you? Do you want the children to suffer because you're here? He took the little ones last night! Do you know what that did to me?" I couldn't look at him anymore. I moved to open the door and he grabbed me.
"Eldon! I'm sorry!" I thought he would strike me. Instead he drew into a hug and sobbed into my hair. I clung to him and cried.
"You're his!" he sobbed, "You are his!"
"Eldon, forgive me," I begged, knowing as well as he did that I had no choice. Yes, I had been taken by Tullo. I was now his, but I wanted to tell Eldon that my heart was not Tullo's. That it was Eldon that I loved. It was something that I could never say out loud.
"How are you here?" Eldon stepped back to examine me. "You are well? How is that? What happened? Where's the oxygen?"
"I don't need it anymore." I sniffled back the tears.
"How?" Eldon kissed my forehead. "You look well! How is this?"
"Tullo. His blood." I said the words cautiously. "I drank it." I expected him to be angry and yell at me. His face brightened.
"He saved you?" Eldon hugged me to him again. "How wonderful!"
"Eldon," I stepped back from him. His face was so happy. I hated to ruin it for him. "He took me." I looked down to hide my shame.
"What?"
"He …" I took a deep breath. "I was bred. By Tullo."
Eldon stood taller and looked down at me. I saw the pain in his eyes. His hand lighted on my cheek. I had so wanted it to be Eldon. I wanted to be his forever and ever and to be only his. I wanted us to be free and living somewhere that the children would not be harvested.
"He bled you?" Eldon asked in a strangled voice. I nodded. He looked away and then back to me. "Did he hurt you?" I shook my head, lying.
Eldon stepped away from me. He looked out the window and then I watched his shoulders slump. I walked to him and he pushed me away. I cried as I watched him gather himself. He breathed deeply, straightened his shoulders and turned to face me.
"Did he brand you?" I had to stop and think. No. Tullo had not. I wore no brand on my skin. I shook my head. Eldon looked as confused as I felt. "Does he know you're human?" I nodded. Eldon nodded too and looked relieved.
"What?" I asked moving to him. He held me close.
"He can't brand you as his. You're a free human."
He sounded happy that I wore no vampire's brand. If I had been a Quid, I would have worn a brand on the back of my neck. I would always be a vampire's. But I wore no mark. To be sure I rubbed the back of my neck and no, there was no brand burned into my flesh. Eldon turned me and lifted my hair, piling it high on my head. He kissed the back of my unbranded neck and hugged me back to him. I felt the breeze from behind us and shivered.
"There is no brand." The voice stated evenly.
I looked up to see Tullo in the doorway. He looked neither surprised nor
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angry. Eldon stepped away from me. I stood waiting. Tullo stepped into the room and up to me. His eyes traveled over me. I felt inferior to him. I had to look away.
"I see dinner is ready?" he looked to Eldon.
"Yes," Eldon's voice was calm.
"Are we invited?" Tullo asked. I almost fell over from shock.
"Yes," Eldon moved to the door and bowed to us.
Tullo folded his left arm behind him and held out his right hand to me. I took it, avoiding looking at Eldon, and let Tullo guide me to the table. No one said a word as I sat down in my chair. Eldon moved another to the side and motioned for Tullo to sit at the head. Elsie moved down and Eldon sat at the other end. We all sat and waited.
"Bless us all and thanks be for this meal." Eldon's voice was deep and reverent. He looked down the table at us all. No one moved. "Eat." He ordered. The younger children ate with curious eyes on Tullo.
I tried to eat, but couldn't. I was unsure of what was happening. No one spoke at first. We all ate and waited. Tullo ate slowly, seemingly enjoying his meal. His eyes never left his plate. Then he looked at me and up at Eldon.
"I must say that when I walked in the evening I heard talk at this table. Happy chatter and not such heavy silence." We all looked at each other. He wanted us to talk? We were at a loss as to what to do. "I do hope that it's not our presence that has silenced you." He reached out and set his hand on mine. Eldon shot a look at Chas. The boy was ready to dive on Tullo. I smiled at Tullo. It was little Zoe who saved us all.
The little girl slid from her chair and ran around the table to Tullo. She bravely reached up and tugged at his sleeve. Tullo's eyes became soft as he turned to give the little girl his full attention. Zoe stood looking anxious. I wondered what to do. Eldon stood.
"Excuse me?" Zoe asked politely.
"Yes?" Tullo smiled at her.
"Can I have sweeties?" She smiled that devilishly adorable smile and Tullo smiled back.
"You may have sweeties if you eat those vegetables." The little girl frowned at him. "I'm sorry, but that is straight from Mercy. Eat half and we'll talk her into it." Zoe nodded and ran back to her chair.
I looked up to see Eldon smiling as he sat down. Tullo winked at me and I smiled. I felt hope surging through me. They were trying. They were trying for me.
"After dinner I would like all of you to come to the house and enjoy sweeties with us." Tullo reached to take my hand in his again. "Please?"
"Yes," Eldon answered, looking away. "Thank you."
"My pleasure," Tullo replied.
"Everyone eat up," Eldon ordered. I did notice that he didn't eat much at all. But then neither did I.
"You seem well," Eldon noted as I handed him a glass of milk. He looked at Tullo who was holding Zoe on his lap as she ate her sweet bread.
"I am." I looked away. "I'm sorry."
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"For what? Surviving?" Eldon winked and drank his milk. He moved closer to Kathy and ignored me.
"Faith, she's so tired." Tullo called holding a widely yawning Zoe.
"We should get them home." Elsie stood and reached for the girl.
"I want to stay with Faith and Tuo!" Zoe wailed, clinging to Tullo. Tullo seemed surprised, but in a good way. He laughed and hugged the little girl to him.
"Another night," Tullo spoke to the girl. "Tonight you will sleep in your own bed. Maybe in a couple of nights the little ones could come stay again?" Tullo was asking Eldon. Eldon was as shocked as I. Tullo was asking his permission? Tullo owned us. He could order us to do anything and we would have to obey. Eldon nodded.
"That would be wonderful." I lifted Zoe off his lap and felt her arms go around my neck. "Another night."
"I want you to come home!" Zoe wailed.
"She is home," Tullo stated firmly as he stood and put his arm around me. "She will be coming to visit you often though."
"I thought concubines had to stay in the main house with the master?" Margie spoke coldly. Eldon reached over to grab the girl's arm, but she ducked him and stood defiantly before Tullo.
"Faith is not a concubine." Tullo spoke coldly to Margie. "Faith is my mate."
"You take a Quid as your mate?" Margie egged him on. Eldon stepped up behind her.
"Stop." Eldon ordered with a smack to the back of Margie's head and a firm hand on her shoulder. Elsie took Zoe from me.
"Faith is not a Quid," Tullo spoke evenly, "Faith is a free human woman. She has made her choice to be my mate." Tullo turned and held his hand out to me. I avoided looking at Eldon. "Now if you will excuse us, we bid good night." I hesitated only a second before taking his hand and following him out of the room, leaving my family behind.
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4
"You sound funny," I said as Tullo growled softly, laying his head to rest on my thigh. "Untie me? I want to touch you."
"What if I don't want you to touch me?" He loosened the straps that held me for his pleasure.
I reached out to touch his fine hair. For being so indestructible, vampires are very delicate. Their touch is gentle and their features and hair fine. Their skin is almost translucent. In the month since Tullo had taken me as his mate I had eased into my new life and his.
"Don't you?" I giggled, flexing my hand.
"Something funny?" He looked up at me. His hand moved up to enter me again, making me squeal with pleasure. He had loosened my legs and I kicked. "You want funny?" He was tickling me as he pulled me to him. He entered me and I moaned in deep pleasure. He rode me and I held off my feelings. I moved with him. Finally, I gave in and let myself go.
"You are stubborn," Tullo mumbled into my hair as he fell on me. "Why do you keep what I want from me?"
"I want it from you." He grinned at my answer.
"The sun will be rising soon," I sighed, not wanting him to stop.
"I know." He kissed me.
"I must breed you."
"No," I began to plead.
I always pleaded in hopes of not being tied. It never worked. Once I had even fought. Tullo had ignored it all and taken the strap to me again. Now, I just whined. It had been a month and nightly I was bred. Not always made love to, but always bred. If the little ones were coming to stay the night I was tethered and bred before their arrival.
There were many nights that he simply escorted me to the room, tied and gagged me, leaned me over the table and lifted my skirts to breed me. A few times he had left me bound and gagged on the floor. Mercy would later come and release me after a few hours. I often wondered if I were being punished.
"Don't make me strap you," he warned, untying me. I stretched my limbs. He climbed from the bed and walked over to the table where the breeding straps lay with the harvesting needles, waiting for me. "Come here to me." His voice was cold and full of authority.
"No!" I moved deeper in the bedding. I hoped he was bluffing. Once in a while I could get away with teasing him.
"Yes!" Tullo came and pulled me from the bed. I didn't go easily. Well, not for me. He had no problem making me obey.
I was gagged with the bridle and bent over the table as my hands were tied. I bit down on the leather gag and fought not to grunt. Tullo enjoyed it when I made that noise so I fought not to give him pleasure. This plan often backfired on me since he took longer to meet his desired point if I didn't drive him to it.
"How long?" I asked as he removed the bridle.
"How long what?" His liquid voice was in my ear as he untied me.
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"How long must I be tied?"
"You don't enjoy it?"
"No." He pulled up a chair for me to ease into and another for him to sit in. "Why are we bred this way? Do vampires breed this way."
"Of course not!" I had offended him. I looked away. He stood and retrieved a blanket to lay over me. "Vampires do not bind their loves."
"Then why?"
"It has always been that way. You're not equal. You are lower. Like animals. And animals breed that way." The words were truthful and painful.
"So to you I am an animal?"
"Yes. I have feelings for you or I would not have chosen you to be my mate, but I cannot say that I love you. Not publically. Besides, I have never loved and I don't know if I would recognize love."
"So I will be tied every time? Even when I'm not bred?"
"Yes." He leaned forward to gaze at me. "This is the way it is. From the beginning."
"Beginning of what? Breeding? Quids?"
"No, humans."
I gulped.
"We were on Earth first." His smile was sly. "You've read the history."
I had. The vampires were on Earth long before man. With the dinosaurs. The meteorite that killed off the dinosaurs opened the sky to the sun, poisoning the vampires. They fled Earth, taking some humans with them. Humans who did not go of their own free will. Since humans did not live as long as vampires, it was necessary to breed them to keep the herd going. And breeding the humans with vampires increased the life span of the herds. The breeding straps were used to keep the herd under control. To personalize herds, the vampires bred the females. That was how Hybrids came about.
"Who made up these rules? And why?" I hugged myself.
"Long ago. They were made long ago." He reached out to smooth my hair. "These laws were made to ensure the survival of our race. No mixed breeds. Only the pure vampire." Only pure vampires had silver eyes. Not flecks of silver, but solid silver eyes.
"My children will be treated as less? Seeing as how they were bred as an animal?"
"Not by me." He leaned forward and kissed me. "I will treasure them."
"I have to bear a child, don't I?"
"Yes." He looked away.
"If I don't?"
"Then I cannot keep you."
"Then I can go back to live with my family?" I couldn't help but sound hopeful at the thought.
"No, you will have to leave." Tullo stood and moved to me.
"You'll have to kill me, won't you?" He stopped to look down at me. "You can't send me back to Quid 4. I can't go home, so I will have to stop existing."
"There is another way." He lifted me into his arms and carried me to my bed.
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The bed I slept in alone. After our time together, he went to his own room.
"How?"
"It's something I cannot tell you about. It's too dangerous."
"For me?"
"For us." He set me in the bed. I was suddenly terrified to be alone. "Move over." He climbed into bed with me and held me.
"What if I can't give you a child? What if it's because I'm human?"
"I may have to use a stimulator." He hugged me.
"What's that?" It sounded ominous.
"A machine is used to stimulate Quids and Hybrids. It's inserted and vibrates, making the ovulation easier."
"Inserted?" I pulled away and sat up. "Inserted where?" He didn't answer and I knew.
"It doesn't hurt. In fact, they find it enjoyable."
"They?"
"Quids and Hybrids."
"You asked them?" This was getting worse and worse.
"Well, they respond to it very well." He reached for me. I lay next to him, absorbing the cold from his skin. I shivered. He pulled a blanket over me and between us. "Better?"
"Please?" I begged.
"What?" he asked, looking at me.
"Don't use that thing on me. I'll try harder."
"We still have time." He kissed my head, "Get some sleep before you leave my bed."
Tullo called me a sun child. I had a bad habit of waking with the sun and going to see the girls. I would have dinner there and then hurry back to Tullo's to have breakfast with him. We would spend his morning together. We would take a walk in the night and look over his farm. We would dine at lunch and then I would retire to my room to sleep. Tullo had meetings, dinner parties and went places that vampires went in the night. Darkness was his day. I lived in the day and the night.
"Maybe a change of scenery would help." Tullo climbed from the bed and carried me with him out the door.
We traveled down the long hallway to his bedroom. I had never before been in there. He kicked the door open. The room was huge and dark. The windows were covered with dark curtains. I was set in the magnificent bed. Tullo climbed in with me, smiling. I settled back, he tied me to the headboard and he made love to me. Or what I considered love and what he considered an attempt to try and get his pet pregnant.
"Stop!" I screamed, grabbing a handful of Margie's hair and jerking her off Bobbie.
The Hybrid girl landed a few feet away and sprang towards me, snarling. She was almost to me when a blur knocked her down. Chas ended up sitting on her, holding her down and looking to me with a grin on his handsome face. I nodded to him and helped Bobbie to her feet.
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"You think it will be this easy to breed me?" Margie screamed, fighting.
"I don't want to breed you!" Chas replied simply. He was watching me lead Bobbie away. More drama.
"What happened?" I asked, helping Bobbie into the kitchen.
"She just jumped me. I was on my way to the big house to work and she just blindsided me!" Bobbie sniffled. I grabbed a towel to wipe the blood off her face. "I didn't do anything!"
"Let me go!" Margie screamed as she kicked and fought. Eldon was dragging her into his study. He didn't even look at me. Eldon never looked at me anymore.
"Let's get you cleaned up and back to work." I got some water and hurriedly wiped the bloody scratches on Bobbie's face. I poured Suquidal rich water onto the cloth and applied it to her face. She seemed sad.
"Faith?" Her voice was a whisper and filled with pain.
"What is it?" I asked, sitting next to the girl. "Tell me?"
Bobbie shook her head and the tears fell from her eyes. I hugged her to me and let her cry. Try as I might, she wouldn't tell me what was wrong. I kissed the damaged cheek and Bobbie smiled. She sniffled and took the towel to wipe her face. The tears still streamed down her face.
"Are you alright?" I asked, patting her cheek. She nodded and hugged me once more before she limped to the house. Elsie came into the room.
"Margie is jealous because Harry is paying attention to Bobbie," Elsie noted as she came into the kitchen carrying a basket of fresh vegetables. I helped her carry it to the sink. We began washing them.
"So it begins?" I sighed. They seemed so young.
"Yes, it's breeding time." Elsie kicked at a large coaner. It was like a cat on Earth, only larger and with a lot of fangs. This one had been wild and Elsie had tamed it with tough love. We all walked around it. It followed Elsie.
"Why are you kicking it?" I sidestepped it.
"Lucifer is being a monster! I think she's pregnant."
"Why did you name her Lucifer?" I laughed as the coaner purred. She rubbed up against Elsie's leg.
"I didn't. Eldon did. He said she was as evil as Lucifer and it stuck."
We both jumped at the sudden sound of leather on bare flesh and the screams from the study. I shuddered and sat. I could not interfere or that strap would be used on me. At least I still believed that. We carried the clean vegetables to the table. I searched the table for my favorite paring knife. Elsie opened a drawer and pulled it out. She handed it to me.
"It keeps happening," Elsie said. "Margie is getting worse. I've hit her twice. She went after the little ones."
"You know, my mother once told me something," I picked up a large vegetable and examined it. The garden was doing very well.
"What was that?"
"That the most dangerous place was between a woman and her child." Elsie smiled at me.
Yes, she was now the mother. At that moment Margie stomped past us and out the door. Eldon was close behind. He picked up a chunk of something Elsie was
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peeling, stopped to kiss her cheek and continued on out the door without a word to me. I saw the breeding straps on this belt. Yes, Elsie was now the mother. She had taken my place in more ways than one. I peeled in silence.
"You'll stay to dinner?" Kathy asked as she and the other girls arrived home from their work in the big house. Margie was not with them. I had hoped she would be so I could talk to her.
"No, I think not." I shot a look at Eldon who was talking to Elsie about something in the kitchen. I had just finished setting the table. "Tullo's having dinner guests and I need to get some sleep."
"So the lady of the house is now entertaining?" Kathy teased. I blushed. "Well, that explains it."
"What?"
"Mercy told me that Margie will now be residing in the house. She's to be trained as Mercy's assistant. I guess they need more help serving at the dinner party." I was confused. Margie? She was so unpredictable. But Mercy had a way about her. Elsie laughed at something Eldon said and I fought not to turn and look. Kathy did and frowned.
"I have to go." I practically ran out the door.
"Wait!" Chas was right behind me.
"What?" I turned to look at him. I hugged him. He was growing. Now he was taller than me.
"You shouldn't walk to the house alone." He took my hand in his and we walked along.
"Why?"
"Eldon said you needed to be watched."
"Watched?" I turned to glare at him.
"He knows. He's the breeder." I stopped and sighed. I should have known I couldn't hide it for long. My hand went to my stomach. "And you smell different." Chas wrinkled his nose.
"Oh, I was going to tell the girls but…"
"He hasn't chosen yet. He gives them both attention." Chas knew me too well. "He hasn't begun to breed either of them. At least I don't think so." I nodded. "But he will soon."
"I know." I squeezed Chas' hand.
"Faith? Are you happy?" Chas' hair was long and fell into his eyes. Curiosity filled his eyes.
"I think I am."
"With him?"
"Tullo is very kind." I smiled to ease his mind. "He takes very good care of me and of you all. He is kind to you?"
"Yes, I guess. We never see him. He deals with Eldon."
"But you don't lack anything?"
"No, we're happy." Chas looked down, "We just miss you."
"I miss you too." I kissed his cheek.
"Eldon really misses you." I jumped at that.
"He does?"
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"When you leave he asks about what you've said or done." I blushed slightly and was happy for the coming dusk. "He doesn't give the girls attention unless you're around. That bugs them."
"Does he?" I felt conflicted.
"You miss him too, don't you?"
"Yes." I could have lied but I knew it was showing on my face. Chas walked on slowly.
"Do you love him?" We were at the house. I looked up at it. Home.
"I'm safe now. Go back and eat dinner. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Be careful of Margie," Chas warned, hugging me.
"I will." I hugged the boy and watched him run back to his home. The home that was once mine and the family I was no longer a part of.
I stood next to Tullo, dressed in a very lovely formal gown with my hair piled high on my head, exposing my not branded neck. He patted my hand as he stepped off the porch to greet his dinner guests. I swallowed and took a deep breath. Our dinner guests. Tullo's family. I stood tall, willing myself to be elegant, graceful and demure. The gown I wore showed off my bulge. I was Tullo's prize and felt very good about it.
The vampires all gazed at me with glowing silver eyes as they stepped past me and into the house. They moved gracefully, but I glided. Mercy and Margie were taking cloaks. I nodded greetings to the guests. What else could I do? Tullo was coming to me with a very beautiful woman holding his hand. I stood taller.
"Mother, this is Faith. Faith, this is Arvetta, my mother." I bowed my head to the woman and tried to curtsy. I almost fell over.
"Yes. I see." The woman looked me over and nodded. Her eyes stopped on my midsection. "Greetings." With that, Arvetta walked past me and into the house. Tullo's brother and father followed. I recognized them from the first night when we had arrived from Quid 4. Lortus was Tullo's father and Batar was his brother. They both looked unimpressed with me.
"Here we go," I whispered to myself and the child I carried as I glided along behind them. Tullo came back to escort me in to dinner.
Dinner was unnerving for me. Tullo sat at one end of the long table and I at the other. It was set with such grand elegance that I felt out of place sitting at the head. Or actually, sitting at the table at all. But I sat at the head of the table, just as Eldon had wanted the first night on Declar.
Eldon. He was on my mind. I had come home and slept for a while. The last thing I saw before I closed my eyes were the breeding straps on the night stand. I dreamed of Eldon. I dreamed the impossible. For Eldon to be the one breeding me. I woke feeling sexually drained.
Mercy came to help me get dressed. She gave me a last quick tutorial on what was expected of me. I took it all to heart and tried to remain calm. It was difficult. My hair was piled high on my head. A sign of distinction. I was now the lady of the house. Tullo's mate.
The guests ate and spoke in hushed tones. I felt eyes on me. It was when the glasses were filled with fresh blood that I faltered. I couldn't help but wonder
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which child had been harvested for this event. My stomach lurched. I excused myself and raced for the nearest bathroom. Right past a smiling Margie.
I washed my face and got myself together. I returned to the table smiling shyly. The changes in my body had taken hold. I learned from Mercy that vampires are only in the womb for four months, not nine as with human children. Or six as with Quids. My body would be altering on a daily basis to accommodate the child. I sat down and sipped the blood in the glass. I had to. Blood was the nutrient needed for a vampire fetus. Tullo was watching me carefully.
"It happens," Tullo's mother spoke to me in a kind tone. "With Tullo I hardly consumed blood. It tasted bad. I had to, but unless it was fresh," she smiled at her husband, "very fresh, I could not stomach it." I understood and nodded, trying not to puke at the table.
"I was worried!" Tullo's father spoke up.
"About?" Tullo asked calmly.
"I was afraid I would have to send Batar here to breed her." I set my glass down before I dropped it.
Batar was leering at me. Tullo's older brother was nothing like Tullo. He was cold and dark. I was frightened of him. I hated the way he looked at me and how he looked at Margie. She was flirting with him. I had a feeling he wanted to hurt her. And me.
"He has bred many successfully."
I was about to run again. I noticed that Tullo looked angry. His eyes flashed. I dropped my eyes.
"There was no reason for that," Arvetta declared, feeling the tension rising. "Tullo has done very well." Tullo smiled at his mother. "You taste lovely." She held her glass up to me. I ran.
"You are human." Tullo replied to the question of why he had served my blood to his guests. "It is a delicacy."
"Whose blood did I drink?" My stomach turned violently.
"Eldon's." I moaned. "I thought it was only fitting." Tullo's excuse was cold and cruel.
"Meaning?" I stood and rinsed my mouth.
"He is the one you want." I looked to Tullo in shock.
"You heartless bastard!" I slapped him. My hand hurt and Tullo didn't even wince. He grabbed my hand and held it.
"My blood may not run as hot as yours or Eldon's, but I do have a heart. Cold as it is, mine is far warmer than yours. You carry my child and desire it to be his."
"I do not!" I tried to pull away from him.
"Maybe I should strap him? Cripple him? Then he would not be as attractive to you." I winced at the words. "I have ordered him to breed. He is doing it now with one or more of your sisters. He will breed and chose a mate, but he will not have you!"
"Fine!" I began to fight him. "You're a monster!"
"Am I?" he asked coldly, "Is that all I am to you?"
"Yes! And I am only an animal not worthy of you!" My words hit him hard.
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Now he did wince. "Will I be tied and gagged after dinner so your brother can breed me and get it right?"
"NO!"
I had just been throwing words out there, but now I saw that I wasn't far off track. My stomach turned again and I fell to my knees before the toilet. I was sick and crying.
"I'm trying! I am!" I sobbed. "I'm trying to do what it takes to make you happy! I'm drinking blood, for God's sake!" I stood up to face him. I started to swing at him again, but he grabbed my wrist.
"I don't think any God has anything to do with this,." he hissed. I succeeded in pulling my hand free and stumbled back against the sink. He reached out to steady me. His touch was now gentle. "Faith…"
"Can you make my excuses? I don't feel well." I was trying to stop the flow of tears.
"Yes." He caressed my cheek. "I'm sorry."
"I'm fine." I set my hand on my stomach. "I really don't feel well. He's very active."
"He." Tullo smiled at me and set his hand over mine. Cold as his heart was, it glowed at the mention of his child. "That sounds nice. A son would be nice. Very nice."
"A son would make you happy?" I felt conflicted.
"You make me very happy." He kissed me then and I felt much better.
"Go rest, my love. I will make your excuses." My love. Tullo had called me 'my love'. I practically glided to my room.
I looked out the window and saw the barn. It was too dark to see the house beyond. I wished for someone to talk to. Kathy and Elsie were asleep and I wondered which one was in Eldon's bed. My stomach lurched. My child sensed my feelings and acted as if it were a betrayal to his father. I hurried to the bathroom to be ill.
After rinsing my mouth, I sat down at my desk and leaned forward, trying to ease my aching head and ignoring my aching heart. I was tired, my child was kicking, my mate's brother had leered at me, and I had just drunk the blood of my friend. My night could not get any worse. Batar's reaction to the suggestion of his breeding me had upset me the most. I had no intention of letting that happen.
"Are you better?" Arvetta asked. Like Tullo, she had a liquid voice. I jumped and found her in the doorway, gazing at me as if I were a strange creature in a glass cage.
"Yes." I sat back in my chair. "Thank you for asking." I doubted there was any concern on her part, more curiosity.
Arvetta stepped into the room and looked about. I waited. I wasn't sure what she wanted, but I had a feeling the questions were not for my well being, but the child I carried. Her eyes lighted on my stomach. Like Tullo, she had refined, sharp features. On her, it was lovely.
"You're studying?" Her eyes lighted on the books piled on my desk.
"Tullo felt I should know his history to teach it to my child."
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I had only had time to read three of the large leather bound volumes, and although blandly written, they were interesting. The one that I did like Tullo hated. Nosferatu. Of course, that was the one she picked up. She walked around the room, flipping through the book. She stopped behind me. I sat waiting. Her cold fingers stroked the back of my neck.
"He has not branded you?"
"No. I'm human." Goosebumps raced down my back.
"You lived with Quids." The remark was cold.
"They are my family." I stood slowly.
"Yes, Tullo has said as much. So you are ashamed of him? You wish not to wear his brand?"
"I would wear no brand. I'm not a Quid. I'm human."
"Yes, so you said, yet you came here hidden in a herd. Were you pretending to be a Quid? Was it a game for you? Was your intention to trap my son?" She eyed me. I wasn't sure how to respond. "Tell me, why did you choose to be my son's mate?" Arvetta set the book down and wiped her hand on her dress as if the book had peed on her.
"He didn't give me much of a choice at first, but now I've come to care deeply for Tullo." I picked the book up and flipped it open.
"That is a lie." Her eyes were piercing and cold. I gazed at her calmly, knowing that she could kill me with the swipe of a hand. Or maybe she could make Tullo send me back to my family? Either was an interesting option at this point. Her eyes calmed considerably and she seemed to get herself under control. "That book is a lie about us."
"It's fiction," I replied, wondering why the sudden change in attitude.
"And a good piece of fiction." Tullo. He was in the doorway. He stepped up to take the book from me. He read the passage I had the book open to and smiled. "I like the movie better."
"You always were a gory child." His mother turned to look around the room. "You don't share a room?" She reached out to smooth the bedding. I saw she was looking at the night stand and the breeding straps that were clearly visible. I gulped back bile.
"Faith needs her own space." Tullo set the book down and moved me to sit. I sat. "She is not a true 'creature of the night' and wanders about in the daylight. She does not wish to disturb my rest."
"So you only use this room for breeding?" Tullo stiffened. He set his hand on my shoulder.
"Yes." Tullo's voice was crisp.
"That's probably my fault, my dear," Arvetta turned to smile at me, "I never allowed Tullo to keep his pets in his bedroom. He had a coaner once. Horrid little thing. It clawed his back once." I swallowed back the insult I felt rising with the bile. "We had it killed."
"Mother!" Tullo's voice was harsh. I reached up to set my hand on his. He calmed instantly.
"This child will be vampire," Arvetta declared. "Or it could be disastrous." She looked at me. "For her."
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"Meaning?"
"If it is not, then Batar will have to breed you. Tullo's father would be greatly disappointed if a male human disrupted our bloodline."
"That will not be necessary." Tullo squeezed my shoulder. "I've made my choice. It is final."
Arvetta seemed to be expanding as she took deep breaths. I waited, trying not to visibly tremble. Tullo was steady. She moved quickly to snatch the breeding straps from the nightstand and threw them onto the bed. I jumped at the action. The straps were ominous.
"Do not give him reason," Arvetta hissed. "Use these or the child will be twisted!" I jumped at her words. "She is a pet! That is all. Never forget that, my son or your own fate could be in question."
I sat shaking in fear. Tullo sighed. Arvetta stormed from the room. I looked up to see the troubled look on his face. Was he afraid? I was. The straps lay on the bed. Tullo walked over to pick them up and carefully place them on the nightstand.
"Rest," he ordered and left me alone.
It was my anniversary. I had been on Declar for three months. The rains had come. It would rain early in the morning, mist a bit and by mid afternoon, the sun would breakthrough and greet us. I missed the sun. I missed a lot of things.
After breakfast I stood in the kitchen doorway, watching the rain fall and wishing I could cry so easily. I had bottled it up so long that I could no longer cry except when in extreme pain. There was too much fear, confusion and heartache to fathom the tears I would need.
I stepped out and let the rain wash over me. Before I knew it, I was walking. I walked away from the house, the barn and the home of my family and out toward the fields. Towards the boys and Eldon. I really wasn't looking for him, but I needed someone to talk to. Someone I trusted. And I did trust Eldon. I had only gotten to the barn when my cape was set on my shoulders. I turned expecting Mercy or Kathy. It was Tullo.
"You'll freeze!" I accused. He was dripping wet.
"I'm already cold," he teased. We stood looking at each other. The rain fell. His hand stroked my cheek. I shivered. "Faith…"
My name was soft on his lips like it belonged there. I was afraid of how I was feeling. I wanted to run to Eldon to cry to him about Tullo. It seemed as if everything fell into place, but just in all the wrong places or the wrong way. I wanted a family of my own and now I had it. Just not the way I wanted it. My stomach clenched and I must have frowned.
"What is it, my love? Is it the child?" His hand went to my abdomen.
Mercy had given me the details on birthing a vampire baby. They were born with teeth, they didn't rip their way out of their mother's body, they didn't drink blood from a bottle, they didn't sleep hanging from the rafters and they wouldn't kill their mothers in her sleep. She had mumbled that all that was a fairy tale.
"So that never happened?" I asked.
"Fairy tale!" Mercy exclaimed and mumbled something about the Oraculum de Incorruptus Rector. My Latin was bad, so I wasn't sure what that meant.
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She sat to tell me what would happen. My body would change quickly and drastically. My hips would spread, I would gain weight, I would be very hormonal, and it would all happen quickly. My baby would mature faster than a human baby. My baby would be an adult by the age of twelve.
If he was a vampire. If. If he was human, then he would be in me longer and have fewer of his father's characteristics. Mercy didn't say so, but I got the feeling that this wasn't a good thing. There were four ways this could go. The first was that I would have a vampire baby with no human characteristics. The second was that my baby could be a vampire with human characteristics. The third was a human baby with vampire characteristics or, I could have a human baby. I was confused.
It was explained to me as gently as possible that a vampire baby born with human characteristics would not have the sun allergy, would not need as much blood to survive and might not live as long or be as strong as a vampire. If my baby was born a human with vampire characteristics, then he would be stronger than a human baby, age as a human would, and need blood to sustain him. A human baby would be a human. I wasn't sure how Tullo would take anything but a vampire child.
"What is it?" Tullo asked, breaking into my racing thoughts.
"I'm afraid."
"Of?"
"What if the baby isn't what you want? What if you're disappointed? What if…" His hand went to my mouth, gently silencing me.
"My mother is brash and cold. I sometimes take after her." I didn't smile. He frowned at me and I looked away. I didn't want to smile. "Faith, I… I love you."
"You don't know what love is." I meant for it to sound mean.
"Yes, I do!" He kissed me tenderly. "It's you!" I began to cry then. Tullo hugged me close and in the rain, freezing, and crying, I believed him.
"My love, what can I do to make you understand that?"
"Stop treating me like I'm an animal. I'm bred! I'm with child! Quit tying me up!" I blubbered into his wet shirt.
"I can't," he whispered into my hair. "I have to obey the law or they will take you from me." He stepped back to gaze at me. "If they found out, they would take you. My own family would. Batar wants you. I can't risk it. Faith! I can't live without you!" He held me tighter and we both stood, holding each other. "I can't lie. They would kill your entire family, you and my child. I can't risk it. I can't!"
I understood fear. I cried. Then the pain hit me and I clutched my stomach. Tullo carried me over to sit beneath a tree. I gasped at the pain. Tullo moved back my cape and opened my blouse. He set his icy cold hand on my stomach and the pain stopped. I smiled at Tullo.
"He knows his father," I laughed in relief.
"He knows to obey me, as you should." I sniffled. "So obey me. Stop worrying. I have it under control." He kissed my cheek. I nodded. I didn't believe him, but I nodded.
"The rain is slowing," I looked up at the dark sky. "The sun will be out soon. You need to get inside. And to bed!"
"Join me?" he asked with a sly smile. I sighed, letting him help me stand and
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drenched to the skin, we walked to our home.
Time moved along slowly. I spend half my day and half my night between my two lives. The nights were spent sleeping and enjoying my life with Tullo. He showered me with affection and attention. I was still tied and gagged and bred, but he was very gentle with me. I was getting used to it.
Chas was now my constant companion. He was now living in my house to ensure that I was looked after. He followed me around, talked to me and carried things for me. Tullo was grateful. For some reason there was concern about my safety, especially when Tullo slept. It was during that time that I wandered out into the daylight that was deadly to him.
Twice more Tullo's family came to visit. Both times were unannounced, and that made my mate very uneasy. I was brought out and examined, once with an older vampire watching. I wasn't asked to disrobe, but peered at and even touched. The old vampire poked my arm with a long boney finger. I barked at him, making him jump and Tullo smile. No one else smiled. I didn't like being touched by them. I made my point. Once I was harvested so that the older vampire could taste of me. I fainted.
Tullo was upset. I didn't think he was frightened, but he was angry and said so to his parents and brother. I wondered why Tullo didn't tell them to leave, then I saw a side of Tullo that I would learn to fear. Batar had suggested that I be taken to his home until the child was born. I clung to Tullo. I was afraid that they would take me away. Tullo ordered them to leave us. His father was angry, his mother upset and his brother daring.
"The child will be inspected!" his father declared.
"Do so and you will never lay eyes on him," Tullo replied evenly. "I will take my family and leave here. There are other planets that would welcome us." Arvetta looked extremely upset at the words.
"You would dishonor me so?" his father snapped.
"You dishonor me!" Tullo yelled back. "This is my house, my mate, my child! You have no right to question any of this. Or me! I am no longer a small child. You cannot run my life. Not now or ever. Leave and do not dare come back without an invitation."
They glared at us for a long moment. I moved behind Tullo. I half expected them to drag me from the house. Tullo seemed so sure of what he was saying and that I wasn't going anywhere. I prayed he was right. They walked out of our house, greatly offended.
"Why are they doing this?" I asked, watching them leave in the night.
"To bed. You need rest," Tullo ordered, guiding me up to my room.
"Tullo?" I stopped walking. He simply carried me. I stared at his calm face. "Why?" I was not going to be put off.
"You are the first human to survive here. They don't believe you are simply human. They think you're a Quid and demand that I brand you."
"What would it matter if I was a Quid or a human? Either is an animal to you." He set me in my bed frowning at me. He hated when I was right.
"If you are a true human, the child could be more than just a vampire. In the
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long run, he could become a danger to the vampires."
"Like what?"
"Like indestructible. More powerful and smarter. The impurity of his blood would be a danger to a long bloodline. He could be a God in their eyes," Tullo smiled.
"That's good, isn't it?"
"Not if they don't want anything more powerful than them. If he's more than a vampire, he'll more than likely be taken into the city, to be examined by the Vampire High Counsel. They might keep him."
"Keep him?" My hands went to my stomach.
"He's a vampire with human characteristics." Tullo kissed the tip of my nose. "I feel it."
"And if he is?"
"Then he is of no use to them." He settled me in the bed. I was terrified of what was to come. "Move over." He climbed into bed with me. I settled back in his arms.
"I was scared."
"I know."
"Have we thought of names?" He wasn't good at trying to change the subject.
"No, have you?"
"No," Tullo sounded thoughtful. "I've never named anything."
"Should we name him after you? Tullo Jr.?"
"Why? A name should explain who he is."
"What does Tullo mean?"
Tullo smiled slightly.
"Dreamed of."
"Dreamed of? I like that." His hug tightened. "So your mother dreamed of you?"
He laughed.
"If nightmares count!"
"Tullo!"
"I was not what they wanted in a child." He lay back staring at the ceiling. "Now or then."
"But they love you."
"They tolerate me. I was born too late for them. Batar's first child is older than me. In a way, I got lucky."
"Lucky?"
"My parents were very busy with Batar and his run."
"Run?"
"He was trying for the council. To be one of those who assist the Vampire High Council. He tried for two terms and failed both times. Anyway, they were busy campaigning and making friends and alliances so I got to spend a lot of time with the Quid that I was left with, her husband, and their sons. They looked after me. I was taught what it was to live. Not exist, but live. Food, literature, adventure and fun."
"Really?"
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"I spent my youth with them." His eyes were dreamy. "We spent the nights running the fields. Getting into trouble and mischief. We had fun and we lived. I fell in love and I grew up. Mercy beat my tail many a time."
"Mercy?" I sat up I surprise. "You lived with her?"
"She was my mother's maid. Her husband took care of the livestock. The kind that weren't Quids." He pulled me back down next to him.
"So how did you come to be here with her?" His attitude changed. Tullo became distant.
"We must think of what to call him." I would not be put off. I studied his profile. I had seen that distant look before. It was the look of longing heartache of a lost love. A love lost to death. I had seen it on Lutha's face as we buried my sister.
"Who was she?" I whispered, afraid of what he would say. His eyes looked pained. "Who was the girl you fell in love with?"
"Kitty. Mercy's daughter." Mercy had a daughter? I didn't speak, but lay waiting for him to tell me. "We were young, children really. I loved her with all of my cold heart." He looked over at me. I gulped. I had called him a heartless bastard. He smiled, slightly.
"You asked me why I bind you?" Actually I had screamed the question at him more than once. I was getting very hormonal.
"Yes?"
"I loved Kitty. We were young and in love. My parents disapproved. It wasn't that I wanted a Quid to play with or breed, I wanted her as my mate for life, the way I want you." I felt ill. Something bad was coming. "My mother came into my room. She didn't knock. She knew. She just walked in. Then my father came in." He sighed heavily.
"And?" I asked.
"Kitty was taken before the Vampire High Council for assaulting me."
"What? How…"
"We got carried away and she scratched my back. For a Quid to strike a vampire is grounds for discipline." He swallowed. "My father strapped her until she bled." I sat up slowly to get a better look at his face in the dim moonlight, but he wouldn't look at me. "She got ill. At least that was what they said. The truth was that we were forbidden to see each other."
"How terrible!" I reached to hold his hand. He moved from my grasp and tucked his arm behind his head. I set my hand on my swollen belly for my own comfort.
"Yes, well, she was gone and I was sent away. It was only after she had died in childbirth that her brother came and told me." I closed my eyes to the words. "Both my love and my child."
His face was so sad. I thought about what his mother had said about Tullo having a croaner as a pet and it scratching his back. I shuddered. She had said they had it killed. Her cold words had come back to haunt me. Was I the next pet to be put down?
"I'm sorry." He finally looked at me with sad eyes. His cold hand came up to lie on my cheek.
"I'm afraid." His words cut me to the bone. If he was afraid then I was
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terrified. "I will not lose you." I was stunned. "I was afraid to feel this way, again. It's not the same, though. With Kitty, it was kids in love. With you..," he sighed deeply, "I won't lose you."
"I'm not going anywhere." I leaned my face into his hand.
"I have to bind you," his eyes were serious, "for as long as we are together. To them you are an animal. To me, you are my life." He sat up suddenly and kissed me. I fell into his arms. "Forgive me? Please, try and understand? I have to."
"I understand." And I did.
"I will not let anything happen to you or this child." He whispered into my hair. "This I promise you. Believe me?"
"Yes." I did. "So I guess we still have to think of names?" Now I wanted to change the subject.
"What do you think? I want to know what you think." He let go of me and fell back into the bed.
"What about Donum? My gift to you?" Tullo lay looking up at the ceiling. His silver eyes glistened. "I kind of like it. I like the Latin words. They seem so eloquent."
"I like it too. Donum." He said it again as if seeing how it rolled off his tongue. "I do like it."
"Are we safe?" I asked in a frightened voice. Even to me I sounded terrified. "Is our baby safe?"
"Very." Tullo pulled me down in the bed and kissed my head. "I promised you." I relaxed in his arms. "I love you."
"I hope so." I teased.
"Oh, Faith, I love you very much." He wasn't teasing. "I would die for you. For you and my child."
"I hope it doesn't come to that." And I did.
"What is this?" Chas asked, holding up the book I had left on the desk.
"A book!" I teased.
"I know it's a book. What's it about? More history?"
"A story." I replied, moving to sit at my desk. "There are a lot of stories about vampires from Quid 4, Earth, Declar and all the planets where they have lived." Chas flipped through the book. "Some lore about the colony on the far moon is really interesting."
"Are they all bound in human flesh?" The words took me by surprise.
"What?" I snatched a book up and slid my hand along the spine.
"That's human flesh," Chas replied. "I can smell it. It stinks, it's old and rotten. Like a shoe or something." I was tempted to sniff the book but set it down quickly. I hurried to wash my hands.
"Could you gather the books and take them down to the library?" I tried to sound calm. "The ones covered in flesh?"
Chas did as I asked and I wiped the desk down with a wet towel. Now I could smell the flesh. The burning of the titles into the spines made me ill. There were now just a small pile of books left. I shuddered at the thought that I had been holding books covered in human flesh.
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It was getting harder and harder on me to live in Tullo's world. I was lost. I was not a vampire and I was not a Quid. Outside the house there was no possibility for me to ever have a life. I was terrified if something should happen to Tullo so that my child and I would go to his next of kin, Batar. I thought I would rather die than go with that animal.
"What do you want to do?" Chas asked, coming back into the room.
"How about a walk?" I looked out the window at the sun. I wanted to be warmed by it.
"Should you be walking? I mean..," he gazed at my large abdomen, "As big as you are?"
"I'm going to get bigger," I giggled, holding my baby.
"It's late."
"It is not!" I started for the hall.
"Faith, wait!" Chas followed. I stopped at the top of the steps and just threw myself forward. Chas jumped and raced for me. I laughed as I glided down.
I knew why he didn't want to go for a walk. There was a strong breeze and he would have to run to keep up with me. We made our way to the barn. I liked the barn. It was warm and full of animals. I liked petting them, chasing the wild croaners and playing with the calves. Chas followed me, deep in thought.
"What is it?" I asked, not looking at him.
"Eldon's different." I tried not to look too interested.
"Is he? How so?"
"He's breeding the girls." I swallowed and laid a hand on the nose of a horse. Horses and cows had come across the universe and survived.
"And?"
"He's dark." Chas sat down on a bale of hale. "Like he's angry at us. Maybe at everyone." I said nothing. "I always thought breeders were the luckiest of all."
"Why's that?" I asked, moving across the barn. It was easier to hide my eagerness with distance between us.
"They get to have all of the girls and get first pick. I thought he'd be happy about it."
"He's not?"
"He's angry." I looked over to see the boy had a pleading look on his face. He wanted to tell me something, something he was afraid to say. "He hurt Joanie and since then he's been mad."
"Hurt her how?" I moved over to him.
"Don't get angry. It has to be done…but Joanie… she cried a lot and she bled. She got sick."
"Joanie's sick!" I was moving for the door.
"Wait!" Chas grabbed my hand and held it. "You can't go to her. We were told not to say anything. Especially to you."
"What?" Rage raced through me. I still went daily to my old house. I helped with the meals. I was still a part of the family. Distant, but there.
"Faith, please, I just..," Chas licked his lips nervously, "I'm scared."
"Of what? Eldon? I'll fix that…"
"No!" Chas pulled me back to sit. "I'm not afraid of him. I never have been
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or will be. I'm afraid of hurting a girl." He blushed. "Especially a girl that I like.
Hybrids are supposed to be 'bigger' than Quids."
"Chas, do you like a girl? One of the Quids?" I knew it was forbidden.
"No," he shook his head, "I don't like anyone that way. I just don't think that I can love a girl. I'm afraid of hurting them. I don't know what to do." He was very embarrassed.
"Do you want me to explain it to you?" I asked.
"No!" He jumped up and moved away from me. "I want..," he paced slowly before me. I sat waiting. "I want you to ask Eldon to explain it. I want to know so I don't make a fool of myself, when my time comes." I was relieved. I wasn't sure how to explain it. I didn't understand it myself.
"I can do that," I said, "When I see him." It had been weeks since I had even gotten a glimpse of him. He was avoiding me. The bigger I got, the bigger the circle he made around me.
"He still asks after you. He asks me since I'm with you so much."
"What does he ask?" I was curious.
"If you are well, happy and things like that."
Chas shrugged. He wanted me to ask specifics. I sighed and opened my mouth to speak. I didn't get a chance. Chas was up and peering out the barn door. He glared and turned to me with a finger to his mouth. He hurried to me and pulled me with him. He pushed me into a stall with the cow and came in after me.
"What?" I asked.
"Quiet! I don't want them to smell you." He pushed me behind him and gazed at the door.
"What is it?" I whispered.
"Quids. Not us. They're sneaking about." Now Chas was looking at the back door. "I need to get Eldon."
"Go!" I pushed him.
"I can't leave you." Chas suddenly pushed me into a corner.
A figure moved into the barn and along the wall. It was a small figure. I tried to see who it was, but Chas kept pushing me back. I held onto his arm. He was trembling and that frightened me. Then he leaned forward and relaxed a bit. He was relieved.
"Margie!" He stepped out of the stall. "Run, get Eldon." Chas hurried to the girl. "Hurry!"
Margie stepped out of the shadows smiling at us. She had an evil smile on her face. I reached for Chas, stepping out of the darkness. Margie's eyes lighted on me and her sick smile widened. I had a bad feeling about this. Margie ran back to the door and leaned out.
"She's in here!" Margie screamed.
"Damn you!" Chas cursed. He ran and pulled me after him.
We ran out the back door as Margie continued to scream. We only got a few steps before a large Hybrid knocked Chas down and reached for me. I jumped back. The breeze was with me and I glided out of his reach. He was big. Bigger than Eldon. This Hybrid was more vampire than Quid. He had that feral look to him. That was a dangerous combination. What was more frightening was the fact that
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this Hybrid looked familiar.
"Come here!"
I let the breeze take me. I pushed off from the barn and turned to flee. If I kept the breeze behind me I had a good chance of escape. I needed to get to Eldon.
"Leave her!" Chas charged, roaring like a wild animal.
He dove onto the Hybrid's back. I spun about and was grabbed from behind. I turned and found Margie trying to drag me after her. I kicked her with all my might and the force of the blow sent me sailing to the ground. I felt sharp pain in by side and tried to not cry out. I couldn't. It hurt too much. Margie was screaming at the top of her lungs. Another Hybrid came at me. I tried to stand. I was crawling for the fence. I needed help to stand.
"I got you!" One monstrous Hybrid was pulling me to my feet. Chas was thrown down and kicked.
"Leave him alone!" I sputtered.
"Little brat!" The Hybrid kicked Chas again. The force of the blow sent the boy flying into the barn door.
"Please!" I begged. "Let him alone! He's just a boy!"
"Take her to the shuttle," the Hybrid ordered, as he moved to kick Chas again. I began to fight and heard Margie laughing in delight. I turned to glare at her. I suddenly hated her.
"What are you doing?" I screamed, kicking.
"Taking you to the Vampire High Counsel for examination," came the answer from the Hybrid.
"No!" I kicked and pummeled him, to no avail.
The Hybrid was not as big as the one hurting Chas, but he was big enough. I screamed, I kicked and I cursed. Margie was still laughing. I wanted to beat her! I was carried through the barn and saw the shuttle beyond the yard. I began begging. The Hybrid ignored me. We stepped out of the barn and I heard a very loud 'thump' and I found myself sitting on the ground.
"Run!" Mercy yelled, swinging the rolling pin down on the Hybrid's head with all her might. Kathy was dragging me up and we were running. I was in intense pain, but I was running. Well, Kathy was running and dragging me.
"She's getting away!" Margie was screaming. I heard the third Hybrid coming after us. I saw Debbie, Bobbie and Joanie in the doorway of the kitchen. They were screaming for us to run. Mercy was screaming. I turned to look and she had tripped the third Hybrid and was hitting him too.
The shuttle door was open. The sun had sunk far enough that it was almost gone for the day. I saw the two familiar figures seated just inside the darkness of the shuttle. It was Tullo's father and Batar. Now I knew why the Hybrid looked familiar. He was Batar's! Batar was his father. We ran on.
"No, you don't!" Batar stepped out of the shuttle wearing a hat that shielded him from the fading sun.
Kathy pushed me and got in the way. Batar hit her, sending her to the ground. He reached out and got a hold of my hair. I was yanked back with such force that my feet flew out from under me. I would have fallen if not for Batar catching me.
"Let me go!" I screamed. Batar held me off the ground. His hand moved over
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my abdomen and held it.
"Well?" his father yelled from the safety of the shuttle.
"She is ripe! The child is near! It's one of us!" Batar laughed, carrying me to the shuttle. I was in a panic.
"Father!" the large Hybrid came running. Mercy took a swing at him too, but he ducked her. The other two crawled from under her feet and ran to the shuttle.
"Get in!" Batar ordered. I bit down on his arm. I was desperate.
"Stop!" The voice brought hope to me.
It was swift and direct. The three Hybrids were knocked to the ground and I fell forward. Batar stumbled forward. Two hands caught me. I looked up into Eldon's eyes. He pushed me towards the house and Kathy. Batar swung at Eldon and the two squared off. I made it to the door and fell in with my sisters. What to do now?
"Move!" Tullo rushed out into the yard.
"No!" I screamed.
The sun was still up. Tullo's pale face and hands were already turning blood red as he ran in between Eldon and Batar. I felt Kathy pulling me away. I fought to stay. I wanted to make sure Tullo was alright!
"We have to get upstairs!" Kathy yelled jerking me. "Your room! The doors will hold them out until help gets here."
"What help?" I cried.
"Mercy's boys!" Kathy yelled. I looked out to the yard and stood still.
"Think of the child!" I nodded and we ran.
Upstairs, I leaned out the window. All the girls were with me, each holding a frying pan, knife or broom. They were ready for war. In the yard, my brothers stood ready. The three large Hybrids were cornered by Jerry, Dusty, Borna and Harry. Willie and Billy were half carrying Chas from the barn. Eldon stood to the side, behind Tullo who was facing his brother and father. Tancid and Jonah were farther away between the barn and the house where Elsie was with the little girls. We were in trouble.
"I'll have my say!" Mercy was yelling as she limped to the house. "All of you!" she pointed to the Hybrids and they shrank back from her. She cursed as she hurried to the house. I listened to her panting as she came up the stairs.
"What's happening?" I ran to the woman to ensure she wasn't hurt. She sat heavily in a chair.
"They've come for you. Tullo won't let them take you. Demato and the boys are on the way. If they want a fight, we'll give them one!" She was panting.
"They're here!" Kathy sang happily.
I looked out the window to see four large Hybrids walking up. They looked like an impenetrable wall as they walked side by side. They stepped up behind Eldon and waited. Tullo was angrily talking to his father and brother. I leaned out to listen.
"You have no right!" Tullo yelled.
"I am now a member of the High Council! Aide to the Vampire High Council!" Batar yelled back. "It is my duty to examine the…"
"You insolent fool! You used my mate's origin to ensure a place on the High
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Council? You will not take my mate or my child. You have no right! Now, you have ended our relations. I no longer have a brother."
I gasped.
"Brother or not, that human is going with me!" Batar growled. "Give her to me or pay the price."
"The price?" Tullo shook his head. "Batar, you will stay away from her and from me. If you come anywhere near my family, I'll kill you."
"You dare threaten a member of the Vampire High Council?" Tullo's father cried, stepping from the shuttle. The sun was safely on the horizon. "You dare question the Vampire High Council?"
"I dare question a fool who will do anything to have his son gain the power that he lost." Tullo turned to his father. "The same for you. Leave my home. Never come back. Never."
"We will have the Guard here!" Batar spat.
"Bring them. I will charge you with lustful challenges!" Tullo snapped. "She is my mate. You will never touch her. Lie to the High Council and pay the price! You know what this is about. You want to breed her. You want a human Hybrid of your own. No! Leave now or I will challenge you and for that, you will die. Your home will be forfeit to the High Council and you Father, will have to live with the shame." Both men looked apprehensive.
"You will not! I forbid it!" Tullo's father shouted.
"I take no orders from you. You are no one to me now. I have no family, but the woman in my house. She is carrying my child."
Batar and his father assessed the situation. Batar shook his head. He wasn't ready to give up. The anger was clear on his face. He looked at the wall of Hybrids and at his own three who were now looking fearful. Batar stepped past Tullo and up to Eldon.
"He struck me!" Batar growled. "I demand satisfaction."
"No. He was protecting my mate." Tullo moved closer to Eldon.
"Either I get satisfaction or I go to the High Council," Batar countered.
"No," Tullo shook his head.
"Take your satisfaction." Eldon stepped forward. "If it will make you leave our home, then do so. I will wear the strap marks with pride."
"You strap him and I will kill your Hybrids," Tullo said. "Your Hybrids tried to snatch my mate. My herd was damaged. I'll take my satisfaction in their death."
"Father!" one of the younger, smaller Hybrids called out in panic.
Batar looked about. He looked to the house and then to the barn. I did too and saw Margie standing by the door. She was intently watching it all unfold. I hated her. Once this was over, as the lady of the house, I would strap her and I wouldn't feel guilty.
"I thirst!" Batar snapped at Tullo. Eldon stood waiting.
"No, not him. He is my breeder."
"It is my right!" Batar hissed. Tullo walked around Eldon.
"It is my right to offer another."
"Who?" Batar was looking at my other brothers. He ignored Demato and his sons. It was apparent that Batar wanted to hurt us.
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"A virgin. A female Hybrid. You may take her with you. She is willful and spirited. I'm not sure you could handle her, as old as you are."
Mercy's mate, Demato, moved quickly and grabbed Margie. She hissed and fought like a crazed animal. Demato was totally unconcerned as he dragged the girl over to the vampires. Margie kicked and screamed. She had not learned, and she hadn't changed.
"You can't do this!" Margie screamed at Tullo.
It struck me then what my mate was doing. He was giving Margie to them. To those monsters. I was angry with Margie. I wanted to strap her, but these vampires would kill her. I turned to go down and stop him.
"Don't," Kathy stopped me. "She put you and your child in danger in hopes you would be taken and she could be with Tullo. Let her go. She will only hurt you or your child." I stepped back, my hands on my stomach. "Do you think your child will be safe around her? One split second is all it would take. She could give your child to them!"
"She's one of us!" I pleaded for her.
"She was never one of us." Bobbie spoke up. "Someone knew you were out of the house. She's been talking to them. Look what they did to Chas. Next time, it might be the little ones."
"We can never trust her. Ever." Debbie added quietly. "She's more animal than anything."
I understood then. They not only didn't trust her, they feared her.
I knew they were right. I closed my eyes and leaned against the window. There was arguing from below. I heard screaming again. I looked out the window to see Margie being dragged into the shuttle. Batar, Tullo's father and the three Hybrids climbed into the shuttle and were gone. Margie was gone.
I hit the stairs and let myself go. I landed on the first floor and ran to meet Tullo in the kitchen. He was red. The blisters were already forming. His hands and fingers were swollen. I was horrified! Mercy was filling a pan with cold Suquidal water. Tullo sat down in a chair and slumped down.
Everyone filed into the kitchen. Mercy pushed me gently aside and set the pan on the table. Tullo dipped his hands into the water and hissed in pain. I sat before him, helpless. He looked up at me and smiled slightly. I wanted to touch him, but I was afraid of hurting him.
Mercy's husband and sons were there. I had never seen them. They were huge Hybrids. I looked at Mercy. She was a Quid. How was it she had a mate who was a Hybrid and her children were too? They favored her greatly. Demato was tall, broad and dark. His sons were big, but looked nothing like him. I was fascinated with their eyes. They were pale, not just with the silver tinge to them, but almost blue. Their eyes stood out with their dark lashes, eyebrows, hair and skin, eyes like Tullo's.
"How are you, my boy?" Demato asked, pulling as chair up to sit before Tullo. I was unsure of the Hybrid's familiarity with my mate.
"I lost my temper," Tullo mumbled. His lips were cracked. I wanted to kiss them and ease the pain.
"Better than losing your pretty little girl." I looked over at the Hybrid and he
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winked at me.
"Our brother is stupid!" one of the huge Hybrids spoke. I wasn't sure what that meant. Tullo smiled in agreement.
"You boys go on back to your mates and eat your breakfast," Demato ordered. Each of the three sons came to pat Tullo on the shoulder and nodded to me as they left.
"And you?" Mercy asked her mate.
"I'll sit here with the boy," Demato sighed, leaning back in his chair.
"We should get home." Eldon said. I realized that he was still there. How could I have forgotten him?
"Not this one!" Mercy was busy doctoring Chas who was hissing in pain as she applied medicine to the cut over his eye. "He's mine tonight. I want him close. Poor Dear, he fought bravely!" Chas smiled broadly. "You may have some broken ribs. I don't want him to be doing anything to cause more damage."
"I'm fine." Chas said with a lisp. His lip was swollen.
"Thank you." Tullo was speaking to Eldon and the others. "And you." He turned to gaze at Chas. "We were lucky to have you here with us."
"No problem, sir." Chas blushed deeply.
"I need more bandages." Mercy pulled at the collar of her dress. It was warm. She tied back her long, grey hair back and hurried to the pantry.
"Tancid and Henry will sleep in the barn tonight, just in case. One will stand with you and one will come get us. We can be here before Olan, Theto and Quirn." I assumed those were the names of Mercy's sons.
I looked up to see Eldon's eyes on me. It was unsettling. I got up to help Mercy. When I got to the pantry, I found the woman kneeling down to pull out more bandages. It was then I saw it. The mark. It was unique. Not a birthmark. I saw that it was a scar. Being so lost in thought, it took several seconds for me to realize that Mercy had been branded.
"Here we go!" Mercy stepped past me. I followed, stupidly.
Eldon and the others had left. Chas was being overpowered with affection from Mercy. Tullo and Demato were talking in hushed voices. I felt out of place. Tullo took his hands from the water and I winced. His hands were still red, but not as swollen. I heard my mother's voice in my head, saying that the best medicine in the universe was Suquidal water.
"You need to think about it," Demato was saying as he stood and walked over to the cabinet. He grabbed a cup and a knife.
"I did." Tullo sighed. "It's the only way."
To my horror, Demato cut the palm of his hand with the knife and let the blood pour into the cup. The two men continued to talk as I watched the blood drip. Instead of my stomach turning, I felt as if I were going to die of thirst if I didn't get that cup. My mouth watered and I licked my lips. I felt myself moving forward, but I wasn't walking. I was falling.
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5
"Drink." Chas was holding the mug for me, this time.
I didn't argue, but sipped the hot blood. The worst part of drinking blood during a thirst is that you don't care where it comes from. My child was a vampire. I was now sure, because I was licking my lips as Demato bled into another cup. The bad part was I was feeling what the baby was feeling. My stomach didn't turn, but clenched up with cravings.
"You've been fighting it!" Demato laughed. "You are a strong one!"
"I don't feel strong," I sighed, watching each single drop fall.
"Is this is the first time you given into the thirst? Oh, yes, you are strong!" He carried the fresh cup over to me. I practically leapt off the bed to snatch it from him. "Easy now!" Chas moved to sit with me. His hand touched my face gently. "You're cold."
"Am I?" I asked indifferently, licking the blood off my lips, gulping down the rest. I was actually looking at the open cut on his hand and thinking of sucking it.
"Yeah, I'd say you're about 80 degrees. It's a vampire."
"That's good, isn't it?" The cup was empty. I wanted more.
"It is." He took the cup and held his hand over it, flexing to pump the blood into it. "And then again, it isn't. Chas, have Mercy bring up food." The boy ran down to the kitchen.
"Why?" I didn't really care. I wanted his blood. I now understood how vampires felt when they gorged. It was like a hundred orgasms, one happening right after another, a never-ending ecstasy. A delicious ecstasy. He handed me the cup and I gulped it down.
"A vampire birth takes its toll on a woman. A Quid or a Hybrid are bred for this. You are neither. A human birth is eight months, half the time a vampire takes to develop."
"Nine." I sighed now, feeling the thirst leave me. "A human child takes nine months or forty weeks. Or so I was told."
"By who?" Demato asked, nodding to the cup. I shook my head. He had bled enough for me and Tullo.
"My mother. She said it was the best forty weeks of her life each time she had one of us." I smiled thinking of my mother.
I hadn't thought of her too much lately. I should have. I should have thought of my mother. I had been hearing her voice in my head, but I'd ignored it. I suddenly missed my mother, father, brothers and sister. I missed Lutha and I missed my sister's baby that was never born. A fear hit me.
"Humans bear children well enough," Demato seemed to know what I was thinking, "From what I remember."
"Remember?"
"I grew up with quite a few. I was on Quid 4 a long time ago. I almost took one as a mate." He smiled. Demato had a nice warm smile. "It wasn't a good idea. At least, she didn't think so."
"So you took Mercy?" Now I was being nosey.
"More liked begged her to let me lie with her. I couldn't breed her, but I
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could love her." The Hybrid sighed deeply. "Gave me four sons and one pretty little darling of a girl." A sad looked crossed his face.
"Four sons?" I asked. I only saw three in the kitchen. Had one died as his daughter had?
"Yes, Olan, Theto and Quirn." He smiled at me. "And Tullo."
"Tullo?" I jumped at that.
"Well, he was there when we mated. A little wisp of a vampire. There with her sons running about as if he were a Hybrid. It took that boy quite a while to figure out he was a vampire. His parents returned to Mutia Biasany when he was half grown. That's their plantation. I think that was the first time he had lived with them. Batar was far away and Tullo was a lonely lad. He had a hard time in his courses. After a while he had a falling out with this folks and was sent away to school."
I sat listening and wondered what vampires learned in school. How to harvest? How to strap his herd? Breed his concubine? Latin? History? Astronomy? The reason they desired blood so? Or maybe they learned to control their thirst? I wondered what my son would be taught.
"You know we had just come here to live here before you all arrived?" I looked up at him.
"Tullo finished his studies and his father purchased this place as a gift. Tullo was ordered to find a mate and give them an heir. A boy." Demato smiled proudly. "He did do just that but, I should have known that boy wouldn't do exactly as they had desired."
"You think he chose me to piss them off?" I suddenly felt used.
"No, I think he chose you because you were an adventure. You made him feel alive again."
"A vampire that feels alive? Ironic."
"Legends call them the walking dead. They aren't dead." Demato leaned forward to set the empty cup on the nightstand. "Vampires are older than man. I sometimes think they are older than time. Their laws predate man. In fact, man took his law from theirs. At least, that's what the history books say."
"You've read them?"
"Tullo read them to me when he was younger." Demato stood. "Rest. He'll be up soon. Mercy will have him healthy again. He'll be grumpy, but healthy."
"What's going to happen to me?" I asked suddenly. Demato smiled at me as he turned to leave.
"You're gonna have a baby." He winked and left me.
Chas came back carrying a tray of food. I drank water, juice and milk. I ate the meat, vegetables, bread and anything else I could get my hands on. It was like the thirst. My body was craving everything. I was going to be as big as a house! I looked out the window and saw the moons high in the air. It was very late but I was wide awake. Chas yawned.
"Come lie here." I offered, patting the spot on the bed next to me.
Chas looked at the bed and then at me. He shook his head. I watched him wince as he moved. I patted the bed again. He shook his head and sat watching me stuff my face. It was a game. He yawned, I offered, he shook his head, and I ate.
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Finally I patted the bed and he crawled into it next to me. One hand fell on my skirt that he clutched it in a death grip. He snored and I ate. It evened out.
"So now you feel bold enough to have men in your bed?" Tullo asked as he came to sit with me.
"Boy," I corrected through a mouthful of food.
"I see you've found your appetite."
"I had no clue it was missing," I gulped down some bread and drank more milk, "until now, that is."
"You were fighting the thirst. Once you gorge your body, it'll begin to go through the change." Tullo smiled at me. "It's a normal thing."
"Really?" I asked, annoyed.
"For Quids anyway."
"Humans?"
"There are so few of you that have survived the air here, let alone mated and had a child, that I really don't know."
"That's so hopeful!"
"The Vampire High Council will come, or at least send for you." Tullo spoke and I stopped eating. "I will go with you to stand before the Vampire High Council."
"Will you stand next to me when they kill me? Hold my hand?" I had intended to sound sarcastic, but it came out terrified.
"They have no intention of killing you," Tullo sighed, and attempted to rub his red swollen face, but stopped himself. His skin was shiny. Mercy had really slathered him with lotion and ointments.
"Are they planning on putting me in a cage?" I was joking. Tullo didn't laugh. He frowned.
"They are? Me, in a cage?"
"Not exactly. Worse case is that you will be examined and put under observation."
"I'm human. I'm not owned. I won't be observed. I don't have to follow your laws," I argued.
"As my mate, you do." He smiled. "And since you got here by illegal means, they could charge you with being a stowaway. That is a death charge. The old ones, my ancestors, wanted to ensure that only vampires were in control. Only certain sorts of species are allowed on Declar."
"The kind they own?" I pushed the tray of food away. There wasn't much left, but I had lost my appetite.
"Yes. To be the dominant species, you must set certain boundaries."
"Segregation and prejudice. Declar and Earth have a lot in common."
"Unfortunately, they do." Tullo looked at the sleeping boy. "Are you tired? Should I leave?"
"No. I'm not tired."
"Should I leave?"
"No. I really could use a walk." I moved to climb from the bed.
"That's not a good idea since your guard is asleep," Tullo smiled.
"Why don't you go with me? Can't you be my guard tonight?" I unclenched
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my skirt from Chas' hold and stood to stretch. It felt like my body was stretching in ten different directions at once.
"I guess a walk would be nice." He held his hand out to me. I shook my head. He frowned and then winced as he flexed the badly burned hand. He bowed to me and motioned for me to go ahead of him.
Outside, the night calmed me. I avoided the barn and walked towards the fields. We had never taken this path. I had been kept away from the fields and the open area. There were times when Tullo did make me feel as if I were a prize. Tullo's prize. Now he simply followed me.
Usually on these walks I wore my coat, and now that I was bigger, my cape. Tonight, I felt comfortable. I glided along beside him in silence. We passed the road and followed the fence along the main road. I heard the sounds of horses and carriages. I had been on Declar for almost four months and this was the first time I had seen any other inhabitants of the planet aside from Tullo's family.
The vampires were very friendly. They waved or bowed their heads to us as they passed. I was amazed that a world existed outside the farm. It was so dark I had to squint to take in what passed by. Being human with human eyes had its disadvantages. I moved forward, peering into the darkness and waiting to see what was coming next.
We walked along beside each other. Tullo bowed and smiled to the passing vampires who commented on his sunburn. There were so many and they were so far away! I blinked and blinked and I turned to looked at Tullo and suddenly saw him clearly, even though the moons had passed overhead.
I could see him! I blinked and looked behind us. I could see at least two miles behind us. I spun around. I had never thought to venture this far from the house. My first month was spent hiding and the rest of the time I was busy trying to live in two different worlds. I suddenly understood that I would have to choose one. Day or night. But I could see both! Clearly!
It was the first time I felt comfortable in the dark. I could see clearly, I wasn't freezing, I felt at ease. As if I fit. It was as if I were changing. I knew I was, but I knew that it was only temporary. It was the baby. My baby was changing, developing, and taking me with him. I wasn't sure if I liked the change. What I did know was that I liked feeling as if I were a part of Tullo's world.
"They will come for me," I said as we started our walk back to the house, "Won't they?"
"Yes. And I will be by your side. I won't let them hurt you."
"Can you stop them?" I leaned on the fence and gazed at the crop as it moved in the wind. I smiled.
"What?" Tullo asked, reaching out to touch my cheek.
"When I was little, on Earth, before we went to Quid 4, my father took us on a picnic in the country and we sat on a hill by a wheat field. It was nice to watch the wheat sway in the wind. I ended up falling asleep watching it. My father carried me to the car and when I awoke, the wheat was gone. I miss that kind of stuff."
"Home?"
"Comfort." I turned to face Tullo. "I miss popcorn."
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"Popcorn?"
"Corn kernels. We would heat them and they would pop into this fluffy delight that we smothered in butter and salt. We ate it at movies with soda and candy. I loved it. I used to eat so much of it I got sick to my stomach. I haven't thought of that in years." I said dreamily.
"What made you think of it now?"
"I felt safe then. Tullo, I'm scared."
"So am I." He sighed heavily. "I will not let them take you, the child or cause harm to either of you."
"It's very nice to hear you say that," I smiled at him, "and I know you mean it, but I don't think you can stop them." I glided on, leaving him behind me.
"I can try," he said, following me.
"Did you try with Kitty?" I wasn't trying to hurt him with the question. I was simply curious.
"No." The answer took me by surprise. It must have showed on my face as I turned to face him. He was walking slowly behind me.
"Why not?"
"I was forbidden." He shrugged. "I was young and afraid." He stopped walking to stare at me. I think he went back in time and compared me to his first love. "I'm no longer young. I'm afraid, but this time I'm not too scared to do anything. And this time," his eyes went to my abdomen, "my child's existence is known to me and I will not let him or you be injured."
"You've said that." I turned to walk on. I propelled myself off the fence. Walking seemed to take too much of my thinking process. He grabbed my arm and turned me to face him.
"I have and I mean it. I have plans for you. You and I." He set his hand on our child. "And our children."
"Children. Can I at least survive this one before you tie me up and breed me?" I was getting tired of that part of our life. I reached up to pull the combs from my hair, letting it fall about my shoulders.
"Yes," he smiled at my sarcasm, "you can." His eyes moved over me. In the dim moonlight, the silver shone in his eyes. "I like your hair down, but you must wear it up outside our home."
"Why?" I fluffed my hair out.
"It is a symbol of affluence. You are the lady of the house." He took me by the arm and gently propelled me back to the house I was the lady of. The night was giving way to light. It was time to go home.
"But not a sign of equality," I sighed.
"Faith, my love," Tullo stopped and turned me to face him. "To me, it is I who does not measure up. You are far superior to me. You are kind, sweet, smart, and beautiful and you have stolen my heart from me, cold and small as it is. I miss it and you when we are apart. Will you sleep in my bed with me tonight? No relations, just you and me and sleep."
Tullo's eyes glistened and I wanted to jerk away. I wanted to yell at him. I wanted to tell him that he was right that I was better than he. That I wouldn't dream of owning another being. But I did. On Quid 4 I had a pet. Here on Declar, I went
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to the barn often to see the animals for comfort. At times I wondered if that was all I was to Tullo. A pet. Comfort. What would my child be? To vampires, Quids and Hybrids were pets. Worse, they were food.
"Because I'm not worthy of laying with you unless I'm tethered."
"I don't think of you as less than me." Tullo knew what I was thinking. He breathed deeply and took my arm again. We moved towards the house.
"Then why do you own Quids?"
"I have to live," He replied simply. "I felt bad harvesting from Mercy, Demato and their boys. I refused to own a herd, but they were all I had. To buy blood is in bad taste. I didn't want word of it getting back to my father, but it did." Tullo breathed deeply. "He bought your herd for me. I was told to harvest, breed and to go to town and find a mate and give him an heir."
"That didn't work out so well," I noted.
"No, it didn't. But I had to do as I was told or my father would have taken Mercy and her family away to his plantation. I couldn't let that happen. My father has held my feelings for them over my head for so long. For their sake, I had to do what was expected."
"So you took a human as a mate." I smiled slightly. "That must have been such a thrill for them."
"I meant for it to be an annoyance, I had no idea Batar would want you so." He stopped and frowned. "No, I knew he would covet you. I just didn't think he would go this far."
"I guess they didn't expect you to disown them either?"
"They saw that coming," Tullo laughed lightly. It was nice to hear him laugh. "I have always been a problem to them. Me and Mercy. We took turns setting them on their ear."
"Mercy? What could she do to them?" I thought of the large, warm Quid who took such good care of me.
"Mercy was very beautiful when she was young. So beautiful that my father and my uncle fought over her. My father killed his brother in a duel over the ownership of her."
"It's your father's brand she wears on her neck!" I knew I had seen that image before. I was the same image as that on the ring that Tullo's father wore.
"Yes! She was his for years. All three of her sons are from him."
"Wait!" I stopped to let it sink in. "Olan, Theto and Quirn are your brothers?"
"Half-brothers. If I were allowed to claim them." Tullo smiled evilly at me. "I grew up with them. When my parents ordered me to have a farm and take a mate, I agreed as long as I would get them in the deal. They legally belong to me. So in a sense, they are free. I no longer harvest them and as you can tell, that bothers Demato. He's very protective of me."
"The boys aren't his?"
"No, he couldn't breed with Mercy. She is a Quid. It's forbidden. But she was alone with four young wild Hybrids. Demato stepped in and was a father to them, and to me. I did what I was told to save them."
"And you took me as a mate to save me." I waited for answers.
"I took you as my mate because I was in love with you."
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"What? You didn't know me."
"I watched you. I looked in windows. I listened. I peered through the curtains. I heard your voice from afar and it was music to my ears…"
"Have you been reading romance novels or something?" I laughed. He grinned at me in embarrassment.
"I saw you that first night and I was taken by your beauty."
"You got puked on by Zoe."
"Well, the good and the bad." He chuckled. "I had hoped she was your child. Then I could have taken you to claim and brand you and the child. To make you my own."
"You're our master. You could have taken me at any time. Why didn't you?"
"I liked you being in that house. I liked listening to you all laugh and talk and enjoy each other. I..," Tullo stopped and looked towards the house where my family lay sleeping, "I had hoped to bring some of that into my house."
"And you did."
"Faith, I was taken with you. I didn't know you were human. If I had thought that, I would have sent you back to Quid 4 instead of sneaking into your bedroom each night to leave an oxygen canister."
"I kept wondering why that thing never ran out!" I felt foolish. It was a small canister and seemed to have an endless supply of oxygen. I should have suspected something.
"Well, I knew you weren't adapting to the air as well as the others. I hoped you would. I wanted you well enough…"
"Before you bred me?" I felt the same rage hit me again.
"No," Tullo shook his head. He knew I was ready to fly off the handle again, "to entice you. To…" Tullo was having a hard time thinking of the words he wanted to use. It was amusing to see him so flustered. I smiled and that added to the embarrassment. I began to enjoy myself. "To court you." He finally spat it out.
"With breeding straps?" I replied. "I'd hate to see what would have happened if we had married!"
"Marriage! You humans mess so much up."
"Marriage is a commitment to each other. To a life. To a family. To…"
"To divorce!" Tullo countered.
"You're terrible!" I laughed and so did he.
"Vampires mate for life. There is no need for vows, churches, public showing of affection or thank you notes for gifts you never use!" We were giggling as we walked.
"But do vampires love?" The question took Tullo off guard.
"I hope so. If not, then I'm an oddity, because I love you." Tullo kissed me then and winced. His lips were still swollen and chapped. "The sun is coming. Will you sleep in my bed with me?"
"Sleep?" I warned. "We don't need them coming back and finding us in a compromising position. Then they will take me."
"Sleep," he repeated, "If I want more I'll bind you." He pulled me along. "And I won't be able to for very long. You are getting awfully wide."
"Thank you!" I snapped in pretend anger.
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"My love, I must say that the bigger you get, the more I adore you."
"Really?" I sighed as he kissed me.
I felt the need to hold my hand behind my back so he could tie me and take me. I felt my loins ache for his entrance into me. I wanted to be held down over the table, gagged and groaning in pleasure as I moved back into him, matching his rhythm with my own. I wanted to be his. Sex, love, breeding… I didn't care. I wanted him.
"Really." Tullo chuckled.
"Are those straps still on the nightstand?" I whispered.
His hand took mine and he pulled me to the house. In the end we were racing each other.
"You can't be doing this too much longer," Mercy warned as she untied me. I was lying on the floor next to Tullo. We had fallen and simply fell asleep. Now my arms were asleep and that was painful.
"Ow!" I moaned.
"What is it?" Tullo sat up instantly.
"You left her tied!" Mercy tossed a blanket over him and helped me sit up. I was weak. It felt as if I couldn't hold my head up. Something was wrong. I leaned into Mercy. "Tullo, she's thirsting again. What did you do to her?"
"Nothing I haven't done before." Tullo stood reaching for his clothes. "Is it dark out yet?"
"No, not quite." Mercy was pushing my hair back. "She's as pale as you! She needs fresh blood. Very fresh!"
"I'll send the boy." My mate started for the door.
"No! You will stay in this room until the sun is gone or those burns will scar! I'll go." Tullo moved to hold me as the woman stood. "Get her into bed and put those straps away. She'll need a beast's blood."
Tullo carried me to the bed and helped me put on my nightgown. I sat back in the pillows. I was shaking. My hands felt as if they wouldn't work for me. The tingling was painful as the blood raced through them. My heart was racing too. I was craving blood in the worst way. My back was aching as was my backside. Tullo had strapped me lightly, but still, it stung.
"I'm sorry," Tullo kissed my cheek, "I hurt you."
"I'm fine!" I snapped. "Tullo! I feel ill!"
"You thirst," Tullo explained. "It happens. It will happen more often the closer you get to your time."
"Of my death?"
"To give birth." Tullo kissed my neck.
His kisses traveled down to my abdomen. I felt as if I had doubled in size over night. My body seemed to stretch and pull tighter and wider with each breath I took. He sat, smiling at me.
"I have a solution."
"To what?" I asked, flexing my hand again. It ached still.
"The problem." Tullo got one of his shirts out of his wardrobe and put it on. He tucked my robe about me, covering my shoulders.
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"My modesty?" I pulled the robe close. I was trembling and I wasn't cold.
"Your thirst." He stood and began to dress himself. It was becoming night, our time. "Mercy sent for Eldon and Borna."
"Why?"
"Fresh blood." I must have looked horrified. "I know you're opposed to using their blood, but it's not so much your desire as his desire." Tullo nodded to my abdomen. "His desires and needs now come first. Beast blood is best. You have to keep your strength up." His hand went to my bulging stomach. "For his sake."
"But they're my family!" I protested.
"If they were dying, would you give your blood to save them?"
"Of course!"
"It's the same for us." Borna said with a mighty yawn. "Can I sleep while you drain me?"
"Hush!" Eldon ordered shoving the younger Hybrid. His eyes avoided me. "Is she ill?"
"The baby thirsts and it's affecting her." Tullo was pulling on his jacket. I noticed Eldon's eyes never left Tullo's face. It was at that moment the baby in me moved violently and I cried out. "He smells you," Tullo smiled at Eldon. Borna sat next to me. I reached for his hand and squeezed. He yelped in pain.
"I'm sorry!" I hissed, sitting up.
Borna was holding his injured hand, wincing and laughing. He had changed so much in the few months since we had landed on Declar. The sun and hard work had tanned his very well defined body. He was growing up. All the kids were. I missed them all. I looked at my hand and then to Tullo.
"He's a part of you and you are a part of him." The explanation was simple and upsetting. And embarrassing. I was stronger on this planet than on Earth. Much stronger. Now, it was as if I my strength had been doubled. "And you are weak. He is taking from you."
"Borna, you don't have to. Let Mercy check your hand." Eldon was rolling up his shirt sleeve.
"I'm fine. She ain't that strong." Borna flexed his hand again.
"Who isn't?" Mercy came in carrying the tray of supplies she used for harvesting. Now my stomach did turn.
This was done daily to one or more of the children. I had never seen it done, except to me, until now. The needles and containers were set on the table, the same table I was bent over for breeding. Eldon sat at the table and laid his muscular forearm across it, ready to be harvested. I looked away, shuddering. That is, until the scent of the blood hit the air. I breathed deeply. The baby moved and I found myself gazing at the blood that came from Eldon's arm and dripped into a container.
The smell of the blood was intoxicating. My stomach clenched again, not from revulsion, but from thirst. The baby moved and I ignored him. All I could think of was that pretty, bright red blood. I realized I was licking my lips and salivating. This would have disgusted me before. Now, it had me shaking with anticipation.
"Faith?" Borna's voice was far away, as if in a tunnel. All I could focus on
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was Eldon's blood. "Faith!" I shoved Borna's hand away.
"Faith!" Tullo was calling to me.
I ignored it all. I just listened the pulsing of Eldon's veins, the dripping of the blood, the splash of the drop as it hit the bottom and the smell of it. I suddenly had the urge to have it. If I had to rip the vein open myself, I would have. My head was aching, my jaw mostly. Now Mercy was coming to me. I tried to move from her touch. She was blocking my view of the blood. My blood.
"He's a powerful little darling," Mercy smiled as she lifted my face to gaze at me, "But he's overtaking you. You need to feed."
Tullo finished harvesting Eldon's and handed the container to Mercy. When it came into my hands, I gulped it down. Borna was next to be harvested. I finished with Eldon and waited impatiently for Borna to be done. Tullo came to sit next to me. He frowned.
"What is it?" I asked, annoyed at the looks they were giving me. Tullo smiled at me and got up. He came back carrying a mirror. I looked at it and almost dropped it.
"I think it's temporary." He smiled. I flicked my tongue out to feel the extended canines that were in my mouth now.
"I'm becoming a vampire?" I was confused. I looked to see Eldon watching me. I had to look away.
"It's only temporary," Tullo assured me, and Eldon. "At least, I hope so. Some of the characteristics bleed through. Not this strongly, but it can happen."
"What do I do?" I asked, wanting to climb from the bed and run.
"Nothing. You still have a little over a month." Tullo sat down with me again. "A lot will happen between now and then."
"It's interesting," Eldon leaned down to look at my newly acquired fangs. I held my breath. This was the closest he had been to me in a long time. His own long canines flashed at me as he smiled.
"I'm glad you find it interesting," I grumbled, "I find it annoying!"
That made them all laugh. Mercy handed the now refilled container to Eldon and he brought it to Tullo. Tullo held it out to me. I grabbed it and drank it more cautiously. Eldon's blood had been more satisfying. Much more satisfying.
"It late." Tullo looked to my two brothers. "You need your rest. Mercy, make sure they eat before they leave."
Tullo was dismissing them. I looked away from them as I sipped the blood. I felt so much better. My tongue flicked over my teeth. I was afraid of my new facial feature. Eldon set his hand on mine and I jumped.
"It's not so bad," he said and patted my hand. It was the first time he had touched me since I had become Tullo's. "Rest well, Faith." I grabbed his hand before he could pull it away. Our eyes locked and he saw the fear in me. He looked away. I knew he wanted to comfort me and couldn't. I turned and looked into Tullo's eyes. I let Eldon go.
"There's food?" Eldon was now talking to Mercy.
"Of course!" she was gathering up her harvesting supplies.
"Sweeties?" Eldon teased.
"Fresh from the oven!" Mercy led the way.
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"See ya!" Borna followed Eldon and Mercy out of the room.
"Tullo," I reached for his hand. He pulled away. His eyes held anger and betrayal.
"Yes," Tullo stood up and took the empty container from me, "Rest."
"Tullo, please, can we talk?" I begged.
He didn't speak to me, but walked from the room, shutting the door behind him. I sat alone. Eldon had touched my hand and spoke to me. Tullo would not touch me or speak to me. I sat back and closed my eyes.
The day started out great. Chas and I walked alongside the wheat field. Grain. Chas said it was grain. I had never really looked close at wheat when I was young and living on Earth.
Since the night I had acquired my new teeth, Tullo had been distant. I slept alone. I ate alone. I was lonely. Kathy and Bobbie tried to keep me busy, but I didn't want to be locked in the house.
I escaped into the sunlight with Chas every chance I got. We took long walks and talked about nothing. I wasn't allowed close to the road. We had to stay close to the house and run if we saw a shuttle. Tullo had told Chas this. He still wouldn't speak to me. It had been over a week. I felt as if I were going crazy.
Time passed and my body continued to change. The altering was not always painful, but it was annoying. I needed blood. I couldn't chew easily with the new additions in my mouth. No wonder vampires were on a liquid diet. But I had seen them eat. Mercy said that Hybrids and vampires chewed sideways and carefully.
I had practically grown up in a house full of Hybrids and never even asked how they ate. I was discovering a lot about myself and them at the same time. Mercy told me that I was the only living human on the planet. When I asked her what had happened to the others, she had clammed up. That bothered me.
The Quids were harvesting the grain. The Quids. My mind had begun to wander more and I found myself thinking of my family as simply Quids. This bothered me. During my pregnancy I had spent my time reading about vampire history, law and traditions. The myths and folklore had become boring to me. Or rather, stupid. I thought the lies told about us were stupid. About vampires. The lies about vampires were stupid. I shook my head and focused on the field.
My eyesight had improved greatly. But the bright sunlight hurt them. I had taken to wearing sunglasses outdoors during the day and relishing the night when I could see clearly for miles in the pitch darkness. Again, this was something I was told was temporary. So it became something that bothered me. It felt as if I were only temporary. As if I were losing myself to my child. And I liked myself. Or at least, I thought I did.
"You're quiet today," Chas noted as I stopped and looked out into the field.
I was watching Eldon driving the tractor shirtless. I missed him. I missed our long talks, silly jokes and butting heads. I wanted to argue and then find myself sitting in his lap, being held and comforted by him. We lived in a world where we simply avoided each other at all costs.
"The harvest is going well," I noted.
I was thinking of running in the field with Eldon. Just running and laughing.
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Maybe he would chase me? If I ran, would he chase me just to see what I was running from? Would he tackle me and tickle me until I told him what I was running from? Could I tell him that I was running from him?
"This one is." Chas climbed up on the fence and seemed to bask in the sun. I had rubbed off on him. He was a sun child. My blood had ruined him. "The next is still in question."
"Why?" I asked politely, not really caring.
"Corn. Tullo had Demato get the seed from the Earth scavengers. The gravity and soil don't seem to want to work with it. Potatoes and grain are okay, but corn is something else."
"Why corn?" I asked, wanting to forget the fear I had felt that day.
"No clue. Tullo insisted." I smiled, thinking of the conversation we had had on our walk. Me telling him about picnics on Earth and popcorn. He remembered. My heart jumped at the thoughtfulness. The thoughtfulness of the vampire who loved me and wouldn't speak to me.
"Eldon is the same. You two should talk."
"About?"
"Why you're both so miserable."
"We can't." I leaned on the fence and wondered if I should run.
"Why?"
"I'm another's mate. Our master's mate. Do you know how bad it would be?" I looked into Chas' sweet eyes. "For all of us. You, the boys, the girls, the little ones? A bad deal."
"Maybe." He jumped off the fence, took me by the elbow and led me away from the fields. "Maybe not."
"He's breeding?" I asked.
"Ask him." Chas wouldn't take sides or give out information. I would have to seek it out myself.
"How do you like it here?" It suddenly occurred to me that none of the children had said anything about Declar.
"I like it okay. I mean, I'm with you guys. If I had been sent here alone, I probably would have hated it. The only Hybrid girls are miles away! Aside from the ones who live here, but we saw them in town and they look pretty. One spoke to Borna."
"Town?" I had missed the whole point of the conversation.
"Yeah, town." He laughed at my confused look. "Did you think we lived on a desolate planet? There are towns, hamlets, oceans, countries and communities. It's just like Quid 4. It's a world."
"I've never seen it." I looked back down the road.
"You won't. You're a human. You're staying out of sight. By order of Tullo. You're like the prize around here. You are one of a kind. A true gem." Chas was grinning at me.
"Tullo's prize." I frowned and my hand went to my bulging abdomen. "What's town like?"
"Like town. We usually go when the scavengers are there."
Scavengers were the men who traveled back to Earth and stripped it of the
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things we needed such as metals, tools, dishes, plumbing supplies, books, trinkets and so much more in the ways of convenience for Quids, humans, Hybrids and vampires. They brought the wares to the towns to trade. I missed going and looking at all the little trinkets and sparkly things. Eldon used to let me look while we were on Quid 4.
"I miss the scavengers," I grumbled, "I get to be Tullo's prize."
"Tullo isn't as bad as you think."
"You don't live with him."
"He doesn't beat you," Chas said cautiously.
"No, he's very good at taking care me. Of all of us." I stopped walking to remove my glasses, close my eyes and tilt my head to the sun. I needed the energy I got from it. I was a solar energy junkie.
Junkies. Junkies, cars, electronics, war, soldiers, gangs, guns… all the things that destroyed Earth were not here. No TVs, microwaves, telephones, cellphones, or computers. We had learned one thing on Declar, too many things killed. Not so much the people, but the planet.
The last thing I remembered about Earth was leaving it and looking out the window of the shuttle. It was brown and empty. The oceans were not blue, but grey. They had died long before. I had seen pictures taken of Earth from a space station long before the Earth had begun to die and it was blue. Lush and beautiful. Full of life. Like Declar.
"Come on!"
Chas grabbed my hand and began to run, dragging me behind him. I slid my sunglasses on and looked about. I heard the shuttle, but couldn't see it. We ran in the backdoor and up the stairs. Well, Chas ran and I glided behind him. My bedroom door slammed behind me. Once again I was hidden away from whatever had come to take me.
Chas paced. I sat. I would have paced too, but my back was hurting. Again. The baby moved and I gripped the armrest of the chair to keep from moaning. Chas was nervous enough. I leaned back in the chair and waited. If they had come for me, then I would go. I didn't think Tullo would fight for me. He wasn't the fighting kind. Eldon was. I was afraid of my family being hurt. Tullo seemed to be able to take care of himself very well.
It was hard not to be bitter. I was pregnant with his child and he was cold to me. I wondered if this was how Kitty felt before she had died. Kitty. I wanted to ask someone about her, but the only people who knew about her would be hurt if I brought her up. Mercy was too kind to me. I couldn't bring myself to ask about her dead child.
What would my life have been like if Earth was alive and vibrant? Would I be in high school, or college? My sister would be married with a baby. Maybe my brothers too? I would be home on holidays with my dad and mom and… I would not know Eldon. I wouldn't know about Quid 4 and I would not be pregnant. But dreaming about what should be, could be or would be wasn't getting me anywhere.
There were sounds outside the door. I listened intently to the noise of curtains being pulled shut and the distant knock on Tullo's bedroom door. Someone was here. Chas moved to get between me and the door. I took in a deep breath and
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waited. The door opened and Demato stepped in with Eldon and Theto. Demato smiled at me. Eldon stepped closer to Chas and whispered to the boy.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Messengers sent from the Vampire High Council," Demato spoke solemnly as he hurriedly shut all the curtains in my room. "They've come to speak to Tullo."
"About me?"
"No, the weather," Eldon growled as he flipped on a lamp. I turned to glare at him. I didn't need him being a jerk on top of everything else.
"Of course you!" Demato sounded excited. Theto stood by the door. "Olan, Borna and Quirn are with Tullo."
"Why them and not you?" I looked at Eldon and Demato.
"We are to get you out of here if we have to," Eldon spoke evenly. Demato shrugged.
"They will kill you if you take me out of here," I said.
"Yeah," Demato shrugged again, "after they tortured us." My stomach flipped. I closed my eyes. "Do you thirst?" I ran to the bathroom to be ill. "I guess not." I heard him say as I puked.
I knelt before the toilet and gagged. Blood is bad going down. Coming up, it's a hundred times worse. I gasped into the toilet and felt my stomach flip again. I hated being ill. The murmuring from the other room let me know that they didn't like it much either.
The cold water on my face helped calm me. I would go with whomever they sent to the Vampire High Council, after I fell into Eldon's arms crying. I closed my eyes and hoped the room would stop spinning. I opened the bathroom door to find Tullo standing there, waiting. His shirt was unbuttoned and so were his jeans. He had obviously just gotten out of bed.
"We have guests, my love."
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6
"We should go with tradition." Tullo said to Mercy.
"I agree." Mercy was helping me get into the very fancy gown.
I was standing in front of the full length mirror, pulling my hair into a ponytail at the base of my skull. I twirled it up and around and pinned it up with decorative combs. The gown was low cut and showed off my now very large breasts. I kept seeing Tullo's eyes go to them. It was the only time he looked at me.
We had been summoned to the Vampire High Council that evening. The four Hybrids had come to take us there. Tullo was calm but upset. He was pacing behind me as I got my hair fixed. I took my time. The sun hadn't set yet, so we had time. I was not going to be rushed to my death. And if I was going to die, I was going out looking better than the average human mate. Seeing as how I was the only human mate on Declar, I didn't have much to go on.
I had read all I could on humans and their history with vampires. There was actually a lot. It went all the way back to the beginning of time. The oldest vampires learned how to travel through space and time using their minds. They elevated their minds and bodies to a level that all they had to do was concentrate and then they would simply float into the sky. Great meditation and control sent them out into space. Nine brave, young vampires left to find a new home for the vampire race. They succeeded. It was the descendants of these nine vampires who now ruled over all vampires.
Their names became synonymous with the nine planets in the system that they discovered; Shuta, Argot, Cuiren, Taryn, Lonar, Benzar, Eula, Decun and Kynul. Each generation gave birth to another descendent to sit on the Vampire High Council. Shuta ruled Declar, although two others were always by his side. The others rotated out to accompany him. But Shuta always remained on Declar because it was his ancestor who found it.
Declar was the new frontier. Vampires were the higher beings, but there was a need for more than just vampires. There was a need for the sun. It was the solar energy that fueled the vampire world. Vampires didn't need light. But the Quids and Hybrids needed light, heat and vegetation for food. Of course, there was the problem of food for the vampires. This is where the legends began.
Vampires are naturally curious creatures, the young ones, especially. Teen rebellion is not limited to the human species alone. It was not unusual for young vampires to move through the nightlife of Earth. The clubs, the music, the fast paced life of convenience and electronics, were too tempting for them. Even though these were the things that killed Earth, the vampire youth were lured to them as moths to a flame. A few of these young vampires went too far.
Blood lust for humans was always bad for the vampire image. Young vampires were also romantic. Or at least, they tried to be. Vampires are naturally cold, in their humor, hearts and demeanor. Romance was not at the top of their list. But the young ones wanted what they couldn't have: romance, love and the sun. They tried to have these things. These events always ended in disaster.
The Nine and other vampires were unconcerned with what happened on Earth. Rebellion was expected, and they would rather have their young rebel on
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Earth than on Declar. The bad thing was that most of the young rebels died on Earth, either from overdose of blood or at the hands of man. Only once in a while, when these events happened were young vampires were dragged home to Declar. Many were sent to the second moon of Declar as punishment. It was very boring there.
The history was exciting to me. In the beginning of my studies, Tullo had been talkative and helpful. Lately, I found out more than I wanted. The vampires had wanted their existence on Declar kept secret for fear that humans might try to invade it. I knew that this had been easy to expect.
Once, humans had tried to overtake Quid 4. It was the Quids that stopped that invasion. They fought for their planet, not the vampires. The planet may have been run by vampires, but it was home to the Quids and Hybrids. A home they were not willing to give up without a fight. I had hoped that the atmosphere on Declar would stop the humans from coming. But there was a fear that some humans might adapt, as I did. And I feared that also. Declar was now my home. The last thing I wanted was for what happened on Earth to happen here.
I knew this was the fear of the Vampire High Council. I survived. How was that possible? If one could survive, then others might. Humans lived on other planets now, in small colonies. What if their descendants could handle the atmosphere on Declar? Tullo had kept me a secret. Only his family knew what I was. He had altered me and taken me as his mate. All legal under vampire law. Legal and deadly, for us and our child.
Tullo's family had used me to advance Batar to a position on the high council. Now Batar was using that power to get his hands on me. I was afraid, but also tired of the games. The games and the changing rules. I wanted to know that there was a level playing field. My children would never be equal to a vampire. They would be Tullo's bastards. His pets. I hated that.
I felt bad for Tullo. I knew he wanted our child to be happy and special, but to the vampire world, they would never be equal. Tullo was angry and hurt. He had been betrayed. I watched him in the mirror's reflection as he paced behind me.
I was the offering for the Vampire High Council. My heart and mind were both confused. I loved Tullo, I did. I just didn't think I should. My mind knew it was wrong to love him. I wanted Eldon, but I had willingly stayed with Tullo. I breathed deeply and readied myself for whatever was to come.
The sun had sunk below the horizon and in the twilight, we got ready for our escorted trip to the Vampire High Council. The four large Hybrids who had brought the formal request in writing were waiting by their shuttle. Their shuttle that was blocking Tullo's shuttle in. It was decided that Demato and Theto would accompany us. Eldon's request to go was dashed instantly.
"Is she ready?" The impatience in Tullo's voice was annoying. I was standing right there. He could ask me!
"Yes." Mercy stepped back to inspect me.
"Checking the lamb for the slaughter?" I asked, not moving from my spot before the mirror. In the reflection I saw Tullo's eyes flash at me. Something else that was a falsehood. Vampires did have reflections and souls. In my mind, I was damning his to hell. "Mercy, will you excuse us?" I wiped a little blush over my
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cheeks and applied lip gloss. I clicked my teeth and fangs together and turned to face my mate.
Tullo stood, looking magnificent in a wondrous black suit. This was the suit he wore when he attended fancy functions. Maybe one day he wouldn't be so ashamed of me and take me along. He stood tall with his hands behind his back. Waiting.
"You look radiant," he commented as his eyes swept over me.
"Let them take me." I moved to pick up the small, bejeweled clutch. I dropped a small mirror, lip gloss and blush inside. "I have been nothing but trouble for you. Cut your losses. Let them take me and do whatever. Just please, be kind to my family." I turned to face him.
"Do you think I would let them take you?" His voice was even.
"Right!" I nodded, desperately trying to stay cold and unaffected. "No one takes anything from you." I frowned at him. "I am your property. Aren't I?"
"Is that what you think?" His words were cold and even.
"I think anything would be better than living like this." I breathed deeply. "I'm a prize. You were lucky that I tagged along with my family, but I'm nothing to you but part of a herd you purchased. I thank you for saving me and all. You don't have to pretend that it's more than just desire to breed a human."
I had forgotten how fast he could move. My calm Tullo. I cried out in surprise as his hand clenched down on my upper arms. He jerked me to him with such a force that my hair fell from the combs. His lips smashed into mine and I felt his tongue invade my mouth. I was tempted to bite it off. He pushed me away. I fell back against the vanity.
"Fix yourself!" He stood, glaring at me.
"If you kept me only for the child, I think you should know that I expect you to treat him better than you treat your mate!" I ran the back of my hand over my mouth to wipe his kiss away. "If you mistreat my child, I will crawl from my grave to haunt you for the rest of your fucking life!"
We stood glaring. I was tired, hurting and terrified. Tullo was just angry. I wasn't sure if it was simply because his sleep was disturbed or that his secret prize had been found out and now he would have to kill me. Either way, I didn't care. If he just gave me to the Vampire High Council, then he could rest easily.
"You think I would mistreat my child?"
"No. Just the vessel." I turned to reapply my lip gloss. He was right behind me then.
"I do not see you as only a vessel." It was unsettling to see him speak through gritted fangs. I swallowed. I was mad. I was fed up and I was out to hurt him.
"Is that what you told Kitty?"
I hadn't realized I had said it out loud until the room spun and I was facing him. He drew his hand back to strike and I stood with my eyes locked on his. I would not flinch. If I was lucky, he would kill me now. The knock at the door stopped him. He stepped back from me.
"Fix your hair. Up! You are the lady of this house." He turned and walked over to the door.
"Yes, Master!" I replied sharply as I turned to readjust the combs.
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In the mirror I saw him stop walking, take in a breath and reach for the door handle. I was asking for it, but I figured it would be easier if we hated each other. I did love Tullo. I had come to adore him.
The door opened and Zoe came running in and right into my arms. Behind her came Lindsay, Jenny, Mary, Trina and Luna. Elsie stood at the door with Bobbie, Debbie and Joanie. I hugged the little girls and laughed with the older ones. We had planned a sleepover. I had insisted the girls still come and have Mercy feed and entertain them. I wanted to remember them laughing.
"It's time!" Tullo stood outside the door looking dignified and angry.
"I'm coming." I straightened my dress and hugged my family. Elsie held me close to her. I felt her body shake as she cried. "Take care of Eldon and Chas for me?" I begged. She nodded. I pulled away, rejected the offer of a hand from Tullo and glided down the stairs ahead of him.
Outside the boys and Kathy were waiting. I hugged them all. Chas was crying. Borna hugged me. Tancid and Jerry shyly hugged me. Jonah let me kiss his cheek. Dusty, Harry, Billie and Willie all hugged me and I glided to our shuttle. Eldon stood next to Demato. He only bowed his head to me and moved away. I stood, feeling totally rejected. Now it didn't matter. My heart was shattered.
It wasn't until after we were on our way that I noticed the two extra passengers. Two of the four Hybrids had ridden with us, I suspected to ensure that we went to the Vampire High Council and just didn't take off. I looked back at them and then at Tullo. He didn't look at me. I sniffed back tears and sat waiting for my end to come.
The city was not what I expected. On Quid 4, the cities were big, crowed and noisy. The herd had to go once a year to be inspected, examined and measured. I went along and stayed in the background. But there was no way I could hide in the crowd here. I would stand out. Fangs or not, there was no way I looked like a vampire. They were tall, elegant and graceful. I was me.
The buildings were just like the eyes of vampires: silver. They were tall, sleek and very clean. No one was rushing about or making noise. It was quiet and calm. They sat in restaurants, on benches in the park and walked about the city streets.
In the moonlight it all shimmered. It was beautiful. Even the streets were shiny. It reminded me of my father's description of Heaven only the streets were silver and not gold. Silver vampires. It seemed fitting that I would die somewhere that reminded me of Heaven.
Heaven. I hadn't thought of it in a long time. Although I did pray nightly, Heaven just seemed out of reach for me. I did it without thinking. That wasn't always a good thing. I needed to think about what I was praying for before I prayed for it. For now, I sat back in my seat and readied myself. I would die with dignity.
Demato pulled up next to a very large building. Tullo got out and held his hand out to me. I glared at him. His eyes were cold and I knew better than to push his hand away with witnesses. I took his hand and climbed from the shuttle with the two Hybrid guards close behind. Demato and Theto did not get out.
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"Shall we?" Tullo asked, leading me up the steps to the building. I followed along looking around and taking everything in.
We stopped before the large metal doors. I looked up to see a flat statue. The figures on the metal doors were men being crushed beneath the heels of laughing vampires. I gulped. Tullo adjusted the shawl over my shoulders. He was standing before me.
"Are you chilled?" He asked. I shook my head. "Hold onto me." I took his arm in a death grip.
The large doors were opened with such ease that it made me jump. Two guards led the way. Two followed. The great hall was just that: a huge hall. The walls were tall and the windows were stained glass. Each window depicted the great conquests of the vampires. The death of many enemies. Each window sill was embedded with the skulls of their fallen enemy, human skulls, laughing at me as I walked along. I wondered where they would mount my skull.
There were many vampires in the main hall. The huge chandelier was lit with candles. The flames danced, giving off an eerie light. It was like something out of a castle in an old fairy tale, mystical and magical. Just like the vampires.
They milled about, drinking blood from glasses and talking. Tullo and I got looks as we walked by. Some vampires nodded to us, others just stared. Some were more obvious as they sniffed deeply. Most were drooling. I knew I smelled of human. I felt like a walking appetizer.
At the far end of the hall were tables and individuals lounging about in comfortable-looking chairs. As we got closer, I saw Arvetta stand and come to greet us. I felt Tullo stiffen even more. His mother air kissed his cheeks. She avoided looking at me.
"You've upset your father," she said.
"It was quite enjoyable," Tullo replied, flippantly. His mother raised a finely arched, disapproving eyebrow at him and stepped back from us.
Tullo's father stood next to Batar and several very distinguished looking vampires. They were all old, but not wrinkled and grey as I had expected. I counted nine. Behind each of them stood their mates. Or what I suspected were their mates, tall, elegant, and gracefully pale.
I knew through my studies that their mates were also their guards. The female vampires were trained to kill anyone who would try to injure the Nine. They were chosen for their stealth, cunning, beauty and loyalty. They were eyeing my tan. I held my head higher.
"Lortus says that you defied our order," one vampire spoke, and a silence spread through the hall.
"My father says many things." Tullo lead me forward to a very comfortable chair before the Nine. I sat. "You requested my presence. I am here and I have brought my mate." Tullo bowed to me as if presenting me to royalty. I bowed my head slightly.
"You have taken a human as your mate?" The vampire who spoke stood and walked closer to me. I held my breath.
"Shuta, it is not against our law." Tullo stood next to me with his left hand folded behind his back and his right hand on the back of my chair. I felt his cold
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fingers glide over my shoulder. It was comforting.
"No, but it is unusual." The vampire walked around me.
The other vampires began to stand, whispering. I was being set up. I focused on Shuta. He was old, that was easy to see, but he was a very handsome old vampire. He was tall, lean and pale. Even his hair was fine and silvery. The other eight were much like him. I let my eyes drift to take them in. These were the vampires that made the laws that governed Declar and the other vampire inhabited planets. They could decide my fate and the fate of my child.
My mind was spinning. I had read all the history and knew that only three of the Vampire High Council lived on Declar and the other six ruled the other outlying planets, including the far moon. For them to all be in one place at once was a very big deal. I swallowed and fought to keep my heart steady. I was the big deal. Tullo's hand settled on my shoulder. I was trembling. He squeezed lightly.
"Her ability to breathe is astounding." Shuta moved his face closer to mine. I let out the even breath. "And you bred her? Properly?" I winced inwardly at that.
"Yes," Tullo answered, "I followed every protocol."
"They share a bed!" Batar called. Shuta shot him a look and Batar was quiet. Lortus shoved his son.
"Do you?" Shuta asked Tullo.
"At times." I looked up to see that Tullo had a soft smile on his lips. "She is a child of the sun and requires her own space. She runs freely in the sunlight. I cannot, so we have separate rooms. But I do enjoy her often." A giggle rose from the crowd. I blushed.
"Is she delicious?" Shuta was actually drooling.
"Yes, would you care for a taste?" I almost bolted, but Tullo squeezed my shoulder. He produced a bottle from his coat. "For you. With my compliments. Well-aged. Harvested while she was still a virgin."
Shuta took the bottle and examined it. I watched the other eight look at him in envy. He walked over to a table and opened the bottle. He poured my blood into the glasses on the table. I noticed that tools needed for harvesting were also on the table. I sighed in relief. Tullo had saved me that much by harvesting before he had taken me.
I had to look down as the vampires sampled my virgin blood. I was trying to keep breathing and not vomit or pass out. Tullo's hand held me up and together. The murmur from the crowd rose as the Nine compared how divine I tasted. It was disgusting. I looked to the side and saw a very familiar cold smile.
Margie! She stood just behind the vampires. She was wearing a plain dress and no shoes among all the elegance. Her hair hung loose and I saw that she wore a collar. She had become a pet. A slave. Humiliation for her. It was done to Quids and Hybrids who were unmanageable. She waved to me and turned to show me her profile. I saw the bulge. She was pregnant. This far along, it had to be Batar's or another vampire's.
Tullo squeezed me lightly. I looked up at him. He too was looking at Margie. He looked back at me and I saw the pain in his eyes. He had hoped they would simply kill her. Now she was a breeding bitch. That was all she was. She would be bred and have child after child as soon as she could. She would die young and in
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pain. I looked away.
Another vampire walked up to inspect me. This one was calmer. He stood sipping my blood as his eyes traveled over me. I sat tall and waited. This one was different. He was cold and his eyes were calculated. He stepped around me, stopping for a moment directly behind me. The hairs on my arms stood on end. I held my clutch in such a tight grip that I heard the mirror crack within. Seven years bad luck. Just what I needed.
"She is not branded," the vampire behind me noted, and walked over to pour another glass of me. "Why?"
"She's not a Quid or a Hybrid. She is a human, Argot." Tullo replied.
"She wears her hair up?" Argot turned to face us.
"Faith is the lady of my house." I heard the edge in Tullo's voice.
"You claim her as your mate but she doesn't wear your brand? Are you ashamed of your choice?"
"No, Faith is a free human. There is no need for her to wear my brand, nor is she required to." Tullo's hand squeezed me again. I was shaking.
"We require her to take her hair down." Another vampire spoke up.
"Cuiren, she is the lady of my house." Tullo's voice was sharp.
"She wears no brand. She has no loyalty. Brand her." I gulped. "Or she wears her hair down. We will not tolerate her naked neck." Cuiren smiled a bloody red smile. My blood.
"Pets and breeding bitches are branded!" Argot declared.
I felt a rage in me rising as I stood, shaking Tullo's hand off me. The room went silent and I watched a smile cross Arvetta's face. I saw Margie laughing in delight. I propelled myself forward, shocking the Vampire High Council so that the three closest stepped back.
"A glider!" Argot clapped his hands in delight.
"Take your seat!" Cuiren ordered.
"I will speak. You have no law over me!" I stood, thinking over what I had read about vampire law and doctrine. "I am a human. I survived the planet and for doing so, I have free rein on my life. The vampire law is clear! If a human can sustain life on Declar then they may live outside the vampire law as an equal. Humans are weak and cannot survive, so this law stands for the day a human might be worthy of an alliance with vampires. A day when it will be time to set aside hate and anger."
I quoted the law. Now I knew why Tullo had me study the books. He knew one day I might have to defend myself. The murmur rose. The Nine of the Vampires High Council stood, looking angry. I looked back at Tullo. He looked unaffected.
"It is custom to wear a brand," Shuta spoke.
"Does your mate?" I asked.
"My mate is a vampire," he replied, holding his hand out. The lovely vampire came to stand next to him. She was obviously looking down her nose at me.
"Pity," I sighed, "I will not wear a brand," I spoke defiantly, "Unless my mate desires to brand me?" I turned to look at Tullo.
"No, I need no brand to know Faith is my mate." His eyes met mine. I smiled
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at him in relief. If he had desired me to be branded I would have panicked.
"I want to go home. Are we finished?" I asked the Vampire High Council boldly. They were finishing off the bottle of my blood.
"No," Shuta smiled at me, "We desire your hair down."
The movement was swift. Tullo yelled and leapt towards me. He swung knocking several vampires away from me with a vengeance that was so unlike him. He was quickly subdued by several male vampires including his brother and father. I was grabbed by several female vampires, including Arvetta. The combs were ripped from my hair. Well, one was.
I screamed in rage, jerking, kicking and punching. I saw the knife blade move towards my abdomen and shoved it away, cutting my hand. The smell of my blood set off a thirst frenzy among the females. More females rushed me. Their dignified elegance dissolved in their lust for my blood. I closed my bloody fist and swung it with fury. If they wanted my blood they would pay for it first.
With my newfound strength I was free almost instantly. I sent the females flying by their hair or with a blow of my fists. I took many hits and felt the pain of a bite on my shoulder. I swung and spun. I was hitting and kicking as I did. The females flew through the air. Suddenly I was alone. I stood ready to take them all on. The Vampire High Council, stood looking amused.
"It is our desire that you wear your hair down." Argot said.
I hated them. I hated vampires and their Vampire High Council. I moved to pick up the knife with my bloody hand. It was slick and hard to hold. I held it in one hand and pulled the combs out of my hair with the other. No one moved. Except Tullo. I heard him struggling behind me. The Vampire High Council stood watching us as if we were the evening entertainment. The female vampires picked themselves up from the floor. They were no longer dignified looking, but damned mad and thirsty.
"So I must wear my hair down?" I asked the Vampire High Council. I kept the knife at the ready in case the females decided to try and dive on me again.
"Yes!" Shuta raised his glass of my blood to me.
"That is your final verdict?" I asked. "You state that either I be branded or I wear my hair down?"
"That is our final verdict!" Argot announced.
"I want to hear this from all the Council. I want it unanimous," I ordered. I sounded calm, but I was shaking in rage and fear. "Is this is your final answer on the matter?"
The room murmured again and I stood, waiting. Batar began barking some stupid threats at me, which I ignored. I had witnesses. The Vampire High Council had made sure high society had been present to watch me be put in my place. I knew one thing about vampires. They respected and trusted their Vampire High Council. That was one thing the Nine of the Vampire High Council would not jeopardize was their standing over a lowly human who could breathe their air.
"It is." I heard the words from each of the Nine.
"Thank you. I shall abide by your request."
"No!" I heard Tullo's voice over the catcalls from behind me.
I reached back and took the ponytail in one hand and yanked the knife across
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it. My hair fell about my shoulders and to the floor. A horrified gasp went up. I stood with my hair down. Down on the floor. The back of my head was bare. No hair hung down over my neck.
"Grow it back!" Batar ordered angrily. I looked over my shoulder at him in astonishment. He really was stupid! I picked up my shawl, combs and clutch with my free hand.
"Release my mate," I ordered, "Now! You have no right to hold us and we have plans for dinner."
The Vampire High Council looked ready to rip the rest of my hair out. I stood waiting. It was several minutes before anyone moved. The room was quiet. It was Shuta who walked to me slowly, holding out his hand. I laid the blood covered knife in his hand. It was like handing him a treat. He nodded to the vampires holding Tullo. They let him go. Shuta moved his face close to my ear.
"Touché," Shuta whispered.
"I am a free human. I will not be anyone's pet or breeding bitch!" I shot a look at Margie. "I don't think that I'm better than vampires, but by your own law I have proved myself an equal. My child is another matter." I glared right at Shuta. "Don't think this child will be anything but a vampire. He will learn as vampires do, that vengeance is for those who protect their family. Leave our family alone. Because my son will be more powerful than you realize and it's better to have him on your side than against you." A murmur went up in the room.
"I'm just a weak human." I continued with my bluff. "The air here weakens me daily. The power I have just displayed is from my son and his desire to live. I'm at term. I know I won't survive this birth," I looked right in Shuta's eye, "But my son will. He knows all that you have said. He knows your voices and he will grow to either hate you or respect you. The decision is yours. Now either leave us alone or allow me to return to Quid 4." The murmur rose. "Or maybe one of the human colonies. One that hates vampires. My son could grow to be a man who could hate his own!" I let the threat hang on the air.
"You defy our laws." Shuta spat, loud enough for others to hear.
"The only law I follow is the law set forth by my mate. Tullo rules me. He breeds me. I obey only him." I turned to look at Tullo. "I will defend my mate to the very end. And my children. I want nothing to do with your law. I want to go home." Shuta stood looking at me. I saw respect in his cold, silver eyes. A respect of a worthy opponent.
"Have a nice time at dinner," Shuta bowed to me and turned, dismissing me.
I stood, unsure of what to do. Tullo lifted my shawl over my shoulders and offered his arm to me. I took it and let him lead me out of the Vampire High Council. By the time we got to the shuttle I was shaking so hard that I wasn't sure I would make it. Tullo lifted me into his arms and set me in my seat. As soon as the shuttle door shut, I began to sob uncontrollably.
"Is this the only place that you're bleeding, my love?" Tullo asked, wrapping his handkerchief around my hand. I hadn't realized it was still bleeding. "We need to get you to Mercy for doctoring." His cold hand gently caressed my face.
"Tullo!" I sobbed into my shawl.
"Maybe Mercy can do something with your hair." I looked up to see him
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smiling at me. He kissed me and I fell into his arms, crying.
I was covered with bruises. My gown had been ruined. It was torn and covered with blood. The females had tried to tear it down the front and expose me, but I had fought them off. I had gotten home with my breasts still covered. Now the dress lay in a pile on the kitchen floor. Mercy had stripped me the instant I stepped into the kitchen.
I was wrapped in a blanket, washed, doctored and sat as Mercy tried to even out my hair. It hung long in front, outlining my face, and very short in back. Mercy had said I did a wedge that was uneven, but not too bad. I sat crying softly as she clipped away at the remains of my hair.
Somewhere in the mess Elsie, Kathy, Borna and Chas were there. Chas disappeared and then Eldon was there. I almost laughed at the shocked look on his face when he saw my hair. It was quickly replaced with rage at the bruises that covered my body. Demato was telling them all what I had done. He had snuck into the Vampire High Council and watched from the safety of an alcove.
Within moments everyone knew what had happened. Demato and Eldon both looked very proud of me. Tullo was distant. I had hoped things would be different, but it looked bleak for me. As I watched my family leave to go home, I wanted to follow. I wanted to crawl into Eldon's bed and cry. Mercy wouldn't have let me. Tullo might have. In fact he might have been thrilled. Or so I thought.
Under the watchful eye of Mercy I trudged to my room, showered and dressed for bed. I was brought my dinner with three mugs of fresh blood. Demato, Eldon and Theto. I sighed at the mugs, but I had a thirst. I gulped the first one down and licked my lips. I drank the second with more dignity. I only sipped the third.
Sitting at my desk with a mug of blood in my hand seemed beyond irony. I had just fought a room full of vampires to keep my blood in me and here I sat, drinking the blood of my friends and family. Tears rolled down my cheeks as the insanity sunk in. I had just fought for my life and won, but I was alone. My baby moved in me and I set my hand over him. No, I wasn't alone.
Tullo appeared at my bedroom door. Mercy left quickly. I sipped my blood and eyed the sweet bread on the tray. It was really the only thing I wanted. The blood had satisfied my little passenger. My aching body was screaming in protest. I tried to ignore Tullo's stare. Confrontation was one thing I wanted to avoid. At least for now. I had enough confrontation this evening to last a lifetime.
Tullo shut my bedroom door. I set the cup down and wondered if I should run or not. I had done things that should have upset him. I had defied the Vampire High Council. I had fought with his family. I remembered his mother hitting the floor after I had slugged her. Actually, my bloody handprint on her cheek had been the highlight of my evening.
I frowned slightly. I had been off the farm, for the first and last time. After the little song and dance I had pulled in the chamber of the Vampire High Council, I had a feeling that Tullo was not only going to lock me in my room, but tie me to the bed. Which I wouldn't mind, if he joined me. The look on his face told me that he was thinking of it. Tying me to be bed, but not joining me.
Darkness was giving in to the light. The curtains were drawn. I stood and
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climbed into bed, hoping he would just leave me so I could fall apart alone. Tullo climbed into my bed with me. The sudden movements on the bed made me wince in pain. He grunted and I remembered that he too had been attacked.
"Tullo, I'm sorry." I looked down at my hands. They were resting on my abdomen. "I'm hormonal." It was the only excuse I could think of.
"I'm very glad that you were. I've never seen anything like that."
"What? The crappy haircut?"
"Someone so brave." He smiled at me as his hand settled over mine and our child. "I tried to …"
"Don't." I pulled my hand from his. "It doesn't matter. We made it out of there alive and home in one piece, more or less." I looked at my bandaged hand.
"I tried to stop it. I had no idea that they would attack you. I thought they might examine you. There was no time to act and when I did I froze. I was amazed at you!" He grinned at me.
"I kind of panicked." I reached up to touch my hair. "Do you hate it?"
"Yes," he laughed, looking at my horrid haircut, "I hate it as much as I love you."
"You still love me?" I really had wondered.
"Yes. I don't think I've been very nice to you."
"No, you haven't." I sniffled. Tears still slide down my cheeks. I had a black eye, a cut on my cheek and three nice scratches on my jaw. The tears stung. I cried harder.
"I was angry." He sat up, wiping my face with the edge of the silk sheet. "Very angry. At myself."
"At yourself?" Now I was confused.
"Yes. I had reservations about our relationship and instead of talking to you about it, I felt better brooding."
"You brood and I cry. What a couple. What kind of parents will we be?"
"Wonderful ones." His smile was warm. "You're going to love my child and he will adore you. And I will love you both."
"Will you?" I was still unsure.
"Faith, I've had a lot problems. None of them have to do with you. Or the baby. I've had to deal with these problems alone and felt it was best to distance you from them."
"I thought I was your mate?" I protested.
"You are!"
"Then why am I not included in your problems? I could help."
"How?" he laughed.
"I'm not stupid," I snapped, "If nothing else, then for you to have someone to talk to. I thought we were in this together? Why do you exclude me? Am I not worthy of your trust?"
"It has nothing to do with trust. It's dangerous." Tullo settled back into bed. "For us."
"What is it?" I asked. He lay staring up at the ceiling and pulled me into his arms. I went.
"It's all resolved now. Your place in my life is resolved. I won't avoid you
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anymore, or exclude you from my life. Faith, you are my life now. I just wanted you to be worry free and safe." His cold hand caressed my cheek.
"I was worried," I mumbled.
"About what?"
"That I was nothing but a pet to you, or worse." Tullo sat up at my words.
"What could be worse than that?" His face was angry.
"A breeding bitch," I whispered.
"Is that what you think of me?" His voice had a dangerous edge to it.
"You got me pregnant and wouldn't touch me and…"
He leapt out of bed so quickly that I almost fell out. I sat up to see him walk around the bed and snatch the breeding straps off the nightstand and the strap. I didn't move, but sat waiting. I didn't have long to wait. Tullo grabbed my hands and tied them before me.
"Tullo…"
"Silence!" He forced the bridle into my mouth and jerked me across the bed. He tied my hands to the headboard of the bed.
The baby moved and I winced. Tullo lifted me so that my knees were under me and I was off the baby. I was shaking. I felt his hand tear my nightgown open down the back and the cool night air hit my back side. Then I felt the strap across my back. I screamed more in shock than pain. He wasn't hitting me very hard, but the sound of the leather on my bare buttocks was loud.
The strap hit me several more times. His hand was between my legs, massaging me. With each blow I moaned, loudly. He tortured me for a long time before he tossed the strap aside. I was trembling in anticipation of what was to come.
"I love the way it turns so red!" He kissed my back and moved to enter me.
Slowly and gently he took me to a place I knew well and had missed. I held onto the headboard, moaning and begging. Tullo held me by the hips, holding me to him. His hands traveled up and down my back and to my front, massaging and caressing our child and my breasts. It seemed like hours before he was done with me. He didn't untie me, but laid me on my side. I tried to pull my knees up to my chest. I was trembling.
"No," I felt his kisses on my stomach and down to my inner body.
I screamed in pain as he bit into my inner thigh. My mind seemed to spin out of control as my body reacted to his touch, his long missed touch. Tullo didn't release me until I was close to falling into the darkness. He sat me up and held me against his chest. I was breathing hard and fighting to stay conscious. He pulled the bridle from my mouth. I licked my lips, gasping.
"Your fangs are showing, my love." He kissed the top of my head. "Why don't you put them to use?" I felt his hand move my head to his chest. I bit his chest and felt the hot, spicy, blood spurt into my mouth. My body convulsed and I heard Tullo mumbling in my ear about love and eternity together before darkness took me.
"A breeding bitch?" Tullo's voice was distant and calm. I blinked into the darkness and saw him smiling at me. "Like you'd settle to be anyone's breeding
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bitch." His hand caressed my cheek and I saw a sadness fill his eyes. "Well, maybe one."
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing." Tullo kissed me. "How are you feeling?"
"Sore." I moved my aching body. "Was I dreaming?"
"I don't know," He was amused with me, "Were you?"
"Did we get into a fight?"
"No, you beat up my mother and several of her friends. Then you threatened the Vampire High Council, after you cut off your hair."
"Oh!" I nodded. "I guess I wasn't dreaming."
"No." He was moving me beneath him in the bed.
"What are you doing?" I asked, trying to pull away.
"I am going to make love to you."
"Oh!" I lifted my hands over my head to be tied. Tullo smiled at me and kissed me tenderly.
"No more breeding straps," he whispered.
"What?" I sat up, annoying him.
"You are now an equal. The Vampire High Council said so." He was pushing me back again. "No more breeding straps."
"Wait!" I pushed him off me, making him growl in frustration. "What about this?"
"This what?" he asked.
"What you just did to me!"
"Oh, that." He looked embarrassed. "I figured one last time would be fun." I glared at him in disbelief. "Didn't you enjoy it?"
Enjoy it? I leapt from the bed and reached for that strap. I'd show him how to enjoy it! I pulled back to strike. Tullo was laughing as he took the strap from me and took me against the wall. I threw my head back and moaned as I felt his chest beneath my hands. I could touch him. I could feel my lover. I melted into his arms.
The sun came up and Tullo lay sleeping. I wasn't about to move. I was in his arms and I wasn't tied. It was strange that he wasn't as cold to me as before. My own body temperature had dropped quite a bit. I was truly becoming Tullo's. I was the lady of the house and his mate. Not his concubine, but his mate.
His even breathing was soothing. I found myself thinking more of my parents and my life before Quid 4. I had almost forgot about being human. Listening to his breathing, I was trying to remember the Pledge of Allegiance, the first lines of the U S Constitution and prayers. Even on Quid 4, I had been schooled by my parents about Earth and its history. I had forgotten it all when they died and I had become a Quid.
Prayers. I kept trying to remember them. I felt as if I needed them. I had been close to death but couldn't remember a prayer for my soul. I remembered Grace, and my night time prayers. I knew them by heart. Since I hadn't died, it shouldn't have mattered, but it did. I wanted to remember all I could about Earth to pass the knowledge on to my son. He had a right to know about Earth, Quid 4 and Declar.
"What are you thinking about?" Tullo asked. His hand came to rest on my
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head, caressing my short hair.
"Nothing." I didn't know how to ask for what I wanted.
"Eldon?"
"What?" I sat up.
"Are you thinking of Eldon?"
"No!" I moved from the bed. "Why would you ask that? Do you think of Kitty when you're in bed with me?"
"She's dead, but I think of her often." I had asked for that.
"I don't think of Eldon."
I went to the bathroom and relieved myself. I slid the robe on over my aching body. It barely closed. Had I gotten larger overnight? I looked at my profile in the mirror. Yes, I was bigger. It must have been the excitement. Terrifying or not, the evening before had been exciting. I was now an equal to Tullo. No more breeding straps or bridles.
"Why not?" Tullo asked as he leaned on the doorframe.
"Why not what?" I was still inspecting my profile.
"Why don't you think of him?"
"Who?"
"Eldon."
"Because I'm yours." I moved past him to climb back in bed, yawning. I hoped he would take the hint.
"You are the lady of the house."
"Yes." I snuggled down in the bed.
"As such, you must take a lover."
"Okay, I'll take you." I patted the area next to me.
"No, you are expected to." He climbed into the bed, but didn't lie down. "You have to."
"I'm pregnant. You really want me to go in search of a lover now?" I sat up ready to fight him.
"No, not now." He smiled at me, and I hated it when he did that. "You know the laws and doctrine. It is your duty."
"I know why you vampires don't marry!" I grumbled.
"Why is that?"
"Because there are too many excuses to divorce!"
"You are the lady…"
"I heard you. I know the laws and doctrine and I understand that it is expected, but I won't. I like being yours and you being mine. I'm pregnant and tired. Now lie with me and hold me so I can sleep."
"You can't sleep if I don't hold you?" he teased, moving to hold me.
"No!" I pouted at him as I laid my head on his chest.
"What have you done lately?"
"Cried myself to sleep." I wasn't lying. He knew it.
"I heard you." He held me closer, "Many times I wanted to come to you. I wanted to comfort you."
"Why didn't you?"
"Because… I thought you wanted someone else."
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"Tullo, I wanted comfort from no one but you. I'm your mate."
"I know," he sighed deeply. I couldn't tell Tullo that I feared he would strap Eldon if he thought I still loved the breeder. Or worse. I didn't dare.
"You humans are so faithful!"
I laughed lightly at that.
"What?"
"That's what we used to say on Earth about our pets."
"You are not a pet!" he kissed my head, "Nor a breeding bitch!"
"I wasn't implying that." I sat up slightly. "It's just what we used to say. I know it's not normal, but all I want is to be with you."
"And Eldon?"
"Eldon was another world, another life…" I fell back into the bed. "He was before I met you."
"Before I tied you and took you?" the words hurt. They were true, but they hurt. "I gave you no choice."
"No. Life or death, not much of a choice."
"I could have saved you and not taken you. I could have saved you and given you back to Eldon."
"Why didn't you?" I wasn't sure where this conversation was going, but it had my curiosity piqued.
"Because I wanted you for myself. Once you said you were a virgin, I couldn't let you go back."
"My blood is that good?"
He smiled at my teasing.
"Yes, it was more than good. But so was taking you. The way you responded to my touch was beyond anything I could have ever imagined. How bravely you fought for the others and gave yourself so easily to keep them safe…" His hand touched my face. "I envied Eldon for having you by his side. I wanted you."
"You have me." I turned my face to kiss his hand.
"If I hadn't…"
"Eldon and I had talked of it before. I wouldn't. I didn't like the idea of him being in my bed and breeding the others. I just couldn't..," I sighed in despair, "I wanted my mate to be mine and want only me."
"Then you have what you want." Tullo kissed me with a smile on his lips. "Later we will discuss your lover."
"Tullo! I don't want one!" I moaned.
"Maybe the boy?"
"Chas? No! He's a baby!" I sat up so suddenly that Tullo pulled me over him, tickling me.
"Then who?" He kissed me.
I held in the words. I couldn't say that I wanted Eldon as more than a lover. I wanted Eldon to be mine and mine alone. Something that would never come to pass. I had to let Eldon go. I had to stop loving him as more than my friend or I could lose him all together. I had Tullo and I was content with that. I had to be. Tullo sat waiting for my answer.
"You!" I kissed him back and we fell into the bed and each other.
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7
"You look like you're in pain!" Kathy spoke as I glided into the kitchen. I wasn't walking. My legs hurt. I was simply shoving off from furniture and propelling myself along.
"I am." I sat and winced. It had to be the widening of the hips. I was already four months along and counted my blessings that it was a vampire child I carried and not a human one. Nine months seemed impossible. I was huge!
"I'll get your breakfast." Kathy was hurrying about. She was nervous. I sipped my glass of milk and avoided the mug of blood. I was tired of drinking that.
"Where is everyone?" I looked about. The rain was still falling and I was tired of it. I longed for the sun.
"Cleaning upstairs. Tullo wants the rooms clean for when your time comes." She set a plate of eggs before me and I saw the bruises on her wrist. I grabbed her hand. She pulled her hand away, blushing.
We stared at each other. I knew those bruises. I had some of my own. Kathy smoothed her apron and turned back to the stove. Her hair was still worn down. I felt the world slide out from under me. The room spun and my head was pounding. I picked up the mug of blood and drank, hoping to still the nausea. Irony at its best.
"When?" I gasped. Kathy stood with her back to me.
"Three nights ago."
"You are his?"
"No," Kathy turned to smile at me with tears in her eyes, "His heart belongs to another. It was just his duty." She hurried from the kitchen.
I ate. I was hungry. He was hungry. I ate in silence. Another. Kathy had been breed by duty but Eldon loved another. Yes, Elsie had taken my place. My stomach moved and I put my hand over it trying to calm him. A walk in the rain. It would calm me at least, and hide my tears.
I stepped out into the rain and glided past the barn and to the house, the house that my family lived in. I stood beneath a tree, letting the tears fall as I listened to the younger girls laughing. I missed them. I missed my old life and I missed Eldon.
Before it had been for the comfort of a friend, but now? I really wanted to be inside with them. I wanted to be cooking, laughing and waiting for Eldon and the boys to come home to eat. I wanted dinner with all of us talking. I wanted to clean the dishes, put the younger children to bed, help the older girls plan the next day's meals and take a snack into Eldon in his study. I wanted to sit in his lap and talk. I wanted him to hold me and kiss my head. I wanted what could never be.
Things had changed too much. The little ones still ran to me, but they were wary of me. I was now My Lady or Ma'am. No longer was I just Faith to them. I had become someone else. Someone I wasn't sure I wanted to be. I missed being just plain Faith. The child moved in me again. I held my abdomen and cried. Did becoming a mother mean that I was no longer a member of the family?
I wasn't part of the herd. I couldn't be. I was Tullo's mate. I was the lady of the house. And I was sad. Eldon had begun to breed. I sobbed uncontrollably under the tree in the rain. I was pathetic. I made a choice and now I had to live with it.
"Faith!" Elsie was running to me with a coat over her head. She leapt over a
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puddle and up next to me. "What are you doing out here?"
"I don't know!" I sobbed.
"Come on!" Elsie put her arm around me and pulled me to the house.
"It's raining!" Zoe was yelling from the doorway where she was jumping up and down in delight. "We're baking!"
"Yes!" I smelled the breads and cookies.
"Get out of those wet clothes!" Elsie pushed me towards the fire that was burning in the hearth. "Lay them over the chair. Let me get some blankets. I don't think you'll fit in any of our dresses." She hurried from the room.
"I'll help!" Zoe announced and all the little ones came to help me get out of my soaking wet gown.
Lindsay and Jenny helped me out of my shoes and stockings. I was shivering by the time I got down to my slip. My teeth began to chatter. Elsie slid a blanket over my shoulders and I let the slip fall to the floor. She quickly picked it up and laid it over the back of a chair.
"Sit!" She ordered to a rocker by the fire.
I sat. Luna handed me a warm cup of chocolate and spice to drink. It warmed my body from head to toe. Zoe climbed in my lap, as best she could and hugged me. I held her with one hand and drank deeply. I was home. My tears dried up as my hair did.
"I don't like your hair!" Zoe announced. I laughed running my hand through it. "It's short!"
"I'm sorry," I laughed. Elsie winked at me.
"Faith! There you are!" Chas came running in the back door in a panic. I had forgotten about my guard.
"I went for a walk."
"Alone!" Both Elsie and Chas cried out at me.
"I just wanted to enjoy the rain," I pouted at them.
"You're so flighty!" Chas moaned, sitting down across from me. "Eldon would kick me in the seat of the pants if he were here!"
"Eldon? I thought Tullo had you watching me?"
"Eldon makes me. Tullo allows me." Chas got up to get himself a cup of warmth. "I fear Eldon more than Tullo. Especially when it comes to you."
"Why is that?"
"I don't think Tullo could ever hurt anyone intentionally. Eldon could." I saw the fear in Chas' eyes. Eldon had scared the boy.
"What makes you say that?" My child turned in me, making me wince.
"He has to," Chas whispered. "I know he doesn't want to… he has to. He's the breeder. Eldon is the breeder." The way he said it was to convince him more than me.
"So I've heard." I was afraid to know what Eldon had done to frighten Chas. The boy was fearless, but whatever fear had been instilled in him was real and might make me fear Eldon.
"What is she doing here?" The voice made me jump. Eldon stood looking at me as if I had come from a different planet. His eyes were confused. I think my lack of clothing had him more annoyed than anything. "Why is she here and where
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are her clothes?" Eldon was talking to Elsie.
"She went for a walk and got wet. She's drying off. And warming up." Elsie continued with her cooking.
Eldon and Elsie. They were like an old married couple. She was talking at him and cooking, he was talking at her and questioning the things going on in his home. My heart sank a bit at the way they acted. Eldon reached for a piece of the vegetable Elsie was cutting and leaned in to kiss the top of her head. She smiled and pushed him away.
I set my cup on the table. I was ready to leave. With or without my clothes. I wrapped the blanket around me better and slid my feet into my shoes. Chas quickly reached for my clothes that were still drying. I wanted to go before the tears fell.
"Your clothes are still wet!" Elsie was hurrying to me.
"I have to go. Tullo will be waking soon. He expects me to dine with him. I need to rest. Living in the day is difficult for us." I stopped myself. "For him. He expects…" I pulled the blanket around me. It was still raining. I peered out the window and started for the door.
"No." Eldon was beside me. He leaned down to look out the window. "You should wait. The weather isn't good." I could smell the musk on him and wished I were anywhere but there.
"I'm not afraid of rain." I pulled the door open and got slammed in the face with a wall of water. Eldon jerked me back and slammed the door.
"You aren't afraid of much and you aren't very smart. You're as big as this house and you want to waddle through rain and mud? What if you fall? What about the baby? You're so selfish!"
"Selfish?" I screamed at him and the cold tone he took with me, "How am I selfish? I just want to go home!"
"If you got hurt, Chas would be held responsible! You think I would enjoy strapping him for your selfish actions? Or don't you care for anyone but yourself?"
"You dare strap Chas and I'll strap you!" I threatened. Eldon stood taller and glared at me.
"You would!" Eldon laughed at me.
He actually laughed at me! I almost lost my blanket as I lunged at him. It wasn't that I actually thought I could hurt him, I was just so angry that I had to try! Chas was yelling, Zoe and Lindsay were crying, Elsie was screaming and Eldon was laughing. It was too much!
I pulled free and ran from the warm kitchen and out into the rain. I got as far as the porch before I was yanked back, hoisted over Eldon's shoulder so far up that I almost went sailing over him. Eldon held me so that the baby was safe. It seemed as if he cared little for my safety and only Tullo's child. I was carried to the main house. It wasn't easy for him. I kicked, I pounded on his back, I pulled his hair and bit his shoulder. I found this high riding position gave me a good fighting advantage. I listened to him grunt, curse and yelp, but Eldon did not drop me. His hand came down upon my backside and it was my turn to cry out.
By the time we got to the back door of my home I had done damage to my beloved Eldon. Mercy had the door open. I was set in a chair and watched as Eldon wiped the blood from his nose. He looked at his hand and then reached back to rub
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his shoulder. More blood. I glared at him.
"I always thought you preferred it in a cup," he spat as he turned and headed out the backdoor.
I grabbed the nearest thing and flung it at his back. The bowl hit his back and shattered as it hit the floor. Eldon spun to glare at me. I stood holding the wet blanket around me. I was ready for whatever he had. He smiled at me and left.
Chas came running in the door, carrying my clothes and a shoe that I had lost. I turned and ran for my room. I was cold, wet, dirty, angry, pregnant, and naked. I shut the door, fell into the bed and screamed into my pillows. I cried as I had never cried before. The pain that ripped through my soul was unbearable. I cried until I had nothing left. Eldon had chosen Elsie!
"Why are you crying?" Tullo asked.
I opened my eyes and sat up. I was still naked. He only looked at me curiously as if I laid about naked, pregnant and cried all the time. I pulled the bedding over me. Tullo frowned and brought my robe over. He helped me put it on. I rubbed my face to make sure I was awake. Yes, I was. I remembered Eldon and Elsie and my heart sank again. Elsie had probably kissed Eldon goodbye and climbed into their bed alone. I felt the tears coming again.
"Are you not well?"
Tullo was dressed for business. The suit he wore bore the mark of elegance and prosperity. He must have been dealing with traders. Eldon and Demato would be waiting for him.
"Faith?" Tullo said.
"I'm fine!" I snapped.
The surprised look on his face was painful. I wasn't angry with him. I was angry with fate. My fate was sealed and so was everyone else's. Tullo stood waiting with his hands folded behind his back. I wondered if they were fists and was he thinking to strike me.
"I'm sorry." I stood slowly and pulled my robe around me. "I'm tired… I'm not sure…"
"Are you upset because I'm here?" He asked coldly. I shook my head as I waddled to the bathroom. "Or because someone else isn't?" I stopped and turned to look at him. I had hurt him. "Faith, I cannot be him. He is not for you. Not now. You have gone too far to go back to living in the herd's quarters. You are the lady of the house. I know that might not mean much to you, but it does to me. I know I'm foolish, but I do love you. Please, try not to humiliate me. I don't think I deserve it." He turned and left me. I sat down in the nearest chair and cried.
Time went on. I kept my distance from Elsie, the house, Eldon and any of my family. Tullo's touch was not welcomed. I turned away from him and locked myself away in my room and in my heart. Chas was my only real companion in the daytime. We walked, talked and enjoyed the sun. We spoke only of silly little things. I cried most of the time I was alone. I couldn't seem to stop the flow of tears. The boy sensed my anguish and confusion and didn't push me. He would politely excuse himself and leave me to my fits of tears.
I wished something would happen. I was entering my fifth month of
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pregnancy and I was unhappy, uncomfortable and afraid. Worst of all, I felt as if I were alone. Surrounded but alone. I even avoided Mercy. My days were filled with solitary silence or silly conversations with a prepubescent Hybrid who waited on me hand and foot. I dreaded each day.
"What's wrong with you?" The words and the sudden brightness woke me from a deep sleep.
I sat up in my bed and yawned, looking around at my room that was filling with light. Kathy and Joanie were opening the curtains with zest. I crawled from my bed and waddled to the bathroom. I heard the fluffing of pillows and slapping of sheets to the bed. I had hoped they would just leave, but the girls were straightening the room and not leaving.
My breakfast was on a tray and sitting on my desk. I waddled to it and sat down as I crammed the sweet bread into my mouth. It was delicious! Mercy was a wonder in the kitchen. I sipped the warm blood and yawned again. The sun was high in the sky. I had slept hard and now my body was protesting. It was slow in waking.
"Well?" Kathy asked with her hands on her hips. She stood glaring at me in anger. She was never angry.
"Well what?" I asked, sitting back in the chair. My back was killing me.
"What is wrong with you?"
"I'm tired."
"Not that!" Kathy began fluffing the already fluffy pillows. "Why are you being such a bitch?"
"What? How dare you…"
"What? Talk to the lady of the house like that? Are you going to strap me?" Kathy stood looking at me. "Why are you moping about? Tullo is just as bad. And Eldon! They are both grumpy and unreasonable because of you! Why are you making us all suffer? What's your problem?" She stood, waiting for an answer to a question I could not give. I began to sob. Kathy stopped being mad and came over to hug me.
"Kathy!" I blubbered.
"Get on with your chores!" Kathy ordered to Joanie. The younger girl ran from the room, shutting the door behind her. "Now," Kathy rocked me in her arms, "what has you acting like such a fool?"
"I thought I was acting like a bitch!" I cried.
"I just said that to make you mad enough to talk to me." Kathy took her apron and wiped my tears away. The apron smelled of the kitchen. "Now, what is it?"
"I don't know," I cried, "ever since I found out that Eldon had chosen Elsie I haven't been able to stop crying!"
"What are you talking about?" Kathy made me sit back. "Eldon hasn't chosen a mate. And if he had I don't think it would be Elsie. At least, I hope it won't be."
"Why not?" Did Kathy want him for herself?
"Because Borna and her are getting serious!" Kathy frowned. "At least I think they are."
"But you like Borna!"
"Yea, well…"
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Kathy sat down on the floor and laid her head in my lap as she had when we had heart to heart talks on Quid 4. I stroked her hair and she sighed. I thought she might be crying, but Kathy would never tell me. She was a very private person. Only I knew that she was in love with Borna and had been for years.
"I'm sorry I've been so bad," I mumbled.
"It's not like you need a spanking." I shuddered at the comment. She laughed. "I know, not that type of spanking." She heaved a long, deep, heavy sigh. "We're all just worried about you. Eldon has been so angry! He kicked a hole through the door! Lucifer now comes and goes as she pleases. We all walk on eggshells around him. He stands on the porch looking up here all night long. What did you two fight about?"
"Nothing," I replied.
It was nothing. We didn't fight. He paid attention to Elsie and I was jealous. I had run from him, from Elsie and from the whole situation. It wasn't that I had wanted to be with Tullo. Well, not in the beginning. I was trapped. He had threatened to hurt Zoe. I was dying. It wasn't fair.
But I had come to love Tullo. He was smart, distinguished and very kind to me. He was gentle and when he did pay attention to me he was very attentive. When I wasn't hurting his feelings or making him feel that I didn't love him. Tullo had been more than a mate to me; he was my lover, my friend, my protector and the father of my child.
When I was alone in the middle of the night, I would think back to the first times Tullo had taken me. The kindness and gentleness he had exhibited as he took me. The long talks as we lay in bed. How his touch had been gentle and how he had made me laugh. I had been happy on Quid 4 with my family and now I was happy on Declar. I had been happy with Eldon and I was happy with Tullo. Well, I had been. I was unsure of what happy was anymore.
"I'm so confused, Kathy!" I moaned.
"So am I!" Kathy laughed, "And I'm not pregnant!"
"I'm sorry, Kathy. I would never strap anyone." I confessed.
"You threatened to strap Eldon." She wiped her face and stood to pour my milk over my mush. "Eat."
"I was mad. I couldn't."
"He would've stood there and taken it. You know it."
"I know," I felt bad for my harsh words, "I just…Kathy, I was so mad and he was being so…"
"Eldon?"
"Yes! He makes me crazy! I just… I don't know what's wrong with me. They said four months! It's been almost five. I'll be heading into six soon. My feet are swollen. I'm swollen. I just think that I need a good kick in the pants to get my head together."
"Well, pull your head out of the back of your pants before they kick you in it," Kathy teased. I laughed with her. "Try not to be so mean." She was biting into a piece of sweet bread.
"Kathy?"
"Huh?"
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"Are you treated well? The herd? The children?" I was afraid of her answer.
"We're the envy of the planet." She laughed sitting with me. "We're treated so well that there are Hybrids who want to come here."
"What?"
"Four male Hybrids and just two females. The female Hybrids are trying to get traded to Tullo. We talked to them at the market and they see us buying sweets and cloth and toys and… and now they want to come with us. They don't have the things we are allowed. Tullo has been trying to get more girls and asked the boys what they like. Chas says if they are like you he will love them." I blushed. "He's in love with a girl like his sister," Kathy teased.
"It is a bit uneven," I agreed.
"Yeah, just like your hair," Kathy yawned. "I have to get back to work. You get up, get dressed, go for your walk and be nice to Tullo! The guy is in love with you and dying because he thinks all this is because of something he did."
"He does?"
"For the past two weeks he's been as bad as you! He whines to Mercy and Demato about how to make you love him!" She kissed my cheek, grabbed the last piece of sweet bread and hurried out of the room.
Tullo thought it was because of him? I dressed and glided down the hall. I heard Chas in the kitchen, waiting for me. I debated only for a second before I slipped quickly into Tullo's bedroom closet and shut the door behind me. I checked to make sure no sunlight was visible before I opened the door and stepped into his bedroom. He moaned in protest to the disturbance. He slept so lightly!
I marveled at the sculptured muscles of his back. He was lying on his stomach, hugging my pillow. I suddenly missed him. I moved closer and reached out to touch his hair. His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. I jumped back but he pulled me across the bed and into his arms. I squeaked in surprise as he rolled me onto my back and smiled down at me.
"What are you doing?" he asked, looking fabulous, all tousled and daring. My heart was racing.
"I… I didn't want to wake you. I just…" He kissed me to keep me from stammering. I kissed him back.
"I missed you." I hugged him.
It felt good to have his arms around me. I wanted to tell him I was sorry. I wanted to tell him I loved him. I wanted so much from myself and I wasn't able to give it. I couldn't. The fear and jealousy in me was more than I could deal with. I wasn't tired, I was exhausted. I let Tullo hold me. It felt right to be in his arms.
The sun was my friend. It was my best friend. I basked in it. As it rose, so did I. The time I spent outdoors became my livelihood. I wanted to lay naked beneath it and let my baby feel the heat through my skin. I wanted my child to love the sun as I did. I knew that I was dreaming. My child would be a vampire and all vampires were allergic to the sun. My heart ached for what my child would not be able to experience.
The days dragged on. I was in my sixth month and as big as some bug that had gorged itself on blood. I would sit and then need help to stand. My abdomen
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was so extended that I was sure my child would be born half grown! Mercy said that I wasn't too big. She said she had seen many pregnant women larger than I was. I didn't believe her.
Walking became an issue. I could go short distances but then I needed to rest. Chas took to carrying a stool with us on our walks so that I could sit when I was too tired to stand. We spent a lot of time walking, sitting, walking, resting, walking and laughing about it. I was feeling better.
I had pushed Eldon and Elsie from my mind. I spent time in the sun but then hurried to climb into Tullo's bed. He would hold me and we would talk in low whispers and giggles. Mostly we spoke of our future together and our child. Our lives seemed to be so settled.
As the sun sank on the horizon, we would work together on the nursery. It had been painted a soft blue with boy toys littering the floor. It never occurred to me that it might not be a boy. So one evening when Tullo came into the nursery carrying a girl's doll, I was surprised.
"It's for Zoe," he smiled as he leaned down to kiss my cheek, "She's three this week."
I sat stunned. I had lost track of time. It was usually me that remembered the birthdays, or the days that we celebrated the births. Being Quids was difficult. Once you were weaned you were taken from your parents so the exact dates of birth were lost in the shuffle. Once a child was brought to our herd, Eldon, Kathy, Elsie and I would estimate their age and pick a date. There was no real celebration, just cake. My mother had always made cake for my birthday. We were Quids. We were supposed to just acknowledged the date. Eldon frowned but let me make the cakes. Now I was upset. I had missed six of those birthdates since being on Declar.
"What is it? You don't think she'll like it?" Tullo looked upset with the doll and that made me laugh.
"No, I just realized that I missed a couple of birthdays. Six, no, seven. Yeah, seven, including Zoe." I felt like a failure.
"Kathy and Eldon remembered. I buy dolls for the little girls and boots for the boys. I think they are too old for toys. Mercy makes them a cake. Eldon said it was tradition."
"They're thinking of girls." I was folding baby clothes. Mercy had been sewing up a storm. "The boys."
"Yes," he handed me the doll and folded his hands behind his back as he walked around the room, "we've a lot of Hybrid males and not enough females."
"Yes, I noticed." I leaned back in the rocker.
"I'm thinking of purchasing a Hybrid female from Batar." The way he said it made me look up. "She has a child and now that Margie is his favorite, this one is giving him problems." He was looking out the window at the moons. "I thought maybe she might be a good wet nurse for us."
"What?" The thought of my child suckling another creature did not sit well with me. "No! I think not!" I started to stand and Tullo moved quickly to kneel down before me.
"Listen…" his voice was calm as he spoke to me, "what if our child is a vampire?"
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"Our child is a vampire!" I spat angrily. "And why would we want Batar's problem?"
"Well, it's either her or Margie." I frowned. What a choice. "One has to go. His wife is going to kill one. They are fighting all the time and disrupting their home. Margie has found favor with Batar and Lenora has a child. Batar's wife asked me to take Margie back."
"No!" I held my belly in my hands. I didn't trust Margie.
"Then I would like to take Lenora. She's a nice enough Hybrid. I've known her since she was a child. She's very calm. Demure." I rolled my eyes. From the way Tullo said the last part, I figured that Lenora was also very pretty.
"Take her, but I don't want a wet nurse," I frowned.
"You do know that our child will not be able to enjoy the sun. I don't know that I could take that from you."
His hand was massaging my deeply tanned hand. His own hand was pale, as all vampires. The thought of my child being this pale hurt my heart. Not only that my child would not see the sun, but also that I would have to give up my time in the sun. The sun had become my best friend.
"Tullo, I will do what I have to for my child," I assured him.
"Then you will allow me to get a wet nurse." He smiled at me as if he had won the argument.
"You can get what you want, but I will not allow anyone to nurse my child." I smiled at him.
"You may not be able to." Tullo spoke slowly and kept his eyes on mine. "Nurse our child, that is."
"What are you talking about?"
"You're human. If you do not have sufficient nutrients in your milk, our child will be ill." I gasped and he held my hand. "I think we should be prepared." His hand cupped my cheek. "Having a wet nurse is not a crime and it's not anything against you as a mother."
"That's what you think!" I pulled my hands from his and folded my arms across my chest. "Why not Kathy or Elsie?"
"Neither is lactating. They haven't had a child. She has. Just in case. She will be with the child while you sleep. She will be with the child while he sleeps and you enjoy the sun."
"So you want me to leave my child?"
"No!" he sighed heavily. I knew I was being difficult.
"I think it will help for you to live in both the light and dark. You can't be awake all the time."
"I can nap here and there…"
"And give our child less than perfect care?" His tone was cold. I knew his mind was made up.
"I want to nurse my own child." I had my mind set too.
"The wet nurse will only be utilized if your milk is not suitable."
"No. Only I will nurse my child. If I can't nurse then we will bottle feed our child."
Tullo sat back on his heels and looked at me as if I had just told him I was
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giving birth to a croaner. His face became paler and I almost laughed. He stood up and began to pace.
"I will be able to nurse," I decided to compromise, "but I think a nurse to be with the child when I'm not able to is fine. But I think we need to think of another situation."
"What's that?" He was still pacing.
"What if I don't survive the birth?" He stopped pacing and turned to look at me as if I had lost my mind. "I am human." His face softened and I knew he had thought of it too. "Someone will need to care for my child. Not a wet nurse. I want Elsie. If I don't survive, I want you to take Elsie as your concubine and have her care for my child." He drew in a deep breath and nodded. "Only if I die!" I added, teasing.
"Faith!" Tullo fell to his knees and hugged me, laying his head in my lap. "Stop talking of this."
"Just agree?" I begged, running my fingers through his hair.
"If you agree to something for me." He sat up with misted eyes.
"What?" I fought to smile.
"Not now. I'll tell you later. I just need to know that when the time comes and I ask this of you the answer will be yes. No arguing or fighting." Now I was suspicious. "I just need to know that as my mate you will do as I ask?" I held my hand out and he moved his cheek into it. "I love you Faith and you can't die. I won't make it without you!" His head fell into my lap and I hugged him.
"Yes. I will do what you ask," I whispered into his ear. I wondered what he planned to ask of me.
"I'm tired." I sat on the stool and Chas stood looking out into the garden where the children and Lenora were.
Lenora was pretty and young. She was almost fifteen and her child was just three months old. Niyan was a healthy, happy baby boy with soft eyes and a thick head of curly hair. The young Hybrid had been with us a week and I still had a hard time dealing with the idea that she would be caring for my child.
I did like her child though. Niyan's face was familiar, and although I knew the child's father was a vampire, as you could see in his fine sculptured features, I found him adorable. But he wasn't maturing as fast as I had heard vampire children did. Mercy told me that Niyan's grandparents were a human and a Hybrid. Niyan's characteristics were mostly vampire, but he still had human characteristics. To his vampire father, Niyan was nothing. Not Hybrid, not vampire, just a child and a great disappointment.
Lenora had been lucky. Most disappointments were killed or sold off. They were such a disgrace that the vampires would not want to even acknowledge their existence. I could see Margie tormenting the quiet girl over the disappointment of a child. Lenora wasn't the type to fight.
Demure. Tullo had said she was demure. She was more than that. She was sexually demure. Flirty, in a subtle way, and she had eyes for my Tullo. She was the type of girl who needed to be taken care of. She was attentive to Tullo and my mate enjoyed that. Tullo had said he was lucky to get Lenora. I doubted that, but
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said nothing because of one fact: Lenora feared me. This was something I could use to my advantage.
Elsie and Kathy took her under their wing right away. She moved into the main house with us. Her room was next to the nursery. All of the boys had taken an interest in her. Lenora was very pretty. I caught Eldon talking to her often and that didn't help the feelings I had towards the girl. Now Chas was looking her way.
"Go!" I mumbled in disgust as I stood. "Go see the new girl. I'm going in." We were sitting on the patio by the backdoor. Lenora was with the younger girls and Niyan in the garden. I could hear her delicate laugh float to us. Chas was straining his ears to hear her words.
"Huh?" Chas turned to see me waddle towards the house. He hurried to snatch up the stool.
"Go on! I'm going to sit in the kitchen and see if I can talk Mercy into making me some sweetbread." I didn't bother looking back. I heard his footsteps as he ran for the garden. Men!
I was just outside the backdoor when the pain struck. I almost doubled over and had to hold onto the doorframe to not fall. I breathed deeply and let the breath out slowly as Mercy had taught me to do. The pain subsided. I stood, breathing evenly. These pains came and went. Mercy called these pains false labor. Lies my body told me. Or were they? Another pain hit and I held my breath.
I sat on the chair outside the door and waited. I was sweating and breathing hard. The pain came again. My back. It was in my back. No, my side. I leaned forward and fought not to scream. I let the sun beat down on me and prayed for this pain to stop. It didn't. The pain increased to an intense point and then ceased. My back pain increased to a point that it felt as if my spine were being torn out. The pain in my hips moved down. I breathed slowly in and out, trying to relax. It was after the third set of pains that I realized what it was. I was up and moving, gliding up the stairs before the next pain hit and crippled me.
"Tullo!" I threw open the door to his bedroom and crumpled to the floor.
I thought I did that rather gracefully. I lay on my side breathing in and out and hissing at the pain. The sunlight poured over my body and into the room. Warming me, and making me smile. Could I have my child right there? I thought that would be wonderful.
"Mercy!" Tullo yelled as he lifted me into his arms. He kicked the doors shut and carried me to his bed.
"Don't tie me!" I begged.
"I'm not!" The room was dark. His liquid voice was moving. "Stay there! Mercy!" he was yelling again.
"I don't think I can move," I called.
Why was I so calm? The pain hit again and calm went out the window as I felt the gush of fluid. I screamed in pain. Now the pain came with a vengeance. I rolled to my side and pulled my knees to my chest. My heart was racing, my head was pounding and my stomach was turning. I hoped the baby didn't rip his way out of my stomach. Then again, at least the pain would stop.
"Hold on, my love." Tullo turned on the bedside lamp and I cried out at the sight of him. His face and arms were a bright red. Tullo had been burned by the
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direct sunlight.
"Tullo!" I reached to touch his face. He pulled back in pain.
"Don't worry about me! You have to lie back!" He pulled me onto my back and the pain hit. "Watch the sun!" Tullo yelled as the door opened.
"Goodness!" Mercy stepped back out and yelled for someone to cover the windows in the hallway. A few seconds later the door flew open and Mercy came rushing in. "Is it time?"
"If not, I'm gonna be pissed!" I hissed through clenched teeth.
"Yes!" Mercy was looking up my skirt and feeling about with her chubby hand. "There's the head!"
"What?" I cried.
I was quickly stripped down to my dressing gown. Then I was sweating in the cold room. Kathy was by me, holding one hand and Tullo the other. Mercy slid my underwear off and smiled as she looked at me. What was she smiling about? I was tempted to close my legs, but the pain hit and I would have been pleased if she had yanked the monster out of me!
"White hair!" Mercy sang in delight. She was laying things on the bed next to me, scissors, ribbon, towels, a blanket and packages of blood. There was more but that was all I saw before I began screaming again. "Hold on! This one is going to be easy!"
Easy! Did she say easy? I wanted to beat sweet Mercy with the scissors! The pain hit again and I screamed again. Tullo held me up in a sitting position as Mercy instructed and he was yelling in my ear for me to push. I pushed and screamed.
He was pale, slimey, blue and gooey. He screamed and I sighed. Tullo held me against him and hugged me. I lay there, listening to the beating of my own heart and the gushing of my blood. Mercy was screaming as she handed the squawking baby to Kathy. I felt that death had finally come to visit. I held out my hand and Kathy brought my son to me. I kissed his head and closed my eyes.
"I think he's yucky!" Zoe announced as she peered over the side of the cradle. She had her doll tucked under her arm.
"Do you?" Tullo knelt down to talk to the little girl.
"Yes!" Her jealous little pout soothed my aching body. "You look funny all red!" Tullo laughed as she touched his blistered face.
"Thank you!" Tullo lifted her up so she could get a better look at my son. "He might grow on you," he offered. Zoe shook her head, making Tullo laugh again.
"He's a handsome boy," Eldon spoke. I didn't look at him.
He had not come in the room, but stood just inside the doorway. All the other children ran to look at the first born child of our herd. I winced inwardly at the words. My baby was part of a herd. But he was a beautiful member of the herd. Chas handed me a wooden rattle that he had made. I kissed his cheek.
"Eldon showed me how," the boy whispered. I smiled, shaking it. It rattled.
I was lucky. I had almost died in childbirth. The blood Mercy had given me and her expertise had saved my life. When I was able to nurse my child for the first time, which was just moments after his birth, I saw disappointment in her eyes. I
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knew she must have been thinking of her own daughter who had died delivering a dead child. Because of Mercy, my child and I had survived.
The only one missing was Margie. I didn't miss her. In fact I was sure that she was still alive. Margie had a way of talking, conning or fighting her way out of anything. Tullo's family could use her. She knew us, our habits and she could get to us. Tullo had said that in hindsight, he should have just killed her. I was beginning to think so also. I sat in Tullo's bed surrounded by pillows and family. I was very content.
Lenora stood in the background holding her own son and waiting. My son began to squawk. Donum, my son. I held out my arms and Tullo set Zoe down and carried our son to me. I nursed our son. He wasn't sick. He was well and my milk was enough. Lenora could watch Donum, but I would nurse my beautiful son. I had lived.
"I miss the dark skin," Tullo said as he bit into my inner thigh. I moaned at the intrusion of his hand as he fed on me.
My friend the sun was greatly missed. Our son was three months old and Tullo had taken me to bed after we had put him down for the night. Lenora and Niyan slept in the nursery also. Donum was very vocal and I had taken to sleeping lightly. I would rush to the room at the first whimper. This night was different. Tullo had taken me to his own bed. I lay naked in his bed, well worn out and very well satisfied.
"I miss you fangs," came a mumbled declaration from below. I smiled. My canines had receded, much to Tullo's despair. "And your hair. I miss it and… and I've missed you." His kisses traveled up my body as he fell on me.
"I can tell," I giggled against his kisses, "For being so little, he sure keeps me busy. I feel as if I have no time for myself."
"You could let Lenora nurse…"
"No!" I frowned and he dropped the argument. "I'm his mother."
"And a very good mother."
"What do you want?"
"What?" His voice was innocent.
"You're being too agreeable." I tugged at his hair and he lifted his head from my chest.
Tullo's face was calm and he was smiling at me. The past three months had been very nice. He spent most of his time with Donum and me. We took walks in the moonlight, had long talks of our future and compared our thoughts on how Donum was growing.
And Donum was growing. He was sitting up and babbling. Vampire children matured so much faster than human and Quid children. I felt as if every time I put my baby down for a nap, he had changed immensely by the time he woke. His features were very much Tullo. Donum was very much a vampire.
"I'm going to the examination." I said.
"Must you?" Tullo sighed.
Donum was scheduled to be examined by the Vampire High Council. They would determine if he was a vampire or a Hybrid. I saw very little human
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characteristics in my son, but he was a baby. I was appalled that not only was my son to be physically examined, but that his blood would be tested. The Vampire High Council would have a taste. Tullo had assured me that it was not unusual. To me, it was horrid.
Initially I had refused and was quickly overridden. Donum had to go. So if my son had to go, then I would go. I didn't trust my son's welfare with anyone. Especially the Vampire High Council. The outcome would be very important to Donum. If it was decided that he was a Hybrid then Donum was no more than part of the herd. If he was declared a vampire, then he was Tullo's heir. Tullo had assured me that Donum was his son and that was all that mattered. And I believed Tullo. It was the other vampires I didn't trust.
"Yes." We had been arguing this issue for weeks.
"They will question us and our lives," he pointed out.
"So?" I was up to being defiant. It was my son, vampire or not. Tullo fell into bed next to me. I rolled to face him. His cold finger traced my face.
"Do you recall our conversation about the possibility of your dying?"
"What?" I was taken by surprise.
"Do you?"
"Yes." My eyes narrowed as I studied his face.
"I have a request." His eyes would not meet mine.
"Yes?" I had a sick feeling that he was going to ask me not to go to the examination.
"Faith, you are the lady of the house. My house."
"And?" his eyes locked on mine. I was waiting and ready to fight.
"You must take a lover." I blinked. I wasn't sure if I heard him. "One of the herd." I blinked again. "Faith,…"
"I heard you." I sat up and took a deep breath. "Are you crazy?"
"It's expected."
"What? That you be crazy?" I growled. Tullo frowned at my lame attempt at dry humor.
"We have to establish our family situation and…"
"You have lost your mind!" I hissed. Tullo smiled at me broadly. He was actually happy that I was angry. "Did you really expect me to be happy with this?"
"No, but I didn't think you'd be so upset." He sat up with me, took my hand and kissed it. "I always thought you'd enjoy bedding Eldon."
"Eldon!" I screeched.
"Well, he is the breeder." Tullo looked confused. "Not the boy, he's a bit young. Borna?"
"Tullo! I am not climbing in anyone's bed but yours and that's in question right at this moment!"
"They can come to your bed." Tullo was really confused. I growled at him and climbed from the bed.
"Faith, it has to be. Even if it only happens once. It's expected." Tullo sat watching me. I snatched up my nightgown and listened for my son to cry out and save me from this nightmare.
"No!" I pulled on my robe.
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"It's already arranged." Tullo stood and reached for me. I tried to pull away and he held me. Once again, he was stronger than I. Fighting was not going to help.
"Arranged?"
"The harvest is over. The herd is going to the far fields for a picnic and an overnight celebration. They leave first thing tomorrow morning. We're going to pop popcorn." He smiled. We had been enjoying the treat. He liked it drizzled with blood. My blood.
"I never should have told you about popcorn." He ignored me.
"Kathy and Elsie are saving you and I some. All of them are going. All but Eldon. I asked him to stay and guard us. He will be alone in the house. You are to go to him. Lenora will stay with Donum."
"You will stay here with Lenora and my child?" jealousy was raising its ugly head again. I didn't trust Lenora with my son or my mate.
Lenora had made it clear she wasn't interested in any of the Hybrids of our herd. She was more interested in being's Tullo's concubine. Elsie and Kathy had gotten that from their conversations with her and turned a cold shoulder to the new Hybrid. She was attentive to my son and my mate. I really couldn't blame her. It would be a good life for her and her son if she bore Tullo's child. We had argued about her attentiveness to my mate. Tullo had rolled his eyes and confessed some-thing to me that was even more disturbing. If he took a concubine, he had decided on Elsie.
Now my mind was spinning, even though I had asked him to take her as a concubine if I died. But I hadn't died! Tullo had confessed that Elsie had actually been on his mind since I had brought her to his attention. I frowned and could have kicked myself. Tullo had eyes on Elsie for a concubine and was staying in our home with Lenora and our child. I huffed as I geared up for a fight. Tullo touched my face and diffused my rage. I shuddered as I pushed the anger away.
"You should worry if I had said that Elsie was staying. I will not take a lover while you are my mate." He kissed my forehead. "I can barely handle you! And I only want you."
"Then why must I?"
"Because you're not a vampire and it's expected. You must follow protocol. They will be looking for any reason to establish cause to take Donum from us."
"Why?"
"You know as well as I that he is more than a vampire. Donum can one day give the Vampire High Council reason to worry."
"He's a baby!"
"If he grows as a vampire, he will be powerful. If he's a Hybrid, he may one day lead a revolt. If he's human, he is our only known enemy." I slumped in Tullo's arms. He held me against him. "Who influences his development will be as powerful as he."
"What has your brother done now?" I knew it had to Batar.
"Either he is allowed to breed you or he wants to raise Donum. He has the right to neither. He believes if he breeds you, he can make you grow your hair and wear it down, or be branded. You defiance has them all wondering the influence you will have on Donum."
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"What if I let you brand me?" I rubbed the back of my neck.
"No, I'll not brand you. I like the defiant side of you." He kissed the top of my head. "You'll take a lover and we'll go to the examination. Hopefully, Donum will be declared a Hybrid."
"Why a Hybrid?" I hugged him.
"Then his existence will not matter to them until he's a man."
"What do you want him to be?" I asked.
"Happy," Tullo sighed heavily into my hair, "Just like me."
"Tomorrow?" I asked.
"The herd will be leaving before breakfast. They will eat there. Mercy and Demato are taking food out there now. The entire herd will be there. Overnight. They will return the next evening."
"You aren't jealous?" I was curious.
"No. It's your duty." I looked up into his eyes and knew he was lying "I must say that I really don't want to know details. As the lady of the house, you know that you must keep this to yourself. Even though everyone will know eventually, it's not spoken about."
"I know."
I moved from him and walked over to the window. I wanted to let the sun in to pour over me. I couldn't. I was unable to do a lot of things I wanted to anymore and I was being forced to do things I wasn't sure of anymore.
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8
Mercy trimmed the back of my hair for me. I didn't think I would ever have long hair again. The thought of short hair for the rest of my life would be the one thing I wouldn't get used to. But I wore my bare neck proudly. I needed no brand to tie me to Tullo. I just had to keep telling myself that.
As the sun began to rise I heard the herd laughing as they made their way into the fields. True to his word the day was mine to do with as I wished. Or rather as Tullo wished. I left the house and walked to the house. I stepped in the back door of the house that my family lived in and gathered my courage.
Eldon was sitting at his desk when I stepped into the study. Thanks to Tullo, everyone but Eldon had gone to the fields for a picnic and games to celebrate the end of the harvest. They would not be back until late the next evening. Tullo planned on taking Donum there once it got dark. I'm sure Lenora and Niyan would go with him. Just like one big happy family. I shook the thought away and waited for Eldon to acknowledge me. We were alone. He didn't even look up at me.
I walked to Eldon. He didn't look up. He was looking over the farm paperwork. The harvest had been a good one. I had heard Theto telling his father this. He had also said it was because of Eldon's abilities. I felt pride in that. I stepped around the desk and leaned back against it, facing Eldon.
"What are you doing here?" Eldon asked, still not looking up.
I looked at the breeding straps that hung from his belt. The bridle bit had many teeth marks on it. Who had he bred? Absently I reached to touch the straps. Eldon grabbed my hand and pushed it away.
"So you're breeding now?"
"It's my duty." The response was cold.
"Would you have done this to me?"
"No. You know we couldn't." He finally sat back, throwing his pen down. I had his attention. "Why are you here? Don't you have a house, child and man to care for?"
"They're sleeping." I moved closer to him. I picked up the pen and began fidgeting with it. "I'm bored. And lonely."
"So you expect me to bed you? Is that a command?" The harsh words stung. "Is that your wish?"
"No," I set the pen down and moved back around the desk. I walked to the door and locked it. I moved to each window and drew the curtains closed, blocking out the light. "I want you to show me how you breed my sisters." I moved back around the desk, next to him.
"Are you insane?" he growled.
"No. I'm curious."
"Curious?" he asked incredulously.
"It's all about power, control and…"
"It's not about romance or love." He leaned forward to glare at me. "We aren't human. We're Quids." He knew the words would hurt. He knew how much I wished I were a Quid.
"I am me." I didn't flinch from his glare. "Just me. I want to know."
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"Why?" He stood and moved away from me. I watched him walk to the far end of the room and stand with his back to me. I walked to him, wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head on his back. I heard his heart racing.
"What have I done to you to make you want to torture me so?" His voice was pleading.
"Nothing." I hugged him tighter. "Except love me."
Eldon pulled away and turned to glare down at me. I didn't step back but forward into his arms. He held me. He had not held me since I had become Tullo's. He had kept his distance. That had hurt me. I had accepted it, but it had hurt. Now I wanted it all back.
"It's not what you think. It's impersonal. It's much like what he does to you. It has to be." His words were in my hair.
I almost said that it wasn't impersonal with Tullo. Not really ever. The first time had been under duress. It had been terrifying and painful, but there had been nothing impersonal about my time with him. It bothered me that Eldon thought that Tullo hurt me.
"Would you have done it if I were a Quid?" I asked.
"Yes. I would have chosen you for myself long before we ever came here. I would have bred you and brought you here carrying my child in you!" I felt his shoulders slump.
"Do it now?" I begged, "Now, just for now, pretend I'm a Quid. Pretend I'm in my cycle. Pretend that you want to breed me. Just this once?"
"I can't do that to you." Eldon shook his head slowly.
"Why not? No one's here. Just you and me. Do this. Please!"
"You want me to tether you, beat you, and breed you?" Eldon spoke as if I had asked him to kill me.
"Yes," I stood taller waiting. "I want what should have been mine."
Eldon's eyes traveled over me. I knew what I was asking. I knew what it would mean. Even though none of us had ever been bred before we came to Declar, we had all heard the tales of breeding. I wasn't sure how exaggerated the tales were, but I was about to find out.
"You're sure?" Eldon asked in a very deep voice. "The first time is the most painful." I looked up and saw the silver in his eyes. I gulped back fear and nodded. "Once I start there is no going back." His warning was cold. I nodded again.
Eldon stepped away from me. I wasn't sure what was to come. He loosened his belt and walked to the breeding table in the corner. I watched him as he laid the belt on the table, sliding the breeding straps off into his hand. He opened the drawer and pulled out what looked ominous. I knew it was a stimulator, even though I hadn't seen one before. I swallowed and took a step back as he came towards me.
"Are you sure?" His eyes were as cold as his voice.
Eldon was very serious about this. I looked at him, the breeding table, the straps, the stimulator and the bridle in his hand. I knew one thing for sure. Eldon loved me and he wouldn't ever hurt me. I swallowed and stood taller. I was no longer a child. I was a woman. I was a mother. I was the lady of the house.
"Very sure." I tried to sound very sure. I failed miserably.
Before I could scream, the bit of the bridle was shoved in my mouth and
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secured around my head. Eldon jerked me to him. My clothes were pulled off and tossed to the floor. I was naked as my hands were tied behind my back, tightly. I couldn't fight. There was no time and there was no way that I could. I was thrown down on the breeding table, face first.
"Relent!" Eldon ordered, as I fought him. I struggled against his hold. The straps were fastened across my back and held me to the table. "Relent!" Eldon's voice was cold as I screamed into the bridle. I was not about to relent.
The first laying of the strap across my backside made me scream. The second and third had me kicking. Eldon grabbed a handful of my hair and jerked my head back, pinning me to the desk. The beating continued. I felt the strap hitting my back and bottom. A blow or two hit the back of my legs, stinging through my body.
"Relent!" I lay sobbing, on the table. I quit fighting and the beating ended.
"Spread your legs" came the command. I didn't move fast enough and got another blow for that.
The warmth of his hands over my body was frightening. Like Tullo, he rubbed the spots that he had struck. I felt his hand strike by buttocks several times, making me grunt and whimper, but I didn't kick. He was pressing on my buttocks I tried to turn to see what he was doing and got another series of slaps to my buttocks.
"You humans!" Eldon laughed. "Your flesh turns such a pretty pink when struck, then white when I touch it." I began to wiggle and he slapped my buttocks again. "Do as I say and I won't strike you." I saw his belt as he laid it next to me. I closed my eyes to the pain.
I woke to see him set a trash can below my head. Somewhere in the middle of his assault I had passed out. Now I blinked to clear my mind. Without thinking I tried to stand and winced as the strap cut into my waist. Eldon grabbed me by the hair and pulled me to him. The bridle was removed.
"Open your mouth!" I saw that he was naked from the waist down. I clenched my mouth shut. I was slapped across the face and tears blinded me. "Open your mouth!" I obeyed, not really knowing what to expect.
Eldon was thick, long and hard. He met the back of my throat and I gagged. He allowed me relief for a moment as I gagged. Only a moment. His hand held my head to him while the other hand massaged my throat.
"Take all of it. Relax. Breath slowly." His orders were lost in the blaze of my mind. I was blinded by tears and the feeling of being choked. "Almost!" he groaned leaning into me. I felt the flood in the back of my throat and fought him. It slid down and then he was gone. I gagged into the trashcan, sobbing. The bridle was replaced and he was behind me.
Once again I was invaded. My loins clenched as he thrust into me. And the thrusts were not gentle. His hands held my hips, pulling me back to him. I cried out in pain. Breeding was about power. The power of him over me. The power of him to bring me to him. I lost myself to him and consciousness to the pain.
"Drink."
I was being held up. A glass was to my lips. I drank without question. It was water. Suquidal water. It tasted so good. I looked at the walls and saw that the sun
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was sinking. It was evening. How long had I been out? I moaned as I tried to sit up on my own. My body screamed in pain.
"Slowly." Eldon's voice was tender. "Lay back." I obeyed, lying back in the bed. Eldon's bed. "You will ache for a while. I told you that it was not pleasant. I've torn you and bruised you."
"I know." My voice was hoarse.
"Are you satisfied with your pretending?" His words were sharp.
"Yes." I reached up to touch his troubled face.
"Your child is hungry." He held out the breast pump. I sighed. "Pump it and I'll take it to the kitchen for him."
I sat up and took the pump. I was weak and annoyed. I pumped my swollen breasts. Eldon sat down on the bed to watch. There was a soft smile on his face. I looked at him curiously. This was not the first time that he had seen me do this. I just knew.
"You've watched me feed my son?"
"I like watching you. You do it on the patio. I like the way your face looks when you feed him. The way you smile at him." I finished pumping and handed the contraption and container to Eldon.
"I'll take it to the house."
"Where did you get the pump?" I asked, climbing from the bed.
"It was in a box on the kitchen counter with a note. I guess Mercy put it there." I nodded. Tullo would have covered all possibilities.
"I'm gonna take a shower."
Eldon went out the door and I went to the bathroom. I let the hot water pour over me and moaned. My body ached as it had never ached before. Aside from giving birth, this was the worst. I looked up into the water and sighed. This had been bad. My muscles ached even more as I wrapped a towel around me. I wiped the steam from the mirror and saw Eldon standing behind me.
"Feeling better?" he asked.
"Are you?" I didn't bother turning around.
"Yes." I ran a hand through my short hair. "Never better."
"Good." He leaned on the doorframe, folding his arms across his chest.
"Do you watch all the girls shower?"
"Yes." His eyes never left the mirror. "To make sure they're aright."
"Am I alright?" I turned to face him.
"You look fine to me." His eyes traveled over me. I let the towel fall away and walked towards him.
"Now show me how you would treat me if I were your chosen mate." I stood on my toes to kiss his lips. Eldon pulled back at first, but then held me close.
"Can you take it?" He asked, looking me over in concern. I ached worse than when Tullo had first taken me. Eldon was definitely more serious about breeding than Tullo had been.
"I demand it." I smiled at him.
"Well," Eldon lifted me into his arms and carried me back to the study. He set me in the bed and climbed in on top of me, smiling. "If you, the lady of the house, demands it..."
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"Who?" I asked running my hand through Eldon's hair. His hair was thick and dark, so unlike Tullo's.
"Hmm?" He was kissing my shoulder.
"Who have you bred?" He sighed heavily.
"Kathy, Elsie, Debbie, Joanie and Bobbie."
"Bobbie?" I was shocked. "Was she a woman yet?"
"No, not then. She is now. Tullo wanted her done first. He had her harvested and had me brought to his breeding room." Eldon rolled off me and onto his back.
"Why her first?"
"His brother wanted her." Eldon ran his hand over his face. It bothered him. I knew he had missed me because I was the one he could talk to about things like this with. He had locked it away and let it fester.
"Batar?" The name stuck in my throat at times.
"And his father. They wanted her to drain." I swallowed hard. It wasn't forbidden to kill a member of a herd, just unreasonable. "Some celebration. Tullo supervised the breeding to make sure it was legal."
"Legal?"
"By vampire law, she was no longer a virgin. Her blood would not be of value to them. Not for the celebration."
"You did to her what you did to me?" the thought of my gentle Bobbie being beaten and bred hurt my soul. "And Tullo watched?"
"Yes." It bothered Eldon too. "Tullo said it had to be done or she would be taken. I did as I was told."
"Tullo told you to breed this way?" I was confused.
"It's in a book. A vampire book on breeding."
I had read all the books I could get my hands on and I hadn't seen anything like that. I would have remembered. Unless of course it had been covered in human flesh. Then I would have avoided it.
"The book is made of human skin," I shuddered. Chas must have told Eldon about the books and that I avoided them. "Tullo read it aloud and I followed his direction. The damn thing even explained how long and thick the straps should be. How to inspect her and what to look for. By the time Bobbie was harvested, we had the straps and the room ready."
"I didn't know he had a breeding room in the house." I leaned against Eldon trying to think of where it was.
"It's your room." Eldon explained. I sat up wincing. My room had been the breeding room?
"Bobbie was your first?" It seemed unreal.
"Yes, she went through it well enough. I was gentle with her. I went slowly. I had to. To be sure I got it right and not to tear her."
"You were afraid you would get it wrong?"
"It's very a complicated process," Eldon defended himself, "I have to keep a record of how long it takes to stimulate, how often and how many blows before they comply. I have to be the dominator but not cripple. Each time after, I can be gentle, but the first time I must follow protocol. None of that was for my pleasure."
"You seemed to enjoy beating me," I grumbled, settling back into the bed next
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to him.
"Well, you did have it coming with all the shit you've put me through."
"Me! What have I done?"
"You should have stayed on Quid 4." He looked over at me as if he was thinking of beating me again. I moved back from him in case he decided to.
"You didn't want me to come here with you?" I gazed at his profile.
"I didn't want you to die." He turned to look at me. "Tullo will take care of you and I will bed you."
"Who will you choose for your mate?" I asked.
"No one. Not yet. Tullo said I didn't have to choose if I did as he said. He told me I would be given favor if I did as I was told. Starting with Bobbie." He sighed deeply and I watched his face cloud over.
"Eldon?"
"Faith, it hurt so much to take the strap to her for no reason other than for being a virgin and so close to being a woman. To hear Bobbie cry and beg almost broke me. To make her do those things broke my heart. To tell her she could never tell anyone and live with that was worse. Her eyes tore into me. I love that child as my own child. Now she may have to bear my child."
"And Harry?" I knew Harry loved Bobbie as only a young man could.
"He doesn't matter. She was bred by me. As long as she was bred at least twice by the breeder she can bear any child, even her mates."
"Are they mated?"
"They share a room. I gave my permission. After she had recovered." Eldon swallowed. "It took a while. He courted her and thought she was playing hard to get. I bred her again. It was easier the second time. I think she rather enjoyed it." He smiled slightly. "We waited before she and Harry mated. She had started her cycle when I bred her. She's not with child."
"What about Margie?"
"Tullo wanted her left unblemished. He hoped she would be taken to be drained for the celebration. He didn't trust her. He didn't want her. Tullo had her kept away from the younger children and you."
"Me?"
"She hated you." He chuckled.
"She's not dead." I said.
"No?"
"No. I saw her at the Vampire High Council. She's a breeding bitch and she's with child." The thought of her having a child bothered me. "No, she must have had the child by now. If she was bred by a vampire."
"Then she has a devil for a child."
"I'm sure."
"Was she wearing a collar?" Eldon sat up a bit to look at me. I nodded and he grumbled under his breath as he fell back into the bed.
"That's why she was chosen as an assistant to Mercy." Eldon nodded.
"Tullo saw the way she was watching you and he wanted her watched all the time and out of the house. Away from the younger ones. Mercy wouldn't allow her back to the house and pushed her out to be noticed at Tullo's functions. His hope
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was that one of his friends would want her. He says there are some vampires who like the wild ones for pleasure. I wasn't surprised when he gave her to Batar."
"That doesn't sound good."
"Not for her. For us it is," Eldon chuckled. "She was throwing herself at me every chance she got. It was quite annoying. And at Tullo."
"Tullo? She was trying to get him to breed her?"
"Oh, yes! He took a strap to her in that barn that last week. She took it, hoping he would bend her over, but he left her there. She was very angry. Then Mercy took a strap to her for running off."
"She's stubborn and persistent," I sighed.
"She's not our problem anymore." Eldon sounded relieved. Margie had been a handful, but I never saw her as a predator. She was just pushy. "Don't feel sorry for her." Eldon reached out to tug lightly at my short hair. "She turned you over to Batar and Lortus. She got what she wanted. She's being bred by a vampire."
"Just not the vampire she wanted," I said.
"I guess not." Eldon was smiling at me. "What?"
"I missed talking with you."
"I missed you too."
"How is it we haven't talked for so long?" I asked.
"You are the lady of the house. I am the breeder of the herd."
"Now what?"
"What what?"
"What do we do? Are we family again?"
"We never stopped being family!" Eldon laughed at me. "You left us for a better life!"
"I had no choice," I argued.
"I know, he saved you." There was bitterness in his voice.
"No, he threatened to drain Zoe!" I sat up angrily. "Did you think I just gave myself to him to save myself? He demanded I tell him who I was and when I didn't, he threatened to drain Zoe. I know now he wouldn't have, but at the time I was terrified." My heart was racing. Eldon sat up and held my hand. "I gave myself to him for her. For you. He was going to strap you. For lying about me."
"He never said anything. Mercy just brought Zoe back and said that you were now Tullo's." Eldon's voice was thick with pain. "I thought you had decided."
"No, I didn't. He… Tullo strapped me for lying. He said either you or me and you had been through so much and…"
"You let him strap you?" The rage in his voice was frightening. "Instead of letting me take it for you?"
"He didn't hit me hard. Not really." I was embarrassed. "I think he enjoyed it. Like you."
"So now I'm yours?" Eldon asked intently.
"I was ordered to take a lover."
"Ordered?"
"Tullo said it was expected. He wants everything out in the open for the examination of Donum. As the lady of the house, I am expected to take a lover. You were chosen for me."
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"Chosen?"
"Tullo chose you for me. He arranged for the herd to be gone and for this time alone. For me and you."
"What does he have planned for us?" Eldon asked. It was something that I was thinking myself. "He's a very smart and daring vampire. Taking you for his mate was dangerous. He must have an idea in what he's doing. I just wish he'd let us know what it is."
"So do I."
"Don't worry about the examination of the boy." Eldon's hand stroked my hair. "Tullo loves him as he loves you. He'd die before he'd let anyone harm a hair on that boy's head."
"Eldon, what do you think of Lenora?" the question just popped out.
"I think she's a lot like Margie in wanting to be bred by me and Tullo. Kathy and her got into it, and I think she'll be calmer now."
"Kathy?"
"Oh, Kathy slapped her so hard that she almost dropped the baby."
"Donum?" I shrieked.
"No, her boy. She said something about wanting to peek in Tullo's room. Asked Joanie to hold her baby while she went in. Joanie said no. That Mercy would be angry. Lenora slapped Joanie and Kathy saw her. I don't think Kathy really meant to hurt Lenora, but she was angry."
"When was this?"
"A couple of weeks ago. During the rains. Lenora said that once she was in Tullo's bed, she would have him strap both of them for her pleasure. Tullo stepped out of his room and told them all to be quiet, that you were sleeping, and that he'd strap them all. Kathy said she and Joanie went on to the other rooms and heard Tullo tell Lenora that the only way she would ever be in his bed was bent over for a strapping. He also said that she was a wet nurse, that was all, and could easily be replaced. Kathy said he told Lenora that if she didn't take care, she'd be back where she'd come from and pregnant by the monster again."
"Monster?"
"We think his name is Wuta. He's a Hybrid. Batar's breeder. He's old and big." Eldon shot me a look. "In more ways than one, and he likes to hurt his girls. I think Lenora was one he hurt so badly that she'll not want to go back even to keep herself alive."
"Oh," I let it sink in.
"She won't say anything about where she came from. She's frightened and afraid to leave the farm. I think Batar may have had her, too. We were told by Mercy not to ask. She's calmed down now that Tullo told her that the Hybrid she had replaced had been given away for the celebration. The main course. She scurried to the nursery and hasn't given the girls any trouble since. She hasn't even spoken to them."
"I bet."
"The girls don't like her. They don't trust her and the boys have no time for her. Billy likes her, but she's too busy to notice him. She will though. He's not one to be ignored."
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"So who is with who?" I realized I had lost touch with my family.
"We had to do some rearranging. The sleeping situation was getting a bit out of control."
"Meaning?"
"I kept catching them in the barn and field half naked," he chuckled. "Let's see, Bobbie and Harry have one room with Dusty and Joanie. We put up a partition to give them a bit of privacy. The little girls are all in one room, Jonah, Willie and Tancid are in one room. Zoe, Debbie and Elsie are in one room. Sometimes Lindsay. Kathy and Borna have a room, as of yesterday." I jumped at that. "Jerry, Chas and Billy in the other. And I am in here."
"So it begins?"
"It has begun. I think Kathy is with child." He smiled at me.
"Really?" I was excited.
"Oh, yes! Tullo said one of the girls should get pregnant soon so that Lenora wouldn't be the wet nurse anymore. He wants more children with you and thinks they would be better nurses than her." I agreed. I didn't trust Lenora either. "I told Borna and he was more than happy to oblige our master."
"I bet," I laughed, happy that Kathy was with Borna. But then I frowned, thinking of Elsie being with Eldon.
"Don't worry," Eldon took my mood change for something else, "Mercy is keeping that one in line. Lenora has been warned. Mercy has told her that she will strap her if any more problems occurred. And worse."
"Worse?"
"If anything happens to Donum, Niyan will be taken from her. For all that, Lenora's a good mother and she loves Niyan. She'll stay in line or she'll be alone."
"It seems cruel to threaten her with that," I sighed.
"But effective."
"Effective? Now we have become effective?"
"We're surviving," Eldon corrected me.
"I'm the lady of the house and I'm taking a lover. The lover that I always wanted." I sighed heavily.
"It bothers you?" Eldon knew it did.
"I kind of wander what my family would think of my situation."
"Me too!" Eldon laughed, "I don't think your father liked me much, you brothers didn't like me at all and now I'm your lover. They'd really hate me."
"I don't like this. I mean…" I was stumped. "I love being with you, but I feel bad because I'm Tullo's mate. He is like my husband."
"Humans and that marriage thing!" he sighed. "Romantic!"
"Tullo won't take a lover. He says he desires no other. Just me."
"So you were forced to come here and sleep with me?"
"No. Yes. No…I wanted to, but… Eldon, how did it all become so…"
"Complicated?"
"Yeah. If we were on Quid 4, and I was a Quid, I would be yours."
"Yes, you would be. I would have let Borna be the breeder just to be with you." Eldon's words tugged at my heart. "I'll be your lover now. Now that the girls are paired up, I won't have to breed. Children by their mates are better anyway."
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"What will happen to you?"
"Nothing, as long as children are born to the herd. Masters don't care who the father is, just that the herd is added to."
"I know we're bred for this, but it feels so wrong."
"We are bred for this. You weren't. Faith, you're not a Quid." He kissed me gently, "You're human and you're the lady of the house. And I am yours now to command."
"I liked it better when you were in charge. When I followed your word. I liked it when I was part of this family."
"You still are. But all children must leave home at some point. You were lucky. Tullo's a good master. He treats us all very well and you. He adores you."
"And now I must go back to his bed from yours." I sat up and hugged my knees to my chest. I felt dirty.
"You don't have to be with me again. One time is enough for the examination. You'll make a statement that's true. You've taken a lover and it's one of the herd. You won't lie. If I'm questioned, I'll tell the truth. I'm your pet."
"Don't say that!" I covered my ears with my hands. Eldon sat up and pulled my hands away.
"It's the truth and as long as I can hold you in my arms and love you, I'm glad for it."
"It's wrong!" I sobbed. He held me close and let me cry.
"It's the way it has to be."
I cried and he held me. We curled up in the bed and slept for a bit. I could have stayed in his arms forever, but I longed to hold my son. It was all for Donum. I woke thinking of him, and my aching breasts reminded me of his needs. I sat up, reaching for clothes.
"Here." Eldon handed me the pump. He climbed over me and left me to pump the milk. When he returned he set the tray of food on the desk. I was hungry, but I knew my child was also. "Do that and I'll take it to the house while you eat."
I had pumped my breast milk before. Tullo had insisted that I do so when on occasion Donum had not drained me. The extra milk was frozen for later use. It occurred to me that 'later use' was now. Tullo had been planning this for a while. I pumped my breasts and thought of my mate who thought of everything. Eldon had been right about one thing. Tullo was very smart and he had plans for us.
I ate and Eldon took the container of my fresh milk to the house. It was almost night. Donum would be waking soon. I missed him. I had missed people before. My parents, my siblings, my Quid family and even Tullo, but this pain was almost unbearable. I wondered if I could make it all night without seeing my beautiful son. I wondered how much he would have grown since I was gone.
"He's fine." Eldon said as he stepped back into the study. "I put it in the icebox and heard him babbling above. Tullo and he are playing." I nodded. Tullo wouldn't let our son be alone. They would be heading for the celebration and popcorn soon.
"I don't know if I can be away from him again."
"You miss your boy?"
"Yes," I gulped down the rest of my food and thought of going back to the
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house. I yearned to watch Donum at the celebration. "You want to go back to them now?" I felt bad that it was that obvious.
"I know I told you that I'd be here all night but…"
"If you want to go, then go but before you go..." he was smiling at me the way he used to on Quid 4.
"What?"
"Did you like being bred?" He asked looking at me.
"I'm not sure." I really wasn't.
He grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him. "I want to do it again."
"Again?" I gulped. "Eldon, that hurt."
"I know." His eyes narrowed at me. "I liked hurting you that way." The silver in his eyes began to grow. "I liked making you mine."
"I can be yours without having to go through that again." I tried to pull my hand away. He held me tightly.
"No, I can be yours. Your pet. I gave you what you wanted. Now give me what I want. I want to breed you again. Just as I did before. I want to take you all over again. I want to make you scream and I want to make you backside blood red with my handprints. I won't use the strap." He kissed me then.
"Eldon…"
"You can use the strap on me." The silver glimmered.
"NO!" I laughed at him, embarrassed by the idea.
"Only with you. I've taken the girls and each time I pretended it was you. I wanted only you." His kisses were strong. "Let me again. Let me tether you and take you. Every way possible. One last time." I pulled back from him. "Just for my pleasure."
"I have to?" Once again I was the young girl who had come to live with him. I always trusted him. This side of Eldon was new to me. And a bit frightening.
"Yes, my last command upon you." He stood and pulled me from the bed. I started to protest and got the bridle shoved in my mouth. I hadn't much fight left in me as I was tied and dragged to the breeding table. Eldon enjoyed it just the same.
Tullo was standing at the window looking at the moons. He held his hand out to me. I moved over to him, holding Donum in my arms. My baby was sleeping. We stood waiting for the Vampire High Council to call on us for the examination of our son. Tullo's arms around me were soothing. Demato and Theto stood off to the side, waiting with Lenora. Eldon was outside with the shuttle. I was more than a little nervous.
"It'll be fine," Tullo assured me. I nodded, but I didn't believe him.
I was dressed in my finest gown and Mercy had trimmed my hair close so that my bare, unbranded neck was visible. I knew that I was being defiant. I didn't care. I should have. The repercussions could be deadly for us. For my son.
"How long will it take?" I asked, nervously.
"Not long." He leaned down to kiss our sleeping son's head. "We'll be home before the sun rises."
"With our son?" I asked in a low whisper.
"Yes." He kissed my head. "All four of us." I smiled slightly. I had told him
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just before we climbed from our bed. He had smiled and kept me in bed a bit longer, allowing Lenora to deal with our son.
"Tullo?" I jumped at the deep voice. "You may enter."
The vampire guard was tall, lean and young. We moved past him, leaving Demato and Theto in the entry way. Lenora followed us. The hall was empty except for the Nine and their mates. They were all at the far end of the hall. We had a long walk to them. I fought not to show my fear. The shadows that danced across the faces of the nine vampires gave no indication of what they were thinking. Their mates were another story. The females craned their necks to see the bundle I held in my arms.
Once again I was seated before the Nine. I straightened my skirt and held my son in my lap. Donum had grown so much. He was only four months old, but as advanced as a two year-old and as big. We had dressed him in a little suit of silk and I had wrapped his favorite blanket around him. Now I unwrapped him so that the Nine could see him without touching him. That was the plan. It failed.
"Your son?" Shuta asked standing to walk over and inspect us.
"Donum," Tullo bowed slightly to Shuta.
"Handsome." The vampire leaned closer to me than my son. I sat frozen and waiting. "The color of his eyes?"
"Blue and silver." I replied. "More silver than blue." The vampire nodded and stepped away.
"Your hair is still kept short?" Argot asked. I nodded. It was obvious. "It is fetching."
"A request by your brother has been received concerning your mate and your son." Decun stood and moved to look at my son as he spoke to Tullo.
"What has he requested, Decun?" Tullo asked, rather calmly.
"He alleges that you allow your female human mate to act in a shameful disrespectful manner to our laws. He and your father feel that it would be a benefit for Batar to breed with her. To school her in our ways. To make her more like us." I swallowed and clutched the blanket tightly. "Her and the child. Just for a year or two. A refresher course in vampire doctrine."
"I don't believe that to be necessary," Tullo replied. "Faith follows our laws. And mine." There was a bit of intensity in his last remark. "She is my mate and she is very much to my liking."
"Have you knowledge of our history?" Lonar asked. He was a cold looking vampire.
"Yes," I answered. Donum stirred at my voice. I rocked him gently in my arms and he sighed. "Tullo insisted. If I was to be a part of his life, I had to understand my place."
"What is your place?" Argot asked coldly.
"By my mate's side. I am to stand with him, slightly behind him and I am to obey him. I am to bear his children and be the lady of his house." I quoted from the books I had read.
"Then why don't you wear your hair long? And down?" Donum asked.
"Tullo desires my hair this way. He says that it shows my devotion to him. My spunk." I noticed Tullo rocking on his heels as I said this.
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"Do you?" Shuta asked.
"I do." Tullo replied.
"Humans are very delicate and lovely creatures." Eula noted standing to come to me. He didn't bother looking at Donum. "Do you know why we bred you and Quids so?"
"I have read," I replied crisply.
"Ah, let me clarify your lessons." Eula smiled at me. "Human women were the first to come with us. They were willing. The men fought. But the women came more than willingly." His smile turned into a leer as he gazed at me. "These women thought they were more to us than nourishment. They clung to us. They were hard to handle. They fought amongst each other for our favor."
"Silly women. They desired to be our mates. They were very unworthy and we could not allow that. We had to let them know that they were not our equal, but beneath us." He pulled from his pocket breeding straps and dropped them on the table before me. I sucked in a breath and held it.
"We had to train them." Shuta picked up the bridle. "We bridled them to keep them from biting and squawking. It was easy to handle them with their hands bound behind them. With one hand on the middle of their back, and the other pulling the bridle, pulling their head back and riding them to their destiny. Sometimes the hair was pulled as if it were reins, but they were always bridled to show who was in control. We control our food." He held the bridle out to me for examination. I let my breath out.
"I know what it looks like." I said. "I've seen it close up. Several times. Tullo has used a set on me."
"And you allowed it?" Argot asked.
"I didn't know the law then. I became Tullo's and was then schooled."
"I have done research too." Taryn stood and joined the others to confront me and Tullo. His eyes fell on Donum. "On humans. I remember much of them from my time on Earth. They are a very interesting species. The men were in charge, in a way. They used marriage as a way of controlling each other. And a colorful way of legitimizing their adulterous ways. Do you know of this tradition?"
"My mother and father were married in the eyes of God," I replied.
"God." Shuta whispered the name as if it were foreign to him. "The one they worshiped and defiled." He reached out to lift my right hand up for all to see. "With a little gold ring on this finger," he let his hand slide up and grasped my ring finger in his, "a man owned a woman, for life. Until death they did part. Was it so for your parents? They are dead I presume?"
"My parents are deceased. They died in each other's arms. Faithful to each other and in love still with their dying breaths." I felt a tear escape. I didn't want to think of my parents here. Not to these vampires.
"How poetic." Shuta clapped his hands in cold irony of my words as he let my finger go. "You wear no bauble on your finger?"
"I need no ring to show that I am Tullo's. I bear his children with pride."
"It's his bed you reside in now?" Argot asked.
"Yes," I answered.
"And only his?" Now I had to remain calm. It's what we had expected and I
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was ready for it. At least I thought so.
"I am the lady of the house and I have taken a lover." The words were said through almost gritted teeth. "As duty requires."
"And how do you find your lover?" Taryn asked coldly.
"Different than Tullo," I said.
"Better?" Shuta asked with a smile.
"No, not better. I didn't say better. I said different." Donum moved again and I rocked him gently. "My lover is different than Tullo."
"How many times have you bedded this lover?" Eula asked.
"Eight or nine times, but I no longer require his services. For now." I rocked Donum and looked down at his face. It calmed me.
"Why?" Lonar asked. It was the first time he had spoken.
"Tullo desires more children." I felt Tullo's hand on my shoulder. "With me. He wants several more. I have devoted myself to accomplishing his desires."
"Tullo has no lover?" Benzar asked. He too finally spoke up.
"Faith is enough for me. She is very energetic and satisfying." At this moment I ducked my head bashfully, as I had been instructed to do.
"I can understand this." Shuta moved closer to me again. He breathed deeply. "You are in season." He smiled cruelly at me. I resented the very idea of being nothing more than an animal to the Nine.
"You are mistaken," I replied evenly. "I am not in season!" The resentment was in my voice. "I am with child."
Shuta stepped back and glared at me and then at Tullo. Only a day or so, but I was. Tullo had everything planned to the minute. Eldon and I had stopped meeting before my last cycle. I had one complete cycle and then Tullo took me again. Within a week I was pregnant. It was Tullo's. This much we were very sure of. Because I was with child, they could not give me to Batar. Now came the only thing in question. How would Donum be defined?
"The child please?" Cuiren stepped forward and held out his hands.
He had been silent until now. I saw something in Cuiren's eyes that gave me hope. Compassion. Still I hesitated. "I will not harm the child." Cuiren smiled slightly and I lifted Donum up to my shoulder. I hugged my son and kissed his head before handing him to Cuiren. Tullo's hand tightened on my shoulder.
My son began to wake. Cuiren walked about slowly, shushing my son and rocking him in his arms. The old vampire must have had children. He knew just how to calm my son. He patted the little back and walked with a slight hop. Donum smacked his lips and smiled in his dream state.
I sat shaking as my son was laid gently on the table and undressed. Donum began to wake and yawned widely. He stretched to his full length and moaned. He looked up at the vampires who were looking him over. His little face scrunched up and he looked about for me.
"Mommy!" he wailed.
"Donum, darling, I'm right here. Just lie still." I called. He turned his head to look at me.
"Daddy!" Donum cried out and his little hands reached for us.
"Sit up, my boy," Cuiren asked. Donum sat up and pouted at them. "May I ask
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you a question?"
"Daddy!" came the reply.
"Donum?" Shuta's voice was soft. "Can you tell me who you are?"
"Mommy! Daddy!" the tears came. I wanted to jump up and grab my son. Tullo held me back.
"Donum, we must test you." Cuiren spoke gently as he laid Donum back down. My son cried out and began to fight. His screams tore at my heart. I was close to panicking.
"Please! Stop!" I yelled making the Nine turn to look at me. I breathed deeply and I felt Tullo's fingers digging into my shoulder. "Please, let me hold him. Don't frighten him!" I begged.
"Why not?" Argot asked coldly.
"Because you are the Nine. My son's a child. He doesn't understand anything about you now but fear. He must learn to respect you, not fear you." I weighed my words carefully.
Cuiren looked to Argot and Shuta. I had stumped them. They had expected an animalistic reaction from me, the lower being. Cuiren gently lifted my son up and carried him back to me. I hugged my son and kissed him. The vampires all watched me cuddle my son. His sobs subsided as he clung to me.
"Donum, you must be a big boy now. These are the Nine. They deserve your upmost respect. They are the Vampire High Council, and they require you to obey them." Donum clung to me. I looked to Tullo for help.
"Son, do not embarrass me by being rude." The harshness of my mate's voice hit me hard. I wanted to cry for my son. "Show respect!"
Donum clung to me for a moment more, then sat up in my lap and turned to face the Nine. He sniffed back tears and bowed his head to the Nine. I was as scared as he was. The Nine didn't move. They simple watched my son. Tullo motioned to Lenora and she stepped forward to harvest the blood from my son.
Donum had his blood drawn before, but he still cried as the needle was inserted. I held him as he whimpered. We both watched the bright blood flow quickly into the decanter. The decanter was filled and the horrid needle removed. I bandaged the spot and kissed it. Lenora set the decanter on the table and gathered Donum's clothes. Together, we dressed my son as the vampires poured themselves a glass of my son. I held Donum on my lap. I decided that no one would take him from me again. Lenora took her place behind us.
We sat watching as the vampires drank and compared my son's blood as if he were nothing but a fine wine. Donum's little hands were holding tightly to me. My stomach clenched as I watched the vampires. Tullo's hand stayed on my shoulder.
God. I hadn't thought of God as God in a long time. Not really. I prayed often, but out of habit, as if talking to an old friend who knew all my secrets. I did it for all the wrong reasons, for my own personal comfort. I remembered my mother holding me as she sang hymns with my father. I prayed as I watched the vampires dine on my son's blood. The fear that had seized me slid away to comfort as I prayed.
Donum began to tug at my dress. I was afraid of this. Once my son woke, he was hungry. I loosened my blouse and let my breast be exposed as my son suckled.
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The vampires all turned to watch us. Tullo leaned over us and cupped his son's head in his hand. I gazed up at him and smiled. Donum was already falling into a relaxed state. He was such a calm child.
The vampires turned back to their evaluation. Tullo knelt down to give me comfort. His hand rested on mine. I wasn't shaking anymore. It was now just a waiting game. Donum finished and Tullo lifted his son into his arms as I got myself dressed again. Donum laughed loudly as Tullo tossed him into the air. I had to laugh at them. They had so much fun together. I noticed that the Nine were watching their interaction.
"Tullo, have your nurse take the child from here," Shuta ordered suddenly. Tullo nodded to Lenora. He gave me a look that told me to stay put and calm.
Lenora stepped forward to take Donum. She would go to Demato and Theto. Tullo set Donum down and said something into the boy's ear. My son nodded and stepped forward to the Nine. They all turned to gaze at him. Donum bowed from the waist in the most perfect, respective bow ever.
"By your leave," the little voice said clearly.
The Nine bowed their heads to him. Donum smiled and ran into Lenora's arms. I stood to watch my son leave the hall of the Vampire High Council. I hoped it wouldn't be the last time I saw him. Tullo took my hand in his and held it.
"Your home is run as a vampire home should be?" Shuta asked, swishing my son's blood in the glass he held.
"It is a vampire home," I spoke as calmly as I could. "My mate is a vampire and my son is also."
"How will he be schooled?" Argot asked.
"As all vampire children are. The laws, the history, the doctrine, and the traditions. The way his father was raised," I answered.
"Tullo, how do you feel about your child being raised as a vampire?" Cuiren was looking at me as he asked the question.
"Faith and I have discussed it. Her world is gone. It is no more than a fairy tale now. Our world thrives and it is our home. Donum will learn all about his home and the history of his people. Both sides. The human existence will be no more than bedtime stories to learn from."
"Learn what?" Decun asked. He seemed impressed with what Tullo was saying.
"What not to do." Tullo said what I was thinking. "How a civilization can end from within itself."
Tullo and I waited as the Nine spoke among themselves. I wasn't sure how long this examination would go on. Until the decanter of Donum's blood was empty? What if they wanted more? I looked back at the closed door and prayed that he was on the shuttle with Eldon and Lenora. Eldon? What if they called him in to question?
"Your lover…" I jumped as Shuta spoke. Had he been reading my mind? "How does he compare to Tullo?"
"There is no comparison." I replied sharply. "Tullo is my mate! My lover is nothing more than a duty required of the lady of the house.
"Who did you choose to be your lover?" Argot inquired.
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"Our breeder." Tullo didn't move and I felt as if talking about it hurt him. It made me uncomfortable.
"Has he a name?"
"Eldon. His name is Eldon." The discomfort increased.
"Does this Eldon satisfy your insatiable desires?"
"I have a lover out of duty. Tullo satisfies me."
"If we were to take this Eldon away it would not bother you?" Decun asked, stifling a laugh. They were actually getting drunk on my son's blood!
"It would." They all looked at me. "Eldon is a big part of our farm. If he were to be taken, then Tullo would have to spend time with the herd and that would take time away from my son and from me. Eldon has his uses."
The Nine looked at me and then at each other. They continued to talk and whisper amongst themselves. I let myself go to a daydream of my youth and my father and mother. When I wasn't afraid. When I believed in God and He was who kept me safe. It was God who made me immune to the illness that took my family. It was God who had left me in the hands of Lutha. It was God who led Lutha to Eldon. It was God who made Eldon. It was God who gave me Tullo to save me and it was God who gave me Donum. I owed God a lot.
"Tullo?" Shuta turned and spoke to my mate.
"Yes?" I had to give it to my Tullo. He was calm and collected under the extreme pressure.
"The situation is acceptable to you?"
"Situation? You mean my choice in my mate? Shuta, the situation is more than acceptable. At least for me." Tullo looked at me.
"And for me." I reached up to touch Tullo's face and stood on tiptoe to kiss it. Tullo smiled at me.
"The boy is a vampire." Shuta set his glass down. "He will remain with you. Your mate will remain with you until she has given birth, then we will evaluate her place."
"My place is by my mate." I spoke up. Tullo held my hand tighter. A warning. "If Tullo wishes his brother to breed me, then I will go willingly." I couldn't believe I had said it.
The Nine looked me over and then began to whisper to each other. I was shaking. Tullo leaned over and kissed my cheek. I drew my strength from his hold. I would leave if it meant my children would be safe. That was all that mattered.
"How will this child be schooled?" Cuiren asked. I looked to Tullo and he nodded for me to answer.
"As a vampire," I replied.
"But he is half human," Shuta pointed out.
"No, Donum is a vampire. His mother is human," I corrected. "You said so."
I watched as the very last vampire there stood, still holding his glass of my son's blood, and walked over to me. He was the oldest of the Nine. Kynul looked me over and then looked to Tullo. His eyes were a sparkling silver. I stood tall and fearless. Or at least I tried to look fearless.
"Your brother will not breed her," Kynul spoke evenly. "She will school your children as she has been doing. It is satisfactory to us. That boy is magnificent and
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will one day sit upon our council. Donum is a vampire with a human mother."
"It is time for you to let your hair grow," Shuta noted, downing the last of the blood. "You are the lady of a vampire house. You will wear your hair up and with honor."
We stood waiting as one by one the vampires set their glasses on the table and left the room. I wanted to run to my son. Tullo held me tightly and we walked from the hall with our heads held high. Lenora was waiting with Donum. She put him down and he ran to me. I scooped him up and fell to pieces.
"Come along." Tullo practically carried me and Donum out of the building and into the shuttle. "Get us out of here!"
Demato wasted no time in taking us home. Along the way I climbed into my mate's lap and cried. Donum sat with us, holding onto me. Tullo held us both. It was only as we stopped at the farm did I notice that Eldon was watching us. I turned my face into Tullo's chest and took comfort there. We were safe there.
With Eldon, our rendezvous were few and short. With the permission of Tullo, he had converted a small shed on the very far side of the barn into a bedroom for our meeting. It had a bed, table and chairs and a bathroom. That was all that was needed.
We had been careful. I went to him when he asked and I let him take me how he wanted. I never spoke to Tullo about my time with Eldon and Tullo didn't ask. At first, it was hungry passion. Always we were careful. I was never close to my cycle when Eldon made love to me. There were other things we could do. Tullo enjoyed the new talents learned from my time with Eldon. Especially the oral sex. Eldon's tutorials were of use to Tullo. I became sexually free and adventurous. I looked forward my time with Eldon, when it was allowed.
Now it was different. We had returned from the Vampire High Council and Eldon told me to meet him. I was still holding my son. I only nodded. I hurried to catch up to my mate. The sun would be rising soon. We had to hurry to put Donum to bed.
Lenora was holding her own son. I could see what Eldon meant. Lenora had missed her son. She was crying as she hugged Niyan. I fed Donum and got him dressed for bed. He was yawning before I got the last button done. Tullo lifted him up and carried him to the bed with a story book under his arm.
"I'm going to read to you tonight!" Tullo declared tickling the boy. "Mommy has something to take care of." My mate didn't look at me. Had he heard Eldon's words? "She has to let someone know what's going on."
"Good night love." I kissed Donum and Tullo. Tullo smiled at me and kissed me again. "I'll be back soon."
"I'll be waiting." Tullo replied and opened the story book.
I hurried to meet Eldon. As soon as I stepped into the shed I was thrown on the bed. Eldon said nothing more. He pushed up my dress and yanked off my underwear. I started to fight, but he grabbed my shoulder and glared into my eyes.
"Don't make me bind you!" he hissed. "I'll strap you if I have to!"
I had no choice. Eldon entered me before I was ready. I cried out in pain. He moaned as he slammed into me again and again. I began to fight him and the
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feelings that came over me. He wouldn't relent. Eldon bore down on me mercilessly. I was crying long before he was finished with me. When he was done he simply fell onto me.
Eldon was sobbing. I was too exhausted to do more than lie beneath him and fight for air. It took a moment for me to realize that he was crying. I hugged him and let him cry into my hair. After a bit, he rolled off me.
"What?" I asked. He pushed me away and climbed from the bed. I sat up, fixing my dress.
"I heard you." His words were full of pain and agony. "Every word you said to the Vampire High Council."
"I had to."
"I know. I understand. I..," he sat down in one of the chair leaning on the table. "I'm nothing to you," he sobbed.
"Eldon, my child is everything to me. If I had to deny my feelings for you, Tullo or myself I would have to save Donum. I was willing to let Batar breed me! Anything to save my son. Anything!"
Eldon nodded and drew in a deep breath. He sat back and gazed at me. My words had hurt both Eldon and Tullo. I was ashamed for how things had gone. But Donum was safe. He was a vampire, I was with child and I was safe with Tullo. And I still had Eldon. At least I hoped I did.
"Eldon, I'm sorry if I hurt you."
"It's not that." He rubbed his face furiously and sighed. "You are going to have his child. Again. You will never be able to have my child. I won't ever have children. Faith, I want children of my own."
"I know Eldon. I relieve you of your duties to me." He didn't look up at me but covered his face with his hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
I stood slowly and straightened my clothing. I was hurting the people I loved in order to survive. I had become no better than the vampires that had dined on my son's blood. I left Eldon and walked in the sunlight back to the house. To my mate, my son and to my home.
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9
After sixteen weeks of pregnancy, I felt intense pain as I lifted Donum into my arms after his nap. The moons were high in the sky and I knew it was close to midnight. The clock struck just as my water broke. Lenora screamed and I sat down in the rocking chair. Donum began to cry. Tullo and Elsie came running.
Spera was born just as the sun rose in the sky. Her name meant "hope" in Latin. The dead language. It seemed fitting and she was just that, my hope at happiness. It was a relatively easy birth, aside from the long labor and pain. Tullo stayed with me the entire time, holding my hand. I was grateful for this. Eldon was no longer my lover, nor did he speak to me. I had actually not even seen him since our last time together. Since I had told him his services were no longer required.
Spera was a beautiful child with solid silver eyes and soft blonde hair. I had wondered if the silver would fade and her eyes might turn brown like mine. Unlike Donum, she was light. Like me. I held her in my arms and she was like a feather. Tullo climbed in bed to hold us both and I leaned into him.
"She's like you," he kissed my face, "a glider."
"How can that be?" I was concerned.
"She is your daughter." I looked at him.
"It has to do with gravity. I was born on a different planet!"
"I know this, but some of you is in her." Now I was frightened. "Now don't worry, my love. She's beautiful!"
"But is she human or vampire?" I was afraid of another examination by the Vampire High Council.
"She is ours." Tullo kissed her head and the kissed me. "And she is perfect." I had to agree with him there.
My little girl grew fast. Just as fast as Donum. He was now almost the size of Zoe and only a year old. Even though Zoe was small for her age it was remarkable. It amazed me how quickly vampires matured and I wanted to hold onto every moment I had with my children while they were young. I spent my days sleeping and my nights smothering my children with love, Tullo by my side.
Things changed. For the better. Kathy came to stay in the house with me. She was ready to deliver herself and Tullo felt it would be better to have her close to us. Lenora took the daylight hours and Kathy the nighttime hours. We now had two wet nurses.
Lenora had not grown on me. In fact, I trusted her less than ever. When Tullo suggested she take over the days and Kathy the nights I was happy. Borna came also and was basically our nighttime guard. Chas took on the days. That had been my idea. I knew that Chas didn't trust Lenora either and would keep a close eye on her under the premise that he liked her. All of this was coordinated between Eldon and Tullo.
Time. It passed quickly for us. The fall planting came and went. We were moving right along. Spera was beyond the expectations of a vampire child. Even Tullo was in awe of her. My little girl was walking, talking, gliding and running by the age of three months. She and Zoe became best friends. Donum was the best big
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brother. We spent our nights walking along in the fields and playing in the yard.
Spera loved to swing on the wooden swing that hung from the tree. It was weeks before I discovered that it had been put there by Eldon. It was during the nighttime playtime that I saw him in the distance. He kept his distance from me. I tried not to notice Eldon, but Tullo noticed me not noticing. He would look away from me and be distant. Distant. All I had was distance.
"I have a gift for you." Tullo said, as we sat watching the children run about. "Do you know what today is?"
"No." I stood as he did. He nodded to Borna and Kathy. Borna nodded back and Tullo walked down the path towards the fields. I followed.
"Today is exactly one year since you became mine." I stopped walking and thought. Yes, it was. "Our anniversary." He smiled at me.
"It is!" I moved to take his hand. "I didn't think I would be this happy after a year!" I looked back at my children. Yes, I was happy.
"Well, I have something to commemorate this occasion."
Tullo took my left hand in his and I watched as he slid something onto my finger. My ring finger. I looked down at the gold ring and gasped. Tullo smiled at me broadly and held up his left hand. He was wearing a gold ring also. A simple gold band. My ring had a precious stone in it. I wasn't sure of the stone, but I knew it was a pale blue, like Tullo's eyes. It glistened in the moonlight.
"Oh! Tullo!" I leapt into his arms, hugging him. "Where did you get it?"
"You like it?" he asked, laughing.
"I love it!" I kissed his face over and over. I wasn't being branded, but I was Tullo's. "Where?"
"I read up on the human marriage. I know it's not legal or what it should be, but it means a lot to me that you wear that bauble."
"Bauble?" I giggled wildly as I looked at my 'bauble'! My absolutely lovely 'bauble'!
"I got it from the scavengers." He was so proud of himself. "I never had much use for them, but I asked the last time they were here and this is what they brought me. Is it suitable?"
"It's magnificent!" I spun around looking at my hand.
"It's not a real marriage." He laughed again.
"It is to me!" I hugged him.
"I wanted to make you happy." His arms held me. I laid my head on his chest and clung to him.
"Tullo," I cried into his chest, "I'm very happy!"
"Then why are you crying?" He stepped back and brushed away my tears. "I've upset you?"
"No, you've made me very happy. I love you so!"
"Now you are confusing me! If I'd made you so happy why are you crying? You make no sense, you human."
"Tullo, you have no idea what this means to me. It's wonderful!"
"Then will you do me a favor?" He asked with the sweetest smile.
"What?"
"I want another child." He pulled me into his arms.
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"Now?" I giggled.
"After we put the children to bed." He kissed me again.
Spera was just being, well, Spera. We put the children to bed and she got up. Several times. It seemed as if we would not have any peace from her. I think she sensed we wanted a little time alone and my daughter was jealous of her father's attention going anywhere but to her. Tullo put her to bed with a firm pop on her bottom. She cried as if he had crippled her, but stayed in her bed.
It was well into the morning when I crawled into bed and Tullo crawled between my legs. We made love well into the afternoon. I had missed my time with him. My time alone. The children were with us all the time and we hadn't thought of anything but them. We had lost ourselves to them. Now we were rediscovering us. Me and Tullo.
"A boy or a girl?" I asked.
"Either." Tullo had fallen into the bed next to me and sighed deeply in great satisfaction.
"Vampire or human?" I teased.
"Either." He kissed me.
"Will we have to do the examination for Spera?"
"No, she's female. I don't think they care. She's too human for them with her light little butt." I giggled at his description of our daughter. "She's too much like you. Wild and defiant."
"I wonder if that's a good thing or not?"
"A wonderful trait." Tullo pulled me close. I yawned widely. "Am I boring you?" he asked, tickling me.
"No, but you are wearing me out." I laughed against his touch.
"I like the sound of your laugh." He kissed me then and moved me beneath him. "I like everything about you!"
He entered me and I gasped in pleasure. It was then he screamed in pain. The sunlight washed over us and I screamed as Tullo threw himself off the bed. At first I thought it was to shield himself from the burning ultraviolet rays, but then I sat up I saw him running into the deadly light.
"Tullo!" I screamed as I jumped out of bed dragging the blanket with me. I ran for him.
"Mommy!" Spera! I dove on the both of them with the bedding. We fell into a pile just outside the door and right in the sunlight. I dragged them both into the room and slammed the door shut.
"Tullo! Spera!" I was screaming hysterically.
I was jerking the blanket off of them. Mercy came running from the closet entrance. She turned on the lights and I finally got my mate and child uncovered. Tullo was badly burned. Spera wasn't. I scooped her up and hugged her close. Not a spot! Not one little burn! Spera looked confused, but not frightened.
"Mommy! Why don't you have clothes on?" Spera asked me.
"Sit here!" I set her on the floor and turned my attention to Tullo.
"Mercy!" Tullo moaned, "get the child out of here."
I crawled over to Tullo and cried. His body was badly burned. His pale skin
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was blood red. It had already begun to blister. I wanted to touch him and couldn't without causing him great pain. He lay on his side trembling in pain. I laid next to him crying.
"Mommy!" Spera was screaming as she was carried from the room.
"Get him into the water!" Mercy was rushing to the bathroom. I heard the water running as I stood and bent to help him stand. He shook his head and moaned.
"Get dressed!" Eldon snapped as he and Borna came into the room.
I was shoved out of the way. I snatched up Tullo's shirt and pulled it on as I followed the Hybrids as they carried my mate to the shower. Mercy pushed me out of the way and hurried out. I froze as Tullo screamed in pain. My hands covered my ears.
"Faith!" Eldon was shaking me. I was screaming too. "Faith!" Eldon lifted me up and set me in the cold shower with Tullo. I screamed in shock, then stood helping to hold my mate up.
Tullo was in so much pain. I cried with him. Our tears were lost in the cold shower. Mercy came back and began smearing cream on Tullo's body. Eldon and Borna helped. I simply stood there crying. It went on for what seemed like hours. Finally the cream began to numb my mate's searing pain. He was breathing hard and exhausted as we carried him back to the bed.
Vampires are strong. Very few died of illness. Injury yes, but illness, no. This was injury. The sun killed more vampires than anything. Not all were as allergic as Tullo. Some only got headaches. One in ten vampires are deadly allergic to the sun. Lucky me! I got the one in ten!
We laid him gently in the bed and let Mercy tend to him. Kathy was there, helping me get out of the wet shirt and into my clothes. I was still crying. I couldn't help it. He was suffering and could die. Die. My mate could die! I dressed and rushed through the closet. My blood was pumping as I raced to the nursery.
What was I planning? To beat my child? I wasn't sure. I ran through the safety door and into the dimly lit room. I looked down at my sleeping daughter and fell to my knees sobbing. Her pale skin was pale and flawless. She hadn't been burned. Spera was more like me than I had realized. She too was a child of the sun.
I was lifted up and carried from the room. My eyes were closed as I cried. My world was spinning out of control and I felt out of control. My mate was dying. My daughter was not allergic to sun. My son was a vampire and I was dripping wet.
"Shhh!" Eldon hissed as he carried me through the safety door and down the hall to my room. The breeding room. "You'll scare the children." I buried my head in his chest and cried.
Eldon climbed into the bed with me and held me as I screamed. It was too much. I screamed and beat on Eldon's chest as I prayed to God to save Tullo. Eldon simply held me.
"Wake up!"
Someone was shaking me. Gently. I opened my eyes to find Eldon's sleeping face before me. The shaking was from behind me. I turned and found Tullo smiling at me. I woke right up, screaming.
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"Tullo!" I hugged him and listened to him hiss in pain. I sat back from him. I was crying again.
"You cry so much!" he teased.
"You scared me!" I wiped my tears away.
"What happened to your hand?" Tullo was holding my swollen hand.
"I beat Eldon with it." I winced as Tullo examined it.
"I guess he kept you from coming to me," Tullo looked at Eldon who had climbed from the bed and stood waiting. "Thank you. You may go."
I didn't look at Eldon. I hated that he was just being treated by Tullo as nothing more than a servant. Tullo sat down on the bed and smiled at me. For now he was all that mattered. He was alive. His face was a bright red and swollen.
"You look horrible!" I cried.
"I don't exactly feel very well either." He winced as he settled next to me. "I also don't think the children should see me this way. Any of them. Ours or the children in the herd."
"No, it'll terrify them." I sat, fighting the urge to touch him.
"Spera's not allergic to the sun," he grinned at me.
"I know," I sniffled back the tears.
"Is Donum?"
The question took me off guard. I hadn't even considered it. I hadn't dared to test it. Donum was kept away from the sun. Even on cloudy days we had him locked away in the house with the heavy curtains drawn. We weren't willing to risk it before. Now? I gazed at Tullo and wondered.
"We should find out." Tullo winced again as I climbed from the bed.
"How?" I looked to my window. The curtains had been drawn. The sun was out. "Do you want me to take him out to play? Now?"
"No, I couldn't bear to see him in pain." Tullo stood slowly.
"Then what?"
I hurried to the bathroom. In the mirror I almost screamed at how bad I looked. My hair was longer now and standing on end. I looked as if I had been terrified. I had been, but this was ridiculous. I stripped and climbed into the shower.
"What are you doing?" Tullo asked limping into the bathroom.
"I look hideous!" I replied. "My hair is crazed. And I smell funny." I sputtered under the water.
"It's the cream." Tullo grinned at me. "I smell too." He leaned painfully against the doorframe. "It works wonders but smells like crap."
"Yes, it does." I rinsed the soap off and turned off the water. "I was so scared that I almost hurt Spera." I opened the curtain and reached for a towel. "Eldon carried me out of the nursery."
"Did you hurt her?" His voice was deep and menacing.
"I couldn't. Not when I saw her sleeping. She didn't know and she doesn't understand." I dried myself and picked up my brush. I winced, pulling it through my tangled hair. "So how do we find out if Donum has the affliction?"
"Affliction?" Tullo sounded offended, since the said 'affliction' had been inherited from him.
"What else should we call it?"
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Tullo sighed deeply.
"Insanity."
I moved past him to get fresh clothes. The only thing I had in this bedroom was a dress. I slipped it on and stood waiting for Tullo to tell me what to do. "Well?"
"We could let a little sunlight in and see how he reacts?" Tullo offered.
"So if he screams in pain as his skin burns he has the affliction?"
"Small amounts." Tullo groaned. "Very small amounts."
"Tullo, I couldn't. If he were hurt, it would kill me. He's my baby. I… I can't. It could scar him for life!"
"Mercy will do it. She knows how far to go and how to care for it."
I stopped brushing my hair to look at him. The house was quiet. Too quiet. I pushed past him and ran from the room. I threw the door open without any concern for Tullo as the sunlight poured in. I heard the bathroom door slam shut. I sped through the safety door to the nursery in time to see Donum whimper in Mercy's arms.
"No!" I snatched him from Mercy and moved him away from the curtain that was open an inch to allow sunlight in.
"Mommy!" Donum began to cry and hugged me.
"Mommy!" Spera had been sitting on the floor with her face turned up to the sun smiling.
"Hold on, honey!" I moved my son to a corner where there was no sunlight and looked over his hand. It was red. Not burned. Not blistering, but red. As if he had just a slight sunburn. I kissed the red hand and then his face. I hugged him close and said a quick prayer.
"He's allergic." Mercy was there with her trusty jar of cream.
"No shit!" I was angry with her.
"We had to know." She spread the cream on the little hand. "But it will increase in intensity as he grows."
"What?"
"Tullo was the same when he was little." She patted my son's back. "For now, we just have to watch him."
"And Spera?"
"She's like you." Mercy looked back at the girl who was now reaching to open the curtain. "She has to understand that the sun could kill him. Not now. But later. We just have to be careful."
"What do I do Mercy?" I hugged my son close.
"You have to make some choices. One child of darkness and one of light. Which will you deny and which will you allow?"
Mercy left me with my children. I sat on the floor and hugged them both. Spera laughed at me. Donum was pouting as he looked at his cream smeared hand. Which would I allow or deny?
Tullo took care of everything. Kathy's child was a girl born the very next day. She moved into the room next to the nursery with Borna and their daughter, Amara. It meant love. Lenora went to live with the herd and Joanie and Dusty took over the
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day shift. Joanie was with child. When I slept, one of my sisters was with my children. It eased my worried heart.
My life changed again. Tullo and I had to make changes. For our children. We lived in shifts. There were only six hours in the day when the sun was bright enough to damage my mate. We lived around those hours. Carefully.
I spent the early evening hours in the sun with Spera. She went to bed as I did. Donum and Tullo woke and had half a day before we joined them and spent time as a family. It was difficult at first, but we made it work. We had at least one meal together as a family. Our life was calming down.
After a run in the sun, I put my daughter down for a nap and headed for the kitchen. I was tired but hungry. I found Eldon and Mercy laughing as I walked in. If they hadn't seen me, I might have snuck back out.
"Are you hungry?" Mercy asked, moving towards the stove.
"I could eat." I sat down at the table, as far from Eldon as I could. "Where's Chas?"
"He took Elsie to town to get a few things." Eldon said, looking into his cup smiling.
"What?" I asked looking to Mercy for an answer.
"Chas wanted to go to town. He's looking for a mate." Eldon chuckled.
"What?" Now I turned my attention to him.
"He saw a pretty Hybrid at the market last time he went and didn't have courage to ask her name. Elsie took him to find her and find out her name so he'll quit tripping over his lower lip."
"Is that why he's so down? A girl?" I was intrigued.
"Not just any girl, a pretty little Hybrid," Eldon smiled. A real smile. I hadn't seen one of those in a long time. I smiled at him.
"What does he plan on doing once he finds out her name?" I asked, taking the plate of food that Mercy handed me. I poured myself a glass of water from the pitcher on the table. I drank and smiled. Suquidal water. I savored the taste.
"You know better!" Mercy scolded, taking the pitcher from the table. She used that water for cooking. "That's for the children!"
"But it's so good!" I giggled. Eldon smiled and held his empty cup out to Mercy. She frowned, but filled his cup.
I smiled and sat back, thinking of the little stream near our home on Quid 4. I used to draw cool water from there to drink. My mother and father told me not to drink it that way, or that much, but I was addicted to the water of Quid 4. Humans diluted it with regular water that was filtered and free of Suquidal. I liked the fresh, pure water. I would dip my fingers in the stream and watch the silver water spill over my palm.
Many times I would lie on the bank with my hand in the water, watching the silver liquid glisten in the sunlight and dream of my future. My happiness and my life. I would see the faces of my husband and children in the folds of the water as if it were a reflection and they were beside me. Sometimes Eldon's reflection would make me jump as he sat next to me and reached in to splash the water at me.
Once in a while a stream of pure Suquidal would slide over my hand. I'd lift my hand out and watch the silver, thick fluid drip from my finger. I'd lick it off and
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feel instant euphoric pleasure. I would get drunk on it. A very bad thing to do. Bad, but enjoyable. Eldon would shake his head at the offer of licking the Suquidal off my finger. I would giggle uncontrollably. He'd force my hand into the stream to clean it off.
We had been young and carefree then. The last time had been only a year ago. We were now different people and grown. When had we gotten so old? I looked at his smiling face and wished to go back to a simpler time. A time of innocence. I yawned dreamily.
"Is it time for you to sleep?" Eldon asked. I nodded. "Then you should go. Those little ones will be waking soon. One or the other." I sighed and ate my food slowly. I wanted to think of Quid 4 so I could dream about it. I listened to them talk as I slipped into sleep stupor.
"Come on." Eldon's voice was in my ear. He was carrying me. I curled up in his arms and breathed deeply his scent.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Taking you to bed."
"No," I began to try to get away.
"For sleep. You need sleep. Trying to live in both worlds is wearing you out. You don't sleep, hardly eat and never laugh anymore."
"I laugh," I argued, yawning.
"Only at me,." he chuckled.
And we did laugh at his expense. Only the day before he had been standing on the fence yelling at Dusty to get a move on when the fence broke, sending Eldon tumbling to the ground. Spera had laughed so loudly that I laughed. Eldon had jumped up, embarrassed and come to chase Spera, making her squeal in delight as he caught her and swung her around. It had been fun and heartbreaking. There were times I wished that Eldon was my mate. Times that I remembered dreaming about.
"You're funny."
"Funny?" he grumbled.
"Very funny." I laid my head on his shoulder as he climbed the stairs. It was comforting to be in his arms.
"I've heard you say worse about me."
"Not always," I teased as he got to the top of the stairs.
"To his bed or yours?" I sat up a bit to see the longing in his eyes.
"Eldon…"
"His, then," Eldon sighed.
"Put me down?"
He gently set me down and I stood looking at his chest. I wanted to lean into it. I wanted him to hold me and carry me to my bed. I wanted him to make love to me. I was lonely for his touch. For any touch. Tullo and I crossed paths in our days and nights, but rarely were we alone anymore. When I slept, he was awake and when he slept, I was awake. If we were both in the bed together, then we were sleeping. Sleeping. Exhaustion had stolen our intimacy.
"You're going to Tullo?" Eldon asked, rubbing my shoulders and pulling me closer to him.
"He's asleep."
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"Where you should be." His hand caressed my hair. It was growing longer now.
"I'm going. Alone." I smiled up at him. "You need to go"
"Why?" He was annoyed.
"I'm tired. I've just spent the whole day chasing my daughter around the fields. I want to sleep." I let him draw me up into his arms and felt his breath on my face.
"Are you sure?" Eldon's had slid down my back and over my buttocks. I sighed in anticipation. His lips met mine and I relaxed against him. It had been so long since we had been together.
"I can't!" I moaned. "It's almost my cycle!"
"I know," Eldon mumbled, kissing me. "I think a little release is in order." I was almost ready to agree that his services were required again when the front door opened and Elsie came in almost screaming.
"Humans!" Elsie yelled as she threw open the door.
Eldon spun to face her. I almost fell down the stairs. Elsie looked up at us and I saw the pain in her eyes. The look of betrayal. I pulled away from Eldon and turned my attention to her. She was stammering. Eldon hurried down the steps to her. She fell into his arms.
"Humans!" She hugged him and looked up at me with pain filled eyes.
"What is it?" Eldon asked in a very calm voice.
"Humans! Humans are here! They've requested an audience with the Vampire High Council!"
"Humans?" I glided down to them. "They can breathe here?" For some reason, I was afraid of that prospect.
"Not exactly." Elsie was as red in the face. I wasn't sure if it was from anger or stress. "They have tubes in their noses. Air is pumped into them. From canisters. They have Hybrids. As slaves!"
"Hush!" Eldon ordered. "You'll wake the children."
"Come on, we have to tell Tullo." I practically flew up the stairs. I led the way to Tullo's bedroom. I stopped them from going in. I went first. Tullo was sleeping on his side, hugging my pillow. I climbed into bed with him and touched his shoulder. He breathed deeply and his eyes opened. He leaned forward to kiss me. He pulled back from me as if I had slapped him.
"Did you sleep well?" The pain in his eyes hurt. He could taste and smell Eldon on me. Shame washed over me. I was more than caught in the act. The panic was growing in my racing heart.
"We have visitors," I replied, averting my eyes.
"Who?" He sat up.
"Humans." I said it and his expression changed. I saw the fear in them. "Elsie knows. She and Eldon are waiting to talk to you."
"Show them in." Tullo swung from our bed and pulled on his pants. I moved to let Elsie and Eldon in. "Faith!" I stopped and looked back at Tullo. "Go shower. I don't want to smell him on you." I gulped and nodded.
"Go." I said to Eldon and Elsie before I ran to my room and into the shower, crying in shame.
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We didn't know what to expect. Everyone was on edge. Even the surrounding farms were waiting for news. Hybrids came asking what word Tullo had for their masters. I sat fidgeting. Elsie told us all that she knew. They were shopping in the town square when three shuttles landed. No one knew what to expect as the doors opened and the humans stepped out, asking for the Nine.
Usually the scavengers simply allowed the vampires onto their ships. They rarely exited their shuttles and when they did, they carried large oxygen canisters. These humans walked about freely. Chaos ensued as Quids and Hybrids ran. The sun was still out and no vampires were present. Only after a bit of delegating on the part of the Vampire High Council guard was it established that once night fell, the vampires would meet with them.
"Are you worried?" Tullo asked, holding his hand out to me. I took it and stood. I let him hug me. He hadn't really spoken to me since Elsie and Eldon had spoken to him. I was afraid of what he would say so I had stayed in the nursery. I had hoped the presence of our children would keep him from strapping me.
"Very," I sighed.
"I didn't mean to get angry. I didn't like tasting him on you." I nodded.
"I didn't mean for you to. I was… We were… He kissed me and I wanted him to and…The humans…" I turned to face him and got a kiss. I fell into his arms.
"Why did you send him away?" he asked.
"How did you..?"
"I asked him. He said he tempted you."
"I was tempted before his offer." I leaned back against him. "I'm sorry for it. I just miss…"
"Me?" He turned me and kissed me.
"Yes."
"Is that the only reason?"
"I'm almost to my cycle," I confessed.
"You've been very grumpy," he chuckled. "I figured as much. I'm wondering if maybe I should be appeasing you?" He moved my hair to kiss my neck.
"Just drag me to your bed," I moaned.
"Must I drag you?" his hands moved to pull me close as he kissed me.
"No." I fell against him.
"Alright!" Tullo lifted me into his arms. "Kathy, watch my children,." he ordered as he carried me to his bed.
I laughed as he pounced on me. It was a most stressful time and he was pulling my underwear off and biting my inner thigh. I squealed in pleasure and kicked. He held me down and continued his very welcomed assault on my body.
"What is it?" I sat up at the pounding.
Tullo was out of bed in an instant. I hurried to dress and rushed out to ensure the curtains were drawn. I almost ran into Eldon who was standing in the hallway, keeping the Hybrids from entering. I saw Theto and Demato at the other end of the hall, guarding the door to the nursery.
"Draw the curtains!" I ordered, standing tall and trying to sound authoritative.
Borna and Kathy obeyed. The Hybrids seemed bothered that I was keeping
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them from a vampire. To them I was a lesser being. But I was the lady of the house and they had to obey or face Tullo. As the curtains were drawn to hold back the sun, I opened the door to my Tullo's bedroom.
He was pulling on his jacket. I hurried to be by his side. His hand settled on me as he pushed me behind him. I watched him draw himself up. They had come to tell us that there would be another examination. An examination of our daughter. Our Spera. I touched his back with a trembling hand.
It had been days since the humans had arrived. The Vampire High Council was taking it's time in assembling. The humans could wait until the Nine could convene, on their own schedule. We had been waiting on pins and needles to hear news of what the humans wanted. The children were kept indoors and guarded. The one child that wasn't under constant guard was the one I carried in me. I knew the instant I conceived. It was as if a tingling sensation came over me and took over my body and soul.
"What is your business?" Tullo asked.
"Your presence is requested at the Vampire High Council," one Hybrid said. I whimpered and leaned my head into Tullo's back.
"Why?" Tullo asked boldly. He was pushing it. To question an invitation was deadly.
"You and your human."
I wondered how long it would take for them to decide that my Spera was human. This fear had grown as my daughter grew. I knew that she had been seen by others. It was a risk we had been willing to take. We had thought it wouldn't matter because she was female. But Spera was too odd not to be examined.
Tullo had told me that since she was a female, a glider and a vampire, there would be many who would wish to mate their sons with her when she was of age. But that was years away. At least we had thought so.
"What does the Vampire High Council want with my daughter?" Tullo almost growled.
"Not your daughter!" the Hybrid snapped, "Your mate. Humans are here and they want our human there at the meeting."
Our human? I peeked out from behind my mate. I was now referred to as 'our human'? But I sighed in deep relief. They only wanted me. I could deal with that. Tullo reached back and held me to him. I could. I wasn't so sure Tullo could.
"Watch you insolence!" Tullo roared. Both Hybrids seemed to deflate. "I'll have no lowly Hybrid speak of my mate so. Faith is the lady of my house!" I swallowed as Tullo put the Hybrids in their place.
"I apologize," the Hybrid lowered his eyes to me. I nodded to them.
"Tell the Vampire High Council we are honored and will be there." Tullo bowed his head, dismissing the Hybrids. "Leave us to get dressed."
Eldon shut the door behind them and stood waiting. Tullo turned and held me in his arms soothing me. We clung to each other and hoped it had not been a mistake. They wanted us present when they met the humans but didn't want Spera.
"Eldon," Tullo looked to him, "Demato is ensuring they are leaving. I need you to make sure Kathy and Borna know what's going on. This could still be a ploy. Let them know that and that they are to guard my children while we are gone.
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Borna knows what to do."
"I'll do it myself," Eldon spoke in a deep voice.
"No, you're coming with us. They know you are the breeder. You're expected to be with us. Dusty and Borna, you've trained them well?"
"Yes, they think of the children as ours. Our family. The children will be safe with us." Eldon's eyes lighted on mine. "We would die before harm came to them."
"Thank you." Tullo held me.
I heard the door shut as Eldon left us. I sobbed into Tullo's chest. He kissed my head and face. We stared into each other's eyes. It couldn't be this easy. It just couldn't be. There had to be more to this. Tullo's cold hands held my face as he kissed me.
"Dress, my love." He released me and hurried down the hall to his children.
I fell onto the bed and closed my eyes. I just needed a little sleep. A nap. Just enough to hold me over. I smiled as I dreamed of Tullo, me, Donum and Spera on Quid 4 playing in the water.
Tullo and I stepped from the carriage with elegance. It was expected now that I was allowed to wear my hair up. I was one of the vampires. The gown I wore was a deep blue and fit me as if I had been poured into it, off the shoulder and with a very low neckline. I felt like I had been poured into it. It was a bit uncomfortable, but it was exhilarating.
Mercy and Kathy woke me and dressed me. I sat yawning as I was tugged, tied, hair pulled, pinned and primped. Tullo had come to watch and was amused with my demeanor. I was at ease. My children were safe. He gave me the once over and smiled in approval.
"For you, my love." He held out lovely blue bejeweled earrings, matching necklace and bracelet. I gasped lightly as he fastened the jewelry to me. I looked in the mirror and smiled at him.
"They're beautiful." I touched the necklace and my ring sparkled.
"You are the most beautiful jewel ever." He leaned down to kiss my shoulder. "Next to my daughter." I smiled at him.
We had gone to see the children and played with them before climbing into the carriage. I had thought we would go by shuttle, but Tullo said we were to make an entrance. The humans had to see us arrive and know how many Hybrids we had. Eldon and Demato drove the carriage. Theto, Olen and Quirn would be hiding nearby in the shuttle. Just in case they were needed.
We stepped from the carriage as it pulled up to the Vampire High Council. I felt as if all eyes were on me. Tullo seemed to enjoy the idea. I looked around at all the vampires waiting. I bowed my head in greeting to them. My hair was up, my bare neck exposed and I was equal to them, but I still kept my mouth shut. They looked as nervous as I felt. I watched their silver eyes dart from me to the humans.
The humans. They were across the courtyard, glaring at us. It wasn't like I was even one of them. They stood on the far side of the courtyard watching as the vampires arrived. My hair was worn up. I was the lady of the house. I was no longer a human. I was mate to a vampire. I felt snobbish, as I looked down my nose at the humans.
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They were all dressed in jeans, work boots and simple shirts. They had vests with air canisters attached. I saw the small tubes come from the vests and circle their faces. The tubes went into their noses. This was how they breathed? It was ingenious. Ingenious and frightening.
There were at least twenty men and a few women. The women looked rugged enough to kick our asses. They looked ready to take on the Hybrids barehanded and win. I held back a rude comment and moved with Tullo towards a group of vampires. I kept watching the humans. They were watching us. The distaste on their faces was hard to miss.
Beyond the humans were their Hybrids. I winced seeing the Hybrids wearing collars. I wanted to curse the humans. Had their history not taught them anything? Words that my father had often said. He told me that the main reason that Earth had died was that humans never learned from their mistakes. I suddenly missed him. I looked at the Hybrids and thought that I saw a familiar face just at the edge of the courtyard. He was standing there, looking right at me!
"Lutha!" I gasped.
The Hybrid saw me. Our eyes met. He knew me. It took him a moment to realize what and who he was looking at, but he knew. I felt my jaw drop as I fought to think of what to say. He turned and ran away from us. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, but knew what I had to do. Tullo turned to look at me as I dug my fingers into his arm.
"Stall!" I hissed to my surprised mate. I lifted up my skirts, and in a most undignified manner, ran after the Hybrid. I sped around the corner of the building. "Lutha!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. I shoved off from the building and sped to him. "I can catch you!" I warned.
Lutha slowed and stopped. He turned to face me. I stopped short and gazed at him. I was but eleven when he had left me in Eldon's care. He had aged. He was still big, strong and muscular, but his face was cold and dark. I stood looking up at him. He was staring off behind me. Ignoring me. I took a deep breath and threw myself into his arms. I cried as I had not cried in years. He stood stiff at first, but then slowly his arms came around me. He held me and let me cry.
"Little sister." he sighed.
"You look like her," Lutha spoke in the deep baritone voice that I had missed. He was looking at me sideways. I knew he wasn't sure how to bring up the subject of my family. "Your mother and Hope. You look just like them. I knew you would."
"What happened to you? Where have you been?"
We were sitting on a bench. We had cried and held each other, and then decided that it might not be a good idea to be out in the open. We found a quiet corner and sat. I took note of his clothes. He was a Quid. Once. Now he was a slave. I saw the collar and sighed. My Lutha.
"I ran." He seemed ashamed. "I didn't want to take another mate. I..." he didn't seem happy with his decision. "I wanted no one but Hope and she was gone." I set my hand on his. "There was a group of humans who were fleeing. There was fear that the vampire might purify their planet of humans. We traveled
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deeper into the system. A new planet. Much like Earth. I went with them in hopes of being an equal."
"And?" I asked.
"I'm a Hybrid," he shrugged. "On Trenar, I'm a servant."
"Trenar?" I let the name slide out.
"It's on the other side of your far moon." He nodded to our moons. I looked up at them.
"Is it nice?"
"It's like Earth," he sighed. "It's dying."
"Is that why they're here?" I looked back to where we had come.
"Not exactly. Our crops are bad. We hope to start trade."
"What will you trade if your crops are bad?" I asked.
"Our young." My stomach clenched.
"Lutha, why are they really here?" I had a sick feeling.
"There are about 400 humans. They have weapons." I gasped. "I don't think they can do anything. There are not enough of them and they cannot survive here without the oxygen they wear. It's not so bad on Trenar. A little hard at first, but they have adapted. Here they cannot. I think they thought they could but..," he sighed heavily.
"What is it?"
"Stories. Of hope." He smiled. "Fairy tales."
"What are you talking about?"
"Travelers have brought tales of a child born here who is a vampire and not. A human child. A girl. She is like an angel. She floats and is able to live in the darkness and light. She can breathe here and there. Her children can save their race." I swallowed to keep from vomiting. "They hope to trade for her."
"Trade for her?" I was beyond appalled.
"Yes, they have brought Hybrids ready to harvest."
"They can't have her. And she's not human. She's a vampire," I hissed. "They can't have her!"
"You know this child, Little Sister?" Lutha's face was full of hope.
"Lutha, Spera is my daughter!" The hope faded.
"Daughter? You've become nothing but a breeding bitch to a vampire?" He stood angrily. "I saved you for this, Little Sister?"
"I am not a breeding bitch!" I spat, "I am Tullo's mate. I am the lady of his house!" Lutha stepped back.
"That is how you breathe. He altered you?" Lutha's shoulders slumped and I thought he might cry. "Eldon let this happen?"
"Lutha, I love Tullo." I sat down again. "He's wonderful. To me and to the herd. We have a boy and a girl. Donum and Spera. Her name means hope. I named her for my sister."
Lutha sat and said nothing. He stared down at his hands. I waited patiently for him to speak. I knew he was lost in the past. My sister, Hope, and the child she had died with. I think Lutha's life ended that day. I knew he had been heartbroken. I had been.
"I wanted to kill you."
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I jumped when he spoke again.
"Really?" I wanted to move away from him.
"Yes, Little Sister, I thought it would save you pain." He sighed heavily and sat back. "I thought many things that day. I wanted to take you to the woods and kill you. I wanted to breed you and take you with me. I wanted to have the humans take you and run..," he looked over to smile at me in a sad way, "I wanted nothing but happiness for you."
"I am happy." I smiled.
"Eldon loved you."
"He still does." I looked down. "I'm the lady of the house and he's my lover."
"Oh!" Lutha laughed dryly, rubbing the back of his head. "What would your father say?"
I laughed with him. Yes, my father would have been appalled by my predicament. Not to mention my brothers.
"He would be angry. Lutha, this is my home and my family. I was brought here to help. How can I help? What do I need to know to keep the vampires safe?"
Lutha sat staring into nothing for a long time. He breathed deeply and then looked at me. His eyes glistened in the moonlight. He was thinking and weighing what to say and do. What could he tell me that would help us or doom us?
"They lie, Little Sister." I sat back from him. "The sickness was intentional. On Quid 4. It was meant to kill the Hybrids." Lutha was looking down now. "Abominations of God. It backfired. Well, on the humans."
"How was the sickness intentional? The sickness on Quid 4?"
"It was implanted in the blood of the young. A slow working illness that brings madness and death. But the Hybrids were immune. It latched onto the humans and the Quids that were more human. First generation Quids. They had planned for it to kill us all."
"Why?" I cried.
"They wanted Quid 4. It could have sustained them. They didn't want to be bred or harvested. The humans wanted it for themselves. The wanted it Quid, Hybrid and vampire free."
"Genocide?" The word slipped from my lips.
"These current humans don't want help. They want it all. They'll take it. Just as they always have. They wanted Helio, but the free colony there was not receptive to them. They threatened to fight. There are a lot of them there. Humans, Quids, and Hybrids. These humans can't breathe the air there. It makes them sicker in ways they can't control."
"I don't understand."
"Their bowels run," he chuckled. "They run until they bleed."
"Ew!"
"Yes. For now Helio is safe from them and the vampires."
"Why vampires?"
"Helio is sunlight all the time. There is little darkness. Even at night, there are ultraviolet rays. And lots of oceans. The people of Helio live mostly off the sea. They trade for what they need. They are content with their life. Humans, vampires,
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Quids, Hybrids and a few other species that I can't identify. These humans have no desire to take Helio for those reasons. But here, there are crops, food and the herds." He looked back to where we had come as if to make sure we were alone.
"But they can't live here!"
"They plan on Hybrids, like me, to run the planet for them. If the child is not a lie, then her children could rule."
"Her children? She is a child!"
"Vampires age quickly. Her first child could be born within ten years. They already have young males ready to breed her."
I shook my heard
"The children born on Trenar are weak. At first, most died. Very few children survived their first year. Now it's better. The Quids fare better, but we Hybrids thrive. They want the girl to mate with a human and bring in more children. Human children who can live here. She will be their savior, Little Sister."
"She would be nothing but a breeding bitch!" I hissed. "They will not get their hands on her."
"They have weapons," Lutha pointed out.
"They won't live long enough to use them."
"They don't need them," he sighed. "Their main weapon is here."
"What are you talking about?"
"If they can't have the child, they plan to return in small parties. During the day, they will go home to home and drag the vampires out into the sunlight. They'll kill all Quids and Hybrids that resist." I stood and began to pace. The thought of my children and Tullo being dragged into the sun was terrifying. I had to tell Tullo and the Nine. They had to know.
"Lutha, where do you stand? With them? Are you willing to live again?"
"What do you mean?" He stood slowly.
"I mean that they may die here tonight. Will you die with them or will you live with us?"
"With you, Little Sister?" Lutha looked unsure.
"Lutha, you are my brother-in-law." I stood looking at him. "You saved my life when I was young. My home is your home. If you want." I held my hand out to him. Lutha looked at it. After a moment he took my hand.
"Then after this, you need to meet your nephew and niece."
I turned Lutha over to Theto at our shuttle with a very short explanation and orders to keep the very large Hybrid hidden. I directed Lutha to tell Eldon all that he knew. I then raced to our carriage and told Eldon of Lutha. Demato and he went to the shuttle. I hurried to take my spot beside my mate. Tullo was deep in conversation with another vampire. He barely nodded his head to me. I smiled, demurely and bowed my head to him.
I focused my attention on the humans across the courtyard from us. They were wearing the oxygen apparatus. I tried to take in the contraption. If we ripped the tubes out of the tanks, the atmosphere would kill them. I just had no idea how long it would take. I wondered if the death would take weeks as mine had, or if they would die instantly. Instant death was what we needed.
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One young man glided up to the man who looked to be the leader. He was looking about and whispering to the leader. It was apparent that the humans thought that being able to glide should intimidate the vampires. As if having the ability to glide and be stronger here on Declar should frighten the vampires. I knew that the vampires couldn't have cared less. To them, it was amusing. An oddity. Vampires could do much more than glide. They could travel in space through elevation and mind control. To them, the idea of a glider only meant that humans could be thrown farther in a fight. I wasn't impressed either. I knew that humans couldn't glide if they couldn't breathe.
"Faith, my love?" Tullo was smiling at me. "Are you not well?" I smiled, demurely, and blushed at him and the vampires he was speaking to.
"I still have difficulty with the air." I held onto his arm as if I might faint. He slid his arm around me.
"Pardon us." He made our apologies and led me away. "What is it? What's going on? I stalled, but we'll be called in soon. The Nine are not happy with being put out by you."
"We have bigger problems than pissing off the Nine."
I propelled him farther away from prying ears and quickly told him about Lutha, our history and what Lutha had told me. Tullo listened intently and held onto me. I tried to say everything as quickly as I could. I wanted to make sure I had given my mate all the details. I also told him that I had left Lutha in the hands of our Hybrids. That got a raised eyebrow from him.
"Now we have to hide an escaped Hybrid?"
Out of all that I had told him that was all he could say?
"What else can we do? He's my relation!" I groaned, "And Spera! They've come to trade for Spera. Aren't you concerned about that?"
"No." He set his hands on my shoulders to calm me and to make me stand still. I was fidgeting so much I was about to take flight. "Do you think the vampires would ever let her leave this planet? She is much too valuable to them. That child is what wars are based on." He sighed and hugged me to him as he watched the fear fill my eyes. My hand went to my still flat stomach. "I know, my love."
I began to cry. I was afraid. I knew this child was different. I knew that three was an unlucky number. For me. Now I was afraid that my bad luck was about to rub off on my family. Tullo's arms encircled me, and I fell against him. Being pregnant made me more emotional. He now knew why I had not taken Eldon up on his offer. I couldn't risk it. I had to be sure this child was Tullo's.
"Okay, I'll think of something to help him, but now we must go before the Nine and the humans."
"Humans!" I sputtered, disgustedly. "They're not humane! They came to try and conquer us. They want Spera!"
"Well, they will not get her," Tullo said, handing me a handkerchief to wipe the tears away. "Not her, or Donum, or the next." He set his hand on my still flat abdomen. I looked at the humans and saw one man watching us curiously. I moved to hide behind Tullo. "Now, stop worrying and come along. I must talk to Shuta and Decun at least. We have a lot to explain and not a lot of time. We can't stall forever."
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We walked into the doors of the great hall. Tullo requested a private meeting with the Nine before the humans presented their proposal. Apparently his words were important to them, because he allowed entrance. I waited alone, trying to remain calm. It wasn't easy trying to appear calm and as if I belonged to the other vampires that were milling around. I found a nice spot behind a wall of several vampire couples and assessed the humans who stood across the courtyard. Once again I saw the man watching me intently. His eyes were a blue green and his hair dark. I ignored him and focus on the group.
Twenty-three men and six women. I wanted to remember their faces. One was with the Hybrids. Thirty were here in the courtyard and nine would be going in to address the Nine. Nine. I wondered if I could kill another living being. A human. Before this, I would have said no. But that was before they had threatened my child. Now, I alone could rip the tubes from their faces and watch them suffocate on the air around us.
The man who was their leader stood tall and proud. He was older looking and had a cold face. He was dark, with a scar on his face. They lived in the sun. I envied them their dark tans. I had only a limited time in the sun. I watched as their leader looked down his nose at the vampires around him. He felt superior to them. This was a good thing, for us. The vampires thought they were superior. They would not listen to the humans until it was established who was superior. Neither would give in. Both species suffered from the same affliction: pride.
"My love," Tullo was next to me then, "We have but a little time and I must speak to this Lutha."
"Why?" I looked about to make sure no human heard him say the name aloud.
"Trust me?" His hand cupped my cheek.
How could I deny him? I had just hidden a Hybrid slave away without asking. I nodded and followed him to our shuttle where Lutha was hidden. Demato stood guard as we entered. I found Eldon talking to Lutha and quickly introduced him to Tullo. Eldon said nothing. He never even looked at me. I sighed and fixed my attention on Lutha and Tullo as they spoke in hushed tones.
"Faith, I need some privacy with your brother-in-law," Tullo said, and Eldon nodded for me to follow him.
I moved out of the shuttle and the door shut behind me. I jumped at the noise and found that Demato had stepped in and Eldon had remained. I stood alone outside. It took a few moments for it to sink in that I had just been evicted from whatever they were planning. I tried to open the door and found it locked. I hit it several times before Tullo opened it and frowned at me. He took my hand and propelled me away from the shuttle.
"What's going on?" I asked looking back to see the shuttle door slam shut. "Tullo?"
"Come along, we must go before the Nine."
We and several other vampire couples were led into the great hall of the Vampire High Council. The Nine were seated as if they hadn't moved since I had been brought before them. Their mates stood behind them, waiting patiently for instructions. We were guided to stand closer to the Nine. I stood slightly behind
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Tullo, hidden by his body. I was able to peek out and see what was going on without being seen.
The nine humans were led into the great hall. They looked at us as if we were unimportant. I held my breath as they stood before the Nine. I had to give it to the Nine, it was interesting: the nine humans acting as if they were doing us a favor and the nine vampires looking bored. Neither needed each other and then again, they did. To me, it was a battle of wits between the witless. Men! No matter the species!
"I am Seth!" the human leader spoke as he was acknowledged by the Nine, with bored nods of their heads. "We come from Trenar." Again, a bored nod. "We have come to offer assistance to you and ask help of you." Another nod.
Seth looked to his left and right to the men standing there. They looked annoyed. I could tell they thought it was a mistake to speak to the Nine as equals. Self-imposed superiority dripped off them. I breathed easier as the Nine looked more annoyed and bored with the humans. Tullo reached back to squeeze my hand reassuringly. I looked at the humans and saw the same blue-green eyes staring at me. I ducked behind Tullo.
"I have traveled here with my people to extend our hand in friendship. We hope to work together in forming a trade union with your planet." Seth stood waiting.
The Nine said nothing. Nor did they move right away. They sat staring at the humans. I squeezed Tullo's hand. He pulled me closer to him. The only sound in the great hall was the sound of the breathing apparatus of the humans. I breathed deeply, on my own. This was the one thing that set me apart from them. That and the love of Tullo.
"What is it you desire of us?" Shuta asked with a dismissive wave of his hand. The other Nine did not move to object. They didn't look too impressed either.
"We have an extraordinary herd," Seth spoke.
He nodded to the man on his right and the man moved to the door of the hall. He opened it and ten tall, strong, male Hybrids marched in. I gasped. Lutha stood among them. I moved forward and Tullo held me back. He looked at me with warning in his eyes. I frowned, but stepped back into my hiding place behind my mate and waited.
Declan stood and walked over to inspect the herd. Slowly he and Shuta walked around the ten Hybrids. Argot and Taryn all stood and also walked around the herd. Cuirn, Lonar, Kynul, Benzar and Eula stood slowly, but did not advance. Instead they stepped behind their chairs and next to their mates. There was no way the Nine would all be caught out in the open.
"Impressive." Shuta spoke as he and the others moved to take their positions with their mates. "However, our herds are sufficient. What we have on Declar and Quid 4. To bring in more would make it difficult to care for what we have."
"We asked, what is it you wish of us?" Decan asked.
"In this trade," Argot added.
"Grains, animals and such. We are a fairly new colony and we need these items to establish and survive. Our new world is dying. Our children. We struggle." Seth spoke in what he thought was a more authoritative voice.
"And what concern is this of ours?" Cuiren asked coldly. "We have our own
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children that we must be concerned with."
"There have been stories of a child that could save us." Seth said. I gripped Tullo's arm. "A human child who lives among you. She is said to live in both the light and dark. She is strong, lithe and nearly of age to bear children."
"Fairy tales," Kynul sneered.
"So there is no human who lives on this planet?" The man to Seth's left asked. He was a cold looking man that glared about the room, daring the vampires to deny it. I had a feeling he wished to be speaking instead of Seth.
"And you are?" Shuta asked looking at the human who had rudely spoken out.
"Reeves!" the man said. "So you deny a human lives among you?"
"Yes, there is a human." Cuiren spoke up. "Not a child."
"A slave?" Seth asked. "We would be willing to trade for her freedom."
"No," Kynul moved from his mate and stepped before the humans. Putting himself between them and Tullo. "That's not necessary. She is an equal." The murmur rose among the humans.
"Hush! Coleman! Reeves! Quiet!" Seth snapped as he turned to face Kynul. "A human who is your equal? A female?"
"What human lowers themselves to the level of vampires?" Coleman asked in the most defiant manner possible. "It would be a woman. Whose whore is she?" I thought I heard Tullo growl.
"Lower?" Cuiren moved toward Kynul and stopped before Tullo. "I had thought it was anything but a lowering. Didn't you, Tullo?" He turned to look at Tullo.
"I found it a fair evaluation." Tullo replied. I began to tremble.
"Yes," Cuiren sighed.
The humans were now glaring at Tullo. They thought he was the human! I ducked my head. The murmur rose among the humans as they assessed Tullo. It was disbelief.
"Seth, although your herd is impressive, we do not require new blood in our Hybrids or Quids. The herds we have are very dear to us. Many are like extended family to us. Bringing in more would take from them and that is unfair. We might talk of helping you, but I think trade is out of the question. For now."
The sounds of the breathing apparatus sped up. The humans were not happy with the words. I watched as their eyes darted about, looking for weakness in our numbers. Did they really think they could just take what they wanted? If so, there was a lesson to be learned. A hard lesson.
The humans were stronger here because of the gravity difference, but only if they had been born on Earth. I had a feeling that only the older ones had that advantage. The three in front most certainly. The younger ones gave me doubt. They were heavy in their walk. Their breathing wasn't as labored as Seth, Coleman and Reeves.
"And the girl? The human child?" Reeves asked, coldly.
"What human child?" Kynul asked incredulously. "I can assure that there are no human children living on Declar."
"You just said…" Coleman started, but Seth held up a hand to silence him. The three looked at the vampires, sizing them up.
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"He said there was a human who lived among them as an equal. He didn't say it was a child." Seth's eyes narrowed on Tullo. "That is not a human!"
"They lie! There is no human who can live on Declar!" Reeves accused.
"We do not lie," Kynul smiled slightly, showing his fangs. "Unlike humans."
"I take offense to that!" Reeves snapped.
"I expected you to," Kynul replied, turning and winking at me as I peeked around Tullo. It was so out of character that I almost laughed. "You forget that we have dealt with humans since the beginning of your time. Even then, humans lied."
"You forget that we know vampires are nothing but bloodsucking murderers of our women and children! Your ancestors did great damage to our race and made your race infamous monsters."
"Women, yes," Shuta stepped back round the table, "but they desired us. Children, never."
"You lie! You have no idea what your ancestors did and yet you wish to condemn us for what our ancestors did do." Seth declared.
It was then that all of the Nine stepped around the table and stood before the humans. A wall of vampires. An impenetrable wall. Tullo had taught me well. I knew the fight strategy of vampires. To face, fight and then to destroy. Vampires had little to no fear. And these Nine were ageless and unable to die. At least in the eyes of the humans. Fantasy and fable were good weapons against frightened humans. Not being able to die made them very much a force to be reckoned with.
"You are mistaken," Eula said evenly with great elegance and dignity. "We are the ancestors."
"So it's true!" Reeves accused. "Vampires cannot die!"
"No, vampires can die. They do, however, live longer than humans. A lot longer." Shuta stood casually before the humans, "We, the original Nine, were altered through our space travel in searching for Declar. It slowed the aging process, if not stopped it. We Nine are as old as time." I smiled at the little fib Shuta had just laid out for the humans.
"Bullshit!" Coleman spat under his breath.
"They do, as do humans," Lonar said, making all the vampires chuckle. A very human reaction. It also was a human reaction for the humans to be upset. The confrontation was coming. I readied myself.
"A human lives among you as an equal? I would like to speak to this human." Seth looked about. I ducked my head. "If this human is a slave or a breeding bitch, it is our duty to rescue the child."
"And if not?" Eula asked.
"If not what?" Seth spat.
"If the human is not kept as a pet," I liked the way Eula was politically correct when it came to me, "then what?"
"I do not believe that any human would remain with such monsters!" Coleman almost yelled.
"If this human said so, would you take their word for it?" Cuiren asked as he moved to put himself between the humans and me.
"That would depend on the condition of the human." Seth answered looking about into the small crowd of vampires I stood with. In fact all the humans were
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looking for me. "A child cannot make such a distinction."
"Very well," Cuiren held his hand out to me.
Tullo stepped forward slowly, and deliberately. The humans took in his looks and smiled amongst themselves, knowing he was not human. It was evident in his features. Tullo stopped short and pulled me out from behind him. I moved forward with my head held high and holding tightly to my mate. I glided from Tullo's hold into Cuiren's. The vampire's icy cold hand made me jump. He was a lot colder than Tullo. It was unexpected.
"Should have known it'd be a wench!" Coleman spat.
"How dare you!" Tullo snarled, stepping forward with amazing speed. Kynul caught him and held him back.
"She is Tullo's mate and the lady of his house. Please, show respect to the Lady Faith." Cuiren spoke evenly.
I stood holding my skirt up so that I didn't trip on it as I curtsied elegantly, as Mercy had taught me. I did not raise my eyes to meet the humans' until I stood up next to Cuiren. I smiled and tilted my head to the men as graciously as I could without vomiting.
"May I present the Lady Faith." Cuiren released my hand and took a step back from me.
Although I was happy for the relief of the pending frostbite on my hand, I was a bit distressed at being front and center to the humans. I folded my hands before me and waited as the examination continued. The men all circled me and gazed at my features and eyes. No silver. Coleman leaned in, taking up to much of my personal space. I snapped my teeth at him, making him jump back. Again the vampires snickered.
"You're human?" Seth asked.
"Yes," I replied in as bored a voice as I could muster over the anger.
"You were born on Earth?" Coleman wasn't convinced.
"Yes."
"Where?"
I thought. I hadn't thought of Earth in that way. I was from Earth. But Earth was divided by continents, countries, states, cities and providences. I had to remember back to my childhood. My early childhood. Wheat fields, country, snow, sunshine and Dorothy. I smiled slightly. The Wizard of Oz. Well, we weren't in Kansas anymore.
"Kansas," I answered. "Near Topeka."
"How long were you on Earth?" Seth asked.
"Until I was four. My family migrated to Quid 4 right before the last wave of desolation on Earth. We were missionaries."
"I'm sure these vampires have you in the missionary position nightly!" Coleman snarled. I didn't even bother to register the insult.
"Watch your tongue!" Tullo warned.
"She's a concubine! A whore!" Reeves declared.
"I'm no concubine. I'm the Lady Faith. My mate is Tullo." I spoke evenly, trying to enhance my meaning. "I take offense at being called a whore." I knew the vampires near me were ready to strike. I had to calm the situation. "Since you are
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new to our planet and guests, I will excuse such ignorance. Human ignorance."
"Ignorance? You're nothing but a branded piece of meat to these animals!" Seth said coldly.
"I wear no brand! I'm Tullo's mate!" I turned and knelt down to show my bare, unbranded neck. I felt the hot breath of the men as they inspected my neck. I stood and turned to face them.
"So you sleep with a monster of your own free will?" Seth asked.
"I sleep with my mate."
Seth's eyes traveled over me and lighted on the ring I wore on my hand. His eyes shot to look at Tullo and the ring he wore.
"You dare make a mockery of human marriage?"
"You dare to question my loyalty to my mate?" I snapped.
"Mate? You are nothing but a pet to him!" Reeves yelled.
"I am his mate. If we were both human, I would be his wife. I sleep with him and I live with him. Of. My. Own. Free. Will."
Cold eyes fell on me. It was interesting to see so many eyes in so many colors. Browns, blues, greens and hazel. Humans had pretty eyes. I found myself taken with a pair of blue-green eyes and the gentle face of the man who possessed them. The one who had been watching me. He was tall and darkly tanned, with dark hair and black lashes that outlined and made his eyes stand out more. He looked like Seth, only younger. Maybe a brother? I tore my eyes from him.
"Treacherous bitch!" Coleman snapped, reaching out to strike me.
I easily glided out of his reach and snatched the tubes from his face. Instantly the man fell to the ground gasping, his lips turning blue. The other humans raced to replace the tubes. I moved to stand between Tullo and Cuiren. I had just tested a theory and answered a question. The humans could not manage the atmosphere and it instantly had a crippling effect on them. Information we needed.
"I prefer being addressed as the Lady Faith," I said.
"How is it you can breathe here?" Seth demanded.
"Because I can. I lived on Quid 4 long enough to build up a resistance. To a lot. I survived the plague that killed off most of the humans and Quids six years ago. The plague that was planted by humans like you." I weighed the emphasis of my words. "To end the existence of Hybrid 'abominations'." I noticed Lutha shift a bit, but he didn't look up.
"How did…" Seth stopped before he finished the question.
"Please! We were Baptist Missionaries. I know the work of religious zealots when I hear it. My father was suspicious of it. My mother was a nurse in one of the main clinics. They both spoke of how humans try to overtake what they can't control. How humans depleted Earth and would simply move on like a locust to a crop." I was lying, but I needed to. I wasn't good at lying but, I was frightened and angry. That was a good combination to ease the lying I had to do. "As it says in the Bible."
"You speak of the Bible? Heresy!" Coleman spat.
"Is it? God is all Being. He has many followers, and through our history many have been accused of heresy. I am not a heretic. I am a child of God and a human and I live on Declar. And I breathe." I knew that my words stung the humans.
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"So it is possible!" Seth's eyes displayed hope.
"No, I don't think so," I sighed in an over exaggerated way. "Unless a human was born on Earth and lived on Quid 4 and survived the plague, after being exposed to it..," I sighed again, "Doubtful!" I almost sang the last part.
"I lived on Quid 4 and was born on Earth." A young man stepped up from the back of the nine humans. "I was on Quid 4 during the plague and escaped." He looked from Seth to Reeves and to Coleman. "I am Holt!"
Holt had an over exaggerated ego. I watched him flex his muscles and stand as if he were going to take on the Nine bare handed. I looked bored and inspected my fingernails, I'd seen my older sister do this when she had argued with my brothers.
"I could breathe this air!" Holt declared boldly, reaching for the hose that came from his nose.
"Don't!" Eula ordered.
"I take no orders from vampire scum!" Holt looked to Seth, who nodded. With that, Holt ripped off his breathing tube, inhaled deeply… and fell over. The men rushed to put his tube back on his nose, but the man did not move. He was dead.
"Oh my!" It wasn't false shock on my part. I had thought Holt would only fall over. I hadn't expected death to be instantaneous.
"Too much of our atmosphere can cause instant oxygen withdrawal from the brain. The sudden change can cause blood to explode in the veins. He should not have breathed so deeply," Eula noted, rather calmly.
I gasped. Tullo reached out to take my hand. I let him pull me into the safety of his arms. I had seen enough death on Quid 4 during the plague to last me a lifetime. I turned away from the tragic death of this human. We humans were an endangered species and now one of us, had died foolishly.
"You care?" Seth asked of me. I looked at him, fighting back tears.
"I feel when any creature dies! Especially needlessly!" The tears came and Tullo hugged me close.
"You are one of us!" Coleman snapped, looking at the faces of the vampires. I was the only one to show emotion. "You should come with us!"
"No!" I turned angrily. "I am nothing like you. I would never have had this boy risk his life to prove anything! You encouraged him!"
"I don't believe you are staying with this creature of your own freewill." Seth glared at me. "Do you have children? Are you afraid for their safety? We can protect you!" I saw the cloaked hope in the man's eyes.
"I stay because I have no one." I wiped my tears away. "My entire family perished on Quid 4. I came here with a herd that I had been living with. I don't know why I can breathe the air, but because of it, I am barren. It's love that holds me to Tullo. The only children he has are from the herd. It's love that holds him to me," I sighed as Tullo hugged me. "And I to him."
"You could come with us to Trenar and help us rebuild our society!" Seth encouraged.
"I can't have children!" I lied.
"Not here, but on Trenar…" Seth was excited with the prospect.
"I will not leave my mate." I laid my head on Tullo's shoulder. "I will not breed with anyone else. Leave me alone. Forget I exist."
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"We have answered all of your questions," Eula spoke, "and you have allowed a demonstration of what will happen to you if you stay. Please, take your herd and go." He bowed and the Nine stood waiting for the humans to retreat. The herd carried the fallen human out. I breathed heavily and leaned against Tullo.
"The woman should come with us," Coleman ordered.
"It is her choice," Shuta replied. All eyes fell on me.
"This is my home." I answered.
"You are one of us," Seth pointed out. "You are human. It is your duty to be with us. We need women to sustain our race."
"I cannot have children. I'm of no use to you or your colony."
"You have knowledge of a planet that is thriving when others are failing!" Coleman snapped.
"Vampires live simply. No electronics to pollute their planet or minds. Their shuttle fuel is grown here. They entertain by music, reading and social gatherings. They treat their herds very well. Here on Declar, we take care of each other."
"They use the Quids!"
"Not as slaves, as you people use the Hybrids. As pets maybe, but well-cared for pets."
"As if you would know?" Seth accused.
"You forget. I came here as a Quid. I was a Quid, and if not for falling in love with Tullo, I still would be. I was very happy then and I'm very happy now. I will never leave."
"You have her answer." Eula motioned for me and Tullo to move behind the barrier of the table where the Nine's mates stood. We obeyed and I understood why instantly. The female vampires stood ready to lunge in defense of their mates. "Thank you for meeting with us. Some of our farmers are outside. They are willing to trade with you. This much we will allow. We hope this helps your people."
The humans were not happy at being dismissed. They had come to bargain, but got more than they had bargained for. Seth drew in a deep breath and bowed slightly. He turned to lead his people out. I noticed the same dark haired man watching me with his blue-green eyes. He followed the others out.
"What of Lutha?" I asked Tullo quietly.
"Don't worry." He hugged me to him, "There is more than you know."
"More what?" I asked angrily.
He said nothing but stood watching the eight remaining humans leave the great hall. He seemed to breathe easier once the doors were closed. It was then that he hugged me close and hissed one word in my ear.
"Danger."
"Now?" Eula asked Tullo.
"Yes." Tullo turned to me. "They are not leaving, but rallying to attack. Lutha told me of their plans. They intend to hunt for Spera by going from home to home in the daylight and exposing vampires to sunlight. Children included. I'm sure they doubt her existence, but they know of you. They will come for you. They assume you are her."
"How do they know about her?"
"I don't know. Perhaps you were seen and the rumor was born. Some Hybrids
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have come up missing, many who were unhappy. It's suspected that they escaped with the scavengers. There's really no place for them to go. Maybe they offered information about Spera in trade for their survival. The rumor grew. It's easy to pass you off as the fabled female child. And we need to keep the fantasy going. My love, they must never know about Spera."
"What will we do? They plan on attacking during the day. How can we stop them?"
"Our Hybrids are now our guards," Shuta answered simply. "Our first line of defense."
"Defense? Now we must defend ourselves to live?" I was astounded.
"We have no choice other than to travel to this other planet and kill all the humans there to end the threat," Kynul explained.
"Genocide." It was the second time I had used that word.
"Security," Decun corrected. "Your children are like us. They will die with us. You could survive."
"To be taken as a breeding bitch!" I snapped, and then blushed as the vampires chuckled at me. "They can't breathe our air. We can use that against them."
"Yes, that was a wonderful display," Cuiren noted. "But their Hybrids can. One human can command hundreds of Hybrids to attack us. They will kill or take our herds."
Hybrids killing Hybrids. Quids being taken. It was unbelievable. I felt weak at the thought of an all-out war to take my daughter. Tullo had been right about war. It could easily happen. To save my child, would I approve of the death of 400 humans? Men, women and children? Yes. I would do anything to ensure the safety of my children.
"And Lutha?"
"He is owned by Seth. He returned to see what they plan now that we have denied them. He is now our spy."
"What? No! Tullo! They'll kill him!"
"Faith, trust me." His voice was soothing. "I'll not allow that. None of us will. He'll be safe. He's trusted by them. We need the information." I looked from him to the Nine. Shuta nodded. They would ensure Lutha's safety.
"Do we even know where this planet is?" I asked on impulse. "Have you ever heard of Trenar?"
"No, they claimed it and named it," Cuiren sighed. "At least their so called king did. King Jordan? Very historical."
"So we don't even know where our enemy live?"
"They are not our enemy, yet," Kynul pointed out.
"They are my enemy!" I said. "Any who want to take or harm my children are enemies to me."
The Nine smiled at me.
"Speaking of the children," Tullo pulled me to him, "We should get home. I'll feel better when we are with them."
"Me too." I suddenly wanted to hold my children.
"No," Shuta spoke quickly, "stay for the opera. In case they try to follow. Give your Hybrids time." I turned to Tullo, he shook his head. He'd tell me later.
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"An evening out will be nice." Tullo kissed my temple.
My hand went to my mid-section. Already the nausea was there. Not even a week, and my new one was making himself known. I noticed Shuta's eye on my abdomen and I smiled at him. He smiled back and smacked Tullo on the shoulder. Testosterone. Vampire or human, it amazed me.
"Come along, my love." Tullo led me from the great hall.
We stepped out into the night. The humans were trading with other farmers. Tullo would not trade with them. I let him lead me away from the building. We walked arm in arm, breathing in the night air and letting our thoughts mingle and clear up.
"Theto and Eldon can handle this," Tullo said suddenly.
"I know." I did. I hated that it had come to this.
"We have pressing plans." Tullo said with great importance. I looked at him curiously. "My son demands a game of chess and my daughter wants a ride on her pony." I smiled and relaxed as we walked. "As soon as the opera is over we are on our way home."
"That sounds wonderful." I leaned on him.
Many other vampires were around us. We felt safe enough to stop at the bistro for a beverage. I had a glass of Quid 4 water and Tullo, blood. We stood at the small, tall table looking at each other and smiling. Our lives were about to change again. I knew it.
"We should go," Tullo noted looking about. The crowd was thinning out. "The opera will begin soon."
The streets were close to empty. I nodded and let him lead us to where we were to meet Theto and Eldon. I was lost in thought over my outrage at the humans and their demands upon me. I was not a prisoner or held against my will. This was my home, my family and I was not leaving. Or so I thought.
The hand clamped down over my mouth. I fought, but to no avail. I heard Tullo snarl and then… nothing. I looked to see him lying on the ground with a large Hybrid over him. My Tullo wasn't moving. I fought harder. I had to stop them! Lutha stood holding Tullo by the throat. I screamed
"Stop!" Seth snapped. He was standing before me. "Well?" he asked turning back to Lutha.
"Dead." The reply came. I screamed into the hand.
"And they said these sons of bitches couldn't die!" Reeves laughed in my ear. I swung wildly and kicked at the men.
"Stop it!" Seth growled, tying my hands together before me. "We're here to save you!"
Save me! I fought harder. Tullo! I got a glimpse of his body on the ground. No one was around. We were alone. I tried to scream. I fought to get away and all I got was a fist to the face and darkness. It was as if I closed my eyes to my life.
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10
The human shuttle was different than ours. Like Tullo's room, it had a double entrance. We stepped through the shuttle door and another door was there. Once the outer door was shut and sealed, the inner door opened. I was dragged into the shuttle. I was still fighting and had succeeded in smashing Reeves in the nose with my fists. This act had gotten me a good slap and my hands were now tied tightly behind my back.
This shuttle was not in the town square. It was away from the buildings and I was dragged to it in the darkness, fighting the whole way. I was gagged and tied. Tullo's body was hidden in some bushes and the humans hurried me away from any prying eyes. I had hoped that Demato and Eldon would come looking for me. But they wouldn't. Not if they thought we had gone to the opera. That lasted for hours. I was alone.
The second door to the shuttle entrance opened and I was thrown into the shuttle as the door slammed shut. I slid across the floor and hit a seat. My shoulder screamed in pain as I fought to sit up. My hair had fallen down and I was temporarily blinded. I breathed deeply, sat up, and waited for what was to come.
"Vampire whore!" Coleman spat on me and then kicked me. I yelped and tried to move away from his blows. The second kick was coming towards my stomach. I turned and his boot connected with my hip. I grimaced, biting into the gag, and fought not to scream.
"Stop it!" Seth ordered, pulling the man away from me. I rolled for the door, but was jerked back.
"Where do you think you're going?" Seth asked, yanking me to my feet. I was thrust into a seat. I cursed into the gag, and stood ready to run.
"Shut up and sit down!" Reeves slapped me and sent me back to the floor. A hand reached down to jerk me up and into a seat. Up, down, up, down. I wished they would make up their minds.
"Will you stop fighting?" It was the man with the blue-green eyes. He settled me into a seat.
"Raven, you don't have to be nice to the bitch," Coleman snapped. I was blinded by tears, but knew his voice now.
Slowly, I was able to focus on my surroundings. It was a small shuttle. It only seated ten to twelve. There was an open area behind the seats with a table and chairs that were bolted to the floor. Basically a communal area for meals or to talk. There were three women sitting there. They looked at me with hate-filled eyes. I saw the stairs. So sleeping quarters were above us. There was only one door and they were not letting me near it.
I sat watching, as one by one the men took off their oxygen vests and handed them to Lutha, who hung them by the door. The tubes came out since the cabin oxygen was suitable for them. His eyes locked on mine for only an instant. I saw fear in his eyes and knew I was in a lot of trouble. Eight men, three women. Almost half of the landing party.
Sobbing caught my attention. Someone else was crying? I looked around and saw one woman in the corner. I hadn't seen her before. She was young, pretty,
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petite with dark hair and eyes. She had drawn up her knees to her chest, sobbing into her hands. When she did look up, she glared right at me.
"She's Holt's wife!" Coleman declared, "His widow! You did this!" The man pointed an accusing finger at me.
"Relax!" Seth ordered. "Everyone relax!" Seth sighed and sat down heavily in the seat next to me. "Magnus! Get us out of here. The others will follow later." Lutha bowed his head to Seth and moved to the cabin where the pilot was.
The sight of Lutha eased my fear, slightly. I sat up and looked about. I scooted as far back in the seat as I could. Only Seth looked calm. The others were enraged. Elsie had said three shuttles had landed. The other humans were probably on one and the Hybrids another. I wondered where they were.
"Faith." My name sounded foul coming from Seth's mouth. "We know you're lying. Where's your daughter? At home? We're heading that way now and you are going to tell us where she is or we are going to kill your son." I gasped. How could they know? He reached out to remove the gag.
"No! I have no children!" I yelled.
"Denying the little half breeds already?" A voice laughed.
Margie stood in the cabin doorway. I hadn't seen her since I had been taken to the Vampire High Council the first time. Then she was a breeding bitch with child. Now, she was a woman. Time looked to have been very good to the Hybrid. Margie's beauty had been enhanced by her age, but her attitude was still cold.
"Margie!" I couldn't help but be surprised.
"Your children in the nursery? Which room is the nursery? Your old room? The breeding room?" I sat, stunned. "I know the house well and can get in and out. How many die depends on you."
"Why?" I asked. "You were one of us!"
"I was not!" She screamed at me ferociously. "Eldon didn't choose me and Tullo wouldn't have me. You let them give me to that monster! Do you know what he did to me? Batar beat me! They took my son! You let that happen!"
"I tried to help you!" I shot back, "You turned on us!"
"I did what I had to do to survive! We're here to get you, you daughter and my son!" Margie moved towards me menacingly. "What have they done with him?"
"What? Who?" I was truly lost. I sat back thinking.
"My son. Batar sent him to you with that whore!"
"Which whore?" I was confused.
"Lenora! He sent her away when her child died. She was his favorite. Batar gave her my son!"
"Niyan?" I fought for clarity, "Niyan is your son?"
"Where is he?" Margie dove at me. Seth pushed her back.
"First, we get the girl child." Coleman was glaring at me as if he wanted to hit me. I moved farther back in the seat.
"We have to wait for the sun," Margie said, as she jerked away from Seth, "There is an area just beyond the far barn we can land and wait. Once the sun comes up, the herd goes to the fields. Only two or three are in the house."
"We go now," Seth ordered.
"Tullo will..," Margie started.
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"He's dead. His body hidden. We have time." I felt my stomach turn.
"You killed him?" Margie screamed. "You fool! They'll hunt us down and kill us all!"
"They don't know where to look," Reeves snapped.
"We get the girl and we leave. You get your son sooner." Seth settled back next to me. "Where's the girl?"
If he expected me to tell him he was greatly mistaken. I glared at him. He shrugged and relaxed as the shuttle sped over the open ground. Margie told them how to get to the house. I decided then and there that one day I would kill her. No doubt about it.
"There!" she sang, pointing out the window. I started yelling and got the gag shoved back in my mouth. "I'll show you!"
Seth, Reeves and Coleman got their oxygen tanks on. I sat helpless as they followed Margie through the first door. She waved to me as the door closed. The shuttle landed and I heard the outer door open. I cried softly to myself as we waited. It was a long time before they returned. Alone. I was surprised as the inner door opened and the four who left stepped into the shuttle.
"Get us home!" Seth ordered almost instantly. The shuttle lifted off. I watched as Margie found a seat and sat crying.
"Well?" one woman asked.
"No one there. The place's dead," Seth replied. "Not a soul there. Human or otherwise. I'd say they moved to town for safety. Or Margie thinks the children were taken to Batar's. She had said he wanted them."
"So we go there?" the woman sounded excited.
"No, can't risk it. Margie says his Hybrids are armed and bred for war. We're too few. We got her." He nodded towards me. "She'll have to do. Margie says that she only knows of the boy. The girl child could be a falsehood." He looked over at me. "We go home. For now."
I sat watching out the window as the farm disappeared. Empty? Tullo had made sure our children were safe. He, Mercy, Demato and Eldon had done well. I didn't know where my children where. But I knew they were safe. I said a prayer of thanks to God and to Tullo. I knew Tullo was with God. No God would have damned him for saving his children.
The shuttle hovered for a bit and then moved quickly away from Declar. The outer shell closed and as the window was sealed I saw the last of Declar. My stomach turned as we hit orbit. I was afraid I would vomit and choke. I coughed enough to make them take notice. Seth walked over to untied the gag, pulling it from my mouth. I opened and closed my mouth several times. It ached.
"We got a long ride ahead of us. You gonna behave?" He asked.
"No," I replied.
"At least you're honest," he smirked at me.
"At least." I tried to lick my lips.
"At least." He opened the canteen he had and held it to my lips. I drank. It was water. Dull, warm, tasteless water. It was delicious. "To a point?" He smiled at my confused look. "Honest to a point?"
"When it comes to my son? All bets are off." I swallowed.
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"We're a small farming colony."
I glared at him. Did I care? No! Seth continued,
"We got a long trip. I need you to not give me a reason to hurt you. Can you do that?"
"Why am I here?" I asked.
"We saved you."
"From what? Happiness?" I sat back in my seat.
"Look, we're dying. Our children are dying. We need women. Strong, young, healthy women. There are very few of them." I sighed and looked down. "There are five men here who aren't married. You need to decide."
"Decide what?" I looked back at him.
"I have a wife. A wife I love. Holt's dead. Mangus is too old. Cord has a wife who's about to have a baby. Reeves and Bryant are sterile. They had the illness on Quid 4. They survived but..," I felt my jaw drop.
"You want me to decide which man you have rape me?" I finally asked.
"There are three. Coleman, Raven and Givens. Givens is Holt's father." He leaned closer to say this. I understood. Givens wanted to hurt me. "Coleman is a good man, but harsh and his home is very primitive. Raven has two girls. His wife died in childbirth. He has a nice place. Small, but nice. He's like you." I looked away. "Honest."
"Good. An honest man to rape me," I sighed.
"Faith? Your name is Faith?" I looked back at him.
"Yes."
"Faith, you are never going back to Declar. You try to run and we will find you and your child. I personally will throw that child out into the sun." Seth's eyes were steady as he looked at me. "I have three kids of my own. You aren't going to do anything to risk our chances." Their chances? "I love my kids. Do you love yours? Your son?"
"Yes," I said.
"Then for your son's sake you have to accept this." I closed my eyes. "I think you and Raven will get along fine. He's a nice fellow. Don't give him a hard time. He's still grieving. Like I said, you have a lot in common."
Seth left me and hurried up the steps to the sleeping quarters. All the men were up there. I heard the women behind me. They were whispering and almost growling. Holt's widow was still sobbing in the corner. I knew how she felt.
The sound of someone stomping down the steps made me look up. I turned my head just in time to get punched in the face. Stunned, I fell forward into a burly man's arms. The gag was tied tightly around my head. I was jerked up and dragged to the back of the shuttle. I was flung face down on the table with my hands shoved up my back. I screamed into the gag. It felt as if my arms were being ripped off!
"Vampire whore!" the man hissed in my ear as he leaned over me. I felt him pushing up my skirt and the feeling of his bare skin to mine. "This is how you like it? Is it?" he grabbed a handful of my hair and snapped my head back. "This is what you need!"
It was unreal! The women were encouraging him. I couldn't even see who was attacking me. I heard Margie laughing behind me. I winced and listened to one of
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the women was laughing as Holt's wife walked up and slapped me across the face. I bit my lip as the tears blinded me. Humans! It was then I did something that I hadn't done in a long time. I prayed to die.
"Get off her!" Another voice yelled.
My attacker was gone and I was falling. I hit the floor and lay watching the two men fighting. My attacker was on the bottom getting beaten by my savior. My savior with blue green eyes. Seth was trying to break up the fight. I closed my eyes and decided that death was better than this.
"Take a breath," the voice ordered.
I blinked and breathed. I was still breathing. I was still alive. Once again, Death had failed me. I tasted the iron blood as the gag was removed. My arms were free, but aching. My face was tingling. The eyes staring at me were soft and blue green. He was pushing my hair from my face.
"Is she okay, Jacob?" Beyond my savior was a young man with big brown eyes. I blinked.
"I think so, Bryant," Jacob said as he lifted me into his arms, "Are you going to do anything?" The man named Jacob growled as he carried me past Seth and up the stairs.
The bed was hard and uncomfortable. I melted into it. There was no pillow so I turned on my side, faced the wall and curled my body into the fetal position. There was too much pain to describe or contemplate. I closed my eyes and prayed. Prayed to die. In response to the prayer I got a blanket gently put over me.
"I'll be right back," Jacob said as he rushed out the door.
There was yelling from below. I tried to listen to the muffled words. It wasn't hard. They were very loud. Givens. It was Givens who attacked me. He was angry that Seth had given me to Raven. I almost laughed at the irony of it. Raven was yelling now. He was accusing his companions of inhumane actions. Humans who were inhumane. I breathed slowly in and out, trying to let the pain leave me. It decided to stay.
The door opened and I lay waiting. Someone was behind me. I didn't care who. Maybe they would kill me? I missed Tullo. I missed Eldon. But most of all, I missed my children. The children I would never see again. I cried to myself and prayed for their safety. They were now orphans. I was dead to them and Tullo was dead to all of us. My heart was dying, even if my body wasn't. Whoever was behind me sighed heavily.
"Can you sit up?" It was Seth. I didn't move. "Do you need help?" I shook my head and tried to sit up. I couldn't. The man helped me sit up gently. I leaned back against the wall. "Raven won't take you."
"You giving me to Givens?" I almost laughed.
"No," Seth stood looking me over, "You're going to talk him into taking you. Raven, that is."
"I am?" I blinked.
"Listen to me," Seth squatted down to gaze at me, "I don't want you to think I take this lightly, taking you from Declar. I know it was the right thing to do. I have a lot of people depending on me. Mostly women and sick children. We're few and
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we're dying. In more ways than one. You may be our last hope." Seth's eyes were full of despair. "Jacob will keep you safe and he'll be good to you."
"Good to me," I repeated in a daze.
"Our home is not a bad place to live."
"Live," I repeated.
"It's not as nice as Earth, but I don't think there ever will be anything like that ever again."
"Declar was," I mumbled.
"You really need to understand that this is for the best."
"The best," I repeated. "You're taking me by force to a planet far away from my family, my home and this is for the best? You're taking me to a place where people will think that I killed that man? They blame me for a death I had no hand in? All I did was breathe the air."
"That wasn't your fault." Seth rubbed his face again. "It was mine. Pride. My pride. He was the strongest and youngest of us. I thought he could survive, so I encouraged him. I shouldn't have. I didn't know he would die so suddenly." I could tell that Seth was still in shock from it.
"All of you will die there if you try to take it. Either from oxygen suffocation or by their hands."
"That's debatable." He was bluffing.
"There are too few of you. How many ships do you have? Five? Six? Children and women? You couldn't have any that many Hybrids or Quids. A total of maybe four hundred in your colony? There are hundreds of thousands of vampires on Declar. And then there are the other nine planets and maybe twenty vampire colonies. You will never overtake them. If anything, they will only kill you in retaliation. Or maybe just kill your men. Your children will be sent to Quid 4 to be bred." I watched the blood drain from his face.
"You heartless bitch!" he said in a low, menacing breath.
"Just being honest." And I was.
"If we attack in the day, we can destroy them all," Seth warned.
"No, then you might get one planet. But you forget, Quids and Hybrids love their masters. They are family and they will fight for the vampires. They will kill you without a second thought. There are more Quids and Hybrids on some farms than in your whole colony."
We sat staring at each other. Seth slowly relaxed. He knew I was right. And I knew he had no choice. He didn't want to attack, but he was their leader. I knew then that it was Seth who had wanted to start trade with the vampires, not war. He didn't seem to be the type of man to start a war over prejudice. He was a prideful man and I had cornered him.
"What do you want me to do?" Seth asked, rubbing his hand over his tired face. He wasn't a bad man or bad looking. He was just human.
"I want you to kill me." I said. Seth looked up at me in astonishment.
"Life is precious to us."
"So your life is precious and mine is unimportant? I want to go home. I want my mate and I want my child. I want this to be a bad dream. I want this to end! I want to wake up!" Tears were falling now.
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"I can't do that. I can't let you go and I can't kill you."
"Why not?"
"You're worth a lot. You being a woman and all." He looked upset by that concept.
"You're going to sell me?" It was all I could think of.
"No," he smiled slightly, "If we didn't take you, the others were wanting to kill all the vampires. The plan was to wait for the sun to come up and just drag them out of their homes."
"Why would they want to start a war that will end your colony?"
"Times are hard and some people aren't willing to forgive."
"Forgive who?"
Seth was talking in circles.
"Vampires."
"What did the vampires do to them?" I wanted answers and reasons.
"They survived." He sighed heavily. "They were right a long time ago. They got out and lived. We died."
"So now you want to kill them?"
"Not me." He sounded offended. "People don't see it as anything but survival. If we take the planet, we could survive."
"You can't breathe there!"
"Hybrids can."
"So to save a race, you destroy a race and imprison another. All in the name of survival. Vampires are peaceful beings. They haven't bothered anyone. The Quids are there of their own free will. They can leave at any time on Quid 4. We live by the laws set forth by the Vampire High Council in return for our care. They take care of us," I explained. "You humans have learned nothing." Seth's eyes were cold. He knew I was right.
"You're human." He accused.
"Lucky me." I said.
"You need to speak to Raven." Seth stood up and left me. I hugged my knees and cried.
How far was this planet we were traveling to? Tullo didn't know. He couldn't come rescue me if he didn't know where the planet was. I sighed. Tullo wouldn't rescue me. He wouldn't try. Tullo was dead. The Nine would find homes for my children. Maybe with Batar or Arvetta and Lortus. I prayed that Mercy would be able to go with them. My head began to pound at the thought of my children's future. And the herd? My family? I prayed for their safety. Mine was defiantly in question at the moment.
He knocked lightly on the door and stepped in. I looked up at him and then away. Jacob Raven was a handsome man. He was taller than Tullo, slimmer than Eldon and darker than me. His eyes were blue green, and soft. He sat down and set some clothes on the bed between us.
"I'm Jacob Raven. We need to talk." He set his hand on the clothes. "I thought you might like to clean up? I can help you."
"I don't need your help." I hugged my knees closer. "Unless you're going to let me go back home?"
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"I can't do that." He sighed.
"Will you kill me?"
"Kill you? Why would you ask that of me?"
"Why not?" I moaned. He sat looking at me as if unsure what to say or do. I leaned my head against the wall.
"Let's get you out of that dress. It's a mess and covered with blood."
He reached to help me move to the edge of the bed. I was dazed, tired, hungry and thirsty. None of that mattered. My Tullo was dead and my children gone. Raven leaned me forward and unfastened my dress. I didn't fight him as he slipped it off my shoulders and down. He pulled the blanket around me and slid the dress off. I had lost a shoe and my hose were torn. I held the blanket around me as he slid my hose down. He sat back from me.
"I think it can be salvaged. Cleaned." He folded the dress and laid it on the bed. "It's not torn badly." I nodded stupidly at him. "What's your name? Faith?" I nodded. "Faith, I need to take your jewels." I looked up at him.
"Why?" My hand went to the necklace I wore. The one Tullo had given to me.
"We're simple people. I'll keep them safe for you." He reached up and around my neck to unfasten my necklace. I heaved a sigh of tears. He took my bracelet, earrings and put them in a leather pouch. "And the ring."
I closed my hand into a fist. The stone sparkled. Or maybe it was my tears. I held my fist over my heart. It was all I had left of my Tullo. Raven's hand was extended. He sat waiting. I was tempted to hit him, instead I kissed my ring and cried on it.
"I'll get you one to wear." Raven said. "When we're married."
"Married?" I yelped and moved back from him. The wall met my back. "I don't want to marry you!"
"You want to marry Givens then?" Jacob looked confused.
"I don't want to marry anyone." Now I was really crying.
"They'll marry you to someone," Jacob said as he rubbed his face. "I don't think you understand."
"I don't!" I sobbed.
"Faith?" He looked around the room as if to ensure that we were alone. He looked at the door, then leaned forward, closer to me. "I know you're pregnant."
I sat back and looked into his blue green eyes. I pulled the blanket around me and wondered if I should deny it. How could he know? No one knew except me and Tullo! Jacob Raven couldn't know.
"When you were kicked, you turned yourself so that you weren't kicked in your stomach. When you sit, you sit with your hands over your stomach, to protect it. You aren't showing, so I don't think you're that far along." I sat staring at him.
"They'll kill it." I gasped. "I can help you. I have a nice home and two girls. I won't hurt you. I won't be cruel to you or the child. I'll help you." He seemed to be trying to convince himself more than me.
"Why?" I asked.
"Vampire, human, Hybrid or Quid, it's a life and life is precious. I think we could help each other. My daughters have no mother. Help me with them and I'll help you. I'll keep you safe, fed and clothed." He looked at my dress. "Not as
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grandly as you were kept on Declar, but I can cloth you. I don't expect you to fall in love with me," his eyes locked on mine. "I don't know that I can love you. Ever. But I can give you respect. If you'll give it back to me."
"I want to go home." I mumbled.
"I know," he stood and left me. I cried a bit more.
When he returned, he had a canteen and a towel. He sat on the bed and poured water into the towel. I didn't pull away as he put the towel to my lip. I winced. In exhaustion I gave in and let him wash my face. His eyes were kind and gentle.
"You'll have some bruises." He noted as he finished washing my face.
Jacob took my hand in his and wiped away the dirt. He took my other hand and wiped it. I didn't fight as he slipped my ring off. I watched him put in the pouch. He tied the pouch and slid it in his pocket. Gently he leaned me forward and helped me into the shirt. My arms still ached. He buttoned it up and moved me to the edge of the bed. The jeans were rough on my skin as he slid them on.
"You're feet are cold." He noted, putting the socks on my feet. I was cold, but I had hoped I was dying. "Lie down and rest," he eased me back into the bed and covered me. "I'll get you a pillow."
"Do I have to?" I asked weakly.
"Yes." He stepped out and back with a pillow. I let him lift me up and slide it beneath my head. "I need you to understand…" He knelt down next to the bed and pushed my hair back. "The first time, we must…" I tried to keep my eyes open as he spoke. "After that, I won't touch you. Not unless you want me to." I frowned, not understanding. Nothing was making sense.
"What?" I blinked.
"We'll talk later. I'll get you some food and water to drink." He patted my head and was gone.
I closed my eyes and dreamed of Declar and my children. I dreamed of racing through the fields in the sunlight and Tullo catching me. He kissed me and as the children ran on he laid me down and made love to me as the wheat danced about us. I cried.
I woke feeling tired. Dead tired. At first I thought that I was dead and the thought was soothing. It was quiet. I climbed from the bed and opened the door. All the doors were shut. I saw one slightly open and moved to it. It was the bathroom. I stepped in and shut the door. The mirror told me the story. I looked like hell. My face was bruised, but I didn't think my nose was broken, just swollen. My hair was a horror story. I suddenly yearned for my short hair. That or a good brush.
It was quiet as I stepped out of the bathroom. I stood listening to the humming of the shuttle. I was alone. I wanted to be more than alone. I looked to the stairs and decided. I was moving before I had planned it all out. But I had a plan. I ran.
I focused my eyes on the door. The door that led to the shuttle exit. If I opened it, we would all die. I didn't hesitate. They had killed Tullo and my happiness. I ran down the stairs and straight for the door. My eyes were locked on the handle. I was focused on it and calculating how much it would take to jerk it open. We would all die and I was okay with that. At least I thought I was.
That was why I didn't see Lutha. He grabbed me as I dove for the door. I
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screamed. I fought and kicked. I was enraged. I was desperate. I wanted it to end. I wanted to die. I knew even if I returned to Declar I would never be allowed access to my children without Tullo. I wanted to be with Tullo. The hand that slapped me didn't shock me. The shock was that it didn't knock me out.
"Stop it!" Seth yelled in my face. I stopped.
People were coming from all directions. Some had been upstairs, some sleeping in the seats, some in the cockpit, some in the communal area and all were looking at me. I slumped against Lutha. Jacob pushed his way forward, through the people, to get to me.
"Good thing you had your beast watching the door!" Givens stated as he pushed his way up to us. He reached for me and I instinctively moved back against Lutha. I felt Lutha's hold on me tighten.
"Let her alone," Seth ordered, blocking the man.
"She needs to be tied and locked away until we land. We could all die at her hands. She's evil," Givens accused.
I was evil? I had been kidnapped. They had killed my mate! Killing them would have been a blessing. Lutha stood tall and rigid against me. I was more clinging to him than he holding me. Jacob was next to me then. He looked sleepy, surprised, concerned and upset. I actually felt sorry for what was to come.
"Raven can't handle her!" Reeves yelled. "She's dangerous to us!"
Seth looked at me and I sighed. I figured I was in for a beating. Or worse. If I was lucky they might just throw me out into space. Jacob grabbed me above the elbow and pulled me close to him. His grip was firm. I had to move to him. I felt Lutha's hand slide from my other arm.
"I left her sleeping," Jacob said.
"You should have stayed with her," Coleman accused.
"She deserves her privacy." Jacob's arm went around me. He guided me back up to the room I was sentenced to.
"If he can't handle her she should go to one of us!" Givens yelled after us. I was trembling.
"You must be starved." Jacob's voice was soft in my ear as he opened the door to my chamber. "Sit in here and I'll get you something to eat." I sat and looked up at him. Lutha was in the doorway. "Watch her." Jacob ordered. "Closely." He shut the door and I looked beneath it to see the shadows of Lutha's feet. He was now my guard.
I sat on the floor listening to the yelling from below. There were screams from the women and yells from the men. I thought I heard Margie giggling among the noise. That was unsettling. There was a table against the wall. I crawled under it and hugged my knees to my chest and rocked. I wanted the floor to swallow me, deposit me out into space where there was no air.
The door opened and Lutha stood looking down at me. His eyes were dead. I wanted some kind of reaction to what he was thinking. Had he betrayed me? I didn't want to believe it but what other excuse was there? Tullo had said to trust him and I did. But did I trust Lutha? This Lutha? I had trusted the Lutha I knew from before. This Lutha was new to me. I searched his eyes for an answer.
"Little Sister..," Lutha's voice was low and deep, "I…" He looked away and
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shut the door. I closed my eyes, letting the feeling of hopelessness swallow me. I cried. Again.
"Faith?" The door opened and Jacob came in with a tray of food. He set it on the table and sat down on the floor with me. "You need to eat. You're shaking something terrible." I was. He handed me a piece of fruit. I took it.
"Are they going to kill me?" I asked, biting into the fruit.
"No." Jacob reached out to smooth my hair. "But you can't try and kill us. It's bad for you to do things like that."
Now I knew how Donum felt when I got onto him. Donum. My heart ached for him. I closed my eyes to see his face before me. Spera was laughing when her face came to me. I breathed deeply and decided. I wasn't going to die. I was going to get back to them. I chewed the fruit. I had to live to get back home. Back to my family and my children.
"Come out from under there." His gentle hand pulled me from under the table and set me on the bed.
There was a knock at the door. I looked at the door and then at Jacob. He let his hand fall from my head. He sat taller and frowned. I reached for the bread. It was smeared with a creamy type of cheese or butter. I couldn't tell. I didn't taste anything. It was nourishment. That was all that mattered. At least at the moment. There was a knock again.
"Come in," Jacob called.
Seth stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. I craned my neck to see Lutha still in the hallway. He looked at me with concern in his eyes. I leaned to watch him as the door shut. Then I had to look up at Seth. He looked very unhappy with me.
"You tell her?" He was looking at me and talking to Jacob.
"Not yet. Could you give us a little time and maybe get some things from the women? A brush, soaps and maybe some clothes that fit better?" I caught the disgusted look in his eye.
I looked down at myself with my mouth full of cheesy, buttered bread. I missed Mercy's sweetbread. And Quid water. I missed the sweet taste of Suquidal. I reached for more fruit. My stomach growled. I hadn't realized how hungry I was. I looked up at Seth. He was watching me with a critical eye.
"Alright." Seth shut the door and left us.
"What?" I asked.
"What?" Jacob was looking at me.
"What do you have to tell me?" I was talking with my mouth full. Manners went out the window when you were a prisoner. So did personal hygiene. I wrinkled my nose at the smell I was omitting.
"I have to marry you," he said with a little frown.
"Yeah, you said that." I swallowed. "Both of us are condemned."
"Now." The word almost made me choke.
"Now?" I coughed. Jacob pounded me on the back and handed me a canteen of water. I drank, coughed it up and then drank more. "What do you mean, now?"
"Seth wants us married now so that I can control you."
"You really think you can control me? Married or not?" I ate a piece of fruit.
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"No," he smiled at me. A shy, sweet smile. "But I have to try."
"If I say no?"
"You can't say no." He reached out and set his hand on my knee. "Now is the time that you have to listen to me, trust me and do as I say."
"Obedient, demure and ornamental?" I laughed lightly. Just as I had been with Tullo when we went before the Vampire High Council the first time. That had not ended well, but I had survived.
"Givens wants you. He thinks beating you would make you mind." I don't know if he said that to make me feel better, or to warn me.
"It didn't work before," I sighed. Jacob's eyes widened at me.
"The vampire?" I nodded. His eyes were soft. "How old are you?"
"Uh," I had to think on that. "I'm eighteen."
"Have you ever been with a man? A real man?" I raised an eyebrow and looked him over. " A human man?" he was looking down as he asked.
"No. Tullo. He's my..," I swallowed, "He was my mate."
"How long were you with him?"
"Over a year." I set the fruit back on the tray. I'd lost my appetite. "So you plan on marrying me and raping me to make more manageable?"
"No." Jacob looked embarrassed. "I plan on marrying you, this much is true, and we'll…" he looked around and the back at me, "we'll…"
"Consummate the union?" I offered.
"Yes."
"And I can't say no?"
"You can." He looked at me. "To me. But you won't be able to say no to Givens. If you don't want me I won't force you, but you will be married within the hour. To me or Givens."
I should have been shocked. I should have screamed and thrown the food at him. I stared at him. I was kidnapped, trapped, pregnant, stinky and no longer hungry. He reached out and took my hand. I jumped. His hands were warm. Even hot. It was shocking. Tullo's touch was cold. Icy. Eldon's was cold too. Jacob's touch was hot and gentle.
"I promise you that after this, I won't touch you without invitation." He was looking down now.
"How gentlemanly," I noted. "But today?"
"Me or Givens?"
"What a choice." I hugged my knees and began to rock again.
Jacob looked concerned. I was defiantly crazy. He knew it and I knew it. I decided to totally freak him out, so I began to softly hum a lullaby. I stared past him. Through him. I was alone. Me and my child. We were alone. The last of Tullo was in me. It was a lot for me to take in and accept.
"My full name is Jacob George Raven." Jacob spoke to me as I rocked and hummed. "I'm thirty years old and I have two daughters. Mabel is six and Ester is fifteen. They have hair like their mother, reddish blonde, and her big blue eyes. They're very pretty. They mean everything to me. They are my life. I need to know you won't hurt them."
I stopped rocking and humming. I looked at him. His eyes were sincere. He
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was waiting. There was more that he wanted to say. I sat up and readied myself.
"I wouldn't hurt anyone," I said.
"You just tried to kill us all."
"Oh, yeah, I did." I smiled at him.
"I want you to know that it's not because you're beautiful."
I felt the smile fall from my face.
"I have no real desire to touch anything that has been fucked by a vampire."
"Thanks!" I hugged my knees tighter.
"What I meant to say is that you aren't my choice either."
"This keeps getting better and better." I closed my eyes. "Let them give me to Givens."
"If they do, then that child in you will die. Is that what you want?" I opened my eyes to find his face right next to my ear. "You'll live, in misery. Givens is angry and bitter and he is out for revenge for the loss of Holt. He blames you. He'll have no problem beating you and killing that child to make you pay for the loss of his only son." I breathed deeply and began to rock again. I didn't hum.
"I can help you." Jacob's words were sure and comforting. "I will help you. Today, and only today, until you let me touch you. Be it a year or ten, I won't touch you. You have my word." He leaned down to look into my eyes. "Givens? Or me?"
I looked into his eyes and let it all go. I covered my face with my hands and sobbed. Jacob pulled me into his lap and held me. I buried my face in his shoulder, curled my body into a ball and cried. It was over for me. My life was over. My old life. Now, I had a chance at a new life. A new life for me and for my child. I let Jacob hold me.
There was a knock at the door. Seth stepped in and set the requested items on the bed. He left without a word. As the door shut, I relaxed. Now Jacob was rocking and gently caressing my hair. I got myself under control and relaxed.
"I won't hurt your children," I said. "I won't hurt anyone."
"Good," Jacob sighed, "Because if you do…" I heard him swallow, "I'll kill you myself." I nodded and closed my eyes.
It was simple. Simpler than I remembered. I had been at my sister's wedding. My father had married her and Lutha in the field on Quid 4 behind our home. It was simple, lovely and a very happy event. My brothers and I were scrubbed clean and stood by my mother as the holy vows were exchanged. There were lots of flowers, friends and happiness.
My marriage wasn't close to that. I showered, changed, combed my hair and paced in my cell. I was barefoot and pregnant. I found that funny. Jacob knocked, stepped in and sat down on the bed. I paced. We waited. The silence was enough to make me want to start humming again.
There was a knock at the door and I jumped. I moved to put Jacob between me and the door. I leaned against the table, ready to dive under it again. He stood and opened the door. Givens was standing there, glaring. I held my breath. The burly man stepped into the room. He looked at me and then at Jacob.
"You'll need these." Givens handed Jacob something. "A wedding gift." I watched the man leave. Jacob turned and looked embarrassed. I saw what he held
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in his hands and jumped back.
No!" I almost screamed. The breeding straps had me close to panic. "No! Please!" I shook my head, hugged myself and backed myself into the corner. I slid down to the floor, shaking. "Please Jacob! No!"
"No!" Jacob threw the straps aside and rushed forward to hold me. "I wouldn't!" I practically crawled into his arms.
"Please don't!" I begged.
"No, I wouldn't." He hugged me. My eyes were fixed on the straps on the floor. "Calm down." He was rocking me in his arms. I felt as if my heart would leap from my chest and run away. "I wouldn't."
Another knock at the door separated us. I moved under the table, hugging my knees to my chest, wiping my tears away. Seth stepped in. Jacob leaned down to pull me from my comfort zone. I stood next to Jacob, staring at the straps. Seth followed my gaze. He picked them up, looked at them, then tossed them onto the table. I moved away from them.
"Do you agree? Do you understand?" Seth asked. I looked at Jacob. "Do you?" Seth asked me again. I nodded. Jacob nodded. "Then you will take her as your wife and provide for her?"
"I will." Jacob spoke calmly. I was glad he was calm because I was ready to dive under the table again,
"You will take him as your husband?" Seth was speaking to me. "You will obey him and care for his home and children." Seth ordered coldly. I didn't move. "Do you?" I simply stood.
"Faith?" Jacob's voice was kind and soft. I nodded. I couldn't speak.
"You are now man and wife," Seth announced.
No flowers, no candles, no white dress, no witnesses, no guests and no God. God was not mentioned once in the vows. I was just ordered to obey. I didn't mean to, but I was shaking. I was nervous. I was terrified. My wedding was a horrible event. Well, except for the beautiful blue green eyes that were fixed on mine and the fact that it was over quickly. Seth opened the door to leave us.
"Get it done," he ordered to Jacob as he stood in the doorway. "And you'll be staying in this room until we land. She comes out, she'll be beaten. Instant divorce. If you can't handle her, then Givens will be given his chance." Seth shut the door behind him. I pulled my hands from Jacob's and wrapped my arms around myself.
The room was small, just the one bed table and chair. I was shaking and trying to think of where to hide. I stood, hugging myself. Jacob walked over and set his hands on my shoulders. I was close to losing my mind. This was a nightmare.
"Get shed of your pants," Jacob said. I shook my head. "Do you want me to do it?" I shook my head. "Shed your pants and climb in under the covers. I won't look."
He patted my shoulders and then released me. He turned his back to me. I slid my pants off and climbed under the covers as I was told. I curled myself into my new favorite fetal position and faced the wall. I heard the rustling as he undressed. The heat radiating from his body was intense as he climbed into bed with me.
"Please don't do this," I spoke to the wall.
"I told you this would be the only time." His voice was soft in my ear. The
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heat from his body enveloped me. His hand was on my shoulder, gently pulling me onto my back.
"No!" I sobbed. "Please,"
Jacob hand was firm on my shoulder. I tried to shrug it off. He sighed, then forced me onto my back. I began to fight as I cried out. He pushed my hands above my head. His hands gripped my wrists in a vise grip. I clamped my legs together. Jacob dug his knee into my thighs and forced my legs apart. I cried out in pain. His entry was dry and painful. I screamed.
"Please, please," Jacob muttered into my hair as he thrust into me. I bit his chest as hard as I could. He hit me then. His hand caught me on the side of the head and stunned me. I had meant to take the opportunity to hit him, but ended up covering my head with my free hand. He grabbed my wrist again and pinned it to the bed.
I sobbed as he continued on, feeling the hard frame of the bed beneath the thin mattress, slamming into my backside. I finally looked up at him. His eyes were closed and his head thrown back as he took me. The whole time he kept saying "Please! Please! God, Please!" over and over again. I felt his balls clench and his release as he fell on me. "Please! God!" he gasped in my hair, "Dear God! Forgive me!" And so that was how God made his appearance into my marriage.
I sobbed into his chest. Jacob took a few moments to gather himself. He let go of my hands, rolled off of me and fell into the bed on his back, out of breath. I rolled back on my side. I drew my knees to my chest, hugged them and stared at the wall. Jacob covered me with the blankets and sighed.
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11
"This way," Jacob ordered.
He had a hold of my wrist. Not my hand. My wrist. He pulled me along after him. He stepped off the shuttle, pulling me after him. Everyone was glaring at me. Still. Five days but the glares had intensified. I shot a glance at Lutha as he unloaded the cargo hold. I saw the body bag. Holt. I looked away and locked my eyes on Jacob's back.
The heat was intense. On Declar it had been chilly. The nights were icy cold. It had never been hot. Warm yes, but never hot. At least, not in the time I had lived there. It was steaming hot here. I breathed in the hot air and began to sweat. Something I had never done. Or had I? Then I remembered Kansas. Where I had been born.
I had been thinking of Earth more and more. Searching for memories and piecing them together. It took up time and kept me from dwelling on my present situation. I lay awake at night, picturing my life on Earth. I ran old TV shows through my mind, mostly cartoons, hummed theme songs and commercial jingles to just keep my sanity. Jacob said nothing about my strange behavior.
We walked away from the shuttle with people glaring at us. No one said goodbye or wished us well. Jacob was carrying his bag. He held onto my wrist as if I would run off. Where would I run to? I kept my eyes on Jacob's back and followed him. There was murmurs and catcalls from people around us. People I didn't acknowledge.
The houses here were simple. New and simple. Even on Quid 4, the houses were nicer than this. Bigger and not so primitive. I looked to my side and saw the humans pointing at me. I looked back down. I was gulping in air. I was panicking. Jacob reached back and pulled me up next to him. I ducked my head and gulped in more air.
"Stop doing that. Stand tall," he ordered under his breath, "You're ashamed of me?" I shook my head. "Then quit breathing that way and hold your head up. You're my wife. Let them look. You're very pretty. I'm not at all ashamed of you." So I held my head up and followed along.
"Is it far?" I whispered.
"Yes. I live on the very edge of the settlement. Last house. I wanted privacy and room." He was nervous and continued to talk as we walked. "I liked the area. There's lots of trees, a nice garden and the river runs right behind us. Easy enough to draw water from."
"Draw water?" I asked.
"Carry water to the house. We don't have water running into the homes yet. We're a new settlement," he replied harshly, "If you want water you have to carry it. Does that bother you?"
"No, I just …"
"You'll be the lady of my house and you'll have to carry water." I decided to keep my mouth shut. He looked at me with cold eyes. I ducked my head again.
"Daddy!" I looked up then to see the little girl running towards us and stopped. She was pretty and smiling at us.
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"Come on!" Jacob sounded angry. He jerked me after him.
"Daddy! Daddy!" The little girl had to be Mabel. She threw herself up into Jacob's arms and burst into tears. I stepped away from the situation.
"What is it?" Jacob dropped down to hold the girl, "What's wrong?"
"Ester has the sickness!" the little girl sobbed.
"How long?" Jacob pushed her back from him. It was then she looked up at me. Her little face was perplexed. "How long?" Jacob yelled. The girl looked terrified. "Mabel! How long?"
"Jacob, you're scaring her," I said, without realizing I was speaking. He turned to glare at me.
"Well, you are." His face softened.
"Mabel, how long?" he asked.
"A week!" the little girl sobbed.
"Where is she?" Jacob stood and looked about.
"With Merry," the little girl sputtered. "She came out of hiding to help! Daddy, don't let them hurt Merry!"
"Take Faith to the house!" Jacob stood, dropped the bag and ran. The little girl stood looking up at me. I looked at everyone looking at me and picked up the bag. Now what?
"Who are you?" Mabel asked.
"Faith. My name is Faith." I held my hand out to her. She took it, but instead of shaking it she held it and pulled me along.
"I'm Maybe. Come on." I followed. I seemed to be good at following.
"Maybe?"
"Mabel. Everyone calls me Maybe. Everyone but my Dad."
"Oh, Okay."
Now I was looking around. The colony was small. There were only about fifty houses in the town. I could see houses on the hills surrounding the town. Jacob said he had a small place. I wondered which was his. I followed the little girl.
"What's the illness?" I asked, grunting as I adjusted Jacob's bag up on my shoulder. It weighed a lot.
"Kids get it and die!" Maybe said as if I was stupid. "Ain't there sickness where you come from? Where are you from? How come you're here?" I smiled, thinking of the little girls in my family who bombarded me with questions on every little thing I said or did. I missed them.
"I'm from Earth. I came from Declar and no, there's no sickness where I come from. And I'm here to help." So I lied.
"With the sickness?"
"Yeah, with the sickness. What kind of sickness is it?"
"I don't know. You get sick." Maybe shrugged looking me over. "How come you're dressed like that?"
"Like what?" I looked down at myself.
"Like you ain't got any clothes that fit?"
"Because I don't." I smoothed the shirt I wore out. It was wrinkled, big and dirty. "Tell me about your sister."
"She's sick!" Maybe sounded exasperated.
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"Sick how?" I felt like I was talking to my argumentative Luna. "What does the sickness do to you?"
"You throw up, you get real hot, you shit a lot and it's like water and then you die," Maybe groaned at me, "Don't you know anything?"
"No, I don't."
"Are you a Quid?" she asked giving me a critical eye. "Did Daddy buy you?"
"No, I'm not a Quid."
"A Hybrid?"
"No." I smiled to show I had no fangs. "I'm human."
"Why were you following him?"
"I don't know where you live."
"Why do you want to know where I live?" Maybe asked suspiciously.
"Because I think I'm supposed to live there now too."
"Why?" We were standing in the road. Maybe had stopped moving. She seemed to be waiting for answers before going any further. I noticed more people looking at us.
"Can your Dad tell you? I don't feel so well."
"You got the illness too?" The little girl stepped back from me, as if I might vomit on her.
"No, I've got a different kind of sickness." I started walking just to walk.
Maybe followed after a moment and then jogged ahead of me to lead the way. It was a long walk. The houses thinned out and then I saw the small house at the very end with a patch of trees behind it. That had to be it. Maybe ran right to it.
"What kind of sickness?" She asked, stopping at a picket fence.
"Home sickness," I sighed. She frowned up at me, holding the gate, blocking my escape into the house from the prying eyes. "I've a broken heart."
Maybe opened the gate and let me pass. She slammed it after me and hurried ahead of me to the door. She stopped and turned to face me. I waited for what she had to say. Her little mouth was in a half frown half smile.
"Tell my Daddy. He can fix anything."
"I'll do that." Maybe opened the door and I stepped into my new home.
The smell hit me first. It was astounding. Astoundingly strong and rancid. I gagged and dropped the bag. The bucket was full. I grabbed it and hurried out the door and looked around. I saw the outhouse and hurried to empty the bucket into the hole. I stepped out and breathed deeply. Two male Hybrids and Maybe stood looking at me. I set the bucket down and frowned.
"I'm Faith." I spoke to the older Hybrid.
"George. My son Nord," the older one nodded to me.
"Water. Fresh water. Don't use this bucket. I need a lot of it." I looked about and saw the huge cauldron by the back of the house. "That!" I pointed to the cauldron. "Fill it with fresh water and boil it. Use clean buckets! Do you have any sulfur?" I asked. No one moved. I felt like screaming at them.
"I think in the house," Maybe muttered.
"Okay," I felt relief wash over me. I had felt the panic rise in me. Sickness. Maybe had said sickness, but the rancid smell of sickness had brought back memories of death. "Do you have another one of those?" I pointed to the cauldron.
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"No," Maybe frowned.
"We have one," The younger male Hybrid, Nord, spoke up. "It's not as big. But it's clean."
"Do you have a wagon?" I asked.
"Yes," Maybe said.
"Barrels? Empty barrels?"
"Oak ones." George stepped up.
"Put the barrels in the wagon, fill them with fresh water, fill the cauldrons and boil the water. Then put the boiled water in the barrels, after you clean them with bleach. Do you have bleach?" I looked at the stunned faces. "I'm sorry," I sighed. "Can you help me do this? I don't want any of us to get sick." The three of them looked at me and at each other. They nodded.
"Thank you!" I ran to the house.
There was a wood burning stove. I got the fire going and found a big pot. I filled it with water from the barrel inside the kitchen door and set it to boil. I began searching the cabinets for what I needed. Which was funny, because I really wasn't sure what I needed. No, I did know. I had been through this before.
Sulfur. I remembered my mother using it. I thought back to her and the clinic on Quid 4. Fear raced through me. It was just like when the sickness hit and so many died. It wasn't so much the illness, but the spread. I found a bucket, sulfur, bleach and ammonia. I half-filled the bucket with boiling water and bleach. I refilled the pot so that more water would boil. I grabbed a rag and began wiping down the walls, cabinets and then swept the floor. I poured the water on the floor and mopped it all up. The room began to smell clean.
I looked about. The windows. I pulled down the curtains and carried them out the backdoor. I dropped them on the ground and gave a quick look at Maybe who was directing the Hybrids as they set the cauldrons to boil. I hurried back into the house and grabbed one of the bottles of bleach. I almost ran over Maybe as she came in for it. She wrinkled her nose at me and looked at the clean kitchen.
"Let's keep it going!" I ordered. The little girl nodded and ran back out.
I closed the windows and cleaned them quickly and reopened them. Even just a few moments of the closed windows left the house stifling. I was pouring sweat and shaking. I took a breath and decided I was hungry. I scrubbed the wooden table with all my might. I dried it and sighed. Bread.
I found flour, yeast, baking soda and so many other ingredients that I almost cried with joy. I set a pot to boil with fresh water and salt, pepper and other seasonings that I found. Then I turned my attention to more than water soup.
The cold box had some vegetables in it that were sad looking. No wonder the children were ill. I filled the sink with some of the boiled water and washed the sad looking vegetables. I found a slab of meat in the cold box and smelled it. It wasn't bad. I cubed it on the clean table and found some fat and a skillet. I browned the meat and seasoned it. I dropped it into the water soup. I sliced the clean vegetables and put them with the meat. A little flour, and the mixture thickened. I moved the pot off the direct fire to simmer.
Bread! I mixed it and then began to knead it. I wanted to pound it. I had to pound something and all I had was dough. I pounded and pounded and cried as I
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did. I separated it and put it in the loaf pans I found. I covered them and set them to rise. I cleaned up the mess and turned my attention to the soup. I tasted it and sighed. Not bad. Not great, but not bad. I began to search the kitchen again.
There was a huge glass jar. I cleaned it and dumped the remains of the vegetables in it and set it on the windowsill. I was about to put a little water in it when I saw the container. I opened it and almost jumped for joy. Suquidal water! I took a clean cup and dipped it in. I sipped it and sighed I relief.
"We're not supposed to drink that." Maybe was behind me.
"It's water from Quid 4!" I smiled. "It has Suquidal in it!"
"It's for the Hybrids. It'll make us sick!" she frowned at me. I shrugged and poured the rest from my cup into the jar on the windowsill. I dipped the cup again and this time I got a cup full of the thick, silver pure Suquidal. I smiled at the cup.
"I'm gonna use it for cleaning." I set the cup down and checked the progress of my bread.
"Can you cook?" Maybe asked warily.
"A little. How goes the water boil?"
"Almost done." Maybe seemed happy that she was in charge of that.
"Good. When the barrels are full, fill the big cauldron again so we can wash the bedding and stuff." I checked my bread.
"Daddy back yet?" Maybe was looking around.
"No. I thought he'd be here."
"Well, he might need to wait until dark so no one knows where Merry is. He'll be home right after dark." She decided.
"After dark."
Maybe sighed as I repeated her declaration.
"Merry lives in the woods. She's been hiding there for a long time."
"Why is she hiding?" I asked stirring the soup.
"She's a Quid and she won't be a slave."
"Oh!" I put the bread in the oven and added more wood. "Which room is yours?" I looked at the rest of the house.
"That one. Me and Ester." She pointed past the dining area at a doorway with a blanket covering hanging over the door.
"Let's have a look." I pushed the blanket aside and saw the two beds and the clothes in the closet. "Okay," I pulled the blanket door off and dropped it to the floor. "Strip the beds and boil the bedding. Do you have any lye soap? Do you know how to clean clothes?"
"I know!" Maybe stripped the bed and grumbled at me under her breath. "I ain't a baby!"
"I didn't think so," I called.
In the kitchen I poured the cup of Suquidal into the soup. I mixed it in and filled the bucket with hot water and bleach. I found a scrubbing brush and snatched up a rag. As Maybe dragged the bedding out the door, I dropped to my knees and began to scrub the bedroom down. I kicked the small rug out the door and pulled the curtains down. Maybe came back in and took the fabrics away. I scrubbed the walls, the beds, the furniture and even the closet.
"Why are you cleaning?" Maybe asked as I handed her the clothes.
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"Germs. They need to be killed. Let's murder them," I winked at her.
I picked up the few dolls on the floor and wiped them down. The cloth doll Maybe took to the wash. I listened to her giving orders as she stepped out the back door. I had to smile. The kid was interesting. When the room was finished, I carried the bucket out and dumped it into the outhouse. I hoped the bleach would kill what was in there.
Maybe had the sheets, curtains and everything else strung on the clothes lines as the Hybrids boiled and moved the clothing around with a large wooden paddle. The smell of lye soap was strong. I watched Maybe pouring something into the water. Lavender. I welcomed the fresh smell. Fresh and clean.
I stood and stretched. My back was killing me! I went back into the house. I scrubbed the entry way, the dining area and finally I went into what I thought would be the bedroom I would share with Jacob. It was very empty. A bed. It had a bed, a dressing table and a closet. I sighed. There was a wooden chest in the corner. I wiped it down, but didn't open it. I stood looking at the closet. There was a single dress hanging in it.
"That's my Mom's," Maybe said.
I turned and looked at her. She held out her arms. I handed her the dress and watched her carry it out as if it were alive. I stripped the bed and took down the curtains. There was no rug. I dragged it all outside to be washed. Then I returned to scrub every inch of the bedroom. With an aching back, I carried the bucket of water to the outhouse and dumped it.
I stood looking at the little house and was very glad that it was small. I walked to the backyard and gathered curtains from the clothes line. Inside I found an iron that I heated on the stove as I cleaned the table again. I spread the curtains out and ironed them. The bread was done. I took it out to cool and checked the simmering soup. I was tired and hungry. I tore off a piece of bread and dipped it in the stew. I gobbled it down and sighed as I set to hanging curtains.
Maybe came in to help. I handed her a chunk of bread and a bowl of soup. She sat eating and watching me hang the blanket over her door. My bedroom had a door. I hung curtains and remade beds. The Hybrids came in, carrying the last of the clean clothes and bedding. I had them bring in a barrel of boiled water and fed them bread and soup.
I found tea and set the teapot to boil. We all sat at the table and ate. The soup was good and filling. I wanted to fall asleep. I couldn't. Not until Jacob returned. Maybe was laughing with the Hybrids.
I suddenly felt lost. Lost and alone. I looked out the backdoor and saw the large tub lying on its side. A bathtub! I sighed in relief. I hurried out the backdoor to inspect it.
I set it up and decided that it was what my aching back needed. The cauldron was empty. Clean water was in the clean barrels. I was standing there, thinking of how to fill the tub with clean hot water when Maybe stepped up next to me.
"All the clothes are hung. The beds are made. The house is clean." She was rocking on her heels. "You smell."
"I do," I smiled at her.
"We'll boil and fill it up," Maybe said as she went in to get the Hybrids.
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"Where do they live?" I asked, realizing that I hadn't seen a place for them.
"In the woods. They aren't allowed to stay with us. They just guard us." And Maybe was gone.
I wandered back into the kitchen. It smelled clean. I lit the lanterns. I cleaned the dishes as I heard the Hybrids and Maybe bring more water from the river and boil it. We had washed everything in the house except the nasty clothes I was wearing.
There were none of Jacob's clothes in the bedroom, so I dug in the bag I had dragged from the shuttle. I found a shirt of his that wasn't too dirty. I smelled it and sighed. Maybe came in and hurried to dig under the sink. She brought out soap and shampoo. She handed it to me and eyed the shirt I was holding.
"That's my Dad's."
"I need something to put on," I said. She frowned and looked towards Jacob's bedroom where she had reverently hung her mother's dress. I saw the conflict on her face.
"Can you make more bread?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"Make more." She grabbed the one loaf left, wrapped it in a clean dishtowel and ran out the door.
"Sure." I knelt down to put the shirt back in the bag and then saw it.
My dress! I slid my hand across the silk and sighed. I lifted it up for an inspection and the breeding straps fell to the floor. My stomach clenched. I folded them back into the dress and shoved it into the bag, along with his shirt. I stood, wiping my hands on the dirty shirt I wore. I washed my hands and mixed more dough and pounded it. The fire was low on the stove. I set the dough to rise and went to sit on the steps of the back porch.
The sun was going down, but it was still hot. With the oven on, the house had turned into an oven. Even with the windows open it was hot in the house. The back porch was nothing more than a large platform of wood. I noticed the old stove off to the side. It wasn't connected. It was an old oven, on its side. I thought about setting up and using it to cook outside to keep the house cool.
The two Hybrids were talking as they filled the tub with the hot water. It had to cool a bit before I climbed in and I wouldn't climb in with them around. I walked over to the stove and tried to set it upright. The Hybrids hurried to help me. Between the three of us, we lifted the stove up onto the wooden porch. I stared at it and decided cooking outside would be better for us. Us. I sighed.
"You Jacob's woman?" Nord asked.
"I'm his wife." I said it with uncertainty.
"We're going to Merry's and help him bring Ester home. He said to keep an eye on you and go at dark," George spoke slowly. "You stay here with Maybe?"
"Maybe?" I smiled at the name.
"Mabel. She always answers to Maybe." Nord smiled at me. "Never yes, never no, just maybe. Since she was little."
I nodded. "I'll stay with her."
The Hybrids left me. I undressed and stepped into the tub. I let the water slide over me and sighed in relief. All the aches and pains met my exhaustion and
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heartache. I splashed the warm water over my face to wash away the tears. I washed my hair and body as the sun disappeared. Night took over. I stepped from the tub and let the hot air dry my body.
"Here." The voice made me jump. Maybe was standing by me, holding out at towel, looking away. I wrapped it around me. "No one can see you."
"Good." I pulled the plug on the side of the tub and watched the water flow out and into the night. Maybe and I lifted the tub onto its side and leaned it against the house.
"I got you something," Maybe huffed. It was hard work moving the big tub. Especially for such a little girl. I wondered what Ester was like as I followed Maybe into the house.
"What did you get me?" I was curious.
"Clothes."
"Clothes?" I asked, stepping into the kitchen.
"Yeah, I traded the bread for some clothes. I think they'll fit."
I looked at the stack of clothes. It was two pairs of shorts, a couple of slip on shirts, a button down shirt and a light night gown. All were well worn, but clean. They did look like they would fit. I slid on a pair of the denim shorts and one of the shirts. It felt good to be clean and to be in clean clothes.
"I can get more if you bake more bread," Maybe added, watching me check the dough. I put the pans in the oven and added more wood to the fire. "The bread is good. I mean real good. Where did you learn to bake?"
"On Quid 4," I replied, pouring some of the broth from the soup into a smaller pot and adding Suquidal. I grabbed a couple of chunks of meat and chopped them up finely and put them in the pot. "I cooked a lot there."
"We ain't supposed to drink that!" Maybe cried as I dipped my cup in the Suquidal barrel.
"Trust me?" I asked, looking at her. "I drink it all the time and I don't get sick. Ever." I poured some of it into the smaller pot and sipped the rest.
"How come?" She moved closer to me.
"I have no idea. My mom told me that all the vitamins needed to survive were in this. Water. Nutrients, vitamins and everything. That's why the Hybrids and Quids are so healthy." I mixed the Suquidal with regular water. "Trust me. A little Suquidal goes a long way."
"Is it a secret?" Maybe asked. I saw the intrigue in her eyes.
"Sort of. Humans drinking a little of it makes them very strong and keeps them healthy. It's like magic."
"What if you drink a lot of that silver stuff in it?"
"Then you feel euphoric," I shrugged. She looked confused. "Like you're drunk. Happy drunk. Giggly. If you mix it right when you're sick, it helps you get better. Faster."
"How do you mix it?" Maybe asked in a serious manner. Too serious for a little girl.
"In tea. A little Suquidal and a lot of tea and sugar. That helps with the diarrhea and vomiting. In soup, it gives strength. With bread and soup, it helps stabilize the stomach." I poured the rest into the jar with the vegetable remains.
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"Mixed in with this, it will make a wonderful fertilizer."
"We need that!" Maybe snorted. "Our garden sucks."
"I noticed." I sat down. "It's dark."
"Dad will be home soon." Maybe sat next to me. "If you make more bread, I can get you more stuff."
"You said that." I got up and checked the bread. It was almost done. "We're gonna be eating soup tonight too. When your dad gets here."
"Are you married to my dad?" Maybe asked.
"Yeah." I sat back down.
"How come?" She sat next to me. Real close. I put my arm around her and she leaned against me, yawning. For a little girl, she was no stranger to hard work.
"Can you ask him?" I asked.
"Yeah. But I'm asking you. Now." She knew. Someone had said something while she was out trading my bread.
"Your Dad sort of saved me from having to marry some mean guy. Your Dad married me instead."
"Are you a whore?"
I was glad I was sitting.
"A vampire whore?"
"No. My mate was a vampire."
"Was? So he ain't a vampire anymore?"
"No." I took a deep breath.
"What is he, then?"
"Dead." I felt my stomach clench and my heart ache. Maybe sat looking up at me. Watching my face.
"You ain't my Mom," She finally said.
"No, I'm not." A tear escaped and slid down my face. "I'm nobody."
The backdoor opened and Jacob came in, carrying a slight girl. She was moaning and looked to be in pain. He looked at me holding Maybe, he looked at the house and then he looked at the stove. Maybe jumped up and ran to him. He let her hug him and went to the girls' bedroom. Maybe followed. I went to the cabinet to get a bowl and a cup.
They were talking and I was trying not to listen. I got a bowl of soup ready and a cup of tea. I was slicing the bread when I felt the presence. I set the bread on the serving tray I found and turned around. She was very pretty. She reminded me of Margie with her chiseled vampire looks and cold silver eyes.
"You made the soup? The tea? With Suquidal?" the Quid stepped around me. She picked up a slice of bread and bit into it. "You forgot the honey." She walked into the bedroom. I dug in the cabinet for honey. I set it on the tray and carried it all into the bedroom.
"Who is she?" the girl was asking in a weak voice.
"Ester, this is Faith." Jacob was sitting on the bed with his daughter. The female Quid stood in the corner, eating my bread. "My wife." I almost dropped the tray as the girl began to sob. I began to shake. I set the tray on the table before I did drop it.
Jacob reached out and grabbed my wrist. I jumped. He let my hand slide into
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his. It was such a warm touch that I couldn't help but feel the goosebumps rush down my body. He pulled me to him. Next him. I looked down at the pretty girl in the bed. Her eyes were as blue the sky, unlike Maybe's blue green. Maybe had Jacob's eyes. Only this child's weren't warm, they were hate filled.
"Make her go away." Ester turned her pretty face away from us.
"You need to eat," Jacob coaxed.
"Get her out of here!" she sobbed.
"Ester…"
"Jacob?"
The female Quid stepped forward and set a hand on his shoulder. The tension left his face as he looked to the Quid. I knew that look. It was the same look Eldon would give me when we were dealing with the children. Jacob let my hand slide from his. I practically ran from the room. Jacob and Merry? Was that Merry? I hurried to fix him a bowl of the soup and slice the bread.
"The house is..," Jacob was behind me, looking around, "clean." He sounded shocked.
"I had to have something to do."
"That smells good." He actually licked his lips. I set the bowl on the table and poured him a cup of tea. I washed a plate and set the sliced bread on it. He sat down and began to eat.
"Is that Merry?"
"Yeah, she lives in the woods."
I nodded, chewing on the heel of the bread.
"Are you and her a couple or something?" I didn't bother looking up.
"No, we aren't. That's not allowed."
"This isn't Quid 4," I sighed. "It's a new world. New laws. New people."
"It isn't allowed." Jacob bent his head over his bowl and ate. I sat in silence, thinking things over. "Where'd you get the clothes?" He was looking at me now.
"Maybe took a loaf of my bread and traded it."
"It's good bread." He bit into some of it. "Clothes look good on you." His eyes traveled over me. He shoved food into his mouth. "Thanks for cleaning this up. This place." He didn't say home, he said this place.
"How long have you had Merry?"
"I don't own Quids." His face darkened.
"George and Nord?" Now I was confused.
"They belonged to my wife' father. She inherited them when he died. I don't own them. They just stay with us."
"Family heirlooms?" I queried.
"I guess." He looked back at the food he was eating. "I had all of this here?" he seemed amazed.
"In the cold box," I yawned.
"Amazing." He drank the liquid left in the bowl. "Could I have more? Please?" He stuffed the rest of the bread in his mouth.
"Sure." I got up to refill his bowl. I set it before him and cut the heel off another loaf of bread. I chewed it. "Is she really bad off?"
"Not so much now. Merry saw her through the worst of it." He looked guilty
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for not being with his child. "She's just weak. Merry said she left the house a mess when she took Ester from here."
"It wasn't so bad," I lied.
"You don't lie well." He picked up another slice of bread. "I guess it's not what you're used to."
"How do you know what I was used to?" I began to clean up. I found a container in which to pour the remaining soup in. I covered it and set it to cool before we put it in the cold box for the night.
"I saw how you were dressed when..," he stopped.
"When you kidnapped me?"
I cleaned up the dishes. He grumbled under his breath at me. I had the pan filled with soapy water and washed the dishes slowly. My hope was that he would just go on and leave me in the kitchen. He sat. I moved to get his dirty dishes. He leaned back, drinking his tea. I washed the dishes, put the food in the cold box, wiped down the counters and table. I carried the pan of dirty water out the back door and poured it off the porch.
One moon. I sat down on the porch and looked to the heavens. One moon in the sky. Not one to the left and one to the right. Just one moon rising in the sky. Aside from a candle lit here and there, I saw nothing but darkness. And the water. I could just barely see the moonlight sparkling off the river beyond the trees.
It was peaceful. I listened to the noises of the night. The creatures, the light breeze through the trees, the sound of George and Nord heading home with a loaf of bread each for their help. I set the pan down and hugged my knees. I missed home. The words came through the open window as if carried to me on the wind. I didn't move, but hugged myself tighter.
"So you have a wife?" Merry asked.
"Yes," Jacob said in a low voice.
"And you didn't tell me because?" There was cold spite in her voice. "All day we've been together and you said nothing."
"I was concerned with my daughter."
"She's sick, not dying."
"Quit being bitchy."
"That's all I am. Isn't it?" There was silence from the window. "Why?"
"They were going to give her to Givens."
"Holt's dead."
"Yes." Jacob sounded cornered. "She had nothing to do with it. He just died. Givens was… is …angry. He would have hurt her."
"So?" I held my breath. Merry was a lot like Margie.
"Merry, I did what I thought was best. They killed her mate. They … We took her. We brought her here as a virtual prisoner. I married her and thought I was doing a good thing."
"You bed her?" There was a silence that was heavier than any gravity.
"Merry…"
"I have to go."
"Merry!" There was a shuffling as if they were moving to the door. I thought of jumping off the porch and running to the woods to hide.
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"Your children are sleeping, your house is clean and you are fed. All that's left is for you to sleep with your wife."
"You think I wanted this?" Jacob hissed angrily. "You think I wanted to sleep with her? She was a vampire's breeding bitch! I can't bear to look at her! I had to bring her into my home and now I have to deal with you being angry with me. It's not fair." There was desperation in his voice. "I don't even want her near my house! Near my children!"
"Yet, here she is."
"Merry, she was a Quid."
"She's human. I can smell it on her."
"She lived as a Quid. With a family. She went to Declar as part of that herd and it was discovered there that she was human. The vampire who bought them took her as his mate. She was the lady of his house." The way he said that made me cringe. "I don't think she's afraid of hard work." I could tell he was looking around his newly cleaned house.
"You have to have children?"
"It's expected. But I think I may have a solution."
"A solution?" Merry chuckled. "So you won't share a bed with her?" There was silence. "Will you still visit mine?"
I looked to the heavens and listened to the silence. It lasted a long time. "Goodnight!"
The door opened and Merry ran out. She sped past me and I watched her disappear into the woods without a word to me. I was okay with that. What exactly should I have said? I didn't know how I felt. I had just done what was needed to be done. In truth, I had been overjoyed at the sight of the filthy home. It had given me something constructive to do. The work had taken my mind off my situation.
My situation. That was a good way to refer to it. Jacob stepped out on the porch and stood, behind me. He didn't move to sit or anything else. He just stood watching Merry run off into the night. I wondered which star was Declar. How far was I from home? Six days travel at least. That was by shuttle. An old shuttle. A newer vampire shuttle could make it in a couple of hours. A day at the most. If they were going to rescue me, it would happen within the next day. If they were going to rescue me.
If. Me. The defiant human who had cut her hair. Who had hidden her daughter from them and kept her son close. The son they wanted. The only vampire who would come for me would have been Tullo. Tullo. He was dead. Which star? Which star in heaven held my Tullo? His soul?
"Thank you for taking care of Mabel and my home," Jacob finally spoke.
"Maybe?" I breathed the word.
"Maybe." I heard his chuckle at the name. "They call her that. She's a handful. Always has been."
"She's a good girl. A hard worker. And smart. She'll grow to be a great leader one day."
"Not here. She's a girl. If she were a boy, it would come to pass, but she is just a girl."
"Just a girl?" I asked, not looking back.
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"We are very primitive here. She will marry and have children."
"Welcome to the new world," I mumbled.
"It's not what I would want for them, but it's safe."
"Safe?" I finally looked back at him.
"They won't be bred with vampires, they won't starve, they'll marry a young man who loves them and grow old with children and grandchildren."
"Just like us?"
Jacob said nothing. I sat staring up at the stars. I could feel the tension rising between us. How could I live like this? He hated me. I wasn't thrilled with him. He was in love with a Quid. I was in love with my mate. My dead mate.
"Mabel likes you," he said with some hope.
"I like her."
"Remember what I told you," The warning.
"What?"
"You hurt my children and I'll kill you."
"Now, you reinforce this?" I asked. "I just spent the whole day with her. Alone. She wasn't hurt."
"You weren't alone." I let the words sink in. The Hybrids.
"So George and Nord were watching me? Guarding Maybe from me?"
"Yes." His reply was cold and direct.
"Which planet is mine?" I asked looking back to the heavens.
"What do you mean?"
"Where is Declar?" He didn't answer. Not right away.
"Don't worry about it," came the answer, "You'll never see it again. Not as long as you live." The backdoor slammed as he left me.
The night was cooler than the day, but still hot. I laid down on the porch and looked up at the sky. Millions of stars. They were bright and sparkling in the black sky. They were blurring as my eyes filled with tears. I felt the tears slide down the sides of my face. The breeze hit them and cooled my face. I felt as if I were alone in the universe. Alone and afraid. I began to pray.
"God, protect them. Please?" I felt a warmth come over me. A sort of peace. "Goodnight." I shuddered a breath, "Goodnight Donum. Goodnight Spera. Goodnight Eldon. Goodnight Elsie. Goodnight Kathy, Borna and Amara. Goodnight Dusty. Goodnight Harry. Goodnight Billy. Goodnight Jerry. Goodnight Willie. Goodnight Tancid. Goodnight Chas. Goodnight Jonah. Goodnight Joanie. Goodnight Bobbie. Goodnight Debbie. Goodnight Trina. Goodnight Luna. Goodnight Mary. Goodnight Jenny. Goodnight Lindsay. Goodnight Zoe. Goodnight Lenora and Niyan. Goodnight Mercy, Demato, Olin, Theto and Quirn." My hand went to my abdomen. "Goodnight Tullo." I closed my eyes to the heavens and cried.
"What are you doing here?" the cold voice asked, waking me.
I blinked to the coming sun and sat up. It took me a moment to realize that I hadn't been dreaming. It was real. I shivered. Jacob had left me on the porch all night long. Seth and Lutha stood looking down at me. I rubbed my eyes and yawned. A new day. A new day in hell.
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"Answer me!" Seth demanded.
"Sleeping." I replied.
"He should have tethered you and at least given you a blanket!" Seth stormed into the house.
I stood, stretched and stumbled stiffly to the outhouse to relieve myself. Lutha followed. I saw him standing outside the little building through the slats in the door. Was he guarding me or waiting to speak to me? I stepped out and stood before him.
"Why did you get back on the shuttle?" I asked. "Did Tullo tell you to?"
"Little Sister, you have to…" he stopped as Maybe came running out and between us to do her morning duties.
"Lutha!" Seth was yelling. I watched Lutha walk away from me.
"You're up early," Maybe noted as she stepped out of the outhouse.
"I guess."
I walked over to the garden and frowned. It was a pathetic looking garden. The vegetables were small and dull looking. I stepped into the gate and walked down the rows of sad vegetation. I knelt down to run my fingers through the soil. Dry, hot crumbly soil. Bad soil. I looked up at the sun and frowned. The sun was stronger here than on Earth. A lot stronger. And there was something else about the plants. They looked mutated.
"We water and water and they still sucks!" Maybe yawned.
"Go get dressed, wash up and we'll eat breakfast. Then you can come help me." I stood up and looked around the area.
"Help you what?" Maybe asked.
"Plant a garden." I dusted the soil from my hands
"We have a garden!"
"A special garden."
I walked back to the house. Jacob was standing on the porch with Seth. They were arguing. Maybe trotted right past them and into the house. Lutha was standing off to the side. I stopped short and waited. It wasn't hard for me to hear what they were saying, they were practically yelling at each other.
"If you didn't want her then you should have just said so!" Seth snapped.
"My daughter is ill. I slept in a chair in her room."
"You should have tethered her! What if she escaped?"
"I won't tie her at night!" Jacob yelled.
"But you won't let her sleep in the house? I never expected you to treat her this way. Like a common Quid!"
"I had no idea Faith had slept out here. I thought she went to bed," Jacob hissed, shooting me an angry look.
"How could you miss the body lying on the porch shivering?" Seth asked coldly, "Everyone else saw it."
"Ester is ill." Jacob rubbed his tired face. "I need to check on her."
"Keep your wife under control!" Seth ordered. "Don't make me have to step in." I winced at the words. "And keep that Quid away from here!"
I watched Seth storm off. Lutha gave me a concerned look and followed. I walked past Jacob and into the kitchen. I was digging in the cool box for food and
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trying to decide what to plant. I set the eggs and fixings on the table. I moved to get the fire going on the stove. When I turned around Jacob was standing before me glaring.
"Why did you sleep out there last night?" he asked through gritted teeth. I gulped. "Are you trying to make me look like a fool?"
"I fell asleep."
"What were you doing out there?"
"Praying."
"To who?" The words were cold.
"God." I looked into his eyes.
"Dad?" a weak call came from the hallway. Jacob stood looking as if he might strike me. "Daddy?" it was Ester.
"From now on, you will be indoors when the sun sets. You will sleep in my bed each night. Never again will you sleep outside. If you want to, I can oblige you by tying you to the porch. Do you understand?"
I stood, trying to think of what to say.
"Do you understand?" he yelled in my face. I nodded.
"Daddy!" Jacob hurried to his daughter.
I mixed the dough for biscuits. I made an extra large batch. Enough to last us for days. I had my work cut out for me and I needed to cut corners any way I could. I took the glass jar of Suquidal water and kitchen scraps and set in on the back porch to take in all the sun it could. I needed it to work.
I got the biscuits in the oven just as Maybe came in. She helped me fix the eggs and hurried to get milk from the neighbor as I made coffee. Jacob carried the bucket from his daughter's room to the outhouse. A few minutes later, a very weak Ester came to the table. I set her food before her and the tea made with Suquidal water. I pulled the biscuits out and set some on the table. Jacob came in and sat down to eat as Maybe hurried in with a bottle of milk.
They ate, I cooked and cleaned. No one said a word to me. I boiled water to clean with and mapped out my garden in my head. I had to fill my head with these details so that I could get through the day without falling to pieces. Without thinking of home.
"I have work to do." Jacob stood. "Look after your sister," he ordered Maybe and kissed each of the girls' head. He didn't bother looking at me. He left and I ate a biscuit drizzled with honey.
"What seeds do you have?" I asked.
"Lots!" Maybe was up and moving. She brought me several buckets of seeds to inspect.
"Why do they look funny?" I asked, poking at the seeds with my finger.
"They've been genetically engineered," Ester said coldly, her eyes glared at me hate fully. I knew that hate. "Don't vampires have such things? They being superior beings and all."
"It has nothing with superiority." I replied, examining the seeds. "It has to do with knowledge. How are they altered?"
"They grow faster. Or at least, they're supposed to." Maybe was more on the talkative side. "They just don't grow great."
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"They suffice for us." Ester snapped.
"More tea?" I asked, looking at the empty cup she held. "You need to drink lots of fluids to keep you going."
"Fine." Ester set the cup down, as opposed to handing it to me. "Merry said the same thing." As if that was the only reason she would drink. "She was pumping water into me all day. She tried to make me drink that shit-filled silver Hybrid water, but I wouldn't." Maybe gave me a look, but didn't say anything about me drinking it. I poured more tea.
"Can you get the Hybrids to help us today?" I asked. Maybe nodded and ran out the door.
"I'm not helping you." Ester looked down her long nose at me. "I don't want you here. Neither does Daddy." I cleaned the dishes as she spoke. "I hope he ties you to the back porch like the dog you are."
"Dog?" I turned to face her.
"Don't even speak to me. Not unless I speak to you first, and then you only answer. This is my house!" Ester's glare was calculated.
"Ester, you can talk all you want. Your father can tie me up and you can treat me badly," I moved to take the dishes from before her, "but I'm not an animal. I'm your father's wife. I live here now. Get used to it."
"You are nothing but a vampire whore!" Ester spat.
"Yeah, so they say." I washed the dishes.
"And a lousy Quid!" she was looking for ways to hurt me.
"I guess I am." I lifted the pan of dish water to dump.
"Do you know what Quid means?" Ester asked cruelly. I ignored her but she continued anyway. "Quid is nothing! It's a chunk of tobacco that's chewed up until it's no good and then spat out. That's what Quids are. Nothing! That's what you are! Nothing! Worthless! Useless! Nothing!"
"Figures you humans would think of a way to make things so hateful."
"Us humans?" I had obviously offended Ester with my words. "You Quids! You're nothing but animals! My father should beat you for what you've done! You meant to make a fool of him!" Ester's face was beat red from exertion. I was afraid she would drop over dead from all the excitement. "I hope you die! I want you dead! I want you..."
I stared at the girl who was spitting out horrible things at me. I felt a rage rising in me. I threw the dish water in her face, threw the pan down, snatched up the seeds and went out to the garden, leaving Ester screaming in rage. Maybe was standing in the doorway looking on wide-eyed. I figured I had about an hour before Jacob came looking for me.
"How come like this?" Maybe asked as George and I built up the rows of newly-tilled soil.
We fertilized the soil by adding the mixture from the jar on the porch to more Suquidal rich water and used that to dampen down the soil. Nord was building the fence around my new small garden. I was covered from head to toe in dirt and sweat and it felt good.
"The soil is lacking what the seeds need," I explained, "The seeds are
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engineered to grow faster, but in doing so, they are draining the nutrients from the soil. They just need a little help. Suquidal has a lot of minerals in it. Just a little water with the rotting food feeds it."
"So they'll grow bigger?"
"Maybe. But I hope they'll grow better and taste better."
"That would be nice," Maybe laughed.
We were laughing. It was a hot day and we were laughing. I had actually forgotten every bad thing that happened to me for the time being. It was easy with Maybe talking a mile a minute. She asked questions, gave orders and tried to make me feel at ease. I should have known better. I felt the hand on my shoulder as I was spun around. Jacob's open hand caught me across the face. I ended up sitting on the ground, stunned. It had taken him a lot longer than I thought it would.
"Daddy!" Maybe screamed.
Jacob didn't say anything as he crammed the bridle into my mouth and fastened it tightly. I was flaying, trying to get away. My hands were tied behind my back and I was dragged to the outhouse. Jacob shoved me down, tied my feet together. My hands were fastened to the back of the outhouse. I watched him drive a wooden spike into the ground and tie my feet to it.
"Daddy!" Maybe was crying now. I could see Ester holding the little girl back. "Daddy, stop!"
"I wanted to kill you!" Jacob hissed at me. I waited for whatever he was going to do next. "I can't. But I don't have to let an animal like you near my children!"
He stormed off, leaving me to bake in the sun. I watched Maybe cry to him. He lifted her into his arms and carried her into the house. George and Nord continued working in my garden and Ester stood smiling at me from the porch. She reminded me more and more of Margie. I bowed my head and waited, once again, for a visit from the ever evasive Death.
"Totally uncalled for." The words were soft and soothing.
I opened my eyes and looked up to find Merry squatting down next to me. The sun had long ago passed over me and was now behind the trees. I was thirsty and dazed. My lips were cracked and split, my hands and feet numb, and my skin a bright red where it had been exposed to the sun.
I watched Merry pull out a knife and hoped that she would plunge it into me. She didn't. She cut the breeding straps on my feet, moved next to me to cut my hands free and then carefully slid the bridle from my mouth. I felt the cup of Suquidal at my lips. I blinked and saw Maybe holding the cup for me. Her eyes were red from crying.
"I hate her! I hate him!" Maybe hissed.
"Well, he's gonna be mad," Merry chuckled.
She stood and looked out towards the road. People had been walking by and pointing at me all day. I had given up struggling early on and just bowed my head. Now I couldn't even lift my head without being in pain. The world was spinning.
"You have heatstroke," Merry noted, "This is crazy!" She turned and walked to the house. I simply fell over. Maybe sat next to me, patting my head and begging me to drink the Suquidal water.
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"It is none of your affair!" Jacob was yelling as I was lifted up. I couldn't open my eyes, but I knew it wasn't him carrying me. He was behind me, yelling. "Leave her! Let her die!" I was willing to agree with him.
"Shut up!" Merry snapped as she ran ahead of us.
"Why are you helping her?" Ester was in the doorway. "Don't you dare bring her in here!"
"Get out of the way before I take you over my knee!" Merry said and Ester was silent. "I cared for you when you were ill! You should know better than to encourage this! Your mother would be ashamed of you!"
I felt the bed beneath me. My body was screaming as the blood began to flow back through my limbs. I was in so much pain that I couldn't even turn on my side to pull my knees to my chest. I lay there in pain, listening to them argue. Merry and Jacob were yelling. Maybe was crying as she climbed into the bed with me. Ester was silent.
"She hit Ester!" Jacob yelled.
"She didn't!" Maybe cried.
"Shut up!" Ester screeched.
"She's lying!" Maybe was cradling my head in her lap.
"Mabel…" Jacob sounded frustrated.
"No, you never listen to me! Ester threatened her. She called her names! She was mean! Real mean! Daddy! She didn't hit Ester. She threw the dish water on her, but she didn't hit her! I was right there! I saw the whole thing!" No one said anything as Maybe panted.
"Mabel, this is…"
"You want to kill her, then kill her!" Maybe cried. I heard Jacob gasp. "Just please stop hurting her! She's sick! She's got a broken heart! I told her you could fix anything! Don't hurt her anymore!" I moaned as Maybe hugged me.
"Ester?" Jacob was now talking to his older daughter.
"She… I didn't! She was mean to me!" the girl snapped.
"Ester?" Now Merry was questioning her.
"She's just a damn Quid! I don't want her in my house! She threw that nasty water on me! I'm sick!"
There was a roaring in my ears. My mind was racing and spinning out of control. I was sat up and more Suquidal poured down my throat. I swallowed and breathed. It was all I could do. I now understood how Tullo had felt each time the sunlight hit his skin. Only on him, it was ten times worse. I missed him as I drifted off into unconsciousness.
I woke to a cool breeze. The window was open and the night air poured in. I had been stripped down and lay only in my nightgown, the thin one that Maybe had traded my bread for. I had been wiped down with water and the dust washed away. Next to me lay Maybe, her little body curled up. I had curled my body around her. I sat up and climbed over her.
It was dark. I stumbled off the porch and to the outhouse to relieve myself. My body was screaming and my mind spinning. Thoughts and fears were being slammed around in my skull. That had to stop. I had to get it under control. Both
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my mind and body. I cleaned myself and stepped out into the night. I breathed deeply the night air.
"I'm sorry," Jacob said. I jumped and backed into the outhouse. "I won't do it again." I clawed at the slat wall. "If you hurt my child or do anything anywhere close to what you did to her today," he took in a deep breath, "I'll take my belt to you." I nodded. Stepped around him and tried to run to the house. I didn't make it. He grabbed my wrist and jerked me back to him.
"Please!" I begged.
Jacob was staring at me. His eyes glistened. I was frightened by him. At that moment, I wondered how much worse it would have been to have been married to Givens. I was trembling uncontrollably as he pulled me closer to him.
"I'm sorry." His voice was soft. I looked into the darkness and not at him. "Faith…" he sighed heavily and turned me so that I was facing towards the front of the house. "That is Declar." He was pointing into the sky. "The bluish star is just to the left of it."
A sudden calmness came over me. I looked at the star and the moons. They had lied. Trenar was not near the second moon. No one would look for me or come for me, but at least I knew where they were. My knees gave and I fell to the ground. Jacob knelt down next to me.
"I was angry," he explained. "Ester said that you had…" he sighed. "Mabel told me the truth. I lost my temper. With you and her." I looked at him. "I took my belt to Ester. She will show you respect." I could have cared less. "You are the lady of my house. My wife. Forgive me?"
"Okay," I mumbled. I must not have been convincing because Jacob sighed again. I was too afraid to not forgive him. Or at least act as if I did.
Jacob stood. He was looking down at me. I waited, expecting him to take off his belt and use it on me. I was prepared to duck my head and cover my head with my arms. He moved and I ducked. I was gently lifted up and into his arms. He carried me back to the house, tucked me into the bed with his youngest daughter and left me. I rolled to hug Maybe and cried into her hair as I looked out the window at Declar.
"God, protect them. Please?" And comfort came to me. Peace. "God bless us all." I breathed easier. "God bless Donum. God bless Spera. God bless Eldon. God bless Elsie. God bless Kathy, Borna and Amara. God bless Dusty. God bless Harry. God bless Billy. God bless Jerry. God bless Willie. God bless Tancid. God bless Chas. God bless Jonah. God bless Joanie. God bless Bobbie. God bless Debbie. God bless Trina. God bless Luna. God bless Mary. God bless Jenny. God bless Lindsay. God bless Zoe. God bless Lenora and Niyan. God bless Mercy, Demato, Olin, Theto and Quirn. God bless Mabel." My hand went to my abdomen. "God bless Tullo." I closed my eyes to Declar and slept.
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12
"They grow that fast?" I asked, looking over the budding plants in my new garden. Overnight they had bloomed. I squinted against the sunburn and my swollen cheek and eye. In the mirror I saw the handprint of my husband across my face. So much for the honeymoon.
"Yeah," Maybe was examining them, "but they don't usually look this good. These are really green."
"Let's mix the water and pour it on. They need the food."
I limped back to the porch and began mixing the Suquidal with the rotting jar water and regular water. Maybe was taking notes on how much to mix. We poured it into buckets and carried it to the garden. Ester was watering the garden on the other side of the yard. She had ordered Maybe to abandon my garden and help her. Maybe had ignored her. So did I.
"We can pick them in a couple of days." Maybe huffed, carrying the heavy bucket. I felt the pain in my back as I carried mine. She set hers down and wiped her brow. "We're gonna have a lot!"
"So what do we do?" I asked, inspecting the plants.
"Some to trade, some to eat, some for seed and some to put up," Maybe grunted as she tilted the bucket and poured the water.
"Put up?"
"In jars for later."
"Canning?" I must have sounded excited.
"You know how?"
"Yeah. Do you have the stuff?"
"Sure! It's in the house." I looked to the house. "Not that one! Come on!" Maybe set her bucket down and headed for the woods. I followed.
It wasn't a far walk. Just behind the trees was the house. Or what would one day be a house. The foundation was set and the frame was up but that was all. It was the skeleton of a house. The roof wasn't on, but the rafters were up. It was a very nice house. I looked about and saw the pipes going in two different directions. One set towards the river and one away from the river and into the woods.
"Come on!" Maybe yelled.
I climbed up on the foundation and followed her to what would be the kitchen. She was tugging at the heavy wooden door in the floor. I helped her open it. There were stairs and lights! I leaned in and followed her down. It was a root cellar with electrical lights!
"What…?" I asked looking around at the well-stocked shelves of the huge cellar. "Electricity?"
"This is our house. We only got a little solar panel. Daddy's gonna get more," Maybe said. "Daddy's building it for us. George and Nord stay here. That little house is theirs and beyond, it's Merry's." I was looking up at the pipes in the ceiling. "Water?"
"Daddy is running water from the river so we can flush."
"Where does the flush go?" I wondered.
"The lagoon. They got that done just before they went to get you." Maybe was
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pulling out jars and lids. I helped her with the crates. "This ain't enough. We can trade for more. No one hardly cans the stuff they grow. It ain't good enough. But our stuff is." She looked so proud.
"It sure is." I helped her drag the crates and boxes up the steps. We had a nice stack of boxes there when I noticed a man watching us. He was coming out of our outhouse. "Who's that?" I asked. Maybe stood up and smiled.
"That's the Doc!" Maybe waved and the older man waved back. He had on a very floppy hat, shorts, boots and no shirt. He was old and white. But spry. He hurried to us.
"Maybe! How goes it?" I noticed that his eyes were a funny color of brown. They were so pale a brown that they looked almost green. "Hello." He smiled at me. "You must be Jacob's new bride." He held his hand out to me. I took it.
"I'm Faith." I shook the hand.
"I've heard a lot about you!"
"I'm sure."
He moved to help us carry the boxes to the other house. Talking a mile a minute to me and Maybe about things that I didn't understand or care about. I tried to pay attention.
"Did you put the eaters in the shitter?" Maybe asked. I was really confused.
"Your father will have my hide if he catches you talking that way," Doc chuckled at the little girl. "After he busts your tail."
"Well?" The little girl was persistent.
"I dropped them in, so your outhouse should be pretty good, for a bit." He smiled at my confused look. "Enzymes. I drop them in to eat the refuse. I've been testing them on the outhouses. We need to be sure they'll work in the septic tanks and lagoon."
"He grows bacteria and shit eaters and such all the time. He's the one who figured out the fast grow seeds. He's a genetic Doc," Maybe explained as she huffed along under the weight of the boxes she was carrying.
"Oh!" I set the boxes down on the porch of our primitive home. "That's fertilizer." I said as the man began to examine the jar on the porch.
"Faith made it and we've been pouring it on our garden and they look great! Come look!" I dragged boxes into the house as Maybe dragged the man to inspect our garden.
Bread. I was told by Maybe over breakfast that I had to bake more bread. She had traded the last four loaves for more flour. I washed my hands and set to baking bread. According to her, the scavenger ship was coming and she wanted enough bread to trade for a big bathtub. I didn't ask why, but there was a reason that only she knew, so I began to bake bread to keep me busy.
I pounded on the dough, made the loaves and set them to rise. I heard someone outside the back door and looked out to see Merry setting the fire on the oven for me. She winked at me. I wondered if she thought I was winking? You really couldn't tell with my swollen eye. Nord and George had set the stove up. They had put a railing on the porch and shelves for bread to cool.
"Absolutely remarkable!" Doc said as he and Maybe returned. Maybe set to dragging the rest of the boxes in. "You have done a remarkable job on the garden.
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You should be able to harvest by tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" I was surprised. "So soon?"
"Yes! It's remarkable! I have a request?" The man removed his hat and wiped his sweaty brow.
"What?" I was putting bread loaf plans in the oven.
"How do you think fruit trees would do under your gentle care?" He put his hat back on.
"Fruit trees?" I shut the oven and wiped my hands on my shorts.
"I have several different varieties that need a woman's touch. A special mixture of fertilizer and a lovely woman's touch. Would you like to see what you can do with them?"
"You flirting with Jacob's wife?" Merry teased.
"Well, she is quite fetching," Doc laughed, blushing. "And I was only asking a favor of an innocent type."
"Sure, Doc!" Merry winked at him and walked off into the woods.
"Such a strange girl!" Doc spoke, watching her leave with interest. "How about it?" his head snapped back to me.
"Sure." What else could I say?
"I'll give you all the trees and fruit if you would do me one favor."
"What?"
"Bake me a pie?" He smiled at me shyly. "I haven't had one since I was a child. Apple? And maybe jam?"
Maybe was chewing her lower lip. Doc was smiling at me. I looked at my little garden and smiled. We could expand it. Maybe had big plans for our little venture. Jacob had left us alone. I had been on the planet for almost five days and I had been through a lot, but the one thing I had for sure was the love of a little girl named Mabel. I would do anything for her.
"Sure," I shrugged. Doc was sniffing the aroma of my bread. "If you'll take a loaf of bread." He nodded and we laughed.
By the end of the second week, my life had slid into a pattern that wasn't what I expected. It was better than I could have hoped for. I woke, made breakfast, cleaned, did laundry, boiled water, worked in the garden, baked bread, made lunch, baked bread, cleaned, made dinner, cleaned up and then fell into bed. Most nights, Maybe slept with me. I either curled my body around hers or we slept back to back with me facing the window. I would say my prayers and fall asleep staring at Declar.
Jacob either slept in the rocker or on the floor. It was after that second week that I felt Maybe being moved. In a sleepy state, I turned to find Jacob lifting her up. He carried her to her own bed. I faced the window and didn't move. Jacob climbed into our bed and slept with his back to me. I hardly slept at all the night. He left before the first light and only then did I relax. After that night, I was too exhausted to do anything, but sleep.
Our first harvest was huge! I was excited to see the wonderful vegetation on the vines. Maybe danced about laughing as we picked the vegetables and carried them to the porch. By the time we were finished, the porch was covered. We did as
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Maybe said. We traded some, we canned some, we ate some and we put some up for seeds. We expanded our garden and replanted right away.
Maybe took a marker and made an M on the lid of the jars. She made her M like a butterfly. It was cute. She wrote the date beneath the large M. I let her mark all of the jar lids. It was her job. She took great care. I loved to watch her marking the lids with such intensity. I missed Spera more when I was alone with Maybe.
Doc brought us twenty beautiful trees. George, Nord and Doc planted them by the future home to create a wind break. Jacob hadn't objected, but said they were too far away from the house. Within three weeks they were huge. He didn't complain anymore. Maybe climbed the trees and I made a pie. My first apple pie. By the end of my first month as Jacob's wife, I had become comfortable with my life. Not happy, but comfortable.
George and Nord built a little cart that one of them would pull. Maybe went with them door to door and traded for things she thought we needed. Some things I understood. Others were confusing. Jacob and she argued nightly when he returned from his work about the items she had traded for that littered the yard.
These arguments often got heated. Maybe had plans, and sometimes her plans didn't coincide with his. When they argued, Ester sat with that cold smile on her face. Then Maybe would cry and Jacob would give in. I stayed out of the arguments. I kept my comments to myself. I hardly spoke to anyone but Maybe. For this, I did feel guilty. Ester always took Jacob's side. Maybe looked to me for help, but I shied away from the fight. I didn't want to be tied again.
I had asked Maybe what Jacob's work was and she told me. He was digging the ditch to put in the pipes for the water to the house with Bryant and the Hybrids. The plan was for us to move into the new house, and then Bryant would take over ours. Even though he was sterile, Bryant wanted a wife, and one day, a home and a real life. His house was the next to be built and plumbing installed. Their homes would be the first in the colony with indoor plumbing.
Maybe had a way of getting what she wanted. She traded several loaves of bread for a metal bed. She traded the metal bed for a crib. She traded the crib for a large decorative table. She traded the table for a pony. The pony pulled the cart.
Because of her trading, we had more jars than we knew what to do with. We filled them with jams, sauces and vegetables and then we filled the root cellar and all the shelves in the kitchen. From there on the rest were for trading when the scavengers came. Jacob didn't want her dealing with them alone, so he and George planned to go with her.
Maybe wasn't the only one looking forward to the arrival of the scavengers. I looked forward to the day they came. I was going along. I wanted to ask the scavengers if they traveled to Declar and if they did, would they take a letter or message to Eldon. At least, that was my plan.
"We need to move these to the root cellar," Jacob commented as he stepped into the kitchen one afternoon. I was just finishing up the last of the jams when his voice made me jump.
"It's full," I noted, setting down the last sealed jar.
Jacob looked at me as if I were dumb and walked back out the door. I watched him cross the yard and disappear into the orchard that was now in full bloom. I
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cleaned up my mess and poured myself a glass of cold Suquidal water. I was sitting on the porch when he returned.
"There's no room in there to even move!" he said.
"Maybe packed it pretty tight,." I grinned. He shook his head.
"We may need to dig another root cellar." His face shone with pride. "You've been busy!"
"Your daughter has kept me busy."
"She's industrious." He sat down next to me. I stiffened up and he moved a bit away from me. He hadn't tried to touch me. Not even in bed. He had promised and so far, he had been true to his word. I appreciated that. "Like her mother."
Her mother. His wife. A subject I didn't want any part of. I sipped my water and looked towards the river. The girls were down there swimming. It was an exceptionally hot day and they had gone with Merry to cool off. I was planning on joining them, but Jacob had come home.
"They're having fun," he noted. I nodded, but said nothing.
"Jacob!" Bryant was calling him.
"Don't move," Jacob stood, "I'd like to talk to you." As soon as he walked to Bryant I set my glass down and ran for the river.
Merry and Maybe were swimming about, splashing each other. Ester was sitting on a large rock that was sticking out of the water. There were a lot of these huge rocks along the shore. I kicked off my boots and slid my shorts off. I waded out to Maybe and got splashed. There were a lot of kids in the water. I noticed that they moved farther away when I joined Maybe and Merry.
The swim was nice. Jacob came out and sat with Ester. I ignored him and played with Maybe. Merry climbed from the water and sat to talk with them. I swam out and away from them and let the last of the sun beat down on me. Then Maybe climbed out. I swam to shore and stepped out of the water, wringing my shirt out. Then my hair.
"Here." Jacob was holding his shirt out to me. "Go in the bushes and put this one on." I took it.
He turned his back to me and lifted Maybe off the rocks. He held out his had to help Merry and Ester get down. I stepped into the brush and slid my shirt off and his button-down shirt on. I wrung out my shirt. The voices were moving away, towards the house. I turned and found Jacob behind me, watching me. I gulped and pulled his shirt shut, trying to cover myself.
"I'll set your boots here." He stepped forward to set my boots before me and laid my shorts on top of them. His eyes never left my face. "Faith… I know …" he shook his head and stepped back from me. I breathed a bit easier. "You look nice like that." He turned and left me.
My boots practically flew onto my feet. I pulled my shorts on and buttoned the shirt I wore. I followed them back to the house with my heart racing. It would come close to exploding within a few moments.
"We got company," Jacob noted to me as Merry suddenly shot into the brush and disappeared. He reached back and grabbed my wrist, pulling me after him.
"Daddy." Maybe stopped walking. Ester continued on.
"I see them. You go on in the house and get ready for dinner." Jacob pushed
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her towards the house.
Ester was talking to Seth and Reeves. The men were waiting on the porch for us. I tried to wrench away. Jacob tightened his hold on me. I winced and followed. I was trembling as the men's eyes were on me. I felt self-conscious.
"Evening." Jacob tried to sound welcoming.
"Evening." Reeves stepped around us. I moved closer to Jacob.
"We need to talk." Seth said.
"Okay." Jacob let go of my wrist and pushed me towards he house. "Go get cleaned up." I fought not to run into the house, but walked. I shut the door and leaned on it. Ester and Maybe were there listening at the open window. I could hear clearly from where I stood.
"Is she pregnant?" Reeves didn't waste any time.
"Is that your business?" Jacob asked coldly.
"Givens is making a lot of noise. He thinks you're taking too long." Seth sounded annoyed with the whole conversation. "We haven't seen you at chapel, or your wife and children."
"I don't need to go to chapel to speak to God," Jacob replied.
"No one has seen her with you." Reeves' voice was moving. I thought he might be pacing. "Or you with her. Just your girls. Are you keeping her tied up? Still?" My stomach clenched at the memory.
"We've been busy." Jacob wasn't lying about that. "And we've just come from swimming. There were plenty of people there. Ask them."
"Raven, you know that Givens wanted her. He lost his son and …"
"Is there a time limit?" Jacob asked.
"What?" Seth asked in surprise.
"Is there a time limit to get my wife pregnant?" There was silence. "I would like my house finished before my child is born. We have a long way to go." Again there was silence.
"Raven, I think you should just get on with it and forget about that house. It'll take years for you to get done. You can't take years with her. She doesn't look too frightened of you now. I don't agree with your methods of breaking her, but it obviously worked,"
I felt the room begin to spin. I had been broken. Like an animal. He couldn't have done a better job if he had beaten me. I was terrified of Jacob in a way I couldn't explain. I wouldn't think of talking back to him or Ester. I kept to myself as much as possible. And I kept busy. I looked up to find Ester smiling at me. I looked away. She was too much like Margie for me to even try to befriend. I moved to sit down at the table. I was shaking too much to stand.
"How I deal with my family is none of your business." Jacob's voice was strained. "She is my wife and that's all there is to it."
Maybe came and sat next to me. Her hand slid into mine. I smiled at her, weakly. I wanted to run. But where? I watched the door, waiting for the men to come in and drag me out. To give me to Givens.
"It is our business when it comes to her," Seth said. "We took her as a group. We'll have to deal with her as a group. You were given the first chance because of your demeanor. Now that's coming into question." Reeves said.
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"Who's questioning it?" Jacob asked. There was no answer. "Givens? If you're so scared of him, you should have let him marry the girl." There was more silence. "You didn't because you knew he would hurt her. You don't want her dead by his hand or her own. She's my wife. She hasn't done anything to require your attention. In fact, you're checking on her because she's not been seen. We like our privacy. We are newlyweds."
"Not if you won't touch the bitch," Reeves spat.
"Don't speak of my wife so or I will simply pack my family up and leave all of this to Bryant." There was silence as the threat was made. "We could start over somewhere else. Somewhere farther away from the prying eyes."
"You try and leave and…" Reeves' voice rose.
"And you'll do what? Take my wife? Take my children? Take my home? Have we come to that? Is the lust for one man's woman enough to ruin a community?" The words were cold and harsh.
"I lust after no vampire whore!" Reeves shouted as he stomped off into the night. There was a long silence.
"Raven, make it easier on me. I can't help you if you don't help yourself. Or her." Seth's voice was calm, but strained. "Come to chapel? Come to town? Let her out to trade with your little one. She can't become a part of our community if you keep her locked up."
"I let her go where she pleases. She doesn't want to be a part of us yet and I won't push her." Jacob's reply was cold.
"I don't believe you." Seth said. The silence was heavy.
"Faith?" Jacob opened the door and leaned in. He motioned to me to come outside. I squeezed Maybe's hand and left her at the table. I stepped outside and the door shut behind me.
"Yes?" I moved over to Jacob and put him between me and Seth.
"They think that I'm keeping you locked away. Tied up and held captive. Is that true?" I shook my head to the question my husband asked. "Satisfied?" he asked of Seth.
"Faith, would you not like to go to a quilting, or have tea with the other wives?" Seth voice was soothing. And deceptive. "To have friends in the other women?"
"No." I shook my head.
"Why not?"
"Your wife would welcome the vampire whore into her home?"
Jacob stiffened at the question. Seth was taken aback.
"I didn't think so. I'm okay here with the house and children to care for." Jacob's hand encircled my wrist. I was trembling.
"Alright then. For now. But you two have to get on with it." Seth walked off. I saw Lutha's shadow waiting by the road with Reeves. Jacob pulled me into the house. He locked the door and sighed in relief.
"You girls go on to bed." Jacob kissed them both and sent them on their way. Maybe came to hug me. I hugged her back and kissed her head.
I helped as my husband began to open cabinets, looking for space for some of the jars of food. There was no space. He stood looking at the packed cabinets and
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even under the table in frustration. I was stacking the sealed jars next to the door so it would be easy for Maybe in the morning to go out and trade.
"Come with me." Jacob grabbed my wrist and pulled me after him to the bedroom.
He shut the door and faced me. With the door shut, I felt safe. Jacob stood looking at me. He pulled me closer and I felt the gentle tugging of the shirt as he unbuttoned it. I stood staring into his eyes. His hands were warm and gentle as they slid down inside the shirt, caressing my sides and coming to rest on my hips.
When we had left Kansas, it was because my sister had been raped on her way home from school. She was only fifteen. Her attacker was caught and tried, but his father had money and his lawyers argued that my sister had enjoyed it. I remembered listening to a commentator on the news say that a rape victim will orgasm during an attack. That at times your body will betray you. It will want what you don't. Her attacker went free. My family left Earth. I didn't understand that statement until Jacob touched me and looked down at my body. I felt a sharp pain as my breasts became hard and my loins ached to be stimulated.
"I told you I wouldn't touch you until you would allow me…" His hand moved up to cup my now hard breast. His thumb gently circled the nipple, making it hard as a cherry pit. "May I now?"
His hands moved up, pushing the shirt off my shoulders. I felt it fall to the floor, leaving me exposed to him. His warm hands pulled me closer, massaging my back and shoulders. His breathing was heavy. I hadn't been touched in what seemed like years. I had lived in a shell of what I used to be. I wanted to live again. I gasped as Jacob drew me close and leaned down to take my breast in his mouth.
My body betrayed me almost instantly. I fell into his arms, holding onto his shoulders to keep steady. I moaned in protest to the feeling of my body coming alive. He unfastened my shorts and they slid down. His hand was between my legs. It felt as if I were practically dripping with anticipation. I shuddered at his touch. It was hot and gentle. My hips bucked towards him as his thick fingers entered me.
"Is that a yes?" he asked, standing up to kiss my face. I fought to breathe. "Is it? Tell me!" I found his eyes on my face.
"For your duty or pleasure?" I asked, trying to pull away.
"Both!" He fell to his knees and held me firmly by my hips. My fingers dug into his shoulders as he tasted me. I moaned loudly as I exploded for him. "Shush!" he pulled me down onto the floor and kissed me. "You'll scare the girls." I lay panting beneath him as he kissed my face. "Yes?" he asked again. I nodded, letting my legs fall open for him. He smiled at me. "Thank you." I closed my eyes to him as he moved between my legs.
For duty or pleasure? I didn't care. I wanted some pleasure. I wanted some peace and I wanted to live again. That night, I let Jacob take his every pleasure in my body. At that point, I would have been willing to let him take his belt to me, bend me over his bed and breed me. I just wanted to be wanted again. That night I was wanted. And more.
Each night I was Jacob's. I climbed into his bed and fell onto my back with my legs spread. Jacob would smile and climb in on top of me, ready for a few hours
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of pleasure with my body. I endured it willingly. It was for my pleasure as well. I felt alive again. I let the pain of my lost family slide from the forefront of my thoughts. For a short time anyway.
My body ached slightly as I lifted a box full of sealed jars of jam. Jacob and I had gone on for a long time the night before. Maybe and I had spent the day canning and talking. We had just finished putting up more jars of fruit when Ester came running in to tell Maybe that the scavenger ship had landed. I almost dropped the jar I was holding.
Jacob was next to arrive with a wagon and horses to carry Maybe's wares to trade. He adamantly refused to allow me to go. I begged and pleaded, but he refused. I stopped begging when he threatened to tie me to the bed. I was silent then. Bryant and Doc were in charge of keeping me at the house. I sat at the kitchen table sobbing as Maybe, Ester, Jacob, George and Nord rode away.
"You can't be seen," Doc said as he handed me a towel to wash my face, "It's too dangerous. There are so many children here."
Children that were now healthy. Doc had spread the word about our success with our garden. Now, most of the families were either trying to figure out how our garden was a success or wanting to trade for vegetables and fruits from us. Not to mention the bread. We had fresh meat almost daily because of the trading. Hunters would stop by the house, cut off a chunk of prized meat from their kill and leave with a loaf of bread and a couple of jars of vegetables and jam. We were eating a lot better.
Jacob commented more than once on my cooking skills. Bryant and the Hybrids ate with us nightly. Even Merry came out of hiding every so often to join us. I cooked, I served and that was it. I didn't join in conversations. I kept quiet and busy. Afterwards I would let Jacob take me to his bed and enjoy me. This night he would sleep alone!
"I brought you something," Jacob stepped into the kitchen slowly. When I was told I couldn't go, I had thrown a pot at him. My aim was off and it had been empty, but I had gotten my point across. "You gonna throw anything at me?"
I didn't laugh at his little joke. I had dented my favorite pot. And I had missed him. A little to the left and he would have been wearing that pot as a hat! Now I didn't even look at him. I was scrubbing a pot. Now I scrubbed it with vigor.
"I set it on the bed. You can look it over later." Before he could say more, Maybe came running in the door.
"Faith! Come see! Come see!" The little girl grabbed my hand and dragged me out the door. Jacob simply stepped aside.
It was big. An antique. It was a claw foot iron tub. It was hideous and beautiful at the same time. It was sitting in the middle of the new house, ready for the walls and pipes to be built around it. George and Nord looked exhausted from moving it to just where the little girl wanted it. I walked around it, trying to look impressed.
"My mommy always wanted a tub like this!" Maybe ranted happily. "She wanted to fill it with hot water and bubbles and read. She wanted to lounge about and sing!" Everyone watched as the little girl danced about excitedly. I had to
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smile. "Mommy would love it! Do you love it?" she asked.
"I do." I did.
"And look!" she was pointing to the large panels leaning against the trees. "Solar panels! We're gonna be swimming in modern luxuries! And look at this!" she hurried to point out the wonderful stove and oven, "For you! Think of all the things we can bake in it!"
I stood taking in the smiles and happiness of the little girl. It made me happy to see her so happy. We all stood about, taking in her exuberant joy. Even Ester looked happy. I sat down on the foundation and listened to all that was being said and planned. Plans from a six year old to a very happy life. Everyone easily followed her.
Jacob settled down next to me, not too close, but next to me. The men all talked of how the little girl had traded like an old pro and shocked the scavengers. We now had a cow and some chickens. Fresh eggs. The next day would be spent building onto the corral and small stable they had built for the pony. It was exhausting to listen to her. And exhausting for her. When she did sit down and sit still, Maybe fell asleep with her head in my lap. I caressed her face and she smiled dreamily.
"She's a mess." Jacob sighed, watching me with his daughter. "She wanted that tub! And she got it. I thought we would have to fight our way out of there, but she wouldn't budge. They wanted all the bread and jars. She wasn't giving in. It was your pie that was the deal breaker." I looked over at him. "Well, the last three pies. to be exact. She let them taste one and they were sold."
"So she got a tub for her mother," I smiled.
"I guess." He reached out to rub his daughter's back. "Faith, Natalie died in childbirth.
"I know. Seth told me. Right before he told me he was giving me to you." I didn't look up at him. "She never met her mother?"
"No." Jacob sighed again.
"Then how does she know that her mother wanted a house with a picket fence, a garden and a big bath tub?" I asked looking up at him.
"She didn't," he smiled sadly, "Ester was nine when their mother died."
"So she told Maybe all about her mother?"
"She told Mabel stories about her mother. I'm not sure if they are memories or fantasies." He looked conflicted. "I was away when Natalie's time came. We were surprised at how soon Mabel wanted to be born."
"So Ester told Mabel what she knew?"
"Ester …" He looked over at his oldest daughter, who was talking with Merry as they walked through the orchard. "Merry was there. She took care of both girls until I could get there."
"Did your wife really want a huge tub?" I asked.
"I have no clue." He leaned back on the palm of his hands relaxing. "We married young. We were told to marry and so we did." He shrugged. "We were told to marry and have children. We had five. All girls. Three died at birth. I knew it was pride. We had a healthy girl, but I wanted a son. We kept trying. And one after another… they died." His face looked tired, old and sad. "I was busy. Too busy to
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be there for her."
"You didn't love her?" I whispered the question.
"Not the way I should have."
"At least you knew her before you had to marry her."
He looked at me as if I had slapped him. "Really?"
"I met her right before the wedding. Our first night together was the first for us. We learned to survive. Together."
It was then I knew that Jacob had not been happy in his marriage. It had been his duty. Just as it had been his duty to marry me. Now Jacob was busy building a house to the specifications of a six year-old child for a wife that had giving birth to her. He was killing himself to make the dreams of his children come true. Not to make his dead wife happy. He was doing it to make his daughters happy. I had to respect that in him.
"I know it's been hard on you." I looked away. "Ester and I have talked. She's staying with me. Fetching and such. I don't want her giving you a hard time. I know she can be hateful and disrespectful to you. I'll try and make her understand that you are her mother now."
"Jacob, I'm only a few years older than her. Do you think we could start out as friends?"
"That might be nice." He smiled at me. "I traded some too," he said. "I put them on the bed for you." He lifted Maybe up into his arms and carried her in to bed. Ester followed. I sat a bit longer before I went in. I needed to be alone.
Underwear. The packages were old and faded, but they were new. The scavengers must have raided a department store. There were bras, panties, socks, shorts, pants, tops, a couple of dresses and two very simple, pretty nightgowns. Beneath it all was a couple of baby blankets, cloth diapers and some baby clothes. They were unisex. I let my fingers slide across the soft blanket. My other hand went to my abdomen.
The little bulge was hard. It wasn't noticeable. Not to anyone. It was going as scheduled. In another month I would be huge. They would know it was not a human baby I carried in me. I was afraid of what was to come, both for me and for my child. They would know.
"Your other nightgown is threadbare and I can see every curve of you when you wear it." Jacob was behind me. I jumped.
"You don't enjoy it?" I teased.
"I do." He stepped up behind me. "I know the baby is a worry for you, but we may have a solution."
"We?" I turned trying hard to not sound hopeful. I didn't want to depend on him too much.
"Merry and her uncle."
"Her uncle?"
"George. George is her uncle and Nord is her cousin." That made sense to me. The reason she stayed close was because of family. "Merry was sold off. When the plague hit, her family all died and she came to us. We couldn't do much but keep her hidden. She had been near the illness and they were killing all the Quids
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that they thought might be infected. She's been traveling with us as Nord's wife."
"When we got here, she was expected to produce children. She wouldn't of course, since it's her cousin. Reeves figured it out and she's been in hiding ever since. Doc and her are shacked up in the woods. He's not in hiding, but he don't like people too much."
"He likes Maybe," I smiled.
"Everyone likes Mabel." I winced. He refused to call his daughter by her nickname.
He smiled at me. His hand reached out to touch my arm. I tensed up.
"She's lucky. Everyone hates me."
"No. That's not true." He pulled me into his arms. "It's hard to lie next to you and not touch you. That first month was hell on me, Faith. You're a very pretty woman. You're my wife."
"I am." My voice was shaky. He was holding all the cards. He knew my secret and he was willing to help. "What solution?"
"The child will come soon. If we can hide it, we can let Doc and Merry take the child with them into the woods."
"Take my child?" I gasped.
"Hide it. He'll grow fast. Once he's older, we can try and bribe the scavengers to take Merry and the child to Declar. She'll pretend to be his mother and get him to your family." I sat down on the bed.
It was a plan. Not a perfect one, but a plan. Eldon would look after Merry and my child. I just needed to tell her how to find Eldon. Or maybe she could go before the Vampire High Council? Maybe? There were a lot of maybes floating around in my head. One little Maybe with big blue green eyes and reddish blonde hair was forefront in my mind.
"What do you think?" Jacob asked, sitting next to me.
What did I think? I looked down at my hands. My darkly tanned hands now rough from hard work. My baby could live. Jacob set his hand on my arm. His warm hand. The touch sent goosebumps up my arms. He had wanted a wife. He had offered to risk his life and the lives of his children to save my child. In return, I was to be his real wife. I had come to accept that. I nodded slowly and numbly.
"Put the pretty pale pink one on for me?" he asked. I closed my eyes, but nodded. "I'm filthy and need to wash."
"So do I." I stood with him.
"Really? Come on." He grabbed my wrist and pulled me after him.
We walked out into the night. It was very dark, and even with the full moon, it was hard to not fall down. Jacob held tightly to my wrist and led me towards the river. I felt the sand beneath my boots. It was only then that Jacob let go of my wrist. He walked over to the large flat stone and began to undress.
I watched. If he expected to shock me and make me look away, he failed. I watched him. He neatly placed his clothes on the rock and then walked into the water up to his waist. I moved to sit on the rock. Jacob hissed against the cool water, then dove in. I hugged my knees to my chest and watched him splash around in the water.
"You coming in?" he asked.
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"I'm not sure."
"Why?" he moved towards me. I shrugged. "You and Mabel are really making an impression on everyone with your skills at gardening and her trading. You have everyone talking. When we get together for the harvest festival it should be interesting. All the women are so jealous of you."
"Jealous? Of me?"
"Yes. And you have all the men talking. They are now planting your seeds. They traded to Mabel for fruits and vegetables just for the seeds. Everyone is eating well because you knew what to do with the seeds and the soil." He was now right before me. "And you're so pretty." I was glad it was dark. I was blushing.
"Faith. Come in here with me?" His voice was soft.
I untied my boots and slid them off and the old socks I wore. I set them next to his clothes and moved to pull my shorts off when he grabbed my ankles and pulled me into the water. I squealed in surprise as the cold water encased me. Jacob was laughing at me.
"Someone could see us!" I laughed, resting my hands on his shoulders. His arms were around me.
"Let them. I won't climb into bed with you smelling of sweat and dirt." He was smiling at me.
"Thank you. That's very considerate of you."
"It's not for consideration." His smile became shy, "It's for want. I want you nightly." He moved his face closer to mine. I began to wiggle away.
"I need to get out. My clothes are wet and…"
"Take them off and set them on the rock to dry." He pushed me to the shore.
I walked out and did as I was told. I knew he was watching me and it was unsettling. I knew the bulge was there. I was getting fat. It frightened me. How much longer would I be able to hide it? After I laid my clothes to dry, I walked back into the water and to him. He pulled me to him again and again I put my hands on his shoulders. I felt his body against mine.
"You're trembling." he noted.
"I'm cold."
"No," his face was close to mine, "you're very warm." He kissed me tenderly. It was Jacob that was warm. "Tell me to stop and I will." I shook my head. "No, don't stop or no, stop?" He kissed me again. "I'll be gentle," he offered. I nodded.
Jacob was gentle, tender and patient. I held onto him, burying my face in his neck. The water splashed on my face, hiding my tears. It was not what I had expected. It was warm. Jacob's body heat was inviting and calm. I tried to think of anything and everything but Jacob.
"Please!" Jacob grunted in my ear as he always did. "Please! God! Please! Forgive me!" his grip on my waist hurt. I whimpered and he loosened his hold. "Sorry." He kissed my head. I listened to his heavy breathing subside.
"Why do you ask God to forgive you? Is sleeping with a vampire's whore so bad?" He pulled back to gaze at me in confusion.
"What?"
"Every time we…you ask God to forgive you." I was embarrassed that his words hurt me so.
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"Faith, I don't ask God… I mean, I'm not asking God to forgive me. I'm asking you to forgive me. For taking you against your will. I know you don't love me. I know you never will, but God as my witness Faith, I love you."
I was shocked by his answer. He wanted me to forgive him? I hugged him. It hurt to say it, but I felt the same way. I did love him. Not as I had loved Eldon and not as I had loved Tullo, but I did love Jacob Raven.
He carried me from the water and laid be back on the large flat rock, leaning over me. I touched his face and sat up to kiss him.
"Lie back," he ordered. I did as I was told.
I stared up at the stars as first his fingers explored me, and then his mouth. I flailed and bucked about, moaning against his hold as he drove me insane. My fingernails broke as I clawed at the rock. He would not relent until I was exhausted from fighting him and my emotions.
It would only have been better if he had bitten my inner thigh and drank of me. He had driven me to the point of thirsting. I craved blood. I wanted it as much as I wanted him in me. He pulled me to him then, mounting me roughly and riding me hard. I sat up and bit his shoulder hard enough to bring blood. Jacob cried out, but didn't release me. His blood filled my mouth and I fell back onto the rock, losing myself and my sanity.
I was Jacob's in a way I couldn't understand. It was now by choice. My choice. Jacob had given me that much and so much more. We lay on the rock, in the moonlight, out of breath and panting. I felt her eyes on us.
I turned my face towards the trees and saw her standing there. It was dark, but I could see the trail of tears glistening on Merry's face.
"Let's get home. I'd really like to see you in that pink nightgown," Jacob laughed, kissing me. We dove into the water for one last swim then got out and walked to our home naked and dripping wet.
"Water!" Maybe yelled as it spurted from the pipes. Ester was laughing with her sister. The water was shooting up from the pipes and all over us! Jacob turned the valve and shut the water flow off.
"Toilets, tubs, and sinks. Next, we'll have electricity." Jacob wiped the water from his face. "Now, we build. The first room is the bathroom. We can shower here. The waste water will flow to the septic tank. A few more weeks, and we can move in." His face was excited.
"It's wonderful!" I laughed at them.
"We'll be the envy of all!" Ester giggled, hugging herself.
I stood alone. I felt as if I wasn't part of this. I didn't want to feel part of it. I had been with Jacob for almost two months and I was frightened. I was showing. Jacob had arranged it so that I could stay hidden away from the world around us. He had put walls up, protecting me and my child along with his children. Literally. And he had torn down a few, too.
The walls of our home went up as the ones I built went down. Each night I crawled into bed and into Jacob's arms. And each night he climbed between my legs. We found our comfort in each other. It wasn't love, It was comfort. At least, that was what I told myself each night as I fell asleep and said my prayers. With a
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few new additions.
"God, protect us. Please?" My comfort came to me. My peace of mind and soul. "God bless us all. God bless Donum. God bless Spera. God bless Eldon. God bless Elsie. God bless Kathy, Borna and Amara. God bless Dusty. God bless Harry. God bless Billy. God bless Jerry. God bless Willie. God bless Tancid. God bless Chas. God bless Jonah. God bless Joanie. God bless Bobbie. God bless Debbie. God bless Trina. God bless Luna. God bless Mary. God bless Jenny. God bless Lindsay. God bless Zoe. God bless Lenora and Niyan. God bless Mercy, Demato, Olin, Theto and Quirn. God bless Mabel. God bless Jacob. God bless Ester, Doc, Merry, George and Nord." My hand would go to my abdomen. "God bless Tullo." I still gazed at Declar when I fell asleep each night. And I still dreamed of my family and home there.
My life had become very calm, passive and settled. I wasn't happy with my life, but I was content with what I had. As long as I had hope that my child would live, I was content. By the end of my third month, I was close to panic. I wore large loose clothing and kept busy, away from everyone. I just kept telling myself that I was content. But content faded quickly back into panic. One day, we were enjoying the long wait for running water and the next, I was running for my life. Mine and Maybe's.
The day had begun as any other with breakfast. Jacob, George and Bryant going to work on the house. Maybe and I went to the garden with Nord. We had moved our garden because the soil needed time to get over the rapid growth and harvest. So our new garden was on the other side of our home, closer to Bryant's home. It was harder to work, since it was farther from the house, but farther from prying eyes too. The solitude was good for me. I liked to think, and gardening was soothing when you thought too much. And I thought too much. I didn't hear the footsteps until they were right up on us.
"Morning!" Reeves spoke and I jumped. Maybe was next to me instantly.
"Morning." She smiled brightly and stepped in front of me, blocking me. I was kneeling in the dirt. It was easy to hide the now large bulge.
"Go get your father," Givens ordered, stepping up next to Reeves.
"He's busy." Maybe replied sweetly.
"Get him!" Reeves snapped. Maybe stood looking unconcerned and unafraid. I was terrified.
"I can't." Maybe sat down in the dirt next to me. "I'm not supposed to bother him today."
"Why's that?" Reeve asked.
He was speaking to Maybe, but his eyes were on me. I couldn't stand. Not without help and not without them knowing. Someone must have seen and said something. I had stayed hidden. Or at least I had tried to. We had been careful. The only one who might have told would have been Ester.
The young girl had been watching me closer. I had caught her out of the corner of my eye more than once, watching me. Mostly her eyes went to my abdomen. I was three months past. Soon, I would be locked in my bedroom with an illness. Jacob and the Hybrids were working round the clock almost to get the house done. Once there, it would be easier to stay away from prying eyes.
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And then there was the room. The room was built between our bedroom and the bathroom. It was along the closet. Behind it. It was no more than a closet, just big enough for a bed and chair. It was hidden behind a false wall. It also opened into the bedroom next to ours. The nursery. This was where we would hide if the situation demanded. And I knew that this was where Merry would hide with my child. It was dangerous to keep my child. For all of us. Jacob had done this alone, at night, when Bryant was gone.
I knew that Bryant was his trusted friend, but Jacob kept the man away from situations that involved me. At first, I thought it was cruel. I could see the pain in the man's eyes at being omitted from our family. We were the only family he had. Jacob had explained that if something happened to us, Bryant had offered to care for the children. He couldn't be involved in our secrets. If Bryant didn't know, then he couldn't be accused of conspiracy.
"He's in the woods," Maybe said to Reeves.
"Visiting his Quid whore," Givens laughed. These people really liked that word. Was every woman referred to as a whore? If I had been married to Givens would I have been called Given's whore?
"Hush!" Reeves hissed, looking at Maybe.
"What's a whore?" Maybe asked in the most innocent voice. Both men went silent. They both looked embarrassed. "Mommy? What's a whore?" Maybe turned to look up at me. I almost laughed at her fake angelic face.
"A very bad word," I said, brushing the dirt from my hands, not hiding my disgust. "Very bad."
"Is it then?" Givens asked coldly.
"Yes, just like asshole or bastard," I replied. Givens' face turned beet red with rage. "It's something you don't say."
"Yes, Mommy." Maybe looked up at the men.
"We need to speak to your father." Reeves knelt down to talk to get a better look at me and speak to Maybe.
"He's busy." Maybe moved to sit in my lap, pulling my arms around her. I hugged her to me.
"You need to learn to do as you're told, you little wench!" Reeves and I both jumped as Givens suddenly reached out and grabbed Maybe by the shoulder, jerking her from my arms.
"Stop!" I screamed as Maybe cried out in pain.
"Givens!" Reeves stepped up to stop the man from striking Maybe and got a fist to the face. He fell back to the dirt and Givens pulled back to hit Maybe. The next think I knew Givens was on his knees with his hands over his head. Blood was spurting from between his fingers.
"Faith!" Maybe was crying and hugging me and I was holding a shovel in my hands. I drew back to strike again.
"Woman! What have you done?" Reeves yelled as he jumped up and knocked me out of the way.
"Whore!" Givens was on his feet and coming at me. I tried to move away but moved too slowly, I received a sharp punch to the face and a kick to the stomach as I fell. I curled myself into a ball and felt the fists pounding me on the back. I almost
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blacked out.
"Givens! Have you lost your mind?" Reeves pulled him off my. I grabbed the shovel again and stood swinging it. I connected with Reeves back and Given's head, twice. The second blow was glancing and it looked as if I had taken off half an ear with that shot. Both men lay bleeding and ready to spring.
I dropped the shovel. The pain shot through me as if I had been hit it. Maybe was still holding onto me. I felt the gush and knew that all my secrets were about to be revealed in the middle of my garden and in the middle of the day. A certain death was in store for all of us.
"Get Jacob!" I hissed to Maybe. She looked at my face and ran.
It took me a second to get my bearings. I snorted in pain and staggered to the woods. Blood was trickling down my leg. The shirt I wore was big enough to hide me. I picked up the shovel and used it as a cane to move away from the men. The house was too far away. I'd never make it. I hurried to the cover of the trees. If I could hide there was hope.
Although it was just a few hundred feet my journey seemed like miles, but I finally reached the cover as Givens regained some of his senses and meanness and began to scream at me. He was threatening to beat me like the animal I was. I rolled my eyes and winced in pain. The pains were coming closer. It was still too light. I leaned on a tree and prayed that God would send me an angel. He did. Lutha stepped out of the shadows. I fell into his arms.
"What have you done, Little Sister?" he asked in an amused voice.
"I think I cracked his thick skull open," I hissed.
"Good for you. Let's go see the happy people." He lifted me into his arms and carried me deeper into the woods.
Merry's house was more than I expected. It was small, clean and homey. And she had been expecting me. Jacob must have confided in her. The bedroom was dark. Blankets covered the widows preventing deadly sunlight in. The bed was ready and I grunted in pain as Lutha set me down. Merry wiped my brow with a cool cloth. I was happy the two of them were there with me.
"We have to act fast, Little Sister." Lutha said.
"This can only happen so fast," Merry sighed, checking me. "You are at full term." I thought that was strange. I had estimated me to only be about three and half months along. I thought I still had at least two weeks.
"Jacob told you?" I asked.
"Yes. We have a plan." I nodded and realized I was about to entrust the life of my child to a woman whose man I slept with.
"Thank you," I moaned.
"Not yet." Merry smiled. "We haven't succeeded yet!" She was right. I felt the next pain and gripped the bedding tightly. Lutha's hand found mine and I held on to keep from screaming.
For being a most stressful pregnancy, the birth was quick and easy. I lay back in the bed, panting as Merry laid the boy in my arms. He was squawking. I nursed him to silence him as Merry got me cleaned up. My little secret miracle lay in my arms. The last of my Tullo. He had Tullo's eyes. Silver. And his hair was pale and
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fine. In the candlelight, he looked like a little angel in my arms.
"What's his name?" Merry asked wiping his bloody face with a clean cloth.
"Carus." I whispered.
"Carus. Beloved." Lutha smiled his approval. "A good choice, Little Sister."
"You knew?" I asked.
"Yes, Tullo told me. I was only supposed to go before the Vampire High Council. He was going to buy me from Seth afterwards. He never got the chance."
"They killed him," I sobbed looking into the face of my baby.
"No, Little Sister," Lutha sighed, "They told me to kill him." I felt the world spin. "I hit him on the head and threw him in the bushes, but he was alive. He told me to watch over you."
"Tullo's alive!" I almost screamed. The baby began to squawk. I soothed him.
"Yes. I've been trying to tell you that, but you're never alone!" Lutha smiled. "We'll get the child back to Declar."
"Does Jacob know that Tullo's alive?" I was watching Merry's face. She could betray us.
"No. Only me and Merry." Lutha's reply frightened me. I was sleeping with the man Merry loved. There had to be bitterness there. She could hurt us. My child mostly. "Don't worry about Merry."
"She could tell." I warned.
"No, she won't." Lutha's eyes were calm.
"How do you know. She loves Jacob!"
"Because she's my daughter, Little Sister." I jumped at that. "And you are her aunt. By marriage." I looked at Merry and she smiled slightly.
"My niece? I never knew you had children!"
"Only one. Hope knew. She had wanted to meet her. My Hope would have adored my Merry." Lutha reached out to caress her head.
"Does Jacob know that you and I are related?" I was getting confused.
"No." Lutha shook his head. "No one does. I must tell you something." Lutha spoke solemnly. "I've sent word to Tullo. He knows where you are. Or at least he will know. It'll take time."
"With the scavengers?" I asked.
"No, I don't trust them." I could understand that. "With a Hybrid of theirs. They'll be going back to Declar soon enough. I sent word of you. And a map. They'll come." I let the words sink in. Tullo was alive. He would know where I was. He would come for me. He would kill everyone. I looked back to Lutha. He too, knew what would happen to the people who took me. "When they come, it will be in the night. You must be ready to go at an instant. You and Merry. I want you both safe."
"And Jacob and Maybe and Ester and…" I was beginning to panic.
"You will have to leave them behind. Just as Merry will." I saw the pain in her eyes. "Even with you gone, she won't be allowed to live with Jacob. I won't have her crawling through the bushes to be with him. His life is here with his children. Ours is somewhere else." I knew the determination in his voice. I felt the pain I saw in Merry's eyes. "Tullo will ensure our safety if we ensure yours." We sat looking at each other, Merry and I.
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"Lutha, why?"
His eyes were on mine. He knew what I was asking. Why had he betrayed me? Why had he let me be kidnapped? Why had he attacked Tullo and let me be taken from my children?
"You. They wanted you or your child. They were taking you or your daughter. I made a choice. I knew you would rather it be you." I nodded. He was right. With me in tow they had not searched for Spera. I looked at Merry.
"So, you're a Hybrid?" I asked.
"Yep, a Hybrid whore." We both laughed at the ugly joke.
"But…"
"I filed my fangs down," she explained. "I'm not ashamed of being a Hybrid. I just had to hide. As a Quid I have more freedom."
"Oh."
"Finish feeding the child, Little Sister. We have to go. Merry can care for him." Lutha interrupted our conversation.
"I'm glad Maybe got that stupid cow!" Merry chuckled. "You won't be able to nurse after this." I nodded knowing she was right. It was too dangerous. Maybe. That girl was smarter than I realized. A cow. Only she would have thought of a cow for milk.
"We must go, Little Sister." Lutha said and I felt my world crumble. "You must return. We'll keep Carus safe." I knew they would. I just didn't want to let him go. I kissed him again and handed my baby to Merry.
"I'll bring him in the night," she promised.
Lutha helped me stand. I had to walk. I had to get back to the area near the house. They would be looking for me and I couldn't be near Merry's little house. We left the house and hurried back towards Jacob's. I could barely hear Merry singing to my son. I cried as we walked.
"Sweet Jesus!" It was Bryant who found me stumbling alone by the orchard. "Jacob!" I sat down and cried into his shoulder. I was aching, but it was my heart was breaking.
"Faith!" Jacob was there lifting me up. "Faith! What happened?" Seth and Magnus were there. I looked about. There were a lot of people coming from the woods. They had been searching for me. We had to get them out of the woods! They couldn't find Carus. I knew what to do. I had to do it. I just wasn't sure if my lie would hold water.
"The baby. Jacob, the baby. That man hit me in the stomach," I groaned, and closed my eyes. Jacob carried me into our little house. Doc was close behind.
"Get her into bed!" Doc yelled. "Ester, bring water. Maybe, go get some clean linens." Doc barked orders as we hurried through the little house. I left a trail of blood on my clean floor.
"Faith!" Jacob's eyes were full of terror. "Tell me!" he begged holding my face in his hands. We were alone. Only for an instant.
"A boy," I mumbled. He nodded and moved out of Doc's way.
"Move aside!" Doc ordered pushing Jacob out of his way and slamming the door after him. It suddenly occurred to me that I wasn't even sure if Doc was a real
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doctor. I didn't care at that moment. I felt his warm hands on my inner thigh and I relaxed, letting my legs fall open. "Oh my!"
"Doc?" Jacob whispered the unasked question.
"Get ready for rage and go for the Oscar, my boy." I saw Doc wink at Jacob. "Now my dear, relax!" Doc's voice rose. I nodded at him. "Moan!" he ordered in a low whisper. I did as I was told and moaned as if I were dying from the pain. Doc's hands were bloody. I was still bleeding and I could see there was concern in his eyes. I closed my eyes and relaxed. I was home. Carus was safe.
"Doc?" Jacob saw the same concern.
"She shouldn't be moved." Doc wiped the blood onto the front of his shirt. "She must rest, but it looks as if all went well." Ester knocked on the door and stepped in with some towels and water. Doc took them and rinsed his hands and dried them. "I'm sorry, Jacob."
Jacob sat down on the floor next to the bed and laid his head down on my shoulder. I felt his hand take mine. I hugged his head as he sobbed. I watched Ester's face. She was upset for her father, not me. I think she had hoped I would be found dead.
Doc stood and walked out of the room. I heard his voice clearly as he spoke to whoever was in the hallway. Ester moved to listen too. Maybe made her way in and crawled into the bed with me, curling her little body up next to me. Jacob's arm went around her too.
"She's lost the child." Doc's voice was full of remorse.
"A boy?" Seth asked. I should have known he would be there.
"No telling. She as only at her first trimester. Only segments. She's going to be in pain for a bit." Doc sighed heavily. "Seth, I thought you said she had children already?" The question made me jump.
"Yeah, we were told she had several."
"By who?"
"The Hybrid spy." Margie. They were talking about Margie.
"You spy is not very good," Doc chuckled at him. "I hope you didn't pay her very well."
"What do you mean?" By the tone of Seth's voice I suspected they had paid her very well.
"This would have been her first child, poor thing." The sympathy dripped off Doc's voice.
"Are you sure?" Reeves' voice broke in.
"Very. Her cervix hasn't expanded and her pelvic…."
"Okay!" Seth stopped the description of the female inner workings. "Can she have more?"
"What?" Doc seemed as appalled by the question as I felt.
"Can the wench have more children?" Seth's voice was cold.
"The damage was minimal. I'm truly not sure. She was struck in such a way that it caused the miscarriage. It's too soon to tell. She's in a bad way. She'll need plenty of rest and time."
"We don't have time!" Reeves snapped. "How long until the damn wench can be bred?"
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"Bred?" Doc's voice rose sharply. "She's human. How dare you…! No one will be breeding her!"
"Her husband will, and if he won't, we'll find another!" Givens was there now. "That animal about decapitated me!"
"She should have!" Doc snapped. "You struck her! You did this! Maybe told us what you did. If she can't bear more children, then it's on your head, Givens. You are responsible for the death of a human child!"
"I didn't hit her that hard!" Givens declared. "Reeves hit her too!"
"What?" Now Reeves' voice rose. "You lie!"
The arguing continued. Jacob sat up and smiled at me. His warm fingers touched my cheek. I was tired. Happy and tired. Jacob kissed my cheek and rose. He squared his shoulders and threw open the door as if enraged. I only got a glimpse of him as he dove onto Givens, swinging his fists. Reeves tried to step in and got knocked over with Seth.
"Murderer!" Jacob screamed as he pounded on the man. I winced as Given's already injured head was pounded on the floor. I truly think that Jacob planned on killing him and that it had nothing to do with me. Reeves was screaming and Seth was yelling. They succeeded in pulling Jacob off of Givens with great effort.
"If you hadn't been with your Quid whore, you would have stopped this. It was an accident!" Givens yelled, struggling to stand.
"Jacob was with me cutting wood!" Bryant yelled. "You calling me a Quid whore?" He struck Givens in the jaw and sent the man flying. I rather thought Bryant was enjoying himself. I wondered if he knew.
"Stop it! Stop it! All of you! You're shameful!" The woman's voice was shrill and commanding.
She was pretty, older and elegant. I watched her kick at the man on the floor as if he were a dog. She was tall, with dark hair, a dark tan and pretty features. She looked at the men, daring them to speak. Then she strode past them and into the room with me. Ester stepped aside and Maybe hugged me tighter. I closed my eyes.
"Will she live?" The question was cold. I looked at the woman and wondered exactly why it even concerned her.
"I think so," Jacob replied stepping into the room, "Mother."
Mother? I almost sat up. Maybe hugged me tighter in warning. I saw the resemblance in Ester and her grandmother. The cold stare. Jacob's soft blue green eyes looked terrifying in her face.
"The child?" she asked.
"Lost." Doc answered moving to cover me with a blanket.
"A boy?"
"Too soon to tell." Doc was busying himself in the corner. "It's just a bloody mess. We need to get her cleaned up and settled. She needs rest."
"Rest," the woman huffed. "A week and then you will begin relations again." The woman turned to Jacob. "Your father wants an heir. You will give it to him. Do you understand?"
"Mother, Faith is…"
"Do you understand?" The tone was final.
Her eyes. It was her eyes that were so unsettling. From where I sat, I saw it. I
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saw what no one may have ever noticed. The soft subtle tones of silver flecks in the blue. She was from Quid 4. She had been born there. She was not human in the pure sense by being born on Earth.
"If I've not made myself clear, I can have your father come speak to you!" The condescending tone was harsh.
"No," Jacob shook his head.
"I've traveled a long way and will not make this trip again until my grandson is born. Do you understand?" Now she was speaking to Seth. "My husband and I."
"Understood." Seth lowered his eyes from her glare.
"Do take care of the murderers! I would hate to have to tell my husband that you've been lacking in your duties." She turned her icy glare to Givens and Reeves. "If he is required to come and deal with this issue, he will deal with a lot more than this!" She slammed the bedroom door shut on the men and turned her attention to me. I held Maybe close.
"Mother…" Jacob began.
"Hush!" she gazed at me then turned her attention to Ester. The girl hurried into the woman's arms. Maybe sat up. The women held out her hand and Maybe climbed off the bed and hugged her grandmother, reluctantly. "Now, let's get your mother cleaned up and into that new house. Jacob, is it finished?"
"Not yet. Almost."
"Go finish. Your wife needs to be settled by nightfall." The woman was looking at me. "And an introduction would be nice."
"Mother, this is Faith, my wife. Faith, this is Ione, my mother." Jacob breathed deeply, "Ione, Queen of Trenar."
"Pleased to meet you," I replied.
"Yes. And a long time overdue. Mabel, have the Hybrids bring the tub in the house and get them to fetch water." Ione was barking orders and everyone was moving. "Margie, bring the salts."
Margie? I sat up enough to see Margie moving in the hallway. She stopped long enough to give me a cold, hate filled look. Margie was now owned by Jacob's mother? That was too close for comfort. Ione was watching my reaction. I closed my eyes.
"I need to speak to Seth," Ione said suddenly. "I'll get a meal together, then I must return home." She hurried out the door.
"Faith?" Jacob leaned down to kiss me. "I'll have the house ready to move into by tomorrow." I knew what he meant and smiled. The secret room. Merry would have my son there.
"Jacob?" I caught his hand and held it.
"What?"
"Why didn't you tell me you were a prince?"
"I didn't think it mattered. You didn't marry me for my title, did you?" He winked and left me. I rolled on my side, drew my aching knees up and closed my eyes. I was a princess and I had a son.
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"Explain it to me?" I asked.
"They found it, they claimed it." Jacob shrugged and sat down in the rocker to watch as I fed Carus. Bottle feeding wasn't to my son's liking, but he was hungry enough to drink. "My father and his brother. They each had a kingdom to rule. My uncle died, and his kingdom didn't thrive. His son fell under my father. He didn't like it, but sure does like trying to rule me."
"Who are we talking about?"
"Seth," he smiled, leaning forward to let Carus wrap his little fingers around Jacob's pinkie.
"Seth is your cousin?" Jacob nodded.
"He's amazing." Seth? Amazing? I was a bit shocked by that comment. "Three months old and quite a grip my boy!" I rolled my eyes at him. Jacob grinned at me.
"They grow fast." I suddenly wondered how much Donum and Spera would have changed by the time I got back home. I shook my head to stop thinking of them. I didn't want to feel sad.
"I've heard." He reached to take my son from me. I was hesitant. "I won't hurt him." Ashamed, I relented. Jacob rocked Carus.
I looked about in our master bedroom and into the open door of the nursery. We were upstairs and the girls were downstairs. Our rooms were very well insulated against sound. The crib was waiting for the sleeping child. This one, and the one I was expected to produce. Ione had sent the crib and the rocker. They were placed in our bedroom to await the arrival of the new prince. Jacob moved them into the nursery for Carus to use where the heavy curtains were kept drawn.
It had worked out well. School began and the house was mostly empty during the day when Merry was sleeping with Carus. It had been easy so far to hide him away from the outside world. The world of sunlight. Carus was a happy, content child. I was grateful for all the sacrifices that were made for Carus by everyone.
It was late. Well past midnight. We did this every night. As soon as the sun was gone I came to the bedroom to hold and love my son. After the house was quiet and locked, Jacob came to be with us. He would soon crawl into bed to sleep and I would spend the night with my son. In the morning, Merry would step into the secret room and sleep with my son. I would nap during the day. I was falling back into the pattern of living in both the day and the night. I wondered how long we could go on like this.
Jacob stood and walked about, humming with Carus. I relaxed. The baby would be napping soon enough and I could sleep a bit. I was tired. We had put up more food in sealed jars. We were getting ready for the next visit from the scavengers. We needed a lot to trade for the safe passage of a Quid and her vampire child. At least, Jacob thought so.
I hated lying to him. But the less Jacob knew, the better for him. He turned, smiling at me. Carus lay sleeping in his arms. I rolled my eyes. I was doing that a lot. Jacob was getting bad about this. He laid the boy down in the nursery and came to me, unfastening his pants. Before I could move, he had me on my back and was
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pulling at my clothes.
"Jacob!"
"Shush! You'll wake the baby." His kisses covered my face. "I want my baby," he whispered. "Please, Baby?"
He gazed down at me. How could I deny him after all he had done for me and Carus? I nodded and let him push open my nightgown and suckle hard on my dry breasts. It ached in a way I couldn't understand. They were dry for Carus, and Merry had let him suckle her and now she nursed him. It was the best for him in the situation. The cow's milk had not been enough. I grimaced as Jacob's teeth scraped my nipple. He smiled and set to undressing me and himself.
Since the first time he had laid eyes on Carus, Jacob had a renewed desire. Me. He had stayed away for a couple of weeks as I recovered. I had a suspicion that he was turning to Merry for sexual pleasures. More than once, he had come to my bed smelling of her. I had said nothing.
Then he had brought her and Carus to the house in the cover of night. She was right there in the house with us! As night fell, she left for the night and would return before dawn. At first, they would go for walks in the night as I cared for my son. He would return, seemingly drunk on her. Merry wouldn't speak to me. She simply took my son and stepped into the room, shutting the door.
Jacob seemed to have become obsessed with having a child of his own. A son. I watched him play with Carus, feed him and rock my son with a desire that was painful to watch. He was caring and loving to Carus, but I knew he wanted a son. He wanted it from me. I would give him one. He had begun to shock me though, with his strong sexual desires and tastes.
The oral sex sent me into a spasm of insanity. He loved to torture me this way. He would lie next to me, holding me down as he rubbed and violated me, readying me for his assault. Many times he would gag me to keep the screams to a minimum. It wasn't until lately that he had taken to restraining me in the bed.
The first time I had fought him. I had been shocked. Well, more than shocked. I had been terrified. Jacob had taken me back to our old house one afternoon just after Carus was a month old. My cycle had come and passed. I knew I was in season and I knew that Jacob was wanting satisfaction. I was surprised at how he wanted it.
Bryant was gone. We were alone. It was mid-morning and the house was dark and the curtains drawn. I saw the book and the breeding straps on the table. A breeders table. Where had it come from? The kitchen table was gone and a bed was set up in its place. I turned to leave and Jacob had simply pulled me to the table. He handed me the book.
"Is this what was done to you?" he asked.
I took the book and read the first page. A roadmap for the breeder. Step by step. Instructions on how to break and breed Quids and Hybrids. The dimensions of the table, the length of the straps, the bridle, how they were to be worn and how they were to be used. The use of the stimulator and how to document all the details. The worst thing was that the ancient manual was bound in flesh. Human or Quid? I wasn't sure. I handed it back to him.
"Yes." I stood, trembling, wiping my hands on my pants.
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"Did you enjoy it?" He was flipping through the book. I knew he had read it. The straps were right there. I saw the stimulator on the counter by the belt and the bucket on the floor. "Did you?" I didn't answer.
Long ago I had feared it. Elsie, Kathy and I had talked about it often on Quid 4. We knew what was coming. We were of age and our time was close. Kathy put it all into perspective for us. She told us that it wasn't something to fear, that is was just a part of life. That every male's desire is to dominate the female. No matter the species, it was born into them. It had been this way from the beginning of time. Breeding was just the primitive way of it. Vampires knew this. They had been there in the beginning.
"Faith?" Jacob moved closer to me. I didn't move away. "Did you?"
"No." My answer was small. My voice had seemed to vanish.
"Never?"
I thought of Tullo lifting me from his bed, laughing as he carried me to the table to be bred. And Eldon taking me to a point that had me screaming as I had an orgasm. It was the helpless feeling of dominance that enhanced my pleasure. I knew that I was nothing but a sex toy to them. Something to be enjoyed. My past lovers had just made sure I enjoyed it as much as they did.
"Ever?" Jacob set the book down. I looked down. "Did you?"
"Yes." I was ashamed. I knew what he wanted and the bad thing was that I wanted it too.
"According to some, this process makes human women fertile. A lesson in the male discovering what excites his mate." The way he said 'mate' was cruel. Carus had just come to stay in the house for me to care for. Tullo's child. My mate's child. "What do you think?"
"Jacob…"
"I want you this way." He was walking around me. "I want us to start over. I want you to forget everything before me and let me do this." His voice was in my ear and his breath hot on my cheek. "I'm prepared to do this if you will let me. I want to breed you." The words were long and soft. "At least once. I want my child. Give me my child. I'll think of a way to get you and Carus back to that vampire bastard, but I want you first. This way and more. I want my child."
"This is …" I swept my hand towards the table. "You brought this here for me? To breed me? The way that vampire bastard did?"
"No," he stepped away from me, "not for you." Merry. I turned away and ran for the door. He caught me and held me against him.
"You're sleeping with her still! Breed her!" I felt betrayed and angry.
"Stop it!" he turned me to face him. "Bryant has taken Merry in. She comes here when she leaves our house."
"You still sleep with her, though!" I accused. "I've smelled her on you!"
"No." He looked shocked. "Smelled her? I've been around her. I've helped her move her things here, but I've not been to her bed in a long time. Not since…" he stopped. He couldn't say since he had married me. "Not in a while."
"Jacob, this won't make me love you more or less."
"I know. Give me my child and you and Carus can leave."
"You want me to leave my child? With you?"
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"A child who won't be able to breathe on Declar." I knew he was right. Carus was conceived on Declar, so I had no doubt he would be able to live in the atmosphere. I had to believe that. "I give you my word! I don't expect you to desert your child. I expect you to let me raise my son." I closed my eyes to his words.
"What if it's a girl?" By the look on his face, I knew he had never thought about that. "You'll expect me to stay until a son is born?"
"Faith…it'll be a boy. I'm sure of it." He looked cornered, desperate and embarrassed. It was then I understood.
Elsie was the one who had told us what she had heard on a trip to town. By accident, she had listened to the conversation of two young Quids who had just been bred for the first time. Elsie was excited to tell us all about it. Every detail. I wasn't thrilled by the experience or looking forward to being beat on and bound but it was part of our life. Or a Quid's life. It was however, the little tidbit of information about the breeding style that I remembered the most.
"There's a certain way to breed a female to ensure that she has a male child. Isn't that amazing?" Now I understood.
"You read that book! You want to make sure it's a boy!" Jacob looked caught. He shrugged at me, looking boyishly handsome. "Jacob! That's legend!"
"May I?" he asked, pulling me into his arms and kissing me tenderly.
This was how it had all began. Tullo. He had been my first. Eldon had defined it for me. I had been both of theirs. I had been beaten, broken, bled, tied, fucked and sucked by both and I had enjoyed it. Jacob had taught me gentle love and I enjoyed it also, but… no matter what, I was a Quid. If not by birth and blood, it was by heart and soul. And this was what Quids were bred for. To be bred. I nodded.
"Take off your clothes," Jacob ordered in a cold voice. I obeyed.
From the first blow of the belt across my buttocks I had felt my loins wet themselves with anticipation. I screamed into the bridle as Jacob stuck me again and again. It was slow going. I wanted it fast, but Jacob kept referring to the book. He followed it religiously. When the stimulator was inserted, his hand tightened around my neck making it hard to swallow. He kept his eyes on my face. I saw the dark pleasure there. The dark pleasure that I felt at his hands. He smiled at my explosion of fluids for his effort.
When the bridle was removed, I accepted him wordlessly and hungrily. I had forgotten the pleasure of this. Jacob was hot. Thick, long and hot. I savored him as he massaged my throat to ensure I swallowed his seed. I didn't gag or vomit. I wanted it. All of it. Then he was behind me. The bridle straps pulled tight and he rode me as he had never done before. I lost myself to him too many times to count, making me cry out. Making me whimper in pain and sob. His other hand massaged my back and shoulders, pulling me back to him.
I was drenched in sweat, seed and oils, tied to a table, bound and bridled when he made me truly, fully his. Slowly. He said it had to be done slowly. He was the first to go slowly. Tullo and Eldon had not been able to. Jacob would. I screamed and screamed and moaned, feeling my body dissolve in the joy of the pain.
"You are so tight!" he moaned leaning over me. "It's so tight! I can't hold on! It says fifty strokes, but…" he continued on, panting over me as I screamed. He
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grunted, struggling to hold on. I did not pass out. "Fifty!" he yelled, letting himself go. He fell on me and we both lay panting in exhaustion. It was over. Or so I thought. "Now for me."
He unstrapped me from the table and carried me to the bed. I was gently lain there. Jacob touched my face and kissed me tenderly. His hands pushed my legs apart and his fingers entered me. I threw my head back and cried out, biting into the bridle until I thought my teeth would break. His fingers were replaced with his mouth. I kicked, bucked and lost my mind.
I passed out long before he was finished. We went back twice a week for the next month. Each time, I readied myself for the abuse and pleasure. When the time came, my cycle did not.
Jacob only bred me once a week after that. Now he liked to torture me as often as he could. If we were alone, he would slide his hands up my skirt, down my pants, in my shirt to grope me anywhere or time he caught me alone. Over the sink, in the garden, passing in the hall… my nipples were rock hard when he was near. His hands were always on me. And I was just as bad.
I fell to my knees for him at every opportunity, shamelessly taking him and enjoying it. It was no shock I was pregnant so soon. We couldn't get enough of each other. Our love affair was out of control. And it was love. I found myself smiling more. I was truly happy with him. Jacob would pull me into the stable and tie me down for an afternoon snack that had me exhausted for the rest of the day.
People saw us about. We went to chapel as a family. I went to trade with Maybe and ventured out and about. I walked her to school daily with Ester walking ahead of us. Jacob had Carus and knew I wouldn't leave. It was as if my son's birth had given us reasons to trust each other. I would race home to see my son and for my husband to make love to me. Now he held me against him as his fingers invaded me. I gasped.
"I want it all," he mumbled in my ear in a throaty voice. I sighed. It was going to be a long night.
I felt my hands being pushed up to be tied. I took the gag in my mouth. There was no need to tie it around my head. I just needed it between my teeth. He kissed his way down my body and stopped at my inner thigh. The scars. Tullo's bite marks were there. Jacob hated them. He suckled the area hard, bruising me to hide the last of Tullo's touch on me. I bit into the gag and cried. His bruising would fade, and then again he would see the marks and once again mark me as his own. That truly was the most painful of his actions.
He was on his knees, lifting me up to meet him, suckling me hard and fast as his fingers invaded and probed me. I exploded and he savored me, suckling me dry and bringing me to him again and again. He took me on my back, he rolled me over and took me from behind, then he let me fall into the bed in exhaustion. He massaged me and readied me for his own personal preference of me on my side with my legs spread wide as he entered me from the side. I took all of it gladly.
He then lay on me, exploring, probing and touching me, making me jump and whimper long into the night. Carus woke. Jacob suckled my breasts hard as Merry nursed my son. I wanted my son. I spat out the gag. Jacob shook his head before I spoke. Whether I liked it or not, I was his. He had trained me for his own pleasure.
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He left me tied and showered quickly. He came back to me dripping wet and naked. I was on my back, waiting. He mounted me and with his thick cock in my throat, helplessly I accepted him. He strained to release the last of his seed into me. He untied me and fell into the bed.
"Shower and go to our son."
Our son. It wasn't right, but it sounded nice. I crawled from the bed, showered and went to find Merry in the nursery playing with Carus. He crawled to me and I sat on the floor kissing him. Merry was watching me. I knew that my being with Jacob hurt her. I did care. I did. But I was happy.
"He allowed you to leave?" she asked.
"Only for Carus," I sighed.
"It was like that for us." I didn't look up. "I'm glad for you." I did look up then. "I've found another to love."
"Who?" I asked. I knew, but I wanted her to tell me. She seemed to need to tell me. She did seem happier.
"Bryant. He breeds me daily. He knows it's hopeless, but we enjoy it. And each other." She was straightening her shirt. "He can marry me. He's sterile, so no one will object."
"No one?" I asked, knowing that Lutha might have a lot to say about it.
"Father agrees. I would have my own home, my own things and I wouldn't have to hide." I did appreciate the risk she was taking for me.
"We've had no word." I knew a scavenger ship had come and gone. "If I marry Bryant we can say that Carus is mine. We won't have to hide him away so. He can go out and play in the night."
Carus climbed into my arms, hugging me. He had been crawling about for days. It was getting harder to keep our son a secret. Everyone was taking risks and I knew that if we were found out, Maybe and Ester would be in danger. That frightened me the most.
"And he could get to know his sister," Merry added.
Maybe, the little girl knew something was up, but had started school and was away most of the day. I had longed to show her my son. I knew she would have loved him. Ester was with her friends more than us. It was easy not to miss her. She had a boy who liked her and it was time for her to start thinking of her own life. Carus could be a part of our lives in the open. As Merry's child.
"How would you explain him?" I asked.
"The Quid whore with a bastard? Who would question?" she giggled. "I told Bryant about him."
I jumped at the words.
"That he was mine. Jacob knows. He is going to Seth with Bryant to see if we can be married. If so, then our son will get to have a life."
It sounded nice. I hoped it would come to pass. I needed to believe it would come to pass. I hugged my son as he yawned. The night was almost gone. Merry stood and stretched. I sat waiting, thinking of how to ask.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Is my husband still climbing into your bed?"
She smiled at me slightly.
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"Not since you let him breed you." She cocked her head to the side to study me. "I had hoped you would say no and let me have him back. Now he's too exhausted to think of me. He only wants you." I nodded and sighed. Relieved and not sure why. She held out her hands to my yawning son and I let her take him.
I returned to my room, climbed into bed with Jacob and enveloped myself in the heat he generated. I was close to sleep when his hand touched my cheek. I opened my eyes and smiled at him.
"Carus?"
"Sleeping."
"Did you talk to Merry?" He knew. I nodded. "What do you think?"
"I don't know." I didn't. I wanted my son safe. I had other things on my mind.
"What?" he grinned at my face, "Why so fretful?"
"Do you mind that Merry and Bryant are together?" His grin faded.
"No." The word was full of warning. I nodded and looked away. He didn't like it, but wouldn't admit it. "You hate me?"
"No." I hugged him.
"Jealous?" I groaned and he chuckled.
"No!" I curled up in his arms and slept.
Merry was taller than I. She was wider in the shoulders and slimmer in the hips. Especially now. I was settled onto a stool and letting the hem down on my lovely blue gown, the gown I had been kidnapped in. Ester had helped me repair the torn seam and was now modeling it while I tried to make my baby stop kicking my bladder. I was three months along and uncomfortable. I liked vampire babies. Four months instead of nine.
"Mama!" Carus was sitting on the floor playing with his toys.
"Yes?" I leaned over to kiss his head.
"Horse!" He held up the wooden animal that was a cow.
"Okay." I went back to the hem.
"It's so pretty!" Ester was spinning about.
"Ester, I'm going to stab you with a pin," I warned playfully. She giggled and looked down at her less than noticeable bust.
"Mama Faith, will I ever have breasts?" I closed one eye to help me measure the hem.
Mama Faith. I had become Mama Faith when I had stepped between her and Jacob and his belt right after I became pregnant. The sound of someone below in the middle of the night had sent me and Merry into a panic. Jacob was snoring away. Merry and Carus slipped into the closet and I went down, carrying a log.
His name was Lionel. He was tall, thin, pimple faced, young and had his hands on Ester's ass and his tongue down her throat. He saw me and screamed, scaring me, making me drop the log on my foot and cry out as Ester screamed. In the middle of the screaming and me jumping around Jacob had come down the stairs pulling on his pants, out for blood.
"Run!" I ordered Lionel. He ran. Smart boy.
"Ester!" Jacob pulled his belt from its loops and doubled it in his hand. "You dare to shame me?"
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"Jacob!" I grabbed the belt and held on.
"Let go!" he roared.
"No!" I yelled putting myself between him and the girl.
"This is no concern of yours! She's my daughter!"
"You always tell her that I'm her mother, and now you say I'm not?" His red face glared at me. "You can't stop her from growing up! She's almost a woman! You won't let her see him, so of course she's going to sneak around." Jacob lowered his hand and the belt, but I still hung onto it. "Jacob, they need your permission to see each other. Permission you will not give!"
"Move out of the way, Faith, or I will take this belt to you," he yelled in my face. I stood my ground.
"It won't be the first time I've taken a beating over her and probably not the last!" He tried to push me out of the way. I clung to him. "Jacob! Fine! Beat me! But listen to what she has to say!"
"No, I will not! She will not see him!"
"Why not?" I asked angrily. "What's wrong with him?"
"He's not for her!" Jacob yelled.
"What's going on?" Maybe asked, coming from her room, yawning.
"Go to bed!" Jacob yelled at the top of his lungs. Maybe ran back to her bed.
"Jacob!" I yelled. His eyes widened at me in warning. "Calm down." It took great effort to lower my voice. "Who is for her? The man you pick and order her to marry? Someone she meets right before they exchange vows and then be forced to live with and have children?" I knew I was hitting a dangerous nerve. "If you accept her choice, she will obey your rules and you can watch them as they court. Invite him to dinner. Talk to him. Give her a chance for love." His eyes softened.
"I should take this to you!" he snapped a little too seriously. I blushed and released the belt. He sighed and looked at Ester who was still hiding behind me. "Ester, go to bed. We'll talk tomorrow, but if I find that boy in this house or you with him without my permission, you will be standing for meals for a long time!" Ester nodded in fear, kissed my cheek and ran for her room.
"Thank you." I stepped forward to kiss him.
"You won't be thanking me for long," he noted, smacking me with the belt. I sighed and tried to step back. He held my arm. "Get up to bed now!" He kissed me smartly and pushed me to the stairs. I watched him lock the front door and follow me. Ester owed me!
Since that night, I had become Mama Faith and Ester was very loving and obedient as long as she and Lionel could see each other. Jacob was strict with her and more than once, I found myself bent over the bed with my bare ass blazing red for her actions. He made it up to me afterwards, but I had eaten many meals standing for her.
"Will I have a pretty dress when I get married?" Ester finally stood still so I could finish.
"Yes, and it won't be a torn hand-me-down." I stood and moaned in relief. My back was killing me. It had to be a boy by the way he kicked at me. "You will have a lovely white dress if I have to sew it myself." I put my pins away. "Take it off so I can finish it."
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"What are you two doing?" Jacob asked, as he came home. Carus crawled to him instantly. Jacob scooped the boy up and kissed the little face. "Aside from babysitting. Again."
"You do babysit a lot," Ester noted, making a face at Carus, making him laugh.
"Fixing this dress so that Merry will have something decent to wear at her wedding." Jacob eyed it critically. He knew what it was. I hadn't asked if I could use the dress. It was mine.
"Where is Merry?" he asked spinning around to make Carus laugh.
"Being counseled about God." I huffed, angrily. How silly that she, a Quid, was being counseled on religion. I, the human, had just been told to obey and reproduce without any mention of God.
"You wore pretty things like this often?" Ester asked, running her hand along the fine silk.
"No, only when I went to out." I stretched, hoping to ease my aching back. It didn't help.
"Here!" Jacob stepped behind me and dug his knuckles into my lower back. I moaned in ecstasy. "He's active?"
"Beyond!" I sighed, kissing Jacob.
"You're doing too much. Lifting too much." I winced. Carus was getting very big. Merry and Jacob had told me not to lift him, but I still did.
"I'm fine." I patted his cheek lovingly. "Go shave. We have a wedding to attend. At sunset." I took Carus from him. Jacob kissed me again and hurried upstairs to get ready.
Sunset. My darling Carus had become too active for his own good. Like his sister, he had scared me to death by pulling the curtains in the nursery open and drowning himself in sunlight. Merry and I had practically killed ourselves to cover him and found him laughing at our antics. Like Spera, he wasn't allergic to the sun. I had breathed easier since. I carried him up the stairs and into the nursery. He readily climbed into the crib and curled up. He was such a good baby.
"Bryant's nervous," Jacob said suddenly.
"Is it his first marriage?" I asked, shutting the door to the nursery.
"Yes." I followed his voice as he stepped into the shower, "And his first time in love." He leaned out to kiss me again.
"What?" I asked.
"Are you ready for the wedding?" his eyes traveled over me.
"No." I started to leave the room. He took my hand and pulled me to him. "Jacob!" I giggled as he shook his head and sprayed water over me.
"Get out of those clothes and into that bed. On your knees wench!" He pushed me to the bed and detoured to shut and lock our bedroom door.
I hesitated too long and found myself face down in the bed with my skirt being pushed up over my hips. Jacob lifted me on my knees and moved into me. I grabbed hold of the headboard and held on tightly. My body had learned to respond to him instantly. One look from him and I knew I would soon be beneath him, moaning.
"Bryant is sterile and gets a wedding. I get told to marry and ordered to
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reproduce." He laughed as he fell into the bed.
"I was just thinking the same thing. Regret it?" I asked, rolling on my side.
"No. At first, yes. I saw it as a duty and I hated you."
"Me being a vampire whore and all?" I sat up slightly. He pulled me to him and kissed me tenderly. Three months along and we still couldn't seem to get enough of each other.
"I love you, Faith." His eyes were sincere. "More than you will ever know. And Carus."
"Even though you didn't want to." I knew he had secretly hoped that I would miscarry.
"How can you not love a child?"
"And when I leave?" I had to remind him of the fact often. His face would darken at the thought.
"You and he will be missed." His hand caressed my cheek. He had given his word, but there were times I had wondered how good that was. "We need to get dressed."
The wedding was simple. It was held in our living room. Only Jacob, I, Ester, Maybe, Carus, Bryant, Merry, Lutha, George, Doc and Nord were there. It was to the point and quick. Seth excused himself and left us. Lutha was allowed to remain. We had a nice meal with toasts and laughter. Merry and Bryant went home and we kept Carus to give them time.
The truth be told, Carus stayed with us almost continuously. We had the perfect excuse. Merry was working the garden for me since I was with child. Doc had explained that I needed to take it easy. Bryant and Jacob were working on the house that Merry and Bryant would be moving into. So I became my son's babysitter. I enjoyed every moment.
My life fell into a comfortable cycle. I loved the comfort. The children, the house, the garden, my husband and the child to come. Still… I found myself looking to the night sky for Declar. I still prayed nightly and had added many names to my prayers, but still… I was homesick. I thought of the children I left behind often. And I thought of Tullo. I missed my family more and more.
Jacob had thought I would forget, that time would make it easier. It didn't. I would see a little girl and wonder how Spera looked? Donum would be in school now. I was missing large chunks of their lives. I wondered if they remembered me at all. I wasn't concerned with my forgetting, I was concerned with being forgotten. Still no word came. Lutha had come several times to see Merry and always looked upset when I asked. I didn't know if he was upset because there was no word, or because I still asked. I began to wonder who I could trust.
My pregnancy progressed along. Ione came to visit often. She was nosey in her observations of Carus, so when she came, he was sent away to Bryant and Merry's. What was more frightening was the obsession she had with the child I carried. Her eyes were always fixed on my bulging abdomen. I had yet to meet the "king".
Jacob seemed anxious when his mother was around. He wouldn't talk to me about their relationship. He only talked of coming to the community with Bryant.
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He said his decision to leave his parents' general vicinity had been mutual. His older brother James had stayed with his parents to live with the family curse. When I had asked what the family curse was, Jacob only smiled. But I found out soon enough.
It was a hot day. I walked Maybe to school with Carus in the buggy that had been sent by Ione for her new grandchild. Ester and Maybe ran into the school and I headed for my old house. Just beyond it stood the foundation for the new house. And working on the foundation was Bryant. I marched to him.
"What's the family curse?" I blurted out. Bryant stood looking at me as if I were speaking a foreign language. "The family curse that brought you and Jacob here. What is it?"
"Oh! That curse." He went back to work.
"Well?" Carus began to whimper, so I lifted him out of the buggy.
"You're not supposed to be lifting him." I rolled my eyes and shifted Carus to my hip.
"So?"
"So you're not supposed to be lifting that monster child." Bryant tweaked Carus' nose and stepped past me to pick up more nails. I set Carus back in the buggy. "The curse is not like a witch or goblins or death or blood or gore..," he stepped around me again, "unless you include Ione. She's a bit pushy."
"A bit?" I mumbled.
"Careful, she has ears everywhere," he teased playfully.
"So?" I was growing impatient with his stalling.
"The curse is women." He pounded on a nail. I waited. He looked up to see me waiting and dropped the hammer and sat down on the foundation.
"What does that mean?"
"Faith, Jordan and Ione had four sons. One died as a boy. One chose a man for a wife." Bryant smiled at me. I guess I looked surprised. "Yeah, that went over big. Joshua was always a little funny. He and his 'wife', Reggie, are on Helio with the colony there."
"Helio?"
"The planet that is more sun than anything. Annoying as hell and almost as hot. All year around." He reached for his canteen and drank. "Then there's James. James is arrogant, loud and annoying. His wife is just the same. And so are their eight daughters."
"Eight?" That seemed like a lot.
"Eight and soon to be nine." Bryant wiped his brow. "Old Jordan is seething for a son."
"A son?" My hand went to my abdomen.
"An heir." I felt the baby in me flip. Or maybe it was my stomach.
"An heir?" I said the word and my skin crawled.
"Old Jordan is dying and he wants an heir from one of his sons. It's a race. You or Melinda. The first to produce a son wins."
"Race?" I was beyond appalled.
"The first to produce a male heir before the old man dies will have the throne." Bryant sighed heavily. "So that you know, Jacob wanted no part of this. Seth and
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Ione forced Jacob into this race. Once she found that he had taken you as his wife, she…" He stopped to try and think of a delicate way to say what he needed to say.
"…demanded he breed me for a son?"
"She threatened to take the girls."
"Maybe and Ester?" I was horrified.
"She said he wasn't worthy of them if he didn't try to give them a better life."
"She's a bitch." I said.
"Yes, she is." He was looking down.
"What?"
"The plan was for them to go and get the girl."
"What girl?" I tried to sound innocent.
"The one you gave birth to." He wasn't buying my innocent act. "The Hybrid bitch was too sure of herself. You've had children. You know they beat her."
"Margie?" I gulped.
"Ione had her whipped for lying. Her, Givens and Reeves. All were whipped in the chapel in front of everyone. Friends and family." Bryant sounded as disgusted as I felt.
"I didn't know that."
"You weren't supposed to." Bryant drank more. "Jacob didn't want to upset you. He was worried about you. You had just lost your child. You needed rest and peace."
"Oh," I looked at Carus.
"I know that's why you're so attached to this little one." Bryant moved to play with Carus. "He was a good substitute for your lost child, but we're married and he's my son." His eyes were on mine now. "He'll be coming to live with us in the new house." I must have looked panicked. "You'll have your own son soon and can let this one go." I nodded.
"Don't look at me that way," Bryant laughed at me, "I'll take good care of him. He and Merry are my life. I'll love him and her for as long as I have breath in my body. This I promise you, just as I promised her. I love her. I really do." I believed him.
"Bryant, what's your first name?" I felt I needed to know the name of the man who would be father to my son.
"Erik," Bryant smiled at me. "Erik Bryant."
"Nice to meet you, Erik Bryant." I pushed the buggy back to the house. Carus fell asleep. I didn't cry until I shut the door behind me. I fell to the floor and sobbed for the child I would soon lose and the ones I had lost.
"It's for the best." Doc was sitting at my table drinking tea and trying to make me calm down. "There's been no word. Nine scavenger ships and none the same one. We don't know if it crashed, if they've left the system, if they sold the Hybrid…" he sighed deeply, "We tried again with the last ship. Another Hybrid."
"Lutha?"
"Lutha is desperate to get you home."
"Why?" I could tell something was bothering Doc.
"Word has come. Your child is closer than Melinda's. Ione will want the heir
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close to her. Close to them." I sipped my tea. "It would be easier for her if you had your child first. She's not the mother she portrays. She can threaten Jacob with his daughters lives as easily as telling him she cares. James? He'd kill his own daughters if it meant he could have the first son. Jacob is easier to control."
"Easier to control?"
"She thinks he is," Doc smiled.
"How long have you known them? The royal family."
He smiled at the contempt in my voice.
"All my life."
"All your life?"
"Ione is my sister." Doc raised his cup as if to toast the people. "My younger sister."
"You're Jacob's uncle?"
"Yes. Uncle Doc." He giggled at his own joke.
"Okay, Uncle Doc," I took a deep breath, "What does all that mean?"
"Jordan is ill. Dying. James is not a good choice for ruler. Joshua would have been the best choice but he chose a different path. He escaped."
"Escaped?"
"Jordan ordered Joshua's lover killed. So they both ran." Doc frowned. "It was a shame. Reggie was a nice fellow. Jacob would be a very good ruler but he isn't one to lead by force. Jordan and Ione are. As long as either of them are alive, it will be that way. Once Jordan is gone and she has an heir, she can control…"
"Control." I looked at his worried blue eyes. "What can we do?"
"Pray Melinda has a son before you." He toasted me again.
I sat staring into space and wondered what I had done. How could I have let myself get pregnant again? How could I have let my child be put in danger? First by vampires and now by humans. Another child. Another plight. And I couldn't even claim Carus as my own. It was as if I were poison to any of my children.
"What's going on?" Jacob asked, coming in. He leaned in to look at Carus, sleeping in the buggy. He smiled and caressed the little head tenderly. "Why so glum, chum?"
I looked to Doc. He shook his head ever so slightly. Lutha was trying to get me off the planet and home, and Jacob knew nothing of these plans. I had to let it work itself out. I had to put my faith in God. He would take care of us as he was taking care of my family on Declar.
"I'm just tired," I smiled as Jacob leaned in to kiss me.
"Rest." He took my hand and pulled me to my feet. "You need to rest."
He lifted Carus into his arms and carried my son up to the nursery. I followed. As I walked by Doc, I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed. He put his hand over mine and squeezed it.
"Are you a doctor?" I asked.
"Yes. Psychiatry."
"Am I crazy?"
His eyes held humor, but I was serious.
"Yes," he squeezed my hand again, "Thank goodness. Sane people are very boring." I smiled at him and followed Jacob.
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14
The seasons changed. The warm weather gave way to the cool. I missed Declar. I walked in the orchard with Maybe and Carus each evening. Carus ran and Maybe chased him. Sometimes Jacob joined us, holding my hand. It was a nice time. I looked forward to the evenings and this time with my family. Life slowed down to a snail's pace, a pace I enjoyed.
I was getting bigger. A lot bigger. Walks helped the pain in my back. Sex was put on hold. I feared that Jacob would go to Merry, but he was close and attentive to me. All the time. I wondered if there might be alternative reasons to his attentiveness. I asked him and he only said that he liked watching me. His reply was sweet and his smile real. I almost believed him.
It was late in the fall when I realized that I had missed my birthday. I searched the house for a calendar. I finally asked Doc and he told me the date. I sat down, frowning, and he sat with me. He knew that I was in shock, of sorts. He waited patiently as I sat with tears falling down my face.
"I missed my son's second birthday and my daughters first. I missed my birthday. I'm now nineteen years old." I cried and Doc sat waiting. I had been away from my children for over a year.
"Time just got away from you." Doc patted my hand. "It happens."
"I'm forgetting my life!" I sobbed. "My children!"
"No, you're just moving them aside for your new life."
"I don't want a new life!" I wailed. "I want my old life back!" Doc sat and let me cry. I felt better afterwards. But not for long.
Seth and Lutha came one morning just as we were finishing breakfast. Jacob opened the door, the blood drained from his face. Ester stood and moved closer to me. Maybe reached out to hold Carus' chubby little hand. Jacob looked back at us and stepped out onto the porch shutting the door behind him.
I began to clean the breakfast dishes. I knew something was going on and I knew it had to do with me. By the time the door opened again, I was a nervous wreck. Jacob shut the door and looked at us.
"Mabel, go get Doc." He patted my shoulder and hurried upstairs.
"Watch Carus," I ordered Ester and ran up after him. "What's going on?" I almost tripped over him as came from the room. "What's going on?"
"Nothing for you to worry about." He kissed me quickly. I held on to his hand. "My mother requests my presence."
"Why?"
"Because. I'll be back as soon as I can." He kissed me again and pulled his hand from mine. "I need to talk to Doc and see if he'll stay here with you." I followed him down the steps.
Doc was standing in the kitchen having coffee. I knew he was nervous. Doc was a tea drinker. Ester was holding Carus. Bryant and Merry were there too, in the kitchen with Doc. Jacob hurried to talk to them. Maybe sat in the dining room looking scared. I sat next to her, hugging her. Jacob kissed Ester, me, Maybe and Carus. He left us. I felt the fear building. Something bad was about to happen to us.
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Doc walked with me, Maybe and Carus in the orchard. We talked about how big Carus was getting. And how big I was getting. My mind was wandering. I hadn't felt this bad since I had to take Donum before the Vampire High Council for examination. It was the fear of some kind of harm coming to my child for the simple reason that he was mine.
The day had passed slowly. I couldn't think straight. The baby was active and I had heartburn. By dinner time my husband had not returned. I was fearful that he might never. As darkness fell, I climbed the stairs to my room and stared at the bed I shared with Jacob. It was impossible to sleep there. I laid down on the extra bed in the nursery and watched Carus sleep. I fell asleep watching him.
The rocker creaking woke me. I sat up and looked into the darkness. At first I thought it was Tullo. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and it wasn't silver I saw but the glistening of tears in the moonlight. Jacob sat holding Carus across his lap. My son was smiling in his sleep.
"What is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes to erase Tullo from them.
"You know I thought of killing him?" Jacob spoke softly.
"Who?"
"Carus." My stomach clenched. "It would have been easy. I went to Merry's that night. The night he was born. I was simply going to kill him and let you believe he had died in his sleep." I wanted to snatch my son from him. Jacob smiled at me. His smile was gentle and calm. "I thought he would look like that monster. Evil. I thought he would be hideous."
"But?" I asked.
"But he looked like you. His little button nose and full lips. He was so little and so beautiful." Jacob cupped my son's head in his hand, gently. "So helpless. I sat there watching him sleep for a long time. I thought, how could I hate something so precious? How could I hate something that came from you? I knew right then that I loved you."
My son and my husband. The moonlight spilled over them, making them glow and shimmer. Making them mystical and magical. Jacob risked everything for me and my son, the son he now held lovingly, as if Carus was his own flesh and blood. As frightening as it was, the idea was also soothing.
"Jacob," I felt my throat closing. "What's happening?"
"Melinda is close." He rocked Carus gently. "She'll deliver soon. Mother wants me to bring you to them. For you deliver there with them. She wants the child. If it's a boy."
"Wants?"
"She'll keep him with her."
"Jacob?" I was beyond confused.
"My father is dying. My mother wants an heir before that time." He stood and carried Carus to his crib. I watched him lay my son there and cover him. "Faith, she'll cut that child out of you if she thinks it's a boy."
"I still have at least ten weeks!"
"I know." He sounded as scared as I felt.
"So I have to go there?"
He walked over and took my hand. He tugged. I stood. He pulled me to our
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bedroom and shut the nursery door behind him. I fell into his arms. We stood there in each other's arms, holding on for dear life. Life I held in my body. The life that was a part of both of us.
"You're not going there." Jacob kissed my head. "We're leaving."
"The house?"
"The planet." He pulled me to the bed. We sat.
"Where are we going?" I was confused.
"Away." He smiled at me and ran his finger down my cheek.
"Why is this happening?"
"Because an old man could not accept life," Jacob sighed.
"What life?"
Jacob stood and walked over to shut the bedroom door. He began to pace slowly, sorting things out as he walked. My eyes followed him. I didn't want to take my eyes off him. I was afraid I did, he would stop telling me what he needed to say. It had to be said.
"There were four of us: Joshua, James, me and Josiah. Josiah died in an accident when he was six. My father blamed a Hybrid for his death. He had the Hybrid killed. Just like that. The Hybrid tried to save my brother and for that, he was killed."
"We were playing. Josiah wandered a bit and got too close to a wagon. The horse trampled him. Him and Dantus. The Hybrid covered my brother's body with his own. Dantus lived, but my brother died and then Dantus was killed." He sighed heavily. "It was Joshua who was to be the next king. He fell in love with Reggie and we accepted it. At least, James and I did. Just for different reasons." He sighed heavily at this.
"Different reasons?"
"I wanted my brother to be happy. James wanted him cast out."
"Cast out?"
"If my father cast him out, then he had no claim to being heir."
"And James would be next in line?" I was now following the facts.
"Yes. Which was fine by me. James was always a competitive sort and once he married Melinda, well…"
"I heard. Eight girls?"
"Yes, eight little monsters, all under my mother's thumb and tutelage. All learning to hate and degrade. I left because I didn't want Mabel to be like Ester. Angry, hurtful, spoiled and cruel. Ester was all of those things when she lived with my mother. Even my wife didn't like her." He smiled at the memory. "Natalie wore Ester's little bottom out on a daily basis. She was the only one who went up against my mother." I could tell he was proud of that. "When she found she was pregnant again, she knew she was dying. Natalie made me promise to leave if she died. She knew." He shook his head. "So, I did."
"I left because I knew. I knew if I didn't leave right then that I never would be able to. I took my children and I ran." He chuckled to himself. "Like a coward."
"You're not a coward. You saved your children."
"I was. I let them cast out my brother and his lover. My father ordered Reggie killed. Joshua and he ran. They ran for their lives. I heard tell they are on Helio. My
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mother says they're burning in hell." He chuckled again. "James thought he would be next in line, but my father denounced us both for not telling him about Joshua's deviant behavior." There was disgust in his voice. "Of course, my father thought he would never die."
"My father is a proud man. He thinks highly of himself. He and my mother. They want a male heir. A grandson. They want one to be raised by them and taught as they believe. A child they will ruin and who will grow to ruin all that he touches." Jacob turned to face me. His face was cold and his eyes were locked on my abdomen.
"What do we do?" I was terrified of his answer.
"Leave." He moved to look out the window. "Lutha is now ours. I purchased him from Seth. He and George and Nord are loading a shuttle with everything from the root cellar. Nothing from the house. They would know. We're being watched. We'll run. Not to Helio. We could go there, but they'd come looking. So, another colony. Another fresh start." He was mostly talking to himself. "You, me, Carus, Mabel, the Hybrids and Bryant. Oh, and Doc."
"Uncle Doc," I mumbled. I reviewed the list in my head. "Ester?"
"She's in love with Lionel. He'll take care of her. She would try to come back. She would tell my mother of our location. She's too much like my mother." Jacob moved to sit next to me. "We'll leave it all behind. All of it."
I looked at him, and then around the room, and thought of my home. On Earth this would have been a lower middleclass home. Here, it was a mansion. On Declar, it would have been a home for the herd, not the vampires, but it was my home. It wasn't just wood and walls. My home was held together by love. Love I could take anywhere.
"When?"
"Three days, tops." He sighed. "We need a good head start. I have to make sure we have the supplies we need and I have to do it without anyone knowing. Seth will help. He has a lot to gain if we leave."
"How's that?"
"He has a son. Well, actually, he has three. Nice boys." Jacob smiled at me. "Let them fight it out." He hugged me close to him. "Will you come with me on my coward's run?"
"Yes," I hugged him. "And my husband is no coward. He's a brave man who's willing to risk his life to save his family."
"It would mean you couldn't get back to Declar for quite a while. My number one concern is my children." He looked back to the nursery door. "The ones by birth and by marriage. You okay with that?"
"As long as we're together," I replied, "I'm okay with anything."
"I'll get you back there." He kissed me. "I promised you, and I'm a man of my word."
I nodded.
"And I love you."
"You giving me your word on that?" I teased.
"I am." He held my face in his hands and kissed me. "I give you my word and my heart."
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The thought of staying with Jacob was tempting, but I had two other children, and Tullo was alive. He had no idea if I had a child or not. I wanted my children more than anything. I needed them. They defined who I was. I needed that definition. I needed me.
"You must keep this between us. Seth knows that I have something planned, but he doesn't want to know the details. As far as he's concerned, we're planning on relocating closer to my parents for the sake of the children. He was told to keep a close eye on us, when he returns."
"Returns?"
"He went to get that Hybrid bitch."
"Margie?"
"She's coming here to watch over you until we make the move to my parent's home. Apparently, my mother has grown fond of that evil creature." I shuddered at the thought of her near me. "That move we'll never make. Carus will have to go with Merry until we can leave. I won't have that evil creature near him." I readily agreed. Margie was an evil creature. And she would know that Carus was Tullo's. I didn't know how, but I knew she would make the connection.
"When will she come here?"
"Tomorrow morning. Seth went to get her. It gives us time. He's going to stall as long as he can. He'll tell them he wants to visit his mother." Jacob was rocking me in his arms. It was comforting.
"I'm frightened," I whispered.
"So am I."
He moved me back into the bed in a comfortable position. I watched as he left me and went into the nursery. He returned, carrying my son. I watched him lay Carus down next to me. Jacob crawled into the bed on the other side of my son. We lay together, watching our son sleep, holding each other's hand and praying.
We moved quickly in the darkness just before dawn. George, Nord, Lutha, Jacob, Bryant, Merry and Bryant's two Hybrids Curtis and Ryan removed everything from the root cellar in the house and loaded it into the shuttle that I learned was hidden in the woods. The other root cellar would be emptied later after the children were put down for the night.
It came to light that Jacob had been planning this for a long time. I was amazed at how he had kept it all secret from everyone. I discovered that even Bryant had been in the dark about Jacob's plans. We all worked together to keep the children, especially Ester, from knowing what was going on. Doc stayed close to me. About mid-day, Merry came to take Carus away. I hugged my son, kissed him and cried as he was carried from my house. Jacob held me. It made it easier. At dinner, Margie arrived.
Margie was now a young woman. She was beautiful. Dangerously beautiful. Her eyes were a dark brown lined with silver. Her features were dark from the sun and her brown hair had lightened. Her cheeks and chin were chiseled and well defined. She walked into my home and looked down her fine nose at me.
"I am here to guard you." She smiled at me cruelly. "We will be leaving soon for your new home."
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"My new home?" I questioned.
"Do you still think that you are better than me?" she laughed, walking up to our dinner table and smashing her hand down into the loaf of bread that sat on the platter. "You're a breeding bitch also. You just get your own house and brats." She glared coldly at Maybe and Ester. Ester cringed. Maybe glared back. "You'll be going to live with Jordan and Ione tomorrow until that is taken from you." Her cold eyes lighted on my abdomen. "Just as my child was."
"You!" Jacob stood, throwing his napkin down onto the table, "Leave my house, now!"
"No. I'm to stay and guard the heir." Margie crossed her arms across her chest, smiling.
"No, you are not!" Jacob stormed up to her.
"Touch me, and you answer you Ione!" Margie screamed. Jacob grabbed her arm and dragged her to the door.
"Tell my mother!" Jacob yelled, tossing Margie out the front door and slamming the door after her. He locked the door and returned to sit at the table. He looked at us. "Eat!" he ordered. We ate. I looked up at him and smiled. He rolled his eyes as me. Maybe giggled and Ester looked annoyed.
"Now what?" I asked.
"Now we enjoy our dinner," Jacob replied.
"It's quiet." Maybe mumbled. "I miss Carus." She was moving the food around on her plate and looking at the empty high chair next to me.
"He's with his mother," Ester hissed, "Where he belongs!"
"Ester!" Jacob growled his warning.
"Daddy, he's a Hybrid. He doesn't belong here. Not in our home. Not at our dinner table." I looked down to hide the pain in my heart that I knew could be seen in my eyes.
"Ester, he's a part of this family." Jacob tried to be calm.
"Not my family." Ester snapped.
"Ester, leave the table." Jacob didn't bother looking up at his daughter.
"Daddy!"
"Leave! Now!" Ester threw her utensils and napkin down and ran from the room. I still wouldn't look up.
"Daddy?" Maybe's voice was low and frightened.
"Yes?"
"What's going on?" Maybe wasn't a stupid child. She was mature well beyond her years and she saw more than most adults.
"Jacob, tell her." I finally looked up. We had to make as if we were going along with Ione and Jordan's wishes. It wasn't fair to make Maybe lie. It would put her in danger.
"Your grandparents want Faith to be with them when she gives birth," Jacob sighed. "She'll be going to them."
"No!" Maybe wailed. I hadn't expected that.
"Mabel, we're going too. We won't let Faith go alone." Jacob held his hand out to her daughter. Maybe went to him, crying.
"I don't want to go there! I want to stay here! Don't let Faith go! You can't!"
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Jacob hugged his daughter.
"Mabel, you know we have to do as they say." Jacob looked to me for help. I couldn't. I wasn't good at lying. I stood and saw Margie peering in the livingroom widow. I picked up my plate and walked to the kitchen.
"Maybe, we have to. It'll be fine. Once the baby's born, we can come back. By then, it'll be time for us to start a new garden. We'll have fun." I tried to sound light. "Besides, I've been here for a long time and been no place. It'll be like a vacation."
I set the dishes in the sink and held onto the counter. My stomach was upset. Or maybe the baby was. I closed my eyes and gripped the counter in a death grip. It was too much to hear Maybe crying. I wanted it to end. I looked out the widow and watched the sun set over the orchard. It was sadly beautiful.
Jacob knew what I knew. They were going to kill me. They wanted my baby and they would kill me to get it. With me dead Jacob would fall to pieces and run. That was what they wanted. Without either of us around, they could do what they wanted with our son. They would not get their hands on him. Not as long as I was alive. But then…
Maybe laughed and I looked up to see her wiping her tears away. Jacob kissed her head and looked over the her to me. He was scared too. But he was my husband and he was prepared and brave. I walked to the table and began to clear the dishes away. Maybe climbed from her father's lap to help me.
We spent the evening laughing and joking as we washed dishes and put the leftovers away. If it was to be the last night in our home, then we were going to enjoy it. We had worked hard for what we had. We would have to leave it. For now, we would enjoy it.
"Where is everyone?" Margie asked as she stepped into my home. I was cleaning up the breakfast dishes.
"Getting ready for school," I answered without looking at her.
"Daddy said you weren't to come in here." Maybe came running in.
"You're father doesn't rule me," Margie snapped.
"No, but he'll kick your ass out of here if he sees you here."
"Maybe!" I admonished the girl, "Please don't speak that way."
"He will!" Maybe sang.
Ester came in and looked at Margie as if she were nothing. It was easy for her to ignore the Hybrid. Ester had been bred to hate Hybrids. It was something that she had learned well. But I didn't disapprove of her being mean to Margie.
"Where is your husband?" Margie asked.
"Helping Bryant work on his house." Maybe answered.
"We ready?" I wiped my hands on the apron I wore.
"For?" Margie moved closer to me. I looked at the skillet I had just set on the counter. It was clean. I thought I wouldn't mind dirtying it up by bashing it over Margie's head.
"I'm walking the girls to school. What are you doing?"
Margie was craning her neck to look about.
"Are you three the only ones here?" she asked suddenly.
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"I'm gonna get Daddy," Maybe announced.
"I think not." Margie shook her head, smiling.
"Run, Maybe!" I ordered.
"Stop her!" Margie called.
The scream was more in surprise than pain. I jumped forward and saw the Hybrid male holding Maybe's arm. There were two of them. It was then I panicked. I grabbed the skillet and swung it with all my might just as Margie turned back towards me. It connected with her face and blood spurted out. I pulled back to swing again, but she fell over.
"Run!" I screamed at Ester.
I was moving. I swung the skillet at the Hybrid holding Maybe. I connected with his arm and swung again at his face. He put his hands up to fend me off and Maybe kicked him in the knee and punched him in the groin. He let go. I jerked Maybe from him and practically threw the girl at Ester.
"Run!" I screamed again.
Maybe grabbed Ester's hand and pulled. Ester woke from her shocked daze and screamed. Maybe was yelling as she tugged at Ester's hand. I was swinging the skillet again. They both ran. I pulled back to swing again and the skillet was jerked from my hand. The second Hybrid had me by the wrist. I kicked and yelled.
"We were told to bring the children!" the older Hybrid yelled at Margie. I saw that she was picking herself up from the floor.
"We can come back for them. Get her out of here!" Margie staggered to the door. The other Hybrid was limping after her.
My wrist ached. It felt as if it were dislocated from my arm. I was dragged from my house and into a waiting shuttle. Seth was waiting for us. He had a grim look on his face. I was thrown into a seat as the door slammed. I held my wrist against my chest and watched as they took their seats. The shuttle lifted off and I watched my home shrink.
"Why?" I asked through the tears.
"Because," Margie sat down, smiling at me. She looked horrible with all the blood on her face. I wished she was dead. I wished I had killed her.
"Seth!" I turned to him.
"This is just the way it has to be. Just for now." His voice held a degree of uncertainty that was unsettling. "They didn't believe that Jacob would bring you."
"We were to leave after school. I haven't finished packing. I left all the baby clothes." I was babbling and I knew it.
"Jacob will bring your things," Seth reassured me. "He'll come now."
"I don't understand." I looked out the window and watched the world whiz past. I didn't have to fake fear.
"Ione wants you with her when the child comes," Seth replied.
"I want to be with my husband!"
"He'll come with the children in a day or two," Seth reassured me. I didn't feel reassured. "It'll be fine, Faith. I'll be coming back the day after tomorrow to fetch him and the children."
"Fetch?"
"Faith, just hold your tongue until he can get here." It was a warning.
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"That won't happen," Margie laughed. "Faith can't keep her mouth shut to save her life. We'll have such fun!"
"Shut up!" Seth ordered. Margie shut up, but pouted.
The home of the king and queen of Trenar was not what I expected. It was a big house. Big and dreary looking. There were no other houses near it. It was isolated and well-guarded. There were armed Hybrids every few feet along the very high fence. The house was impenetrable. Three sides were guarded and one side was facing a cliff that seemed to drop off into nothing. The ocean roared loudly. I couldn't see it, but I could hear it and smell it.
We landed in the large yard. The doors opened and Ione stood next to a very pregnant woman who looked just as cold as Ione. Seth held his hand out to me. I didn't take it, but stepped past him as I exited the shuttle. It was cooler here. I shivered against the cold air and the icy stares.
"Why have I been brought here?" I asked walking towards the women. "We were coming after the girls got packed. Why would you bring here me like this?"
"I wanted to ensure you got here safely," Ione replied, eyeing my extended belly with a desire that terrified me.
"My safety? I was attacked and dragged from my home in front of my children! Your grandchildren!" It was like talking to the wind.
"Show her to her quarters." Ione turned on heel and left me with the cold woman I took to be Melinda.
"Come on," the woman snapped.
"I'm Faith," I said.
"Melinda." Melinda spoke coldly. "This way. Your door will be locked."
"Locked?"
"We don't want you wandering off."
"I'm a prisoner?"
"A guest," Melinda looked over her shoulder at me as we entered the house, "Without privileges."
"A prisoner," I sighed.
She spun on me as if ready to attack. I took a step back and waited. Melinda's eyes flashed over me quickly. Darting and inspecting me. If I had known I was going to be kidnapped I would have dressed better. If ever I felt unworthy of existing it would have been at that moment. Her eyes seared through my abdomen and inspected the child I carried.
"You are part of this family," Melinda said evenly, "That is the only reason you are even allowed to stay in the house."
"I take it that's good?" I was up for a fight.
"We know you're a vampire's whore and that thing in you is the only reason you're still breathing," The hate filled words were hurled at me. "Once it's out of you, we'll be rid of you."
"I didn't ask to be here," I snapped. "I could be at home with my children. You people brought me here."
"They are not your children. They are Natalie's children. You're just the maid. And now the surrogate."
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"Surrogate?" My hands went to my abdomen. "I'm married to Jacob and I carrying his child."
"You'd better understand this now," I jumped at the sound of the man's voice.
He stood inside the doorway leading into the main part of the house. It was like seeing an older Jacob. His stride wasn't carefree, but cold and full of arrogance. He walked around me slowly and ended up standing next to his wife. Not lovingly, but possessively.
"You're pretty," he noted, looking me up and down. His eyes skipped over my belly. They lingered on my breasts. "Prettier than I thought. Jacob was lucky on that part. Natalie was not as pretty. She was taller and fuller, but not as pretty."
"I guess that makes Jacob lucky." He smiled at me and I didn't like that smile
"Jacob's foolish. He should have brought you here long ago and none of this would have been necessary."
"Why couldn't I just stay at home and have my child?" I asked.
"Because this is where you belong. This is your home now." He turned to walk away, "For as long as you live." I watched him walk away and knew that he had just signed my death sentence.
"Come on." Melinda said and I followed.
We walked along the hallway and to a room at the back of the house. It was a big room. The bed was a single. A cradle and rocking chair were in the corner, a table and chair in the other. The window was high and small. Light could come in, but I couldn't see out. It was a cell. Melinda stepped in and stood waiting for me to say something. I tried to remain calm.
"The doctor will be here soon to examine you. Take a nap, sit, think, rock or pray." Melinda moved to the door.
"Why?" I asked turning to her. I spoke, hoping to form some sort of connection with this cold shell of a woman.
"You know why." Melinda shut the door and I heard the bolt slam into the wall. The sound echoed on.
I sat in the rocker and waited.
"Come and wash for dinner."
The girl who opened door looked just like Melinda, but younger. She had the same cold eyes and dark hair. She looked to be close to my age. I stood and stepped out into the hallway to find two Hybrids waiting to escort me to clean up.
"I'm Faith." I held my hand out to the girl. She looked at it only for a second before she turned and led the way down the hall. I followed and the Hybrids followed me.
We stopped at a door that I opened to find a bathroom. I stepped in and shut the door. I sat on the closed toilet and sighed. Jacob would come. Unlike Tullo, he knew where I was and he would come. I just had to be patient. But I wasn't good at being patient. Neither was the girl outside the door. She began knocking.
"Come out or I'll have them break the door down," she warned. I used the facilities, washed my hands and opened the door.
"Sorry, I took so long," I said. She glared at me and continued on. I followed. And the Hybrids followed me.
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We walked along the main part of the house. Here it wasn't so drab. The walls were lightly painted and there were several paintings on the walls. They were of people who seemed to be staring down their long noses at us as we walked by. I looked at all the fine furniture and wondered how much business was done with the scavengers. Obviously, taste this well refined was hard to come by.
We crossed the main hall and entered a large dining room. There were people waiting on us. I was led to a chair and pushed to sit down. I sat. Ione was sitting next to an older man. He looked to be twice as old as she and frail. James was sitting at the other end of the table next to Melinda. She looked uncomfortable.
"You are Faith?" the old man asked. I nodded, swallowed and looked at him straight on.
This was Jacob's father. This was going as well as meeting Tullo's family. I hoped that Jacob's brother wasn't going to offer to breed me. I caught James looking me over and internally groaned. Again?
I turned my attention to King Jordan. He was old, very old, and his eyes were cold. There was a yellowing of his eyes. I tried to remember what that meant. My mother would have known. This man was sick. He was dying and he was desperate. I was beginning to feel desperate myself.
"I'm Jordan Raven."
I bowed my head to him respectfully.
"You know my wife."
I nodded.
"This is my son James and his wife Melinda."
I nodded to them.
"These are my granddaughters; Yvonne, Ava, Patty, Sonya, Liza, Eden, Judith and Susan." I looked at all the pretty girls and nodded. I was trembling.
"Can you speak?" Seth asked.
"Yes, I can." I cleared my throat and spoke. "I'm Faith Raven."
"Good. I had hoped that Jacob had not married a dummy." I cringed at the words. "You are near your time?"
"I still have a little over two months."
"I don't." He coughed as he reached for his cup. "The doctor will be here to examine you and determine if you're lying."
"I do not lie." I said loud and clear. Jordan set his cup down. Everyone seemed to hold their breath. "I am just over six months along. This child is human, so I believe that I have at least two more months to go."
"You believe?" the man hissed.
"Why am I here?" I asked in the calmest voice I could manage.
"To do your duty and give me my grandson," the old man said. His cold blue eyes seemed to stare a hole in me as he began to eat. Everyone else ate. I sat. I was afraid to eat for fear of vomiting.
"Eat. I want my grandson healthy," Jordan snarled at me. I still sat. "Eat or I will have you held down and fed. I have no problem strapping you, pregnant or not. Just as I have Melinda." I looked to see the woman in question looking down. I believed him so I picked up my fork and ate.
Dinner was over quickly. I was grateful for that. Eating with people who
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didn't talk, laugh, or even enjoy each other was nerve wracking. The only real noise was the utensils against dishes. The servants were Quids and the guards Hybrids. All stood ready to jump at any order given. They looked dangerous. Like Margie. Hybrids that were trained and bred as warriors and enforcers. They were dangerous. Which one would be the one to kill me?
The dinner plates were taken away and we all sat staring at each other and waiting. Jordan threw down his napkin, just as Jacob had when he had thrown Margie out of our home. I saw the family resemblance. Only in the angry side. The way Jacob had looked when he had tied me up outside the outhouse was how Jordan was looking at me now.
"You were a vampire's whore?" Jordan asked, drinking his wine. His red wine that looked like blood on his lips.
"My mate was a vampire," I replied. "I was the lady of his house."
"Lady?" Jordan snorted.
"The Lady Faith." I sat taller. He was old and dying and desperate for an heir. An heir he thought I might be carrying.
"You were his whore!" the man spat. I sat, staring at him straight on. I didn't flinch at the cold words. "Now you're my son's whore."
"I am your son's wife. I carry his child. And I would like to go home now. I don't want to visit your home anymore." I took a deep breath and looked around at the people watching me. "I'd thank you for your hospitality, but since there was none extended, you'll understand my not …"
"This is your home now!" Seth set his glass down with a bang. "You have a room. Your room."
"My cell?" His eyes narrowed at me. "The door is locked behind me. You brought me here by force and I'm under guard and I'm ordered to eat or be force fed. This is a prison. I'm your prisoner."
"You are here to have this child. That child. My grandson."
"And if it's a granddaughter?"
"I have enough of those." He waved his hand about the table. "I want a grandson. You are carrying my grandson."
"And Melinda?" I looked over at the woman in question and saw her face scrunched up in pain. "Melinda, are you alright?"
"She's in labor," Jordan groaned. "Again. And if it's another girl then she may as well just pack her things and her damned daughters and leave. They are of no use to me!" James glowered at his wife. Not his father, but his wife. I would have slapped the crap out of him.
Melinda grunted under her breath and shifted in her chair. I felt for her. Slowly, she eased her breathing. Everyone was ignoring the fact that this woman was in labor! They actually acted as if it were an inconvenience! As if she could control it.
"I want to go home. I want my husband and my children."
"They're not your children," Jordan snapped angrily. "That worthless bitch Natalie was the mother of those wenches. I picked her. I picked her from all the girls and she would be one like that one!" He nodded his head to Melinda, "Worthless! Not a male in them. All wenches. You! You had a boy. A boy
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vampire. A human who had a male vampire child. You survived that and now you carry my grandson in you and I want him."
"It's my son," I said.
"No, wench, it's mine. My heir. That there is the next ruler of this land. He is mine!" He snatched up his dinner knife, "If I have to cut him out of you! It is a boy! If not you, and it will die together and I will find another wife for Jacob!"
"Find?"
"Don't think we went to Declar to trade with them. We went for you or your daughter. We didn't go to save our race. We are the race. We went to get you so that I will have my heir. This is no silver in your eyes. You were born on Earth." I watched Ione cringe at the words. "I want a human heir. I was born on Earth. I want him to be from Earth!"
"Want and get are two different things," I replied. "Jacob will come for me. Me and my child."
"Jacob will do as he's told. He always has. He will or I'll have his precious little wenches slaughtered before his eyes. Just as I did that bitch he was married to." The words shocked no one. Not even me. I saw in his eyes that he was the type to do that.
"I want to go home."
"Fine!" Jordan threw the knife down. "Take her to her room!"
I didn't argue or fight as I was led back to my cell. I was left alone. The sound of the door being bolted made me jump. I sat in the chair and rocked. The bed was small. They had no intention of letting Jacob sleep in here with me. They had no intention of letting me leave here alive. Fear rose as I rubbed my belly and prayed. There was someone outside the door. I could see the shadow under the sill. I was a prisoner. A condemned prisoner.
The doctor did not come to see me that night. Margie did. The door opened. I sat rocking and watching the last of the day's light leave my room. I was afraid to sleep. The door opened and she stepped in. I saw her as a child. The child that was brought to us. Angry and frightened. I had loved her. Now I hated her. I hated myself for hating her. I was terribly happy that I had blacked both of her eyes and her nose was now crooked.
"Your meals will be brought to you." She set a bucket down by the door. "In case you have to use it before I come to take you to the facilities."
"How pleasant." I stared at her face. I wanted to see the little girl again. I wanted to see the child I had defended and fought over Eldon with. All I saw was cruelty and a bitter woman.
"If you use it, you dump it." She leaned on the doorframe, smiling at me. If she thought that was going to dehumanized me, she was wrong. I had dumped slop buckets before and I knew I would do it again before I died. I still stared at her.
"Your meals will be brought to you. Jordan has taken to his bed. Melinda is in labor. We'll know soon enough if she has done it or if it will fall on you. Soon."
"It?"
"The boy," Margie laughed, "The golden child that will make that old fool believe he'll live on forever."
"What does it matter?" I asked.
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"It doesn't. That old fool thinks that he owns this planet. He ruled it like a tyrant and people feared him. He had his own brother killed for defying him. He disowned his own sons and now he's dying. Four boys. He had four sons. One died, one gay, one with two daughters and one with eight. If there is no male child born, then Seth is the next in line."
"Seth?"
"The nephew. The nephew who has made sure that everyone knows that Jordan disowned his own sons. The one who has sons and is able and ready to rule. Jordan has to have a male heir or Ione is out. James and his girls are out and Seth and his family will be living here." Margie smiled. She did like to give bad news. "If Seth and his sons don't have an accident."
I gasped.
"It's been known to happen. Especially in this family. Your future depends on what Melinda has."
"My future?"
"If you have one." Margie stepped outside the door, slamming it shut after her.
I didn't sleep. I sat rocking in the chair. Waiting. I would wait for Jacob to come. I couldn't believe that he wouldn't come. Tullo hadn't come. I thought he was dead. He wasn't. He just didn't come for me. I had been deserted by him. Eldon? Eldon hadn't come. How could he leave the herd and come for me? I was nothing to him. Just part of the herd. No, I had been the lady of Tullo's house. I had taken Eldon as a lover. He had been my lover by my order. I let that sink in. Jacob wouldn't come. Tullo wouldn't come. Eldon wouldn't come. I was alone.
In the early morning hours I heard the commotion in the hallway. I rocked the chair and waited. There was running and yelling. No one came. I sat rocking. The sun came up and a new day began. Another day in my life and my child's. I heard footsteps. I prayed that it was Jacob. I wanted it to be Jacob's footsteps. Not Tullo. Not Eldon. Jacob. I wanted him to tell me he loved me and take me home.
The door opened. Margie stood looking at me. She was smiling at me. I knew it before she could speak. I watched her. The silver gleaming in her eyes, the twitch of a cold smile on her lips, the casual lean of her body and the tilt of her pretty head. She was enjoying the fact that I was doomed.
"What going on?" I asked. She said nothing, but nodded her head for me to follow her.
I was led to the bathroom again and then back to my cell. Neither Margie nor the Hybrids said a word to me. I was pushed into my cell as the door was shut and bolted again. Later on the door was opened and a tray of food was brought in and set on the table. I sat at the table and ate. Alone. My vision blurred, tears fell on my plate, but I ate.
When the door opened again. I saw Ione and a man step into my room. The man looked exhausted and had blood on the front of his shirt. He set down the bag he carried and stood waiting. Ione stepped closer to me. She was staring at my abdomen. I set my hand on it and rubbed gently, more to calm me than my child.
"How old is Jacob?" I asked. She blinked and her eyes met mine. She had to think for a moment.
"Thirty-one." I nodded.
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"I think I'm nineteen." I said.
"I was fifteen when I had Joshua." Ione almost looked human to me. Not that she had looked like a Quid, but that she had been more like a monster to me. The look vanished.
"Melinda had her child this morning." Her voice was dead.
"Is she alright?" I stammered.
"She's fine." Ione replied crisply. "Her and her daughter." My heart skipped a beat. "This is our doctor Owen. He is going to examine you." She turned and left the room. Even the doctor jumped when the door was slammed behind her.
"I need to examine you." He saw the fear in my eyes. "Let's talk first." He pulled the chair closer and sat down. "This is your first child?"
"Yes." I lied.
"You've kept count of the weeks?"
"Yes."
"How many?"
"Thirty-two weeks." I swallowed and cleared my throat. "Is Jacob here yet?"
"No. I believe Seth has gone to fetch him."
"Fetch." I hated that word.
"He'll be here in a couple of days." Owen wasn't a good liar.
"They're going to kill me, aren't they?" Owen looked astonished that I had blurted it out.
"No, I would never… I couldn't…" Again, he was not good at lying.
"How is Melinda? Is she well?" Owen seemed amazed that I was concerned with her health.
"Upset. The child is fine. Healthy." He smiled and reached into his bag. He brought out a pad of paper and pen. "Your first pregnancy. Thirty-two weeks. You seem healthy. You've been eating well?"
"Yes. Very well."
"You exercise?"
"I walk. A lot. In the evenings."
"Good."
He reached out to take my wrist and I jumped. He smiled and began counting while looking at his watch. My pulse. I was trying to remember the exams on Quid 4. Next he listened to my heart and lungs through my shirt. He seemed happy with my condition.
"Doctor?"
"Yes?"
"How's Jordan?"
"Not well." The doctor frowned. "His heart. His liver. He's old."
"How old?"
"Seventy." Owen sighed. "He's had a hard life."
"Haven't we all?"
"He's old, stubborn, cold, distant, hard and dying."
"I'm sorry." I was.
"He was once one of the healthiest men I had ever met. Big as an oak and strong as a horse. He saved the lives of many, many people. He gave many a
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second chance. He gave humans a second chance. Big as an oak. Do you know what those are?"
"Yes, I was born on Earth." I smiled at the memory.
"Good! Good! That will make it easier."
"Easier?"
"Well, sometimes the gravity and orbit of another planet help." He was writing on his notepad.
"In early delivery?" I asked. He gulped and didn't look up.
"They want you to cut my baby out of me, don't they?" Owen rubbed his forehead as he continued scribbling. "To kill me?"
I set my hand over his. It was warm and soft. And shaking. I squeezed his hand lightly. He set the pen down and sat back, holding my hand. We sat looking at each other. He was a very bad liar.
"I pray." I finally said. "I pray nightly." He nodded. "I didn't get to say goodbye to my husband or my children. Will I see them again?"
The doctor looked at me and then at the door. He looked at me and shook his head.
"When?"
"Tomorrow. I need rest. I've been up all night with Melinda. It was a difficult birth. She was very distressed."
"I can imagine. What did she name her?"
"Christina."
"That's pretty. Is the child alright?"
"She's healthy and pretty," Owen smiled.
"They wanted it done now, didn't they?" he nodded. I let my hand squeeze his again. "May I write a note to my husband?"
"No, they'll tell him it was an accident."
"And if it's an accident, I can't write him a note." I understood.
"Rest, eat and pray. Try not to worry. I'll return in the morning." He patted my hand again and stood.
I grabbed his hand and held it in a death grip. There was nothing he could do. If he didn't do it they would have someone else do it. Ione might do it to me herself. I held his hand and breathed deeply.
"Thank you." I said. "For being honest."
"It won't hurt. I promise."
"Thank you for that."
He smiled at me sadly.
"I have a request?"
"Yes?" He seemed reluctant to let me ask.
"Will you let me see him and hold him before…?" The man looked as if he might cry, but nodded.
"Thank you."
I let his hand go. He left me alone. I stood and walked over to where the sun was shining in from the small window. I stood in the heat of the sun and felt a sense of power come from within. I didn't jump when the door was slammed behind him. I closed my eyes and absorbed the heat. I wanted it to be Jacob holding me.
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Lunch came on a tray as breakfast had. Margie again took me to the bathroom and then brought the food with my little parade of Hybrids, we made our way through the halls. No words were exchanged. We saw no one. We were alone in the world. My dark, lonely world. I prayed.
I sat in solitude and reviewed my life. Rocking in the chair, I started at the beginning in Kansas and with the last time I had seen Carus' face. Faces of my family from my parents, my brothers, my sister, everyone in my life and the face of the child I carried. The one I hoped I could see before I died. I rocked in the chair and replayed each moment of my life.
Sleep was impossible. I sat and rocked. I wished for my child. Any one of them. I missed them all. I set my hands on my abdomen and rocked. He was active. He knew something was up. I felt my heart racing, no matter how much I tried to remain calm. I was going to die. I knew it. At least I would get to see my child first.
Secretly, I was praying it would be a girl. My secret revenge. Maybe if it was a girl, they might not kill me. No, it was a boy. I just knew it. It felt the same as with Donum and Carus. Spera had been different. This was a boy. I was dead. I rocked and rubbed and prayed. I watched the sun leave the window and the darkness came. It surrounded me. It held me in its arms. I didn't turn on the light. I sat. I wished I could see the sky so that I could see Declar. I watched the shadows from beneath the door.
It was well into the night then the door opened. I winced as the light from the door blinded me. Margie stepped in and walked about the room. The door was left open, but I saw the Hybrids waiting. Were they expecting me to run so that they could kill me? I sat.
"You know?" Margie asked with a giggle.
"That they plan on killing me and taking my child?" I said it as if it were a daily event.
"You do know!" She seemed delighted that I was enlightened to my plight. "Do you know that I will be nursing your child when you're dead?" My stomach clenched. "I lost my last child, but I have been pumping my milk. Hybrid milk is good for premature babies."
"I wish I could kill you." I sat back in the chair.
"You? Sweet and loving Faith? Tullo chose you because you were so frail in mind and heart. Eldon chose you because you needed to be taken care of. Jacob? Well, he just needed a walk on the wild side. A vampire whore to ease his broken heart." I rocked and estimated the distance between us. I would kill her. If it was the last thing I did before I died, I would kill Margie.
"Why are you here? To gloat? That is so like you. You never were very human. Just an animal." I rocked slowly, estimating. She would step closer and I would jump up and kill her. I rubbed my child. "That's why you never fit in. You were like that croaner that Elsie had. We felt sorry for it, but no one wanted it around. That was you," I sighed. "That is you. You're an animal. Nothing more, nothing less."
"And you are dead," Margie hissed. "You are dead and your child will suckle me. He'll call me mama and I'll sleep next to your husband. It was promised to me if I gave you to them."
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"Before or after you were whipped for telling them I had children and they found out I hadn't?" I smiled at her. She spun around to snarl at me.
"You have children! I saw that little monster! And I know about the girl! I heard about her! You lied and you had that old doctor lie! I'll get him. Believe me that I will make him pay!"
"No, you won't." I knew Doc was smarter than that. She wouldn't get Doc.
"I will. They're all going to pay! And I know who to kill to hurt them all. Little Mabel is going to have an accident. She's gonna fall right off that cliff out there." I gripped the arms of the chair ready to spring. "Poor little Mabel! No one will be able to save her!"
"How did you lose your last child? Was it taken from you?" I watched her face and saw the rage building.
"He was killed. Too human." She spat the words. "They smashed his skull right before me. There wasn't enough silver in his eyes. He was weak anyway."
"Weak? By whose standards?"
"My son Niyan is strong. In mind and body. He was born with knowledge. Batar was excited when he was born. He held Niyan up and declared him a true vampire. He swore my son would do great things for him. He promised."
"So he gave the child to Lenora?" I was still confused on that. Why had Lenora lied about being the child's mother? She acted truly attached to the boy.
"Because Lenora could go where I couldn't," Margie hissed as she paced. "He promised me great things and then he gave it all to her."
"Is that why you ran?"
"I didn't run." She turned to glare at me. "I'm free. I gave him what he wanted and he gave me freedom. He allowed me to leave Declar." The grandiose act was waning. "I left on a scavenger ship."
"Without your child?" Even as she acted unaffected, I saw in her face that she had wanted Niyan. I remembered the excitement of taking him from Tullo's. That couldn't have been an act. She wanted her child. If Niyan was her child. I was still unsure of his parentage. To be honest I hadn't paid too much attention to the boy. He was a part of Lenora and I wanted no part of her.
"It doesn't matter now," Margie laughed and spun around. "I'll have your child, your man and I won't be bothered by that little creature, Maybe." I was ready to spring when the hand reached in from the hallway and clamped down over Margie's mouth. I felt my jaw drop as Lutha stepped into the room holding Margie off the ground. His one large had held her mouth closed. In fact, his huge hand covered most of her face! She was as surprised as I was.
"Lutha!" I gasped. He held one finger up to his lips to silence me. I shut up.
Lutha turned his attention to Margie. His full attention. Margie was kicking and fighting. Her eyes were wide with rage. His were calm. Lutha tilted his head to the side as if to study her. She clawed at his hand and swung at him. He shook his head and I watched the muscles in his massive arm flex. I sat in horror as I watched Margie's eyes bulge so much that they seemed to be ready to pop from her skull. The sound of her skull cracking was simultaneous to the sudden stillness of her body and the emptying of her bowels.
"No one touches Maybe," Lutha said as he let Margie's body fall to the floor.
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My hands were aching from gripping the chair so tightly. "Come on, Little Sister. We have to go."
Lutha, my brother-in-law, held out his huge hand to me. He had just crushed Margie's skull with that hand. I gasped, stood and took his hand. He pulled me to him, kissed my head and lifted me into his arms. I saw the bodies of my Hybrid guards outside the door. Lutha ran with me. I clung to him and cried in relief. I wasn't going to die.
"Come on!" Bryant hissed.
I saw him holding open a heavy wooden door. I could have hugged him. I ducked my head and felt the coolness of the air on my face. We were outside. The door shut and we ran on into the night.
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15
"Hand her up here." Bryant ordered. Lutha lifted me up into the saddle in front of Bryant. "She's frozen!"
I hadn't realized I was trembling. I hadn't realized I was cold. Lutha took off his jacket and put it over me. Bryant was hot. I leaned against his chest and trembled. His arms came around me and I cried. It was Lutha and Bryant who had come for me! I suddenly hated everyone else.
"Should we wait?" Lutha asked looking back towards the fortress I had just been rescued from.
"No," Bryant turned the horse and held me against him. "He's got things to do. We got to get her out of here."
"I'll wait for him." Lutha said.
"No, we're to take her," Bryant ordered. I held onto him. "We're to make sure she's safe. They'll come after us. We need distance between us and them." He urged the horse forward. I looked back to see Lutha mount up and follow.
We rode away from the fortress as if in a race. The open area fell away and the woods surrounded us. I ducked my head as branches slapped me and Bryant. We continued for a long time. The morning was coming. Dew lighted on us, making me shiver more. We finally came to a stop as the sky began to brighten to a soft gray.
Lutha was lifting me off the saddle. Me and my aching body. When he tried to set me down I couldn't stand. Bryant dismounted and held me up. Lutha took care of the horses and I was set on the cold ground. I couldn't stop shaking.
"Take this." Bryant held out a sheath knife to me. I shook my head. "Take it! Jacob said to give it to you to protect his child." I took it and hugged it to my chest.
"Here!" Lutha was digging beneath a tree.
Bryant and I watched as he was moving leaves out of the way. The wet leaves. He laid down a blanket and motioned for Bryant to move me. I was carried over. Bryant looked very concerned as I leaned against Lutha.
"You first!" Lutha pushed Bryant.
"What?" Bryant sounded panicked.
"You first. Hold her against you. Your body heat will warm her. I'll cover you." Bryant nodded and reluctantly climbed into the area. Lutha laid me in there with him and I was covered with a blanket. Lutha then covered us with leaves. "We'll wait here."
"What are we waiting for?" I asked.
"Jacob. He's behind us." Bryant yawned.
"What?"
"He's in the fortress."
"You left him there? Why?"
"He had some things to do."
"Do? Like what?"
"Killing his father." I jumped at the words. "We're waiting for him here and then we'll get the girls."
"They're safe?"
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"Of course!" Bryant yawned widely. I suddenly felt tired, warm and safe. I was drifting off into sleep. The baby had different ideas. Bryant sat up suddenly. "What was that?" I smiled sleepily at him. He looked down at me.
"The baby. He's restless." I set my hand on him. "He does that all the time."
"Wow." Bryant laid back down smiling. "That's really..," he hugged me close, "Awesome."
"It is." I closed my eyes and slept.
Lutha climbed in to lay on the other side of me. I was warmed up and felt safe. I slept for the first time in days. I woke when I felt the soft touch of a familiar finger tracing my face. I heard Lutha grunt and move away. The sudden loss of his body heat made me move closer to Bryant.
"Something I should know?" Jacob asked. I opened my eyes to find him sitting next to me.
"Jacob!" I sat up and fell into his arms crying. "You came for me!"
"Did you think I wouldn't?" He seemed amazed by my accusation.
"I thought..," I began to blubber, "they were going to kill me just like they killed…." I stopped myself.
"My wife." He finished.
"You knew?"
"It's why I left. I knew." He kissed the top of my head. "We have to get moving." He moved all the leaves off me and helped me stand. I fell against him. He stood holding me up. I needed him to stand. I needed him to live.
"Where are we going?" I winced as I tried to standup. My back ached. Jacob dug his fist into the base of my back and the relief was wonderful. I fell against him, hugging him.
"I was afraid," I whispered into his chest.
"I still am." He half carried me to sit on a boulder. "We have to get moving. They still might follow us."
"Did you..," I leaned against him, "kill your father?" I whispered.
"No, he was already dead." Jacob sighed. "Been dead for a bit. I think in his sleep. He was in bed."
"In his sleep? They knew?"
"Yes. I think they were waiting for this one to announce it. Melinda's child was a girl."
"I know." I hugged myself.
"Did you really think I wouldn't come for you?"
"I was afraid." And ashamed that I had thought he had abandoned me. "I didn't sleep. My mind was just going and going and…"
"Going in the wrong direction." Jacob kissed my temple. "How could I live without the one person I love? And my son? Did you think I would let them take him from us?"
"They'll leave us alone now?" I asked hopefully.
"No," he chuckled as he kissed my cheek, "we have to go and we have to go now. They'll be coming for us soon."
"Where? Home? They'll just come after us!"
"Not home."
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"Where?"
"Away from here. To my brother's home. Helio." Jacob kissed me.
Once again I was loaded onto a horse, this time in front of Jacob, and we rode. I held onto Jacob. I didn't want to let go of him. I didn't want to wake from the dream I was having. It was hard going. My body objected in so many ways that I was willing to walk if I had to.
The sun was high in the sky when we stopped and I was lifted down from my perch. I was having a hard time standing. I stumbled about, rubbing my abdomen and wincing. This was not the way to travel. Where was the shuttle? I got my answer almost as I processed the thought.
"Faith!" Maybe was running towards me.
"Maybe!" I fell to my knees and hugged her.
"Faith! We missed you!" She was crying. I held onto her and sighed in relief. She was safe. It wasn't only my child I was worried about. Maybe was also in danger of being taken. Her and Ester.
"Come along." Jacob was helping me to my feet. "We don't have much time. Once James discovers you're gone and my mother dead..,"
"Your mother?" I jumped at the words.
"I'll tell you later. For now, we need to go." We hurried to the waiting shuttle. Maybe was holding tightly to my hand.
"Mommy!" Carus screamed and laughed in delight. I fell into a seat holding him and kissing his face. He laughed more as I cried.
"Fasten yourself. We have a ways to go," Doc ordered, leaning out of the cockpit. Everyone found a seat. Bryant settled next to Merry. The Hybrids were at the back. Maybe and Jacob sat with me while Lutha joined Doc up front.
"What about the horses?" I asked. Jacob laughed and leaned in to kiss me.
"Only you would worry about the animals." He settled Carus into his seat,. "We have no time. They'll be fine."
The door shut and the shuttle lifted off. I took a deep breath and held it. Until we were someplace safe I wouldn't breathe easy. Jacob held my hand and I finally stopped trembling. My heart settled into a normal pace and I held my children close. Time passed and I relaxed.
"How long?" I asked, hugging Maybe against me. She had fallen asleep after a while.
"A day, maybe a little more." Jacob stood and lifted Maybe from her seat.
He disappeared up the steps. I looked around at the shuttle. This was the same shuttle I had come to Trenar on. It was Seth's shuttle. I lifted Carus out of his seat and followed Jacob. It was the same room I had been brought to when I had been taken from Declar. Jacob was laying Maybe in the bed and reached out to me to take Carus. I let him. He tucked them in and led me out. We walked to a room across the hall.
"Take a shower and clean up. We'll talk afterwards."
He handed me some clean clothes and a towel. I numbly went to shower. The water was warm, not hot, but at least it wasn't cold. My clothes were nothing but rags now. I kicked them into a corner and slid on the simple dress Jacob had given me. I stepped out carrying my shoes, my knife and the towel. Jacob smiled at me
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and nodded for me to follow him into the room. I did. The door shut behind us and Jacob pulled me to him.
"God! I missed you!" he kissed me.
"And I you." I sniffled, fighting the tears.
"I almost lost my mind!"
I smiled. He did care.
"Bryant had to tackle me to keep me from going after them."
"But you did."
His eyes. They were full of pain. Jacob and I sat on the bed, holding each other. I was beginning to doze in his arms. I felt safe and calm for the first time in a long time. We laid back in the bed together. I was clinging to him. To my sanity.
"You went to kill your father?"
"I went to stop the madness." He still looked sad.
"And did you?"
"He died in his bed. In his sleep. I didn't see my brother, James, but I saw his wife and her child. The child she was crying over. It was a beautiful baby. Just beautiful. She was thinking of throwing her off the cliff." I gasped. "I talked her out of it. Told her it would make our mother crazy." He laughed at his own joke. "but that doesn't matter now."
"Why?"
"I didn't kill my father." Jacob said the words slowly. I breathed easier at his words. "I killed my mother." I felt my jaw drop.
"Why?"
"She would never have stopped. She would have come after you and me. And my girls. Mabel and Ester would be looking over their shoulders for the rest of their lives. Think what will happen if Ester has a child? A male child? She would have never stopped." He swallowed. "My brother will now rule. Melinda and he will try again. They'll get a son. Someday."
"What about Seth?"
Jacob sighed heavily at the question.
"Let them fight it out among them. I've left with my family and that's all I care about. My family." He kissed me tenderly.
"They'll come, won't they?" I asked through the kiss. "He's the heir. Your brother has no choice but to kill him. Your brother or Seth."
"I know," he whispered, staring at me. I wondered if his eyes would ever stop being so sad.
"If not for the baby, then for what you did to your mother."
"No one saw me," he shrugged.
"The Hybrids and Margie were killed. I've been rescued. I'm missing. Don't you think they'll notice that?"
"They might," he smiled. "you are pretty big to miss."
"And I'm going to get bigger." I rubbed my baby. "A lot bigger."
"You weren't that big with Carus."
"You didn't pay attention. I was big. I just hid it under baggy clothes. You just didn't look at me. At least, not without disgust. Me being a vampire's whore and all." I was teasing and not teasing.
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"No, I didn't look at you." He was looking at me now. "Once you had Carus, you glowed. You seemed to become someone that I wanted to know. A good mother. A happy, pretty mother. I paid attention to you then. How you looked, how you laughed, how you were patient and kind to my girls and how you were so loving to all of us."
"Now I've got your son in here." I took his hand in mine and laid it on my abdomen. "And I love you."
"You used to hate me," he accused.
"You hated me," I countered.
"Yeah, I did."
"But you married me."
"I did." His finger traced my face again. "I wanted you in such a way that I couldn't explain it. You were strong and sassy and so very pretty. I think I loved you before I even knew it. From the first moment I saw you step out so boldly before the Vampire High Council. You were so brave and lovely. Sparkling and bejeweled. Not branded by them, but an equal. I thought of how brave you were to live among them."
"It was my life. And a good life."
"A life I helped take you from."
"You did. But you gave me just as nice a life in return. A home, children, a garden…"
"I want to love you," he said suddenly.
"I love you too." I smiled.
"No, I want to love you." He began kissing me.
I wanted him. Even though I had been rescued, I was still afraid. I felt as if at any moment the happiness would end. I wanted it to never end. Gently, Jacob positioned me into the bed and moved his kisses down my body. His hands pushed at my legs and they fell open for him. The release was beyond what I could have wanted.
Jacob rose over me and kissed me. He was on his knees, lifting me up to meet him. I wrapped my legs around his waist as best I could and held on. I didn't want this to end. I knew in some way that it was the end of something, but I couldn't tell what. Jacob made love to me as if it were our last time. I knew it. I knew something was to come. Something that had me terrified. I closed my eyes and let Jacob take me and love me.
"God! Forgive me! Please! God! Forgive me please!" he grunted, and then leaned forward to kiss our child in me. "Forgive me! I love you!" he whispered to our son. I sighed and forgave him.
"If it is a boy…"
"It is." I was on my side facing him. His finger was tracing my face and more. I closed my eye to his touch.
"Name him Josiah? For my brother? He was a nice boy. I loved him so much. The way he laughed and giggled. He used to call me Acob. He was so little and he couldn't say my name."
"Josiah." I whispered the name. "I like it."
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"We were happy then. We were a very happy family then."
"What happened?"
"My Uncle Roan decided that he wanted to rule it all. Not share with my father. They fought, with fists, and then my father bashed his head in. He became enraged and killed him right in front of us and Seth. Seth's mother knew they would be after her son. She sent him off with Magnus. They hid him away until he was a man. My father kept her and his sisters prisoners for years. They live just beyond the fortress now. They aren't locked away, but they still can't leave. Each time Seth returns to visit them, they always wonder if he might have an 'accident' or such."
"Our lives changed the day Joshua was discovered with Reggie." Jacob smiled a little. "I thought my father would die right then. He didn't. He simply lost his mind and disowned us all. My mother wanted him to take it back. She knew."
"Knew what?" I asked.
"She had been cruel to my aunt and cousins. If Seth took power, then it would be her who was living in that little cottage, for the rest of her life. She would be guarded. Kept out of sight and away from the fortress. Then my father took ill. It's been my mother who runs the kingdom through force and threat. It was best she died this way."
"How did she die?"
"I was just sitting there looking at him. She came in and I told her that I was crying because it was over. That Seth was now the ruler. She screamed that she would have a male heir and came at me. I had the knife in my hand. I was going to kill him with it. She ran right into it." He sat up shaking. "She didn't speak, but fell and I sat watching her die. I couldn't have saved her. But I didn't even try. For my daughter's sake, I didn't try."
"Ester? Where's Ester?" I realized I hadn't seen her on the shuttle.
"I spoke to Lionel's folks and told them to bring her to the fortress after a couple of days. That I approved of the union and that they needed to meet the king. She'll be fine with them. She loves him. I left a letter with them to open later. I left her the house as her dowry."
"Are you sure about that?"
"No, I wanted her to be safe. She would have been miserable with us and now she'll be safe. And loved."
My hand found his and we held on. I knew they would come. James would come to avenge his mother's death. He would come for our son. The one who could step before Seth as ruler. It was far from over. So very far from over.
"Did I tell you how much I love you?"
"Not in a couple of days," I teased.
"Well, I love you more than my whole self." He laid back down and held me as he kissed me.
"What have you done now, you rogue?" Joshua Raven asked as the shuttle door opened.
Jacob looked just like his older brother. Laughing and joking, they hugged and jumped around like little kids. The punching and playful shoving was amusing.
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I stood holding Carus protectively in my arms. Maybe was holding onto me. We waited patiently to be noticed.
"I've done something terrible," Jacob said. Joshua nodded and patted his little brother's shoulder.
"We'll talk later. First tell me who this lovely creature is." Joshua walked to us. His eyes moved over me as he dropped down on his knees to gaze at Maybe.
"Mabel Raven, my daughter," Jacob said proudly.
"Mabel? After Granny? Why would you do that to a child?" Jacob laughed as his brother chastised him. "I thought you had two?"
"Ester stayed with her fiancé," Jacob said, looking down.
"Fiancé? She's old enough for that?" Joshua laughed. "You have a fiancé?" he asked Maybe.
"NO!" she frowned at him. "I'm just eight!"
"Excuse me!" Joshua laughed.
"Who are you? You look like my daddy." Maybe glared up at the man.
"I'm your Uncle Joshua." The man mussed her hair. He stood to look at me.
"Joshua, this is my wife. This is Faith." I wondered what this man would think about me.
"Please to meet you." He held his hands out and took Carus from me. My son shifted and reached for Jacob.
"Daddy!" Carus leaned way out and Jacob took him.
"This is our son, Carus." Jacob hugged the boy to him.
"Your son?" Joshua nodded examining the child who looked nothing like my husband. Carus looked like a vampire. Joshua's locked his eyes on his brother's and he sighed. "A handsome boy."
"Thank you."
"Come on to the house. Reggie will be surprised, but ecstatic. We have so few guests! All of you!" Joshua waved the Hybrids to follow. Reluctantly they did.
"We can't really stay," Jacob was saying,
"You can stay long enough to tell me what's going on." Joshua called over his shoulder as we followed him into the wonderful house.
I had to stop to take it in. It was huge! It had lots of windows and a covered porch that went all the way around it. There were no bars on the windows, no locks, no darkness. It was a bright, cheery house that looked as if it belonged on a beach. A beach! Like on Earth. I heard the familiar roar of the ocean and shuddered, remembering the last time I had heard it.
"Ocean?" Jacob teased.
"I loved that part of our lives. Not living next to the ocean was not an option for me." Joshua smiled at me with his very tanned face. "I love the sun and surf and sand and Reggie!" His smile grew as a very darkly tanned Hybrid stepped onto the porch in shorts and nothing else.
"Joshua!" Reggie replied in an overly happy tone. His silver brown eyes traveled over us. "Ten for lunch?"
"About that," Joshua laughed. "This little demon," he leaned over to tap Carus on the nose, making the boy laugh, "is my nephew Carus and that pretty little lady is my niece, Mabel. You remember Jacob and this is his wife, Faith. They've
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come for a visit."
"I see." Reggie raised his eyebrow at Jacob. "What did you do?"
"You don't want to know." Jacob leaned in to hug Reggie.
"You've said that before!" Reggie laughed hugging Jacob and easily lifting him off the ground. "Cute kid! Yours?" Reggie looked at Carus' laughing face with questions. "Must take after his mother!" He set Jacob down and turned to face me. "Pleasure." He held out his hand and I took it. I was shaking. His other hand covered mine. "It's okay. You're safe here."
We ate on the porch. The food was fresh fruits, fish and breads. We laughed and talked and relaxed. I held Carus in my lap and had Maybe on one side of me and Jacob on the other. We were safe, but I wanted the children close.
Carus yawned widely. We were all stuffed and lulled into a relaxed state by the sound of the surf pounding. I yawned. Maybe yawned and Reggie smiled. He looked to Joshua and I found that they had both been watching us. Joshua nodded.
"Jacob, let's me and you take a walk and have a nice brotherly talk. We can catch up. Reggie, show his family to their room." Joshua stood. Jacob kissed my cheek, kissed Carus' head, patted Maybe's head before he stood and followed his older brother for a walk along the beach.
"Come on, little man." Reggie gently lifted the sleepy boy from my arms. "Follow me."
Maybe stood, holding tightly to my hand. We followed the Hybrid up the stairs and into a lovely room. Maybe climbed into the large bed. Reggie laid Carus down next to her. My son instantly rolled over to bury his face in the bed and lift his little butt into the air. His favorite sleeping position. I walked over to look out the large window. I watched Jacob and Joshua walking along the beach in deep conversation.
"It's bad?" I jumped. Reggie was right behind me.
"It's bad."
"Rest." I nodded, but didn't move. I heard the door shut and jumped. I hurried to try it and to my relief it opened. I wasn't locked in. I climbed into the bed and hugged Maybe close with my hand on Carus' back. I closed my eyes. I listened to the soft, even breathing of my sleeping children. I hoped I dreamed of something nice.
I dreamed of Quid 4. I think it was the sound of the ocean. On Quid 4, we had lived near a stream. We had played and run in the fields. I dreamed of Elsie, Kathy, me and Eldon running. At first we were laughing and running, and then we were running in fear. Something was after us. We would die if we didn't get away. Eldon was yelling at us to run. We ran.
"Faith?"
I sat up panting and crying. My heart was racing. I sat up and fell into Jacob's arms. He held me and kissed my head. I looked back at the sleeping children in the bed. Jacob helped me climb from between them.
"Merry will watch them for us." He held onto me as we left the room. I nodded, seeing Merry and Bryant in the room across the hall.
"Did you tell him?" I asked.
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"Come on." He led me down the stairs and out of the house.
"Did you tell him?" I asked again as he stepped onto the beach.
"Yes." Jacob held my hand as we walked.
"And?"
"And he said it was a long time in coming." Jacob's voice trembled. "We had to think of what to do. They'll come here soon. Looking. We can't stay. It puts them in danger and the rest of the people who live here. We have to move on."
"He said that?"
"No, he said to stay and fight." Jacob smiled lovingly at me. "But it's not fair to them. There's another colony starting on a planet some distance from here. We're going there."
"Where is it?" I asked.
"A long ways away..," he sighed. "Listen, I have something for you."
"For me?"
"Yeah, that's why I wasn't there that morning they took you. I went to get it. I should have been there. I knew there was something going on, but I wanted to have you wearing it when we went before my parents." Jacob held out his hand and there lay a simple gold ring. I stared at it.
"Jacob."
"I promised you one," he said. "I measured your finger with a string while you were asleep. I was waiting to put some sort of precious stone on it, but I couldn't get one, so I just had them finish it." He took my hand in his and slid the ring on. It fit snuggly.
"Jacob, it's beautiful."
"It's not as pretty as the one you had, but…"
"It's beautiful." I hugged him.
"Not as beautiful as you." He kissed me. "I do love you. I want you to know that. Please believe me on that."
"I do," I laughed. "Wherever we're going will be wonderful!"
"Will it?" he laughed nervously.
"As long as we're all together, yes!" He looked sad, but kissed me tenderly. "What is it?"
"Starting over is hard. I don't like putting you all through this."
"We'll be fine!" I was busy looking at my ring or I would have paid more attention to his demeanor.
"Let me make love to you?" he asked, pulling me to him. "Here? Now? Let me lie you down?" He was kissing me. I nodded and we settled into a shady spot in the sand.
We talked and laughed. He made love to me and asked me to please forgive him. I did. I loved him. The sun moved past us and as evening came, Jacob started a fire and laid next to me, warming me with his body. His hand traveled over our son. He spoke to our son often, making me laugh at his antics.
"You will be the one to look after your mother. She is always getting herself into trouble. You are in charge of her!" I giggled at him.
"I don't always get into trouble." I ran my hand through Jacob's hair. He looked over my mound of a stomach at me and smiled at me. His hair was mussed
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and he looked so handsome to me.
"You do," he teased.
"I don't!"
"You do." His hands were pushing my thighs open. I sighed as his hands moved to massage me. "Don't you?"
"Jacob?" I gasped.
"Don't you?" His teasing was the brink of torture. "Answer me?" his voice was demanding and then muffled. I moaned and lost myself to him.
"Jacob! Please!" I screamed in pleasure. A very muffled reply came from below. I lay watching the stars beginning to appear in the darkening sky. Which one was Declar?
It got dark. The moon was high in the sky and reflecting off the water. It was beautiful there. Peaceful and serene. I didn't want to leave, but we did need to return to the house and our children. Jacob seemed unconcerned until my stomach growled, loudly. We had been at it all day. Not that I minded. But we did have responsibilities.
"I think I've monopolized you enough. Reggie is cooking up a storm. We should go back, be polite and enjoy a meal. I'm sure the children are tired of being spoiled by their Uncles." Jacob stood, dressing. I reached for my clothes. I hated, to but we did need to go back.
"Jacob?"
"Yes?"
"What's wrong?" There was something going on and it was something he didn't want me to know.
"I feel guilty for not being a good husband to you." He sat down, looking miserable.
"You are a good husband." I sat next to him. "You took care of me, my son and you rescued me. You gave me a wonderful home. And you loved me. I love you. We love our kids. What more could we want?"
"Nothing." He kissed me then.
"Then stop looking so sad!" I teased. He smiled at me.
"Don't put your shoes on. The sand is cool now. It'll be a nice walk back." And it was.
We had dinner. We had a wonderful dinner. We talked. We laughed and we joked with our companions well into the night. The evening breeze was cool and soothing. I listened to the rhythm of the ocean, the breeze, the even breathing of my son who lay sleeping in my lap and the light conversation. I was comfortable and the idea of never leaving Helio was appealing. Jacob was smiling. His eyes lighted on me often and I liked that feeling. We had just spent the whole day making love on the beach and I wanted more. I was terribly in love with my husband. I looked down at the ring on my finger and felt a warmth rush over me.
We went on talking into the night. Jacob and Joshua caught up on all kinds of crazy childhood memories and stories. They talked of how wonderful Helio was. Joshua wanted us to stay. I watched Jacob gaze at Maybe and Carus and I knew he would not stay and fight. He was tired of fighting. He just wanted to live, in peace with his family. I was inclined to agree with him.
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"Let's get some sleep." I woke from my sleepy daze to find him lifting a sleeping Maybe into his arms. Joshua took Carus from me. He hugged my son to
his chest and carried him away. I followed them up to our room.
"Rest," Joshua ordered, kissing my cheek as he left us.
I watched Jacob tuck our children into the bed and then me. I slept with Carus next to me and Maybe on the other side of him. Jacob climbed in behind me and held me, setting his free hand on Maybe's head. I relaxed against him and slept. Cramped and comfortable. We slept as a family.
I dreamed of a little house. Just one large room that opened out onto the ocean. We could live there. It was so nice on Helio and I wanted to stay. Here was the first place I truly felt as if we were a family. In my dream, Jacob loved it too. In my dream, we lived a life that was the very happiest of family lives. My life.
"She looks so pretty when she sleeps," the voice stated. I smiled in my sleep. "And when she smiles." I groaned and opened my eyes to find Joshua and Reggie smiling at me.
"Morning." Reggie's smile widened into a hilarious, nervous grin.
"Morning." I looked around. Carus was stretching next to me.
"I got him." Reggie lifted my son from the bed and made a quick exit. I sat up and looked to Joshua.
"Where's Jacob?" I felt the words in my throat catch. I knew.
"They left. Before dawn." Joshua reached out to take my hand in his.
"Left? They left me?" I felt the panic growing.
"Faith," Joshua squeezed my hand, "for your safety and the child's he decided to leave you behind."
"Where did he go?" I realized he had never told me the name of the colony he was going to.
"I can't tell you."
"Joshua!" I screamed.
"He didn't tell me. He knew I would cave and tell you. He didn't trust me. We spoke of several different colonies and I have no idea which one he went to. I argued with him to tell me, to tell you, to take you…. but he left."
"So he just left us to live here with you?" I felt the tears falling.
"No." Joshua reached out to brush a tear away. "We're taking you to Declar." I burst into hysterical sobs. Joshua patted my back as I fell into the bed screaming.
Declar? I screamed and beat my fists into the bed. Joshua sat patiently while I had a meltdown of epic proportions. Jacob had left me and Carus. We were alone and I was pregnant. Deserted. Declar? Tullo? Eldon? Donum and Spera? I was going home to my family. I should have been ecstatic. I was crushed.
I sat up slowly. Joshua was still sitting there, waiting. He handed me a towel and pointed to the bathroom. I stumbled from the bed and into the bathroom. The cold water on my face didn't help. I sobbed more. When I came from the bathroom, Joshua was still sitting there. What was I to do?
"He left this for you." Joshua held out a piece of paper.
I took the letter and walked over to the window. I looked out at the ocean before I looked at the letter. Reggie was chasing Carus around in the yard. My son
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was laughing as I focused on the words written. To me from my husband.
"Dearest Faith,
Don't hate me. Please forgive me." I smiled at that. I would never hear him say that again. I sniffled and read on. "I know you'll be angry. I know it'll be a son. I know they'll come after you and my son. The safest place for you is away from me. I love you with all my heart and this is why I'm giving you back to that vampire bastard." I smiled at that too. "I know he'll protect you. I know he can. I know I can't. Please don't stop loving me because I have to leave you. Please know that if it had been only you and I, and not Mabel and everyone else, I would be there when you woke. I would kiss your pretty face. I would make love to you as the sun rose. I love you, Faith. I leave you in the hands of my brother, the only person I can trust with you and our children. I'm your husband from now until the day I die. Please remember that. Please tell my son I love him. Please tell my son Carus, that I love him. Please name my son Josiah. Please remember I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I will always love you. Your loving husband, Jacob Raven."
I read the letter twice. I cried while I read it. I hugged it to my chest and cried more. Joshua came to me and I let him hug me. He even cried a little with me. In the end we stood just staring out into the ocean.
"We have to go," Joshua whispered. "We've a long trip before us."
I stepped back and nodded. I looked around the room. There was a backpack sitting by the door with my knife on top of it. I picked it up and saw the little doll that Maybe had dragged along. Maybe's doll. I stuffed it in the backpack, put the knife into the pocket of the dress I had slept in and followed Joshua down to breakfast.
We ate. Carus laughed and kept the men busy. I ate. We boarded the very small shuttle and I sat down with Carus. He was well worn out and yawning as we lifted off. I watched Helio become small and disappear into darkness.
"Relax," Joshua said to me. I nodded. "We'll get you home soon."
"Home?" I mumbled.
"Jacob made me promise. He said he had made a promise and asked if I could keep that promise for him."
"Promise?"
I nodded and fought not to cry anymore. Jacob was a man of his word. I sat back and relaxed. Carus was sleeping in his seat. I hugged myself and sat back.
My thoughts were unfocused and frightening. It had taken us days to get from Declar to Trenar. I expected the return trip to take that long. I fell asleep and woke to find Carus gone. I jumped and found Reggie behind me, feeding my son. I relaxed. I relaxed the hold I had on the knife in my pocket. I relaxed the hold, but I didn't let go.
The trip was a blur. I tried to eat. I held my son. I rubbed my belly. I cried. I was terrified and I felt as if I was alone. I didn't want to be alone. I wanted Jacob to hold me. I wanted him to love me. I wanted the impossible. I wanted a miracle. Even in my sleep, I dreamed of a miracle. I dreamed of being in Jacob's arms.
"Faith?" I was shaken lightly. I sat up instantly. It was Jacob! I blinked and
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found Joshua smiling at me. "We're here."
"What?" I looked out the window and saw it. Declar.
"Where is your home?"
"Home?" I blinked again. Home. A word that was foreign to me.
"We have to land quickly and leave you. Where do you want to go?" Joshua was being patient with his crazy sister in law.
"The farm is due East of the Vampire High Council."
"So if we go to the Vampire High Council, can we let you out there?" I knew that was a risk.
"No, go east. East to the largest house. I'll show you."
Joshua nodded and led me to sit next to him as he steered the shuttle into Declar's atmosphere. My stomach was turning. And so was my heart. I had claimed so many planets as home. Earth, Quid 4, Declar, and Trenar. I would have liked to have claimed Helio, but my home was where my family was. I watched the planet get bigger and then disappear as we sped along. I was home.
Joshua set the shuttle down in the very farthest corner of our property. I could barely see the big barn. Behind that was the house. It was home and it wasn't. I was frightened, unsure and terribly confused. Was I dreaming? In reality I hadn't slept in a long time. Not since before I had been taken from Jacob and my home.
Joshua hugged me. He told me that if I needed him, I could send word and he would come. To expect him to meet me in this exact spot. I nodded, knowing I would never see him or Jacob again. He pushed me to the door. He took Carus and hugged him and handed him to me. I scooped up my backpack and stepped through the first two doors and let them close behind me. Reggie put his hand onto the clear door and I put my hand to his.
"Thank you!" I called. The outer doors opened and I stepped out into the bright sunlight of Declar. I moved away from the shuttle and watched it leave me.
I was floating. Again I would have to get used to the gliding effect. Carus seemed to weigh nothing. I shifted him to my hip, slung the backpack over my shoulder, and glided home.
Home. How long had it been? Over a year. I passed the fields and saw the herd working in the distance. I ignored them. It was my children I wanted. I moved on past the little shack where I had let Eldon make love to me. I stopped to look at the house.
The house was still standing. It was my home. In the sun, it shone like a beacon of sanity. I hurried through the door, up the stairs and in through the safety door of Tullo's room. The room was pitch black. I turned on the lamp on the nightstand and saw him.
Tullo. He hadn't changed. His pale blonde hair was still so thin and silky. I reached to touch it. Carus yawned. I set him in the chair and moved to the bed. I touched Tullo's head and he sat up instantly. The look on his surprised face was frightening. He looked at me, he looked at Carus then he looked over his shoulder.
"Faith?" He spoke as if he was unsure that he was awake.
"Tullo," I smiled at him. "I'm home."
"Tullo?"
The voice was female. I stood straight up. There was movement on the other
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side of the bed. I moved to the foot of the bed to look at the girl sitting up, holding the bedding around her. I spun and saw the breeding table and straps. I moved before anyone could react. I was over the bed and slapping the girl. The knife was in my hand and I was swinging it at the bed.
"Faith! Faith!" Tullo pulled me away from the bed and the screaming girl. I reached out and slapped the face again. I grabbed her hair and dragged her from the bed. She fell in a pile of bedding, her naked body on the floor. She looked up at me and it was then I saw that it was Elsie that I was hitting. "Faith! Stop!" Tullo pushed me away. I held the knife at the ready. Tullo stood ready to dive on me.
"Go to hell!" I screamed. I snatched up my screaming son, threw open the door, letting the sunlight spill in. I listened to Tullo yell in pain and dive for cover. I heard the noise from below as I ran to the nursery.
"Faith!" Tullo screamed after me. I slammed the door behind me and set Carus down.
"Faith?" Kathy stood looking beyond surprised.
I swung the knife widely and she ran for the door. I locked it behind her and then ran to lock the safety door. I slid down to the floor holding the knife and trying to slow my breathing. Carus was crying and I looked to see Donum sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes. Spera was out of her bed and running to me.
"Mommy!" she screamed. I dropped the knife. I woke from my crazed state and hugged my daughter.
"Mommy?" Donum climbed from his bed and ran to me. I hugged them both and kissed them over and over. They hadn't forgotten me! I cried. I laughed. I ignored the knocking at the door.
"Where have you been?" Donum asked.
He had grown. He looked to be six or seven! And he looked just like Tullo. I kissed him over and over and he laughed at me. Spera was sitting on my lap and I hugged her. She was so pretty. Her hair was long and silky. The other girl sat, looking confused. Zoe. I held my hand out and she ran to me. I hugged them all. Carus toddled over and we sat hugging and kissing.
"Who's he?" Donum asked, looking at Carus with a critical eye.
"This is your baby brother. This is Carus. We're home." The resemblance was unbelievable. Spera hugged her baby brother. Donum was more reserved as he looked over the baby.
"Mommy?" Donum was looking at the door where they were pounding and then at me.
"Leave it," I declared. "I'm here for you. I want to be alone with you."
"Mommy, Daddy's going to be mad." Donum was so like Tullo.
"Let him." I slid the knife in my pocket and stood.
The nursery was large. Looking about I took inventory. There were clothes and toys. There were beds, a table and chairs and a bathroom. I didn't have much to work with. I was in a room with four children and no food. My stomach growled. I felt light headed. The children were playing. I picked up the backpack I had dropped and searched it for food. What I found shocked me.
There was the bag. The little bag that held my jewelry. Jacob had taken it from me, and now he had given it back to me. I looked at the jewels in my hand. I
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slid Tullo's ring onto my finger. I took a deep breath and put the rest into the little bag. I put the little bag into the backpack. I pulled out the food Reggie had packed and sat on the floor to have a picnic with my children.
We spent the day playing. Every game, every toy. We made a mess of the room. We ate, we played and we laughed. The day slid away and when the darkness fell, the pounding on the door increased. Tullo was awake. His voice was demanding on the other side. I ignored it. I could ignore him for as long as necessary. What I couldn't ignore was the door being kicked in.
The children ran to me. I tucked the children behind me and held the knife at the ready. Donum held Carus in his arms. He had become very protective of his new baby brother, as had Spera, who stood protectively in front of them. Zoe was on the other side of me.
Tullo entered the room, looking angry. I had figured as much. He walked about, looking at the mess we had made, kicking toys and books from his path. His hands were behind his back. I gulped and held the knife at the ready. No one was taking my children from me. If he threw me out, I was taking my children with me. He walked to me and looked me over.
"You're home." He hugged me to him. I didn't hug him back. "You're home!" He sat down in the rocking chair, pulling me into his lap. I sat. We stared at each other for a long time. The children continued to play. He looked at Carus and held out a hand to the boy. His son. Carus came to him smiling.
"His name is Carus," I whispered.
"Beloved. How fitting." Tullo lifted Carus and into my lap. "He's beautiful."
"He's yours." I said.
"There was never a doubt. He looks just like Donum. And Spera." Tullo's eyes were calm. His eyes went to my swollen abdomen. I looked away. "Tell me?"
"I can't." I hugged Carus and climbed from Tullo's lap.
"Faith…"
"Am I still the lady of your house?" I asked coldly. "Still?" Tullo looked surprised by my question.
"Of course…yes," he stammered his answer.
"Get her out of my bed!" I hissed. "I am the lady of this house. Get her out of my bed or I'll kill her!" I turned to face him. "It is my right. I will not speak to you until you have her removed from our home."
I sat down on the floor with the children. Tullo sat looking at me. I ignored him. He sighed and left the room, shutting the damaged door behind him. I was home. That was the only thing that mattered to me. That and my children. No one else was going to take them from me. Or me from them. I would kill them first. Spera climbed into my lap and I hugged her back to me.
"I missed you, Mommy." She said as she pulled my arms around me. Maybe had done this. I missed Maybe, but I hugged Spera tightly.
"I missed you too." I kissed the top of her head.
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16
"They're asleep." Tullo said and I jumped. "Aren't they beautiful?"
I was rocking in the chair, holding my knife and watching my children sleep. The room was a mess. I had thought of straightening it, but decided I wanted to watch them sleep. Mercy had brought food and the cradle for Carus.
"Donum all over again!" she declared. Mercy was the only one I would let in the nursery. I didn't even bother moving as she stepped into the room with a tray of food and a dress over her shoulder. She fed me, then sat in the rocker as I took a shower. I didn't even have to say not to let anyone take my children. She knew. Tullo came in and out, but I would not let him touch me nor would I speak to him.
"Yes," I said. I noticed that all the drapes were drawn in the hallway, keeping the daylight out of the home.
It had been three days. I refused to see anyone. I had locked my children and me in the nursery and showered my children with attention and love. I was bound and determined to make sure they knew I was there and that I loved them. In those three days, Mercy brought me clothes, food and company. I was grateful to her. Now I was alone with Tullo.
"Do you plan on ever sleeping again?" he asked, reaching to take the knife from me. I let him take it and watched him set it high on a shelf.
"No." I stood and stretched. "I'll sleep on the floor."
"As you have been." Tullo stood with his hands behind his back. I hated that he stood that way.
"As I will continue to do."
"Can we talk?"
"Talk." He looked at the sleeping children.
"Not here. They listen. Come with me." He turned and left the room. I sat. He came back in and stood before me. "Please?"
"I'm not going back to that room." I said.
"Fine. Shall we take a walk?"
"Away from my children?"
"How about to your old room?" He was getting annoyed with me. He thought I was more than a little bit crazy. I knew I was. Doc would find me very unboring right about now.
"The breeding room?"
"Faith!" Tullo held his hand out to me. I looked at it. "Faith, please?" I ignored his hand and stood. We walked down the hall to my old room.
"What do you want to talk about?" I asked, walking in and looking around. It was the same. Empty. All of my things had been removed. They were very sure that I would never return.
"Us."
"Us? Where are my things?" I asked.
"Mercy packed them up."
"I guess you were sure I'd never come back. Made it easy for you to move her right in." I sat down at the desk.
"Faith…"
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"How long after I was taken did you move your concubine into my room and your bed? Is she with child yet?"
"Faith…"
"I'm back. For my children." I felt my dress for my knife. Tullo had taken it. I sat, frowning. I looked about for Maybe. I shook my head. No, that was another life. A life I would never see again.
"Carus…"
"He's your son."
"And the one you now carry?"
"Not yours." I set my hands on it.
"A human?" the disgust was thick in his voice.
"A human who knew I was pregnant when I was taken. A human who not only risked his life but the life of his children to hide and protect your child." I watched the anger fade from his eyes. "Yes, I carry his child. It was expected. And I did it so my son would be safe. Your son. Our son."
Tullo nodded. He paced slowly. I sat. I watched his face and saw the difference. He was older looking. In a year he had aged a lot. He stopped pacing to look at me. He pulled the chair close and sat before me. He took my hand in his and held it. His eyes searched mine.
"Tell me."
I told him. I started from the time we were attacked and ended where I had caught him in bed with Elsie. I told him everything. All of it, including my love of my husband who had kept his promise and returned me to Tullo. To my children. Tullo was emotionless as he listened. But then Tullo had always been emotionless for the most part. He was a vampire.
I told him all about the dynamics of Jacob's family and the threat towards the child I carried. I spoke and Tullo listened. I felt emotions race through me and fear was the foremost. I had been living in perpetual fear for a while. It felt good to talk about it, to let all the fear and worries flow away was as if my spirit were floating. The way I floated on Declar.
"Joshua brought us here. We stepped off the shuttle and here we are. I have no idea where Jacob is. I don't even know if they're alive. I don't know if his family is coming here to take this child from me. They were going to cut it out of me." My hand held my child. "I'm just here."
"Just here." Tullo repeated my words and nodded. "Faith, I missed you. I thought I would never see you again."
"So you moved Elsie right in?" I stood and moved away from him.
"Faith, please..," he sighed. "Move back into this room. The children need their lives back. They need to go outside and your family is worried about you. They want to see you."
"I don't want to see anyone." I was hugging myself.
"You do that when you're frightened." He stepped behind me and hugged me over my arms. "Hold yourself."
"I've no one but me."
"You have me." I wouldn't give in. I didn't want him to be there for me. I wanted to be alone. I didn't want to love again. I didn't want to need a man to take
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care of me. I wanted to take care of myself and my children.
"You have Elsie." I tried to step away. He held me.
"I don't want Elsie." His voice was soft in my ear. I found myself leaning back into his arms. The liquid voice of a vampire can murk up your thoughts and feelings. Mask them. Your inhibitions float away. You float. I felt myself drifting to him. "I want my mate." He kissed my ear.
"Do you?" I gasped. I had forgotten how cold his touch and kiss were. "I thought you were dead."
"I would have been if not for your friend, Lutha. We were very lucky he was ordered to kill me."
"Lucky?" I sighed.
"Did he help you escape?" Tullo's soft voice asked.
"Yes, he did. He took my son and hid him away with his daughter so they wouldn't hurt Carus. He helped me so much." I missed Lutha. "He's been saving my life for a very long time."
"I owe him, then."
"We'll never see him again." To say it hurt. I hadn't had a chance to say goodbye or thank him.
"I still owe him. He sent you back to me."
"Him and Jacob." I felt Tullo stiffen slightly.
"Jacob? Your husband?" his voice was cold.
"My husband." I stepped away from him.
"Well, you've been busy. A vampire mate, a Hybrid lover, a human husband… maybe we should find you a Quid to fuck? It would make your life complete."
Tullo's words did nothing to me. I was beyond feeling. I was close to beyond being human. I was in survival mode. I stood emotionless as he threw the hate filled accusations at me. I wasn't sure if it was a test or if he was really thinking of getting a Quid for me. I didn't care. My hand was in my pocket, clenched in a fist, missing my knife. I stood waiting.
"Would it make you happy?" I finally asked. Tullo's eyes narrowed into two silver knives. "Will you leave me alone if I do? Are you planning on observing? Critiquing?"
"It would not." He looked away.
"Do you think it would make me happy?" I asked coldly. "Will you at least let me pick?" His eyes snapped back to me. "I was taken by you. Raped. Oh, no, I was bred and saved. Then I was ordered to take Eldon as a lover. You don't want to know how that went." I turned to step around him. "And Jacob? Well, another rape in the name of a union. Could I at least pick the Quid you want to fuck me to round out my experience? It might actually make it more enjoyable for me during my humiliation." I stepped to the window. I was tempted to open the curtains so that he would leave.
"I'm sorry." His liquid voice was soft.
"No, you're not. You only want me to hurt so that you can feel better about what you've done. So our children will forgive you taking a lover in my absence. For you giving up on me. Tell me, how easy was it to forget me? How long did it
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take to have my place in your bed filled? How did you explain it to my children?"
Tullo stood looking straight ahead. He wasn't the only one who could hurt with their words. I wondered if my words hurt because they were true. How had he explained my sudden disappearance to my children? As badly as I had explained my reappearance? My crazed reappearance? I decided that it was time to explain to them. I hoped they would understand.
"This man. What is his name? Your husband?" Tullo's voice was calm and liquid again. It wouldn't work. I could not be wooed by him.
"Jacob Raven." I moved around the room. Around Tullo.
"Well, I owe him." I turned to look at him. He was sincere. "I missed you. More than you will ever know." Now I felt bad for being cruel. "I never gave up on you. And I knew you were alive somewhere because each night when I walked in the moonlight I looked to the stars for you and I felt you looking back."
"Oh." I could barely whisper my answer.
"I missed you and I died a little more each night I spent away from you. I didn't take Elsie to my bed for the reasons you think. But she will not return. I only want you." He held his hand out to me.
"I'm frightened," I replied, staring at the hand. Without thinking, I reached for his hand. For comfort. I let him pull me to him.
"Of what?" His liquid voice was soothing in my ear. "I'm here. Don't be afraid. You need never be frightened again."
"Tullo, I'm pregnant. What if my child can't breathe the air?" I began to shake. "He'll die. Jacob's child will die."
"No, he won't." Tullo hugged me closer. "He'll be fine."
"You don't know that." I began to lose control. I wasn't going to cry. I had told myself that.
"I promise." I let him hold me. I let the wall I built fall away. "I owe it to the man who saved my child."
"Tullo…"
"Elsie is gone. You stay in this room. You don't have to come back to my bed. Not now. Not ever, if you don't want. You are the lady of this house. You've given me a son. Your duties have been fulfilled. At least to me. Now, what about your lover?"
"What?" I turned to face him.
"Eldon. If you won't take comfort from me, maybe you should take it from him. He's been asking about you."
"I don't want comfort from anyone. I want my children." I began to squirm out of his hold.
"Listen to me." I calmed again, his voice hypnotic to me. I stopped fighting and listened. I was too tired to fight him. I needed sleep. I needed my mind to stop spinning. "Calm down. You need rest. You're too excitable. You're scaring the children. And me. Faith, I just got you back. I don't want to lose you. You're the most wonderful woman I know. You're my mate. But you're a little crazy."
"I am?" I leaned my head against his chest for strength. "Just a little?"
He smiled at my humorous answer.
"You are. Vampires mate for life. You're my life."
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"Don't keep me as your mate out of a sense of duty," I whispered.
"It's not out of duty. It's because I love you." He kissed my head. "And I missed you." His voice cracked. I looked up at his face.
It was something that I had never seen. I wasn't sure anyone had ever seen it. A vampire, crying. The tears were silver as they traveled down his face. I reached up to touch one. Tullo closed his eyes at my touch and pulled me close. I fell into his arms and let him cry. I didn't cry. I was too exhausted to cry.
Tullo led me to the bathroom. I took a shower and when I stepped out, I found a new dress, lingerie and shoes. My hairbrush and comb were sitting on the vanity. I dressed and combed my hair. It was quiet. The hallway was dark. I suddenly felt the panic rising. I ran down to the nursery and found Tullo sitting in the rocker, holding Carus.
Carus was babbling and laughing at the faces Tullo was making at him. It was very out of character to see a vampire making silly faces. But then Tullo did a lot of things that were out of character. I leaned on the doorframe and watched them. Tullo looked up at me, smiling. He was delighted with his son. This was the first time he had even gotten to touch him.
"Mama!" Carus called from his perch. "Daddy!" My son was hanging onto Tullo's hand. "Where Daddy?" The words tore at my heart. Jacob. Carus wanted Jacob. The man he knew as his Daddy.
"Right here," I said, moving to hug Tullo. Carus looked at us both and frowned. He looked back towards the door as if expecting Jacob to come in behind me. "This is Daddy." I kissed Tullo. His eyes held pain. Tullo hugged me and Carus.
"Daddy," Carus yawned. I moved to lay down on the pallet I had set up on the floor. Carus got down and toddled over to lay with me.
"You have a room. A room with a bed." Tullo stood and walked over to look down at me. "Was it so primitive with that man that you slept on the floor?"
"Not always," I sighed, frowning. I had slept on a porch. I didn't want to remember. I wanted to forget. I wanted to go forward. I had to. For my sanity and my children.
"Well, you've a bed!" Tullo mumbled, lying down on the floor with us.
"What are you doing?" I asked with a nervous laugh.
"Sleeping on the floor with my wife. You don't sleep in a bed, I won't." He laid down and Carus laid down next to him.
"Tullo…"
"I want to be with you. I missed you."
I laid on my side and set my hand on my abdomen. Tullo set his hand over mine. Carus was face down, butt in air and already sleeping. I smiled. Tullo was trying. In all reality, in the vampire world Tullo was doing more than trying. His fingers wove through mine, making me feel safe as I fell asleep.
Dresses. Pretty dresses. They were on my bed. I picked one up and smiled. I touched the soft silk and held one up to me. Pretty dresses. I hadn't had one in a long time. Once again, I was being pampered and adored. I spun about, and froze.
"We need to talk!" Kathy shut the door and leaned back against it.
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I had been home for five days and had avoided seeing all of them except Elsie, and I didn't want to lay eyes on her ever again. I sighed and set the dress on the bed. My back was aching and Tullo was gone. He had given me a kiss and gone off to town as soon as the sun had set. The children were in the nursery with Mercy. She was the only one I allowed on the second floor. Now Kathy was here. I sat down in the chair and frowned.
"Where's Tullo?" I asked.
"Why? So he can come beat me for you?" Kathy dragged a chair over and sat before me. "Where the hell have you been for the past year? Why are you acting crazy and why in the hell did you beat on Elsie?"
"She was in my bed with my mate," I replied simply. "Concubines are not allowed in the lady of the house's bed. Ever."
"You dictate vampire law to me!" Kathy laughed coldly. "You bitch!" If she expected me to get upset, she failed. I sat staring at her. "Do you even know what happened? Do you?"
"No." And I didn't care. My demeanor must have shown that to her.
"Well," she took a deep breath, "I'm gonna tell you." She squared her shoulders and set her face for a fight. "Tullo came back here beaten. Badly beaten and bloody. Demato, Eldon and he got on the shuttle and left that night. They just left! They went looking for you and were gone for almost three months!" Tullo had gone looking for me? I was shocked to hear that.
"Batar and Lortus came for the children. They took your children!" Kathy stood and began to pace. "Elsie went with them. She refused to let them take the children alone. She went! For you! Elsie went with them!" Now Kathy was screaming. "You bitch! Don't you know? They bred her! Both those animals! They broke her back! She can't walk! Faith! Elsie can't walk! They tried to kill her!" Kathy spun to face me and fell to her knees, sobbing and beating the floor with her fists.
"She took all that abuse for you and your children." I stood and walked over to her. Kathy was sobbing now. I knelt down on the floor with her. We held each other. "She can't walk. Tullo took her to his bed to keep her safe. He isn't breeding her. He's keeping her alive. You know what happens to Hybrids who aren't productive." I knew. They were killed.
"She took all that abuse for the children. She was fighting for your children. She tried and tried and fought. They took her, they beat her, they harvested her, they bred her, and they ruined her. Faith, she'll never have children. She'll never walk again. Elsie's as good as dead."
"Tullo returned a shell of a person. He was so defeated. Mercy told him that the children were gone and he went crazy. He went to get the children. He found Elsie lying in a trash heap. He almost killed his brother over her. He brought her back home. We didn't think she would live, she was so badly beaten. She was covered in sores and filth! They broke her back!" I hugged Kathy to me.
"Eldon offered to take her as a mate to keep her safe. It wasn't allowed. He's the breeder. Decisions had to be made. Tullo took Elsie to his bed. He had the breeding table put in there and he slept in the bed. All because she had saved his children."
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"Tullo walked all night in the fields, just walking. He wouldn't talk to anyone. He had us put Elsie in the bed and he slept there, but he never touched her. Half the time, she wasn't even awake. It was months before she woke. He just laid there. Listening to her breathe. He said he had to hear it to sleep. It reminded him of you." I smoothed her hair and she held onto me.
"Tullo died the day you were taken. He brought them all home and he wouldn't even look at the kids. He just walked. Mercy had to force him to eat. He searched for you. He did everything for you, including saving your sister."
"He told me he liked Elsie," I mumbled, "Before I was taken. He said if he wanted a concubine it would have been Elsie. I was sure that he had taken her as his since I was gone." I sat back from Kathy.
"Don't you know? In his eyes there is no one but you!"
"Where is she?"
"At the house. In Eldon's study." Kathy wiped the tears from her face. "Where were you?"
"Living on a planet that was so far away that I thought I'd never get back here. I was afraid I'd never see my children or any of you again. I was pregnant and alone and I was afraid. I fought to get back to you all."
"And you did." Kathy hugged me. "You came home!"
"I did."
"Faith, you've always been so damned strong. So damned pushy that you kept us all going. You can't stop now. Elsie won't eat. She wants to die. She's giving up!" Kathy sobbed. I stood and helped her stand. We held onto each other.
"And this one?" Her hand went to my bulging abdomen. "How are you to explain this?"
"I'm not." I rubbed my belly. "I was married. This is his child. His name is Jacob Raven and he kept me safe. And Carus. He hid my son and kept him safe. He was a good man. Is. He is a good man."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know," I frowned. "I'll never see him again. He helped me escape and he had me brought back here. He promised me he would get me back home and he kept his word."
"I like him then." Kathy said brushing tears away. Mine and hers. "A lot."
"Me too." My heart ached again. "We have to get Elsie back here." I looked around. "In this room. Move all of my things into the room next to the nursery. That'll be my room."
"Me and Borna can move out." Kathy said anxiously. I had forgotten that was their bedroom. I fought for clarity.
"Okay, move it all into Tullo's room. I'll deal with it later." I looked around at my room. "We'll put Elsie in here. When Tullo returns I'll have him bring the breeding table in here for looks." My mind was spinning. I had a plan. I had to tell Tullo. I had to see Elsie. I had to thank her. I had to … "Do it. I'll be back." I ran down the stairs in a panic.
The moonlight met me and I stopped to let it fill me. The panic left me. I had missed the two moons since I had been in hiding. I stood letting it bathe me. As I walked the to the house where my family lived the plans fell into place. Elsie had
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taken my place in more ways than one. I knew that she would be Tullo's long before he had told me about his feeling for her. I just had to accept it. Accept it and move on.
Even if Tullo had taken Elsie as his concubine, it would have been no worse than what I had done. Not only had I returned carrying a child of another, I had fallen in love with another. I had seen the way Tullo looked at Elsie before. He had said he would never take a lover while I was his mate. He hadn't lied. I was lost to him. Tullo had saved Elsie as he had saved me. How could I blame them for what had happened?
I walked on, letting the thoughts spin in my mind and fall into place. I needed to leave. The thought of living in a home where my love was in love with another was condemning. I needed to think of a way to live with the idea of my mate having a concubine. Just as Tullo would live with his mate carrying another's child in her belly.
No one said a thing as I walked into the kitchen. Joanie and Bobby were feeding the younger girls. Lenora and Niyan were in the dining room. I shut the door and looked about. They were all watching me with surprised eyes. I wasn't sure if they were happy that I had returned. Their eyes followed me as I hurried through the house and into the study.
"Faith!" Eldon had been sitting behind his desk. I only glanced at him. He stood, looking surprised. I fought the urge to run to him. I ignored him and looked at Elsie lying in the bed. Her face was bruised and my heart sank. I had done that. I had hit sweet, gentle Elsie who had saved my children.
"We need to move her back to the main house. She has to be there or they can order her destroyed," I said.
I was talking, but not really listening to what I was saying. I fell into the bed and hugged Elsie. At first she ducked and then she relaxed. I cried into her hair as I hugged her. Her hug was weak. I crawled into the bed with her and laid my head on her shoulder as I had when we were young. Her hand weakly stroked my hair.
"I'm sorry," I cried.
"I know. I missed you." Elsie cried too. We laid there for a long time. I fell asleep in her arms.
I was floating. I opened my eyes to find myself floating. The face was smiling. It was Tullo's face. He kissed me tenderly. The sun was rising. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tightly. Over his shoulder I saw Eldon carrying Elsie. I laid my head down and sighed. I was home.
In less than a week, my life was my own. We lived in the night. We slept during the daylight. I slept in the nursery. My things had been moved into Tullo's room. I was to sleep there. But I always ended up in the nursery with the children. My pallet on the floor was now permanent. Tullo hated that, but didn't disagree with my sleeping arrangements. Many days, he fell asleep in the rocker with Carus in his arms. They had bonded quickly.
Elsie was moved into my old room and Tullo had gotten a wheelchair from the scavenger ship. He had made a deal with them to bring him hospital supplies for Elsie's care. He had to meet them in secret. If word got out that one of a herd
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was ill, it would call attention to us. We didn't want any attention on us. Tullo had decided to keep my return a secret. I readily agreed.
At first I didn't care, but then the idea of Carus being examined made me agree. I was ready for a normal life. Or as normal as I could have. Kathy and Borna were in the next room. They were always there for me. Joanie and Dusty were in the other room. I ordered Lenora kept away from me. I didn't trust her and I wanted her gone. Lenora had made faces at me the entire time she was around me. Margie's final words were still lingering on the edge of my sanity. Should I believe the betraying Hybrid or wait? I decided to wait and pushed the thoughts away. But I kept my eye on her and Niyan.
Niyan had grown, and now I saw the familiar slant of the eyes and chiseled features. He was Margie's. And he acted like her too. I found myself watching him when he was with my children. He was aggressive. He was mean to Carus. Niyan took the baby's toys, he shoved, he hit, and he pushed. Donum was forever doing the same back to the boy. And so I was forever getting onto my oldest child for being a bully. It came down to me telling Lenora that she had to keep her son away. Amara and Carus bonded and became quick playmates. But Niyan was still around. I truly couldn't keep the child away. He stood watching while we played. My heart had become colder, but not that cold.
We would play outside in the moonlight and I would see Lenora and Niyan watching us. More specifically, I saw Lenora watching Spera. Not only was she watching my daughter, but pointing Spera out to her son. When they were included into our playtime, she monopolized Spera for Niyan. I studied the boy and saw something in him that I didn't like. It was something I knew and had kept to myself. I had to. How could I condemn a child for who his parents were? Niyan was just a baby. He was a piece of a giant puzzle that just didn't fit into our life. I didn't see him as a danger, just an annoyance.
All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place one night when Tullo and I sat laughing with our children. Amara, Spera and Carus were playing on the ground before us when Niyan ran up and plopped down on the ground right in front of Carus to play with Spera. Tullo stopped me from correcting the boy.
"He's just staking his claim," Tullo teased.
"His claim?" I was appalled. "They're babies!"
"She'll be a woman before you're thirty." Now my stomach did turn. The pieces of the puzzle fell into place quickly.
"Watch the children?" I stood and hurried to find Kathy.
Elsie was sitting on the patio in the wheelchair. Eldon had built a ramp for her and she sat out here nightly. Kathy was sitting with her with eyes full of anger. She had seen it too. How Niyan had acted. I knelt down and looked back at the boy.
"Tell me something." I asked my sisters.
"What? What is it?" Elsie leaned forward, reaching for my hand. "What's bothering you?"
"A puzzle that I need solved."
"How can we help?" Kathy moved closer.
"I need you to fill in the pieces for me." I looked at both of my sisters. "The children. How long after Tullo left to search for me did Batar come for them?"
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Elsie looked frightened. I squeezed her hand.
"A week. We were shocked when they showed up. No one knew that Tullo had left." Kathy sighed. "We kept it quiet. We didn't want anyone to know. Tullo said it would be best."
"What day?" I asked.
"What?"
"What day of the week did they come?" Elsie sat thinking. It was Kathy who answered.
"Thursday. We went to market on Wednesday and they came the next night. Batar just came in and demanded the children."
"We told him that Tullo would be right back. He called us liars and the Hybrids went to take the children. Lenora tried to go with them. She and Niyan. I told her to think of her son. And I went," Elsie spoke shakily.
"Lenora tried to go, but Borna held her back," Kathy sighed. "I thought she was very brave." I knew better.
"Kathy, did Lenora go to market that Wednesday?"
"Yes," Kathy sat thinking, "It was me, Lenora, Chas and Joanie."
"Has Lenora been to town since my return?" I was suddenly feeling a panic rising. The pieces that fell into place were frightening.
"No." Kathy shook he head. "She wanted to go this week with us, but Mercy got angry with her and had her do the laundry."
"Why did Mercy get angry with her?" Mercy rarely got angry.
"She was trying to get into the nursery. Mercy told her to go and she tried to push Niyan in. Mercy told her to take her child and go. She wouldn't, so Mercy had Borna escort her out. Then Mercy had her do all the laundry, alone."
"So since I've been back she hasn't left the farm or talked to anyone who doesn't live here?" I felt my heart racing.
"No. Why?" Elsie's eyes narrowed.
"Kathy, go watch my children. I need to talk to Tullo." Kathy nodded and hurried to the children.
I needed Eldon, Demato and Mercy. I stood and looked about. We were in danger. We were being invaded from within. Elsie held tightly to my hand. I looked at her. She was helpless. I had done this. No, I had thought I had done this. I had guilt that was deep set for what had happened to her. For what she had suffered at the hands of those animals. But now I felt rage.
"Faith?" Elsie tugged at my hand.
"What?"
"Give me your knife?" I jumped at the request. She knew that I still carried it in my pocket. Safe at home or not, I felt safer holding it. When I was frightened, I would reach into my pocket to hold the handle. "Just to hold. I don't want you to lose your temper and make things worse." I gripped it tighter. "You've been a bit crazy lately." I had been. I nodded and handed it to her. She slid it beneath the blanket across her lap.
"Tullo, can we talk?" I asked. He looked up at me. Lenora was sitting next to him, laughing. I must have looked anxious. "Just you and me?"
"Go ahead!" I turned to find Elsie wheeling her chair to us in the dirt. "I want
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to sit with the kids. Go." She stopped the chair next to the children.
"Alright, a walk then." Tullo stood and took my hand.
Kathy plopped down in his spot. Lenora looked annoyed. I had interrupted her conversation with him. Kathy glared at her. They knew. Kathy and Elsie knew there was something about Lenora that they couldn't trust.
I didn't head for the field, but pulled Tullo to the house. Mercy was in the kitchen baking bread. Demato was sitting at the table, smiling and watching her. I wanted that. I wanted my husband, mate, or lover to look at me that way when I got old. I almost forgot what I had to say. Eldon stepping into the room reset the panic button in my head.
"We have to kill Lenora and her child." I blurted it out. No one moved or said a word. They looked shocked. More shocked in the sense that they thought I was losing my mind than that there was any danger in the Hybrid and her child. "After we question her."
"You mean ..," Eldon was more than a little shocked.
"Faith…" Tullo took my hand in his.
"Margie's dead." I said it quickly. "Lutha killed her. But before she died, she told me things. Things that made no sense and now they do. Lenora is here and she is spying on us. She is teaching Niyan to stake his claim on Spera." I turned to Tullo. "At the orders of your brother."
"It's just words. I was kidding." Tullo tried to calm me.
"No, Margie said that Lenora was Batar's favorite and that Niyan was her child. Margie's child with Batar. Batar gave Lenora the child and then sent her here." They still looked confused. "How hard would it have been to control Margie into being a spy? For her to keep it quiet and not flaunt it? For her to get close to us? For Margie to pretend to be loyal to us?" They all looked at each other, remembering the wild Hybrid.
"Batar sent a spy here with a child born of him. Someone who would get close to our child and gain our trust. Lenora came here to set Niyan up with Spera. From birth to bed. Batar would get his human one way or another." Tullo stood looking like I had punched him in the stomach.
"They knew you were gone, Tullo. She went to town and the next night they came. She told them. She tried to go to town this week and Mercy stopped her, or they would be here now trying to get a look at Carus and me. She's dangerous. She'll turn on us in a heartbeat. Niyan has been programmed to stake a claim on my daughter!"
"So you want us to kill one of our herd?" Eldon asked in open horror.
"I want my children safe. I want my family safe!" I looked to see Kathy standing by the door. She looked angry. "Go watch my children!" I snapped and she hurried back to the yard. "She's the reason they did that to Elsie!" I began to fight to breathe. I was fighting to not scream. "I'll kill her myself if I have to!"
"Faith! No!" Tullo hugged me to him. "We'll take care of this." I heard the chair scrape on the floor as Demato stood. Eldon moved to him. "We'll deal with this." Tullo kissed my ear. "Go back to the children. It'll be done tonight."
"I'm so sorry to ask this of you." I got myself under control. "I'm not crazy and I'm not wrong."
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"I know you're not." Tullo sighed and looked to the Hybrids.
"I never trusted her!" Mercy looked ready to go kill Lenora herself.
"We need to know." I looked about. "We need to know what Batar knows and why he did this. No, we know why. We need to know what his plans are. And if I'm right." I gathered myself. "Just to be sure I'm not crazy."
"The barn." Tullo nodded to the Hybrids. Eldon and Demato left.
"I'll get the children." Mercy hurried to the door. Tullo stood looking at me.
"I'm not crazy. I may have come back a bit crazy, but I'm not now." I wasn't sure I could convince myself let alone Tullo.
"I believe you." He was thinking. Replaying events that had happened since Lenora had arrived. "It does make sense. They told me that she had tried to go with the children. That she had begged, but that Elsie had gone. That she had practically been tackled to keep her from going. We had all thought it was from bravery and desperation but..," he frowned.
"What is it?"
"When I brought Elsie back, she was near death." He shook his head and looked away. "I lied to you." I stepped back from him. "I did take her. She was dying. I bred her and let her drink of me. I couldn't let her die… Faith, you have to forgive me. I thought you were gone and I couldn't bear to lose her."
Her. He couldn't bear to lose her. Tullo couldn't bear to lose Elsie. I was being tied to an outhouse and he was saving her. The jealousy was fresh and bitter in my throat. I was grateful to Elsie and ashamed of my behavior but still.., Tullo was my mate!
"Lenora had practically begged me to let her die. She didn't want me to speak to Elsie. Kathy and Lenora fought over it. Eldon had words with Lenora and Mercy took the strap to her." Tullo looked troubled. "I took her actions as concern."
"You thought she was being protective of Elsie. She may have been trying to keep Elsie from talking to you. That Elsie may have known something that she could tell you. Something to incriminate Lenora." He nodded slightly.
"Something to give Batar away," Tullo mumbled.
"Something like our children or me." Tullo's head snapped up. "Tullo, if they come, let them take me. Promise me you'll keep the children safe?" My hand went to my swollen abdomen. "All of my children. Please?"
"No one is getting taken." Tullo suddenly pulled me into his arms. "No one. I won't lose you!" He kissed me then. "I thought I lost you once. I can't go through that again." He hugged me closer.
"Come on! Sweet bread!" Kathy was coming in with the children.
"We want sweet bread." Mercy declared. She was carrying Carus. Borna was carrying Amara.
"Where's Elsie?" I asked.
"She's waiting for you." Kathy looked guilty. "She wants to know." I rushed past her and out into the yard.
Elsie was trying to roll the chair to the barn. Chas was trying to stop her. She was still weak. I hurried to help. I pushed Chas to the house and pushed the chair into the barn. Tullo was with me then. He moved me aside and pushed Elsie in and I shut the door behind us.
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"What's wrong?" Lenora asked. She was standing by Eldon, holding Niyan in her arms. "What's happened?"
She was frightened and frightening. Her eyes were on me and Elsie. Tullo walked to her. Her eyes became soft and alluring. Lenora was a Hybrid, but like Margie, she was more vampire than human. Her eyes were silvery and hypnotizing. Tullo stood before her with his hands behind his back. I stepped up next to him. Lenora's eyes became cold as they moved to me. Cold and hate-filled.
"Niyan is a beautiful child," I said sweetly, holding my arms out. Lenora's eyes softened. "He is so attached to Spera." Lenora let me take Niyan from her. The boy laughed as he settled on my hip, resting his head on my shoulder.
"He is!" Lenora smiled again at Tullo. "He would be perfect for Spera. He would protect and love her."
"Because that's what he's been trained to do," Tullo spoke directly at her. "By you."
"I don't know what you mean." Lenora moved to reach for the boy. Tullo stepped between me and her. I stepped back and looked at the child.
This was the first time I had held Niyan. I had put space between me and him. I had never really spoken to the child or touched him other than to get him to stop hitting my children. His eyes. I gazed into his eyes and found what I was looking for. Margie. The cold, unfeeling eyes. Amused by the pain of others. Lenora was screaming and fighting now. Niyan smiled in delight at the noise. A normal child would have cried or tried to help his mother. Niyan only smiled. He truly was a bred monster.
"Give me my son!" Lenora screamed as Tullo held her back.
"Your son?" I asked, still watching the child for reaction.
"My son!" she screamed.
"By default?" I walked away from her and bounced the child on my hip. He turned his body to keep his eyes on the conflict with his mother. "I guess you don't know that Margie's dead?" Lenora stopped screaming.
"What?" Lenora stood watching me.
"She escaped with the humans to Trenar. Did you know that?" I asked, seeing the fear in Lenora's eyes. "You knew she had escaped," I realized. "Were you waiting for her to come and kill you to get her son back?"
"He's my son!" Lenora screamed.
"Batar gave him to you. You are his favorite, aren't you?" I stepped closer to Tullo. "Why are you here? You and the child? Why did you tell Batar that Tullo had left? You knew they would come. Were you hoping they would take you with the children? Back to Batar's bed?" Lenora's eyes were darting about. She was looking for an escape. "You told them and you would have told them of my return the first chance you got. What's the plan? Get into my mate's bed or this child into my daughter's?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. You're crazy! You don't know what you're saying!" Lenora moved closer to the back of the barn. Eldon blocked her and she spun on me.
"I saw you, Lenora." Elsie spoke up then.
We all turned to look at Elsie. She was still weak and sickly, but she was
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strong in conviction. Elsie squared her shoulders and stared at Lenora. Lenora shook her head.
"When?" I asked, not taking my eyes off Lenora.
"At Batar's. I saw you, Lenora. I thought I was dreaming. I thought you had come to help me. To rescue me. But you told them to kill me. You told that monster to kill me or you would never be his again." Elsie's voice was soft. "I thought I was dreaming. They beat me. I was tied to that table, being harvested and bred and you told them to kill me." Tears slid down her frail face.
"You weren't supposed to be there!" Lenora screamed, moving closer to Elsie. "You were supposed to stay here. I was to go. I was to be the mother of the next Vampire God Child. I was to be with the Oraculum do Incorruptus Rector. But you wouldn't let them go! And they weren't your children! All you had to do was let them go!"
"No, I wouldn't," Elsie sighed. I watched my sister's shoulders slump. Tullo moved to keep Lenora from getting too close to Elsie. Elsie waved his attempts off. She wanted to face this. Elsie wanted to face Lenora. It was her right.
"All you had to do was let go. I have never lived in such squalor! Batar has always kept me in fine dresses and jewels. Since I was young, I've been his! I had my own house and servants. Here I was a servant!" Lenora moved to get her face right in Elsie's. "You stupid cow! You should have let go!"
"I couldn't." Elsie repeated herself.
"What was promised to you?" Tullo asked. Lenora turned to glare at him.
"The mother of the Vampire God Child. Oraculum do Incorruptus Rector." What was she saying? What did Oraculum do Incorruptus Rector mean? It was Latin. I knew that much. "Not Batar's wife. ME! I would have been at court every time. He would have stayed with me. His wife would not have been part of that. The child of Niyan and Spera will rule the vampires one day. They aren't Hybrids."
"What?" I moved closer to Tullo.
"You breathe the air! The children aren't Hybrids! They're higher beings!" The screams reverberated off the barn walls. Demato was calming the horses in their stalls. "The next generation will take over the Vampire High Council."
"And Batar and my father plan to stand as counsel to my grandson." Tullo's voice was thick with rage.
"Of course. You wouldn't." Lenora spat. "All you had to do was let go!" Lenora turned to scream at Elsie.
I don't think that anyone could have moved fast enough to stop her. Mainly because no one expected it. Elsie lurched forward, grabbed Lenora by the hair and held her close and swung the knife out and across Lenora's throat. I screamed and turned to shield Niyan from the sight. The gurgling sound, the blood spray and the muffled words. I heard the men moving and Elsie sobbing. I closed my eyes and hugged Niyan close. He fought to look.
"Faith, she's still alive." Eldon's words made me open my eyes. He had moved Elsie next to me. She was crying. "Give the boy to her and see if you can do anything." I handed Niyan to Elsie and hurried over to Lenora.
Tullo was holding his hand across her neck. Blood was seeping through his fingers. Her eyes were wild with rage and fear. I watched her chest rise and fall as
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she fought to live. It's not easy to kill a Hybrid. Elsie was proof of that.
"What does he know?" I asked Lenora. "What is Batar going to do?"
"Not Batar," Lenora laughed. "Shuta. He promised us. It's not Donum. He's just a vampire. Spera's the one. She's more than human. More than vampire. She's the next step in evolution. Her children will destroy the human race. It's her destiny to rid us of them. Including you!" I sat back from her in shock. "She is our future!"
Tullo moved his hand away from her neck. The blood spurted forth. I sat back, but didn't move away. Tullo took my hand. We watched the blood and life leave Lenora's body. She twitched and gurgled and then she was still. Her eyes stared up at nothing.
"Tullo?" I stood and backed away from them.
"She's evil," Demato spoke as he looked into the dead eyes, "And now evil is dead." It was then I heard the sob. Elsie was crying. Sweet, gentle Elsie was crying. Elsie who would never walk again or have children.
"Elsie." I turned and looked up to see Elsie sitting in the wheelchair, holding the body of Niyan across her lap. His throat had also been cut. His little fingers were still twitching. I jumped back from the horrific sight, screaming. Eldon grabbed me. But I had seen.
Elsie was staring off into the night. There was no emotion on her gentle face. I pulled away from Eldon and reached out to take my knife from her hand. Her hand reached out to stroke my cheek, leaving a trail of blood. Tullo lifted the body of the child from her arms and handed Niyan to Demato. I fell into Elsie's lap, sobbing. Her arms were weak around me.
"Get rid of them," I heard Tullo order. "Where no one will find them."
"Elsie?" Eldon was holding her hand now.
"I saw her. She had them hurt me." Elsie still stared off into nothing. "Are they dead? I tried to make it so they didn't suffer. Not like I did."
"Elsie, you did fine," Tullo was speaking to her in a soothing voice.
"Tullo!" she began to cry.
It wasn't hard to see it in Tullo's eyes. The love. The adoration. Tullo lifted Elsie into his arms and carried her to the house. She cried into his chest. I sat down on the ground and watched my mate carry his concubine into my home. I had been replaced. My place in his heart had been taken by the Hybrid that had suffered to protect his children.
"Come on." Eldon helped me stand. "Let's get you cleaned up. You don't want your children to see you like this." I followed him into the house. Mercy was serving sweetbread in the dining room. It was easy to sneak up the stairs and past the children.
Kathy and Tullo were helping Elsie get out of the blood-soaked dress she wore. I stopped in the doorway and stared in horror at her bare back. The scars went from shoulder to waist. They had healed badly. Even now they were red and angry. She was still healing. It would be a long time before she was well again, and even then, she would never walk.
Elsie's broken body had been thrown in a trash heap. They had no idea how long she had lain there. Her open wounds had festered. She had been close to death. Tullo had saved her. That was how it was described. But he had slept with her. He
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had fed from her and he had bred her. He had saved her. He had done it out of guilt, out of gratitude and out of love. Tullo loved Elsie.
"Come on." Eldon tugged at my arm.
I followed him to Kathy's room. The room by the nursery. In the mirror I stared at myself covered in dirt, straw and blood. Lenora's blood. Niyan's blood. A child's blood. I was shaking. Eldon shut the bedroom door and stepped up behind me. He unzipped the dress. It fell away and I felt the sick feeling fall away with it. Eldon pushed the straps of the slip off my shoulders. His hands massaged my shoulders. I had asked for the death of two of my family. The two were dead and I felt no better. I was no better than the ones who had sent Lenora and Niyan.
"You were right. None of us figured it out and we were right here. They had to die."
"That doesn't make me feel better," I replied.
"It was her right for revenge."
"Revenge on a child?" I asked.
"A child who would have grown to kill us all. Your children and mine."
"You have children?" I asked stupidly.
"No." He leaned down and kissed my shoulder. "Not yet." I closed my eyes to the words. "Take me back as your lover?"
I didn't answer. I stood, letting him push my clothing off. His hands traveled down my body. He kissed my neck and moved to hold my bulging abdomen. I leaned back in his arms. He turned me and kissed me. I turned my face away. He sighed and caressed my cheek.
"Go ahead and get in the shower." He gave me a gentle push towards the bathroom. I stepped in under the hot water and cried. "I'm taking the dress to burn." Eldon said as he scooped up the blood-soaked dress. I watched him leave. I cried harder.
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17
My back ached. I sat on the bench and leaned forward and backward, trying to get the baby to give me just a moment of peace. He wasn't going to. I stood and limped to the tree. I leaned back against it and moaned. It didn't help. Chas was next to me, reaching to scratch my back. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I didn't have an itch, but a pain.
My life had gone back to normal, the way it was before I was taken. Chas was back to following me about and I was grateful. His nails were sharp and strong. My return to Declar had left me with dry skin and a continuous itch. We spent most of the night hours playing in the yard. All the children ran, laughed and played. None of them even asked about Lenora and Niyan. They had simply stopped being part of our lives.
Elsie seemed dark for a time, as if she were remembering what had happened to her. I knew that feeling. She needed time to heal inside more than outside. Her mind, heart and soul needed to find themselves. Tullo was with us often. He would hold me and hug me. He would kiss me and tell me he loved me and I believed him. But I often found him watching Elsie.
"Rub?" I begged. Chas' strong hand moved to massage my lower back. I moaned in delight at the relief. Elsie, Borna and Kathy always laughed at my over exaggerated antics. We had become night people. The rest of the herd lived in the day. Watching over us.
"Watch me!" Zoe sang as she held her hands out and spun about. Spera imitated her. Donum stood laughing at them.
"Am I pretty?" Spera asked running up to Chas. He laughed and swung her around. Chas was obviously her favorite.
"You are the prettiest!" Chas declared.
"Second prettiest," Tullo whispered, moving close to hug and kiss me. "you've always been the prettiest."
"And as big as a house," I moaned.
"A beautiful house," he teased. "My house. My life." I saw the conflict in his eyes. He looked at me the same way he looked at Elsie. I couldn't help but look at Elsie. I saw pain there. Pain I couldn't ease.
Then there was a sudden and sharp pain. I leaned into Tullo and gritted my teeth to it. It traveled down my back, along my hips and down my legs. There was a tightness across my abdomen that had me moaning. Tullo eased me down onto the bench. I leaned forward, hugging myself. The initial pain was sudden, but not really unexpected. I was right at thirty-nine weeks.
"Is it time?" Tullo asked. Instead of saying something smart, I just nodded. I was in too much pain to talk.
"Well, then, it's about time," Kathy said with a smile.
"Ya think?" I hissed.
"I tend to agree with Kathy." Tullo gathered me into his arms and carried me into the house and up the stairs.
My intention was to have the child in Kathy's little room by the nursery. Tullo had other intentions. He carried me right to his room with Mercy following
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us as fast as her fat little legs would carry her. Tullo set me in the bed and I started to protest. He sat down facing me with a serious look on his face.
"You've had the others in here. It should be alright," he said simply. I looked past him and was confused.
I hadn't stepped into Tullo's bedroom since my first day back. The day I had attacked Elsie for being in his bed. Now I saw the things that had me concerned. Medical equipment. I had seen it before. Machines like this. I had been to the emergency room on Earth. These were things of the human world. How did they come to be here?
"I got them when I got the chair for Elsie," Tullo answered before I could ask the question. I was staring at the clear box. "It's an incubator. It helps premature children with underdeveloped lungs breathe. We may have to use it if your son cannot breathe the air. It's just to be on the safe side."
Tullo had made arrangements for my son. He had hidden it all, knowing I wouldn't venture into this room. He knew I had made up my mind to never visit his bed again. Not just because of his feelings for Elsie, but because I was afraid of being hurt by him. Plus I was as big as a house. Sexual activity was almost impossible to think of when you couldn't see your own feet.
"I'm afraid," I hissed.
"So am I," Tullo laughed nervously. "Together we can do this. You and me." He kissed me then. "You are my mate. This child will live. Trust me." It wasn't a request. It was an order.
"Okay." I really didn't have a choice.
Josiah Raven entered the world screaming at the top of his lungs. His very healthy lungs. I watched his little fists shaking and his legs kicking even as his lips turned blue. It was then he was put into the box. He hated the clear box he was put into and screamed louder. He looked just like his father. I was concerned about that. Tullo stood over the box, looking down at the baby with interest. Not anger, but curious interest.
"He's not the first human you've ever seen," I said. Tullo looked over at me and smiled.
"This small?" He leaned in for a better look. "They're different."
"How will I feed him? He can't stay in there forever!" I tried to sit up and winced. Mercy was still between my legs and she glared at me. I fell back in the bedding and waited.
"Demato is getting it ready. We're going to pump oxygen in here also. You and your son will be in here for a while. He needs to gain his strength and tolerance." Tullo walked back over to watch Josiah scream. "Once he's older, we can try and see how he deals with the atmosphere. Being born here, he should have some tolerance."
"Some?" I personally had hoped he would be able to live freely. Now, having seen his little lips turn blue, I knew better.
"He'll be fine." Tullo came to sit next to me. He held my hand. "He's a fine specimen." That hurt. I knew Tullo was trying, but Josiah was not a specimen. Not to me. He was my son.
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Tullo sat me up. My body felt deflated. I leaned back in the bedding and pillows and sighed. Mercy was now cleaning my son up through the gloved holes in the box. Tullo went to watch. I couldn't. Josiah had given me great pain and taken his time at coming into this world. I was exhausted.
Josiah screamed as Eldon and Demato came in to see the newborn and start the pumping. I looked around the room. A crib and a rocking chair were set near the incubator. Was this where my son, the 'specimen,' would now live? It was disheartening. There was a 'whoosh' and then I felt the sudden rush of air.
"Now." Tullo spoke and Mercy opened the plastic box and lifted my son out.
I sighed in relief as Josiah was brought over to me. I held him to my breast and he suckled. Not hungrily, but weakly. His little lips still turned blue. My eyes blurred at the tears that fell. Mercy adjusted the little tubes in his nostrils that would carry the oxygen he needed to survive. Was this his life? Locked in a room, in a world of darkness and attached to tubes? My heart ached for him.
"I should have had him on Helio and left him there," I sobbed.
"You could have stayed there." Tullo was trying to be comforting and I took it the wrong way.
"Yes, I could have and then you would have Elsie in your bed," I spat. I was hurting and I wanted to hurt him. I succeeded. He moved away from me. The room was quiet except for the sounds of the machines that were keeping my son alive. "I should have left you on Helio with your uncle." I sobbed. "You would be able to play in the sun and run on the beach."
"He'll be fine!" Mercy declared. "Tullo owes his father a debt. He'll not let this child die." Honor. Vampires lived by honor. If only humans did. But I knew of one who did. Jacob. He had promised to return me to my Tullo and he had.
I nodded in agreement. But I knew better. I knew my little Josiah was not long for this world. I looked down at his little pale face and wished that Josiah Raven had been born in a house of sun and love. Now he was going to grow up in darkness and honor bound tolerance. How pathetic a life I had given him.
"How is he?" Elsie asked, rolling her chair into Tullo's bedroom.
I had been locked in the room for three months and it was still Tullo's room. It was not mine. I had been sleeping in the bed with him. Back to back. We had fallen into a life of tolerance. Tullo was kind. He was patient with me and he showered Josiah with attention when he was with us. Mostly he spent time with the other children.
Donum, Zoe, Spera and Carus were brought into the room to see their brother. They played in the room for a bit and then went outside to play with Tullo and Chas. I missed the outdoors, but I knew that Josiah was not long for this life and I was afraid to leave him. Kathy and Elsie came to keep me company and Mercy would bring food. She would rock my son as I ate, talking and singing to him. Josiah was weak and frail, but he would smile at her voice.
Voices. Josiah was very clear on whose voice he liked. Tullo's soft liquid voice lulled him to sleep nightly. I would watch that sweet little face sleep with a dreamy smile on his face as Tullo whispered promises of the future to my son. My sickly son pushed the breast away to reach for Elsie. She was his favorite.
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"Until he hears you!"
"We have a lot in common." She took him from me. "Defective!"
"You're so bad!" I dressed and sat, sighing.
Josiah was just three months old. He was small, weak and human. He could barely turn over, but could hold his head up. He did that now as his little hands patted Elsie's smiling face. His hair was a soft brown and his eyes a deep blue green. Not pale, but bright. He looked just like Maybe and Jacob. I missed them.
"I'm here to babysit," Elsie declared.
"Really?"
"He's coming with me." She picked up the portable oxygen pack and hung it on her chair. "We have a date. And so do you!"
"Me?" I laughed. "With who?"
"Your mate," Elsie winked and spun the chair around.
"Let me help." I climbed from the bed and pushed her chair back to her room. Elsie held the clear mask to my son's face. "So what has my mate planned for me?"
"My lips are sealed!" Elsie laughed. It was good to hear her laugh again. She had been overly attached to my new son, but it didn't matter. She loved my Josiah. And they were connected by their disabilities. "He has decided that you have recovered enough from popping this little devil out!"
Josiah cooed at her as we entered her room. I shut the door behind us to keep the oxygen level high enough for my son. I sat on the bed and watched my son coo and smile as Elsie held a bottle for him. I had taken to expressing my milk. Josiah wasn't strong enough at times to nurse. We fed him both breast and bottle. And not only my milk. Joanie had given birth to a pretty little girl, Lydia, and expressed some of her milk for my son. Her other child, Coden, was just old enough to be a playmate for Carus. We had hoped the Hybrid milk would help. It had. Josiah was stronger. I had hope. At times.
"He's a devil. He's so spoiled," I teased. Everyone catered to the little boy.
"Of course. He's so slow! He should be running by now."
"He's human!" I laughed.
"His only birth defect!" Elsie smiled, flashing her fangs at me.
"What has Tullo planned?"
"Talk. I think he's tired of sleeping next to a lump in his bed."
"How is it you know more about my mate than I?" I was teasing, but still a bit jealous.
"Because I listen and you don't."
"He talks to you of me?" That hurt.
"No!" Elsie shook her head. "He talks to this little man about you and I eavesdrop." We both laughed. "The sun is rising. Go get changed for a good meal before bed. And speaking of bed..," she was cooing to my son, "Time for my little man to sleep."
"I'll see you at dusk. If you need anything..," I offered.
"Bobbie and Debbie are staying in here with me. A sleepover." She smiled. I trusted Elsie with my child's life, but she was still limited in her abilities. She too was weak. Her body was not healing. The abuse she had taken was too much for her. She was slowly dying. Very slowly.
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"Elsie?" I stood with my eyes on the breeding table that still sat in the corner. Had they used it?
"Hmm?" she was rocking my son.
"Are you being bred by Tullo?" She stopped rocking and sighed.
"No, we won't. He offered. He hoped it would ease my pain and heal me." She smiled at my son. "But it's this man of yours that has made me feel alive again. I think I'm in love," she teased. Josiah smiled at her.
"Do you want it?" I asked, leaning over to stroke my son's face.
"No," Elsie kissed my son's head. "He's your mate. One day, I will have my own," she cooed to my son. "One day."
"See you at dusk."
I shut the door carefully and was almost knocked over by Debbie and Bobbie as they hurried into Elsie's room. I went into Tullo's room and sat in the rocker to wait. It wasn't long. He stepped into the room looking mussed. He had been wrestling with the children. Carus and Donum always got the best of him.
"You look like you had to fight to get them into bed."
"Carus is fast. I had to chase him!" He fell into the bed, laughing.
"He can be a handful."
"Mercy says I was just as bad." Tullo turned his head to look at me. "I guess there never was a doubt."
"About who his father is?"
"Well..," Tullo looked guilty. He had wondered.
"There never was," I said firmly. "At least, not in my mind."
"Nor mine. He's mine." Tullo stood and came to me. His eyes were watching me carefully.
We had been avoiding each other for too long. It was time to set our differences aside. We had both changed. I had taken it upon myself to set in motion the deaths of two of our herd, one, a child. That would haunt me for the rest of my life. Tullo had replaced me in his home, his bed and his heart. I was now a guest in my home. In my life.
"Josiah…"
"Is not your son." I had decided to make that clear.
"He could be."
"Meaning?"
"Someone will see him. You. They'll see you. How can we keep him safe? How can I keep you safe?"
I knew what he meant. I had left him. Not of my own free will, but I had. I hadn't killed myself. I had married a human and lived as his wife. I broke vampire law. I had taken a lover without the consent of my mate and given birth to a child. A child who was not my mate's. I had returned to his home, but not his bed. I had taken my place as the lady of his house, but not lived up to the expectations. Worst of all, I had kept the child. I had not killed my son as vampire law required.
"What do we do?" I stood and walked over to look out the window. The sun was rising. I pushed the curtain closed. I hugged myself.
"We have to do what is required." He stepped up behind me.
"I won't be branded."
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"No one will see it, and if they do," he turned me to face him, "I'll kill them." His eyes were full of concern. "It must be done." I shook my head. "Faith…"
"I won't let you brand my son!"
"Your son?" His voice was cold. "He will be my son after this."
"Tullo…" I spun around, ready to fight.
"If not, then he dies." I swallowed hard at his words. "Someone will come. They haven't missed her yet. But they will." Lenora. Batar would come. If he did, he might see Carus. He wanted Spera. He would do anything to get her. Josiah would suffer. We all would. "At my hand."
The words were like a knife to my heart. It was Tullo's right. We would be brought before the Vampire High Council and he would be given a choice. Me or the child. I knew he would choose me. He had to. I was valuable to the vampires. I was breeding the future.
"We have to. Eldon will stand as witness."
"Eldon?" I yelped.
"He is the breeder." Tullo set his hands on my shoulders, I suspected to keep me from running. "Either he witnesses or he does my bidding. Who would you prefer to breed you? Eldon or I?" I stepped back from him. What a question!
"You are my mate!"
"He is your lover. The lover I allow. Either will do. But you and your child will wear my brand and you will comply." I began to tremble. "This is not just about you, but our children. My children. They will come."
"When?"
"Now." The bedroom door opened and Eldon stood there.
Now? I shook my head and ran for the other door. Eldon caught me. He carried me back to Tullo and set me down. They stood looking at me. All I needed was for Jacob to come and look at me. They were all so very different. Tullo would never chase me. He stood calmly with his hands behind his back. A gentleman. Eldon was strong and forceful. Just as a breeder should be. Jacob was warm and gentle. Very warm.
"Shall we?" Tullo motioned to the breeding table that had been set next to the bed. In the darkness I hadn't seen it. Tullo casually walked to the table. Eldon took me by the elbow and basically dragged me after my mate. I saw the straps lying on it. I balked and tried to run. Eldon carried me over to the table.
"For your children," he whispered in my ear. Tullo stood waiting.
"Have a seat." Tullo waved his hand to the chair in the opposite corner of the room. Eldon walked over to sit. He was the witness. He had to watch.
This was different than breeding. I knew it. I had read about this. I was to be accused, judged, sentenced and punished by my mate. It was all very dominating and conducted to make me, the disobedient mate, subservient and obedient. In the end, it would also make me grateful to be alive, if I survived.
"You stand accused of taking a lover without my permission," Tullo walked around me slowly, "having a child with this lover, and keeping the child." I followed him with my eyes as he moved around the table and then back to me. "Guilty. Ten straps for each offense." He stopped before me and waited. I think he wanted me to object. I didn't. "Is that satisfactory for the witness?" I thought he
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was talking to me at first. I was wrong.
"It is," Eldon said.
"Disrobe," Tullo ordered politely. I swallowed, looked over at Eldon and bolted.
The table came up to meet me quickly. Tullo's fist was in the middle of my back as the bridle was neatly slipped over my head and fastened in one swift motion. I fought. I screamed. The fist struck me in the back. Tullo was behind me, his body holding me against the table. His fist was digging into my back and he was jerking the bridle, pulling my head back. The pain was unbelievable.
"Relent," Tullo said. I fought.
This was what had been done to Elsie. This and more. I fought in a panic. The pain was excruciating. I could hardly breathe. This was how they broke Elsie's back! I felt as if Tullo was breaking mine. He leaned his body over mine and forced my down onto the table. He released the bridle and I lay gasping and crying. I looked up to see Eldon watching me with no emotion on his face.
Instead of my hands being tied behind my back, they were bound to the table straight out from me. If I had been standing, it would have been as if I were being crucified. The straps cut into my wrists as I fought them. Tullo ripped away my clothing and in the end, I was naked and tied to the table. He tightened the strap across my waist. My legs were tied at the ankles to the legs of the table. I was ready to be punished.
"Ten more for noncompliance," Tullo said as he walked around the table, carrying my knife. He had taken it out of my dress pocket. I lifted my head to watch him. To see where he was.
My neck and shoulders ached. I followed him as best I could, but then he was behind me. I gripped the table and held on. The first blow sent a shock wave through my body. I screamed in pain. He had sentenced me to forty blows. I hoped I survived it. With each strike the sound of leather against my bare flesh reverberated off the walls with my screams until I could scream no more. Then it was just the sound of my flesh being stuck. My back, my shoulders, my buttocks, the back of my legs, and even my arms were struck. When the last blow was delivered, I was sure there was no part of my body that wasn't blood red, if not bloody.
I lay panting in pain. I thought I had bitten through the bridle. My jaw relaxed and I felt it against my teeth. I was numb with pain. I wasn't sure if he hadn't broken my back. I tried to lift my head and couldn't. My eyes were fixed on Eldon who simply sat. Tullo ran his hand down my body. I cringed in pain.
The ring on his finger was set on the table before my face. A lit candle was set next to it. Then the ring was in the flame. I moaned and tried to move. I couldn't. I simply watched the ring being heated by Tullo. All I could do was whimper. There was no fight left. I wasn't even sure if I was still alive! Tullo slid his cold hand along my body and stopped at my buttocks. I gasped. His hand moved between my legs and caressed my inner thigh. He felt the two scars from when he had bitten me. I closed my eyes.
The smell of burning flesh is enough to give you strength. It's enough to bring you back from the brink of death. Especially if it's your own flesh. The
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searing pain brought me up with enough force that I was sure I had ripped my shoulders out of their sockets. I screamed and flayed about as best I could to no avail. Tullo set the ring on the table and leaned over me.
"No one will ever see it." He kissed my shoulder. "If they do, I'll kill them." I whimpered at his words. He mounted me then with an assault from behind that had me bucking and fighting. It was not gentle or loving, but more in the way of a conqueror taking his pillage.
The pain was far from acceptable. I lay strapped to the table, being violated by my mate in repayment for my actions and for my son's life. Actions that I had no control over. My admission of having feelings of love for Jacob had been the final straw. Tullo had listened to me speak of my time with Jacob. He had given no indication of jealousy. Now I felt that wrath.
Tullo had given me more than I had expected. He had done a lot for Josiah in the way of maintaining his life. My son would have died if not for all the medical supplies. Tullo had purchased them at a great risk to himself and our family. Hybrids and Quids were killed when they became ill and of no use. The fear of the plague was still fresh in the history of the vampires. A sick child born of an unfaithful human mate would have been better off dead in any other house. But not in Tullo's.
It ended. For the moment. I was left lying on the table. His seed had to settle in me. I was in season, but the potential for my conceiving was minimal. I was still breastfeeding. But Tullo was following all the protocol of the vampire doctrine. I lay on the table panting and trembling. Tullo left me and I stared at Eldon who still sat in the corner. I tried to lift myself and decided that lying there was not so bad. I was exhausted.
When Tullo returned to the room, carrying Josiah in his arms, I found renewed strength. My eyes fell on the ring with Tullo's mark on it. The one he had just branded my inner thigh with. I was fighting with the straps. Fighting to get free of them. Fighting for my son. I began to scream and fight for him. For my child, I had to fight.
"Shhh!" Tullo said in a soothing voice. "You're frightening the boy." He rocked Josiah in his arms.
I sobbed and fought as I watched Tullo reached for the ring. He blew on it a couple of times then pressed it firmly to my son's hip. I screamed as my son did. I felt his pain. I smelled the burning flesh and was sickened by it. I would have taken his pain if I could. Tullo soothed my son, holding the screaming child to his shoulder. He shushed my son and walked over to Eldon. Eldon stood and took Josiah from Tullo.
Blood. Blood and family. Family that was not his by blood, but by ritual. It was terrifying. I struggled against my restraints as Tullo took my knife from the table, unsheathed it and drew it across the palm of his hand. The blood began to flow. I watched him hold his hand over Joshua's screaming face. Joshua gagged and cried, but Tullo continued. I finally stopped trying to get free and lay crying.
When Tullo came back to me I was a sobbing mess. He reached out to caress my head. I closed my eyes to his touch. I hated him for what he was doing to me. For saving my son. He untied me and I would have fallen to the floor if Tullo
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hadn't caught me. He carried me to the bed. Every inch of my body ached. It was my mind and soul that hurt the most. Josiah was still screaming as Eldon rocked him. I wanted my son. I wanted to comfort him and the comfort from holding him.
"Take the boy out." Tullo ordered. Eldon didn't move. "You're services are no longer required." Eldon nodded, held the oxygen mask to my screaming son's face and left us. I listened to my son's screams as they faded.
"Now what?" I asked falling into the bed.
"Rest." Tullo left me. As the bedroom door shut behind him I cried into my pillow, in relief.
"Ow!" I whined pitifully, making Joanie and Kathy run to my aid.
"You shouldn't move so fast." Elsie warned as I limped to the bed from the bathroom.
She was sitting in her chair, feeding Josiah a bottle of Tullo's blood. We had been alternating between Eldon and Tullo's blood when feeding my son. He still had the oxygen close at hand, but he didn't need it as often. Only after too much laughing or movement did my baby gasp for air. Tullo was afraid that if Josiah was without oxygen it might affect his growth. Which was a very big worry for Tullo.
I had explained to him that human infants were slower to develop. Tullo nodded, but he still worried. Worst of all, he continued to compare Josiah to the other children, constantly. He doted on his 'son.' Josiah was in his father's arms most of the time. Tullo carried him along with them when he took the children out to play. Josiah and his oxygen canister. Just in case.
The disappointment in Tullo's eyes was painful. He had thought that his blood would completely adapt Josiah to the atmosphere. And Josiah adapted as well as he could. But I had accepted the fact that Josiah would not fare well on Declar. His life would be limited. And for a Hybrid to be ill was a death sentence according to vampire law.
I knew that Tullo felt it was his fault. That his blood was not strong enough to heal our son. Secretly, I knew that it was that Jacob's blood was stronger. The human side of my son was too strong to be overtaken by this vampire father. Jacob's blood was strong. Just like Jacob. I saw so much of him in Josiah's face that it hurt my heart at times.
"Your turn." Elsie held up the empty bottle.
"Give him here." I settled into the bed and fought not to groan.
It hurt! My entire body hurt. But I had cried and whined so much that Elsie had finally said that at least I could feel my legs. And the guilt of what she had gone through made me limit my whining. For the past three days, I had been limping about as if I was crippled. I felt crippled.
Sitting in bed was a major effort. My backside was swollen and my back scarred. Five of the blows had broken the skin. Mercy had come and helped me bathe and slathered my back with medicated cream. I basically slid into bed. Tullo had come in later and made the gentlest love to me that I could have imagined. Since then, he had been doting on me too.
Now I let Joanie hand me my son to nurse. Josiah latched on and I winced. The baby felt the change in our lives. He was getting overly attached to me.
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Josiah cried when he wasn't in the same room with me. He had been away from me as I recovered and that time had been hard on him. Now, when he nursed, his eyes were locked on my face. It was as if he thought that if he looked away, that I might disappear.
The first few days I was afraid that he might disappear. I was aching too much to keep track of time after Tullo had finished. I faded in and out of consciousness, sleeping when the pain would let me. If I moved too suddenly in a certain way the pain woke me screaming. Elsie was there when I woke. Or Tullo. I was never alone and I was all alone.
"Is he well?" Tullo came into the room.
The hallway was dark. Since my branding, all the curtains had been closed during the day. Tullo had taken to moving about during the daylight hours. He was concerned as to when Batar would send someone to check on Lenora. Or come himself. The children were kept close to the house. Chas, Eldon, Demato, Dusty and Borna watched the children round the clock. Quirn, Theto and Olan overlooked the fields and the harvest.
"He's better." I smiled at my son. He was better.
"Good." Tullo climbed into the bed with me and lay across it with his head on my legs. I held in a groan, but bit my lip. Tullo sighed and reached over to snatch a pillow and tuck it under his head. "If it hurts, tell me."
"Just uncomfortable. I'm not really in any pain." I moved my son to the other breast. Josiah's head was heavy in my hand. He was almost asleep. "Not anymore."
"Good." Tullo's hand moved to gently massage my leg where he had laid his head. His fingers were strong and firm as they moved down my sore leg. I looked up to see Tullo's eyes looking not on me, but on Elsie. I looked over at her and she dropped her eyes instantly.
"The web we weave," I mumbled, smoothing Josiah's fuzzy hair back. It was getting long.
"He's tired," Tullo noted. I nodded, looking down at the smiling little face of Josiah Raven as he dozed in my arms. "Give him to me."
I moved my son from my breast. His little lips resisted letting go of my nipple. Josiah smiled as I lifted him up onto my shoulder to burp. Tullo shook his head and took the boy. He lifted him to his shoulder and patted the little back. Josiah burped loudly, making me and Elsie giggle. Tullo cradled the boy and smiled at the sleeping face. I could see clearly that he loved my child. Now, his child. At least in the eyes of the Vampire High Council.
Tullo moved closer to Elsie and handed her my sleeping son. I started to object. The feelings of jealousy towards the relationship that might exist between Elsie and Tullo, or the relationship that might not exist, bothered me still.
Tullo's attentions to me had been wonderful. I did notice that he had basically begun ignoring Elsie. She was now nothing more than a servant. That hurt me and it hurt her, for different reasons. I had feelings for Tullo still. He was my mate. Elsie loved him. She was his concubine. His concubine who would never give him children. A concubine who was doomed. A concubine who was not bedded and could not produce children was worthless, at least to the Vampire High Council.
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"Take him," Elsie smiled softly as she cuddled my son. My son! "Leave us." Kathy and Joanie pushed the chair from the room and shut the door behind them. "Why do you glare at Elsie so?"
"Do I?" I asked.
"Yes, you do. As if you want to hate her and can't." Tullo sat on the bed facing me.
"Because I do. She has replaced me. Me as the stupid human and her as the faithful Hybrid."
"What are you talking about?"
"When we came here. When I came here, to this house, she replaced me as the one the children turned to. She replaced me in Eldon's life. When I left here, she replaced me in your bed. And with my own children."
"She did not replace you." He leaned forward to kiss me. "You replaced her. You took her place in Eldon's heart. You stole her spot in my bed and she has only been looking after your children. She didn't take your place with them. All she talked to them about was your return. She kept us all hoping you would return. All of us."
"You thought I wouldn't?" The words were cold from my mouth.
"I looked everywhere for you. No word. I questioned every scavenger ship I could find for word of you."
"They kept me hidden." I held tightly to the bedding. I was shaking.
"I thought so, but … I tried. I came home defeated. Elsie was what kept me going. She was dying but begging me to leave her and go search for you. She asked me to let her die. To save time to search for you." I felt my heart begin to race. "I couldn't leave her and the children. Donum was terrified of Batar. Spera was angry. She was giving them a hard time. She is so like you. Defiant to the end."
"Did you stop loving me?" I was looking down at my fingers as they tugged at the fringe on the bedspread.
"Never." Tullo's cold hand reached out to caress my face. "It was my love for you that kept me searching. I still have scouts out there looking for you. Just in case."
"In case what?" I asked.
"Word is slow in reaching us, but Trenar and the revolt there has reached us. At least now I know where it is." He smiled ruefully. "There is no word of your husband and his family." The way he said it caught my attention. "Yes, I'm keeping an eye out for him."
"Why?"
"In case." Tullo looked away.
"In case what?"
"In case something happens and it would be safer for you and the children to be with him." I sat staring at him. He smiled at me as he reached out to cup my chin and close my open mouth.
"You would send me away?"
"I would." He tugged at the bedding I was holding so tightly. "If it meant that you and the children were safe, I would send you to Earth."
"You don't like me very much, do you?" I teased, letting go of the bedding.
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Tullo pulled it away and ran his hand down my leg.
"I like you very much." He kissed my lips and moved his kisses down my neck as his hands pushed up the hem of my nightgown. "So much that I thirst," he pushed my knees apart, "for you."
As Tullo bit down into my inner thigh I lost myself to him. He suckled me hard and his fingers explored and massaged me. I moaned in pleasure and looked down to see his eyes peering up at me from between my legs. I closed my eyes and let myself go to him. It was time to be his again. To take my place as the lady of his house.
"Do you think you can forgive me?" Tullo's liquid voice asked.
I was lying beneath him and fighting to stay awake. I was exhausted. His kiss on my breast made me giggle. He rolled to his back and I crawled to cuddle up next to him, laying my head on his shoulder. I sighed in deep relaxation.
"What do I need to forgive you for?"
"Because one day you will have to leave me. That I will have to make you leave. I don't want you to hate me for that."
"I don't hate you." I kissed his cold face. "I couldn't hate you."
"You did while I had you strapped to that table."
"Yes! I did. You enjoyed that too much!"
"I did. Your fiery red ass had me ready to mount you from the first blow. Eldon enjoyed it too." He chuckled at that.
"What?" I sat up to glare at him.
"He just about tore the armrests off the chair. I think he's a bit of a closet voyeur."
"You're so bad!" I laughed, as he grabbed me around the waist and held me over him.
"You need to take him back as a lover." He kissed me as he set me down on him. "It's time."
"You say this as you make love to me?"
"I say this because we have to be ready for anything. Nothing can come into question. Not your position or mine."
"Position?" I teased, rubbing myself down on him.
"Definitely!" He rolled me into the bed and mounted me. I sighed dreamily and stretched beneath him. He leaned in to kiss me tenderly.
"I missed you so much. I wanted to die. If not for the children, I would have." He kissed me again. "I love you more than I love myself."
"And Elsie?" Why did I ask that? He sighed and kissed me again. A little less tenderly.
"I have feelings for her. I never denied that. You knew that a long time ago. But I'm in love with you." His hand caressed my face. "The first time I saw you, I knew that it would be you to be by my side. I just knew that I wanted you. Not just sexually, I knew that you were an interesting person."
"Did you? From that first instant?"
"From the first time I saw you peeking out at me from behind Eldon. I thought you were his mate. Believe me when I say that I thought of trading him just
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to get to you."
"What?"
"I did." He seemed embarrassed. "It was not a high point for me."
"But?"
"I knew there was something about you. They kept you hidden away and I found that intriguing. Mysterious and… I have a confession."
"Yes?" I lay looking up at him, innocently.
"That night…"
"Which one?" I was making it hard on him.
"The night I took you as my mate," he smiled at me.
"Yea?"
"I barged in because I saw you naked, waiting for him."
"I wasn't waiting for him..," I mumbled. "Not really. I was dying and he went for my nightgown. We didn't think I would make it through the night and dying in bed with the girls was frightening."
"Oh." He fell into the bed next to me. "I had assumed you and he were planning on a romantic night alone."
"And you meant to interrupt it?"
"Yes. I meant to stop it." He frowned at me. "I was very jealous. I don't know why, but I was. I just decided that you were to be mine. Mate or concubine, but I wanted you in my bed that night."
"And every night thereafter?"
"Yes!" his smile melted my heart. "I wanted you in my bed every single night. I missed you so much." His hand came around me, resting just below my breast. "You must take him as your lover again, soon. There can be no question in our positions. For his sake, yours, our children and Elsie. I think she deserves safety for all she's been through. This will ensure it."
"So I have to?"
"Yes."
"And you have to with Elsie?"
"I don't. She can't." Tullo kissed me. "She has no feeling below her waist." I frowned.
"Can she again? If you let her feed from you?"
"I don't know. It's unlikely. The damage was extreme. I did it once and she lived but…"
"Could you try again?"
He sighed and gazed at me.
"I could, but won't. Not until you take Eldon back."
"Blackmail? You're trying to blackmail me?"
"Or I could make you submit through torture." I felt his hand begin to knead my breast and I moaned deeply.
"Stop! I'm going to leak." I tried to wiggle away.
"I'll fix that." Tullo's cold lips covered my breast and I gasped in surprised pleasure. With his arm around me he held me right up against him as his other hand invaded me below. He had me moaning, fighting, bucking and begging in a few moments. I let him violate me over and over as the daylight faded. The children
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would be invading us soon. I wanted as much time with Tullo as I could have.
"You're not planning on going outside?" Eldon's voice was cold. I had dressed for the first time in days. I winced as the dress rubbed against the still healing welts on my back.
"I want to play with the children." I limped over to the window and looked out into the moonlight.
Chas and Borna had the children running about. Tullo was gathering Josiah and his trusty oxygen canister for the journey outside. I had climbed from the bed and from beneath Tullo to shower and get dressed. He lumbered from the bed and joined me. It was wonderful, and when I said I wanted to go play outside with the children, he was in agreement.
"Don't you need to rest?" Eldon looked ready to block my escape.
"I'm fine." I slipped on my shoes and reached for my shawl. "I need exercise to keep from aching. I've been in bed too long,"
"You're limping," Eldon noted.
"My body aches still," I mumbled.
"Is it still red?" I frowned, knowing he meant my buttocks.
"I can't see it," I snapped. "Ask Tullo."
"Ask Tullo what?" Tullo was coming in with Josiah in his arms.
"If my backside is still red." I stood glaring at them both. Eldon dropped his eyes. "Well? Is it?"
"It is," Tullo sighed. "I'll take Josiah out. You and Eldon have things you need to clear up. The house is empty. Enjoy your time." My jaw dropped as the door shut.
"Did he just..?" Eldon was looking at the door. "Faith? What's going on?" I sat down on the bed. So much for my time with my children.
"Now that I'm lady of the house, again, I've been ordered by my mate to take you as a lover again." I sat waiting for a reaction.
Eldon stood looking at me. He didn't move. I wasn't sure if he was entranced, revolted, angry or shocked. I let my shawl slide off my shoulders. Now what? I listened to the children laughing out in the yard as Tullo joined them. Eldon's hands were clenched in fists. Was he thinking of hitting me?
"Is that an order?" Eldon's voice was strained.
"Here we go again." I stood and limped to the window.
"What does that mean?" He stepped closer to me.
"You go into this mode where you want me to order you to be my lover. Should I order you to get naked and lie in the bed with an erection? I just thought you would want to bed me."
"I do." His voice was in my ear. He was right behind me. I leaned back and his arms came around me. "More than I want to breathe. May I take you to bed, My Lady?"
"Quit being an ass," I mumbled as he kissed my neck, "Eldon, take me to bed and be my lover?"
"Is that an order?" he asked.
"Yes," I sighed as he unzipped my dress.
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"I have one request. Can we go somewhere other than here? "He suddenly stepped away from me.
"What? Why?" I was in the mood to be with him and he was stalling.
"Because you just climbed from that bed with your mate. I'd like to have you in my own bed." He turned me to look at him. "Is that too much to ask?"
"No," I smiled at him, "It's not too much." The tears began to fall.
"What is it?" Eldon pulled me into a hug.
I had chosen my children over the three men in my life. Tullo had taken me back to his bed and was now making me go to Eldon's. I closed my eyes and frowned. I had chosen and now I had to live with my choice. And then some.
"I guess I missed you."
"I know I misses you." Eldon took my hand in his and pulled me after him, just like when we were younger. I followed him down the steps, out the side door and like kids, we ran to the house where the herd lived.
"I hate this," Eldon whispered, kissing the now healing brand on my inner thigh. "His mark on you. I hate that he branded you."
"He had to."
"I know." His hand gently rubbed it and I winced. "I still hate it."
"You seemed to enjoy it when it happened."
"I did." He sat up smiling. "You fought so hard. Like a wild croaner!"
"Great! Now I've become Lucifer."
"That animal is too wild," he sighed.
"Eldon, you and Tullo have become close."
"Yes?" He moved to lie next to me in the bed.
"Closer than master and breeder."
"Yes?" He pulled me close to hug.
"What are you two planning?"
"Planning?" Eldon kissed me. "We aren't planning anything."
"You two have been conspiring against me since my return," I accused.
"No, we haven't."
"Yes, you have!" I laughed. "Tullo said he wants me to leave if danger comes here. He wants me to take the children and go."
"I know. It would be for the best."
"I won't leave my home," I objected.
"To save the lives of your children, you will." He kissed me. "Tullo has everything covered should this happen."
"What happen?"
"Should you have to run."
"I won't run." I started to sit up.
"You will do what Tullo says when he says." I looked at Eldon and saw the seriousness in his face. He must have seen the confusion in mine. "Faith, they are not my children. They are part of my family and I will not see them killed, enslaved or bred. If the time comes, you will run."
"It's coming isn't it?" I felt the wave of dread wash over me.
"It will. But not now. Years. It will come in years. When Spera is of age.
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When it is time to breed her. Tullo will not let that happen."
"I won't either." I did sit up then. "They can't breed her. She's a vampire. She'll have a mate!"
"One you choose? Or she chooses? Spera is a glider. She is beautiful and she is more than a vampire. Lenora made sure that all the details of her abilities were well known."
"What are you talking about?"
"Lenora kept a journal. She entered information daily on the children. We found it after she..," Eldon swallowed, "After everything. About how Spera glided, and how advanced she is and… everything. We have no idea how much more Batar knows. Or the High Vampire Council."
"She's a baby," I gulped.
"She'll be of breeding age in less than five years." Eldon sat up with me. "And Carus? He lives in the light. A vampire who can live in the light. Do you know how special that is? Josiah would be nothing to them and he would die. He will die. No matter how hard Tullo has tried, Josiah is not getting better fast enough. He loves that boy as if he were his own."
"But he's not. Josiah is human. What will all this blood do to him? Tullo's blood. What will it do to my baby?"
"Save his life." Eldon stood and walked over to the desk.
"You better not even think of getting the breeding straps," I warned.
"I'm not," He laughed at me, "I wanted to show you the journal that Lenora kept." He came back carrying the worn book from his desk. "Tullo read it and decided that I needed to read it. He asked my opinion of it."
"Opinion?" I reached for the book. The cover was smooth and well worn. I knew the instant I touched it what it was. "Ew!" I dropped the book.
"Hybrid flesh." Eldon picked it up. "Just read it."
I opened the book and read the pages as Eldon left me to sneak to the kitchen for food and drink. The handwriting was clear and well detailed. It was all about Donum at first. Everything about him. Then it was about Spera and all of her achievements and advancements. She had surpassed Donum in Lenora's eyes. I read the words and began to wonder if it were factual or the attempt of a well-educated Hybrid to please her master.
Eldon returned with bread, fruit and cheese. He sat on the bed with me and held out the tall glass of milk. I took it and drank and ate as I read. It was all there. All about Batar and Shuta's plans to get their hands on my children. There were letters she had received from Batar and Shuta, confirming information she was feeding them. All the pieces fell into place.
Shuta saw greatness in Donum. But it was Spera that had piqued their interest. It was her offspring that they were interested in. Older vampires were being considered to breed her. Shuta was the first in line for privileges at breeding my baby. I wanted to kill him myself. I would kill him if he tried.
"Eldon, do you really think I should run?" He was sitting next to me, naked, munching on cheese and biscuits.
"Yes, as quickly as you can. Once they find out you're back, the treaty is null and void."
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"Treaty?" I set the book down.
"There was a treaty set between the humans and Shuta. They got you and left us alone. The threat of humans dragging vampires out into the sunlight has them terrified. Vampires aren't as they used to be. Or as they were depicted. They are out to survive not fight."
"So they sold me out? They put me on display and then put me out there as an offering to save their own necks?"
"The deal was for you to give them a child that could save them and they would leave Declar alone. The humans were desperate. The children were dying."
"The children of Trenar are not dying. They were having trouble with the soil and the food, but there are plenty of children on Trenar. Melinda had eight of her own. Eight daughters to be exact. The humans lied." I sat thinking. "Why would they do that? Why would they lie?"
"Because they knew that you could have a child that was a vampire that could walk in the sun. That you could give them a child that could be stronger than them and destroy them. The whole thing is about hate. They hate us. They hate anything unlike them. They want Declar. To get Declar they have to be rid of us."
"Us?"
"Quids, Hybrids and vampires. Humans have a long history of hate. For each other and for everything that is not a part of them. They want this planet. It's fertile and perfect. They want it and they will get it. There is no way that we can live in unison with them. They will destroy us. Just so that they can have all that we have. To do that, they will have to kill us."
"This is insane! Trenar is a good planet. They could make it fertile if they worked at it."
"Work at it? They don't want to do that. They want an established planet. They don't want to struggle and start from scratch. They destroyed Earth so easily that they knew they could find another one. And they have. Declar. It has houses, crops and the herds to work the land."
"They just want to come here, destroy the vampires, pick out a house and move in. And they can do it too. They just have to attack in the daylight. Hybrids will have to protect the vampires. We'll be the protectors and soldiers. We'll be dying for them. And they will die. You will die and your children will die. If Tullo tells you to go, you will go. If I have to tie you up and put you on the shuttle."
"We don't know that…"
"Once they find out we have you, the humans will return. If not for you, then for Josiah. Do you think that they will let him live? They will come once they know he's alive. If they haven't already."
"What?"
"They could have come disguised as scavengers looking for you. The word that we have is that there's a civil war on Trenar. The old king died and the nephew is fighting the prince for the throne. The other son is missing and the mother was killed. The prince and his cousin have been waging a war worthy of humans," he smiled. "It will destroy them. The Vampire High Council is hoping that they will simply kill each other."
"That would be nice." I thought back to cold James and his eight daughters. I
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wondered if Melinda was pregnant again. Seth. I thought of him and how he had helped us escape. He had his own agenda. He wanted to rule. I hoped Seth won the war. In my opinion, Seth would have made a better king.
"I wonder if James would ever consider going back to fight?"
"I thought your husband's name was Jacob?"
"Joshua is his older brother. He brought me here. He lives on Helio. He and Reggie." I drank more milk.
"So he lives on Helio?"
"I just said that." I reached for some fruit. "We stayed there. He has a nice house right on the beach. I thought we would stay there forever. It was so nice. And it was safe. We were safe from vampires. At least, I thought we were. But Jacob had promised to return me to Declar. He thought we would be safe here."
"So he's on Helio? Your husband?"
"No, he took his daughter and went to another newly forming colony. He didn't tell me or Joshua where he was going. He had to get as far from Trenar as possible before the war broke out."
"So he suspected rebellion?"
"Yeah," I frowned, thinking back to what had happened, "you could say that. He knew that Tullo would protect me and Carus. I think he just figured that Tullo would take care of me and Josiah would be considered an extension of me. I don't think he expected Tullo to claim him."
"Tullo likes children."
"I know that. How do you feel about my children?" I asked.
"They're part of my herd." The reply was cold and even, just as a breeder should be.
"So if I died, you would treat them as part of your herd?"
"Yes." He stared at me straight on. "I would care for them."
"And if I had a child with you?"
"That's forbidden." He frowned. "It would be a great! I would love them more than you or my life, but it's forbidden. I'm a breeder. I'm your lover, but I am not your mate. And it's forbidden."
"A boy or a girl?" I teased. Eldon smiled slightly.
"I'd want both." His smile widened. "It's forbidden." He reached out to tuck a stray hair behind my ear. "But a nice dream."
"You have no children yet?"
"No, I only want children with you." He leaned in to kiss me. I fell into his arms and we tumbled into the bed. "Wait." He reached to set the glass of milk down. He fell into the bed with me on him.
"Aren't you lucky that Tullo isn't like other masters?"
"Meaning?" His hand covered the back of my head as I laid it on his chest.
"Meaning most masters would demand that their breeders breed."
"Ah," Eldon chuckled, "and they don't usually allow the breeder to be the lover of their mate. The one they love." My head snapped up at the comment. "Yes, I love you. I've loved you as long as I've known you."
"Really?"
"Really! You were the cutest thing I had ever seen."
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"Thing?" I propped my head onto my hands and glared at him.
"Well, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about a human in my home."
"What?"
"I wasn't sure how I'd feel about a human in my home. You were seven and I wanted you in my home, but wished you were a Hybrid."
"Why a Hybrid? Why not a Quid?" I asked foolishly.
"So that I could choose you as my mate." He kissed me lightly on the lips. "And we could have children."
"You know if we were anywhere where vampires didn't rule, we could be mates." I sat up slowly. "And if I wasn't Tullo's mate."
"Dream on." Eldon's smile was sad.
"I know." I moved out of the bed. The sun was rising.
"And now you go to his bed?" Eldon's voice was full of pain.
"He's my mate. He loves me. He loves my children. He…" I began to get dressed. "I wear his mark. He branded me." I slid my dress on and looked about for my shoes. "On this planet, that makes me his to do with as he wishes. He'll want another child now. To seal the deal."
"Seal the deal?" Eldon sat up to watch me dress. I had yearned for his touch for so long. Now I basked in it. I did truly love him. More than Tullo and Jacob together. Eldon was who I wanted to be with and couldn't. Not freely.
"He'll want another child." I said it clearly.
"You're still lactating. As long as you are, you won't be in season."
"I know," I sighed. "Joanie is feeding him too. I'm thinking Tullo will want me to stop breastfeeding him."
"Oh." Eldon hadn't thought of that. I felt suddenly ashamed of myself for not wanting to carry Tullo's child. I wanted Eldon's child. The impossible and forbidden. "The sun is rising. Go to him."
I stood unsure of what to do. I slipped on my shoes and peeked out the door. The house was still quiet. I hurried out the door before anyone saw me. I ran for the house and wiped away the tears as I ran. I was happy in my life and yet miserable. The world stopped spinning in an instant, and then spun out of control. I was safely in my house.
I hurried to check on my children. I found them all safely in their beds. Joanie and Kathy were getting settled down for the day. I went to shower in my room and climbed into my empty bed. It wasn't until late in the night that Tullo came to our room. He didn't look at me. He showered, changed and came to bed. At least he was that considerate of my feelings.
I wasn't sure how I felt about him coming to my bed from Elsie's. I wasn't really sure how he felt about my going to Eldon's. I was lying on my side facing the heavily curtained window. Tullo climbed into our bed, kissed my head and rolled away from me. I imagined watching one moon after another rise in the sky as my tears fell on my pillow.
Elsie sat holding Josiah on her lap as Carus and Spera ran about with their arms outspread, spinning about until they were dizzy. Donum and I were laughing. Amara had given up and sat in the dirt, trying to stop her spinning head. Kathy and
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Borna were laughing too. Tullo had pulled me into his lap and I sat giggling at the actions of my children. I watched the children and felt Tullo's hand slide down my back. I felt goosebumps.
"Come with me?" My mate whispered the request in my ear.
I sighed deeply and ignored the looks from Elsie and Eldon. It was getting hard to live my life. It was getting harder to be happy and not make other people sad. It was getting harder to deal with how my life was going. Joanie now nursed my son and I was in season. I had been trying to avoid Tullo, but he was all over me all the time.
"Tullo…"
"Now." The demand. I couldn't disobey. I nodded and climbed from his lap.
"Watch the children," Tullo ordered Borna and Eldon as he walked into the field, pulling me after him.
Over the past week, Tullo had been intent on having me at his sexual disposal at all times. He knew I was in season and as I had expected, he wanted another child. Elsie was feeling the lack of attention. As was Eldon. Tullo ignored it all and doted on me. Now he pulled me up against him in the field and kissed me.
"What are you doing?" I asked softly as he held me against him with his arm around my waist.
"I'm thinking of undressing you and making love to you as I watch my children play." He was moving his hand up along my leg, moving my skirt up. "Or maybe this? To hold you over until I have you beneath me?"
"Tullo!" I whimpered.
"Shhh!" Tullo hissed in my ear. "Watch the children. Our children."
I gasped as his hand slid between my legs. His cold fingers entered me and I was ready. It was an easy entry. My legs fell open for him and his gentle touch. I held onto him and gazed over his shoulder at our children. My head fell back and I went limp in his arms as he brought me to him again and again. My body bucked against him. I held on and even wrapped my leg around him to hold onto the moment. Shamelessly, I wanted Tullo to have me again.
"May I lay you down?" Tullo asked in his liquid voice. I nodded quickly as I was letting myself go again to him. "Tell me!" he ordered.
"I want you," I gasped at him. "Now!"
"As you wish, my love."
Tullo lowered me to the ground and kissed me. His hands were undressing me and caressing me. His Love. I loved to be called that and to bask in his attention. He entered me with intent and I gasped at the joining. Allowing myself to be his, over and over again. I would be with child very soon. I knew it and so did he. I wasn't allowed to go to Eldon once I was in season, and Tullo had been on me intently. And daily.
"You love me?" Tullo asked, kissing me as I felt him come to me.
"More than you know." I lay beneath him, exhausted.
"One more child?" He kissed the tip of my nose.
"I have a choice?" I asked, foolishly.
"Yes." His hand was massaging my inner thigh. Most notably the now healed brand on my inner thigh. "You always have a choice."
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"So you say," I giggled as he tickled my leg. I kicked at him.
"Shhh!" Tullo sat up instantly and looked to the heavens. I sat up too. I felt the vibrations and moved quickly to my feet. I ran for the children.
"Faith!" Eldon was running to me with Josiah and his oxygen pack in his arms. Borna had Carus in his arms. "This way!" We ran for the barn. It was the closest building to hide in. We shut the door just as the shuttle handed. I leaned against Eldon for support. He stiffened at my touch. I looked up in his eyes and saw it. He could smell Tullo on me. Tullo's seed. I stepped back from him, hugging Josiah to me.
"We need to get out of here." Borna was looking out the back door. "We can get to the house. Come on."
I felt Eldon's hand on my elbow. He was there to do his duty and protect his mistress. The lady of the house. We stepped out the back door of the barn and ran to the house. I held Josiah tightly against me, making him giggle. Carus was singing at the top of his lungs.
"Shhh!" Borna was actually laughing at him. This was beyond stressful. I couldn't think of a reason not to laugh. Then again, why not laugh? We had tried everything else.
"Was it him?" I asked once the kitchen door was shut behind us.
"Who else?" Eldon was looking out the door to ensure that we weren't followed. "It's the third time this quarter."
Batar had been showing up without notice or invitation. His concern for the children was noticeably false. His first visit was nothing more than a scouting mission. His eyes darted here and there. Elsie had said that Lenora had always been there to catch his eye and wait on him. He was looking for her and Niyan. It wasn't until the second visit that Tullo told him that Lenora had run off, taking the child with her.
It happened often. When scavengers came to trade, there were always some Hybrids and Quids that came up missing. Taken or runaway? No one really knew. And the vampires didn't care. They never gave chase. Once you left, you could never return. Vampires weren't into pursuing. And not into forgiving either. Batar may have had questions, but he kept them to himself. He just kept showing up, hoping to find the answers. Or maybe her journal.
"So what exactly are we to do now?" Borna asked, trying to keep Carus' singing to a minimum. The rest of the herd was upstairs sleeping soundly. It was the middle of the night for them. I moaned. Carus was stuck on the chorus of a very lively song.
"I don't know." I turned to find Eldon staring down at me so intensely that his silver eyes seemed to glow. "Eldon?" Eldon took Josiah from me and set him in the baby seat. He fastened the straps to hold my son in the seat and turned to me.
"We need to shut him up. Feed the little beast." Borna was still trying to get Carus off the chorus. The beast in question was singing and spinning about on the kitchen floor.
"Carus!" I scooped him up and kissed the little laughing face. Josiah laughed and then began to cough. He struggled for air. Eldon got the oxygen hose adjusted on my son's face.
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"Keep him calm," Eldon ordered as he disappeared down the hall.
"Huh?" Borna was opening cupboards, looking for something to stuff into Carus' singing mouth.
"Move!" I decided that breakfast was in order. I handed my singer a biscuit and he was singing through a full mouth. Carus was very good at being annoying. Borna sat down between the two boys and nibbled on a biscuit. "Where's Eldon?"
"Checking on them," Borna replied through a mouthful of biscuit. "Probably making sure they don't sneak up on us."
"Who? Batar?"
"His Hybrids. They wander about. Eldon's probably locking the front door and making sure they aren't about. He worries about the younger kids."
Now I was worried. I peered out the window.
"Stay away from the windows.," Eldon snapped as he came in from the hallway. I stepped away from the window. Eldon leaned over the counter to peer out and pulled the curtain. "The kids are all asleep. I woke Harry and Billy. They'll keep an eye on the house."
"Hungry?" I asked scrambling eggs.
"Yes," Borna answered. I scrambled eggs and Eldon set out the plates in both the kitchen and dining room. The others would be waking soon enough. Breakfast would be expected.
Bobbie and Debbie came in to help, yawning. I hugged them both and set the meat to cook as they hurried to finish setting the table. Both of the girls had grown into beautiful women. Debbie was just beginning to show and Bobbie was as big as a small house. Trina had just moved into a room with Willie, so I anticipated more babies. We were almost finished cooking when Kathy came in the kitchen door.
"Well?" Eldon asked before she could shut the door.
"Tullo and Batar are in the den, talking." Kathy said as she set a package on the counter and reached for the milk in the refrigerator. "The Hybrids are standing by the shuttle. Joanie is watching over the children with Dusty." Kathy stopped to kiss Borna. "They glared at me as I walked past!"
"Why?" There was a cold hate in Borna's voice. It was something I had never seen before in him. Anger and protective rage.
"Just because, I guess." She moved to help me with the breakfast. "Mercy sent sweet rolls for breakfast." Eldon grunted and looked out the back window.
"He knows something," Kathy sighed. "He's got this planned. He knew the day would be overcast with rain. He's trying to catch us off guard."
"He will," Borna sighed. Eldon shot a look back at his brother.
"Borna!"
"Eldon one day they will. How long can we live like this?" I understood Borna's fear. He and Kathy had children. The children would suffer first. The children. I looked over at my own children. Josiah was chewing on part of a biscuit and his lips were tinged with blue. The children were suffering now.
"As long as we can live." Eldon replied firmly, opening the door and stepping out into the sunlight. "Eat and get the children ready."
I watched him walk out towards the barn to check on the animals. And to see where the Hybrids were. I watched him go and then saw Kathy hold tightly to
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Borna's hand. My being there was putting them all in danger. How selfish of me to return. I had done it for my children. That was what I told myself, but it was for me. Not only had I put my children in danger, the herd and Tullo, but the whole planet. The humans would find me sooner or later. They would come. If not for me, then for Josiah.
We were going to be found out. There was no way to stop this. The vampires and humans were going to fight. To the death. There was going to be war. Not today, not tomorrow, but soon. The war would be vampire against human. For my children that meant brother against brother. I knew my children would be involved and there was nothing I could do. For now, all I could do was live. And love.
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"What did he want?" I asked as I rocked Josiah in my arms.
"To check on the children." Tullo sat on the bed next to me. Tonight we would sleep with each other. He had stopped going to Elsie.
"Again?" I wiped my son's tears from his face. My son had a cold. The coughing made it hard for him to breathe and he fought the oxygen mask.
"He brought word from the Vampire High Council that Donum and Spera should begin their formal education."
"What? When? Where?" Tullo smiled at my panic. He loved being my hero and easing all my worries.
"The children need direction." He mocked the words that had been said to him. "Months. I just need to prepare them. They are expected to live in the Council house with the other children in the program. I said maybe Donum first and Spera later. I said she was too young yet for me to let go of her. I told him that she reminds me of you and I still haven't gotten over the loss of you."
"You just have to keep me hidden." I kissed Josiah's little, sad, snotty face.
"I know." Tullo reached out to touch the hot little face with his cold hand. I saw his pain at our son's illness. "He's hot."
"It's a fever. It happens. At least, from what I remember."
"What do you remember?" Tullo laid on the bed and rested his head on my leg, next to Josiah.
"From when I was a kid. I got sick on Earth. I had asthma and I had colds and chicken pox and … I was a normal kid. Just like Josiah." I cooed to my son who was chewing at his little fist. "And he's getting teeth in."
"Humans take forever getting their fangs," Tullo teased as he tugged at the little fists in my son's mouth.
"We do." I leaned down to kiss him.
"I'm glad." His hand went to my stomach.
Tullo had been on me daily until he was sure. Then he had eased up on me. I was pregnant again. He had made it clear that it was a priority that I have this child. His hand traveled down Josiah's body to the healed brand on his hip. He sat up slightly, kissing the brand on the boy. Josiah reached out to touch his father's head.
Carus was a different story. He liked Tullo, but he missed Jacob. Two men. Two children. And each child thought of the other's father as his own. It was confusing. I wondered how the next one would feel. Josiah whimpered and reached out a hand to Tullo. Tullo reached to take him from me. Josiah laid his head on Tullo's shoulder and continued to gnaw on his little fist.
"Boy or girl?" I asked.
"Girl. We have plenty of boys." He moved to kiss my stomach and then my lips. "What shall we name her?"
"Charity?" I asked.
"Charity?"
"My mom's name." I kissed Josiah again.
"Faith, Charity and Hope?" Tullo laid his head back in my lap. "I like it. I like that my family is so full of emotion. Beloved Carus and Josiah." He kissed
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Josiah's head. "He's so hot!"
"Not really." I sighed, thinking of Jacob and his warm touch.
"Do you ever think of him?" Tullo asked suddenly.
"Who?"
"Jacob?"
"Yes, when I look at Josiah because he looks so like him. I did the same with Carus. All I saw in him was you. I would cry when I held him. I missed you so." Just as I missed Jacob.
"Did you miss Eldon?" The question took me off guard.
"I did, but I missed Everyone. All of my family."
"But Eldon?"
"Why are you asking me this?" Josiah reached his hand to me and I held it.
The warmth of his body was very comforting, just as the cold of Tullo's head on my leg was. I was conflicted in my loves and my desires., Only my children were fulfilling what I was missing elsewhere. Eldon had become distant again. He wasn't around. I let the love of men vanish from my heart.
How could I choose? My mate, my husband or my lover? Eldon had been my first love. He was the first to rescue me and keep me safe. I knew that we were meant to be together forever and could not. Tullo had changed me. Save me. He was my mate and vampires mated for life. I loved him in a way that I couldn't explain or understand. He held the life of my children and the herd in his hands. Jacob was lost to me. My loved of him was lost. He was now a ghost to me. I knew I would never see him again, except in the face of Josiah, our son.
If I could choose who would I spend my life with? I pondered this question at extent. It was something that would never come to pass. I had no idea of what task the next day might bring but I knew that whatever it was I would do as I was told and my children and family would live. That was all that mattered.
I had started out my journey so in love with Eldon that I had come to Declar to die with him. The romance dripped off us. The forbidden love. My heart raced when I was near him. I wanted him in a way that no girl should want a man. He held my heart in his hands and kept it safe for me, even after I left him.
Tullo, I was his and he the father of my children. All of them. The risks he took to ensure our safety tore at my heart because I knew that he loved me more than I could ever love him. My love for him was more of a debt of gratitude. I felt jealousy and longing of Tullo, but not as I had felt with Eldon. I suspected that Tullo knew this, but he had hope.
Jacob, I owed him too. If given the choice I would never have married him. Or slept with him. Once again, I had loved a man for saving my life and the life of my child. Jacob was kind and gentle, but I was not his choice either. I could see it in his eyes when he made love to me. His heart was Merry's and now she was Bryant's. Something that he blamed me for. I knew this and understood. I had felt that when I suspected Eldon had chosen Elsie. Jacob and I were a marriage of convenience. We put our children first and learned to tolerate, then love each other out of necessity.
Eldon, Tullo, or Jacob? One night I sat pondering for the last time. I watched my children running about in the moonlight and I sighed deeply opening my heart
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up to what my life had become. It wasn't what my father wanted when he had taken us from Earth, but it was my life. The only thing I really had that was my own. I made my choice. All three lost. I chose my children.
Spera was next to me continuously. Carus was underfoot and into trouble twice as much. Donum was my calm child. He was a constant companion of his father and stood as Tullo did with his hands folded behind his back. He was just like Tullo. They looked identical and acted alike. Donum was very much the young man, by my side and protective of his siblings and me. Josiah was almost always in my arms.
I kept my children close to me and ready to run at a moment's notice. I wondered often how to run with four kids and one in the oven. Tullo seemed to have everything covered. He laughed at me when I tried to discuss it with him. He ignored my questions and redirected my attention to the children. He wanted all of my attention on our children, as if there was no tomorrow to look forward to.
Demato, Eldon and Tullo talked endlessly. They made plans in which I wasn't included. I should have been. The children were mine. I needed to know. One day, Demato disappeared and no one said anything. That bothered me. Then he appeared again. Tullo, Eldon and he began to talk all the time. Planning and keeping secrets. Secrets that I hated.
When I approached Eldon, he was busy. I would catch him watching me as the days went on. I had begun to show when I noticed that he too was missing. Off on a trip with Demato. It was weeks before he returned and with him, came more secrets. I wanted to corner the three of them and find out what was going on. They ducked me every chance they got. When I approached them they would separate and ignore my questions. It was frustrating.
The bigger I got, the slower I got. And I was getting a lot bigger. My nights were filled with playing in the fields that were ready for planting. Donum and Spera ran with me. Carus and Amara were close behind. Josiah stayed safely in Elsie's arms. I knew I had little time left before I gave birth, and the closer I got to my due date, the more I wondered about the child I carried.
I had to keep my mind busy so I returned to my studies. Kathy and Elsie had taken over in schooling the children in the ways and history of vampires. I studied as they did, only I read the volumes of history that were covered in human and Hybrid flesh. I kept them away from my children. The smell of the books turned my stomach, but I had to know the truth.
There had to be something there that would answer questions that I had spinning in my head. From what I could gather, there was some concern about something called "Oraculum de Incorruptus Rector." I had heard the phrase twice, clearly, and many more times in hushed tones. It was where I would have to start. I knew it would be in one of the flesh-covered volumes.
It took me days of searching to find it and when I did I sat staring at the words in confusion. It was all in Latin. Well why not? It was a Latin phrase. I knew very little Latin and would never be able to translate it all. I sat frowning at the passages and picking out what I knew. It made no sense to me. For a moment I thought I was looking in the wrong place. Elsie's reaction renewed my curiosity.
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"What are you looking so flustered over?" She rolled her chair up next to me.
"Latin. I suck at it." I flipped through the pages.
"You never wanted to learn it."
No, I hadn't. Quids were expected to learn the basic history of vampires. Which was in Latin. I mostly listened to the herd talk and read aloud. I never really wanted to learn Latin unless it had to do with medical terminology, and only then because it reminded me of my mother. She was forever searching medical books when someone was ill.
"What is this?" I asked moving the book over so she could read it. She frowned and started to shut the book. I caught the page and held it. Her eyes caught mine and held them.
"You know," I accused.
Elsie sighed and set her hands in her lap, folded neatly. As Tullo sat. As all vampires sat. Elsie was becoming one of them. I hadn't. I hadn't conformed. I had rebelled. For that I had suffered, but I had also reveled in the victory of being considered an equal to the vampire. Elsie had suffered, conformed and simply become. She was Tullo's concubine, I was Tullo's mate and the lady of his house.
While I had been gone, Elsie had taken my place. Granted, after what she had been through, it was expected. My return had set her standing in Tullo's household into question. A question no one wanted to approach. We all knew that Tullo had visited her bed and had feelings for her, but I was his mate. Elsie would never be accepted outside the house as anything but a crippled Hybrid. If she fell on the street, vampires would simply step around her. She wasn't even worthy of harvesting. Her death would have been seen as a benefit to the species.
If the vampires knew that I had returned, I would be welcomed back. For a time. I was of value to them. I wasn't sure why. I had defied them, but I had a feeling it had to do with "Oraculum de Incorruptus Rector." To understand what it was would make all the difference, in my life and the lives of my children. I opened the book and looked at the words. I looked back at Elsie and saw the fear in her eyes. Fear that I would know what these words meant.
"Donum? Come read to Mommy?" I called.
"NO!" Elsie moved to take the book from me. I snatched it away. We glared at each other as Donum came running to me. "Don't!" Elsie pleaded.
Donum climbed into my lap holding the book he had been reading. He opened it and began to read it to me and translated it into English from Latin for me. It was the story of a little vampire who was lost in the woods and found by his pet croaner. A croaner so big that the little vampire rode it home to safety. The entire time Donum read to me I kept my eyes on Elsie.
"Thank you!" I kissed my son's head. He climbed from my lap.
"You don't want to know," Elsie said coldly as she pushed her chair away from the desk.
"I do, and I will find out," I said.
"Leave it alone!" Elsie warned.
"Or what?" I set my hand on my abdomen. Oraculum de Incorruptus Rector had to do with the child I carried. I just knew it. And if it had to do with my child, then it had to do with me.
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"Or we could all die!" she hissed.
I saw anger and fear in her eyes. Not just that, I saw desperation. It was there in the flecks of silver in her brown eyes. Desperation that seemed to be the end of our relationship. If I pursued this, I could make enemies of my family. I ignored it all as I snatched up the book and hurried from the room. I practically ran over Chas as he came in with Zoe and Amara in tow.
"Where you running to?" Chas asked, pushing Zoe and Amara into the library for studies.
"I need your help." I grabbed his hand and we hurried through the house. I stopped in the entry way and decided that I needed more privacy than any place in the house could give me.
"Faith? What's going on?" Chas was tugging at my hand.
"Come on!" I glided out the door, dragging the boy after me.
"Faith?" Chas stumbled, but followed.
There was only one place that was forbidden for anyone but me and Eldon. Our place. The little bedroom that was set up for our meetings. The little bedroom had sat empty since I had become pregnant. We stepped in and I felt my stomach turn. I missed Eldon. Not just his touch. I missed his companionship. I missed talking with him. I missed the comfort of his calm wisdom and his smile.
"Faith?"
I turned to find a very confused and uncomfortable looking Chas. His eyes darted around the room where I had brought my lover. My lover! I began to giggle and sat down on the bed as Chas backed up against the door. He really couldn't think this of me! Chas was terribly handsome and now fifteen. Almost a man. Almost ready to breed. He was tall, muscular, his pale hair was long and soft gold that outlined his sharply sculptured face. The strong face that was now looking horribly panicked. I laughed out loud. I held out my hand to him and he stuffed his hands into his pockets.
"Can you translate this for me?" I held up the book. The relief that washed over his face made me laugh louder.
"Oh," he moaned, leaning back against the door. "Faith, you scared the hell out of me!"
"You really didn't think that…?" I laughed again.
"I don't know what to think these days. Kathy and Elsie are acting crazy and then you decide to drag me here and Eldon's gone and Tullo's with Elsie and…" he drew in a deep breath in relief, "What is it you want me to read?"
"This." I held the book out to him. "Oraculum de Incorruptus Rector. What is it? What does it mean?"
Chas leaned forward and took the book from me. He looked annoyed that it was covered in flesh. He flipped through the book and then looked at me. He sighed heavily and began to read over the passage that I had found. He looked over at me as if he expected me to jump up and attack him sexually. He stood and began to pace as he read.
I leaned back on the bed. My back ached. I fell back into the bed and hugged Eldon's pillow. I loved that it smelled of him. I curled my body up and sighed. I could have easily fallen asleep and dreamed of Eldon making love to me, but
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stopped myself. I had scared Chas enough without my waking from an erotic dream moaning and calling out to Eldon. Or Jacob. That had happened too. I would awaken suddenly to find Tullo smiling at me.
"Faith, this is nothing but a fairy tale." Chas words made me jump.
"A fairy tale?" I sat up rubbing my face. I had fallen asleep.
"Yeah," Chas was flipping pages, "it's the main history of vampires. The words of the pure ruler. That's basically what it translates to. It's the story of the first vampires… sort of."
"Sort of?" I patted the spot on the bed next to me. Chas frowned. "Just sit and tell me?"
"It's about the birth of Diligio, the first vampire, and how he came to be." Chas pulled the chair over and sat before me. "You know the story?"
"Sort of." There was that phrase again. "He was born of an angry man. When he was first nursed, he drained his mother of her blood, killing her and became more than man."
"Yes and no." Chas frowned at me. Yes, I had pushed them to study and I never had. "Diligio was a wanted child. His father desired a son. His wife died in childbirth of a daughter, so he stole the daughter of his enemy. He repeatedly raped the girl until she was with child. He kept the girl locked in a room, basically tied to a bed." I gasped at the story.
"The girl prayed. She prayed day and night, offering up her own life so that her child would exact revenge on his father. She asked her son to be her Exsequor. Her avenger. God was there, but she wanted more than to be rescued. She wanted revenge. Malum, Darkness, took notice and came to the girl. He made a deal with her. Malum offered her revenge for her life. She accepted." Chas shrugged.
"Why?" I asked.
"What?" Chas closed the book and looked at me intently.
"There was revenge?"
"Yeah." He looked at the book he held in his hand. I watched him set it down on the floor in disgust. "She got her revenge and a new species of man was born."
"Meaning?"
"Diligio was most loved and prized. He was a prize. A prize that changed the course of history. He nursed from his mother and drained her there in the birth bed. Malum ruled through the child. He tried to at least. The father raised the son to be a warrior to fight and kill. Malum taught him to feed off the enemy. Malum was actually the Diligio's father. But Diligio rebelled."
"He did?"
"Yes," Chas picked the book back up. "He rebelled from Malum and his father over a woman." He flipped through the book. "A beautiful woman who loved him for what she saw and not what he was. A woman who laid with him out of love and not fear. She gave him children who were free of rage, hate and violence. They were happy, loving and didn't only need blood to survive. They helped people. They fell in love with human women and human males who were virtuous and kind. But they were affected by the sun."
"The sun was what made them different. They were allergic to it. It was Malum's revenge on them. They turned away from darkness and then were forced
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to live in it. They lived in the night and at first they were thought of as spirits. Friendly spirits, because they only came out at night and they helped the humans."
"But?" I knew there had to be a 'but' in there.
"They also protected the humans of their family. They fought at night and were fierce fighters, strong and vicious in their protection of their family. But they needed blood for their strength. They wouldn't drink of their family, so they drank of their enemies, killing them in the process. They were hunted because of that. The children became vampires."
"Wow." I tried to think of what I needed to ask.
"Diligio had fifty children." Chas smiled. "He was a busy fella."
"Fifty?"
"The final two were named Shuta and Declan." Chas shrugged again. "The history kind of ends there."
"Why?"
"Because that was when the vampires and the humans went to war. The humans killed all the families of the vampires and the vampires killed them. The war was born out of that one act. The vampires decided they couldn't live on Earth with humans and left right after that. Of course it took years for them to find this place and set up Quid 4, but it happened."
"Declan is the last child of Diligio?"
"Yes. Diligio was killed in a great battle saving the children. His children. Well, most of them, anyway. Two survived. Shuta carried his brother to safety." Chas swallowed.
"What?"
"Well, after that battle Shuta and Declan lived in hiding until they were grown. They exacted their own revenge then."
"How?"
"They killed all the humans families that had been in on that battle. And there were a lot of them. It took decades. They killed them all. Not the men, just their families. They made the men suffer. All the time they were establishing a hidden colony of vampires with their friends. Seven friends."
"The Nine," I mumbled.
"Yeah. After the revenge they left in search of a new home and that's how we came to be here."
"Chas, do you know what lineage is?" I asked, realizing that whatever was going on, Chas had a hand in. He had to. He was the one who had kept an eye on me from day one. The one that Eldon and Tullo had let follow me and the children about. And since I had gone missing, he had become Spera's personal guard. He had to know something.
"Sort of." He knew I was fishing about for information.
"How is Tullo related to Shuta and Declan?" I had no idea why I asked that. But I felt my skin begin to crawl.
"Like a great great great grand something." Chas was nervous.
"Like son?"
"Something like that." Chas was so nervous that he picked up the book again.
"Chas, what's Tullo's history?" I kept my eyes on his face. "I know that you
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know. What makes Tullo so important in all this?"
"Tullo is a child of prodigy. He was born white," Chas sighed.
"White?"
"His hair, his eyes, his skin and even his blood. He was as close to being Diligio as any. A true vampire. He had such promise and so many looked to him to be all that they had prayed for. A pure vampire who could walk in the daylight as well as live in it. His children would be like him and the next generations would not fear anything."
"Anything?"
"Sunlight." Chas set the book down again. "That is the only thing that makes the vampires weak. Weaker than humans. The curse."
Curse? Why did powerful families have curses?
"So?"
"Tullo could stand the sunlight until he was about two and then he began to burn. That dashed all the dreams. Now they are all waiting for a male child to be born white and to be able to walk in the sun."
"Carus!" I jumped to my feet.
"No, he can walk in the day so far, but he's not white. He has a bit of brown skin and eyes like you. His eyes aren't always silver. They got a tinge of brown in them. He's a vampire, but not the pure vampire, but that one is." Chas was staring at my abdomen.
"How do you know?" My hand covered my unborn child.
"Because it would be just the kind of shit that happens to us." He sat back smiling at me. "Tullo's afraid. You're human. He's a descendant of Diligio and you bore Carus and Spera. The hope was that Spera would give them what they wanted. Tullo wants to protect you and her. That's why you are being hidden away."
"What will happen when and if this child is born and it is this pure vampire?" I asked.
"We'll hide him too!" Chas stood up and began to pace. "They will want the child. Do you understand that? They might take all of them. And they might start breeding her!" I heard the panic in his voice.
"Who?"
"Spera! They would breed her as soon as they could. One damned devil after another!" There was rage in his young face that frightened me.
"Chas?" I was close to panic too.
"Look, the humans were never supposed to be able to travel this far. The vampires never expected them to be so much like bugs."
"Bugs?"
"Cockroaches. Nothing kills them. They just travel on and on. They followed the vampires. Don't you see? They left Earth to get away from the humans and the humans followed to take over and kill. Humans tend to be a bit lazy when they see something they want."
"Thanks," I mumbled.
"Well. Columbus? The Pilgrims? The Indians? The Mayans? The Aztec? The Jews? The planet? One ethnic group sees something they like so they commit genocide and get what they want." Chas had really been studying the facts of
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history, both human and vampire. "They take what they want. Killing is nothing to them."
"To who?" Now I was confused.
"Humans!" Chas sighed heavily, "Vampires left hundreds of years ago. The Earth dies and here come the humans. Well, this planet's great. We'll just take it. But if we give them you to give them a child who will be stronger and better than a human and maybe a vampire, then they'll leave us alone."
"Why me?" I asked in despair.
"Because you're special. You can breathe the air here! No one else can. Well, no human. Except you."
"So?" I groaned.
"So the humans don't want you to have the perfect pure vampire. They had to get you away from here. But then they had to have a child of you." Chas frowned at me. He knew I wasn't getting it. "No matter what, if the vampires have you, then you can give them the Oraculum do Incorruptus Rector and they can be fearless against the humans. If the humans have you, then you give them extra strong children so they can defeat the vampires and turn us all into slaves."
"Slaves?"
"Well, we ain't human, we ain't vampire and we ain't pets. We're of use to humans, just like the people they brought over from Africa. Slaves. We're nothing to humans. Lower than animals."
"Just as we are to the vampires?"
"No, vampires treat us well. Very well."
I had read the history of Earth. The slaves were brought over from another continent. Some were treated well, but all were treated as less than human. Even the U S Constitution ranked the African Americans as 2/3 of a human. So Quids would never be equals to the vampires.
"We have to stand with the vampires and protect them or we'll be slaves."
"But we're slaves now." I reminded him.
"No, not exactly." Chas stood up. "We're pets. Well cared for and fed and harvested. We can't have our own home. We can't choose our mates. We can't be men." I was shocked to hear the heartfelt pain in young Chas' voice. "We aren't free. We're food."
"Chas, is it so bad here?"
"Not here. Not with Tullo." He seemed suddenly ashamed of what he was saying. As if he was being ungrateful. "Tullo is very good to us, but out there," he pointed to the window, "other vampires aren't as nice. To them, we're just the herd. Food." He looked frustrated in me. "Forget it."
"No, I'm trying to understand."
"Faith, you can't. You ain't a Quid. You ain't a Hybrid. You're human. The rules for you are totally different. You ain't a part of the herd. You're the lady of the house."
I felt totally alone and deserted. Surrounded and alone. I held my hand over my abdomen. Chas was enlightening me more and more whether he meant to or not. Oraculum de Incorruptus Rector was a fairy tale that was parallel to my life. Would I die in the birth bed for my child? At the hand of my child? I sighed. If it
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meant that he lived, that my child lived, then yes. I would. I would give my life for my child.
"Tell me about Oraculum de Incorruptus Rector?"
Tullo's eyes got big at the question.
I had a feeling he knew what was coming, but of course he played it off very well. Chas and I walked up to find him talking to Elsie and Kathy as the children played outside. His eyes were full of guilt. I was bombarded with hugs and kisses from my children who had missed me. Chas handed the flesh-bound volume to Tullo and received a hug around his legs from Spera.
"What do you want to know?" Tullo asked innocently as he flipped through the book.
"All of it," I replied.
"After the children are down for the night." He smiled at me coldly, leaned in to kiss my cheek and carried the book back into the house.
"Leave it alone, Faith," Kathy warned me in a low voice.
Kathy too? I reached out and took Josiah from Elsie's arms. She was reluctant to relinquish my child It was as if she thought I was going to run with him. I glared at her in warning and she let him go. I lifted him onto my hip and walked out to play with the other children. My children. Donum ran to hug me. Carus was busy pushing Amara on the swing. Everyone's eyes were on me. I felt very uncomfortable. I suddenly felt as if I were a prisoner. Again.
Tullo came to stand next to me. He stood with his hands behind his back, calmly smiling at me. I set my son and his oxygen canister in the special swing that Eldon had built and began to push him. Josiah laughed and clapped his hands in delight. I watched him, the other children and everyone watching me.
The tension rose and I began to tremble. Tullo reached out to take my hand to pull me away from the swing. I stepped up to him and waited. In the moonlight his eyes were bright. The reflection on the eyes of vampires, Hybrids and Quids with the silver Suquidal made them glow. Now, a set of soft blue silver glowing eyes fell on me. I stood waiting.
"It's history." Tullo let my hand slide from his as he walked away from the children. I walked along beside him. "It's the beginning of us."
"Us? Me and you?"
"No," he smiled at me sideways and I waited, "vampires."
"Now tell me what it has to do with me."
"I can't, because I'm not sure how you fit into it."
"Tell me then how you think I might fit into this history." I folded my arms across my chest to keep him from taking hold of my hand.
"I think that some believe you will be the mother of the Oraculum de Incorruptus Rector." His smile was cold.
"The pure ruler? A pure vampire who is born of a human? Tullo, that's pretty farfetched."
"It did happen."
"A civilization ago." I hugged myself to try and contain the shaking. "I don't think that I'm what you want to give birth the next generation of perfect vampires."
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"Perfect vampire? I like that," Tullo laughed, lightly. "Unfortunately, that's how others see it."
"So the Nine do think that I'm an incubator for the Oraculum de Incorruptus Rector? What in the world are they thinking?"
"They think that you are in the middle of a civil war on the planet Trenar. They are hoping that you will be killed in the middle of that war. That will give way to finding another human that can breathe the air here."
"Wait! Are they bringing humans here?"
I had been listening to the men talk. I had been trying to find out about me and heard the talk of scavenger ships coming from Earth. The words 'special cargo' had been said more than I could count. I now knew what the 'special cargo' was. Females. Human females. Human females who had been born on Earth. That seemed to be the key. The incubator had to be a human female, born on Earth, who could breathe the air on Declar and was willing to mate with a vampire.
"How many?" I asked in a chocked voice.
"Faith…"
"How many women have come to this planet to die for this?"
We stood glaring at each other. He didn't want to answer me and I really didn't want an answer. Tullo's eyes did not soften as he sighed.
"About fifty so far. Two are still alive."
He said the last part as if it should bring me hope. Hope for what? That I would be safe or that the two might survive? In a way, I knew that death was better than what they would go through or what their children would go through. My hands covered my abdomen. His eyes went to my hands. The silence was heavy.
"What if I do carry Oraculum de Incorruptus Rector in me?" I asked.
If the silence could have gotten heavier, it did. I might have fallen over from the weight of the impending answers. I held my child and held myself up. Tullo moved closer. His hands came from behind him and they moved slowly onto mine. He wasn't too far off. His cold hands were very comforting to the fear that was rising in me.
"Then you and the children will leave."
I took a step back. Tullo took a step forward. I took a step to the side and he countered.
"Shall we dance?" he teased.
"Tullo…"
"You will take the children and go. I want you and the children safe. You will keep the children safe. You must promise me that."
"Will you please tell me what you're planning?"
"Planning?"
"You, Eldon, Chas, Kathy, Demato, Elsie and probably everyone else knows what's going on. Everyone but me! I know that once you get me off this planet, you'll take Elsie to your bed completely and I know that you can forget me as easily as…."
"Stop!" Tullo did something very uncharacteristic. He yelled at me. I froze. His eyes were sharp and colder than anything I had ever seen. I was truly afraid of Tullo for the first time in all the time I had known him.
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Everyone was looking at us. Tullo took hold of my hand in his and his eyes softened. He held it firmly and was looking at my abdomen. He was looking for something in me that would not satisfy him. Something that he was sure of and something that frightened him.
"Come with me!" I didn't resist as he pulled me past everyone and into the house. I figured I had started this so, I had to see it through.
We hurried up the steps and into our room. I was basically flung across the room as he slammed the door shut. I glided over to the window and looked out at my children who were still playing. They hadn't even noticed that I was gone. Would they notice if I just disappeared? It had happened before, and Donum and Spera hadn't seemed to suffer so much from that as from my return. My return that had taken Elsie from being their surrogate mother.
"Come here to me!" Tullo's voice was harsh. I didn't move. "Now!"
I turned and looked at him. His face was cold. When he saw the tears on my cheeks he moved very quickly towards me. I back into the window as he grabbed me. Before I could react, my mate kissed me. More of an impassioned kiss than a forced one.
"I can never forget you," He whispered as his kisses traveled over my face and neck. "How can I forget you?" He held my face in his hands and kissed away my tears. "How can I live without you here with me?" He hugged me close and I cried harder.
We lay in the bed as the sun rose. The children were in bed and finally quiet. We had lain in our tangle of covers and listened to our 'herd' as it came in from play, ate, bathed and got ready for bed. We listened to the laughing and giggling as we made love to each other. After the house was quiet, we lay listening to the peaceful silence.
I became aware of so much. I saw Elsie move past by our bedroom door on the way to her room. The shadow of her chair under the door as she paused. I listened to her move about in the room next to ours. The room she would sleep in alone. I had taken Tullo from Elsie. And Elsie from Tullo. He slowed his rhythm as he watched the shadow of her chair roll past our bedroom door. He continued on with intense vigor on me as he tried to prove how hard it would be to forget me. How hard and how easy.
"Now you go to her bed?" I asked selfishly as I curled up next to him.
"No, I haven't, not for a while." I lifted my head to look at him. "Not for sex." His hand caressed my head and I lowered it onto his chest.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm in love with you." He kissed the top of my head. "I did as expected. I had to make sure she was taken care of. That she had a place in my family so that she would not be exterminated."
Exterminated. The word made me shudder. Tullo drew me closer. His heart beat was slow. Vampires had very slow heart beats. It was almost as if they had no heart. The slow pace of the heart kept their blood cooler. I relaxed in his cold arms.
"I love you, too." I whispered.
"You think that I would set you aside for anyone?"
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"The children?"
"Well..," he chuckled at the comparison.
"You would choose the children over me?"
"Yes," he said quickly.
"Good!" I sighed.
"And you will choose them over me. If I say you must go, you must. You must take the children and keep them safe." I sat up and found him gazing at me intently. "You must."
"Must I?"
"You are the only one I could ever trust fully with my children." He kissed the top of my head.
"Tullo, I don't know that I can leave you. I'm not brave enough. Or capable of caring for myself, let alone my children!"
"You're very capable." He laughed at my antics, thinking I was kidding around. "You're their mother."
"I know I am." I fell into his arms. "Tullo, what's going to happen to us? Our children?"
"They are going to grow up and take care of us in our old age," he teased. "When we're decrepit and feeble."
We both stopped talking when the door to Elsie's room shut. Loudly. The silence in her room was hard to ignore. I thought I heard her sniffling. Tullo must have heard the same thing because he held me closer. She slammed the closet door and sobbed. I sighed deeply. Perfect timing. As usual.
"Our being in love hurts so many," he mumbled into my hair, "But you must know that I love you."
"I do."
We lay listening to the sniffling in the next room, the soft breathing of each other. The house began to get quiet as the sun traveled across the sky. Tullo's hands were moving slowly up and down my body, caressing me and soothing away the sorrow and fear.
"Tullo?"
"Hmm?" He was as relaxed as I was.
"I'm afraid."
"So am I."
He hugged me and I shivered against his cold body. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on his slow beating heart and not the low crying from the next room. Elsie wasn't even trying to hide it. Tullo sighed heavily. We listened to it for a bit until he moved me in the bed and climbed out. I hugged his pillow and watched his white body move through the darkness.
Since I moved about all the time, day or night, we kept the upstairs totally dark. Donum had a habit of coming to look for me when he woke. I was terrified of his catching even one small ray of sunlight. The thought of his skin being scarred was more than I could handle. I listened to Tullo pad out of the room and knock on Elsie's door. The soft, soothing whispers were hard for me to ignore.
I lay thinking of how it would be if I had not returned. What if I had told Joshua no and simply stayed on Helio with him and Reggie? They would have let
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me. I could have walked in the daylight on the beach and waited for Jacob to return. I knew he might not, but then again, he might. I thought of Maybe. I would have loved to see her running on the beach with Spera. As I slid into the abyss of sleep, I heard Elsie crying and wished I could take away her pain. The pain of her broken heart and back. The pain that was caused by me.
I closed my eyes as the cries became muffled. Tullo was hugging her. Comforting her. Telling her that he would take care of her for all she had done for our children, but I knew that the one thing she wanted from him was something that he could never give her. That he could never love her the way he loved me.
"Is she okay?" I asked, as Tullo came back into our bedroom.
"She's fine." He climbed into bed with me and pulled me close.
"She's sad." I laid my head back on his chest.
"She is."
I said nothing.
"Are you angry that I went to her?" he asked.
"Should I be?"
"I only comforted her," he defended himself.
"I guess I wouldn't care, but you went to comfort her naked."
"I didn't realize…" he held me closer, laughing.
"I wonder if she did?" That got us both laughing.
"Faith!"
"What?"
"I'm so glad that I found you." He kissed me.
"I'm glad you found me, too."
I smiled to myself. Content in the thought. Not only that, I had found myself. I was Faith. I was Faith Marshall, I smiled remembering my last name. I hadn't thought of it in years. Faith Marshall. I let the name bounce around in my head. I had sat at the kitchen table before we left Earth learning how to write it so that if I got lost, I could tell whoever that found me that I was Faith Marshall. I had been very proud of who I was
"Faith Marshall." I whispered as I let myself get lost to my mate.
It came faster than I thought. We were running as fast as we could. Spera and I glided across the freshly turned soil. The boys jumped over the clumps of soil and yelled as we sped on. Spera and I laughed and held onto each other as we outran the boys. The fields had been turned for planting. It was the best time to play. Olin and Borna were our guards as we played in the moonlight. I glided across the field and stopped by the fence just as my water broke.
"Now?" I asked myself as I leaned on the fence.
"Now what Mama?" Spera asked, holding tightly to my hand.
"Now I think we are having a baby." I winced and held onto the fence as Tullo and Kathy ran to me.
"Can I watch?" Spera asked and I found myself wondering why not.
"Sure. Let's go have a baby."
"A brother?" Spera asked as she tugged at my hand.
"I don't know." I held onto the fence and winced. The pain was swift and
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sharp. "But it's gonna happen soon."
"Can I watch too?" Donum asked. I hadn't intended on the birth being a sideshow.
"I think Spera is enough. She's a girl." I decided that was a good argument as any. It wasn't for my son.
Donum was three years old and was as big and advanced as a human child of seven. Spera was a little over two and a half and she was as advanced as a human child of five. Carus was just over a year old and more like a three year old human child. Josiah was a nine month old human and just beginning to toddle around. It occurred to me at that moment that the child I was about to give birth to would be running before Josiah.
"Faith?" Tullo stepped up next to me as I clung to the fence. "Is it time? Is the child coming?"
"I would think so." Kathy moved him out of her way to take my hand. "Come on, Faith. Here we go again."
Tullo lifted me into his arms and carried me to the house. Mercy was at the door ushering in the children and barking commands. Kathy ran ahead to get my bedroom ready. Olin and Borna sped to bring in the incubator and extra oxygen machines. Just in case. As I was being carried up to the bedroom, I noticed Mercy and Chas carrying up a large container filled with packets of blood. I was worried about the child I was about to give birth to.
"Why blood?" I asked in concern.
"Don't worry," Tullo ordered as he carried me into the room. "We just need to be ready."
"Ready?" I winced at the pain and the fear that gripped me. "Ready? For what? Tullo?"
"Just in case." He sat on the bed with me and kissed my face.
"Mommy!" Spera was crawling into the bed with me.
"Go on to the nursery." Tullo reached for the child.
"No, let her stay with me." I hugged her to me as she settled down next to me. Tullo looked unsure, but then nodded. "Unless it goes bad. If it does, get her out of here." Tullo nodded again, but then turned his attention to the room.
"Hey," I hugged Spera and held onto Tullo's hand. "We're going to have a baby!" Spera laughed nervously. I leaned back in the bedding and readied myself.
The birth was not easy. In fact, it was harder than any birth so far. It felt as if the child would not leave my womb. I was fighting for it to leave my body and it was clawing at my insides to stay there. The pain was intense and frightening. It was when I began to scream that Spera was removed from the room. Kathy, Mercy and Tullo were with me the entire time. The held me, coached me, encouraged me and let me scream.
He was born as the second moon passed the window. I was gazing at the moon suddenly believing that this would be the last time I would ever see it. A sense of mortal dread took me. Tullo sat behind me and helped me sit up. Mercy was next to me. She was taking my arm and preparing it for harvest.
"No!" I begged, trying to pull my arm away.
"It's him!"
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Mercy was screaming and the baby was screaming. Him. It was another boy. I tried to look at him, but Kathy was cleaning him up. He was pale. I saw the little hand waving angrily at the air. Tullo held my arm out so that Mercy could get the catheter in. I wanted to see my son. I wanted to hold him.
"Trust me!" Tullo begged, holding me up. I was too exhausted to sit up alone. "Get it ready!" Tullo was now yelling at Mercy.
"It's done." Mercy reached back and took the baby from Kathy.
"Hand him here and get ready!" Tullo ordered.
The little boy was pushed to my breast. Olin and Borna were there then. I watched them handing the packaged blood to Kathy. I wanted to ask what was the blood for when the child found my breast and bit down on it. I screamed and tried to push my child away. Tullo held my arms to my side to keep me from doing that. Kathy crawled into the bed and held my child to my breast.
I screamed. I looked down at the baby at my breast and found him to be white. Not pale. White. His eyes were the lightest of silver and seemed to glow as the baby suckled milk and blood from me.
Death. He was an old friend. I had invited Death to take me so many times before and this was the first time I felt him so close. I thought I could actually see him skirting along the room, just on the edge of the commotion. In the shadows. He was looking for his chance to jump in. It was close.
The room began to spin and get dark. I stopped fighting and fell back against Tullo. He held me up and spoke to me. I could hear his liquid voice, but I couldn't understand the words. It was all blurry as I felt my life slipping away. I was losing. Death was dark and cold. He was on the other side of Tullo, holding out his hand to me. I wanted to reach out and take that hand. I wanted to finally be able to rest.
I looked down at my son. Diligio. He was draining me as he nursed. The second evolutionary change was now in the making. I was giving my life for his. I had thought that I was ready for this, that I could do it without really thinking, but now I wanted to live. I wanted to see my child grow up. I turned my head from Death and let my head fall back against Tullo. I had been preparing to die, now I prepared to fight.
I looked over to see that Mercy had opened package of blood and poured it into a goblet. Was Tullo thirsting? Was this a celebration? I was dying and they were celebrating. Tullo had his son. He had his Diligio. He now had Elsie and I would be gone. I was dying. I watched Kathy take the child from me and let my breath slide from my lips. I reached out and let my hand feel the silky hair on the baby's head as he was carried away.
No incubator. No need for oxygen. Just my blood. Just my life. I saw that perfect little face and decided that I loved him enough. And I would gladly give my life for his. Tullo was moving me, laying me back in the bed. I imagined they would get me cleaned up and lay me at rest so that my children could view my body before I was removed from this world. From Tullo's home. I felt the goblet held to my lips. My mouth was forced open. The spicy hot blood burned at my throat just as the blood that was being pumped into me by Mercy burned my veins.
Death was at my door. He was banging on that door and Tullo was blocking his entrance. My body seized as the blood filled the drained veins in my exhausted
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body. This pain was worse than giving birth. My mind was seared with the presence of death. The kiss of it on my lips made me feel as if I could not come back. Tullo's kiss was next on my lips.
"Faith! Come back to me!" Tullo ordered, kissing my lips.
His liquid voice was becoming clearer and calling to me. I blinked and felt the burning of Tullo's blood rush through me. I heard the sweet song of Kathy as she rocked my son. I heard the prayers of Mercy as she pumped the blood into me. I heard the sound of Tullo begging me to live as he kissed me. I blinked and swallowed willingly the blood that was poured into my mouth. I listened to my healthy son gurgle as Kathy rocked him. I blinked again and looked over to get a better view of my little Diligio. I swallowed again and fought through the pain of my own rebirth.
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"Breathe," Tullo ordered, kissing my cheek.
I was too weak to move except to blink and breathe. That is, when I remembered to breathe. Tullo had lifted me from the bed and rocked me in his arms as the bedding was changed and I was cleaned up. My eyes were on the catheter tube coming from my arm. Blood. I was being given blood intravenously. I wondered whose.
"Breathe!" Tullo kissed me again.
I breathed.
"How is she?" Elsie asked from the doorway.
"Fine," Mercy called as she fluffed the pillows.
"Stay there," Joanie warned, "There are too many people in here."
She was helping Tullo get me into a clean nightgown. Joanie may have been the youngest, but she was the most intuitive. I hadn't said that I was having issues with myself and the place that Elsie had in my life to anyone, but Joanie knew. She was also the peacekeeper in the family. Tullo eased me into the bed and held me up as Joanie brushed my hair and wiped my face.
"Breathe!" she hissed, patting my cheek.
"Faith," Tullo laid in the bed with me, holding me against his chest. "You need to keep breathing."
Keep breathing. My head fell against his chest. I couldn't move. My limbs felt so very heavy. Too heavy to lift. Mercy was hanging more blood to be fed into my veins. I watched it drip into me and fought to keep my eyes open and breathe.
Kathy was rocking my baby in her arms. I lifted my hand weakly toward my child. Kathy came forward instantly with my child bundled in a blue blanket. She set my child in Tullo's arms and against me. Tullo settled us both against him. Kathy handed the bottle of blood to Tullo and I weakly watched as my son drank.
His skin was pale, almost translucent, as were his eyes. The curtain was open and the moonlight poured in on us. They baby's eyes sparkled and his wispy white hair moved with the breeze that flowed through the open window. His face was sharp and almost elfin, so fair and finely sculptured and peaceful. He was perfectly beautiful.
"This is your son," Tullo said to me. "This is your mother," he said to his son. "What shall we call you?" Tullo's hand was tracing my face and then his son's. "What shall we name you my wondrous son?"
"Peace." I forced the word out.
"What?" Tullo leaned closer to my face.
"He's so peaceful." I moved my head closer to my son and kissed his head.
"Peace?" Tullo sounded lost at my opinion.
"Otium?" Chas was there then bringing in more bags of blood. Mercy took them and got them ready to administer to me and my child. I smiled at him. He knew what I meant.
"Otium." I whispered.
"Otium it is." Tullo kissed the little head. "Will someone please tell me why are all my children's names are in Latin?"
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"Because it sounds good," Chas replied simply.
"It does," Kathy added.
"Yes," I smiled at my son. I found my son's features to be wondrous. He looked so like Tullo.
"So much like you!" Mercy cooed as she leaned over Tullo to see the boy. "Just like when you were born!"
"Is he?" I asked drowsily.
"He is!" Mercy laughed.
"Is he?" I asked Tullo. He understood. Was Otium the Diligio? Was he the Oraculum de Incorruptus Rector? I watched Tullo's face begin to glow. It didn't matter. Otium was his son. He kissed the little head and my face. I laid against Tullo and let my eyes close.
"Again?" I moaned as Tullo climbed into the bed to sit behind me and help me sit up.
"Again." He kissed my cheek as he reached around me to unfasten my nightgown to expose my swollen breasts. "He has the thirst. We need to feed him."
Not only was I too weak to sit up unassisted, but my breasts were swollen, sore and raw. I hated breastfeeding. It was annoying, painful and uncomfortable. The only reason it was such a magnificent event was that there was a beautiful baby attached to my soggy, seeping, raw, painfully swollen breast. Attaching a breast pump to the appendage was more than a little discouraging, it was embarrassing and annoying.
"Can't I just nurse him?" I begged.
"Sure!" Joanie smiled as she rocked my son in her arms. "Let him drain you and then you won't have to worry about pumping the milk."
"We got this." Kathy sat on the bed and pumped the milk for my son. It was mixed with blood, giving it a sickly pink tinge.
"Whose blood?" I asked.
"What my love?" Tullo was holding me against him.
"Whose blood are you feeding him?"
"A mixture of your blood and Tullo's. And your milk." Kathy smiled at me as she cupped my breast.
"My blood?" I was confused. There had been many packages of blood brought in. I hadn't been harvested that much. Or had I? I was harvested once a week from the time I had become Tullo's mate. But I had assumed that Tullo had been enjoying it. I tried to turn to see him but he held me against him.
"Relax," he ordered.
"You haven't been drinking my blood?"
"No, I saved it and began to harvest my own."
"Why?"
"Once I saw Carus I knew that this might come to pass. I wanted to be ready. Just in case." He kissed my ear. "I couldn't risk losing you."
"He bit me," I mumbled.
"Yes, he did."
"You let him."
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"Yes, I did." He kissed my cheek again. "He had to drain you to the brink of death and beyond. I wanted to be ready to bring you back."
"Bring me back?" I was confused.
"Faith, did you really think I'd ever let you go?" I leaned my head against him. "I told you that you are my love."
"You did." I winced against the feeling of the pump. "And the blood that is going into me?"
"The same." Kathy moved to the next breast. "Only no milk."
"Will that alter me?" Kathy looked past me to Tullo.
"No," Tullo answered quickly, "It will make you stronger." He hugged me. "It will make you well."
"I'm well enough." I sighed. "Can I hold him?"
"I think that can be arranged." Joanie came closer with my son.
Kathy moved away to mix the formula for my son. I held Otium in my arms, with the help of Tullo. The wide silver eyes could not yet see me, but they stared at me. I caressed the little head and the hair was fine and wispy. It seemed to float with the slight static electricity in the air. It was like he was swimming in the air. He was perfect. He began to nuzzle for my breast. Tullo lifted him away from me.
"No, no," Tullo whispered to his son, "enough of that."
"Here," Kathy handed Tullo the bottle.
"Eat up, little one." Tullo ordered softly as our son began to feed. Tullo kissed the little head. I leaned against Tullo and watched my son eat. I was at peace with what had happened. Tullo kissed my head. "You are so wonderful!" he whispered. I closed my eyes and slept.
My dreams were haunted with not being able to run fast enough from my son. He was after me for my blood. He was right behind me, crying in the darkness. I was running from the darkness and my son. The cries were terrifying. I sat up to see Elsie holding my newborn in her arms and feeding him. Tullo was leaning over them. It was just the three of them. I hated what I saw. They looked like the perfect happy couple. But there was something else there with them. A dark shadow just behind Elsie. Death! The darkness seemed to envelope her.
"Give me my son!" I demanded sitting up. Both looked guilty. Tullo took my son and handed him to me. Elsie dropped her eyes rolling her chair out the door.
"She was just admiring our son." Tullo sat down on the bed with me.
"Yes, just as she admires my mate," I glowered. "Get her out of here!"
"Are you jealous?" He teased.
"Yes," I frowned. Tullo's face changed. He knew I wasn't kidding. His face became concerned. Elsie had the hurt puppy look on her face. I hated her.
"You want me to take him? You can rest."
"No. I won't rest while you give my son to her and climb into her bed." I hugged Otium closer.
"Faith…"
"Why didn't you let me die?" I asked. Tullo's face held shock. "Then you and Elsie could raise him as your own. Forget about me and go on with your life, your son and your concubine!" Tears blurred my vision.
Tullo snatched Otium from me and set him screaming into the bassinet. I
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kicked free of the bedding and was trying to climb out to get to my son when Tullo jerked me from the bed and across his lap. I was in pain and the added pain of his firm hand across by backside had me screaming in rage. After several swats he tossed me back into the bed. He stood glaring at me. I dragged myself away.
"Do not think we're done with this conversation!" He scooped up our son and left me alone to cry. I was sure he had gone to Elsie. I hated them both with every ounce of my being.
"What have you done this time?" Eldon's voice came through my dreams. I sat up to find him staring at me in amused anger.
"Nothing." I tried to sit up and couldn't. Eldon moved to help me. I pushed him away. "I don't need your help."
"Okay." He released me and I promptly fell from the bed and onto the floor with a thump. He didn't do anything but stand, smiling at me.
"I hate all of you!" I hissed, in pain and rage, as I dragged myself to my feet. "You should have let me die!" I fell into the bed sobbing.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Where's my son?" I cried. "Where is he?" The panic in my voice was enough to make the smile fade from his face. "Does she have him? Did he give my son to her? To that bitch!" I was panting and sweating. It was hot in the room. "I want my children!" I screamed.
"Faith…" Eldon was coming to hold me.
"No! I didn't survive all this to have him take my son from me! I didn't live through being beaten and raped for him to give my son to her! Is it because I wasn't crippled? Is that why he favors her? I want my child!" I was screaming. "My children!" I swung my fist at Eldon and he moved back. I reached for my knife that was setting on the nightstand. I almost fell out of bed again. Eldon snatched it up.
"What's wrong with you?" he yelled at me.
"I'm going to kill you all!" I threatened. "You won't take my son from me! You won't!" I fell into the bed and watched the ceiling spin out of control along with my life. "None of you!"
The voices were in a tunnel. I could barely hear them. I couldn't make out what was being said. It was all a blur. I knew now that I was dying. At least it felt like it. I tried to fight. I slapped the hands that were grabbing at me. I was too tired to fight, but I fought. I cried and I screamed. I begged for my children and I begged to be killed. Nothing happened. I wasn't dead and my children weren't given to me.
I opened my eyes to find Tullo wiping my face with a cool cloth. I turned my face away. His hand forced my face to him. I didn't fight. My eyes drifted over him. He looked as bad as I felt. There were others in the room, but all I saw was the gaunt face of my mate. I licked my dry lips and felt my hot breath on them. My very hot breath. I had a fever. I was ill. I was dying. I stared at Tullo.
"Give her more." His voice was muffled.
"It's too much!" Mercy was saying.
"Do it!" Tullo yelled.
"Let me!" Chas' voice was there.
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"NO!" Tullo yelled at the boy.
"Everyone else has! Why not me?" Chas was arguing.
"I need you strong enough to guard my children." Tullo's voice was tired.
"I will be," Chas argued harder. "Just once. At least once! She did it for me when I was a child! I can't let her die!"
Who was dying? Someone was sick? One of the herd? I pushed Tullo's hand away. I wanted to sit up and help whoever was dying. The children? I struggled to sit up and couldn't. It was as if my body had doubled in weight. I was too weak to lift my limbs.
"Once." Tullo's voice was defeated. "Only once."
In my foggy mind I saw Chas sit at the breeding table and hold out his arm to be harvested. Mercy moved to him and I saw that she looked as bad as Tullo. I looked about and saw Eldon sitting in the rocker. He was leaning forward with his face in his hands. It looked as if he was crying. Who was ill? Who was dying?
"Tullo?" I spoke softly.
"Yes, my love?"
"Who's sick? Who's dying?" I asked.
Tullo's face went paler. I almost laughed at how surprised he was. His eyes filled with tears and he held the cool cloth to my face. I closed my tired eyes to the comfort of the coolness. He kissed me again.
"No one," he sighed heavily. "No one is dying today."
Carus was singing. He was a terrible singer. He got stuck on the chorus every time and the boat never made it down the stream. He just continued to row, row, row, row and row. I breathed deeply and it hurt. It felt as if my chest was too small for my lungs to expand. It hurt to think. I breathed deeply and licked my very dry lips. Now Carus was going on and on merrily, merrily, merrily…
"Oh, get that boat down the stream!" I groaned.
"What?" Tullos' shocked voice broke through the fog.
"Tell that kid to get that boat down the stream." I mumbled.
"You're awake!"
"No!" My eyes were still closed. This explained the darkness.
"Faith!" Tullo was kissing me.
"Let me sleep!" I grumbled.
"You've been asleep for days!"
I opened my eyes then. Tullo could have passed for death himself. His face was gaunt and sunken. I cringed, remembering the plague and the way the dying looked towards the end. I blinked and found that we were not alone. Eldon was leaning close and he looked just as bad.
"Is there sickness?" I asked.
"No," Tullo was still kissing my face. "You didn't take well to the blood. Your body rejected my blood. You became paranoid and violent."
"And sick?" I asked.
"Very sick." Eldon's voice was far away. "You almost died."
"Again?" I tried to sit up and found I couldn't. My limbs were heavy. As heavy as my heart. "Where are my children?" I asked, peering around. I was afraid
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of the darkness. Of what was in it.
"Outside playing." Eldon looked very happy that I was talking.
"Could you leave us for a moment?" Tullo asked.
Asked. Tullo asked. He didn't dismiss Eldon or order him to leave. He asked if he could leave us. I watched Eldon smile at me as he left. Eldon smiled. Tullo asked and Eldon smiled. I must have been very ill.
"Where are my children?" I licked my lips.
"I will bring them up here in a moment. I want you to drink some water and get your wits before you frighten them again." Tullo held the cup of Suquidal water to my lips. I drank and savored the flavor. It was so cold and good!
"What do you mean, frighten them again?" I asked as soon as I swallowed.
"You got a little crazy and tried to hurt Elsie." His smile was more of a frown. "You were paranoid."
"No, I wasn't. I was tired of you and her drooling over my newborn child like you were the happy family. Otium is my child. Josiah is my child. Carus is my child. Spera and Donum are my children. I'm grateful for what she's done for them and us, but they are my children. Not hers. You can take her to your bed, but you will not give her my children." I drank more water. "I'm not dead. Yet."
"No, you aren't. It's not that way." Tullo sounded hurt by my words. I didn't care. It was happening right before my eyes.
"She's always butting into our lives. I feel for what she's been through, but you are my mate! They are my children."
"Faith…"
"You love her?" I asked.
"Not as I love you,"
"But you love her?"
"I have feelings for her. You knew that." I did. "They got stronger when you left. I failed at saving you, but I could save her. She'll never walk or have children of her own."
"So you give her mine?"
"She asked to see him. She was curious."
"And you were adoring her and your son."
"Faith, you brought her back into the house…."
"Back to you," I frowned. "She won't get my children. I'm not dying."
Tullo smiled at my cold declaration.
"Keep her away from me."
"Faith…"
"No. She wants you. The crying, the pouting, the doting over my children… it has to stop or she'll have to leave." He looked conflicted. "Then I'll leave." His head snapped up at that.
"Where will you go?"
"I will take my children and move into the house with the herd. I'll have Eldon and Demato help me build a little house beyond the barn for us." I thought he would fall over. "I've built a house before. With my husband. I can do it again."
"I bet you could." He looked ashamed.
"You want a loving, defenseless girl to care for? Then take her as your mate
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and let me go. I can take care of myself. I've been through hell too. A different kind of hell, but I survived. I don't want to live like this anymore. And I don't want my children confused."
"Confused?"
"Tullo, just make a decision. Me or her? You have to choose. And you have to stick by what you choose. I don't want to bed Eldon. I don't want a lover. I want a mate."
We sat staring at each other. He had a decision to make. I knew it was the hardest decision he would ever have to make. I knew that if I had not come with the Quids to Declar, he would have chosen Elsie as his mate. He would have taken her as the lady of his house and she would have given him children. Tullo would have adored her. They would have fallen in love and been very happy.
Eldon. If I had not gone to live with them, Kathy would have been Eldon's mate. The children would not have been so close to me, but to Kathy or Elsie. One of them would have been the mother of our family. I had come to Declar to be with my children. It was selfish of me. I knew that I had taken away from my sisters the happiness that should have been theirs.
This knowledge was regrettable, but I was not about to let my regrets take over my life. I was the lady of the house. I was equal to the vampires and I was the mother of the children. My children. All that mattered was their happiness and well-being. My Quid family could suffer as long as my children did not. I sat waiting for Tullo to decide.
"Of course I would choose you." His voice was strained. "It's you I love and you I want." I sat waiting. "She will have nothing more to do with the children. If you want, I will move her out of the house."
"That's not necessary." I breathed easier. "I trust you." Tullo didn't look up. "What happened to me?"
"The blood. It didn't mix well. I was afraid of that. I didn't have enough of your blood and there aren't any humans on Declar." His smile was sad. "I was afraid you would die. We kept giving you blood. Mine, Eldon's, Mercy's even. We tried everything, and you kept fading. We were at the point that we tried Chas' blood and it worked."
"Chas' blood?" I was truly confused.
"Eldon said that you let him feed from you?"
"That was a long time ago."
"Yes, but your blood is still in him. Parts of it. His blood is what saved you. Mercy is feeding him everything under the sun to get him back to normal."
"Normal?"
"He's weak."
"How much blood did you take from him?" I was now concerned.
"Too much," Tullo sighed and ran his hand over his face. "He'll recover, but it'll take time."
"You shouldn't have done that!" I protested. "You could have drained him. He's just a boy!"
"He knew what it meant. We were desperate."
"What?" His eyes met mine. "What's wrong?"
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"You were very ill. Close to death. We thought that you'd been taken over by Malum."
"Evil?" I was the one who was now confused.
"Not just evil. Dark evil."
"Meaning?"
"You were threatening to kill us. You demanded your children and you were accusing us of things."
"What things?"
"Don't worry about it now." His hold on my hand tightened. "I'll get your children and Mercy will be bringing you food." He stood. "You need to express your milk. Otium will be hungry and I know you would like to feed him. He's missed you."
"How long have I been ill?" It suddenly occurred to me that I had no idea how long I had been away from my children.
"Six days." Tullo leaned down to kiss my head and left me.
Six days? I slid from the bed and shakily stood, debating on what to do next. I made my way to the bathroom. First things first. I was just out of the shower, feeling ten times better, when I heard the slapping of sheets on my bed. I wrapped a towel around me and stepped out to find Kathy and Joanie remaking my bed. Kathy was crying. Joanie smiled at me as I reached for my nightgown.
"Your bed is made," Kathy didn't look at me, "my lady." She left the room quickly. My lady?
"Tullo told us that Elsie needs to stay away from you and the children." Joanie said as she fluffed my pillows. I nodded and sat down on the freshly made bed and began to express my milk. Within minutes the sobbing was coming through the walls. Elsie was crying again. I finished expressing my milk and set the container on the nightstand as the sobbing became louder. I sighed and fell back on the bed.
"She knows." Joanie's words were cold.
"What?" I sat up to look at her.
"Elsie. She knows. She's been frowning and crying since you got back. She knows how Tullo feels about her, but she also knows how he feels about you."
"How's that?" I asked.
"He said for her to stay away from you, him and the children. She can stay in the house if she obeys. If she can't, then she will move back with the herd." Joanie shrugged.
"He told her that?" I felt ill again.
"Yeah, he told her she was here in the house for what she had done for the children, but that she was not their mother. You are. He said that he needed to put his family first. His mate and children." Joanie came and sat next to me. "Quit frowning!" She ordered.
"I don't want to hurt Elsie and I don't want Kathy mad at me…"
"What does it matter?" Joanie fluffed her hair. "If it was Dusty she was crying to and moaning about, I'd slap her silly and kick her ass out."
"Joanie!" I wasn't ready for that. Joanie was always so sweet and kind and for her to talk this way was very out of character. She grinned at me and I had to laugh with her.
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"Well, I don't want anyone looking at Dusty that way. I'd be kicking her ass if she sat all sad eyed and sniffling when Dusty was kissing me. Or when he played with our children. If she even tried to dote on my children to get close to my mate, I'd ..," Joanie was flustered. "I'd steal the wheels off her chair!" We both laughed at that.
"So it isn't just me being over sensitive?"
"No, Kathy knows too. Everyone does, but they don't want to hurt Elsie after all she's been through. I'm sorry for what happened, I am, but I wish she would get over it!"
"She can't walk," I sighed.
"And she'll never walk again, and she'll never have children, and she'll always be just in the shadows crying and whining about it. I love her. She's my sister too. My biological sister, but enough! I understand what you've been going through, the guilt, the feelings like you owe her something. And the feelings from Tullo…" Joanie sighed heavily,
"You and Tullo deserve happiness and to raise your children without her moving in the middle of everything. She has to find her own way. She really needs to find a mate. She can't be his concubine. Tullo's love is mostly guilt. She knows it and that's what hurts the most."
"I just wish it wasn't so."
I sighed, sitting up. Elsie was sitting in the doorway looking more hurt than ever. Kathy was behind her, looking angry and hurt at their sister's words. Joanie stood and faced them. Elsie's tears were huge. Kathy was crying too. I had forgotten how thin the walls were since the oxygen was pumped in for Josiah. It was almost like having a speaker in our room.
"Joanie?" Elsie's voice was broken and full of pain.
"Yes?" Joanie responded brightly.
"How could you?" Elsie sobbed.
"What? Tell the truth?"
"Don't." I reached out to take Joanie's hand. She looked at me and knew that I wouldn't fight.
"Is that how you feel?" Elsie now directed her sad eyes at me.
"Elsie, I thank you for saving my children. I feel bad for all that was done to you. I do. But Tullo is my mate. They are my children. You interfere with our lives. I want a life with my family. A life where you aren't in the middle of it all." I had started so I knew I had to finish. "I want time alone with my children without you expressing your concern or you babying them or trying to make me out to be a bad mother. I want my family to be mine. I've suffered too."
The tears fell. Kathy set her hand on her sister's shoulder. The two that I was the closest to were now moving away from me. We had grown up together and now we were growing apart. Elsie sobbed into her hands and I sat waiting for her to speak. I knew she would. Elsie couldn't let this go. She would have to say something to hurt me back.
"You hate me!" Elsie sobbed.
I stood to go to her and Joanie held me back. I looked at my little sister and saw in her face something that I now understood. My sisters had been conspiring
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against me! The two had been working together to get Tullo for Elsie. I sat down.
"I don't hate you." I replied evenly. "I just don't need you."
I could not have hurt Elsie more if I had struck her. She looked at me in disbelief and Kathy looked at me in horror. Elsie reached back to set her hand over her sister's. I breathed deeply.
"This is my family. Kathy, you have your own and now Elsie, you need to find your place in this family. And that place is not in my mate's bed. Take care of Kathy's children. Not mine. Kathy, if you have a problem with that, you and Borna can go back to the house with the herd. This is the end of this game. The end. Tullo is my mate. If he had chosen Elsie, then I would have accepted it. But he didn't."
"You gave him no choice!" Elsie cried. "You wanted to take the children if he chose me!" So she had been listening! I frowned at them. They were actually cornering me so they could attack me! I had to put a stop to it.
"But he chose me." My words hit their mark.
Malum. Darkness. Evil. I had seen it take a person. Margie, Lenora, Niyan… Ione, Ester, Givens… Malum wasn't picky. He took whoever was heartless and cold. I didn't want my sisters to be taken over by evil. I wanted more for my family both the one I had with Tullo and the one I had come from Quid 4 with.
"You can stay." Joanie turned, looking shocked. "I'll leave."
"You can't!" Kathy now jumped in.
"I can stay in the little room I met Eldon in. You can have Tullo. He wants you, doesn't he? Out of love? Or pity? It doesn't matter. You can have Tullo. Eldon? Would you like Eldon too? He feels pity for you, too. You can have them both, Elsie. But you will never have my children." I stood and moved to the wardrobe for my clothes. I needed to get out of the nightgown and into a dress. I didn't want to seem weak. "You stay away from my children."
"You can't care for them alone." Kathy was now worried.
"I can. And I will. Day and night. If I can't trust you with my children, then I will care for them."
"What does that mean?" Elsie snapped angrily.
"Who'll be the next to let the outside world know that I've returned?"
I changed into the dress and ran a brush through my hair. The girls all stood waiting for whatever I was going to say next. I slipped my feet into my shoes and stepped past the sisters. They didn't move or say anything.
"Just know whoever it is will answer to my mate and my children."
I stepped into the hall to find Tullo waiting. I knew by his face that he had been listening. He stepped forward and I had no choice but to back into the room. He looked at me. He looked at Kathy and Elsie, and then back at me. I folded my hands in front of me. Waiting.
"You will not go to the children." I started to protest. "You will go back to bed and rest. I almost lost you and I won't risk your health. I'll have Mercy bring the children in to you. Joanie, please go bring Otium to his mother and tell Bobby to bring Josiah." Joanie skirted past us and out the door.
"Tullo…" I was up for a fight. Or I pretended I was. The room was spinning and I held onto the wall to steady myself.
"Bed." He lifted me into his arms and carried me to it. "I would die if anything
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happened to you. I can't live without you. You know that. Do you want to make me suffer?" He kissed my cheek and I hugged him. Over his shoulder I saw the tears falling again. Elsie was heartbroken. Kathy was enraged.
"If you two have nothing to do, I can find tasks for you." Tullo didn't bother looking back at them. I buried my head in his shoulder as they left the doorway. Kathy pulled the chair out as Elsie sobbed.
"You heard?" I asked, ashamed of how I had acted.
"Of course." He set me in the bed and climbed in with me. "But I am not yours to give away. My heart belongs to you. I made my choice and it's you." He settled into the bed with me.
We sat staring at each other. His hand held mine. I lost myself in the silver blue eyes and sighed. No, Tullo was not mine to give away and I would not be able to walk away from him.
"I love you," I whispered. Tullo smiled at me. He was looking better. I was feeling better.
"I know."
"I just made enemies of my sisters." My voice was choked.
"I know."
"I can't go on like this."
"I know." He leaned forward and kissed me. "I'll think of something."
"I believe you." I kissed him back.
"We were meant to be together, you and I. We will be. From now until the end of our time."
"Is that soon?" I asked.
"No. Our time together is just beginning." He smiled at me and it was comforting. I relaxed and enjoyed the moment with my husband. It was short lived.
"Mama!" Spera, Carus and Donum came running in to jump on the bed.
Josiah was handed to Tullo by Mercy, and Joanie carried Otium to me. I hugged and kissed the little face as Joanie got the bottle ready to feed my youngest. He smacked his lips as I held the bottle to them. His little silver eyes glided over my face and he seemed to smile at me. He knew me. I kissed his head again. Josiah stood on the bed and leaned against me. I kissed his chubby cheek. Carus was jumping on the bed and Donum and Spera were talking to Tullo. I looked over at Tullo. He grinned at me. This was my family. I finally felt complete.
"Stop!" I stopped.
I had been walking to the house where the herd was when the command made me jump. The sun was rising, the children were asleep and Tullo was busy with Demato and Eldon. I decided to have breakfast with my family in their home. The command came from the other side of the barn. It was Borna and he sounded angry. Borna never was angry.
"Just stop it!" he ordered angrily.
"You don't understand!" Kathy was crying. It had been a week since I had spoken to my sisters.
"I do! It's you who don't see!" I leaned against the wall in silence and hidden from view. "She's tearing this family apart!"
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"She isn't! Faith is!"
"Faith is doing what's best for her family." I breathed a little easier. At least someone seemed to be on my side. "Elsie has just gone too far. I won't help you oust Faith. Tullo will send us packing to the house. Is that what you want? For our children to have to move from the luxury they've become accustomed to? In the herd, they will have nothing. I will be in the fields working and not able to be with them while you cater to Elsie. You want everyone to suffer for her."
"I do not!" Kathy snapped.
"Tullo chose Faith."
"He had no choice! She gave him none! She's selfish!" There was silence. Then Borna spoke evenly.
"Selfish? He made his choice the moment he laid eyes on her. The first night we came here. Tullo loves Faith. There was never any doubt to anyone but Elsie."
"Don't say such things! Tullo rescued her!"
"The children begged." The reply was simple. "He felt obligated."
"Obligated!" Kathy sounded astounded at his words.
"Obligated." Borna repeated the word coldly. "She wants things she can't have. You don't see what she does."
"I do. I see how she suffers."
"Kathy, she came to me. She knew it was you I wanted and she came to me. You let her." His voice was accusing. "You would have let her take me away from you. Anything for her. And that was before she was hurt. Now? She's taking you away from me and the children. You have to stop this. She's going to make our lives difficult. You're making our life difficult. I miss you. The children miss you."
"My sister needs me!" Kathy cried.
"Elsie doesn't need you with her every second of every day." Borna argued. "We need you. Elsie can take care of herself. She's become very good at it."
"What does that mean?"
"Kathy, Elsie has become very manipulative." I held my breath. The words were true and I knew they would be hard for Kathy to hear. "She's hurting and she wants everyone to hurt. She's not Elsie anymore." I listened to the labored breathing of Kathy. "We have to distance ourselves from this fight with her and Faith or Tullo will condemn us all. Including our children."
"She's my sister!"
"So is Faith. Faith has done nothing that would merit the treatment she's getting. Faith didn't run away. She was taken. She didn't desert us or her children. She didn't leave Tullo. She fought to get back here and she shouldn't be treated badly because she was gone." Borna's voice was soft and calm. I had to strain to hear his words over Kathy's sniffling. "We should be rejoicing that she returned to us. To her mate. To her children."
"But Elsie is so unhappy!"
"So are we, because of Elsie."
"But…"
"Kathy, if you want to help Elsie, then let me tell Tullo that we want to move out of the big house. Back to the herd. We'll take Elsie and care for her there. Bobby can come and stay in the big house."
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"But Elsie doesn't want to leave the big house."
"No, she doesn't and she will do anything in her power to stay there." Borna had made his point. "Tullo had to choose. Now you have to. Us or Elsie. One or the other, but you can't have both. Either we're happy or she is. Faith hasn't kicked her out of the house, just out of her life. She had to. It's her life, not Elsie's. It's just the life that Elsie wants. And Elsie can't have it."
"What do I do?" Kathy asked in a defeated voice.
"What you can for her, after you've done your duties in the house and for your family. What is leftover is for Elsie. You are my mate. I want you with me and the children. Elsie should not make you feel guilty for having a life of your own. She made her choice. It was a brave one, but she has to live with it now."
There was a silence that was heavy. The only sound was Kathy crying. I stepped away as quietly as I could and slipped into the barn. The horse made a noise and I went to her and patted her soft nose. I wished for a different time in my life. A time when we were young and happy. The sadness in my home was almost too much to bear.
"You plan on feeding her or petting her to death?" the voice asked.
I jumped. I had been so lost in thought that I hadn't heard anyone enter the barn. Demato stood, holding a fruit out to me. I smiled and took it. The horse accepted my gift from my hand and I petted her more. The sounds of the barn had absorbed the sounds of sadness.
"Thank you." I finally spoke to Demato.
"You seem upset."
"I am."
"Why?"
"Life doesn't go as planned," I sighed.
"Was it supposed to?" He laughed lightly.
"No, but just not this bad."
"Well, let's see, you got five great kids and one great mate. You're alive. What more do you want?"
"I don't know. To be happy without feeling guilty?" I leaned my head against the horse's and breathed her scent deeply.
"Are you guilty?" the question took me off guard. I turned to look at him. "Did you do anything to make the circumstances come about? Did you order Elsie to go? Did you order Tullo to take her as his concubine out of guilt? Did you want to be taken? Did you want to return?"
"I wanted to come back," I mumbled, "more than anything. I just didn't know my return would hurt so many."
"Your return made more happy than unhappy. And they're unhappy because they didn't get what they wanted. And they wouldn't have gotten it even if you hadn't returned." He patted the horses head. "Stop feeling guilty and start living." He pushed me towards the door. "I think breakfast is almost ready."
I stood unsure of where to go. I didn't feel welcome in the house with the herd and I felt afraid in my home. Afraid of hurting someone there with my presence. Elsie had done this to herself, but that didn't mean I had to pour salt over her wounds. I knew she was sitting at the window watching for me. She knew I had left
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the house. I think she expected me to go to Eldon. He hadn't crossed my mind in days. I had only thought of Tullo and the children.
"Go." Demato ordered.
I hurried out the door and ran right into Borna and Kathy. Kathy's face was red from crying. I stood dumbfounded at the sight of them. Borna looked at me and then Kathy before he stepped around me and left us facing each other. He was too much like Eldon.
"What's wrong?" I asked stupidly.
Kathy stood watching her mate leave her. I stood waiting. Kathy was fighting with so many emotions that were almost too much for her to hold in. We were family. We were sisters and we were almost enemies. We were both bound to Elsie and we hated it. I wanted to hug Kathy and ease the turmoil in her. I reached out with my hand, afraid she might slap it away.
"I'm sorry." Kathy blubbered, taking my hand in hers.
"It's okay."
We fell into each other's arms. We stood crying and hugging in the middle of the yard. It felt good to let go of it all. It also felt sad. I could feel Elsie's eyes on us. I looked up from hugging Kathy to see the curtains open and the shadow of Elsie sitting there, watching us.
Malum. I knew he was trying to take over Elsie. I had seen him in her eyes as she killed Lenora and Niyan. She had killed a child too easily. I feared for my own children and had told Tullo so. He had decided to keep her in the house, but the girls were told to never let her alone with the children. I closed my eyes and prayed that there was enough of my sister there to keep Malum at bay. For my sake and for the sake of my children.
Tullo was as concerned as I. I found him watching her when she was near us. At night she rolled up and down the hallway. We could hear the floor creaking beneath her wheels and the shadows as she passed by our door. Demato disconnected the oxygen pump and that had made it difficult for her to hear our conversations. I too watched her. It was as if I were watching her change before my eyes. Elsie was becoming dark. It was unnerving.
"Should we move her out of the house?" Tullo asked as we lay in bed.
He didn't have to say who. Everyone had been watching Elsie with cautioned eyes. She was getting darker and more depressed with each passing day. Chas was always with the children. He had taken to sleeping in the nursery with them. Many times I found him sleeping on the floor with Spera curled up next to him. Tullo would put her into her bed and by morning she was next to him again. I felt safer with him in the room.
"My father once told me something."
"What?" Tullo asked, smiling at me. I loved lying in bed and talking to him. His silver eyes sparkled in the moonlight.
"To keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
"He wasn't the first to say that," he laughed, "But it makes sense." His finger traced my face. "We'll keep her in the house where we can watch her."
"What's Billy doing?" I asked.
"He works in the fields with Olin. Why?"
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"I need help tomorrow. Can he come help me?"
"With what?" his eyes were full of suspicion.
"Just let him come to the house." I kissed him.
"Fine." Tullo drew me close to him. "I'll send a young Hybrid to keep you company."
"Why does that sound so dirty?" I asked, cuddling closer to him.
"Are you going to tell me why you want a young Hybrid?"
"Yes," I kissed him again. "later."
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20
"Elsie! Be careful!" Billy ran to catch the wheelchair before it toppled over. Again.
It had fallen over twice already, sending Elsie face first to the ground. She never even put her hands up to break the fall. She just fell. The first time was intentional. I shoved her. Well, I shoved her chair. It was sitting on the edge of the little ramp and she was pouting as the children ran about. I watched her watching my children so I shoved her. I pretended I had stumbled, but it shoved her chair and sent her flying.
Billy was trying to rehang the swing the children played on. I had decided that the rope was worn. That was the first time. Then I decided that I wanted flowers planted. Then I wanted a little birdbath set up. Each night I had a different duty for Billy and I changed my mind a lot. Now, as the chair tipped ever so slightly, Billy ran to help her. Tullo rolled his eyes.
In three nights Billy had come to be overprotective of Elsie. There was only two years in age difference between them, but Billy had grown up to be a very handsome young Hybrid whose body was lean and muscular from hard work. He was easy going and light hearted. Just what Elsie needed. Only she didn't know she needed him.
At first, she ignored him. I had him move the swing three times and all she did was frown as he blocked her view of Tullo and the children. I finally 'tripped' and shoved her as hard as I could, sending her flying to the ground. Billy was there, gathering her in his arms and coddling her. Ignoring me. I picked myself up and limped over to Tullo.
"Satisfied?" he asked. He was standing there with his hands behind his back watching me and the children.
"Yes," I mumbled, rubbing my elbow.
"Did it hurt?"
"Yes."
"Good!" he smiled at me.
"Gee, thanks." I limped over to sit on a bench. Tullo followed. He sat, crossed his legs and folded his hands in his lap. I rubbed my elbow. He held his hand out to me and I set my twisted ankle in it. He rubbed it gently and we watched as Billy paid attention to Elsie.
Three nights later and Billy was now moving the birdbath. Again. Elsie was watching intently. She moved her chair closer to the edge and Billy jumped. He hurried over to help her down the ramp and parked her right next to him. She sat smiling at him. It was nice to see her smiling again. I was still limping. I had really hurt my ankle and my elbow had swollen up.
"You're bad," Eldon whispered in my ear.
I jumped and turned to find him grinning at me. I hadn't seen him in a while and was surprised. I hugged him and we sat on the bench. Tullo's eyes were on us. Carus ran by and I snatched my son up and set him between us, hugging and tickling him.
"Where have you been?"
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"Away." Eldon patted Carus' head. "So you've been busy."
"Yes, I have." I reached for my son. Eldon grabbed my wrist and held it out to examine my bruised elbow. "I fell down."
"Fell?" Eldon's eyes darkened.
"Well, sort of." I leaned closer to whisper. "I pushed Elsie off the porch and fell." I giggled.
"What? Why?"
"So that Billy would rescue her. I twisted my ankle too." I lifted up my pants leg to show off the swollen appendage.
"Ouch!" his face showed actual concern.
"Yeah."
"Was it worth it?" Eldon was watching the young couple. Elsie laughed at something Billy was saying.
"Yeah." I pulled my hand away from his.
"So how are you going to explain this to Tullo? She is his concubine."
"He knows." I grinned. Of course Tullo knew! Eldon smiled and stood, carrying Carus over his head. My son held out his arms as if he were flying. Eldon spun about, making Carus squeal with delight. He set my son down and walked over to speak with Tullo. Again with the secrets.
"He's back!" Chas plopped down next to me. Spera came running to dive into his arms.
"He's back." I was trying figure out what they were talking about.
"Billy looks happy. So does Elsie."
"They do," I sighed.
It was nice. Kathy was laughing with Borna as Amara danced around with Zoe. It was getting back to normal. Well, as normal as my life could be. I walked over to pick up Josiah. He had his trusty oxygen canister attached to the little vest he wore. Chas had taken notes on our description of how the humans had used their oxygen and made the little vest for my son. The tubes that came from the canister fed oxygen into Josiah's nostrils and gave him freedom to sit and play.
Josiah was almost a year old and just toddling about. Otium was three months old and running about. He was now off the bottle. My littlest baby was bigger than his older brother. He danced about with Amara and Lydia. Joanie was with Dusty sleeping. They had the day watch. Their son Coden was running with Donum. I did love it when all the children were together.
"Lunch!" Mercy called.
"Let's eat."
I was herding all the children to the kitchen. I felt like a mother chick trying to get the little ones to go where I wanted. It didn't work. Tullo was picking one up and Chas had Spera on his back. Domun was tugging at Coden's hand and it was a mess! We were all laughing when we stopped. We all felt it. A shuttle! Tullo handed Carus to Eldon and snatched up Josiah; he handed the child to Chas and took Spera from him. I had Otium in my arms and I was running.
"In here!" Eldon was now herding us. We ran into the little room that I had shared with my lover. Chas shut the door and we all stood panting.
"Is there food in here?" Carus asked.
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"Food." Eldon set him down and opened the door. "I'll get food from our house. You stay with them!" Chas nodded and walked over to set Josiah on the bed next to me. I was still hugging Otium to me.
"Did you see who it was?" I asked.
"You know who it was." Chas was now pacing.
"I hate this hiding," I mumbled.
"I know," Chas sighed. "Batar is trouble. He wants what he can't have. You."
"Me?" I squeaked.
"A human. He wants one of those." Chas was nodding to Otium. I looked down at the sweet face of my youngest.
"Well, he'll have to find one of his own," I grumbled. "I'm taken."
"That you are." Chas stopped pacing and listened intently.
The door opened and Eldon stepped in with a bottle of blood and food. Otium began to whimper and held his hands out for the blood. My stomach turned. I would never get used to this. Josiah was holding his hand out for the fruit. Eldon handed both the boys their needs and sat with Carus, who was singing again.
"Is it him?" I asked.
"Yeah," Eldon smiled at me. He was worried. "We'll be here most of the night. It looks like he's come for a long visit."
Now I was worried about the children that I had left behind. Eldon reached out to touch my hand. I held onto his and squeezed. The moons were moving high into the sky. We couldn't risk leaving the shed. The kids were wired and being locked in the small area was not going to be fun. Carus was singing a chorus again. This time at the top of his lungs. It would be a long night.
"Come with me." Tullo's face was before mine.
I blinked. I had fallen asleep. The sun would be rising soon. I had been lying in the small bed with the boys, dozing. We had finally convinced Carus that we were playing hide and seek. He was impatiently waiting to be found all night long. Now I unwound myself from my three sons and climbed out of the bed. Tullo took my hand and led me out into the night with just a nod to Eldon. Chas was sleeping on the floor. Eldon was sitting in the chair, guarding.
We walked out into the remaining night and sat on one of the benches in the garden. Tullo reached to rub my back. I leaned into his touch. I hadn't realized I was trembling. He drew me into a hug.
"We need to make a choice," Tullo noted calmly. "Soon." Eldon and Chas were coming, carrying out children. Tullo jumped up to readjust the oxygen mask on Josiah's little face. The boy had a tendency to push it to the side as he slept. "About the children."
"What about the children?" I asked. Eldon continued on with Chas close behind. I watched them take my children up to their beds.
"About which ones shall survive." His hand slid over mine and held it. I shivered at the ice cold touch.
"Tullo, what are you talking about?"
"You read our history? My people?"
"Yes. Why?'
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"Think back to the third settlement. After we came to Declar. Did you read about it? Do you remember?"
I sat thinking. It was the increased sunlight of Earth that had hurt the vampires the most. It was this that made the vampires dessert the planet and go in search of another home. First, there had been the planet of Citran, it was suitable for life, but rugged. Then came the planet Zutuk, also suitable for life, but mostly ocean. Then came the planet Helio. This planet was beautiful, lush and perfect except that it was almost constantly day.
The sun was stronger than any other planet. Vampires died quickly on Helio. No amount of precautions could save them. A few minutes in the sun was deadly to them. The hopes of settling Helio were dashed and the vampires moved on to Declar where they mostly now resided.
"Helio." I said the name out loud. The planet where Joshua and Reggie lived. The one planet Jacob had told me was safe from vampires. But it wasn't vampires they had feared then. It was humans.
"Yes." Tullo brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. He was pleased that I remembered the name. "Helio. It's still there and habitable. You have family there. It could be a solution for us."
"How?"
"The atmosphere there can sustain life. It's very much like Quid 4." He stood, taking my hand and leading me into the house. The sun was about to rise. We shut the door and hurried up to the privacy of our bedroom to finish our conversation.
"And?" I asked as soon as he shut the door. "What did they want?"
"It was Batar."
"I know who it was. What did he want?"
"Donum to be schooled at the council house. Soon."
"How soon?"
"In a few days."
"Days?" I almost screamed.
"Calm down." Tullo moved to me.
"You calm down! What of Spera?"
"Her too."
"No," I shook my head. "We can't let them take our children!"
"We won't. I told them that I was going to have the children schooled here. I told them I wasn't ready for them to take my children away." He frowned. "They were okay with Donum staying, but they demand Spera go for formal schooling."
"She's female!" Female vampires were not educated in anything but protection of their mates and the care of children.
"Yes, but the decision has been made." He sighed heavily,
"Lenora?" I asked, Tullo nodded. Her information had reached the ears of the Vampire High Council. Spera was now of interest to them. "And what do we do?"
"You leave." He looked at me and I saw the fear in his eyes.
"You want me to send me away?" I hissed.
"No. I don't. I want my children to live." He turned to face me. "Josiah will die soon. He is doomed here or on Quid 4. He's human, born of humans. Carus is a vampire with human attributes. They will see him as a threat on Quid 4 or in any
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human or Quid colony. Here, he will be seen as an abomination. Earth's out of the question. Otium? They'll want him. They'll take him away and we'll never see him again. Spera will be bred." The last comment was like a knife to my heart. "You will leave." The words were final.
"So you are sending me away?" My voice rose with each word.
"Faith, I love you. You know that, don't you? More than my own life." His words were warm, something rare for Tullo.
"Yes."
"I love my children more than I love you." I sat back from that.
"I want you to take them away to Helio. I've made arrangements with a friend. He'll give you sanctuary. You and the children." My mouth fell open. "There are settlements there of Hybrids, Quids and even humans."
"Tullo…"
"I want you to take Spera, Carus, Josiah, and Otium and go there."
"What of Donum?"
"Donum could not survive there. The sun. There's too much sun for him. Mercy tested Otium. He is the Oraculum de Incorruptus Rector. Spera and Carus also have no ill effects from the sun. It shouldn't affect them where you're going. I think they'll actually enjoy living in the sun. They're a lot like you."
"We could hide her," I offered. Anything to keep my children together.
"Faith, you want the children to live in hiding?" Tullo's voice told me he had thought of the idea too. "They would be found. We would all suffer."
"And if we left? Then you would suffer."
"No, they don't know about the others. Only Spera would be missing. Don't you see? We have their lack of knowledge on our side. We just don't have time. You have to go. They want Spera."
"I don't want to leave you." I fought not to cry.
"How would you feel about a vampire taking her to be bred?" I stood up and jerked away from him, ready to fight.
"I feel the same." His smile was warm. "I had to with you. To save you and keep you. I had to follow protocol. It's law. But she will never be equal to a vampire. Either a Hybrid or Quid will mate with her, but because of her oddity she will most likely be mandated to be bred with a vampire. My father and Batar have already stated the fact. They are planning to extend an invitation to one on our behalf. A very old and prosperous vampire."
"Shuta!" I accused.
"Yes." Tullo said
"I'll kill him!"
"My father would not like that very much," Tullo chuckled.
"Your father never liked me anyway." I began to pace.
"I want you to go."
"For how long?" I slowed my pacing.
"You would never be able to return to me." I sat. "Or see Donum again. To save four, you must abandon one."
"Abandon?" I gazed at my mate and saw my little boy who looked so like his father. "I… I can't! He's my baby! Do you know what it was like to be taken and
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not know what had become of him or Spera? Or you?"
"You would take him to die on a planet with the sun? The sun is your only defense against vampires. There must be sunlight. You would watch him burn and listen to him scream in pain? To be scarred for life?"
"No!" I turned away and held my hands over my ears to hold back the sounds I imagined. Or remembered. Tullo's screams as the sun burned his flesh. The face of my mate burned so that he was hardly recognizable.
"Then you will go?"
"No!" I spun around to glare at him.
"Then you wish to stay and watch Josiah die slowly? Suffocating on his own fluids? Or Spera be bred?" I stood fighting my emotions. "My love, I have thought on this over and over since Spera's birth. Even before you were taken. Otium just made me act."
"Act how?" I found myself wishing for anything but my life.
"I've asked an ally for help. He'll give you and the children sanctuary. He has a nice home and no mate. He would enjoy the company and he needs a cook."
"So I'm to be his cook?" I was angry and wanted to fight.
"No, not if you don't want to, but I thought you would like to pay your way. He has a large house. Big enough for you and the children. I've had it stocked. I sent Demato there with supplies to broker the deal."
"Broker the deal." I repeated the words bitterly. "I'm being traded for food and to be a cook?"
"Faith!" Tullo stood and reached for me. I stepped away. "I trust him with my life and yours. He has the home ready and the garden planted. It's secluded and secure."
"Secure?"
"In case they come for Spera."
"Spera? Who would come for her?"
"Vampires. Humans. As I said before, she is an oddity. A very rare and precious child. As a young woman, she would be bred and her children would of great value as an addition to any herd. Including her own grandfather's." I sat hating Tullo's family. He sat next to me, taking my hand in his.
"What will become of Donum?"
"To the outside world, he would become the head of my herd, in time." Tullo tried to act as if he didn't notice my concern for the current head of the herd. "To me, he will always be my son. My most beloved child. One of five very beloved children."
"So I am to live as a cook with the children and Demato. Alone? Without you?" I felt my stomach turn. He let my hand go and rubbed his face. He looked old and tired.
"No, Demato will return here. He is Mercy's mate and I can't separate them. They would die without each other."
"And I without you!" I reached for his hand. He drew it out of reach.
"No, my love, you will survive. I truly believe that. You have to. To protect our children." Tullo now stood and began to pace. "I think you should take more than just our children."
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I sat down on the bed to keep from falling over. It was moving too fast. My life with Tullo was ending too fast. Only the voices of my children in the house kept me from screaming at my mate. He was sending me away. Me and four of my five children. Away from my home. My home? I looked around at the farm. I had been here for almost five years. It was my home. It was the only home I had. I had lost everything that meant anything to me except what was on this farm. Now I was being sent away. I would never see it, Tullo or my son, Donum, again. But if I did leave, then I could save the lives of my other children.
"Faith, I need you to pack. For you and the children. You will leave in a couple of days. To ensure that you are not followed."
"That soon?" I felt my heart race.
"The sooner the better. For their sake." He looked into my eyes I saw the pain there. "I want you to take Chas with you. He is meant for Spera."
"Meant for… he's almost a man and she a child!"
"In years. She's a vampire. She'll catch up to him and he will love, cherish and protect her. I also want you to take Jenny and Lindsay. I won't let them be bred. They have no mates."
"And Zoe?" I thought of my little Zoe, who was now seven. He would allow her to be bred?
"I will keep her here with me. For Donum." I sighed thinking of the two and how they laughed and giggled to each other. Yes, Zoe was Donum's even now. "And Elsie and Kathy will help me. Elsie now has Billy and is happy." I jumped at that. "She has no children. She will help me with Donum and Zoe."
"You'll take her as your concubine?" I practically hissed in jealous rage. Never had I felt such anger or betrayal.
"No," Tullo smiled at me, "I think a little time for me to find myself is in order. The fewer people I have around me the fewer they can threaten me with."
I glared at him.
"Don't worry my dear, I'll make sure you're taken care of."
"What is that supposed to mean?" I stood to face him.
"My ally has assured me that you will be well cared for."
"What of the herd?" I didn't want to ask about Eldon.
"The others will stay. They have mates and children. They'll wear my brand. They'll be cared for. Except Jonah, he too should go with you. I think he likes Jenny." Tullo seemed lost in thought.
"What does Eldon think of this?"
"He doesn't know. He won't until the last second. It's to ensure the safety of all of you."
"So only you, me Mercy and Demato know?"
"Yes, the fewer the better."
"What will happen to you once we're gone?"
"I will tell them that Spera is gone. They will search for her. Her alone. No one knows of your return. Or of the other children. They will look for a lone child. Not a family." He sighed. "She'll be hunted."
"How will you explain Donum not being with her?"
"Donum is my heir. He will stay with me. Even they would understand that.
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We'll have time alone and together." He smiled, happy with the thought.
"Why can't we all go to a dark planet? Just us?"
"Then they will hunt us. Like this, they'll only search for one child."
"One child." I thought of the one child I would leave behind.
"I have a request."
"Yes?" As if I had a choice.
"Spend the night with me?" He held his hand out to me. "And think only of me?" My heart broke for him. Tullo had saved my life, he had given me life and I had never truly been his. They had always been something else.
"I will on one condition."
"What is that?"
"Make love to me as an equal? As you did before I was taken?" His cold hand reached to caress my face. "Since my return you hold back. As if I'm too fragile to love only you."
"Aren't you?" The question dug deep into my soul.
"No, I love you. The father of my children." I smiled. "If you love me?"
"Yes, my love."
We sat holding each other and watching the night fade away. The sky began to change. The sun was rising. I stood and closed the curtains. Tullo stood and led me into our home. I forced myself to think of nothing but my mate and my children. We spent the night with our children. We ran and played and talked. The children climbed all over Tullo, begging for moments of his time and his attention. He was attentive to all of them. Equally.
Tullo laughed and teased the children through dinner. We had a good time. Otium fell asleep in my arms. I glided up the stairs to his room and settled into the rocking chair to feed him. I had to wake him to put him to bed. I had stopped expressing my milk. His diet was now hybrid blood and regular food. He only needed the blood before he slept. Josiah was the next to be rocked. He still took a bottle. He was over a year old but needed the extra nutrients. He was so weak that he kept falling asleep. I listened to his labored breathing and the soft hiss of the oxygen that came from the canister that kept him alive. I cried over my weak little human baby.
"Come with me." Tullo took my son from my arms.
Tullo rocked the little boy in his arms and kissed him. I stood and Mercy took up her spot in the rocker to watch over my child. I moved to Tullo and leaned up to kiss the little head. Tullo set our son in his cradle and adjusted the oxygen mask on his face. I followed my mate out of the room.
The house should have been quiet, but was filled with laughter and screams. Two little girls and two little boys were very much awake. Tullo and I wrestled, tickled and tucked Zoe, Spera, Carus and Donum into bed. Tullo read to them the history of Declar and then we left them to sleep.
The hallway to the bedroom was long. I glided along, trying to take all the details in and remember what I would miss. Tullo. I would miss Tullo and Donum. I would miss the heat of the sun and the cold of the moons. I would miss Mercy's sweetbreads and I would miss my family. I stepped into Tullo's bedroom… our bedroom.
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The door shut. He stepped up behind me and hugged me to him. I felt him kiss my hair, my neck and then my shoulder. I leaned back into his arms. I wanted to never leave. I wanted to be Tullo's forever. We were connected by children. Our children. Tears rolled down my cheeks.
"No tears tonight, my love." He kissed my cheek and turned me to face him. "Save them for when we're apart." I nodded and sniffled.
I felt his hand slide the zipper down and ease my dress off my shoulder. His cold lips kissed my shoulders, breasts and as he lifted me into his arms, my stomach. I reached to touch his cold face. Tullo smiled at me as he kissed me. I smiled as he made love to me.
We packed quietly, Kathy and I. We packed trunks of clothes, toys and other things I thought we might need. Two a night were taken away by Borna and Chas. We were limited on space. We could only take so much. Kathy went to the herd's house and got things for Jenny and Lindsay. Borna got things for Jonah. We packed everything for the children. But I had put off my own packing.
I couldn't think of what to pack. The trunk sat open and almost empty. I had dropped in the little bag with my jewels and the letter from Jacob. I had saved them for Josiah. This was all I had of his father. It was the only legacy I had for him.
Before we climbed into bed each night, Tullo inspected my trunk with a grim look on his face. I was procrastinating, something he hated. It was easy to ignore the look on his face. I didn't want to pack and I wouldn't. I climbed into our bed naked and watched him looking at the empty truck.
"Trouble packing?" he asked.
"Only because I can't pack you and Donum." I teased.
"I wish." He climbed into bed and between my legs.
We did this nightly. I figured that I couldn't leave until I packed, so if I didn't pack, I wouldn't have to go. Tullo knew this and said as much as he had me moaning. He tortured me. Making me promise to pack the next night. I refused and suffered wonderfully for it.
On the morning I found the trunk half packed. I unpacked it. Tullo would be angry, but I wasn't ready to leave my mate or child. I was happy with the way things were. Even if it was to end, I wasn't going to rush it.
Tullo was another matter. By the fifth day of procrastinating he was fed up with my stubborn foolishness. As he put it. I came back from playing outside to find most of my clothes and personal belongings gone. As was the trunk. I frowned and changed into a comfortable dress for dinner. I simply tossed my jeans and shirt over the breeding table that still sat in the corner and dressed. I would search for my trunk as soon as the sun rose.
"Dinner." Tullo stood in the doorway smiling at me. His hands were behind his back and he was feeling very smug. I pushed past him only to have him grab my elbow. "You're putting off the inevitable."
"No, not really," I mumbled.
"Then what?"
"Trying to buy time." I let him pull me close and kiss me.
"Time? We have eternity in our dreams." I sighed and nodded.
I let him lead me to dinner, but still planned on finding my trunk at first light.
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He would be angry, but I would find comfort. At least I thought I would.
"Get up!" Elsie hissed. I sat up to find her in her chair pulling off her dress. I was more than a little confused. Tullo was not in the bed.
"What are you doing?"
"Get out of that bed!" I sat wondering if Elsie had lost her mind as she shrieked at me.
"No! What…?"
"We have company!" Billy was suddenly in the room.
I saw Eldon, Chas, Borna and Kathy running down the hall, carrying sleeping bundles. My children! I sprang from the bed and pulled on a shirt, jeans and socks. Billy lifted Elsie from her chair and into my bed, helping her undress as he did. I hopped about, pulling on my boots. I snatched my knife and thrust it into my boot.
"Hurry!" Tullo ordered climbing into the bed with Elsie. "GO!" I barely got a chance to even look at him before Billy grabbed my hand.
We ran out of the room. They were pounding on the front door. Mercy was yelling and telling them that she was coming. We ran down the back stairwell. The back door was open. I could see Eldon safely entering the barn. Billy was at the door. He stopped and pushed me back into the kitchen. I began to fight. His hand came over my mouth and he dragged me to the pantry.
"Shhh!" he hissed and I heard it. Someone coming in the back door. I reached for my knife. Billy shook his head at me.
"Any?" the voice asked.
"No one here. The others are at the front door. We wait." The other voice answered.
"Should we search outside?" My heart jumped. The children were in the barn! They couldn't be found. I reached for the door and Billy shook me. His eyes were cold. He loved Elsie. He wasn't going to let me risk her being hurt. He would hurt me first. I relaxed against him.
"We wait." The voice outside snapped.
Billy's breathing was slow. He was holding me and staring at the door, ready to spring. If they opened it, we were caught. I pushed his hand away from my mouth. It was dark in the pantry. The sun wasn't setting yet. It was cloudy out. Rain. It would hide our scent. These Hybrids were hunters. They had come for Spera. I prayed that Eldon and the others had gotten my children to safety.
"Who are you?" I heard Mercy screech as she entered her kitchen. "Go! Shoo! Your master is upstairs! Go on before I cook you!" I heard the Hybrids scrabble and knew she was swinging her rolling pin. "Get out of my kitchen! Now!"
We stood waiting. The door opened and there stood Mercy in her robe, holding her rolling pin. I sighed in relief. Billy stepped out first and looked about. He motioned for me to stay put. I leaned out and saw a shadow by the back door. They had left a guard. I was going to be found. At least the children were safe.
"Come on then dearie! We have to get the meat to roasting! We have guests!"
Mercy was busy lifting up the large platter of beast. I didn't ask what it was. I never did. She hoisted it on her shoulder and moved out the back door for the pit where she roasted the meats. I grabbed the huge basket filled with seasonings and
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followed her, ducking my head. My hair fell forward and hid my face from the Hybrid. Billy blocked the Hybrid's view of me as he walked beside me, carrying more supplies.
There were two large brick pits just off the back porch. They were huge. Billy hurried to get the pit loaded with wood ready for the fire. Mercy was barking orders at us. She was complaining about the need to get the meat on. I looked over at the Hybrid watching us. Billy kept stepping between me and the Hybrid's view.
"Get me some straw!" Mercy snapped rapping me smartly on the hand with the handle of the wooden brush she used to baste the meat. I yelped and ran to the barn. "Tell that idiot to be sure and get fresh hay! Not any from the first stall!" I heard her call after me.
I ran into the barn shaking my aching hand and looking about. No one was there. Billy came in right behind me and grabbed a handful of fresh, dry hay. He looked about and shoved me towards the back door. He leaned out to make sure no one was there.
"Go!" he hissed. He went back to Mercy and I ran out the back door.
The sun was high in the sky, but the sunlight was fading fast as the skies opened up and the rain came. I ran as fast as I could towards the fields. I knew that was where the shuttle was. Tullo had told me he had taken it out of the large barn just beyond the herd's house and hidden it in a small stand of trees on the farthest corner of our farm. He knew the shuttle barn was being watched. It would be impossible to get to it and leave if it was in the shuttle barn.
I ran, slipping in the rain. I was praying that the children were already there. They had to be. I hadn't taken the time to go to the house. I knew Eldon would not take them to the house with the herd. This was it. This was our time to escape. Tullo had known it was coming. I had been in denial.
I hadn't said goodbye. I thought of running back to the house and knew it was impossible. I ran on, crying. I hadn't said goodbye to my son, Tullo or any of my family. I stumbled, sobbing and fell to my knees in the field. I was hidden by the crops. I cried and beat the ground with my fists. But I pulled myself together. I stood, brushed the mud off me and the tears away. I ran on.
Eldon wasn't there. Chas ran to meet me. I fell into his arms, out of breath. He started to lift me. I shook my head and stood leaning on him. I needed to have my wits about me when I faced my children. I was still crying over the one I had left behind. I wiped my face and breathed deeply. I was safe. I stepped away from Chas and hurried to the shuttle.
Spera was standing in the doorway looking concerned. I dropped to my knees and hugged her tightly. Her little arms went around my neck. Carus was sleepily sitting on the floor. Both Otium and Josiah were still sound asleep. They were laying in the seats of the shuttle. They were alone. I looked about.
"Where is everyone?" I asked.
"They went back for the others." Chas looked about. "Let's get inside and lock the door. We're supposed to wait for Demato. If they aren't here soon, we leave them," Chas said as he shut the door, locking us safely away. "Go dry off and change. Your trunk is there in the other room."
I let go of Spera and hurried to change. I found clean jeans and a shirt waiting
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for me. Kathy. I changed and dried myself. I cleaned my boots and put them back on, sliding the knife into one boot. If we had to run, I wanted to be wearing them. I hurried out to my children. I picked up Carus and sat with him. Spera climbed into Chas' lap. We sat in silence to wait.
"There you are!" Borna laughed as the door to the shuttle opened.
It seemed as if hours had passed. The rain had stopped and we sat in the dull sunlight, waiting. The sound of someone at the door made us all jump. Jenny and Lindsay ran in carrying little bundles. They dropped their bundles and ran to hug Spera. I was happy that Tullo had thought of this. His daughter would not be lonely and the little girls would never have to suffer being bred.
"We were worried," Kathy was coming in with Jonah close behind. "The house is full of Hybrids. Batar's. They came for Spera."
"Where are Donum and Tullo?" I asked quickly.
"Answering questions and waiting."
"For?"
"The Vampire High Council is sending more guards to help in the search for the kidnappers that took his daughter." Kathy whispered. I must have looked surprised. "He decided that lying was best. They woke him and he went with them to find her bed empty. They've been searching. We're supposed to be searching the fields for signs."
"Signs of what?" I asked, moving with her out of the shuttle.
"Humans, of course," she smiled. "Who else can move in the daylight and snatch away a prized vampire child? They took you, you must have told them of her existence and you are to blame for her disappearance."
"What? Tullo said that to the Hybrids?"
"No, they just assumed as much. Stupid Hybrids," Borna laughed. "They went for the vampires, but they'll have to wait for dark."
"We have to sit tight for a bit. Once the sun comes out fully, we must leave." Demato was suddenly there, carrying a large basket. "Mercy sent this. She said you would be starved!" I was.
"Where are we going?" I asked. Demato ignored my question and hurried to the cockpit.
"Eat and rest," Eldon ordered as he set down another basket of food and followed Demato. I didn't get a chance to ask him where we were going. I didn't even know if he knew.
"I'm hungry!" Carus was practically climbing into a basket. Kathy and I set to feeding the children.
"How long?" I asked.
Kathy looked out the door and into the field. She frowned. The rain started again. The rain was helpful, but also harmful. With the sun behind the clouds, some vampires could move about. They might be searching nearby and come across us. The search could reach this far. I knew it and so did she. I set my hand on hers and she smiled at me.
"The herd is searching in this area. A couple of Hybrids came along but the girls are flirting with them and keeping them away," she patted my hand, "for now.
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We need to eat."
I sat in the doorway eating. It was easy to keep the children in since it was raining. I could make out Dusty and Harry in the distance. I was sure that Billy and Jerry were farther out, watching, ready to warn us. All measures had been taken to cover up the abduction of my daughter. Would I get to see my son and Tullo? Would I get the chance to say goodbye? I watched the clouds pass over us. I hardly left my roost.
The rains became a soft drizzle by early in the afternoon. Borna and Kathy left us. I said my goodbyes and they promised to relay my goodbyes to the others. We sat waiting. I felt for the boys guarding the field around us. It was wet and cold.
I jumped when a figure stepped out of the field wrapped in a large coat and floppy hat. He was carrying something under his coat. I stood, pulled the knife from my boot and readied myself. I stepped back into the ship to wait. He stepped into the shuttle and shut the door. Donum dropped down from under the coat and ran to me. I dropped my knife and hugged my son. Tullo shed his hat and coat and was attacked by his children with hugs and kisses.
"Mommy!" Donum handed me a bag. I opened it and saw the sweet bread. "Mercy said for your trip!" He hugged me again. "I'm going to miss you, Mommy." He whispered in my ear. I held him closer. He knew.
"Don't you ever forget that your mommy loves you with all her heart," I begged. "Never!"
"Don't be silly! I know that!" He sat back from me smiling through the tears. "I'll take care of Daddy. You take care of them." He nodded to his siblings who were still hanging onto Tullo. "We will see you again," Donum noted calmly. "If not in this life, the next." He kissed my cheek and hugged me tightly.
"You have to go now." Tullo stood and moved to me. I fell into his arms. He kissed me and I cried. "I love you." He kissed me again, holding me up.
"I can't leave you!" I sobbed.
"You can and you will!" He held away from him. "For their sake you must!" I looked at my children and nodded. I had to leave. Donum was holding my hand.
"Go, Mommy!" My son begged. He pulled his hand free of mine and took Tullo's hand. "We have each other. We can take care of us." My son sounded so sure and brave. So grown! I held back my tears and nodded to him. I looked to my mate, Tullo. His face was cold, but I saw the pain in his eyes. His beautiful silver eyes. I closed my eyes.
Each child was held and ordered by their father or master to behave and obey me. That we were being sent away to a beautiful new home where they would be safe. Spera held onto her father as she cried. His only daughter. Tullo held her and kissed her tears away. Carus was excited with the thought of adventure. Otium was oblivious to it all.
"Help him to remember me?" Tullo asked with sad eyes.
Otium was young. He wouldn't remember much of this time. His life was worth all of us leaving. His and Spera's. The others could have easily blended in. But these two were special. The same with Josiah. He would forget.
Tullo lifted Josiah into his arms and kissed the smiling face. He adjusted the oxygen tube as he did a hundred times a day to ensure his son survived the toxic
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atmosphere. He hugged the boy to him and smiled at me. I nodded. He too would know who his father was. If not by genetics, then by love, for Tullo truly loved that little boy as his own. He set the boy down and held his arms out to me.
I ran to Tullo and hugged him fiercely. I breathed deeply of his essence and closed my heart and mind to the fear. I drew strength from my mate. He kissed me tenderly and had to push me from his hold. I stepped back and felt Spera's hand slide into mine. I held her hand and tried not to cry.
Tullo pulled on the coat and hat and Donum hugged me one last time before climbing under the coat. Tullo winked at me as he turned, opened the door and left me. I watched him walk into the crops and not look back. I wanted him to look back. I knew if he did, we would not be able to leave. He didn't look back.
"We have to go." Chas pulled me away from the door. I sat down next to Chas as the shuttle lifted off and left the planet as the sun began to peek out from behind the clouds.
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21
My father had told me of the first days of human space travel. I knew the basics. It took a long time to get to the moon. That was in a human space ship. Shuttles were very different. What should have taken light years to travel was done in a day. But in the darkness of space, it was hard to keep track of time. I fell asleep in the bedroom with my children. Time seemed to be the very least of my concerns. My dreams were troublesome, and even though I couldn't remember them, I was bothered by them. I held my children close and cried quietly to myself. I couldn't cry in front of them. I had to be brave. When we climbed from bed, we were hungry and it was easy to ignore the heartache with food and drink.
Chas fed the older children while I changed diapers and got the bottles ready for my little ones. Josiah was over a year old but still weak and needed help holding his bottle. Otium lay on his back and balanced his bottle on his feet. He was my little monkey. Chas brought me sweet bread and juice. I thanked him, but didn't eat it. My stomach was still clenched.
"You need to eat!" Eldon sat down next to me with a sandwich.
He was more practical than Chas. He took Josiah from me and nodded to the food on the plate. I ate and watched him make silly faces at the boys. Otium finished his bottle and began to climb on Eldon. Josiah laughed, but wouldn't release the bottle from his mouth. I wanted comfort from Eldon, but he ignored me. I had made a choice. I chose Tullo, and Eldon was letting me know how that choice had hurt him. I hoped he would at least say goodbye to me wherever they left me.
Spera came to sit with me. I held her in my lap and leaned back against the wall. I had slept hard and long, but I was still exhausted. She leaned back against me and pulled my arms around her. I thought of Maybe and wondered where she was, how she was and if she ever thought of me. Of course, then I thought of Jacob. I hugged my daughter and tried to push Jacob from my thoughts.
I was still wearing Tullo's ring. I wondered if Kathy had found the ring from Jacob in the things I had packed. It was all I had of him and I had hoped to one day give it to Josiah. I hoped she hadn't disposed of it, thinking it a betrayal of Tullo. I was too tired to dig through the trunk to see. I would find out later. I knew I couldn't see the ring without bursting into tears. I had cried enough.
"Where are you taking us?" I asked Eldon. He ignored me and reached out to tweak Spera's nose, making her laugh. He moved away from us and back to the cockpit. I sat alone with my children.
"Helio?" I gasped as the shuttle door opened. Reggie stood smiling as the shuttle door opened. "Reggie!" I ran to hug the Hybrid. He hugged me and swung me around effortlessly. "Where's Joshua?" I looked about.
The house was big. Bigger than Reggie and Joshua's. It was right on the beach. I looked up at the huge open covered porch and breathed easily. It would be a great home for us. But who owned it? What would the man that was giving us sanctuary be like? Would he like children? Would he be kind to them? Would he like my cooking?
"Whose house is this?" I asked, seeing that it was fairly new.
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"A young man. A stranger to these parts. He came here not too long ago and built it. He and his uncle. They got help from the people here. Well liked fellows. They then helped build a meeting house for the religious types. And a school for the children. He's got a large extended family he was hoping would come to stay here with him." Reggie looked up at the house. "I even helped."
"And Joshua?" His eyes avoided mine.
"Well, I would recognize you anywhere!" Reggie leaned in to look at Spera. "She's the spitting image of you!" He looked back at me with a fake smile on his face. I would not be put off.
"Reggie, where's Joshua?" I stepped up to him.
"He's inside." Reggie almost whispered. "Faith, they came looking for you and Jacob."
"What happened?" I felt my heart skip a beat.
"I wasn't here for the family reunion. I was away helping a sick friend. They burned the house and beat him. Tortured him. He fought. He didn't tell them because he didn't know, but he wouldn't let them know that. Joshua taunted James. James was cruel but at least he let him live. He's still healing. He's on the back deck." I nodded.
Chas, Eldon and Demato were unloading our trunks and supplies. I had time. I hurried into the house and out the back deck. He was sitting in a chair looking thin and frail. I stopped in the doorway and gasped. Joshua turned and smiled at me. His face. His handsome face was scarred. I held my breath.
"It's not as bad as it looks," Joshua noted, reaching up to touch the scar that ran from chin to eye. "It was a lot worse. Reggie makes it out to be worse than it really is." He stood with the help of a cane and I ran to hug him. I almost knocked him over.
"I'm sorry!" I pulled away and helped him sit.
"Don't be! I love beautiful women lunging at me!" he laughed, "They broke both my legs and my left one healed badly and slowly. I limp. But the cane makes me look distinguished and princely." We both laughed at his joke. I held his hand.
"When?"
"Not long after we left you. Reggie was away. Thank God! They would have killed him."
"Who?"
"James and some of his men. He left Melinda in charge until he could get back so it was a quick trip. One day of beating and they were gone." He sighed. "My little brother has become as demented as my mother and father. He finally realized that no matter what, I wouldn't tell him where you or Jacob went. By the way, you had a beautiful little girl you named Josie." He smiled at me, "After my youngest brother. He died young."
"I know. Jacob told me of Josiah. I named our son that." I watched Joshua's face break into a smile.
"Healthy?"
"No, he was born on Declar and the atmosphere has been hard on him. Tullo saved him. He traded with scavengers and got medical supplies and oxygen for him. He's small and weak, and he wears the brand of a vampire, but Josiah is a
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fighter. He looks like his father."
"That monster branded him?" Joshua growled. "You let that happen?"
"I had no choice." I looked away. "I wear his brand also. We had to in case our return was discovered. By vampire law, Josiah is Tullo's child. They couldn't kill him. They wouldn't dare!"
"I've heard of that." Joshua squeezed my hand. "For a vampire to take a child that was not his means the mother had to pay a penance. Your penance?"
"Forty lashes."
"Forty?"
"Ten for each count. Taking a lover against my mate's permission, bearing a child by that lover, keeping the child, and finally, for resisting." I smiled slightly.
"Good girl!" Joshua grinned at me, "I didn't really think you were the type to stand still for that."
"I didn't." I laughed lightly.
"And you were branded?"
"It's not where anyone can ever see. And if they do, it's because we're intimate. I don't think anyone will see it for a long time."
"Ahh!" Joshua smiled. "You know that you're still married?"
"Yes, I know but…" I looked at him hopefully.
"I haven't seen him. No word. He knew he could never come back. And he could never send word. He left you in my care and I think he would be happy with this arrangement."
"Arrangement?" I sighed. "Tell me about this person. Is he a Quid?" I thought about the insults that Tullo had hurled at me when I had returned to him. He had said a Quid would round out my life.
"A Hybrid," Joshua said. "Nice enough fellow. He even helped us rebuild our home."
"Your home?"
"I forgot to tell you that. James burned it to the ground."
"He's so evil!"
"I agree," James smiled. "But he's steered clear since then. I think he sends people to check on us every so often or I would have let you stay with us. Here is safer. This man's kind and honest. A hard worker who likes children. And you're far enough away that they won't find you. And close enough so that I can visit my nephew."
"Josiah believes Tullo's his father," I said. "But Carus still asks for Jacob."
"It evens out," Joshua laughed, "I have to tell you something."
"What?" I didn't like the tone of his voice.
"The arrangement was made thru Demato. Your vampire never came here. He sent Demato and supplies in trade for the sanctuary of your children, but the owner wanted more."
"More?" I looked about.
"He's not here. Not yet. He'll return soon." I bit my lower lip. "He is kind and considerate…"
"Quit trying to sell him on me and tell me what he wants." I ordered.
"A concubine." My jaw dropped.
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"I thought I was to be a cook!" I snapped.
"Well, among other things..," Joshua sighed. "It's really not such a bad deal. Sanctuary for your children and the others in return for some favors of the private kind. And cooking."
"Private kind? He wants to bed me!" I jumped up and began to pace. "Did Tullo know about this?"
"Yes." Joshua was sullen. "I didn't agree with it, but I can't do much in my condition. Demato wasn't thrilled with it either."
"Yet the deal was made!" I wanted to see Tullo one more time so that I could punch him!
"Your vampire didn't have much choice. His children needed sanctuary and you were the bargaining chip. You sealed the deal."
"Me? Or just my abilities to sexually please this monster?" I clenched my fists in rage.
"We could try and find a place for you. Some place safe. But I don't think it will be with all of you. We could see if some would take one or two and…"
"No!" I snapped angrily. "I won't let my children be split up!" I leaned on the railing and closed my eyes to the headache that was coming. "Just once I would like to lay with a male of my own free will!"
"What?" Joshua asked in concern.
"Nothing." I said.
"Jacob told me that he had to take you..," Joshua spoke softly, "At first. He said that he regretted it deeply. That he hated hurting you."
"No, he hated bedding a vampire's whore." I mumbled.
"He didn't think of you as that. Ever."
"You don't know your brother very well."
"I do know him. He didn't have to take you as his wife. He did it so that you wouldn't be mistreated."
"Mistreated?" I felt a rage growing in me at the memories of my time with Jacob. The outhouse was a very sore spot for me.
"He told me what he did to you. He was ashamed and..," Joshua reached out for my hand. I jerked it away from his touch. "Sorry. He loved you like he has never loved before. If not for Maybe and your child, he would have stayed here with you and fought."
"Would he?" I began to tremble with rage.
"Yes." Joshua got a hold of my hand and pulled me into his lap. I collapsed against his chest. "He would have died for you."
"What will he think if he comes and finds me as the concubine of a Hybrid? From vampire's whore to Hybrid concubine! What a jump!" I had to laugh at what I was about to become. "What will Jacob think?"
"He would understand that you had to do it to survive. You and his son. You will survive. Understand that we can make other arrangements."
"No." I sat up and sighed. "I'll do what needs to be done." I stood and held out my hand to him. "It's time you met your nephew."
Joshua stood with my help. He hugged me to him and kissed the top of my head. I relaxed against him and fought to hold back the tears. But I stood tall,
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breathed deeply and together we walked through the house to the children.
Demato was waiting. Our luggage was unloaded and moved to the second floor of the house. Demato told me this as I approached him. He hugged me and promised to tell Donum I loved him. And to look after Tullo for me. I looked for Eldon, but he was already in the shuttle. I tried to go onto the shuttle, but Demato held me back.
"It's hard for him." He patted my shoulder and boarded the shuttle, closing the door behind him. I stepped back and watched the shuttle leave me behind. My heart broke as I watched it disappear. Eldon hadn't said goodbye to me.
We unpacked. I had the run of the second floor, according to Reggie. He helped me get the children settled. Chas and Jonah had a room together. Jenny, Lindsay and Spera had the room next to them. Otium, Carus and Josiah were in the room next to mine. There was a door connecting the two so that I could get to them quickly. I had the master bedroom. I would share this room with the master of the house. I left my trunk packed and helped the children.
I got them bathed and ready for bed. I sat on the deck with Reggie and Joshua as the children ran about. From this spot we could see all around us. No one could sneak up on us. I wondered about the Hybrid that had built this house. Why had he built a virtual fortress? What was he hiding from? Or who? Who was I moving in with and entrusting the safety of my children to?
The sun set. It was beautiful to watch, but darkness didn't come. It was like a constant dusk at night on Helio. We marveled at the multicolored sky. The children began to yawn. It was bedtime. I tucked each child into their bed. Chas smiled at me as I kissed his forehead. He asked for me to leave the door open so that Spera could find him if she was frightened. I did. Soon, I would have to forbid her from going to his bed. Soon. Not now, but soon.
I tucked the girls in and told them to stay in bed. Spera only looked at the open door across the hall. Maybe sooner than I thought. I checked in on the sleeping boys. Carus was sleeping with his butt in the air. He was comfortable. Josiah was smiling in his sleep. For once he slept without the oxygen tubes in his nose. The air seemed to agree with him. All evening he moved about and his lips never once turned blue. I had hoped that my son would begin to thrive here. Otium was sleeping on his stomach sucking his thumb. He seemed content enough.
I left my children and went to the master bedroom to await the arrival of the master. Reggie was waiting for me there. He held out a very slinky nightgown to me. I took it and sighed.
"Virginal white? Don't you think we're a bit past this?" I noted.
"His choice." Reggie laughed at my joke. "And this." He held out a long white scarf to me.
"For?" I took it and looked at it.
"A blindfold."
"Blindfold?"
"He's not very attractive." Reggie said it slowly. I felt my stomach turn.
"Great!" I went to the bathroom to shower and change.
The water was cool as it rushed over me. My thoughts were spinning out of
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control. I had to forget everything and try to focus on my new duties. I had been mistreated sexually many times before and I had survived. This couldn't be too bad. At least, I hoped not.
I dried myself and in the mirror I saw the brand. I sat on the toilet and looked at it. Tullo's brand on me. I rubbed it gently. No matter what this Hybrid wanted from me, I would always wear Tullo's brand. I would always be his mate. Just as I would always be Jacob's wife. The tears came and I sat naked hugging the towel. It was the only comfort I was going to get for a long time.
I got myself together and slid on the nightgown. It was very pretty and delicate. It was also very sheer. There was no robe. This was almost as bad as being naked. I stepped out of the bathroom to find Reggie waiting. He held out the blindfold while keeping his eyes on mine.
"Is there any other way?" I asked in a pleading voice.
"No," Reggie shook his head. "The deal was made. You have to live up to your end of it. For your children." I nodded. Again, I had no choice and could only pray that this master was gentle. "Get into bed."
I did as I was told, settling myself in the middle of the big bed. The windows and doors leading out to the deck were open, letting the fresh air in. I gulped it in and hoped I could remain calm. Reggie adjusted the covers around me and tied the blindfold over my eyes. I held his hand.
"Joshua and I will remain the night to look after the children. You'll need to stay here with him all night." I gulped. "Try not to scream. It'll frighten the children." I nodded and held tightly to his hand. He pried my hand off his and patted it. I felt him leave. And I waited.
There were no lights on in the room, but it wasn't dark. The light from outside filled the room in a dreamy gray. I held tightly to the bed covers and waited. I heard the door open and close as Reggie left me. All I could hear was the crashing of the ocean and the beating of my heart. The ocean breeze moved through the room, making a soft whispering noise as it passed over me. It sounded as if a spirit had drifted into the room and was swirling around me. It was comforting.
I heard the mumbling from behind the door. Reggie's stern voice warning someone. The only words I made out were 'be kind and gentle' as the door opened and closed. His footfall was heavy. I figured him for a large Hybrid. I clenched the bedding tightly. The heavy footfall came closer. I heard the rustling as he undressed. I felt someone sit on the bed.
I gasped as a cool hand reached out to caress my cheek. I turned my face away and the hand gripped my chin and held my face steady. A kiss met my lips. I held my breath. The hand was firm but gentle as it caressed my face. I closed my eyes. I couldn't see from behind the blindfold, but I felt safer with my eyes closed.
The hand moved from my face to my neck. It was gentle as it slid down my shoulder, pushing the nightgown off, exposing my breasts. The hand caressed my breast, taking the nipple gently between the thumb and forefinger and squeezing it. I whimpered as I let the breath out. His lips found my breast and I shuddered. He pushed the gown off my other shoulder and I was exposed to him. As he suckled my breast, his hand fondled the other. I moaned and trembled.
This was not the first time for me. I had been the victim too many times. Just
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once I didn't want to be the victim. I wanted to fall in love and be with a man because he loved me. Not lust, not duty, but desire and love. I let him push me back into the bed and pull the covers from my iron grip.
I lay panting as he sat up and ran his hand down my side and leg. He grabbed the nightgown and pulled it up. His hand was cool as he ran it down my bare leg. I reached out to push him away. He caught my flaying hands and held them above my head. His other hand caressed my body. I lay trembling at his touch. He kissed me tenderly and I turned my face away. His hand caught my chin and forced my face to his.
"For your children!" He said. I froze. In an instant I was fighting. I screamed and his hand came down over my face. "Stop screaming!" He hissed in my ear. I got one hand free and hit him as hard as I could. He only laughed and kissed me again, letting his kisses muffle my protesting screams. I began to kick and fight. He let go of me and moved back.
"Eldon!" I sat up and jerked the blindfold off. He sat smiling at me. "What are you doing?"
"Claiming my part of the deal." He moved to kiss me and I swung my fist at his face. He easily caught it and held it.
"Deal? I could kill you!" I dove on him then. We wrestled and he easily pinned me to the bed.
"No, I think you enjoyed it." He kissed me, laughing.
"Get off me!" I hissed.
"No." he wiggled his way between my legs. "Tullo and I had a deal. I would allow you all sanctuary in my home and you would be my concubine. Oh, and you'd cook."
"Tullo? Your house? What are you talking about?" I growled at him.
"This is my house. Demato and I built it. With help. I've been coming here for months getting things ready. Establishing my history with the locals and building this house."
"You? How?"
"Tullo sent Demato here to seek out Joshua once you told him about this place. It was decided that you should return here with the children. We just needed a cover story so no one would be suspicious of your sudden appearance."
"You and Tullo? He gave me to you?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Like I meant nothing to him?"
"No!" Eldon grabbed my flying fists and held me down in the bed. "He loved you enough to give you to me to protect. He trusted me enough to keep you safe. I can't be your mate, you have one already. I can't be your husband because you have one of those too, but I can be your master and you my concubine."
"Me, the concubine? Your concubine? I think not!" I began to fight him again. "Never! I won't!"
Eldon was on me instantly. He held me down and I felt him enter me. I cried out in anger and pain. I continued to fight and lost the fight to my own desires. I began to move with him. Matching his rhythm. I listened to his labored breathing as it matched my racing heart. I felt myself losing the fight to let him have me. He rose over me, thrusting deeper and I lost the battle as I dissolved into him.
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"You are mine," he whispered in my ear as he fell on me.
Yes. I was his.
I stood at the railing, enjoying a cup of coffee and watching Chas and the children on the beach. Josiah was now running about and easy to pick out with his dark tan. My little human was darker than the others. He tanned so easily. Spera waved up to me as she collected seashells with Lindsay and Jenny. Otium ran past her, paler than any of them. His hair was at white as the fluffy clouds that floated above. Carus was fishing with Jonah. Eldon waved to me as he came from the water. I waved back.
As usual, I looked about to make sure no one was near our home. It was clear for as far as the eye could see. True a shuttle could come at any time, but so far, none had. We had lived a peaceful life in the land of the sun. I stepped back into the kitchen to pound on my dough. I was barefoot and pregnant and making bread. How truly poetic.
"Well?" the voice asked in my ear.
"Well what?" I leaned back as Eldon's hands came around me.
"Well, how are you this morning?"
"Afternoon," I corrected.
"Well?" he kissed my ear.
"Very well. Both of us. Thank you, very much." Eldon's hands settled on my mound of a stomach.
It was strange that our first months on Helio had been uneventful, except for the fact that I had come into season several times and wasn't pregnant. I worried. Eldon had said he wasn't disappointed, but I could see it in his eyes. He wanted a child of his own. A son. I felt like a failure and became depressed. It was the only time I had wanted a child and couldn't have one. Eldon was on me nightly and I welcomed it. This was the first child I didn't have to worry if it was human, vampire or Hybrid. It didn't matter. This child would simply be of me and Eldon.
When I missed my cycle, I was overjoyed. We had been on Helio long enough to familiarize ourselves with the locals. We were welcomed as if we had simply moved into the neighborhood. The children went to school, we went to religious meetings, we went to parties and we went to home raisings where everyone pitched in to help families build homes. Our lives were simple. There was no hiding, no running and no fear.
Well, there was always a fear. The one that was in the back of our minds. The one that made us look over our shoulders when a chill ran through us. The fear that made us keep Spera and Otium closer then need be. We were known for being overprotective parents. Chas was always with Spera, but Otium stood out for his strong features. He and Carus were in trouble often. Josiah was too young still, but he had a mischievous attitude that frightened me. Lindsay and Jenny were his little mothers. They spoiled him terribly.
"Otie!" I pulled away from Eldon to hurry to the deck and leaned out over the railing to see Carus and Otium wrestling in the sand over a toy. Chas hurried to separate the two.
"They're fine." Eldon was next to me. "Boys fight."
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"Those two get too rough," I mumbled, leaning against him.
"Not as rough as that one!" Josiah had found a piece of driftwood and was swinging it at his brothers. Lindsay ran to take it from him before he connected with a skull. My two year old pouted and plopped down in the sand to cry. Jenny hurried to comfort him. "The one we worried about the most has become the most energetic."
"I know." I smiled. My sickly baby had thrived here. He was growing strong and tall. His chubby legs were muscular from running in the sand.
"What are you thinking about?" Eldon kissed my head and hugged me.
"Nothing, really," I sighed, "just wondering how long this will go on."
"What?"
"The peace." I leaned against him.
"As long as we want." He left me and hurried down to the children.
Eldon avoided it. I didn't dwell on it, but couldn't help to think on it. I looked to the sky and knew they were there. To the left lay Declar, to the right was Trenar. I knew they were there and the dangers to us that lay on those planets. I stared straight ahead and knew that Earth was there. A little to the left of it was Quid 4. The sky was bright and they were invisible to my eye, but I knew they were there.
My eyes always drifted to Declar and my son and mate. How would Donum look now? Who would Tullo have taken as a new mate or concubine? I knew he would have taken someone. He could do so without guilt since he had given me to Eldon. It hurt. I still thought of him often. And of Jacob.
I wondered if he was alive. No word had come to Joshua. He was worried too. But I found the answer in the oddest of places. I had just discovered I was pregnant when the scavengers had come. Joshua, Reggie and I went to see what they had. I was looking for seeds for the garden and trinkets for the girls. I spotted something and jumped in surprise.
"Where did you get these?" I asked in excitement. The trader looked annoyed.
"From a little smart aleck. Those cost me dearly."
"I bet they did." I held up the little jar of jam and smiled. The mark on the top was and M shaped like a butterfly with the date beneath it. The jar was only three months old. I showed it to Joshua and he smiled.
"It's them!" I cried.
"Where did you get these?" Joshua asked the trader.
"You want them?" The trader looked less than trustworthy.
"Where did you get them?" Reggie asked in a deep menacing voice.
"In a colony in the Tinuo sector. Humans. They were human." The trader backed away from the large Hybrid. "They were passing through."
"Tinuo." Joshua smiled as he said the name.
"She was a strawberry blonde with blue-green eyes," I sighed.
"How did you know?" the trader asked.
"Maybe." I hugged the little jar close.
They were alive. Maybe was alive! Joshua bought all the jars with her mark on them. Except one. I kept the jar of jelly. I only wanted one to ensure me that they were alive. I set the jar high in the cabinet. I took it out when I thought of them but I never opened it. I simply put it back. The jar was close to a year old. A year ago,
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Maybe had been alive. I had hope.
I knew that Jacob was somewhere safe with Maybe. How had she changed? I wondered if he had taken a wife or did he still think of me? I even thought of Ester and if she had married Lionel. Was she happy? With child? Was she under her uncle's rule or did she rebel? I shook my head to clear it. Too much thinking made it ache. The baby kicked and I winced.
"What is it?" I turned to see Joshua limping towards me with Reggie close behind. They made the trip often to visit. Now they had come to help with the delivery of my child.
"He's active." I set my hand on my child.
"How active?" Reggie hurried to examine me. We had decided that he should be the one to deliver my child. He was well known as a midwife in the area.
"Not yet," I smiled.
But I was close. Very close. The pains were coming, but they were far between. I wasn't sure if it was false labor or just daily aches. After five children I was still unsure. Reggie frowned at me and motioned for me to sit. I sat next to Joshua who was waving to the kids. They squealed in delight and all came running to get hugs from their uncles. Eldon waved and scooped up Josiah.
"We're in time for lunch?" Joshua asked.
"Yes." I stood to put the bread in the oven. The roast was done, but I hadn't cut it. My back ached. I leaned on the counter and breathed deeply. This birth was a joyous one. I wanted to experience it all without worry or concern.
"Sit!" Reggie ordered, taking notice of my actions. I sat.
"Is it time?" Spera asked, coming to lay her head on my belly to listen to the gurgling within.
"Soon." I promised, stroking her silvery blonde head.
The children piled into the house, bringing seashells and sand in with them. They ran to get drinks and giggled with each other as they brought their uncles up to date with their daily events. Otium sipped the blood and offered a sip to Josiah who drank and smacked his lips, making Otium laugh. Carus only shook his head. He had drifted away from drinking blood. Spera too, had left that behind, only drinking it on rare occasions. Otium's taste for it seemed to grow as he did. Eldon had said it wasn't unusual. I still worried. I winced as my child moved down the birth canal. It was close.
"Help me set the table," Reggie sang as he carried out the meat. Lindsay and Jenny were right behind him with plates and silverware.
I looked at the two girls, my little sisters, and realized that soon they would seek out males. Or males would seek them out. They were both very pretty. As Hybrids, they were close to breeding age. Spera was younger, but as a vampire, she too was close. All three girls appeared to be the age of eleven. They grew so fast. Otium looked to be five and Carus at least seven. I rubbed my belly and knew that this one would also become a man long before Josiah. The children all remembered how sick he had been when he was born and simply attributed that to the fact that he was slow in growing because of it. I never corrected them. For them to know he wasn't their full blooded sibling seemed unnecessary. They all loved him dearly.
We relocated to the open air dining room to eat. The breeze moved through
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the room as we ate. I closed my eyes to the fresh ocean breeze, then winced to the pains that were now getting intense. Eldon took my hand and I smiled. He was nervous. This was his first child.
"Can we take a walk?" I asked. He stood and helped me stand.
"Not too far!" Reggie called as we headed for the beach.
The sand was hot on my feet, but I ignored it. I wanted to walk in the surf. The squishy sand was soothing to me. We walked to the water and I stood letting it wash over my feet and ankles. I held my child and sighed. The funny thing was that it was my birthday. I was twenty-one and about to give birth to my sixth child. And I was happy.
I breathed deeply of the ocean air and let the water wash over me. The heat of the sun on my face eased the pain. I had always drawn my strength from the sun. Tullo had called me a child of the sun. I missed him less and less each day. Here, I was at ease with myself and my life. It seemed as if in five years, I had come full circle from innocent happiness to adult happiness. I had become who I always wanted to be. Eldon's.
I had been taken as a sexual conquest too often to imagine. I had traveled the universe and then some. I had suffered unimaginable abuse and found wondrous love. I had lived a lifetime in five short years. I had the ability to adjust well to atmospheres and situations. I adapted to survive. For myself and for my family. I had lived adventures that only books and legends could tell of. And I had grown. I had started out as a young frightened girl and become a woman.
I stood in the surf, reliving my life. It was a short life, by vampire standards, but it was my life. I pictured everyone in my mind's eye as the water washed against me. I breathed deeply to mask the pain of life. New life.
I held new life in me. But this one was different. This one was to be born worry free. I had not a worry in the world during this birth. I had felt this child grow in me and savored it. He was a strong, healthy, male Hybrid. I had no clue why I knew this, but I did. I knew the name I wanted for him. Richard, after my father. I had four sons, but this one boy was born of love and not fear or demand. This one child was to be like my father, a man of love and peace. Eldon agreed.
We have no last name. They were lost generations ago as we went from human to Quid and Hybrids. We took the name of the master once we were bred and branded. We had no history, no names, no birthdates. We existed only by the grace of the vampires who harvested our blood for their survival. We were the herds that were purchased in herds of twenty-two. We became a family as one by one, children were brought together to become the twenty-two, ten boys and twelve girls. Our names were chosen by the breeder. Our lives were at the mercy of our masters. We are Quids.
My name is Faith. I am a Quid, sort of. I was born on Earth and went to Quid 4 when I was 4 years old. I am the mate of Tullo. I am the wife of Jacob Raven. And I am the treasured concubine of Eldon. I have lived on Earth, Quid 4, Declar, Trenar and Helio. I am the mother of Donum, Spera, Carus, Josiah, Otium and now another. Another who moved suddenly, causing me pain. I bent forward and Eldon held me up. I shook my head as he bent to lift me. I needed to walk.
"Now?" Eldon asked in a frightened voice.
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I looked at him. I had fallen in love with him so long ago. His chiseled face looked more vampire than human, and his silver tinged eyes were searching mine. He had let his hair grow longer and the breeze lifted it off his face. We were no longer children. We where we wanted to be in life. Together. I reached out to cup his cheek in my hand. He kissed my hand and held it.
Now we were the couple we should have been years before. I felt as if I had finally come home. I stood looking about at the paradise we lived in. I smiled. No Death standing in the shadows. There was no Death here. He was forbidden. It was time to let go of Death. I had a life, my children and my love.
"Now." I smiled, holding tightly to Eldon. We turned to head back to the house. We walked together, slowly. On the deck all the children stood watching us with anticipation of another addition. I let the pain slide away. It felt good in a way. Pain let you know that you were alive. I was alive.
It was time for this son to meet his family.
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Born and raised in the Lawton/Fort Sill area of Oklahoma, Littlehawk comes from a large family. And an even larger extended family. A Lawton High Wolverine from way back and a Cameron Aggie ready to graduate, she was born Catholic and raised Christian. She has made her strong values known to her many children and friends. She tries to be a respectable, upstanding, responsible adult, but she has a clear memory of her wild, carefree youth. At times there is a delightfully dark and colorfully wild side to her that she shares in her writings to the enjoyment of many.
