Chapter Ten:

Silence

The New Year had come and gone and no word had arrived about the vampire named Alphaeus, at least not by name. Whatever plan he was cooking up, he wasn't willing to let it go long enough to seek his revenge on his sister's killers. The message containing the merry song of Cerebella's death had spread from New York City to L.A. He may have been in the area, but he had preparations to make that wouldn't be interrupted by family matters. Apparently our gang was going to have to be a lot more thorough if we wanted results.

Damon and Ian set up their connections so if the big guy was in town, we would hear about it within the minute. I could only hope that, when he came, our system would actually work.

More newspaper articles and newscasts were featured about the recent attacks and many more were anticipated from the "copycat killer" they were now calling Dracula. If attention was what Alphaeus was going for, he got plenty of it. The death toll was up another digit and more people were reported missing. He must have known we were after him because in one of the more recent articles, a picture was printed on the front page of a body that lay in front of a message written on a wall in blood. "The age of the night will come. The great darkness is fast approaching." Again, we had no idea what his exact plans were but it didn't sound like he wanted to sit down with the humans and have a tea party.

Cal and I hadn't spoken since he tried to make a move on me more than a week ago. I guess there wasn't really anything to talk about. The two of us were never going to find common ground, especially not with Damon watching our every move. His little brother could tell he thought something was up. It was amazing how much they truly knew each other, and yet how little.

Ben saw the conflicting thoughts in my head and across my face like each one was painted there for everyone to see. My mind knew that in order to get my point across to Cal I was going to have to stay as far away from his as possible but my heart ached. He was my family and I was going to lose another person because of some stupid drama. If I could say something to him to make him understand, maybe we could see eye to eye. Ben knew better than that. Countless times he chided and reminded me that Cal would never stop loving me.

As for my dream, I stopped being able to look right into Ben's eyes. I never thought about it, choosing to focus my mind on other issues, but I kept feeling like he could still see. I didn't want this awkward, uncomfortable feeling to come between us. If only Tara were here, she would soften the moment with college trifles about how Charlie made her do something she didn't want to do because she just couldn't resist. She would know what to say, even if it was completely and utterly wrong. Whatever the words would be, they always made me feel better like at least there was one other person on the planet who was similar enough to me and yet so different. She was someone who I could depend on to make me feel human and that was all I ever really wanted.

Damon and I were still lying in bed, though we had been wide awake since the sun rose. He was playing with my hair as we both stared up the ceiling. I felt like that's all we ever seemed to do and he thought the same, two minds forever on the same track.

With the idea in mind, he bent down and gave me a kiss, grinning like a burglar in a jewelry store. "I love you, Evie."

"I love you, too," I replied, letting the words seep into my heart. I loved him! What a miraculous feeling a dead person could have. Zombies couldn't feel this kind of love—if they were real, that is. Wasn't this human enough?

He sighed, still smiling. I love hearing you say that.

Yeah, well I'd love it if I wasn't the size of an elephant. "What are we going to do about Alphaeus?" I inquired aloud, knowing the subject would come up soon enough even without my assistance.

Another sigh followed but this one was less blissful sounding and more perturbed. "Do we have to talk about that right now?"

"I guess not," I said with a shrug, looking up into the lovely ocean in the never ending world of his eyes. "What would you like to talk about, Mr. Moretti?"

"This baby of ours. When do you think she'll arrive? It's been a few days and I was half-expecting her to have been born already. She did grow overnight, after all. It only makes sense that she should be out and about by now."

I grinned, imagining his six prancing children about the garden. "I'm sure she'll be here soon enough. She said she was coming soon, though I can't begin to understand how she knows that." Although, it had to be said; none of this really made sense in the grand scheme of things. Her being up and walking around with us was merely the more plausible scenario at this point.

Calm, peaceful waves drifted over him and he felt like he was floating amongst the clouds. He was in a fantastical hot-air balloon, miles and miles above the earth and peering down at the wonders below. It was only too soon that someone shot down this magnificent contraption, shot it right out of the sky, sending him plummeting back to the ground. "I'm going to see the council today. They should be informed that a major player is coming to town. We could use them to create a wider blanket of security. They're no fighters—they couldn't even take my brother and me down—but they are undeniably well connected." So much for talking about other things.

"Do you want me to come with you? I could read their minds for you?"

He shook his head, regretting his decision to blow me off the map in a falsified car crash. "They think you're dead, Evie. I'll have to take Ben along." I'm sorry.

I let out a breath I seemed to have been holding as he spoke and glanced up at his adoring expression. "It's alright, my wonderful, handsome, amazing husband. I understand why you did it and I know it's easier to just stay dead. You two go and I'll wait here with the wolves. We'll make sure the house stays in one piece," I affirmed with a beaming smile of contentment.

"I'm not worried about the house, darling. I'm worried about you. The baby made your ring stop working. What if something like that happens again?"

"It won't," I promised. "We understand each other and she knows now what happens when she plays with her powers. She and I will be okay. Cal and the wolves will be here as backup just in case." I got up and headed for the dresser to get changed into something decent. Unfortunately, all I had in the way of fat clothes was a white floor-length dress with three-quarter long sleeves. Damon had picked it up on his way back from a visit to one of his old vampire informants yesterday. He didn't know how long I was going to look… huge so he wanted to make sure I had something to wear—and that I looked completely innocent, nothing any of the other guys would want to mess with.

I rolled my eyes at it while he couldn't see and draped the garment down over my head, letting the bottom hit the floor. It was kind of larger on me, but not by much, only enough to hit the floor from being too tall.

Arms enveloped me and Damon's lips traced along the length of my neck. "You look like an angel."

I laughed and leaned my back against him. "I look like a giant snowwoman." I stroked his embracing forearms as I continued, "But thank you for the gift."

We walked down the stairs together, hand in hand, so I could say goodbye to him properly at the door. As we came to the bottom of the stairs, everyone was staring at us. At first I thought it was because they still hadn't gotten over my enormity, but after a quick scan I realized it was for another reason entirely.

Connie was the first one to notice us. She had seen the brightness of my dress out of the corner of her eye and she had to know what it was right away. They look so cute together, like they belong together.

The man in black and the woman in white, Patrick thought. How captivating.

What is this? Halloween? Cal was sour, as usual. One good punch in the jaw would set him straight.

Ben got up when he heard in Damon's mind that he was needed and trailed behind us to the front entrance. He kept on going as my husband and I stopped before the door to exchange one last kiss before he ventured out of my sight for a few hours.

I'll try not to be gone too long. I promise.

I smiled with a wave and mouthed the words he needed to hear the most. "I love you."

He gleamed and sent them right back to me before he brought me towards the threshold. I want to see your face as I go, for as long as I can.

Lovingly, I stood there on the porch and peered through the lightly falling snow at the black and red SSC Ultimate Aero XT. I missed our awesome dull blue Mustang. It was practically a part of the family and we had left it behind.

The two men got in the sports car and drove off. Before he turned the corner, Damon looked in his rearview mirror and smiled. It was still kind of an overwhelming feeling, not only seeing how much he cared for me but being able to see it from a mile away as if I was sitting in the back seat. You think I would have gotten used to it over the eight months between now and the night I turned. But I guess not.

Once the boys were no longer in sight, I closed the door behind me and zoomed through the forests at top speed. I made sure I was deep enough in that there was no way he could see me passing his car. In fact, I was so much faster than any vampire in existence that even if I had been closer, I still would have only been a blur in his peripheral vision.

My legs carried me far without a need for rest. It felt indescribably good to be out in the fresh air with all the animals surrounding me. I needed to get out of that house with the stench of werewolves and be among my own kind.

I came to a halt when I reached my destination and curled up in the snow. I must have looked ridiculous since I had left the house without ever bothering to put on my shoes. It wasn't that I needed them or anything like that but a lady in a white dress was noticeable enough. A pregnant lady in a white dress and no shoes was just downright odd.

The person I came to see wouldn't care. Her body was so far underground that it was impossible for her to look at me let alone concern herself with what I was wearing.

I stared at the pale grey stone that marked my best friend's grave. "Here lies Tara Jessica Healy, beloved daughter and friend. July 31st, 1993 to March 8th, 2012." Carved at the bottom of the stone was an extravagant lily, the virgin's flower.

"I guess you always were a kind of innocent. You taught me everything there was about being the next prom queen but you always tried to see the good prospects of people. I remember that one time you, Ben, and I snuck out to see that midnight showing of that movie and we saw that guy all by himself. You went right up to him and asked him for his number. We just laughed at you but you told us he could be the one and we kept on laughing. I always thought you were some kind of psychic. Nothing supernatural or anything, but you had a sense of what was going on no matter what, even if no one was speaking." I touched my palm to the cold marble, expecting to feel a chill from the finger-numbing frozen rock but instead I felt nothing. It was a different temperature than my own, by far, but it was too close for any human to distinguish.

I pulled my hand away and folded them in my lap. "I kind of hoped you'd still be around. We were supposed to be mothers together, remember? You had it all planned out and everything. First you would find me a guy who was handsome and smart, and then we'd both get married exactly a week apart. Then we'd both get pregnant a year after our honeymoons and have our babies on the same day. They'd grow up and be best friends just like us." A single tear fell from my eye, the remnant of whatever storeroom of waterworks I had left inside me. "I'm sorry it had to end this way. I'm sorry that I killed you. I know Ben and the others keep telling me it wasn't my fault, but you were the one who ended up suffering the most from all of this. There were so many things that we were going to do together, so many things you should have been able to do. But I took those away from you. You weren't dead when I bit into you. I can remember that plain as day. Alphaeus had broken you but you were still fighting for your chance to stay alive and then I took it all away. I should have been able to fight it." I flung myself forward in penitence, burying my face in the snow. I never wanted to see anything ever again, not if it meant I would witness the death of more of my friends. Whatever Alphaeus was planning on doing, it was going to end in bloodshed. That was for certain.

Suddenly, I heard the crack of a twig breaking in the distance. I flashed to my feet and was about to take off when I saw who it was.

"Evie?" the woman cried. "Is that you?"

All of my instincts told me I had to leave but I couldn't. I wanted to stay. "Yes, Aunt Fauna, it's me." I slowly glided through the space between us but stopped about a few feet away.

Tears were gushing down her face like rain. "Are you a ghost?"

I saw myself through her eyes and realized that was probably what she saw. Assuming that I was dead, it was the only answer.

With a smile, I nodded silently.

Her breathing was sporadic, her heart pounding. "I have so many questions to ask you." She took a step closer but I quickly held up a hand to tell her it was too close. She understood right away and folded her arms close to her chest. "Are you happy?" she wondered.

Out of all the things she could have wanted to know, the first was more than selfless. "I am," I replied.

"Are you with your parents?"

"Yes."

She smiled, still crying, and glanced at my belly. "Are you pregnant?" She tried to make sense of it but every fiber of her being told her it was impossible for a ghost to be with child.

"You see me how you would like me to be. You always wanted me to have a family of my own one day and this is what that would look like." The family part was true enough, but I was really just making it up as I was going along. There was no other possible explanation for it, without having to explain that I wasn't really dead that is. My face turned hopeful. "Are you happy?"

Fauna repeated my previous gesture. "I just wish that you could still be a part of my happiness. But Ian has been really kind to me." She grinned. "I think he's going to propose soon."

I wanted to run up to her and give her a hug but I kept my distance. "Congratulations. I'm sure you two will always be good together."

Her eyes closed for a moment and I took that as my opportunity to leave. I sped over to the trees and climbed until I was hidden behind the branches of a pine tree coated in white.

As she gazed again at the space in front of her and noticed I was gone, she scrambled about in search of me. After a couple minutes, she decided I had returned to my world up above and stopped in front of a grouping of gravestones. She placed a poinsettia on the ground in front of one of the three. Then she kissed her hand and pressed it against the marker. With the words "sleep well" she began the trek back to her car.

The moment she pulled away from the curb, I leapt down from my branch and approached the stones that had interested my aunt so much. I sunk to the ground when I recognized the names. "Here lies Vincent James Richards, beloved husband and father. 1979 to 1994. Here lies Sherry Alaine Richards, beloved wife and mother. 1982 to 1999." These two stones were significantly older than the one that sat between them. "Here lies Evelyn Anastasia Richards, beloved daughter and friend. October 31st, 1993 to March 8th, 2012." I felt like Van Gogh must have felt when he saw his name on a grave marker at such a young age. But my sinking stomach ceased as I took in the details. In the background of all the writing was an oak tree etched into the entire length of the stone, the symbol of renewed life. However, the one that brought me the most cheer was the tiny marking in the bottom right-hand corner. A heart with an arrow surrounded the swirling cursive:

ER + DM forever

I smiled. No one else would notice the wedding rings settled at the top of the heart or the heart itself. Humans could see it easily enough but it would remain unimportant to any who glanced at the gravestone. They wouldn't expect such a thing to be there.

"You shouldn't be out here in the cold."

My smile disappeared as I swung my head around to see the youngest Moretti towering above me.

He unfolded the blanket in his arms and held it out to me. "I thought you might need this." Don't explode, Mother Goose. I was just watching out for you. He didn't know I could hear his thoughts while Ben wasn't forcing them on me so he wasn't directing those words at me. Actually, he hadn't really thought about me hearing his mind. The possibility didn't occur to him, ever.

I hesitated and stared up at him like his skin carried the plague.

With a sigh, he knelt down and swathed the blanket around my shoulders. "Damon's going to kill you when he finds out you went off the property and by yourself no less." He sat down and leaned up against the nearest tree stump he could find.

"Thank you," I whispered, looking back at the symbol of Damon's love. What I really wanted to know was how he knew I was here. I was too fast for him to follow and I had a good head start that should have left him in the dust.

Almost like he knew what I was thinking, he commented offhandedly, "I figured you would be here. There isn't really anywhere else you can go in your condition." Being dead and all.

"You didn't have to come."

"But I wanted to… apologize. For being short with you lately. I'm having a hard time adjusting to this new lifestyle of yours." It's a lot easier to back off a person who looks like the Virgin Mary.

The Virgin Mary? I remind you of Jesus's mom? That's kind of weird. "There's not much we can do about that but if it helps, you can think of me as your sister. After all, that's technically what I am." And it'd be weird if you tried to hit on your sister. That's almost as bad as if you hit on your brother.

"Yeah, I guess."

I stared at the markings on my gravestone and clutched the blanket close. "How did I die?" You can't just fake a car accident.

His eyes were on me. I could see myself in his mind. "Damon took Ben's truck, put Tara in the passenger's seat and went into a head-on collision with a car we scrounged up out of the junkyard. We compelled everyone who came to check out the accident and fed them the story that we wanted them to think. Then it all took off from there. There wasn't a body for your aunt to identify but we told the coroner that your funeral would have to be a closed casket ceremony and that no one could see you to investigate. Naturally, they believed everything we told them so it was easy for them to explain it to the others. The news picked up your story and it was a huge funeral like the one for Ben's girlfriend." It played in his head as he recalled the memory forward.

Instead of Ben, Cal was the one standing up there in front of everyone, giving the speech about a lost love. Damon was nowhere in sight. He was already out of town, searching everywhere for the real me.

Cal clutched tightly to the podium, still frustrated about what he had done to these poor people. Ben had his magical iron grip on him so he couldn't hurt anyone if he decided to revert back to being a crazy, mindless vampire servant. For the time being, Cal seemed human enough and that would have to do. They couldn't risk him not being at the funeral. It would be too suspicious since everyone else thought that he and I were deeply in love.

"There are a lot of things that I regret when it comes to Evie. She was always really special to me ever since I met her my first day at Wolfcrest High. I knew she was the one I was meant for. She was kind to an absolute stranger. I was new here in town and she went out of her way to befriend me. I couldn't let someone like that slip through my fingers, and now she has." The wood in his palms was about to rupture under the pressure. He figured this was the best time to sit down. Instead of going back to his seat, he continued right passed the chairs and out the door. He was on the verge of ripping someone's head off and he knew Ben was on standby, ready to kick his butt if he tried anything.

Anger filled him because that is how he truly felt about the situation. He had lost me forever, let me slip right through his fingers, all because he hadn't fought for me or the right to be free of mind. If he had only held tighter to the valerian-coated bars of his cell that day that Alphaeus tried to make him leave with him, the Original would have never been able to persuade him to turn off his emotions and we would still be together. Or so he thought.

"Oh," was all I said. I had asked a simple question and had been bombarded with more than I bargained for.

We sat there unmoving like the stone statues that adorned the cemetery grounds. There was nothing else to be said and neither of us wanted to stir any emotions in the other that would end up causing more of a discrepancy between us. After a while, I decided we should probably head back before Damon found out I had gone and we took off through the woods back to Moretti Manor, my prison.

Only an hour or so had passed which meant that my husband and best friend hadn't had time enough to return. Part of my dress was wet from the snow so I curled up by the fireplace and did my best to ignore the thoughts that shouted out at me from behind.

I wonder where those two went off to. I bet they went off on a secret rendezvous to avoid anyone else's notice because they're secretly lovers. Jeremy, one of the twins, was seriously into reading romantic chick novels and always had a mind for outrageous theories.

Patrick was more reasonable about the situation but still concluded that something was going on. They both seem to be acting stranger than usual. I wonder what happened.

That dude is totally banging the pregnant chick. Terrance certainly had a way with words.

I wonder if there are any more cinnamon rolls. Rick's mind was always on food, much different from his twin brother's.

When this arrangement got to be too vexing, I snagged a blood bag from the fridge and headed back upstairs to my room to drink in peace.

Damon got home a couple hours after I had returned and found me lying on the bed, unmoving. He grinned and started running towards me. Right before his legs could hit the edge of the bed, he leaped high into the air and landed smoothly beside me on the mattress. "I'm back," he sang. "Did you miss me?"

Without a word, I turned over so I could see his face and rested my head on his chest. This was my resting place, the position that was mine and no one else's. I could lie like this for eternity and never grow old or tired or bored. All I needed was this place beside his heart and I would be fine forever.

"That much, huh?"

I sighed, taking in the scent of the candles still glowing in the background, filling the room with smells that reminded me of warm summers and crystal lakes. "You have no idea." I took a moment to appreciate his presence, trying to make him understand how important it was to me that he was here. Then I interrogated him. "So, what happened today?"

He didn't really feel like rehashing so he let his mind do all the talking.

Damon and Ben were walking up the steps of the town police department, the place where most of the meetings are held. Many people couldn't understand why two young boys were wandering the halls unescorted but they didn't care. They just kept on walking like they owned the place. It helped avoid unwanted disturbances from the people they passed by. They stopped at a door marked "Sheriff Roger McMillan" but only for a second. Without announcing themselves or performing a customary knock on the door, they walked right in and closed the door behind them.

"You should really lock that door while Council meetings are in session. Wouldn't want any unwanted visitors strolling in."

"Damon!" Ursula Gilmore called to him as she realized who had interrupted the mayor's sentence. "We didn't hear you were back in town. We thought you left to go visit your Uncle Louis in Michigan." Mrs. Gilmore was Damon's number one fan on the Council. If she wasn't married, she'd be making a move on him faster than you could say "lipstick and denture cream."

He kissed the back of her hand, something I wasn't too pleased about, and took a bow like a prince. "I haven't been here long so that is understandable. I'm actually here for the holidays to spend time with my brother."

"Oh, yes. Cal must really need to be around family during the holidays, after losing his girlfriend and all."

His muscles tightened at the reminder that I had once been someone else's. "Yes, Evie was a great loss to all of us. But it is always nice to be with your family on Christmas. I'm actually here to discuss a rather dire piece of business. Please, have a seat." He stepped forward and called everyone to attention. "A very powerful, very deadly vampire is on its way to Wolfcrest. I drew up a sketch for your team to familiarize itself with." Damon unfolded a picture from his pocket and slapped it onto the desk. "His name is Alphaeus and he's British. Whatever you do, do not confront him. He's not like other vampires we've seen. He can't be killed with sunlight or a stake to the heart. Do not raise any sort of alarm, act natural if you spot him and have someone call me as soon as you hear about it. Me and my men" and women "will kill him on sight before he can harm any civilians."

"Excuse me," Mayor Gimbly stated as he raised his hand. He hated being interrupted and he hated Damon even more, mostly because the limelight tended to find him wherever he goes which meant far away from Gimbly. He especially didn't like his authority being challenged. "What makes you and your men so special? How are you planning on killing it if it can't be killed?"

Damon gave him the shut up and listen to what I'm telling you glare and leaned closer to the man in charge. "We found a way to kill this guy and there's only one way to do it. So unless you want to take him on with your fists, Gimbly, I suggest you take my advice and call me up when this dude arrives. Okay?" He was straining himself to stay so calm and collected but his snarkiness seeped out in the end.

I could tell this was certainly the condensed version of his story but he hit all the basic highlights and that was good enough for me. "So it went well, huh?"

"I guess you could say that. Gimbly's not one for cooperating willingly, but Ursula was able to talk him into compliance well enough. All of the sheriff's officers now know what the guy looks like, although they all seem to think he's Britain's most wanted, but we should know the second Alphaeus turns up. We don't have long to wait now."

The day the Original finally decided to reveal himself would only be too soon.