A/N: I just have one question for all of you - Do you trust me? Until 87 - umm. Enjoy? xox-G
Chapter Eighty-six
The lights were dim, and candles flickered a welcome. All was ready and waiting for the guest of honor.
Caleb couldn't be prouder of his son. Finally, the moment he had waited for had arrived.
Colin had descended the stairs moments after Rafe carried a defeated Katrina out the door. His face was ashen, his expression void of emotion. It didn't matter what happened to him anymore. In his mind he was already dead.
Caleb greeted their guests warmly. It was a small intimate gathering. Only those closest to the Morley family were extended an invitation.
Despite the elation she had felt earlier, Livvie wasn't quite as happy as her husband. Colin looked as if he had lost everything he ever cared about.
And Livvie knew it was true, even if Caleb was insistent on denying it.
She couldn't bear to see her son suffering like this. She loved Caleb, she'd live this life with him always, but it wasn't what Colin wanted. Colin wanted Katrina. If she hadn't know it before she certainly knew it looking at him now. He was doing this to spare her – not because he thought it was his destiny. If she let him go through with it he would become something even his own mother wouldn't recognize.
In the last few hours Livvie had realized that she still had another card to play. She wondered what would happen if she actually went through with it. Perhaps she could reason with Caleb and make him see it was all for the best.
She glanced at her son again. His eyes were vacant, he was standing a few feet away but she knew that he wasn't even there. Livvie knew if she wanted to spare him she needed to work fast. If she didn't he might be gone for good.
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"I want her home." Alison said, as she cradled the phone on her shoulder. Tears were falling down her cheeks and she was trying without success to wipe them away.
"I know. I just can't make her go when she's like this." The crack in Rafe's heart grew wider just remembering. "God. I wish you were here." Rafe sighed as he looked over at the door to Kate's room, still hearing her sobbing inside. "I don't know what to do for her. Alison, I swear to you. You are so much better at this. I have no idea what I'm doing."
Alison took a breath and tried to get herself under control. Rafe had his hands full with Katie, he didn't need her weeping on his shoulder too. "You're doing just fine." She insisted. "It's such a good thing that Lynnie went with you. Is she with her now?"
Rafe shivered with dread as he said the words. "Yes – but I'm just waiting for her to start crying too." Rafe voice sounded defeated. "I can't believe it. You were right. I'm telling you if my father wasn't already dead I'd kill him for this."
"I told you..." Alison said, smiling at the thought.
Rafe wasn't as amused. "Every time I leave those two alone I when I come back Lynnie has stars in her eyes and Ethan has this goofy look on his face. When we finally are able to leave I know I'll have two hysterical heartbroken girls to deal with." Rafe sighed with frustration, feeling completely overwhelmed. "This is not my strong point Alison – I gotta tell you."
"This coming from the man who insists he's having another daughter." Alison said, laughing a bit in spite of it all. As she did she rubbed her stomach gently. She missed them all so much despite what she was trying to do, she stared to cry again. "Come home as soon as you can."
"I honestly don't think I can get her to focus enough to get her home." Rafe admitted. If it was up to him he'd blink and get them home instantly. But with Kate so upset it wasn't quite that easy.
Alison couldn't wait much longer. Kate needed to be home, especially now that things had turned out the way they did. "I'm sending the jet." She said, thinking quickly. "You can leave first thing in the morning."
"All those toys your grandmother left you and Abby come in handy don't they?" Rafe said with a smile.
"Yeah, they do. And if you whip up a crazy tailwind you all will be home in no time." She smiled herself through her tears, remembering. "You know how you love to do that."
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"Shh. Katie. It'll be alright." Lynnie whispered as she sat on the bed, cradling Kate's head in her lap. She tucked her hair behind her ear and tried to soothe her. "I'm sorry it didn't turn out like you hoped."
"He didn't believe me." Kate said with a sigh, trying without success to collect herself. "He didn't trust that if we were together we could win. I don't understand. Why?"
"I don't understand a lot of things lately, Katie." Lynnie said softly.
"I guess I just thought it was possible. I mean, look at our parents - Lynn. It was never easy for them but they got through it. I just thought that somehow we'd be that lucky too." Katie said as she continued to cry. "My mother told me to believe in miracles, but I guess our family has already had more than their share."
Lynnie agreed. She knew her luck wasn't that good. She wasn't going to be greedy. The fact that she had any time at all with Ethan was more than she ever dreamed of. Still, she had more hope for her cousin. If it could happen for anyone it could happen for Kate. Maybe it still could.
She was about to say just that when a vision flashed and Lynnie went still.
"Oh God." She whispered, her face filled with horror. "NO."
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There wasn't enough time. The clock struck twelve. Caleb whispered in his wife's ear that the time had come. Livvie barely heard him as she watched her chance slip away. She didn't have enough time to talk to Colin – let alone give him another choice. Another thought filled her mind and she was completely torn. How could she stop her son from giving up his dreams when letting this happen would make Caleb's come true?
Colin stood stiffly in the center of the room – across from a girl he'd never met. His life was about to be taken by a striking young girl dressed in all black, her milky white skin glowing in the moonlight, her hair dark as night. If he'd been aware of his surroundings at all he'd know her name was Anastasia, the daughter of one of his father's most trusted allies, a woman he had known for centuries named Annette.
To her it was an honor, but for Colin it was a chore. He stood in front of them all in kind of a trance. There was only one way he could get through this. His body was there, standing within a circle of candles but in his mind he was boarding a bus in upstate New York. He was gazing at a beautiful girl with eyes the color of moss, with hair that glinted like spun gold. If he concentrated hard enough he could almost hear her laugh.
He saw himself on stage and saw Katrina standing in the audience, her face still flushed from when he first kissed her. Colin practically felt her hand in his as she looked him in the eyes and told him whoever his father was didn't matter. He could hear her voice as if she was standing beside him.
"Let me tell you something, rock star. No one does that to me and gets away with it."
"I just know that for right now - I want to be near you. And I don't even remember exactly how that happened."
"Trust me. I've never been more sure of anything in my life. I love you - Colin."
"You have to believe me. Last night was everything I ever dreamed of."
Remembering his life with her, he almost pulled himself out of it. Almost. He was seconds from running to the door and out into the night to find her and beg her to give him another chance. But the next thing he could hear was her last words to him in his mind.
"If you dare come anywhere close I'll stake you so fast it won't even register. You'll be dead before you even hit the ground."
It doesn't matter. I'm dead anyway. Colin thought as Anastasia moved closer to him. Caleb looked on with pride as he wrapped his arm around Livvie's waist keeping her close to his side. Livvie winced and looked away as Anastasia moved closer, winding her arm around Colin's neck and pressing her mouth to his throat. Livvie felt like a failure, it killed her that she wasn't strong enough to save her only son. The candles burned low, and the onlookers gasped as they saw the young girl bear her fangs.
"I'm sorry, Katrina. I'll always love you." Colin whispered, thinking only of her as he braced himself for the inevitable.
And as quickly as it began, it was done.