Chapter 32
EPOV
The three of us – Pam, Betsy and I – only had to walk a couple of feet before we meet Rasul and the prisoner. As he removes her restraints, Pam and Betsy each grab a hold of her arms. Lucrezia keeps her gaze to the ground during the changing of her guard.
"What is wrong, Borgia? You have been granted a luxury most of our prisoners never receive. If you want to keep the gift that is your life, then we will not have to worry about you misbehaving, is that correct?" She only nods.
"You should probably dust off those acting skills because you will make certain that whoever meets us believe that you were unharmed and I am cooperative. Do you understand…or should my wife explain this to you again?" She meets my eyes now, pleading and fearful.
"NO, please. I understand. Just…don't call her." She is begging and I admit that I am enjoying it very much. I feel my lover's amusement as well.
"Mom must have done a number on her" Pam comments and I laugh heartily.
With a unified shove from both women, Lucrezia begins to lead us through the cemetery maze. We walk at a human speed so it takes us 10 minutes to get to our destination. I spend this time telepathically speaking to my child.
"You are the first successful thing I have done in my undead life. I love you so much and trust you to protect what is mine."
She looks at me. In this moment I see the beautiful human that intrigued me so many years ago. As her eyes begin to rim with red, I shake my head at her.
"I am not saying goodbye, my child. I just want you to know that you are my first child and will always be." She nods, bringing the uncaring mask I taught her back to the forefront.
"Ok. This is where we met de Mada." Betsy says as she turns to face me. "You are brave and I will never forget what you are doing for us all. Thank you." She moves to hug me, but sees the looks on both our faces and re-thinks that gesture.
"If it were for me, I hope you would do the same" I reply.
"After meeting your wife, I can 'guaran-damn-tee' I would." Pam smirks and I nod. I feel his arrival before the ladies do.
"I am happy to see that monarchs are punctual." His drawl drips with arrogance.
"Lucky for you, I did not have any plans this evening. You requested an audience with me and I am here as discussed. What is it that you want?" I grow tired of these games, although I play along.
"My associates and I would like to have a private meeting with you to discuss the future of this state's rule. I see that one of those associates is with you now." Now speaking to our prisoner, he continues. "Lucrezia, my dear, I hope that you were treated with the upmost respect during your absence." He stares intently at her, no doubt searching for any signs of distress or abuse at our hands.
"Surprisingly, I was. If only the rest of the states knew how to treat their future leaders in such a manner. We should discuss adapting their hospitality model to the entire regime at our earliest opportunity." She saunters over to him, draping her arm over his shoulders. He spins her dramatically and dips her. She giggles and pecks his lips. Returning her upright, she moves to his side.
"Our car and associates are anxiously awaiting your arrival. If you will?" He gestures towards the path to his right, apparently the direction in which he had arrived. I step in between the two women with me, turning to catch their eyes.
"Remember, I will only be gone for three days. In that time, prepare aid our comrades and our forces for the worse case scenario." I tell them with my mind. They both nod and I walk to greet my captor.
He is almost two feet shorter than me as I tower over him. The look in his eyes tells me that he underestimates my abilities as a fighter. In his mind, this is because of his uninformed knowledge of Scandinavians as a race and his refusal to heed the warnings of those around him. He is ignorant of history prior to his own time. This will no doubt be something that will assist in his downfall.
I follow the two to the awaiting limousine, already missing my mate.
SPOV
I sent Rasul back to the palace with the second SUV since we no longer needed it. I wasn't worried about anything at this moment. As I monitor what is going on through Eric, I search the area for anyone else. I find four minds, following them as they move deeper into the cemetery. I pull my phone out of my purse and hit number 5.
"Yes, my Majesty." Thalia says as she answers on the first ring. She and two of the best scouts she has have also been following and watching everything with the help of a cloaking spell that Rachel provided to our vampire security force.
"Do you still have eyes on Eric?"
"Yes. He, the prisoner and the unknown vampire just got into a black limousine. My scouts have already attached the tracking device to the vehicle. The four that have been trailing them are now following Pam and Mrs. Sinclair back to you. I believe they are going to attack the vehicle."
"Grab one of them and secure him back at the palace. Allow the others to attack. We will handle them." I hang up. Lowering the divider between the front and back seats, I give Karedon orders.
"Pam and Betsy are on their way back. There are three hostiles following them. Cloak and be ready if we need assistance." I see the smile that spread across his face at the thought of killing in the rear view mirror. He opens the driver-side door and disappears. I remain and wait. I sense the five of them approaching, but instead of exiting the vehicle, I warn my girls.
"Three incoming. Get ready to give them hell. Save one for me." I relax and prepare.
Not five minutes later, I hear the sounds of combat. I know that they both can handle all three of the bastards, but I'm angry and want to relieve some of my tension.
One of the three minds blinks out. Two left. The spray of blood that hits my window indicates that another one has fallen. That just leaves my victim. I pop outside the SUV and stand before him. Pam and Betsy have secured his arms. This vampire is hissing and spitting at them, trying desperately to get free. His eyes grow wide as he registers my appearance.
"What is your name?" I ask.
"Fuck you, bitch. You will all die for this. I will have retribution for my fallen brothers." He tries to spit on me, but I side-step his mucous.
"I will give you one more chance to answer my questions before I end your life. So, what is your name?" Pam squeezes his throat to indicate that we are not playing. The strain on his spine can be heard by all of us.
"Graham" he sputters.
"Good. Now Graham, what were your orders?"
"Once the King was secured, we were ordered to kill whoever came with him." He answers.
"Come now, Graham. Their instructions were a little more explicit, were they not?" He tries to think of a way to avoid answering me, but in doing so he answers my questions anyway.
"Forget it. I already know." Speaking now to my ladies, I continue. "Their orders were to do whatever they wanted, but to make it nasty. They wanted our heads." Pam growls into Graham's face. There is a change in Betsy, but I am unsure of what it is. I have never seen anything like the force I feel emanated within her.
"I have what I need. Pam, let's give this one to Betsy." They both look at me with curiosity. I put my hand on Betsy shoulders, "Feed your inner power. I can tell it has been a long time since you have, but you have nothing to fear. We will not judge you." She looks at Pam who nods in agreement. Betsy and I change positions so now she is standing in front of him.
"No…I will tell you what you need to know. Please, don't kill me!" he begs.
"Too late" Betsy says as she raises her power. Her entire body begins to glow with a black aura. She grabs his head and pulls him out of our grasp and off his feet. We watch as her black aura flows into his eyes and pulls his life force into her. When she releases him, all that is left is the gray, hallow shell of the vampire. The impact of his corpse hitting the ground causes it to disintegrate instantly.
"Wow. That was beautiful" Pam muses.
Betsy slowly returns to her normal self and dusts 'Graham flakes' off her shoulder. "What you call beautiful, I call creepy. I'm a freak of nature."
"You are far from creepy and not a freak. You are a powerful force and your abilities are gifts. Has it not saved you and your loved ones?" I ask her.
"Yes" she says quietly.
"Ok. Let's get back to the palace. I'm hungry and we need to prepare." We pile back into the car. Once we are seated, the door opens again and Karedon reappears.
"It is always a joy to watch you in action, Pam." He says as he looks at us through the mirror.
"Oh, Karedon. I didn't see you there." We laugh and he starts the engine.
The next morning…
Once I retire to our bedroom, I spend the rest of the night in bed, staring at the ceiling. The bond has dulled some and I know it is just Eric being considerate of my worry for him to help me sleep. How can I sleep without him? It is unnatural for me to do so.
At some point, I do finally drift off. As soon as the sun sets, I am startled awake by my husband's voice.
"You know that you should be sleeping. Our sons need you rested and calm." I can't see him, but his voice sounds too loud to be in my mind.
"Where are you? I can't see you. Are you ok? Have they hurt you?" I am sitting up in the bed, wringing my hands like I used to when I was 'just a waitress'.
"I am pretty sure that I am in New Mexico." New Mexico? What the fuck? "Our sons are amplifying our connection." Eric says this as I'm hit with a huge wave of love and reassurance. I sigh and let it take over me as I rub my stomach.
"I miss you so much. Are you safe?" I ask again.
"Yes, lover. I am in a decent room, although the door is coated in 10" thick silver. Obviously, they do not want me to leave voluntarily." Since we are apart, I can't hold him like I want and it makes me angry. I know he feels this and somehow, I feel as if he is holding me, rubbing my body. I moan and feel a burst of lust.
"This is harder for me than I expected it to be. I want you so badly and to know where you are sets me on edge. I don't want to leave our room." I send him my own lust and need for him as my hand moves down to rub my breast. Whoa, they seem bigger. I'll deal with that later.
"Since I am not there, we should find some 'common ground' to interact." I know exactly what he is implying and I wish I'd thought of it sooner. Sometimes, we would have sex on this plane and in the astral plane. We would take turns creating different places.
"I'll race you there" I tell him. I pull my consciousness back into the recesses of my mind to concentrate on the plane that will reunite us, if only for a little bit of time.
Author's Notes:
Day One with the enemy is over. This one is relatively short, but the wait will be worth it. FYI – Anything in italics, besides the Swedish or other foreign language, is someone speaking telepathically.
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