I found myself in another dream. I was pacing in the foyer of the house I saw in most of these dreams. I was scared about something. I glanced over to see Caleb sitting at the desk, his head resting on two fingers on his temple. He was staring at the floor, focusing.
I continued to pace. “I must stay hidden.”
Caleb looked up at me. “Ruby, no.”
I glared at him. “And what else do you propose we do?” I realized I had come across as snappy, so I covered my mouth. “Apologies, I didn’t mean to be rude.”
He waved his hand. “I understand.” He shrugged. “Truthfully, I have no other ideas. But I cannot just go places without you. People will begin to wonder.”
“Let them,” I sighed as I stopped pacing. I stared at the floor. “It’s certainly better than them knowing.”
Caleb chuckled softly and shook his head. “And then, what do you suppose we would do once the baby arrives? Hide both of you?”
My eyes widened and I looked at him. “I…” I paused. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“My love,” he smiled. “Try not to worry.”
I felt tears in my eyes. “I have no choice but to worry,” I choked out.
He stood up and hugged me. “We could just marry right away.”
I gazed at him as we pulled away. “But your mother.”
“I know,” he laughed. “She plans this crazy extravaganza. Do we really need that?”
“I wouldn’t want to shatter her plans.” I shook my head. “Especially without explanation.”
He looked down, in thought. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”
We stayed silent for awhile. I started to pace again.
“Ruby,” he stopped me. “Please, calm down. We will figure this out. I hate to see you like this.”
I sighed, feeling more tears. “I just don’t know what to do.”
He nodded. “I know. I don’t either. But we will figure this out, even if it means breaking social norms.”
“And risk scrutiny?” My eyes darted to him, in fear.
He smirked. “We could run away.”
I couldn’t help but giggle a little. “Caleb, that wouldn’t solve a thing.”
He caressed my cheek. “But it made you smile.” He hugged me again. “It’ll all be alright. We will find a way to get through this.”
I nodded. “I hope so.”
He gripped my shoulders and started to say something, but was cut off as I woke up.
“What?” I shouted, sitting up. “No, no, no!” I quickly laid back down and closed my eyes again, trying desperately to go back to sleep.
“What is it?” Caleb asked.
“Shhhhhh!” I shushed him.
He was silent. I was silent.
“You know, I could help you fall asleep,” he said quietly, rubbing my back.
“Not now!” I exclaimed. I was frustrated. Clearly men really did have one track minds!
He laughed. “That’s not what I meant!” As I looked up at him, he held up his hands. “You know….vampire?”
“Wait, you can make me sleep because you’re a vampire?” I tilted my head. I had no idea he could do these things.
He nodded. “I don’t use these powers as they’re generally meant to be used in malice, but if you need sleep, I’ll help.”
I also nodded, frantically. “Yes, please.”
He smiled. “Rest your head.”
I laid my head back down and closed my eyes. I heard him speak a spell quietly. As I fell into a deep sleep, I tried to think of the dream I was having. I had to know how that played out.
I didn’t get my wish. I awoke a little later without any idea what happened after the last dream.
Frustrated, I sat up. “Ugh.”
Caleb smiled. “Did you find answers?”
I shook my head. “No. Maybe another time.”
“What was the dream about?” He asked.
My eyes widened in shock. “I-I don’t remember,” I lied.
Caleb narrowed his eyes at me, trying to read me, but it failed. “Alright.”
I smiled warmly, trying to hide the fact that I felt bad for lying to him. I looked away.
He shifted his weight so he was closer to me and brought his hand around my opposite cheek, tilting my head toward his. “What’s got you down?”
I grinned flirtatiously at him. “Nothing. Everything is good.” I moved closer to him.
His eyes narrowed as I inched closer to his lips. “You seem like something is—”
I cut him off with a kiss. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him down onto the bed with me. He laughed a little, confused, but not complaining.
I giggled softly and gazed up at him. “I love you.”
He smiled happily. “I love you too.”
We kissed again.
We got up after awhile, heading to HQ with Morgyn. I tried to shake the dream, but I couldn’t. Why hadn’t Caleb told me he had a child? I decided I wouldn’t bring it up, but I was very curious.
“Hello Jade,” I heard. Marco had approached me as I was deep in thought. “I see you are feeling better from your near death encounter with your lover boy.”
I scowled. “As are you.”
He grinned. “Yes. Lilith packs a punch, eh?”
“Not hard enough,” I mumbled.
“What?” He demanded.
“What?” I repeated back to him.
He growled. “You still owe me something, no?”
I sighed. “Yes. I do.” I stood up. “Just get it over with.”
Marco nodded, ginning menacingly. “Well, I didn’t realize it would be that easy to get it out of you.” He held up his hand, and I felt a pull. As he drained my power, I felt like the life was being drained from my body.
“Hey!” Morgyn shouted, running over to us. He blasted a fireball made of magic at Marco.
Marco blocked it. “Morgyn, don’t interfere. She agreed to this.”
Morgyn narrowed his eyes. “And you expect me to just stand by and watch?”
Marco blasted magic at Morgyn, pinning him against the wall. “Yes, I do.”
Everything went fuzzy as I felt faint. Marco caught me as I started to fall to the ground. He let me down gently. He removed the magic from Morgyn and allowed him to come to me.
“There, there,” he said. “She will be alright. Just give her a little time.”
Morgyn knelt down beside me, but glared angrily at Marco. “You are a monster.”
“You formed that opinion long ago, Morgyn,” Marco laughed at him. Then he teleported away.
Morgyn sighed. “Are you alright?”
I nodded. “Yeah, just feeling a bit weak and drained.” I paused and pursed my lips. “No pun intended.”
Morgyn smiled a little. “I got it. But we’ll get your power back.”
I shook my head. “It could be dangerous.”
Morgyn looked around. “This whole place is dangerous.”
Caleb came over to us. “I heard what happened.”
Before he could ask, I spoke up. “I’m alright.”
“Good,” he nodded. He looked at Morgyn. “What are you going to do?”
Morgyn closed his eyes. “I’m not sure. It’ll be hard to fight Marco now with her power as well as his own.”
Caleb sighed. “I can try to help, but I’m not sure how susceptible he will be to my abilities.”
Morgyn nodded sadly. “Right.”
I tried to stand. “We need to make a plan.”
Morgyn and Caleb helped me up, leading me to a bench. We all sat down.
“I’m getting really tired of being a few steps behind Marco,” Morgyn scowled angrily. “There has to be something we can do to stop him.”
“If you find something, please let me know,” Marco said, walking up to us.
The color drained from Morgyn’s face as fear overtook his whole body.
Caleb stood up. “Marco, please. Leave us. You’ve caused enough chaos for one day, hmm?”
Marco laughed. “Chaos? How chaotic has today been?” He leaned in close to Caleb. “Trust me, vampire, it could be far, far worse.”
“Is that so?” We heard.
Lilith came up behind Marco, eyeing him with glowing purple eyes. She was on the prowl, seeing how Marco was treating her brother.
“Ah, Lilith. ‘Demon of the night’, right?” Marco turned around and smiled at her. “Coming to protect her brother?” He stepped toward her. “But you know what I’m capable of, and that was even before I took Jade’s power. Why would you want to test it?”
“I’ll do anything to keep my little brother safe.” Lilith narrowed her eyes.
Caleb took a step back, a look of terror coming across his face. It quickly shifted to anger. “I will not let you do that.”
Marco smiled. “Ah, causing a rift already, are we? Well, I’ll let you two sort it out. I hope you don’t mind if I stick around to watch.”
“You sick bastard,” I scowled at him. “This is entertainment to you?”
“Of course!” He smiled. “It’s not to you?”
“You are purposely causing a rift between them. How would you feel if someone did that to your family?” I demanded.
He flashed toward me and got in my face. “Well, it’s lucky for me that I don’t have any family, now isn’t it?”
I smirked. “Aww, look at that temper. Did I hit a nerve?”
He started to reach as if he was going to grab me, but Caleb rushed toward him, knocking him down. “Stay away from her!” He roared.
“Caleb!” I shouted. I ran over and grabbed him, pulling him away from Marco. His eyes were glowing red, and he was clearly filled with rage.
“I am tired of him taunting us!” He barked, still eyeing Marco like a hawk.
Morgyn stood in front of him. “Caleb, you need to calm down. Getting angry like that could get you killed.”
Caleb shrugged out of my grip and walked away. Lilith and Morgyn followed, assuming I was behind them. But I stayed, for some stupid reason.
Marco stood up and laughed. “Well that was fun.” He grinned. “I should hang out with you guys more often!”
I narrowed my eyes, but didn’t say a word. Truth be told, I wished Lilith had actually killed him. I never wished death on anyone, but I guess there’s a first time for everything. I wanted him gone from our lives. I wanted to take back the magic realm. I realized there was nothing more I could do about this, and sticking around would only make me upset and say something I shouldn’t. I started to walk away, but Marco grabbed my arm.
“You had better keep your friends in check,” he growled. “Or you won’t have them any more. Remember who has the power here.”
“Yeah, because you cheated to get it,” I retorted.
“The deal we made was fair,” he reminded me. “You didn’t have to agree to it.”
I looked away. He was right. I gave him my power willingly to save Caleb and Lilith.
“And my threat stands for you as well, dear Jade,” he smiled. “So I’d suggest you and your little crew stay in line.”
I glared at him, but didn’t say anything. He held my stare and finally walked away. I breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to Caleb, Lilith and Morgyn.
Caleb was still visibly angry. His eyes glowed red with a fury I had never seen. Marco was pushing him to a breaking point.
I sighed. “Marco wants us all in line, or he will kill us.” I knew I just blurted it out and said it plainly, as if this was completely normal. Though, I suppose at this point, it was, wasn’t it?
Caleb’s eyes turned red again, but Morgyn placed his hands on Caleb’s shoulders.
“You need to calm down,” he reminded Caleb. “Violence isn’t going to solve anything, and we aren’t prepared yet.”
“Prepare all you want,” Caleb growled, “but I am about to snap his damn neck!”
I stepped back, shocked. Caleb had never spoken like that before. He was always so level headed. I suppose he really had just reached a breaking point with Marco, but still. It was odd to me to see him like this.
Morgyn looked at me, then back at Caleb. “Caleb, just calm down,” he said. “You have us all worried.” He gestured toward me.
When Caleb looked at me, seeing my terrified expression, his eyes instantly shifted back to normal. “I’m sorry, Jade,” he looked away.
I didn’t say anything. I thought maybe he had plans to continue his statement, but he didn’t. My expression softened, but I still remained quiet.
“Let’s take a walk,” Lilith said to Caleb. Caleb nodded, and they walked away.
I turned to Morgyn, completely ignoring what had just transpired. “I know how we can potentially defeat Marco.”
“Oh?” Morgyn asked, interested.
“Spellcaster overload,” I explained, “He has so much power right now that it wouldn’t take much to overcharge him.” I smirked. “And his ego is so big, he would think he could never die from it.”
Morgyn gestured toward his device, frantically.
“Mine is always on,” I reassured him. I continued, “If we gather several spellcasters, then we all challenge him to friendly duels for whatever reason, it wouldn’t take long.”
“That could potentially kill him,” Morgyn reminded me.
I nodded. “I know, but I think any plans to forcibly remove him could lead to his death, or our deaths.”
Morgyn nodded, in thought. “I suppose, yeah. I didn’t really want to fight like that, but we may not have any other options. If we don’t fight, we will never be freed.”
“Right,” I smiled, determined. “And he has already tried to kill two of us, and nearly succeeded with Caleb.”
“Perhaps that is the source of Caleb’s rage,” Morgyn observed.
I looked away. “I don’t really want to think about that, but you’re right. I would be pissed too if I almost died from starvation, yet was forced to live with my attempted murderer.”
“I think he’s also angered by the fact that he almost killed you as well,” Morgyn explained.
I nodded. “Honestly, I’m glad he bit me. I am glad I was there to save him. Even if the result was a bit touch and go.”
Morgyn looked at me with a mixture of sadness and understanding. “Right…”
I smiled. “But that’s over now. Now we just move forward.”
Morgyn sighed, but nodded in agreement. “We can’t hold it against him.”
“I don’t,” I reassured him. “I was just really taken aback by what he said.” I glanced around to see if Lilith and Caleb were coming back. “I need to talk to him.”
“Please don’t bring up Marco,” Morgyn pleaded. “It will only anger him again.”
I nodded. “I know. My plan is to simply remind him that I am here for him, and I want to apologize for giving him such a fearful look.”
“I’m sure he understands,” Morgyn said.
I saw Lilith and Caleb come around the side of HQ again. “Right. Well, I’ll be back. I’m going to talk to him now that he’s coming back.”
Morgyn nodded as I hurriedly walked away.
I approached Caleb and hugged him. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” He asked, a surprised smile on his face.
“For being afraid,” I explained.
“I’m sorry for making you afraid,” he replied, caressing my cheek. “I’ve never wanted to be the one to do that.”
“Caleb,” I smiled. “I get it. I understand your anger. I was just taken aback.”
He nodded slowly, like he didn’t know how to react. I didn’t either, really.
“I have a plan,” I said quietly, unsure of whether I should say it or not. “But I will explain it later, at home.”
Caleb tilted his head. “Alright.”
I sighed and hugged him again. “We should get back in there before Marco has another reason to be angry.”
Caleb hugged me back tightly, not letting go. “This just needs to end,” he whispered.
I nodded. “It will.” As we pulled away, I looked into his eyes. “I promise.” I noticed he had tears in his eyes. One fell, and I wiped it off of his cheek. “My softy vampire.”
He laughed quietly. “It’s certainly better than whatever is going on with Marco.”
I also laughed. “Yes, of course. I never said it was a bad thing.” I rested my head on his chest. “I actually really like your soft side.”
“I feel like this is a subtle way of telling me to calm down,” he smirked.
I giggled. “Maybe. You did scare me.”
“I’m sorry,” he sighed. “I didn’t mean to.”
I smiled up at him. “I know. Tensions are running high. You died.”
He looked away quickly, and I felt his body tense.
“Caleb,” I tilted his head up to mine. “You’re alive now. You’re alright.”
“I had to bite you,” he replied angrily. “I nearly killed you to save myself. Sure, I’m alive, but at what cost?”
I couldn’t help but smile. From what I had been told about Morgyn’s death, he was acting like me. “I don’t hold it against you. It’s in the past, and I understand. We all do. And honestly, I’m happy I saved you, regardless of how I did.”
He sighed. “And I do thank you so much for that.”
I smiled warmly at him. “I know you do.” I hugged him again. “You being here with me is thanks enough.”
Once again, he hugged back tightly. “I love you.” I could tell he was clenching his teeth, fighting back his emotions.
“I love you too,” I whispered.
He seemed to be in better spirits for the rest of the day. I kept a watchful eye on him, making sure that Marco didn’t pick fights with him. I was ready to get between them if I needed to. I knew Marco was very displeased with Caleb. He felt betrayed. Now he wanted to do everything he could to destroy him. But he wanted to do it slowly to torture all of us who were close to him.
As the day turned to evening, and we were getting ready to leave, I went upstairs to clean up some books near Marco’s throne room.
Caleb snuck around the corner and slipped his arms around my waist, kissing my neck.
I giggled. “What are you doing?”
“Kissing you,” he replied, his voice muffled in my neck. I shivered as his voice vibrated against my skin. He kissed my neck again, gently trailing his fingertips up my sides.
I shivered again. “Seriously, what are you doing?” I was giggling as I spoke.
He moved up to my ear and whispered, “teasing you.”
And another shiver. “And this can’t wait until we’re back home?”
“Nope,” he whispered again. He seemed to be lifting his head periodically, as if he was looking for something. I tried to follow where I thought he was looking. He was looking directly at Marco. To my horror, Marco was looking directly at us. Caleb was taunting him.
I whirled around and glared angrily at Caleb. “Seriously?”
He grinned a little. “I just want to see something.” He looked up at Marco again and pulled me into a kiss. Even though I knew his motives and wasn’t happy with it, I couldn’t resist him. I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck, pulling him closer, into a deeper kiss.
In record time, Marco was beside us. We broke the kiss and looked at him, casually. This was part of Caleb’s plan, though I didn’t like it.
Marco was surprisingly calm. “Why are you taunting me?” He asked Caleb, practically acting like I didn’t exist.
“A better question is, ‘what’s wrong with this?’” Caleb stood tall.
I hung my head. What the hell was he doing? Before Marco could respond, I smiled and held my hand up. “Excuse us for a moment.” I pushed Caleb away and stared into his eyes, shaking my head.
“Don’t do this,” I whispered. “Antagonizing him is not the way we will get through this.” I pulled out my wand, put my hand on his shoulder and teleported us back home.
He sighed. “I hate that guy.”
“Yeah, but things like that will prove quickly that you aren’t actually immortal to him.” I sat down on the bed. “He’s just not worth the effort.”
Caleb sat beside me. “You’re right. Maybe I should stay away from HQ. If Marco and I don’t see each other, it’s for the best.”
I nodded and rested my head on his shoulder. “This sucks, but I promise, we will make it through.”
He brought his hand up and rested it on my cheek. I lifted my head to look at him, and gave him a warm smile. He smiled back and kissed me softly.
I giggled and pulled him down onto the bed. “And since you decided to get me going back there, perhaps you’re looking to finish what you started?”
He grinned and moved down to kiss my neck. “I have no complaints about that.”
***************************
I rested my head on his chest and felt my eyelids growing very heavy. Closing my eyes, I drifted off to sleep quickly.
I darted between the trees, using my supernatural speed to get ahead of whoever was chasing me. The snow didn’t really help. It slowed me down quickly. Caleb was beside me, but he was getting held up by the snow as well. All of the brush blended in with the snow covered ground as we rushed through it, jumping and ducking with almost every step. Supernatural speed meant nothing if the world around you got in your way without hesitation.
We stopped, listening for potential dangers. Caleb placed his hand on my belly protectively and instinctively. I looked down. I had a large baby bump.
Maybe this will give me some insight on that baby they were expecting.
I felt a nagging pain in my belly, and I sighed. “I need to take a break,” I explained to Caleb, trying to hide the fear in my eyes. “The tension is putting my stomach in knots.”
Caleb looked around cautiously. “Right.” He led me to a snow covered log. He took off his jacket and placed it down on the log so I could sit.
As I did, I smiled. “Thank you.”
He nodded with a quick smile, but stood beside a tree, watching and listening. He was on high alert. But why?
We waited a long while for the pain to subside. As time went on, I realized we would be waiting much longer than we expected to. The pain was getting worse. Horrified, I recalled everything everyone had told me about labor and what it felt like. I tried to ignore the pain. I couldn’t let Caleb know what was happening. Not here. Not now.
I winced and clenched my hands against my belly as a particularly bad pain hit me. Caleb glanced over.
“Are you alright?” He asked.
I nodded, but didn’t speak. The pain was too intense. As it subsided, I looked up at him. “I’m alright.”
His wide eyes told me he didn’t believe me. As if he recalled what I had. He knew what was happening. We both did.
I felt tears in my eyes. “Not now,” I whispered to the baby. “Any time but now.”
Caleb knelt down in front of me and placed his hands on my belly as well, looking up at me with a fear in his eyes I had never seen before. “Just breathe,” he said in a near whisper. “I’m going to head down and distract them if they come this way.”
My eyes darted to him. “No! You can’t just leave. I need you.”
Torn, he looked at me, then glanced all around the forest. He sighed and sat beside me, holding me close. “I don’t really know what to do.”
“I don’t either,” I admitted, wincing as another contraction hit. “But…I suppose my…body knows what to do?”
He smiled a little, then his face turned serious. “We need to get you to a midwife.”
The contraction grew stronger. “How?” I barked.
He quickly shushed me. “No, no, no, they are still around here somewhere. Ruby, I know you are in pain, but please stay quiet. I won’t move you, alright? I won’t disturb you.” He held his hands out in front of him in a panic the whole time he spoke.
The contraction faded. I took his hand. “I’m sorry, my love. These pains are absolutely blinding.”
He nodded and kissed my forehead. “I don’t understand, but I understand why it would make you ups-“
The sound of a stick snapping nearby stopped him. He held his finger up to his lips and stood up, glancing around nervously again. He stopped, his eyes trained on something in the distance behind me. He narrowed his eyes angrily, like a wolf on the prowl, ready to attack.
“Just a moment,” he said to me, and he walked away before I could protest. I turned to watch him as he cautiously walked toward what he had his eyes trained on. I realized even he didn’t know what he was chasing. My heart raced, partially due to the ungodly pain, and partially due to the danger we were in. But what danger? I could feel it in Ruby. She was terrified. But I didn’t know why. Whatever it was, they feared for their lives. I had never seen that expression on Caleb’s face ever.
Another contraction, and I knew I had to do something. My body was telling me it was time, but there was literally nowhere to go to be safe. I grabbed Caleb’s jacket and propped it up between two very low hanging branches, sitting down between it and a nearby bush. It was the best attempt at a privacy screen I had. I laid my legs out in front of me in preparation for the inevitable. I only hoped Caleb would be safe. I couldn’t see him anymore. As another contraction hit, that didn’t matter anymore. The world around me became a blur. I closed my eyes to block it out.
It didn’t take long once I had made myself somewhat comfortable. Or at least it felt like it didn’t. I heard her cries and quickly bundled her up in my coat, holding her close to me. But it was dusk. And Caleb hadn’t returned.
My daughter fussed a little. I smiled at her lovingly. “Ambrosia,” I whispered, stroking her cheek. It was a name Caleb and I had decided on if we had a daughter.
“That’s a pretty name,” a man said, stepping out from behind Caleb’s jacket. He grinned menacingly at me. “It’s a shame she won’t know who gave it to her.” His grin turned to a menacing stare as he pulled out a stake. “Vampire…”
I was terrified, but I didn’t want Ambrosia to feel my fear. “Where is Caleb?” I demanded.
“Oh, that other vampire?” The man inched closer. “He’s dead.”
I felt like I couldn’t breathe. “God, no,” I whispered. I held Ambrosia closer. “Please spare us,” I pleaded. “For her.” I looked at Ambrosia, tears in my eyes. I couldn’t run with a newborn, and I was weakened anyway.
“I’ll spare her,” the man said, raising his arm. “She’s innocent. But you, Ruby Hayes, won’t be spared. My job as a vampire hunter is to kill your kind.”
He swung his arm down, and everything went black.
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