She slowly rested her open hand on her lower abdomen and closed her eyes. A white glow radiated from underneath her fingertips as her lips moved repetitively in a silent chant.
I watched her closely. One minute quickly turned into three, which soon became five, and I knelt down beside her. Anticipating this pause to be a lengthy one, I hesitated and simply watched her. When her lips stopped moving and the glow beneath her hand faded, she opened her eyes and stared at me in utter disbelief.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I’m pregnant,” shaking her head while her eyes remained wide open with a shocked expression.
“That is truly an unwelcome surprise, and I pity you,” I answered on a sigh.
She didn’t respond but just nodded, her eyes still wide and shocked.
“Of course, congratulations are usually due at such a moment.”
“No, they aren’t.”
“I sincerely hope life as you know it will go on for you as long as possible, although it most certainly will not. You now must face the afflictions of morning sickness, lethargy, and water retention. And after the sprog is sprung, I am afraid the outlook does not improve. Your lethargy will become pure exhaustion, and you will find you have nothing to look forward to but the tedium of living your life for someone else; that is, for the sprog.”
She said nothing as her eyes scanned the forest. Perhaps she considered my remarks, because her mood, which was previously somewhat carefree, suddenly appeared visibly burdened.
“Regardless of your unenviable fate,” I continued, “I am astonished that you are surprised.” She looked up at me and her eyes reflected her curiosity. “You were a Breeder, were you not?” I asked, and she nodded. “Then should it not logically follow that your sole intent was the bearing of a child?”
She shook her head. “No, I’d been a Breeder for months and never conceived a child. I figured I must be barren or stricken from motherhood by the hand of God. How is it that I could carry a child now? After all this time?”
“I am afraid I have no answers for you, pet,” I said with a sigh. I reached down and lifted her hand, helping her back to her feet. The longer we dawdled, the more chances we had of being discovered.
“I just … I thought I couldn’t ever get pregnant,” she added as we started forward again.
Something occurred to me and I turned to face her with interest. “Was it the seed of a Daywalker that impregnated you?”
She nodded. “I think so.” Then she took a deep breath. “After Bryn escaped, Luce started sending all the Daywalkers to me. He …” her eyes grew wider. “Sinjin! I must go back.”
“Absolutely not!” I curtly replied, resting my arm against her lower back as I ushered her forward. “If you return, they will surely kill you.”
“But,” she started, and I staunchly shook my head, forbidding her.
“There are no buts, little twit,” I chided, and a smile spread across her mouth. “I am taking you to Kinloch Kirk, where you will be reunited with Betta and Lady Bryn. We will all see to it that you and your child receive all the care you need to thrive and flourish.”
“Luce will know, Sinjin!” she protested. “And once he discovers I’m pregnant, he’ll, no doubt, come for me. And if he finds you and your people, he’ll kill everyone.”
The concern on her face gave me great satisfaction. She sincerely had affection for my people! She would have preferred to sacrifice herself by returning to Luce than to risk endangering our kingdom. She was a good woman, and she was now one of our own, which meant she was also under my protection.
“Then you must never allow Luce to discover it. Are you blocking him from your mind?”
“As best I can,” she closed her eyes, I imagined to reinforce whatever spell was currently keeping Luce at bay. Betta had informed me that Rachel was much more powerful than she had been given credit for. I could only hope Betta was correct.
“Very good,” I said with an abrupt nod. “Then as far as he knows, the only crime you are guilty of is that you simply betrayed him. Is there any chance he may seek your whereabouts under that premise?” I asked. As I turned to face her, she stopped walking and stood there, looking bewildered, quite like a deer caught in the beam of headlights on a highway.
“I doubt it,” she answered honestly. “He never put much stock into my abilities or anything else about me.”
“He grossly underestimated you then, dear Rachel,” I said, patting her on the back. “That is quite fortuitous for us! Not to worry, we will keep you safe.” I gave her a reassuring grin and started walking again … alone. When I glanced back at her, she was just staring at her hand on her flattened stomach. No doubt, she was wondering about the growing life inside her.
“Come, little twerp,” I said, beckoning her to join me. “Let us not provide Luce the reward of our discovery before we have even departed the fortress of this forest.”
Fifteen minutes later, we were still heading down the road when Rachel broke the long silence. “You’re worried about something,” she said.
“Nay, my dear. I never worry about anything.” Damned witches! Both the queen and her unpleasant sister managed to discern my innermost thoughts. And now this little twit appeared to be following in their footsteps. I am not a man who enjoys surveillance by anyone. I merely ignored her and continued forward, even more bound and determined to leave America far behind me.
But Rachel stopped walking, and although I did not choose to, I stopped my stride as well. “Must you vomit again?” I asked, my nose lifting higher in the air and my body on high alert. I prepared to turn away from the wench if necessary.
She dismissed my concern with her hand and frowned at me. “Sinjin, I can see the worry in your face. You aren’t exactly a master when it comes to hiding your emotions.”
“Nonsense,” I started to argue.
“Are you afraid to bring me back with you? Or are you worried that Luce might retaliate after you virtually amputated his arm?”
I considered her question rather quickly. I supposed I should have some level of concern considering I had ripped off Luce’s arm during our quarrel. But the threat of retaliation did not daunt me in the least. In truth, I was nearly ecstatic that the imbecile had one less limb to perform his magic. “Certainly not, pet. You are quite mistaken. Worry is an emotion that can never be associated with me.”
“Honestly, you’re a terrible liar, Sinjin.” She laughed as she shook her head. “Even now, I can see worry lines furrowing between your eyebrows.” She eyed me more closely.
“I am reevaluating my decision not to return you to Luce,” I grumbled, and she laughed.
Actually, I was more interested in Lady Bryn’s secrets, especially her ability to burst into flames without perishing. “What do you know about Jack Jeffers?” I asked.
Rachel lifted an eyebrow and simultaneously narrowed her eyes as she studied me. She glanced around at the forest as if ensuring that no one was eavesdropping before she spoke. I assumed it was one of the habits the twit picked up in her need to gossip. With her hand still resting on her abdomen, she leaned forward and said, “He’s strong. And he’s also the only Daywalker who survived his twenty-first birthday.”
“Yawn. Tell me something I do not know,” I grumbled. “I need much more.” I riveted her eyes with mine and used my vampiric powers of persuasion. Ever so gently, I persuaded her to tell me everything she knew. I imagined Rachel could be a treasure trove of information. And of course there was that moment when I was poised to kill Jeffers, and Rachel had intervened. There must have been a reason why.
“Making love is definitely not his forte—not at all.” She scrunched up her nose and stuck her tongue out to emphasize her meaning. I gave her a sideways glance before spearing her with a disappointed glare.
“Okay, fine. Let me think.” She tapped her fingers across her lips as she prepared to speak again. “He’s strong, yes, but he also has a weakness.”
“I am listening.”
br />
She took a deep breath. “The carotid artery in his neck is vulnerable,” she started.
“Vulnerable?” I repeated with a frown because I did not understand what she meant.
“Yes,” she replied. “Jack received his transfusions of vampire blood in the carotid artery at the base of his neck. But there is something wrong with that area now.”
“Explain what you mean by wrong.”
“His skin is very bruised at the location where he receives his transfusions. Not only that, but the veins in his neck are green-tinged. And his skin is sallow, almost grey. Rumor has it that his neck has become too susceptible to receive any more transfusions, so he must take them in his wrists.” She inhaled a deep breath. “The vampire blood is also too strong for his body to tolerate any longer. That’s what I think. The Daywalkers are always supposed to mix the vampire blood with their own, in order to dilute it safely before injecting it into themselves,” she explained.
“Then please expound why, when I was first introduced to your … ahem, lovely compound, was my blood directly injected into the dying Daywalkers?” I inquired.
She nodded as if she expected my question. “That was how Luce used to do it. However, he discovered the blood was too powerful and that it could kill the Daywalkers after only a week or so.”
“I see.”
“Anyway, Jack never reduces or dilutes the potency of the vampire blood. Not only that, but he also shoots it up way too often.”
“Is that same blood the reason he has survived as long as he has?” I asked.
“Yes, there’s no question that it saved his life and endowed him with the strength and power he has, but it’s also managed to weaken him.”
“Meaning?” I asked.
“Meaning, I’ve seen him have seizures, Sinjin. To the point that he’s totally incapacitated for hours afterwards. Although most of the time he appears invincible, he’s not. The tiniest bit of pressure applied to that area in his neck can start the spasms.”
“Interesting,” I said while nodding. I filed the information away in my brain for retrieval later. “And why did you protect him when I was ready to end him?”
She cleared her throat. “I don’t, in general, like to witness death,” she responded in a small voice. “And I was worried about what Luce would do to you if you killed Jack and got caught …” she said but trailed off as she clutched her stomach again.
“Is your pain becoming unbearable?” I asked as I studied her. For a moment, I was afraid her body might be in the process of miscarrying the embryo.
“No,” she answered as she fought to catch her breath. “I just feel a little nauseous.”
“You are a witch who possesses magic,” I replied, pointing out the obvious. “Simply use your powers and banish the nausea away.”
“I’ve been trying to,” she admitted. “But it’s stubborn and it keeps returning.” Then she closed her eyes before taking a long, deep breath. “I know another thing about Jack, but it’s probably hearsay. I’m not sure how valid or accurate it is.”
“What is it?” I demanded.
“It could just be gossip.”
“I do not care. There is always some truth in gossip; how else do you explain the success of all the tabloids?”
She raised her eyebrows at me but didn’t respond. “Jack Jeffers trains with a young Daywalker named Arrow. Maybe Jack has taken him under his wing. As far as I know, no one else talks to Arrow or interacts with him at all. Arrow lives alongside Jack, and Jack always protects him and shelters him from everyone else with the exception of one person, Luce.”
Now we were getting somewhere! “As if Jack were his parent,” I said under my breath.
“Exactly as if he were Arrow’s parent.”
I faced Rachel and smiled. “Jeffers does have a weakness then; he loves someone.”
“Oh, I’m not sure it’s actually love,” she replied immediately. “We don’t experience love. We’re forbidden to admit it and strictly disciplined if we dare to indulge in such a frivolous emotion.”
“I do not understand Luce’s teachings,” I said as I shook my head. I was irritated that I could not use the love Jeffers had for this child to undo him. Even though I did not rate emotions as rational or useful things, I also could not deny their existence. I failed to understand how Luce and his tribe managed to do just that. It was one of the biggest enigmas I was currently attempting to solve where the Lady Bryn was concerned. Attempting to teach someone how they should feel was an exceedingly difficult task.
“There’s more,” Rachel continued. “Arrow is fifteen years old, which isn’t young for a Daywalker since mostly all of them die on their twenty-first birthdays; but Arrow …” she paused. Hesitant, she continued. “Arrow isn’t just a Daywalker.”
I tilted my head to encourage her to elaborate, but she did not. Finally, I told her, “Go on.”
“He’s a hybrid—the first hybrid I’ve ever heard of. From what I understand, he’s the offspring of Daywalker and Elemental parents and …” Her incessant interruptions were beginning to drive me to lunacy.
“And?” I asked, reminding myself not to snap at her. She was delivering invaluable information and I had to allow her to proceed at her own pace.
“And maybe he’s something else altogether. No one knows. His powers are like nothing anyone has ever seen before.”
“You have witnessed his powers?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her. I tried to decide whether or not she was simply exaggerating.
“Not up close and personal, but from afar, yes. He’s not allowed to mingle in the general population, so no one has seen him performing magic up close. But from what I understand, he is the closest thing to a god, both in his appearance and his abilities.”
Something occurred to me all at once. “You say he is fifteen years old?”
“Yes.”
“And yet, Luce only recently acted on the decision to breed Elementals with Daywalkers?”
“Yes,” she nodded quickly. “That’s just one part of Arrow’s abilities that no one understands. He aged his fifteen years within a matter of days! He was a baby for only two days and a toddler for three! By the time he reached fifteen, the maturing process began to slow down. He’s been fifteen now for maybe a week.”
“A week?” I repeated, utterly dumbfounded.
She leaned into me and whispered, “He’s fifteen today, but by the next full moon, which is only in one week’s time, Arrow will be sixteen.”
Narrowing my eyes, I crossed my arms over my chest. “Am I to understand that Luce has discovered how to produce a hybrid Daywalker-Elemental who matures with incomparable speed?”
She nodded, and her face looked more serious and thoughtful. “The kid grows at a rate that no one can believe.”
“How is that possible?”
“Do you have any idea how powerful Luce’s magic is? Sinjin, we’re lucky that we escaped the compound alive!” Dropping her gaze to the ground, she shook her head. “No, no. I think he allowed us to leave, but I don’t know why. Maybe because he knows we would lead him directly to the queen and Bryn.” Then she glanced up and asked me, “Does Bryn know you came here?”
I shook my head.
She chewed on her lower lip. “I wonder if we should even return to Kinloch.”
“Of course we should return!” I scoffed at her.
But she shook her head. “I don’t believe we escaped from there. The only reason we got out was because Luce let us go. And there has to be a reason why he would do that.”
I stared at her for a good minute, realizing she had no idea of how powerful I was. Or how deadly I could be. Of course, she knew I was a vampire, and maybe even that I was a Master Vampire, but that is where her knowledge of me ended. Her very suggestion that I could not have escaped the compound without Luce allowing me to do so was almost blasphemous. She would learn all about me in time. For now, too many questions were swarming my mind regarding this Arrow boy.
&n
bsp; “And how did you learn this gossip about the boy?” I was not entirely convinced I could believe everything that came out of her mouth. Not that I thought she was intentionally spreading falsehoods. No, she obviously believed her own account, but that was not to say that I should.
“Because I hear things,” she responded immediately. “Just because I was condemned to become a Breeder doesn’t mean I’m also an idiot, Sinjin.”
I held my hands up to reveal my innocence. “I never insinuated that you were!”
“Well, it seems like that’s the general assumption. Sorry if I’m too sensitive about it.”
“Perhaps I should rephrase my question. How did you manage to acquire this information if Arrow is routinely kept away from the general public?”
“Three months ago, I heard Luce talking to Jack about Arrow. At the time, they said Arrow was only twelve years old. But two days before you arrived at our camp, Arrow was training with Jack and Luce. That was when I heard them say that Arrow just turned fifteen a week prior. Luce also said he would pass his twenty-first birthday in six more moons.”
“Do you know what Luce is planning to do with him?”
She shook her head. “No one knows, Sinjin. But from what I can read of Luce’s mind, I know he wants to make sure Arrow passes his twenty-first birthday and lives beyond it, of course.”
She was quiet for a few seconds before wringing her hands together and closing her eyes. Judging by her rapidly beating heart and sweaty countenance, the information must have been top secret. She was clearly delivering it into the arms of the enemy.
“Rachel,” I started as she glanced up at me. “You must retrain yourself to believe that Luce and his people are no longer your people. You belong with me and my people now, as well as Betta and the Lady Bryn.” She nodded but she didn’t seem too convinced so I continued. “You no longer have a home with Luce. Do you realize that now?”
“Yes, although it gets hard to accept sometimes.”