Mystic Embrace (Embrace Series)

  Eliza passes around paper and pens, “Now I invite you all to write down anything you would like to let go of from the past year. Once you’re finished, concentrate on it and throw it into the fire watching it burn and the smoke rise, leaving us forever.”

  We each take a turn, happy to release some the negativity that has surrounded us for the past year and start this New Year with peace.

  As the ritual comes to a close, Eliza reopens the circle. Everyone assists in cleaning up and restoring the area. I have to admit it’s nice to have vampire friends. They are very quick and very strong and help load the cars with all the supplies in no time. After one more sweep of the area, we start back down the path towards the cars. All of a sudden, I get the strange feeling again. It almost feels as though I’m floating, walking on air.

  “Umm, Ebony,” Matt tugs on my hand.

  “Yeah, what’s wrong?”

  “I think he is concerned that you are about a foot off the ground,” Eliza points out.

  “What the hell are you…?” I bark back and the look down only to notice she is right. The entire group is staring at me.

  “I guess this could explain the funny feeling I keep getting, but how is this possible? I’m telekinetic, I can’t levitate.”

  “Well apparently you can now.” Matt lets go of my hand and gives me a little push.

  “Hey what the heck are you doing? I am not a beach ball,” I joke.

  “Yet!” Sophia shouts as she runs up and gives me a little push.

  They have their fun playing with me as I float slightly off the ground. It doesn’t take much for me to concentrate and ground myself.

  “Now you’re all in for it.” I start chasing after them.

  It is not really fair playing tag of sorts with vampires; they are just too fast and like to sneak up on me.

  “This isn’t fair!” I shout with a laugh.

  “Aw muffin, too bad. This is how we vampires have fun, teasing our prey,” Isaac jokes.

  “Oh so we are prey now, good to know. Maybe I should start carrying garlic,” Matt shoots back. Knowing that garlic doesn’t actually ward off vampires, but he enjoys playing into the classic stereotype.

  We goof around for a bit down the path before reaching the cars, but I think it may be time to get back to the manor and find out what is going on with me floating. Everyone decides to come over to our place; they want to know what’s happening as well. Maybe I can even learn how to control it a little. I start to get excited over the possibility of a new power.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Power Confusion

  Walking into the manor, Eliza quickly goes to the office for the book of shadows. Hoping that we can find some information about gaining new powers she flips through the pages. Constance goes to the kitchen and brews some tea, as Matt tries to help me understand my new power.

  “Okay, so tell me exactly what you felt before we noticed you levitating.” Matt takes the pen and paper Sophia grabbed for his notes. Matt takes note of everything, like the good little guardian student he is.

  “Well it is kinda hard to explain. When we were first walking up to the meadow I had this feeling as if something was passing through me. It only lasted a moment.”

  He jots down some notes. “Now what about when we were heading back to the car?”

  “Well it was the same feeling, and that is when you told me I was levitating.”

  “And how did you make it stop?” He asks.

  “Not really sure. I just concentrated and focused my energy and willed myself to the ground,” I admit.

  “Have you ever had this feeling before?” Isaac asks.

  “Nope, never, and the weird thing is that, it happened at almost the exact same spot of the pathway both times.”

  Constance comes back in with the tea. “So, are you guys making any headway?”

  “Not really but it’s kind of interesting,” Sophia admits.

  Eliza jumps up and slams the book on the table, pointing to a page. “Here we go, I think I got something.” She says with excitement. “It says here that we can gain powers as we improve on our original ones. Also, sometimes during pregnancy, a mother, witch or mortal can absorb her baby’s powers. So it appears that a mortal mother can give birth to a magickal being, just the opposite of our mortal father and a magickal mother.”

  “So we just have to find out if it is me or the baby.”

  “Well, there is another option too, and not as favorable.”

  With slight concern I ask, “What is not a good option?”

  “Well, basically it says that if you enter an area occupied by a spirit. You can sometimes adapt to their powers.”

  “That doesn’t sound too bad.” I breathe a sigh of relief.

  “That’s not all, if the spirit finds you favorable, they can attach themselves to you and take over,” Eliza explains.

  “Okay, which one of these options do you think happened to me?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but it sounds like the spirit. Because of the feeling you received of something passing through you and the levitation occurring in the same spot. I can’t help but think that it could be a spirit with tonight being Samhain and the veil being so thin. You have to admit, it makes sense.” Eliza sits next to me.

  I can’t help but wonder if a spirit attaches itself to me, can it harm the baby. I don’t know what to do. This baby has only been growing in me a few months and I love it so much already.

  “Matt, there has to be some way we can figure this out. We have to protect our baby and I’m scared the spirit will harm it.”

  “Don’t worry, Ebony, we are going to protect our baby. Spirits cannot harm you or our baby. If a spirit attached to you, it is only because it needs your help. Would you harm anyone you want help from? Plus we don’t even know for sure that it is a spirit.” Matt tries to calm me.

  “Why would a spirit need my help?”

  “Let’s just try and find out if that’s what it is before we figure out why it needs your help,” Eliza suggests.

  “How exactly do you suggest we find out if it is a spirit or not?” I ask.

  “I think the easiest way is to use divination, we can use the Ouija board. This is a tried and tested way for us to speak with a spirit. Matt, would you mind getting it out of the office in the bottom drawer of the desk.” Eliza begins to clear the table.

  “Is there anything that we can do?” Sophia offers.

  “Just being here for support, you never know when we may need some muscle,” I joke.

  Matt comes back with the Ouija board, and we try for almost an hour to contact the spirit attaching itself to me. Nothing happens, which proves that no spirit is attaching to me. This leaves my powers growing or the baby is projecting its powers.

  “Ebony, we’ll figure this out somehow. At least we know it is not a spirit, so this is good news,” Eliza encourages.

  Matt also tries to comfort me, “I know how hard this is for you Ebony, not knowing what is going on and having no one to talk to that has been through it. I wish there was something more I could do to help.”

  “It’s okay Matt; I’m not the first teenage witch to go through pregnancy. I am just a little extra emotional these days.”

  “Just know that I am always here for you and my parents are too. Because of my family’s history they are very understanding to anything of the supernatural.”

  “I know and thank you.”

  The Pierce family decides to return home, and Matt calls his parents to explain what happened. They suggest that he stay the night, just to ensure I am alright. I feel so blessed to be gaining such a wonderful family. Maybe tonight Matt can help me and Eliza with our lessons. Soon I will be in my second trimester of my pregnancy and it will be time to go after Naberius. It is time to increase training and begin preparations, assuming he continues sending his minions instead of coming after us himself.

  “So where should we start?” I ask.

  “I think we should wo
rk on strengthening your existing powers. Ebony we’ll work on increasing your telekinetic abilities and Eliza we will work on strengthening your time control,” Matt suggests.

  Eliza’s powers have progressed a lot faster than mine. I assume because she is a few years older than me. Her first power was time control, and from there she has learned to astral project. I like this ability; she has used it to take me with her to alternate realms. It isn’t really a new power just an extension of her time control.

  Eliza sneaks behind Matt poking at either side of his waist, “You’re the boss soon to be brother-in-law. Okay, so what activities do you want us to do?”

  “Well for starters, instead of just freezing time, I want you to concentrate on strictly slowing it down. This is similar to what you do when you astral projecting yourself. I want you to do the same thing, just stay here.”

  “Hey what can I do? I don’t really understand what I can work on. I move things, what else is there to do.”

  “There’s lots of things you can do, Ebony. One thing I want you to try though, move something and then change directions. This will be handy when in a fight; you can even work on using multiple weapons at the same time.”

  We work on Matt’s skills and exercises until the sun comes up. Matt’s a really good teacher. Everything that the great ones have taught him, he is using to help us. He’s doing his job as a guardian even before his time. I don’t want to think of the day that I lose him, but I know that he is going to be great help to the lucky witch that has him for a guardian.

  The thought brings me to ask, “I love having you help us, but I’m just wondering if we’ll ever get our own guardian?”

  “When you need it most your guardian, he or she, will appear to you. I am guessing that since you had your Grams to guide you, the great ones must not have felt you needed one. Then right before she passed your parents came to you, and after her passing she came to you. Not to mention me, you two have more people to teach and guide you than anyone could hope for. You have no need to for a guardian right now, which is not a bad thing,” Matt explains.

  “Okay Ebony. I think you need to get some sleep. We’ve been working all night, and you have a little one that you need to think of. My little niece or nephew needs to grow and their mommy needs to get some rest. Okay, so Matt, you should take my baby sister upstairs and get her tucked in to bed. I’ll bring up some warm milk for both of you,” Eliza orders

  “Who am I to argue with the big sister? You heard the lady let’s get you upstairs to bed.” He scooped me up in his arms and carries me up the stairs.

  “You know I can walk right?”

  “Yeah, but who knows how much longer I will actually be able to do this.” He smirks as I give him a little swat to the back of his head.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Final Preparations

  Everything has happened so fast. I can’t believe that tomorrow, I’m marrying Matt. The most amazing man in the world will be my husband in just over twenty four hours. Realizing how much I actually have to do today, I jump out of bed and begin to get ready. Once I finish dressing, I fling open the curtains in my room. Then I see the ground is covered in snow. It is the most beautiful sight I’ve seen in a long time. Everything looks as though it is covered by crystals. The way that the bright golden sunrays touch each faucet of every snowflake makes the sight breath taking. I hope that it lasts until tomorrow. The frost on the trees and fence warm my heart giving me the feeling of the perfect winter wonderland.

  “Hey baby sis, you ready to go for your final dress fitting?” Eliza asks.

  “You bet I am. Is Sophia here yet?”

  “She just texted me, she’ll be here any second.”

  Sophia pulls up just as we are walking out the door. Her timing is impeccable. We jump in the car and are off to the seamstress. I’m so happy she was able to alter the dress Constance had made for me to fit my growing belly. I don’t think I would have ever found anything quite so perfect.

  Once we get the dress, Sophia, pulls out the to-do list and begins to review everything we need to do. Florence is taking care of the flowers, cake and the catering. Sophia, Eliza and I are off to the day spa for mani/pedi’s, facials and massage’s.

  “Danika, Constance and Matilda are meeting us at the spa. Are you ready for a day of pampering?” Sophia adds.

  “You bet I am. What are the plans after that?”

  “Our day is filled with relaxation. Tomorrow is a big day for our girl and we are here to ensure it is perfect,” Sophia hints.

  “But there is so much to do,” I protest.

  “And we have it all under control. The boys are taking care of Matt, and we even have a little surprised planned for the two of you later today.” She winks at Eliza, and they both smile.

  I can’t help but wonder what they are up to, but allow them this one without nagging. The spa is beautiful, and the staff is so attentive. As we walk through the large glass French doors a young woman dressed in all white is there to greet us.

  “Good morning Ladies, welcome to Om spa. My name is Courtney. I will be your hostess today. So who’s the lucky girl?”

  I slightly raise my hand as the others point to me.

  “Well let me start by showing you to your Zen room. There are robes that await each of you. Once you’ve changed I’ll bring in some sparkling cider and a fresh fruit with a chocolate fondue tray for your enjoyment. Later, after you’ve enjoyed a few treatments, I’ll bring you lunch. You have a choice of fillet minion, or a beautiful stuffed chicken breast. I can also offer a vegetarian meal if any of you prefer.”

  She leads us to a beautiful room with white leather sofas and a spectacular waterfall wall. She lights dozens of candles and lavender incense around the room. There are six fluffy white terry cloth robes folded perfectly on a bench. Each robe has a sprig of lavender lucked under the belt. We each go into the change rooms and change into our robes. Courtney already has the fondue tray and cider waiting on the table.

  “Well ladies, I think it is best to get the worst over with first. This will allow you to enjoy the remainder of the day. Shall the Bride to be go first?” Courtney offers.

  “The worst?” I ask with concern.

  She smiles, “Don’t worry it’s not that bad. I’m just talking out the waxing. I think it is the least favorable of our treatments. Although the lady we have is so good at what she does, it is almost like a mini massage rather than waxing. She is very gentle.”

  “Oh lucky me, I get to have another woman tear every extra hair out of my body. Sure, let’s get it over with,” I say with complete sarcasm, “The things we do for men.”

  Everyone including our hostess laughs and nods at my comment. I follow her to a small room off to the side of the larger room we’ve been in. It’s just as peaceful and tranquil as the first room. It doesn’t take long for my waxing, and then the other girls go. Courtney shuffles us through the various spa treatments. I can feel all five of us relaxing more after each treatment. I have to say my favorite so far is the vichy shower, a light gentle massage with essential oils followed by a pressured shower that continues to massage every inch of my body as I relax on the table. This is wonderful; I have the best friends in the world.

  “I just want to thank you for being such great friends to me. You support me through everything and are helping to make my wedding both special and memorable.”

  “Ebony, we all have had fun today,” Matilda adds.

  Constance smiles and grabs my hand, “Of course we support you and weddings are supposed to be special, just because you doing it a little sooner than we all would’ve expected doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve the best day possible.”

  “Well in that case we’re off to a great start. So now that we’re all pampered, where to next?” I try to pry.

  The girls all giggle and just grabbed me by the hand to pull me off to the car.

  ***

  We pull up in front of the hospital, and I see Matt, Nath
anial, Alexander, Isaac, and Luke all waiting outside.

  “What are we doing here, is everything okay?” I begin to worry.

  Constance smiles, “Everything is fine. Our next surprise has been difficult to keep from you. Today is your ultrasound. You get to see your baby, and the boys brought Matt here for it too.”

  “I don’t think there’s anything you guys can do to make this weekend any better. Now let’s go see my baby!” I say with sheer excitement, as I jump out of the car and run into Matt’s arms.

  Our entire group enters the hospital and Constance leads us to the exam room, where the nurse already has everything set up. I change into a one of those blue, cotton, hospital gowns and sit up on the examination table.

  “Okay, kiddo, lie back on the table and let’s see what we can find.” Constance covers me with a blanket and slightly lifts my gown. “This is going to be cold.” She squeezes the gel onto my tummy and begins to move around and the ultrasound probe.

  Matt sits next to me, and holds my hand. “I can’t believe we’re going to get to see our baby,” He whispers.

  As Constance moves the probe around, she stops and holds it in one spot. We hear a soft but extremely fast tapping noise. Constance smiles as she looks at us. “Can you guys hear that?”

  “Yeah but what is it?” I ask.

  “That’s your baby’s heartbeat.”

  “Seriously? That’s the baby’s heart; it sounds like somebody tapping their fingers on the table,” Matt says with excitement.

  I can’t stop smiling. This makes it even more real and a few tears start roll down my face.

  “Ebony, are you okay, what’s the matter?” Matt asks as he wipes the tears from my cheeks.

  “I’m okay, this is just so amazing. These are happy tears.”

  “Would you guys like to see your baby now?” Constance asks.

  Matt and I look at each other and then around the room at the loved ones around us, each one of them bouncing with excitement. With a smile we turn to Constance and nod. She turns to monitor towards Matt and me, and then flips the switch. The screen turns from a black-and-white picture to a type of sepia color.