Destiny Calls

  They discussed the weather and other awkward topics that always started a date as Eric ordered a drink and she ordered another glass of chardonnay. He paid for her wine. Point.

  First dates were awkward. They usually turned into a repeat of all the conversations had prior to the date, but this time in person. It was comfortable, touching back on what you already know about the stranger sitting across from you. Although it could get a little boring, it allowed Destiny to pair his words with the sincerity in his expression. She hated men that lied.

  The waitress informed them their table was ready, and they carried their drinks over to a small one set up by the back wall. Destiny had decided somewhere on the ride over here that she was getting the chicken and asparagus with that yummy sauce they made, but she glanced at the menu anyway and acted like she was deciding her choice at the same time as Eric.

  Once they placed their orders and their menus were removed, they settled back into conversation. “So what did you do today?” he asked.

  Destiny detailed her day. It was nothing exciting. She went to the salon and had her hair trimmed. Gotten a wax, which she didn’t mention. She didn’t want to send the wrong message. She shopped a little and picked up some pictures she had been meaning to develop.

  “That’s nice,” Eric commented.

  “Did you have your son today?” she asked.

  “No, he’s with his mom. I just sort of worked on my EPs.”

  “EPs? Is that a computer thing?”

  He grinned. He had a very sweet smile, the kind that created a soft little dimple low on his cheek. Eric also had a strong jaw. Point. “No, EP stands for Emergency Pack.”

  “Emergency Pack?”

  “Yeah, you know, for the end of the world.”

  Destiny stilled, her glass tilted toward her mouth, and she looked at him for signs that he was kidding. “Uh, you mean like all that Mayan and Nostradamus crap people keep talking about?”

  Eric swallowed a sip of his beer and shook his head. “Oh, it’s not crap. The end is near.” Negative one point. “It’s true. I plan on being completely prepared. As a matter of fact, I found this old house that was part of the Underground Railroad system and I think it could be turned into, like, a fallout shelter.” Negative two. “It’s a lot harder planning for the end and post-apocalyptic survival than people think.” Negative three.

  She chugged her wine and snagged the waitress walking by and asked for another. Eric went on. “I have an entire storage unit filled with water. When I move I’ll take it all there as soon as I line the shelter to make sure it’s secure.” Dear God, negative four. The waitress delivered her wine and she chugged it again as Eric went on and on and on.

  Somewhere around negative eleven she said, “You know what, I’m not feeling too good. Do you think we could do this another time?”

  Eric looked terrified. “Do you think it’s the water? I saw you had a few sips. You know, they say that’s how it might happen, through the water.”

  “They?”

  He nodded, a severe look marring his once attractive face. “The ones among us.”

  She opened her mouth and shut it. Her cash went on the table. “Yeah. I gotta go.”

  And that was how she ended up at home on her couch involved in a very raunchy threesome with two men named Ben and Jerry.

  Chapter 28

  The heavy door opened, and Dane turned. Cybil continued to hiss and rattle the bars at him, but he had become a master at ignoring her. Over the past several months, he had come to realize she would never be the same. He sometimes wished he had let her die. There was nothing but frightening nonsense in her mind.

  Larissa’s form came into view, and he shut his mother’s journal. She usually came to check on him when he stayed down in the holding area for more than a few hours. She sat beside him and nudged his shoulder. “Hey.”

  He liked Larissa. She had become easier to talk to since having Mariah. She was less intimidating. Eleazar did as well. Watching that little black-haired terror run them ragged really put things into perspective. “Hey.”

  “Has she been at it all day?” Larissa asked, gesturing to his snarling sister.

  He nodded. “I’m actually glad you’re here. I don’t know if Gracie told you, but we found the last of my mom’s journals.”

  She faced him, her expression intrigued. “And?”

  He sighed. Life just altogether sucked sometimes. “I was right. We were adopted. My mom was that Daphne lady. I have no idea where she is or why she gave us up. I just know my mom and dad adopted us shortly after Cybil was born. I haven’t read anything from the date of her birth yet, but I was thinking, if I could use a computer in town, maybe I could go look for her.”

  She smiled sweetly at him. “You know you’re an adult now, Dane. You can go wherever you want. I wouldn’t let them do anything with Cybil in your absence.”

  He frowned. Cybil was the only reason he remained. Well, her and Grace, but that was still as complicated as ever. “I know. I just would feel better with Eleazar’s blessing, I guess.”

  “Do you want me to ask him?”

  “Would you?”

  “Of course. I’m sure he’ll understand. Wouldn’t that be lovely to discover a whole other family you didn’t know about?”

  He shrugged. “I didn’t know about my birth parents because they didn’t want us, Larissa. I’m not going to romanticize it into something it’s not.”

  “Well, I hope you find them and form a great relationship. Do not waste time on the past at the expense of your future, Dane. Life’s too short.”

  He laughed. “Are vampyres allowed to say crap like that?”

  She bumped his shoulder playfully. “I’m stronger than you. I can say whatever I want.”

  * * * *

  When Larissa left the holding area, she went to find her husband. Eleazar was in the den with Adriel, his eldest and dearest friend, when she found him. They happened to be speaking of just the topic she wanted to address with him.

  “Good evening, Adriel.”

  “Larissa! How are you, my child?”

  “Momma!” Mariah called from the floor. Larissa’s skirts lifted slightly from her daughter’s will. She forced them back down, and Adriel distracted her by waving her hand and causing several balls and dolls to roll toward her.

  “I’m well, and yourself?”

  She smiled, her skin tight under her tight ginger braids. “As good as can be expected. Eleazar was just telling me Dane found more of his mother’s books. That must be a comfort to the boy. Such a sad case.”

  “Actually, that’s what I came to discuss with the bishop.”

  Eleazar turned from their daughter. “The bishop, is it? This can’t be good.” Sighing, he returned to his chair and crossed his arms. “Let’s hear it, Larissa.”

  “Well, I’m sure, since you are such a kind and understanding male, you will see no reason to object. Dane’s assumptions have been proven. The woman mentioned in his mother’s diaries was in fact his birth mother. He wants to try and find her.”

  His expression was blank. Adriel looked at him, and Larissa sensed them speaking with their minds. He gave the other woman a sharp look and rolled his eyes. Sighing, he turned to Larissa. “That would be permissible so long as he does not tell her where he has been staying or offer to bring her back. Cybil’s existence will also have to be dealt with.”

  “What do you mean dealt with?” She scowled. “You aren’t doing anything to that child. It will destroy Dane. And what about my brother? I’m afraid if he loses Cybil on top of everything else he has lost, it will push him over the edge.”

  “Relax, my love. I merely meant he would not be able to tell the truth about her. I hate to advocate dishonesty, but I’m afraid in this situation there isn’t much choice.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh. I’m sure he could lie.”

  “Well, then I see no harm in letting him search for her. He will eventually have to start consider
ing a future for himself away from the farm.”

  “Do you intend to make the boy leave?” Adriel asked.

  “Of course not, but I assume he will someday want a family of his own. He isn’t like us. His future is elsewhere.”

  There was a soft knock on the door. They all turned. Dane stepped in, his mother’s book clutched to his chest. “Am I interrupting?”

  “Not at all,” Eleazar said. “Larissa was just telling me about your plans to find your—”

  “About that,” Dane interrupted. Her husband scowled, not one who usually had his words interrupted. “There’s no need.” They all looked at him curiously, and he said, “She’s dead. Shocking, I know. Imagine that, me discovering I have a whole other mom, and in the next instant I learn she died while giving birth to my sister. What are the odds?”

  Larissa’s heart ached. His sarcasm was clearly a disguise for his hurt. She wished he had never discovered those books if nothing good was intended to come out of them. “What about your birth father?” she asked. The others nodded encouragingly. There wasn’t a male or female on the farm who didn’t wish for some sort of good fortune to find Dane.

  He shrugged. “I got a name. I don’t know if I want to even bother looking anymore. If he’s alive, that means he didn’t love me enough to keep me when my birth mom died. He’s barely mentioned. I don’t think he was with her long. My real mom just mentions him visiting Daphne from time to time. She didn’t care for him very much, said he made Daphne behave in ways that she normally wouldn’t.”

  “You could still try to find out if he’s alive,” Adriel suggested. “That doesn’t mean you must introduce yourself. Perhaps it will bring you closure in some way. What was his name?”

  “He may not even be a citizen. Maybe that’s why he wasn’t around all that much. It’s some weird foreign name. Cerberus Maddox VI.”

  With that name, all of the breath seemed to suck out of the room. The only one unaffected by Dane’s statement was Mariah, but even she stilled at the tension.

  “What did you say?” Adriel rasped, her normally rosy cheeks now colorless.

  “I may have it wrong,” Dane said, his gaze jumping from each one of them.

  “Is it mentioned there in that book?” Eleazar asked in a quiet but tense voice.

  Dane pulled his mother’s journal protectively behind his back. “Yeah. Why? What’s wrong with that name? Was he like some serial killer or something?”

  “Or something,” Adriel muttered. She quickly turned to Eleazar. “What does this mean, Eleazar? If Cer is his father…”

  Larissa took Adriel’s hand. “It’s all right. I’m sure everything is fine. Perhaps it is a coincidence.”

  Her husband turned. “Larissa’s right. It is entirely unlikely that Cer was able to free himself after we left.”

  The normally calm and confident Adriel panicked. “The world changed, Eleazar. People build things. They dig. What if someone found his grave and he broke free—”

  “Grave?” Dane interrupted. “What the hell are you guys talking about?”

  Larissa held up her hand asking him to wait. “Could that happen?”

  Eleazar looked unsure. “I suppose it’s possible—”

  Adriel shot to her feet. “I need to leave.”

  They all stood. “Now wait just a moment, Adriel. If it is him he’s been free for some time. Dane is eighteen. If he intended to do you harm, he would have found you by now.”

  She wasn’t listening to the bishop. “Where the bloody hell is my bonnet?”

  Larissa’s jaw dropped as the other woman suddenly burst into tears. Eleazar quickly went to comfort her, and she pounded her small fist at his chest. “I will not go back to that, Eleazar. Do you hear me? I will not! And no council of arrogant males will decide my fate for me!”

  He shook her slightly. “Adriel, get ahold of yourself. Do you honestly believe any elder would send you back to such a cruel male? For God’s sake, your son is on the bench. You are his mother. He loves you and will protect you.”

  Her trembling fingers went to her bone-colored lips. “Dear Lord, Christian. He will find out. He will know. What if he blames me for denying him a father?”

  “Adriel, you must calm down.”

  “He is my mate, Eleazar! I know how you males feel about called mates!”

  Larissa could not bear watching this woman fall apart anymore. “Adriel, Eleazar would never allow that to happen. He is our bishop, and he is good and fair.”

  “Somebody tell me what the hell is going on!” Dane shouted, apparently tired of being ignored.

  “Well, Dane,” Adriel said, wiping her eyes, a bit of her composure returning. “You may not have found your mother, but I can introduce you to your half-brother.”

  Chapter 29

  Sex would be happening tonight. Destiny waited for Louis at the swanky little bar down the street from her work. Louis was a station manager who had been asking her out for quite some time. He wasn’t overly good-looking. He had nice eyes. He dressed okay, made a decent living. She could have sex with Louis. Sure.

  Who was she kidding? Louis was so not her type, but she was getting concerned that her body had gone into retrograde and her virginity might be growing back. She told herself she needed to make a change when her vibrator broke and she realized she had spent an exorbitant amount of her paycheck on erotic romances and batteries. It was time to start dealing with real people and get out of the fantasy world she had created.

  In the past year she had slowly put on an additional fifteen pounds. She needed to join a gym and stop ending every social fiasco with a pint of double dunk ice cream. It didn’t help that her best friends were all married with children. They didn’t understand.

  Louis walked into the bar and scanned for Destiny. She waited for him to spot her, and she waved. He hustled over to her and sat. Louis never walked anywhere. He always hustled.

  “Hey, Destiny. Did you order a drink? What are you drinking? Is the food any good here? I haven’t eaten since lunch. Gotta keep my sugar up or I get the shakes. I’ll have a Bud,” he said to the bartender then turned back to her. “Aren’t you glad it’s Friday? Man, this was a long week.”

  Louis wasn’t the kind of guy who required answers. Destiny simply nodded and sipped her wine. He continued to prattle on. One thing she enjoyed about Louis was that he liked to read. She was an obsessive reader and found it a plus when her dates understood why books were so entertaining.

  “So I’m on this zombie kick right now. I’ve read, like, five series in the past month. Totally hooked. I was doing the vampyre thing for a while, but now I’m on zombies. You like sci-fi? Bet you’re really into those Twilight books.”

  She had enjoyed her vampyre novels when they were all the rage, but after a while the whole paranormal thing got old. It was easier to fantasize about characters that had the slight possibility of existing. There were no such things as vampyres and werewolves.

  Louis rambled on about zombies and then moved on to scary clowns. Destiny people watched as happy hour ended and the nighttime crowd came in. The more her date talked, the more she realized getting laid would require copious amounts of alcohol. She ordered another drink, switching from wine to liquor and this time pairing it with a shot.

  The ball was in her court. Louis would probably react like a cartoon if she took her clothes off in front of him, jaw hanging by the hinges, tongue rolling out like a carriage runner. She just needed to get him somewhere private, but first she needed another drink.

  By eight o’ clock she was wasted. Louis had been listening to himself talk all night. The room spun, and faces blurred. Time to go. She leaned close to him and whisper shouted over the music, “What do you say we go back to my place?”

  Louis paused as if it had never occurred to him that she might suggest such a thing. He better last more than a minute. There was a price for sex with someone from the work place. Monday mornings were awkward, but she had decided she needed a flesh-and-b
lood man, and Louis was easily accessible.

  He looked around nervously as if she might have been speaking to someone else. “Uh, your place?”

  “Yeah.” She pressed her hand into his thigh and rubbed seductively over his knee. He wasn’t really muscular. “I want to show you something.” Nice, Destiny. Real smooth. She was drunk. Her game was suffering, but she didn’t think Louis would notice.

  “Uh, okay.” He dug money out of his pocket and placed it on the bar.

  “Wait,” she said, stilling his hand. “Let’s get another shot first. We can take a cab home.” She needed some courage. They ordered two mind fucks, and at the last minute Destiny switched hers to a double.

  * * * *

  She didn’t remember leaving the bar and, worst of all, she couldn’t remember the sex. She was definitely home. Her face pressed into her pillow, and she peeked through her left eye at the familiar stack of books sitting on her nightstand. A hand curled over her bare shoulder, and she tensed.

  “Good morning, beautiful.” The hand traveled lower, and a familiar string tugged in her mind. She recognized that voice.

  “Jesus Christ!” She jumped out of bed, yanking the sheet with her, and turned. “Adrian! What the hell are you doing here?”

  His satisfied grin faded, and he frowned. “You invited me.”

  “When?”

  “Last night. You called me and asked me to pick you up. I did and then you asked me to stay.”

  She found it ironic that when Adrian owed her something, he was unavailable, but when sex was on the table, he picked right up. Oh God…“Did we…?”

  “You don’t remember?”

  She searched for any memory after leaving the bar. She shook her head. Wait. Crap. “What happened to Louis?”

  “The zombie guy? We left him at the bar. Some chick wouldn’t stop yapping about monsters, and he wanted to stay and talk to her.”

  Great. She had been dumped by Louis. Her social life just kept improving.