Mystic Embrace (21 page)

“
Alexander, watch out, there’s one behind you,” Matilda warns as she flips her attacker over right on to a broken tree branch and stakes him.

Elijah is going hard with the fight leader, one of Drake’s head hunters. Caspian described him when he came to the house that day and this must be him. He is powerful and fits the physical description. Just under six feet tall, shoulder length brown curly hair, goatee and black eyes surrounded by a red rim so bright it glows. Elijah narrowly misses a stake in the chest, turning as the leader is able to move one from the ground and nicks his arm. Others try to help their leader as we attempt to keep them clear of Elijah.

Through peripheral vision I see Eliza coming to. “Ebony, catch,” she shouts as she throws a trapping potion. I throw it at Elijah, Caspian and the leader, trapping them together so no others can interfere. This gives us an advantage, since no one can help the leader now. Danika gets hurt in her altercation with a female vampire. I think it may be that Marcie, Danika told us about. I wasn’t at the club when they rescued Danika, so I never got a look at any of the vampires there.

“
Sophia, help,” Danika shouts.

Sophia races to her sister’s side, as she lays there with broken limbs. Sophia helps her heal faster as Eliza throws a force field around them just long enough to protect them. Elijah and Caspian are finally able to stake the leader and suddenly the other Cerberus weakens enough that we can destroy them easily.

“
Now, that was easy. Why is it that they were so weakened once the leader was destroyed?” I ask.

Elijah smiles. “Whenever a Vampire’s creator is destroyed, it weakens all of his minions. They can survive, but are weakened depending upon how many years they have behind them. They can gain strength by embracing others and becoming a creator themselves,” he explains.

We spend the next few moments putting the ashes of the destroyed vampires in silver boxes, the same way we did last time. Alexander takes care of burying the boxes to ensure there is no returning. He always wears the thick neoprene gloves when handling the silver boxes, so he doesn’t get burned by the silver. I hope that maybe we can get Drake and Cyrus next time, the true leaders of the Cerberus.

Eliza approaches the rest of us, “I don’t mean to break up the party, but we need to get to the manor and get the boys to the hospital. We still don’t know if Isaac has been able to save the baby.”

***

Back at the manor, the boys all come running as we enter.

“
Is everyone okay, where is Mom and Dad, are they still with Isaac? Did any of the towns people see you or worse get hurt?” Nathanial asks.

We all freeze not knowing where to start.

“
Let’s sit down and we’ll explain,” Sophia suggests.

Eliza sits next to Luke and holds his hand, as Sophia does the same with Nathanial.

“
Well boys, it was a difficult fight and a few of us got injured. We destroyed the leader and all those he brought with him. When we arrived on scene there was a car accident caused by the Cerberus. That is why Isaac is at the hospital,” Florence explains.

“
Oh lord, I hope the victims will be alright. Is it anyone we know?” Luke inquires, not suspecting what is about to come.

“
Well, that is where things are difficult. Yes, we all know the victims. I hate to tell you but it was your parents,” Constance breaks the news.

Nathanial and Luke both jump to their feet, “We gotta get there now,” Nathanial insists painfully. “Are they going to be okay?”

“
Actually Nate, Luke, I hate to tell you this, but they did not make it. The Cerberus that caused the accident fed off them before we could get there,” Constance continues.

We all watch as the two men who are like family to us, fall back to the couch and begin to cry for their parents. “Why, why them?” Nate sobs.

“
I’m so sorry, hun.” Sophia cradles the man she loves so dearly as he tries to process the information.

“
The baby, oh such an innocent little soul, gone before it’s time. He or she did not even get a chance to experience life.” Luke cries even harder.

“
Actually, that’s where there may be some good news,” I insert.

“
Good news, what could possibly be good about a baby dying before even born?” Luke defends.

“
Isaac took your mom to the hospital, for a caesarian section to try to save the baby. Your mom was gone, but I could still sense the baby. We don’t know if Isaac was successful or not, that is why we need to get there now. If he was able to save the baby, the two of you will need to be there.”

Chapter
Thirty

Trials and Tribulations

Once again we find ourselves walking through the front doors of the hospital to say goodbye to someone we love. The elevator doors open and Isaac steps out.

“
Come with me, we will talk in private,” he says as he leads us around the corner. Isaac leads us to a large private waiting room that will fit all fifteen of us. The same one we sat in just one year ago.

As we take seats on the large couches and chairs, Isaac begins to explain to Nathanial and Luke, “When we got to the scene of the accident, Sophia realized it was your parents. We were able to get Nikole out of the car and Sophia tried to heal her. She soon realized that it was too late for Nikole, but the baby was still viable. I raced your mother here and performed a cesarean section to try to save the baby.”

We can all see that the boys are destroyed. Luke fights through his tears, “You couldn’t do it, could you? It’s too soon; Mom wasn’t due for almost two months.”

“
I was able to save the baby. He is very small, but I have never seen a baby as strong as him,” Isaac offers a glimmer of hope.

“
He, we have another brother and he is alive?” Nathanial says with complete surprise.

“
Yes. Would you like to meet him?”

“
Yes, of course. We’re all that little guy has now.” Luke jumps to his feet, with a renewed sense of hope.

“
It’s okay Luke, I will go get him and bring him to you. He is so strong we do not even need to keep him in the nursery,” Isaac says as he leaves the room.

Sophia and Eliza try to console their boyfriends. We’re all devastated over the loss. Mrs. McCord wanted another baby so bad and now he is here, but yet she is gone. This just seems like such an injustice. Yet the boys have recomposed themselves and like the men they are, become a new strength of their brother. Isaac then walks in with the baby.

“
Nate, Luke, I would like you to meet your little brother.” He pushes the basinet in front of the two brothers.

“
He is so small. Are you sure he is alright?” Luke questions.

“
Yes, he is small, only four pounds. Although, like I said, he is so strong. Most babies that are born almost two months before they are due suffer many complications. They have difficulty breathing, eating, they can have a hard time keeping their temperature and have heart defects, and the list goes on and on. I cannot understand why he is so strong. He is the healthiest baby I have ever seen, and there is no explanation,” Isaac admits.

“
Can we hold him?” Nathanial requests.

“
Of course, I actually suggest it. One thing that is amazing for premature babies is called kangaroo care. This is where you place the baby to your chest, skin to skin. They absorb your warmth and hear your heart beat. It has proven to be miraculous in helping the little ones progress.”

Nathanial reaches down and picks up his new baby brother. “What are we going to call you little one?” He asks with tears rolling down his face. Only holding him for a moment, he places the baby back in the bassinet.

Luke looks at his two little brothers. “I don’t know what Mom and Dad would have called him, but I think we should name him after Dad, Arthur.”

“
Don’t you remember how much Dad hated his name?” Nathanial says with a smirk.

“
Yeah, your right, I guess we have something to think about.”

Everyone in the room forgets about our grief for a moment and takes in the beauty of the new life in front of us. Eyln starts to levitate and places herself in the basinet, next to the new life. She snuggles right next to him and goes to sleep.

“
That is the sweetest thing in the world,” I awe.

Matilda smiles. “If you only knew,” she whispers.

“
What do you mean by that?” Sophia snaps her head to look at her sister.

“
We have another match. Elyn and the baby are soul mates. I would also have to assume that Elyn knows it too.” Matilda laughs.

Pondering what will happen to the baby and what he will be called. I smile at my baby girl snuggled next to him.

“
I got it, Nikolas Arthur. That way he has both Mom and Dad’s name, but doesn’t have the name Dad hated so much, every day,” Nathanial suggests.

“
That’s the perfect way to honor Mom and Dad,” Luke agrees.

Luke reaches down placing his hand on the baby’s head. “It is settled, you have some big shoes to fill little Nik. Our parents were amazing people and you now carry their names.”

“
This is really amazing, but getting back to Mom and Dad, how did they die, was it from injuries from the car accident?” Nathanial wonders.

Sophia takes his hand, “Actually the accident killed your father and only hurt your mom. The Cerberus attacked and fed off you parents. I could have Embraced your mom if I had been just moments earlier, but don’t believe that would have been the best choice, even if it were possible. Embracing only works if the heart is still pumping, at least enough to circulate the vampiric blood and venom through the system. I believe they deserve peace anyways and it seems they didn’t suffer long.”

“
Thank you for that, Sophia, I don’t think they would have been happy as vampires,” Luke admits.

Elijah and Florence share a look, and Elijah looks over little Nik. “What did you say? One of the Cerberus fed off of Nikole.”

“
Yeah, he almost drained her dry. Sorry boys, I don’t mean to be insensitive,” Sophia shares.

The eldest Pierce’s begin to examine the baby. Lifting his limbs and testing his strength. “Oh no, Florence do you think…” Elijah slips.

“
What, What is it. What is wrong with Nik?” Luke begins to panic.

“
No, no, Luke don’t panic. The baby was in-utero when your mom was bitten. So the venom from the vampire that fed off her traveled through her system and crossed the placenta to the baby,” Florence explains.

“
So, my baby brother is a vampire?” he panics.

“
Not really, becoming a vampire is a two-step process. First the victim needs to be bitten and infected with the venom. After that the victim needs to feed on vampire blood. This completes the Embrace, turning the victim into a vampire. Normally the venom would just pass through the system,” she continues.

“
So, he will be fine then, as soon as the venom passes through him?” Luke confirms.

“
Well, see that is where there is a problem. Because Nik was born with the venom, it will stay in him forever now,” Florence breaks the news. “It is part of his blood now.”

Nathanial takes a deep breath. “So what does this mean for our baby brother?”

Elijah sits in between the boys, “Now that Nik is infected with the venom he will have all the attributes of a vampire. Although he will still be human, he will still age as a mortal does. He can still go out in the sun and do everything a mortal does. Nik will have all the powers of the vampire, speed, strength, increased senses, and healing. He will not have the thirst for blood, nor will he be affected by any of the things that affect vampires.”

“
So, isn’t all this good? He will just be extra strong and healthy? Kinda like the best of both worlds,” Luke asks.

“
Well, yes and no, he will need to learn to deal with his powers. The extra sensory powers alone could drive anyone insane. Now just imagine a little baby. We will need to take precautions and help train him. He will need to be around us, as only we will understand what he will go through,” Elijah continues to explain, although I can tell he is holding something back.

“
What? So you think he should live with you? But Nate and I are both in Boston now. Oh no, what about college? I can’t handle this right now.” Luke buries his head in his hands.

“
Luke, we don’t need to worry about everything right now. We will help you.” Florence goes down to Luke’s level and puts her arms around him.

“
I need to get the baby back to the nursery for observation. He should be able to go home tomorrow. I will fast track the paper work. Ebony, Eliza can you please do up a temporary spell to help subdue his powers and senses, please?” Isaac requests.

“
Of course, we’ll do anything to help. Elyn it is time to say goodbye to Nik. You need to get out of his bed now,” I say, reaching down to pick her up and hand her to Matt.

Eliza and I place our hands on little baby Nik, we ensure to leave his advanced health, and healing intact. None of us are sure what might happen to him if we bind that as well. He is so tiny and fragile; we can’t risk anything happening to him. Isaac then takes Nik back to the nursery and Constance takes Nathanial and Luke to identify the bodies. We will take everyone back to the Pierce house for the night, just as we did one year ago when Grams passed.