†
Copernicus jumped slightly when the message notification on his mobile went off. He slid the laptop off his lap and with dreadful anticipation, reached for his phone.
Meet me tomorrow at 6 a.m. at this place.
A set of coordinates followed and Copernicus quickly pulled his laptop close to determine the location. After a few minutes, he leaned back against the bed rest and smiled. Chuey was at least bringing his side. He made a few calls. First to Harry and his team to inform him about their trip tomorrow and secondly to Ignacio Salazar, the owner of a storage facility where he had stored their gear for the trip. Satisfied that everything had been taken care of, he opened his luggage and took out an expensive bottle of Glenfiddich. He poured himself a generous helping. After a small sip, he sighed at the exquisite taste. He missed his life back in New York. Had it not been for the threat of the Royals, he wouldn’t have dreamed of roughening it out here at the end of the world. But it was a great sacrifice for an even greater reward.
With the Royals out of the picture, nothing would stop him from ruling the world.
†
Gabriella returned to their suite to store her briefcase and change into something less formal. Noa was still fast asleep. Her little princess stayed up for most of the night with Trinity and was sleeping like the dead, just like her mother. She quickly changed into jeans and a t-shirt and kissed her daughter. Trinity was lying motionless on the bed, her face pale. Gabriella walked over and planted a soft kiss on the redhead’s lips. When she pulled away, she was pleasantly surprised to see the Trinity’s eyes crack open.
“Sleep, my love.” She kissed her again and with a soft sigh, the vampire closed her eyes.
She left the room quietly and met Inger as she, too, was coming out of her suite. They both walked towards the wing that held their mothers’ suite. Inger glanced at Gabriella and was just about to knock, when the door opened. Tahlia stood before them, looking fresh and groomed, as opposed to other sleeping vampires. Her black eyes lit up as they rested on them.
“Ah, my beautiful daughters,” she murmured as she stepped back to let them enter. They both kissed Tahlia’s cheek as they entered the suite. Besides Aria, who was asleep in her crib, there was no one else in the apartment.
“Where’s Mom?”
Tahlia shrugged. “I think she went out for a walk.”
Inger blinked. “In broad daylight?” Inger glanced at Gabriella and then back at Tahlia. “What’s going on, Mother?”
Tahlia gestured for them to take a seat on the couch.
“Tahlia,” Gabriella began, “are you having problems?”
“Something like that, my love,” Tahlia replied and grimaced. “I’m not sure how much I can tell you about it, since it’s not really my place to discuss this.”
Gabriella noticed that Inger’s hand was trembling when she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re not breaking up, are you? Vampires don’t break up.” Inger sounded and acted like a scared little girl instead of the mature woman, wife and mother she was. Gabriella quickly took her sister’s hand and squeezed it. “What will the world come to if you two…?”
“I’m not leaving your mother,” Tahlia said firmly. “I would never do that.”
“Then what it this. You’re acting strange. Distant, almost.”
“Inger, maybe we should wait for Jemima before we have this talk,” Gabriella said quietly, hoping that her own panic at this situation was not as obvious as Inger’s. Tahlia without Jemima and vice versa was not something she had ever thought she would have to experience. They were the epitome of true love. Gabriella couldn’t begin to imagine what it must feel like for Tahlia to go through this…whatever this was. She rose and pulled Tahlia into a tender embrace. To her shock, she felt the vampire trembling and she held her even tighter.
†
Jemima opened the door to her suite and stopped to take in the scene. Inger was seated on the couch, looking close to tears. Next to the couch, Gabriella was holding Tahlia tightly. She closed the door and everyone turned to look at her. Inger’s expression bordered on fear, while Gabriella looked deeply sad.
“Where were you, Mom?”
Jemima glanced over at the crib and saw that Aria was still asleep. She had left the suite soon after her awkward talk with Tahlia. If she was turning human again, she had to put it to the test. Leaving the safety of the bunker, she had found herself inside the secret tunnel leading from the bunker to the outside. When the first rays hit the earth, she had waited with bated breath as it crawled towards her. Once the area outside the tunnel was bathed in sunlight, she had carefully reached out a hand, preparing herself for the intense pain she knew would follow.
But it didn’t come.
With a heavy heart, she had stared at her unscathed hand. All she could think about at that moment, was that she had yet again doubted Tahlia. Twice, in the space of a few hours. She had since been roaming the streets aimlessly, trying to clear her head and praying for a way to reach her wife again. That would have to wait, now that her daughters were here and they obviously had questions. She opened her arms to accept Inger, as the latter rushed over to her. As she gently held Inger, her eyes met Tahlia’s over Inger’s shoulder. Tahlia returned the look with a level stare of her own. Jemima held Inger away from her and looked at her daughter.
“What has you so distraught, my darling?”
“You…you and Mother. Something’s not right with you.”
Gabriella approached her and Jemima leaned in to kiss the brunette.
She smiled in Tahlia’s direction and led her daughters to the couch. “I thought you would both be at the office.”
“Not unless we know that you are both okay.” Inger was looking between her and Tahlia.
“Ok. As a married women yourself, I know that you understand the need for your mother and I to work out any wrinkles in our marriage between the two of us.” She made strong eye contact with both women. “That said, I went to see the doctor and have received some startling news.” She looked at Tahlia, well-aware of the alarm on both Inger and Gabriella’s faces “I’m becoming human again.”
“WHAT?!” Both girls shouted at the same time.
“How? I meant it’s not like…”
“But I thought it was impossible to…”
Jemima held up her hand. “To answer all your questions, I don’t know how this happened. Nor do I understand why.”
“I might have a theory.”
They all turned to Tahlia. She was standing with her back to them, looking down into the crib, her hands locked behind her back.
“Tahlia?” Jemima felt a tightness around her chest. Was Tahlia withholding something from her? Something serious? “I thought you said you didn’t know why this was happening?”
“I didn’t, until just now.” She looked over her shoulder at them. “Come see this.”
They all rushed to the crib, the sight that greeted Jemima, made her hand raise to cover her mouth. Next to her, Inger and Gabriella gasped in shock.
VII
Molan stood back and scratched his head. He looked up to find ten pairs of eyes resting on him.
“I will consult the tomes again, but I must say that this is strange.” He swallowed when he met the queen’s gaze, her black eyes almost liquid with rage. “But I’m sure there must be an explanation for this.” He looked at the babies again. They were all fine, except for the fact that they seemed to have aged by at least a few months overnight. He stuck out a hand and wiggled his fingers to the delight of the now nine-month old toddlers.
“Have…have you ever encountered this type of accelerated growth before?” Jessica asked as she traced a finger down her daughter’s cheek.
“I haven’t, but there might be something in the tomes Gellar left me.” He looked at the concerned parents. “We’ve not met anything that could defeat us and I’m of th
e firm belief that this, too, will be easily dealt with.” He glanced at Jemima. “I mean everything. So, if you’ll excuse me, I will get to work immediately.” With a bow in Tahlia’s direction, he left for the library.
†
Tahlia glanced at Paloma, Jonas, and Pierre and the three immediately came to her side.
“We need to get ahead of this and quickly.” She turned her gaze on her wife. “I believe there is some correlation between Jemima’s conversion and the accelerated growth of the young ones.”
Paloma tucked an errant lock behind her ears. “Since the Pillars have extraterrestrial DNA, I think we need to find an expert or experts who could either disapprove or substantiate our theories.” She frowned. “Because I have one.”
Tahlia’s brow shot up in surprise. “I want to hear it, but not here.” She led the way out the room and to the library. Molan was seated in the corner pouring over a thick book, while a stack of tomes and scrolls lay on a nearby table. They moved to the opposite corner of the library.
“Paloma.”
“I agree that Jemima’s change and the growth of the children are linked. I would like to think that with the accelerated growth, Aria’s need for nourishment will increase considerably. The mix of breast and bottled milk, you have her on right now, might not be sufficient anymore and therefore, an alternative source of nourishment needs to be established.”
Tahlia was stunned and so were the others, she noticed. Even though it was a theory, Paloma was making real sense. Could Aria simply be borrowing her mother’s body to sustain her? Did that mean that Jemima was going to be left unharmed when the baby stopped breastfeeding? An image of Jemima breastfeeding Aria flashed through her mind and a warm glow started in the pit of her stomach. For some reason, Jemima’s body stopped producing enough milk about two months after Aria’s birth and that caused them to put her on the bottle to supplement her feeding. Breastfeeding had become few and far between and Tahlia had mourned the loss of her most favorite pastime since then. She became aware that the others were looking at her and she nodded.
“That makes a lot of sense. How can we verify your theory?”
“Syria. She could tell us more.”
“This is not something we could discuss over a telephone,” Jonas said calmly. Since Izaura had entered his life, he was a completely new man. He had loved Joan deeply, but Joan’s refusal to be converted had also weighed heavily on him. It devastated him when she died, but the appearance of Izaura had lifted that oppressive gloom that had followed him around. He smiled more and looked altogether much happier now. “If you permit, either Pierre or I, could try and track Syria down.” Tahlia looked at Paloma and then at Pierre. “Both you and Paloma are needed here. Your partners need you.”
It made good sense, once again. Leaving Inger and Jemima at a time like this would be insensitive and unwise, no matter the reason.
“Good. When can you leave?”
“If we get inoculated with the UV serum within the hour, we could leave tonight. It’s a six and half hour flight to Iquitos were she last checked in with us.”
Tahlia walked up to the two men and placed her hands on their shoulders. “You are going far above and beyond your duties, my brothers. Know that you have our immense gratitude.”
Pierre grinned. “It’s our duty as uncles. You two make sure that the women are safe and happy. They need to be reminded that we take care of our loved ones and that they remain always safe.”
“Thank you, Pierre.” She smiled at Jonas. “I will take care of Izaura.”
The others left, but Tahlia remained behind. She approached Molan and found him frowning over some text. He looked up when she came to stand next to him.
“The text is so complicated. It says one thing, but means another.” He gave her an apologetic look. “It might take longer than I initially thought.”
Tahlia read the disappointment in his eyes as well as the concern. As much as she was still riled at him and his kind for bringing all this to her doorstep, it had also been one of the most cherished experiences of Tahlia’s existence. To conceive and raise a child with Jemima had not been something she had ever imagined in her future. She gave him a faint smile.
“We want answers and hopefully a solution to this, so, I understand that it might not be an overnight quest.” She placed her hand on his shoulder and walked away, aware that he was staring at her in mute surprise. With everyone working an angle of the problem, she too, had a small experiment of her own to run.
†
Jemima lifted Aria up from the carpet and kissed her tenderly on the lips. The blue eyes, so like her own, twinkled with mirth and Jemima kissed her again.
“I love you, my little rose, more than you’ll ever know.” Aria let out a stream of baby talk. “Yes, honey, mommy loves you.” She pressed the baby against her breast and her eyes shot full of tears when the small arms curled around her neck. Her father would’ve loved Aria just as much as he loved Inger. He had taught Inger how to ride a bike and how to swim. The two of them had gone on numerous camping trips which, unbeknownst to them, Tahlia had always supervised. But they had a beautiful bond and it was very hard on Inger when James died. Jemima sighed, missing him deeply at that moment. He would’ve done the same with Aria and she, in turn, would’ve adored her grandpa. The baby suddenly began to jump excitedly in her lap and Jemima sensed Tahlia’s presence. Aria was incredibly attached to Tahlia, and she wasn’t the only one. As Tahlia came to sit on the carpet next to her, there was a jumbled chorus of baby calls and giggles. They all adored her. Jemima watched as Inger, Jessica and Gabriella placed their daughters on the carpet. The babies began to crawl on sturdy arms and legs towards Tahlia. The usual somber look on Tahlia’s face was gone as she lay back and allowed the babies to crawl over her. It was quite a sight to behold and Jemima noticed that she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t look away from the scene. Noa was bold enough to steal a sloppy kiss from Tahlia and Jemima laughed at the baby’s antics. She sat up like a giant with all these tiny people hanging over her, to gather them all in a bundle on her lap.
“Shush.”
To everyone’s surprise, the girls all calmed down and looked up at Tahlia with wide eyes. For a long moment they just sat like that, an obvious non-verbal conversation taking place.
“Oh my, they actually seem to understand you,” Gabriella whispered as she looked at the other women. “Can you feel it?”
Jemima felt it, indeed. There was a subtle fluttering in her mind. It wasn’t Tahlia. Tahlia’s mental cord usually hummed gently through her mind. This one was a little jumpy— touching and retreating. This lasted for a few moments and then it was gone. The exercise seemed to have worn out the little imps and their eyes were beginning to droop. With absolute tenderness, Tahlia kissed the crown of each baby. They were the youngest members of her clan and as their queen, they were all hers. Jemima didn’t realize she was staring until the dark head lifted and she met the pitch-black stare. For decades that dark gaze had been her refuge. She had found peace in it; excitement, love and exquisite passion. With a few rushed and thoughtless words, she had seemed to lock herself out of the only true haven she had ever known. The stare was only broken when Gabriella moved closer to collect her dozing baby, as did Jessica and Inger.
All the woman left the lounge, until only the two of them remained behind. Suddenly unsure about being alone with Tahlia, she rose from her seated position.
“I’ll put her down for a nap, if you don’t mind,” she said quietly. Tahlia’s unblinking stare was powerful as she looked at her. Although Jemima never really managed to develop any immunity to Tahlia’s allure, at that moment she felt like the first time when she had looked into those bottomless eyes and swooned. Even across the chasm between them, she found herself inexplicably drawn to her wife of over three decades. A soft sigh from Aria’s tiny lips, brought her back from the deep dive into Tahlia’s eyes and she noticed that Tahlia was holding out the baby. She felt her cheeks warm
in mortification as she collected Aria and held her tightly to her chest. Her blush deepened even more when she noticed Paloma standing in the doorway. She practically fled the lounge.
†
Tahlia was not sure what happened just then, but before she could ponder on it some more, Paloma came to sit on the couch.
“That was strange.”
“What was?” Tahlia said as she rose from the carpet. She had an inkling as to what Paloma was referring to, but she didn’t feel like discussing…this…or whatever it was that had passed between her and Jemima.
“Jemima was blushing.”
Yes, she was, Tahlia thought. It had been ages since she had seen Jemima blush. Why she did so, was still a mystery to Tahlia.
“I’ve noticed.” She walked over the drinks cabinet and held up the bottle in Paloma’s direction. “It’s ten in the morning, but for us vampires, this could just as well be ten at night.”
Paloma came to join her. “In that case, I’ll join you.” She was silent as Tahlia served them both, but spoke again when they walked back to the couch. “Why do you think she blushed?”
Tahlia threw Paloma a sharp look. “How should I know?”
“Would you say her gradual change also affected your mental link with her?”
Taking a long drink, Tahlia only sighed. Paloma was quite persistent when she wanted to be. That had been her most irritating trait when they were human. When they were converted, Tahlia had thought that would be the last time she would experience that side of Paloma. What a foolish thought.
“I don’t know, Paloma,” she said indulgently as she took another sip. It was times like these that she wished alcohol had an effect on her.
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