by Seth Eden
“The Lucian scare me,” she said. “And the more pregnant I am, the more they scare me.”
“I’ll never let anything happen to you,” Kal whispered in Tess’s ear. “Or our baby.”
She closed her eyes for a moment as they walked outside. Kal said that all the time but the closer the Lucian got to Chicago, the more difficult it was to believe.
2
Kal
Tess was scared. Kal could practically smell it on her and he didn’t like it. Not that she wasn’t allowed to be scared, but he knew how truly tough and strong she was. It was a feature he appreciated about human women. They were so much more physically fragile than Vampyren, male or female. But it didn’t stop them from being tough and brave. Tess was especially petite. Her hair had grown but when he met her, she’d had a short little haircut. She’d looked like a tiny waif. Yet it hadn’t stopped her from doing the incredibly dangerous work of liberating children from his kind. He admired her immensely for that strength.
He knew the Lucian were truly frightening, but he put Tess’s obvious terror down to those pesky pregnancy hormones. It was probably a necessary thing after all. She had to be afraid so she could protect the child inside her. He knew he felt increasingly possessive on her behalf himself during her pregnancy. He was pretty sure Vampyren men were just as affected by pregnancies as their better halves. He had a theory that Vampyren men impregnating breeders became infinitely more dangerous when they chose not to follow up on fatherhood (which was most of the time). They had all that possessiveness and bloodthirst that was intended to be used protecting their kin, but they had no functional outlet for it. Instead, it could easily be misdirected. Well, it wouldn’t be in his case. Anyone who came near Tess in a threatening manner was likely to get their head removed from their body, that much was certain. Unless he felt like letting them suffer and die slowly. That was always an option too.
“I need a nap,” Tess said, sighing now. She did look tired. But he wasn’t about to tell her that. He had made the mistake of being a little too honest by telling Tess she looked tired or fat or haggard before. He had never intended those comments as insults. Vampyren people didn’t really get fat. It just wasn’t possible given their genetics. Pregnant Vampyren women’s bodies really didn’t change outside of their swelling bellies. So when Kal had merely been fascinated by how Tess’s face was fuller, her curves softer, he hadn’t meant it at all in a bad way when he mentioned it. In fact, it had turned him on. But she hadn’t taken it well. Oops.
“You want me to nap with you?” Kal said. He knew she tended to sleep better when they slept together.
“Not if you’re not tired.” But her eyes begged him and he smiled before crawling into their bed. They had pretended for a while that his living quarters would be separate from hers, but they weren’t bothering with that now.
Tess looked almost shy and Kal thought that mildly hilarious given how much they knew and had done together throughout their relationship. Or maybe she was just embarrassed about needing a nap. But she climbed into the bed anyway and he cuddled up behind her. She sighed in his arms and he thought she was going to sleep until she started talking.
“Have women really hit on you?” Tess said. “You can tell me. I’m not going to be mad at you. Might be pissed at them.”
The sheets and blankets were cool. It was the thick of summer in Chicago and everything was hot and sticky and a little insufferable. They’d set up what Tess called a “swamp cooler” in their room that helped a bit, but Tess’s body was hot against his, though the sheets were cooling her down a little. It should have been uncomfortable but the scent of her and her sticky skin under his hands was only turning him on. Her sense of possessiveness made it worse. He was getting hard in his jeans now and he shifted under the sheet, grimacing.
“Couple times,” he murmured. “It’s not as if anyone would have a chance against you.”
“No?” Tess said. “With my fat little pregnant body? Driving you crazy? Eating all the time?”
“We weren’t lying,” Kal whispered, and now his erection was getting worse. His hand crept up under her shirt and he palmed one of her breasts. She’d taken her bra off right after she’d walked in the door and his cock swelled at the satisfying feel of her swollen breast in his hand. “It’s sexy. The hunger… for food, for us…”
Tess hummed and pressed back against him. His breath was on her neck and he was riled up now as she rocked back into him. He pinched her nipple and she made that high little whimpering noise that he liked so much. Soon enough they were both scrambling to take off their pants and then Kal shoved Tess’s panties down around her thighs. She reached back to clutch his shoulder and pull him closer and he slid neatly into her from behind. It was a comforting kind of sex; heated but gentle. He reached down to finger her in slow circles that made her groan and sigh and finally he sank his teeth into her neck. He’d marked her already. It had been some time since he'd first drawn blood from her and tasted her sweet, buttery blood on his tongue. Now he could sense where she was and pick up her scent more easily. Mark had told him it might be a good idea since she was pregnant. It had also given him a slight thirst for her. Nothing murderous, of course. He just had an urge to taste her sometimes. Mercifully, she was aroused by it. Now as he sucked just a little bit of blood from her neck, she came as he rubbed her clit a little faster and thrust into her. She cried out and he shut his eyes as he met his own orgasm inside her, the two of them riding a shared wave of pleasure together.
“I love you,” Tess said and he kissed away the tear that slid down her cheek. “I love you so much, Kal.”
“I love you too, baby,” Kal said, her blood still on his lips.
Most of Kal’s days, when he wasn’t with Tess, were spent on whatever the Urbana campus seemed to need from him. Sometimes the work was in the interest of the Council beyond the campus. He’d gone out on Loren’s missions several times with Mark, Danton, and Alek to clear roads or resolve skirmishes around town due to some conflict or other. Sometimes the fight wasn’t even between a Vampyren and a human. In fact, it was likely to be two humans or two Vampyren. It was almost like everyone was on equal footing now, especially since the forced feeding tanks had been abolished by Loren. The Council was instead, offering incentives to humans to donate their blood. Usually, it was a steady supply of food or security for their housing. The problem was the economic system, Loren told Mark and Kal. People were starting to use money again but its value was all over the place. There was nothing fixed. Taking an old dollar from someone and assuming you might be able to use it to buy something else was almost an act of faith. But people were doing it more and more. The problem was that the Council didn’t actually have money. They’d need to fix the economic system soon. It was all Loren talked about. Still, some humans were happy to donate their blood if they could stay fed and not be abused in the process. It wasn’t a perfect system yet, but they were getting there.
Now Kal tossed his brother a blood pack as they walked out to the SUV that evening. Loren wanted to meet with them, but he couldn’t get away from the Council HQ. He’d wanted Tess to come too but she’d given Kal a lecture about having too much work to do with the kids’ home and besides that, there were several other creches now liberated that were having problems transitioning to the new, more humane home and a number of human kids who needed to be reunited with their parents. What did Loren want from her anyway always demanding her presence? Kal had kissed her on the forehead and promised her he’d make her excuses to Loren instead. She worked too hard, and he knew it.
The drive up to Chicago was calming somehow. Kal liked to drive. It had been fun to learn, although he was pretty sure he was breaking all kinds of tedious traffic laws even if they weren’t enforced anymore. Now his tires squealed as he turned a corner too fast and Mark gripped the dashboard, giving him a disbelieving look.
“What?” Kal said, shrugging. “I like speed.”
Mark just laughed at him and then fiddled with the
radio. There were a couple of small stations that had recently started around Chicago. They played music and talked about the goings-on around town and how different things were since the Council had changed leadership. When the radio towers were actually functioning, the stations could be a good source of information. They advertised traders and announced locations of doctors and food stands. So far, it was a lot more reliable than the paltry internet left after the near apocalypse, or at least that’s what all the humans said.
“Good evening, suckers and sources of blood!” The DJ said when Mark found one of the stations coming through clearly. “It’s a hot one in the windy city tonight, kids! Stay in with the swamp cooler, hold your Vamp close but not too close because things… are sticky! But if you pop on down to the Magnificent Mile, you can catch the Farmer’s Market this weekend! That’s right, folks! This evening and tomorrow starting around noon, Chicago’s small farmers are bringing you the best in absolutely organic produce and other homemade treats and for humans and vamps alike. All the delicious blood packs you can suck! Kettle corn! Honey sticks! And a giant trampoline for the kiddies! So c’mon down! Security provided by the regional leadership Council. Now, let’s keep things sultry with some good ole’ Dusty Springfield!”
The music kicked in. Kal had never heard it before but he found himself bobbing his head in time, vaguely wondering if Tess would say he had any sense of rhythm. She claimed all Vampyrens were hopeless at staying on beat.
Mark clicked his tongue as they pulled over on the street in front of the Council HQ. “A farmer’s market,” Mark muttered. “Can you believe that? We were raping and killing them mercilessly not that long ago. Now they’re selling blood packs next to the certified organic kale out by the river.”
“It’s something,” Kal said. He found himself smiling at the thought. “This is how humans progress, I suppose? By selling things? I find it confusing.”
“Apparently, they call that capitalism,” Mark said. “Crystal has explained it all to me. Many times. She’s a big fan.”
“Hi there.” The human woman came out of nowhere. She was selling snow-cones on the sidewalk in front of HQ and she was barely wearing any clothes. She batted her eyes and jumped in front of Kal as he walked toward the entrance with his brother. “You look hot. Would you like a snow-cone? Only a dollar?”
She bit her lip and cocked her head, batting her eyes at Kal. Beside him, Mark snorted and clapped a hand to his mouth. He could hardly contain his laughter.
“Ah, no thank you!” Kal said.
“What about me?” She licked her lips and reached out to stroke his arm. Kal smiled tightly and took a noticeable step back. “I could keep you relaxed on this hot, sticky day. I love a big, strong Vampyren.”
For a dizzying moment, Kal thought maybe he was using pheromones and hadn’t realized it. But he was sure he wasn’t. It was just what he’d been talking about with Tess, that was all. Human women wanted to lock down a relationship with Vampyren men who might provide protection in case things got hairy. Hell, even the radio DJ seemed aware of it.
“No, thanks,” he said again.
The girl immediately turned to Mark and crossed her arms, squeezing her breasts together so her cleavage poked out beneath her tank top. “What about you, baby?”
The amused expression disappeared from Mark’s face and he backed away, raising his hands. “No thanks!” Kal threw an arm around Mark’s shoulders and shrugged, walking them to the Council HQ entrance.
“We’re family men!” Kal said. “We’ve got human women already!”
“I’m better in bed!” The girl called after them.
“No, you’re not!” They both said, as two guards opened the doors to let them inside.
“Pushy one, isn’t she?” One of the guards said. Kal had gotten to know them both. They were young and both seemed relieved by the new government Loren was running these days. “She bothers us all the time.”
“I’m gonna tell Tess,” Mark said, smirking at his brother as they headed down the corridor.
“Don’t!” Kal said. “She’ll come back here and murder the girl.”
They both laughed at the idea and it echoed down the corridor. They found Loren’s office up the stairs on the second floor. He’d taken a big corner office for himself and he had piles of papers scattered around and a beaten up looking computer in front of him. He waved them over and they sat in two rickety chairs in front of the desk. Loren looked tired, but that wasn’t unusual.
“We’re going to Los Angeles,” Loren said. He folded his hands and smiled at them. “Pack your bags.”
3
Tess
“A diplomatic mission?” Tess said flatly. She was half-heartedly packing a duffel that one of the other Free the Children people had loaned her. She had originally come to Urbana with nothing and so had no bags of her own. Now she slowly folded a t-shirt and tossed it in the bag as Kal bustled around, throwing his stuff into a backpack and seeming rattled. “I’m not a diplomat.”
“Sure, you are,” Kal said, shrugging. “As much as anyone else. You’re instrumental in creating this new government, this new.. .world. Whatever it is. If anyone should talk to them, it’s you.”
“But…” Tess stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. “I’m pregnant.”
“It’s not going to be dangerous.” Kal dropped the pair of jeans he was folding and came over to her, cradling her face in his hands. She rubbed her swollen stomach. She was six months along and only had a somewhat swollen appearance, even if Kal had noticed and marveled at the slight change. People kept touching her belly when she was out and about on campus and telling her she didn’t look pregnant (she didn’t care for that at all).
“It’s not that, just…” She grunted and rubbed her eyes. “I’m just whining. I feel like nesting and I’ve been on-the-run before. Travel isn’t exactly exciting to me. Sometimes I do feel gross too. Heartburn and ugh…” She made a face and Kal kissed the tip of her nose.
“If you really don’t want to go, I will tell Loren you won’t,” Kal said.
Tess stood on her tiptoes and kissed his mouth, a long, sure kiss as if she were drawing comfort from out of his body. “No,” she murmured. “I am instrumental. It’s important that I go. But you have to rub my feet.”
“I’ll always rub your feet.” He pecked her lips again and took the t-shirt she was holding. “Let me pack for you. Sit down. Go down to the cafeteria, why don’t you? I heard something about homemade applesauce. All the humans are raving about it.”
“You don’t know what to pack,” Tess said warily.
“I’ll do my best,” Kal said, winking. “Go, go.”
Tess hadn’t even thought about how they would actually be traveling to Los Angeles. She’d traversed the country here and there and had become used to long-distance drives and really, anything was better than being stuffed inside a wooden crate. But she had not been in an airplane in a very long time and she had never flown in a small airplane, especially over a long distance. But there was apparently a talented pilot and a supply of fuel and more than one plane on hand now, courtesy of Loren and his new government.
Now she stood on an expanse of pavement on a long-abandoned stretch of runway behind O’Hare which was half-bombed to kingdom come. Loren was going on the trip and he was taking Keira along. Mark and Crystal were going as were Cassie and Danton, and Alek and Mindy. It felt something like a couples retreat to Tess, or at least that’s how she was trying to think of it.
But that plane.
“It’s so small,” she said, her voice pitching up slightly.
The plane was a charter jet. It was something that some movie star or something in days gone by. Now it was going to carry the eight of them all the way to Los Angeles. Tess’s stomach flipped over at the thought, but she tried not to betray her fear.
“I’ve flown a lot,” the pilot said. “I’ve become quite used to these human aircraft.” His name was Dayle and he was Vampyren. Tess didn’t l
ike that at all. How would a Vampyren know how to fly a plane properly for such a long distance? She made her concerns known and been told all about Dayle’s pilot credits. Loren didn’t know him very well but his flying skills were solid. Vampyren had aircrafts too, didn’t she know? The principles were just the same. He’d flown this exact plane plenty of times for long stretches. Would Kal or Loren ever put her in danger? Of course, not!
She remained skeptical.
Everyone else was climbing up the short staircase and into the plane. Tess rubbed her stomach, eyeing the plane nervously. Kal stood on the first step and held out his hand.
“I’ll rub your feet?” He said, wiggling his eyebrows. He had his backpack and her duffle. Everyone was waiting for them. Tess heaved a sigh and took his hand, climbing up after him.
The plane itself was luxurious. Now she wondered who it belonged to. Whoever it was, had clearly been loaded. Sometimes Tess sat around wondering what had become of the public figures of the world. Many were dead, some were hiding out probably going unrecognized while scraping by like everyone else. But she heard rumors that many had escaped to remote locations where the Vampyren threat had never reached. She imaged desert islands full of movie stars and CEOs and politicians all arguing over their speared fish.
All the seats on the plane were big and cushy and upholstered in baby-soft leather. Tess took a seat and chirped in surprise when she accidentally touched a button and the seat reclined.
“Oh… That’s nice.” She had been having dull lower back pain so constantly in the last month that she hardly noticed it anymore but now she felt more comfortable than she had since getting pregnant, the pressure taken off her lower back as she reclined. Kal handed her a tumbler of ice water and sat across from her, smirking as he grabbed her feet and removed her shoes.