~~~
Collin received a call early the next morning. “I need to go to San Francisco. Robbie says he thinks Rosie’s about to go into labor.”
“Give them my best, Collin. I hope you make it in time. I love you.”
“I love you too, sweet lady. Gotta go.” He took her in his arms and kissed her, then grabbed his bag and charged out the door.
That evening, he called and told her Rosie was in labor. He thought the baby would be coming soon. She asked if she could watch through his mind and he let her in. Two hours later she saw Collin and Rosie’s little girl slide screaming into the world. It was the most amazing thing she had ever witnessed in her life. What she wasn’t expecting, indeed no one expected, was the enormous rush of psychic energy that filled the room from the massive orgasm Rosie experienced at the moment of birth. Even the baby quieted and turned her little head to stare at her mother.
“Good Lord God Almighty.” Rosie cried, “That was the best orgasm of my life. Robbie, we’ve got to do this again.”
It would have been funny if everyone wasn’t stunned into awed silence, pleasure blanking their minds.
~~~
“What do you mean you can’t come to Ecuador?” Brenna felt a bit lost at Irina’s announcement.
“Some of us have to work, you know. I don’t have a huge inheritance,” Irina held up a hand to still Brenna’s protest, “and I’m not about to become a kept woman. Besides, I like my job.”
“I was counting on you to interpret for me.”
“And Jayson is counting on me to interpret for sensitive negotiations in Europe. Three-way negotiations carried out in three languages. With telepaths, so everything will be verbal. Brenna, Rebecca isn’t going to break up with Carlos. I’ll have other opportunities to see Quito, but a month to six weeks, paid, in Europe? My weekends will be free, and I have vacation time I can take at the end of the assignment. I can’t pass that up, and Brenna, it’s my job. Rebecca knows Spanish, and you can read minds. Besides, you’ll probably find an incredibly sexy Latin lover, and it won’t matter if you speak the same verbal language.”
~~~
The scene at the airport was a madhouse. Carlos was a bundle of nerves. He had always brushed off Rebecca’s fears of meeting his family, but he had gone into a panic when she told him her mother would be accompanying them to Ecuador. He hadn’t met Lydia yet, as she had flown back to San Francisco the morning after Rebecca’s birthday party to pack and move back to DC.
Brenna chuckled at Carlos’ nervousness. She didn’t have any sympathy for him and was enjoying the show. He kept looking around, his eyes a bit wild, trying to figure out where Rebecca’s mother was. With all of the luggage, and the O’Donnell protection team milling around, things were a bit chaotic and introductions got skipped.
Lydia was dressed for travel and didn’t look that much different from the Protectors in her black jeans, black turtleneck and black leather jacket. In fact, she was dressed almost exactly like her daughter. At forty-six, she was a year older than Carlos, and telepaths at her age normally look at least fifteen years younger. It wasn’t until they were seated on the plane and it started to taxi out to the runway that Rebecca, with a sly smile, introduced them.
“Honey, this is my mom. Lydia McCarthy, may I present General Carlos Martin de Vargas y Saenz?”
Carlos about swallowed his tongue.
Lydia had obviously been amused by his nervousness. In Spanish, she said, “I’m pleased to finally meet you, General. Thank you for inviting me. I’m sure you understand how important it is for a young maiden such as Rebecca to be properly chaperoned.”
Brenna, hearing the interpretation through Rebecca’s mind, lost it, erupting in laughter. Rebecca looked at Lydia in sputtering shock.
“Stop the plane,” Rebecca shouted, punching Lydia in the shoulder. “This woman needs to get off.”
Laughing, Lydia said in English, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. He has monster-in-law dread seeping out of his pores. You know, Rebecca, he is very handsome. Does he have a sister?”
Rebecca’s eyes widened in horror.
“I do have a sister, Senora,” Carlos helpfully supplied.
“Oh, good. I can’t wait to meet her.” The smile of satisfaction on her face looked exactly like one Rebecca often wore.
~~~
They were met at the airport in Quito by a horde of people. Their Protector team was given two vans with Ecuadorian drivers while Carlos and his guests were escorted to a limo. Riding through the city with the Americans staring out the car windows, Rebecca breathed, “God, it’s beautiful.”
A huge snow-capped peak loomed in the distance ahead of them. Quito sits almost on the equator at an altitude over nine thousand feet above sea level. The climate is temperate, and temperatures are remarkably consistent throughout the year. A short dry season runs from May through September, but the rest of the year sees frequent rains. The city of two and a half million people had beautiful buildings and churches. People went about their business, but compared to Washington or New York, no one seemed in much of a rush. No evidence of the silent war between telepathic clans could be seen.
Their caravan wound into the foothills outside the city and quickly arrived at a lovely Spanish-styled manor house, Hacienda de Vargas. They walked through an arched entryway to a central courtyard filled with flowers and a huge fountain in the middle. Balconied walkways ringed the area on the second and third floors. Hummingbirds flitted about and the songs of other birds filled the sweet-smelling air.
The Americans were led across stone floors through a high-beamed room with bare-wood columns and an enormous stone fireplace, then up wide stairs to their rooms on the third floor. Brenna wandered her room, as large as her own at home, in amazement. It had a comfortable feel with polished wood floors, white plaster walls with wood trim around the windows and doors, colorful rugs on the floor and a canopied bed. A door led to the walkway above the courtyard. The room was filled with light and air. The bathroom had ceramic tile on the floors, counters and lower walls. There was a large bath with a shower and a closet almost as large as hers at home. She decided with a smile that if she had to come visit Rebecca here, it wouldn’t be too onerous.
Carlos’ parents seemed nice and they greeted their guests, especially Rebecca, warmly. They were served a quiet dinner. Maria, Carlos’ mother, told them a banquet would be held later in the week, but she knew they would be tired and hadn’t planned anything for that evening.
“If I didn’t know, I’d never believe you just went through a war,” Rebecca said.
“It didn’t ever reach Quito,” Don Alphonso said. “With your help, we managed to escape what would have been a devastating defeat.”
“What happened to Carlotta Hernandez?” Brenna asked while they enjoyed cognac after dinner. The coffee served was delightful, and she wondered how much of it she could haul back to the states.
“She is being held at a small house in the mountains,” Don Alphonso told her. “Her father has not apologized for trying to kill my son, and until he does, she shall remain my guest. I’m not going to turn her loose to try again.” He shook his head, “The things in that woman’s mind ... I blush to think of some of the things she has done, and what her father has done. There is evil in the world, of that I have no doubt.”
Brenna was crawling into bed when there was a soft knock at the door.
“Come in,” she called.
A tall, handsome young man entered and stood just inside the doorway.
“I’m Jesus, Carlos’ younger brother. He asked me to check and see if you needed anything.”
Remembering that Carlos had supplied a half-brother to keep Rebecca company the first night Brenna stayed at his house in Washington, and how later Rebecca had volunteered to warm Carlos’ bed his first night at the West Virginia estate, she smiled.
“Thank you, Jesus. I’m fine tonight. But thank Carlos for his thoughtfulness and his hospitality.”
“Good night, Senorita.”
“Good night, Jesus.”
He closed the door quietly and she turned out the light, pulling up the covers and going to sleep.
~~~
A tour of the city the next day left the Americans in awe. Lydia said the architecture reminded her of several cities in Europe. The Presidential Palace, the Opera House and other landmarks were beautiful. A tour of the massive, towering Basilica was the highlight.
The Basilica de Quito is the largest neogothic church in South America, with its two front towers rising five hundred feet above the city. They went to the top of all three towers, which afforded them a view of the whole city. For Brenna, the most delightful part of the church was the gargoyles, fashioned after native animals.
They lunched in the courtyard of a historic mansion that was now a shopping mall. “Usually, visitors are impressed that this huge building was a private residence,” Carlos laughed, “but I guess for you it’s a nice little bungalow.”
Brenna felt her face grow warm. The West Virginia manor house was possibly the largest private residence in the world, half-again as large as the White House. “I didn’t grow up there, and I’m still in a bit of shock at what I’ve inherited. I think occasionally about what I’ll need to do to ensure my children develop some humility. My tolerance for entitled spoiled brats is about nil.”
Rebecca grinned at her, “Brenna, don’t worry about it. I’ll be around, and if your little monsters get too far out of hand, I’ll kick their asses and send them down to muck stables. If you haven’t already done it, of course.”
Looking at Carlos’ raised eyebrows, Rebecca leaned close and told him in a low voice, “I might tease her, and she can be a bit of a brat at times, but she usually does it for a reason. She’s not spoiled. Cleaning toilets and waiting tables is something you don’t forget just because you get a little money.”
“In our culture,” Carlos’ mother Maria said, “boys grow up very spoiled and they tend to take it as their due. When my Carlito came back from Princeton, he was so full of himself. An athlete, a good student and so good looking, he went through a wild period. But after a weekend out on the town that shall live in infamy, with an irate father on our doorstep demanding satisfaction, his father insisted he join the army or he would be disinherited.”
Carlos listened, blushing furiously.
“He came home after his basic training and thanked us, and to our surprise has made it his career. I think it will break his heart when he has to make a life change and leave it behind. It has benefited Vargas, however. Our security force is the best-trained and most capable in South America.”
“Actually,” Carlos said, looking at Rebecca, “I’m thinking of resigning my commission. I’ve developed an interest in something more important that I wish to pursue.”
Stunned, it was Rebecca’s turn to blush. “We’ll talk about it, okay?”
That evening Maria led Rebecca to a small parlor off her bedroom, poured her a small glass of sherry, and sat down to talk.
“Do you love him?” She started in English.
“Yes,” Rebecca answered in Spanish, “with all my heart. We’ve bonded, we’re soul mates. I know I will love him until the day I die.”
Maria nodded with a soft smile. “I understand that. Oh, do I understand that. When I met Carlos’ father, when he touched my soul, I have never had any doubts since that day, or any regrets.”
“Senora, I feel I must be honest with you. I fear that Carlos doesn’t understand my situation. Oh, he says he does, but even when he reads my mind, I’m afraid that what he wants interferes with what I’m telling him.”
Rebecca braced herself, but was determined to get everything out in the open. “He has told me that your daughter Teresa has an affliction.” Maria colored slightly but didn’t drop her eyes. “Our scientists believe that it has a genetic cause. Caylin O’Byrne has confirmed that. I have that same affliction. It affects people to different degrees, and I have what is considered a mild case, but I’m incapable of fidelity. I would go mad.”
Maria cocked her head, obviously considering this in terms of her own daughter.
“I could try to control it, and I did when I was younger. When I was sixteen, my foster mother locked me in my room for three days. I ended up in a mental hospital. She even had a priest perform an exorcism. Finding out that it’s genetic hasn’t helped with the problem, but I no longer suffer the guilt and shame.”
Rebecca took a sip of her sherry and decided it was terrible stuff. “And then there’s Brenna. I don’t know if you believe in the Goddess, or if you know what a shadow is, but we’re tied together by bonds even stronger than what I feel for Carlos. It’s not a matter of choice. If someone threatened both of them, I would sacrifice him to protect her, even if it broke my heart.”
Maria nodded.
“So I can’t marry him. I can’t give him heirs and be his hostess, though having his children is one of my fondest desires. I’ll carry his bastards proudly and love them with all my heart, but I know he needs a proper wife. I hope whoever she is, she will allow him a mistress, because that’s all I can be.”
A tear ran down Maria’s cheek. She stood and put out her hands, drawing Rebecca to her feet. Taking the much taller woman in her arms, she murmured, “I will be proud to have you for a daughter. Don’t allow yourself to underestimate him, my dear. He may not completely understand now, but I believe he loves you, and he will grow to understand. We live a very long time. Don’t say never. And as for bastards, that is up to Carlos. Don Alphonso still carries some of the old ways. I never asked for special consideration for my children over his other children, even though I’m his wife. We are Clan, and though I’m a good Catholic, the Church does not tell me what to do or define my morality. Make him swear before you quicken an egg that he will acknowledge your children and name them heirs, and if he doesn’t, withhold having children until he does.”
Rebecca looked down on Maria, trying to make sense of her words while a roaring dizziness spun through her mind.
“Don’t look at me so shocked,” Maria chuckled. “Women have power, use it. Men think the world works the way they want it to. You’re young, but you’ll learn the world is actually ordered by women. You just have to let him think he is the one making the decisions. It will make him happy.”
“You don’t care if I don’t marry him?”
“Call it what you will, but you need to make some kind of commitment to him. If it makes you happy, write out a contract and make him sign it. Put in a provision that lets you sew his mouth shut if he gets too unreasonable. Do a handfasting or declare your love to the Goddess in a mountain meadow and get Her blessing. Write your own vows and have my brother the priest marry you and Carlos in a non-Church wedding. It’s not me you need to worry about. He needs something solid to hold onto, something that publicly says you are his. Wear his ring. Then live your life as you need to live it. He will adapt.”
A sly smile stole over Maria’s face. “If you are clever, he will propose such a solution. But for the Goddess’ sake, stop telling people you won’t marry him. It injures his ego, and men are little boys no matter what their age. Give him something. Make him feel proud that such a beautiful and desirable woman is willing to tell the world he has captured you.”
Tears misted Rebecca’s eyes. This woman was no bigger than Irina, but strength emanated from her, and the wisdom in her eyes took Rebecca’s breath away. “You’ll teach me? Help me learn to be as wise as you are?”
“Of course. That is a mother’s greatest joy, a daughter who will listen. Now, tell me of your mother. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I didn’t expect a beautiful young woman, younger than my own daughter. And I suspect there are secrets you haven’t told us. For one thing, she watches my daughter the way Brenna watches the men.”
She refilled their glasses of sherry. “I am discreet, but I love to know secrets. Will you indulge me?”
Rebecca tol
d her of her life, how Lydia became pregnant and gave her away, yet could never let go. She told of coming to the Clan, and Brenna’s discovery and incorporation back into the Clan. Maria in turn told her of her life and some of the history of Vargas. It was very late when Rebecca slipped into Carlos’ bed.
~~~
“Senorita O’Donnell? May I have a word?” Teresa stood in Brenna’s door.
“Of course, come in.” Brenna was drinking a large glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice and had an insulated pot of strong coffee sitting on the sideboard. “May I get you anything?”
Teresa sat on the edge of a chair and shook her head. Carlos’ sister was older than he was by five years. Their mother was petite, almost diminutive, but while Teresa had inherited Maria’s beauty, she had inherited her father’s height. As tall as Rebecca, with long, straight, coal-black hair to her waist, an olive complexion and an hourglass figure, Brenna was sure she would command attention wherever she went. Lydia was practically salivating, but sadly told Brenna that Teresa’s interest in women was nonexistent.
“My mother suggested I talk to you, and one ignores my mother’s suggestions at their peril,” she started, staring at her hands, which worried and twisted a string of rosary beads. “I wish to talk to you about a subject I’m not comfortable with, so please be patient. She said you and other scientists at O’Donnell are doing work with genetics and have discovered that certain manifestations are a result of genetic defects.”
“I’m not certain I would call them defects,” Brenna said, understanding where this was headed. “I would classify them as unwanted by-products of evolution. Are you aware that I have a rather unusual Gift?”
“Yes,” Teresa colored, “I’ve been told you’re a succubus.”
“Have you ever met a succubus before?”
“Only one, and you’re not at all like her,” Teresa earnestly told her, looking up for the first time.
“Carlotta Hernandez? She’s not a succubus. I have the gene on both of my X chromosomes, she only has it on one, like you. Having never met a real succubus, she decided that her affliction, as some call it, indicated she was one. Then she took her own twisted ideas of what a succubus was, a lot of it drawn from myth, and created a persona. What she really is, is a twisted, sadistic, narcissistic slut. She’s not like me, or like you and Rebecca.”
Succubus Rising, An Urban Fantasy (The Telepathic Clans Saga) Page 23