The Arrival (Children of the Morning Star Book 1)

by Kastie Pavlik

  “Andrew hadn’t known how deeply David’s feelings ran. He had selfishly put his own happiness above all else without justification. If Andrew had chosen to walk away that night, David and Felicia might have gotten married and lived a happy life together.

  "But Felicia's words left doubt. And she had made her own decision.

  “She wanted to explain the situation to David, but knew nothing about his explosive temperament. Andrew asked her to let him handle it. He put it off, though, planning to address the issue over the weekend when his parents would be away.

  “As Fate would have it, the following night David was waiting for her after work. After she locked the doors and saw him, she told him that she couldn’t see him anymore. After an initial period of disbelief, he grew belligerent, screaming about her cheating on him and threatening to kill ‘the other guy.’

  “He grabbed her arm and dragged her toward his car parked in the street, demanding that she take him to ‘the other guy’s house.’ She pleaded with him to let her go, but never denied the truth.

  “We had just arrived in the parking lot. As soon as I heard David, I dashed to help without a word to Andrew, leaving him to wonder what had alarmed me. He ran in pursuit not knowing what to expect.

  “Needless to say, upon seeing me arrive, David put the pieces together and realized what Andrew had done. He tightened his grip on Felicia’s arm. When she cried out, he slapped her hard across the face and shoved her to the ground. Then he charged me.

  “He crashed into me and fell to the ground. He rose, swinging his fists wildly, yelling like a rabid animal. But, punching me is like punching concrete, so he dug his nails into my skin and tried to pull me off balance with his body weight. I deflected him to the side. He stumbled and landed in the grass, where I pinned him down.

  “Felicia was holding her face and sobbing hysterically as David attacked me, screaming about his brother. Andrew ran up the sidewalk, scooped her into his arms, and shot me a scared look. He was only nineteen. He didn’t know what to do.

  “In his eyes, I saw anger at David, but also fear. It was the first time he’d seen me in anything other than human form. I didn’t need to tell him to get Felicia out of there. One look with my darkened eyes was all it took. Thankfully, she never saw me like that—she had clung to him and buried her cries into his neck the moment he picked her up. He carried her to his car and left me to deal with David in the only way possible.”

  A horrified look twisted Paresh’s face.

  Eric quickly said, “I didn’t hurt him. Most humans are susceptible to enchantment, and it’s very rare for one to resist someone like me. It was easy to take control of him. I drove him home in his car and put him to sleep in his bed. Andrew stayed with Felicia at a hotel.

  “Despite wishing to see his brother in jail, Andrew convinced Felicia that pressing charges would scandalize his father’s political career. In hindsight, I wish I had been more forceful with my disagreement. Daniel had just begun his newest term, so re-election was still five years away. The incident would have been a minor blemish, but she agreed, once again, to let Andrew handle the situation.

  “Meanwhile, I faced David’s wrath the next morning. Felicia had more than just broken his heart—her rejection in favor of his brother had shattered it.

  “He was fuming. ‘Andrew gets everything! Don’t I deserve anything? She’s supposed to be mine!’

  “He was weeping and screaming at the same time. He even accused me of being a demon sent to torment him.

  “‘My brother stole my love—and you helped him. He deserves everything you’ll bring on him,’ he shrieked before stomping from his room and slamming doors all the way to the kitchen. I was dumbstruck for a moment, but the longer I stood there, staring at his empty bed, the angrier I got, until my blood simmered. I stormed out of the mansion to cool off. It usually takes a lot to infuriate me, but I was fed up with being stuck in the middle of those two and their ugly side of love.

  “This is exactly why the true bloods are terrified of love. It’s too unpredictable. They fear it will tear the Vampiric Nation apart. Most of them want the lives of men, yet nearly every one of them will say love makes humanity weak because it clouds judgment and clogs the gears of logic.” Eric heaved a heavy sigh. He had been through a lot in his life, but remembering the strife between the brothers and his emotional investment took its toll on him. He rued that entire situation, and he was not one to regret much in life.

  Paresh seemed oblivious to the tears falling down her cheeks. Eric wiped them away with his thumb and offered a sad smile. She parted her lips to speak and choked on her breath. Eric stroked her cheek.

  “Being outside with the natural elements soothes my soul, so I walked through the gardens and calmed down. In my absence, and after drinking an entire bottle of whiskey, David trashed the kitchen and several other rooms in the mansion. When he started tossing the furniture in his father’s parlor, a maid tried to stop him.

  “A vase he threw accidentally hit her in the head. She later reported that when she fell to the floor holding her head and crying, David stopped as though stunned. He stared at her with empty eyes and whispered Felicia’s name. Then he screamed a loud obscenity and ran outside to tear off in his car. I heard her crying for help, and returned to the mess, tended to her bump on the head, and called the Senator. He and Sandy came home that night prepared to face an irrational David, but when he didn’t come home, they admonished Andrew instead.

  “David’s violent, drunken rampage culminated in my only altercation with Andrew, who was understandably upset that I’d left his angry and depressed brother alone with a bottle of alcohol. But when he accused me of abandoning my duty to his family, I lost patience with his childish antics. The situation had far exceeded the parameters of my honor bound obligation and overstepped the limits of what one should expect of a friend. I had stood by his side throughout his deception and I refused to clean up his mess any further.

  “I demanded an apology for sticking me in such a hard spot. On one hand, Andrew said he loved Felicia and his soul ached without her, while on the other David insisted that Felicia completed him and brought him happiness. Meanwhile, she stood in the middle in love with Andrew, but not wanting to hurt David. How could I decide who deserved my pity or contempt? It wasn’t my place to choose or judge. It was something they should have worked out on their own.

  “It was, perhaps, the only moment I ever talked down to Andrew. ‘Maybe you’ve forgotten exactly what I am,’ I told him. ‘You saw me last night, the real me. I am not a plaything or a chaperone. I am not human. Don’t ever forget that.’ The last few generations had forgotten that and it seemed he was no different. I left, angry at him, at David, at the entire situation, but didn’t know where to place the blame.

  “Until that night, David had never gotten violent with Felicia. He was just needy and dependant on her for his happiness. Felicia alone needed to decide if she wanted that kind of love. And Andrew had just followed his heart to his destined path. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn’t intervened? Felicia may have married David, leaving Andrew miserable for the rest of his life.

  “In the end, I knew my answer. While it didn’t excuse David’s outburst, Andrew had handled the situation poorly and it had escalated beyond his control. Once he calmed down enough to realize that for himself, he waited for me to return to my room that night and apologized, not only for his accusations, but also for abusing our friendship.

  “Soon after, political aides reported seeing David’s car in Chicago. His absence stretched into weeks and we tried to move forward. His attack made Felicia fear his inevitable return. She was tense and spent many sleepless nights tossing or waking from nightmares. Andrew decided to take her away for a weekend to help her unwind.

  “Since Felicia saw me only as an overprotective friend, Andrew asked me to find a date so it would seem like a normal getaway among couples, but I refused to ask anyone in his or the Senator’s circl
es. All of those people had far too much influence in the world to risk my exposure by letting them get that close. On a whim, he surprised me and asked a waitress at a diner we frequented. After receiving assurances that she’d have a private room, she agreed to go with us. That waitress was Molly.

  “Though it has no bearing on this tale, Molly developed real feelings for me over that weekend. It sounds clichéd, I suppose, but she is a rare gem in the human world, completely honest and sincere, and I found myself being truthful about why I couldn’t feel the same way about her. My candid response intrigued her, so I related much of what I told you the other night.

  “Andrew and I both knew Felicia wouldn’t react as well to my truth, so Molly offered to stay by my side for the sake of appearances. Even after Felicia learned the truth, Molly and I stayed good friends and she nearly learned more about me than even Andrew knew. In some ways, she reads me better than he ever did. I never asked her to assist me in the way that she does. Our relationship just evolved this way and she serves me with unquestioning devotion.

  “I, in turn, take very good care of her, though it saddens me that she’s never taken an interest in other men. I asked her about it once, and she told me that she couldn’t help falling in love with me and had come to terms with knowing nothing would ever come of it. She is insistent that she’s happy without regret.

  “But, I digress. The trip started out pleasant enough, until Andrew turned on the television at the bed and breakfast and got the worst news of his life. A fire at the mansion had claimed the lives of the Senator and Mrs. Hawthorne. Authorities were attempting to locate both of their sons and, of course, the media swiftly noted the similarities to the blaze that had killed Daniel’s parents, Joshua and Lily, nearly forty years prior. In his shock, he uttered my name so quietly that I almost missed it. I knew something was wrong, but didn’t know what until I burst into the room and saw his eyes stuck on the muted television screen. I dialed his father’s office and arranged for the pilot of the Senator’s private plane to meet us at the airport.

  “With the national headlines focused on the Senator’s shocking death, even the local paper pushed the murder-suicide of a banker and his wife into the background. When we arrived in town amid the chaos, Walter Hodges pulled Felicia aside and told her the horrific news about her parents, the only family she had left since her mother’s sister had died the year before from cancer.

  “Several days later, she lost all of her possessions when her home burned to the ground during the investigation. Despite the coincidental timing, the fire department faulted a wiring issue as the ignition source—”

  Paresh suddenly started choking and gasping as tears gushed from her eyes. She had been trying to hold them back. Hiding her face in her hands, she leaned forward, her shoulders shaking. Eric inched closer and embraced her, stroking her hair in silence. A knot formed in his throat as he stared over the cemetery at the black headstone in front of his car.

  You can’t do this to her. Eric closed his eyes and tilted his head back, knowing that his revelations would only get worse, but that she still didn’t know enough to understand their situation. And he had promised to tell her.

  Sighing heavily, he held her and unsuccessfully tried to level his voice. He sounded like he’d been the one crying as he continued, “Felicia refused to believe that her father would shoot her mother and then himself, yet the authorities had found no evidence indicating a third party and conveniently lost their chance to search for more clues. But, we all knew who was responsible. In spite of overwhelming suspicion, no one could tie David to any of the scenes. The fire at the mansion was labeled accidental, and without proof to the contrary, both the deaths of Felicia’s parents and the subsequent fire remained as originally stated in the reports.

  “David didn’t attend the funeral. He did surface for the reading of the will, however. His eyes, cold from hate, refused to acknowledge the guilt hanging over him. But I saw that he had fallen from the flock and that knowledge tempted the darkest corner of my soul—I wanted to rip his life from his body. Instead, I performed my sworn duty to protect Andrew and stood between them at all times.

  “The conditions of the will blindsided David, especially when he learned that Andrew intended to retain his control on the majority. Perhaps David knew contesting the will wouldn’t do him any good, so he threw his chair across the room. I dragged him from the property and told him never to fall before my sight again if he valued any portion of his life.

  “It would be years before David reminded everyone that he was alive and not well. In the meantime, Andrew repaired the mansion and then abandoned it into the care of a skeleton crew, not wishing to have anything to do with its sour history any longer.

  “His outlook had changed. He had learned the value of life the hard way and quickly matured into the responsible and proactive man who was your father. Death is part of life. He would die at some point, whether I was able to save him or not, so he decided that he didn’t want me wasting my life watching over him.

  “He prodded me to take time for myself—and, well, to make another long story short, I built my own house and agreed to find a balance between the life he thought I should have and the life I had settled into for over a century.

  “During the nation’s bicentennial, he married Felicia and they immediately tried to conceive. Nearly three years later, she became pregnant, but lost the baby in the first trimester. They waited a few months before trying again and, two years later, successfully conceived again.

  “However neither that pregnancy, nor the following one, lasted and she lost both babies early on. As I said, by that point, Felicia had nearly given up, but your father convinced her to give faith a chance to help where science had failed them.

  “As members of the Sunset Grove Parish, they spoke with the pastor there in 1987, seeking ways that prayer and the church could help them. Against the doctor’s advice, they decided to try one last time. That fall, your mother became pregnant with you.

  “Once she made it past the first trimester, her hope began to build, and she was ecstatic when she made it into the third trimester without any complications. Perhaps that made your death even more devastating... but you already know how that turned out.

  “The week you were born, the Daily Sunset ran a small article about Andrew and Felicia overcoming the violent deaths of their parents and subsequent conception troubles to find hope in a miracle baby. It even mentioned that you had shifted your birth date to June 23 by taking your first breath at midnight and how your parents changed the spelling of your name to join ‘perish’ and ‘parish’ together to celebrate life and faith.

  Shortly after that, the church burnt to its foundation in one night. The scene reeked of David’s blood over the smell of smoke and ash, and the fire investigator ruled it as arson. David’s nothing if not consistent, but he didn’t even try to make it look accidental.

  “Once again, although suspicions ran rampant, no one could find a physical trace connecting him to the crime. David was in Wisconsin by then, and the authorities who interrogated him reported that he had an alibi. Once again, David eluded charges. Walter was a lieutenant with the police department and knew the truth about me, but my sense of smell was hardly admissible as evidence. David went into hiding and the case was never solved.

  “I can only imagine that David found out about your birth, and the reminder of his brother being married to the only woman he’d ever loved, living the life with her that he had desired, reignited his anger. He just couldn’t let go.

  “But I had no idea just how deeply his obsession had twisted him until I saw the address of the house that you lived in: Twelve-Fifteen Turnberry Lane—the address of Felicia’s parents, where she lived when she dated him.”

  He paused in preparation for the worst part. Apparently, David had grown to hate Felicia as much as he had loved her—enough to kill her right alongside his brother. As Paresh sat up and wiped her eyes, Eric looked away from her.
He took a deep breath but the words refused to come.

  Paresh’s tears had left wet stains on the bench’s slats. She knew enough. Telling her the devastating truth would only upset and scare her unnecessarily. Another lump formed in his throat as he silently berated himself for hiding the truth from her.

  “Clearly he’s still infatuated with her,” Eric said sadly. “Even after your parents’ deaths, he wanted what Andrew had, so he took you, Felicia’s daughter, and now he has his sights set on his other loss: the Hawthorne estate.” Hating himself for his grave omission, he peered into her eyes. “I’m quite certain he’ll do whatever it takes to get it, but I will not allow him to harm you, if that is his intent.”

  Chapter Thirteen: The Hunters Emerge

  I

  T he sun had begun its descent—an orange sliver barely hovered over the canopy in a sky smeared with vibrant color. Clouds loomed on the opposite horizon, hiding the moon and threatening to blank out the stars.

  They were standing at the threshold of the clearing. It was quiet. Still. Eric’s hand was on Paresh’s arm, holding her back as he surveyed the area under the guise of forgetting something in the car. The serene scene belied the menacing energy of an ever-present, watchful eye.

  After grabbing a satchel from his trunk, Eric slid his arm around Paresh’s waist as though nothing was wrong. He studied their surroundings and lazily strolled up the flagstone path. Paresh leaned her head on his shoulder and scanned the sky, focused more on her thoughts than the summer dusk.

  Jonathan was issuing a deliberate challenge. Eric’s inner voice yelled to ignore it, but Jonathan had always stayed focused on his target and Paresh had fallen off his map. Such a thing had never happened in all of their history together.

  Eric felt like he was balancing on a precipice with the wind about to shift. Conflict was brewing and every ounce of his body warned him that Jonathan was giving him a final chance to avoid it—which put them at a stalemate. Jonathan would never reveal specific details, and without them, Eric would never give in.