by LJ Baker
"Fine. Yes, I think a witch was involved. I can feel the residual magic in the room. I can also tell you it's not a signature I'm familiar with."
"What does that mean?"
"It means I don't know the witch."
"You can tell a witch by their magic?" Samuel raised a brow and gave her a look that said he wasn't sure he believed a word coming out of her mouth.
"Sometimes, yes. When you do certain types of magic, you leave behind traces, kind of like a faint mist, a signature. If another witch is familiar with them and their magic, they can usually tell who it was. I'd know Michael's trace anywhere. And before you even go there, this wasn't him."
"Of course you'd say that," Samuel scoffed.
"Yes. I'd cover for my brother. He's my twin and means a hell of a lot more to me than any of you. But that's not what's happening here. So you can either trust me and I can help you hopefully find out who is behind this. Or you can continue your witch hunt and lose more kids and who knows what else whoever is doing this has in mind. Do you think whatever is going on is just about kidnapping a bunch of kids? There's more going on here."
Willow wanted to tell him to shove it up his ass and walk out, but that wasn't the best option. Michael wanted to stay here, to make it his home. And lately, part of Willow wanted the same. Maybe Michael was right and there was something there with Chase. Maybe she needed to give it a chance to see where it might go.
But she wasn't going to risk her brother for it either.
"Okay witch," Samuel said and took a step back to give her space.
"My name is Willow. Stop being an ass."
Samuel surprised her by smiling instead of getting angry. "Okay, Willow. I'll accept your assistance, for now. As long as your brother agrees to sit with Micah when he arrives and prove his loyalty."
Willow winced. She'd heard about the things Micah could do and how unpleasant it could be. But she knew that Michael would agree to whatever they wanted, to help free Finn.
"Of course."
What choice did she have, but to agree?
***
Hayley woke up feeling groggy and looked around the small cell they'd been kept in. Something was different. The smell that normally assaulted her nose the moment she woke wasn't there. The hard cement floor felt a bit softer. In fact, she realized she was curled up on an old mattress.
Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she pushed herself up to a sitting position and forced her eyes to open all the way. The room was dark, but a dripping from the corner of the room told her this was a new place. She wasn't in the cell they'd been kept since their abduction from Vampire City.
In a panic, she looked around for Jack. To her surprise, she found a number of bodies on similar mattresses around the room. It was large enough to hold four mattresses. On those mattresses were three bodies, with another two curled up on the floor.
"Jack?"
"Hayley?" The voice wasn't Jack, but it was familiar.
"Who's there?" Haley strained her eyes to see in the dim light.
"It's Joseph, from the group."
Joseph was one of the boys from her school where they'd been turned. He'd been with them in Vampire City and now he'd been abducted along with her, Jack, and Grace.
Joseph got up, wobbled a bit, and sat down next to Hayley. "I think they drugged us."
"Who else is here?"
"Mary and I were brought in last night. Jack and Grace are over there." He waved an arm toward the far corner where two bodies huddled. "And Robert is here too. But they're all still unconscious. I woke up first. Any clue where we are?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing."
"But you and Jack have been here the longest. You don't know anything?"
"We were being kept somewhere else. In another room or something. Grace was there too. Did you see who took you?"
"No. I was asleep one minute and here the next. Did you?"
"No it was the same for me." Hayley leaned her back against the cold wall and sighed. "What do they want with us?"
"I don't know, but we better just do as we're told."
That was a strange thing for Joseph to say. Back in school, he was always the one questioning. He would be the first to break a rule or push the limits. Hayley supposed in the right situation, anyone would be afraid enough to act in complete contradiction to their personality, but something about Joseph felt off. She didn't quite take him for genuinely scared. There was something he was holding back.
"Are you sure you didn't see or hear anything at all?" Hayley pushed just enough to avoid suspicion.
"Nothing. Maybe we should try to wake the others and see if they know more." Joseph jumped up, grogginess gone, and went straight for Mary. He shook her a bit until she opened her eyes and looked up at him.
Hayley headed for Jack and shook him awake. It wasn't time for gentleness. She needed the only other person she knew she could trust awake. Something wasn't right and she wanted to see if Jack would pick up on it too. Her only other option was to wait for Joseph to fall asleep so she could talk to Jack. And who knew how long that would take, or if they'd be drugged again.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
"Shouldn't you be at the clinic or something?" Chase paced the room trying not to look at his sister during contractions. He couldn't bear to see the pained look she got each time one of the waves hit her.
"I'm fine. Women have been giving birth since the beginning of time, Chase. I can handle it too."
"Women have not been giving birth to two babies that they didn't even know the species of since the beginning of time, Ar. You should be somewhere they have doctors and real medical care."
"Doctor Song already checked me and the midwife is here. Once they drag the ultrasound machine over, we'll have everything we need right here. Well, except Alexander. Someone will need to tell him."
"I already sent someone for him."
"Chase! I told you not to bother him until things were further along. We don't need to worry him any sooner than necessary."
"Screw that. If I have to worry, then so does he."
"What are we worrying about?" Alexander walked in the room and stood near Chase, unsure if he should go further.
"Nothing. Everything is fine. Come here." Ari smiled at her mate and did her best to assure him everything was fine. Chase wasn't buying it and neither was Alexander.
Alexander went to Ari's side and scooped her into his arms. She snuggled against him and relaxed. At least until her next contraction. Rebecca, the midwife, said it was early labor and things would progress slowly, but Chase noticed the time between contractions was getting closer. There was only about five or six minutes between them, when only an hour before, it was twelve. If things continued on that schedule, she'd be popping those out kids in no time.
"I thought we had more time." Alexander stroked Ari's hair and cooed in a soothing voice. Even Chase felt more relaxed by his presence. Maybe that was just his damn vampire powers though.
"So did I, but I guess the babies didn't agree." Ari giggled, happy for the moment. She probably didn't realize she was about thirty seconds from her next contraction.
When it hit, she groaned and grabbed her belly. Alexander's eyes widened and wrapped his arms around Ari tighter. She promptly pushed him off and yelped.
"She doesn't want to be touched during the contraction dude. Just give her a minute."
Alexander hopped off the couch and went straight for the liquor. "How long has this been going on?"
"Awhile. She wanted to wait until it was further along to tell you, but damn if I gotta watch her suffer alone." Chase took the glass Alexander handed him and downed it without a thought. It was harsh and burned his throat, but he was grateful for the way it made him feel. Even if it wouldn't last.
"Why didn't you take her to the clinic?"
"She won't go."
"You both know I'm right here, right?" Ari, finished with her contraction, raised her brow at them.
"Of course
love, but don't you think we should go to the clinic?"
"You don't think I tried that?" Chase asked, but Alexander ignored him.
"No. I'm fine. The doctor was here and she will be back with any equipment she needs. The babies can be born right here. I'm having children, not getting surgery."
Chase didn't point out that those two things weren't always mutually exclusive, but he wanted to. The last thing he'd ever want was for something to happen to his sister. He'd already begun to love his niece and nephew, but the life of his twin was far more important.
And he knew that Alexander would agree.
Doctor Song swept into the room and pulled the ultrasound machine behind her. She glared at Alexander on her way past as usual.
"How are you feeling, dear? Contractions still coming regularly?"
"Not too bad. And yes, they're still about the same."
"They're twice as fast," Chase added and Ari shot him a puzzled look. "Every five or six minutes now."
"Really?" Ari and Doctor Song said in unison.
"Yeah." Chase figured Ari hadn't been paying attention and why should she? She had the hard job, the least the people around her could do was keep track of the damn time.
"Well things are going much faster than we expected then, which is good for you anyway." Doctor Song set up the ultrasound machine and squeezed a bunch of clear goop on Ari's belly. She pushed the wand around and around, looking at the babies and their positions. It just looked like a bunch of static to Chase, but what did he know?
"Baby A has dropped into the birthing canal and is ready to meet his mommy and daddy soon. I don't see anything concerning, so we can proceed as planned."
"But at the clinic, right Doc?" Chase still thought she'd be better taken care of surrounded by all the latest medical equipment.
Ari glared at Chase as she wiped the goop off her belly.
"She's fine right here," Doctor Song said. "I don't see any reason to turn a natural thing into something medical. I'm here if she needs me and so is the midwife. Stop worrying Mr. Summers. Just be here to comfort your sister."
Protecting her was hard enough. Comforting her wasn't exactly Chase's area of expertise. It wasn't like he'd had a lot of practice. Ari wasn't the fragile type, physically, or emotionally, so he'd never had many occasions to comfort her. That was probably more Alexander's role.
Ari and Lex snuggled in on the couch and prepared for the next wave of pain to hit. Chase was glad Lex was there. He knew exactly how to keep Ari focused and calm. That was all she needed. She didn't need Chase there, though he didn't want to leave her either.
The next contraction hit and Ari groaned. Lex cooed into her ear, likely using his vampire abilities to soothe her. Chase didn't have any cool new abilities, other than the usual that all vampires had. Only some vampires, Lex of course was one, had special abilities that most didn't have.
The things that idiot could do were just ridiculous.
Even though Chase never wanted to become vampire, he'd gotten used to it, maybe even come to enjoy it. The strength, enhanced senses, and accelerated healing were all amazing. It just seemed unfair that an asshole like Lex could have special abilities, and even his sister, who wasn't a vampire, could collect their abilities like trading cards, but Chase had only the bare minimum.
Lost in the pain and anticipatory excitement, Ari was oblivious to Chase's thoughts. It was the first time since she'd been with Lex that Chase had his mind to himself. He was grateful for that. She didn't need to know how worried he was, or that he'd considered what his life might be like if she didn't make it through the birth.
The twin bond was something you just couldn't understand if you weren't one. No matter how much he argued with his sister, or disagreed with some of her choices, nothing in the world meant more to him than her. She had to come through things all right. There was no other way for him.
"Snap back to reality." Lex growled and shoved an empty glass into Chase's hand. It took him a moment to realize Lex wanted him to refill Ari's water. When he did, he hurried off to the kitchen.
"How are things going in there?" Dex appeared silently behind him, almost causing Chase to drop the filled glass.
"Fine, I guess. Shouldn't Kai be here with her? I bet she'd appreciate her best friend with her right now."
"Kaia is sick. She really wanted to be here, but we can't risk getting newborns sick." Dex swallowed after the last words and they both knew that human illnesses may not be an issue.
It wouldn't be until they were born that anyone would know exactly what the babies were. Probably not even then. Chase and Ari didn't know they were part nephilim until that year. Chase wasn't even sure what a newborn vampire was like, or if you could even tell they were one.
"Makes sense to be on the safe side."
"Yeah." Dex glanced toward the direction of Ari's groan. "She's in a lot of pain. Can't they give her something?"
Dex's superpower was feeling people's emotions. He was able to tune in on what they were feeling, which carried over into physical pain. Even if he hadn't shared blood with Ari, and she hadn't permanently kept part of his abilities and kept them connected, he would have picked up on it.
"She doesn't want it. She's always been stubborn."
Dex laughed. "That's one word for it."
Chase felt Lex in his mind, summonsing him back with the water.
"Tell Kai everything is going okay. I'll call her after the babies are born and let her know how everything went."
Dex nodded and Chase returned to give his sister the drink. She was a bit paler than earlier and her hair was hanging around her face in wet clumps. Doctor Song sat, uninterested, in the corner with a trashy romance novel. Chase wanted to grab her by the neck and tell her to do something to help his sister. He wasn't sure exactly what she could do, but there had to be something.
"Relax, Chase." Lex warned him, reading his thoughts like the intrusive bastard he was.
"I'm fine."
"You can go get some air, or whatever your kind does," Doctor Song said. Even for a human, her distaste for vampires was strong. She was less hostile to Chase than Lex, but she still made it clear that she didn't want them around. Not that she had any choice. She would do her job regardless of her feelings.
"I'll be staying right here with my sister."
"She's right," Lex said, smoothing his hand over Ari's hair. "We still have plenty of time here. Why don't you take a small walk? Your pacing is stressing out your sister."
Ari didn't argue with him.
Leaving her side was the last thing he wanted to do, but if Lex wanted him gone, he had little choice. He'd do as he was told and take a walk.
A short walk.
At least that was what he'd intended. An hour later, he wandered through the park, unsure if he should go back or not. He hated seeing Ari suffer, but every warning bell inside him told him something bad was going to happen. He had to be there for her. Lex was more capable of protecting her, but he wasn't her twin.
"You okay?" Willow grabbed Chase's hand and pulled him from his thoughts. Her hair was down around her shoulders in soft, dark waves and her usual face of makeup was missing. She looked softer. More vulnerable.
His first thought was to grab her, kiss her, use her mouth to drown out all the awful thoughts in his head. And he did just that. She didn't fight him on it. Instead, she melted around him, took his rough assault with an opposite soft response. When he pulled away, he fully expected her to slap him, or kick him in the nuts.
Anything but what he got.
Which was a soft frown, still holding his hand, and a clear invitation to help however she could.
"What's wrong?"
"Ari's in labor." He pulled his hand from hers and turned. The emotion was too much. He wasn't even sure he wanted to be there talking to her. That was a lie, at least partly. He absolutely wanted to be there with her. He just wasn't so sure he wanted to be talking.
"Is something going wrong? Are the b
abies okay?" Willow put her small hand on his back. It was warm and comforting, even though Chase didn't want it to be.
"They're all right so far." He swallowed hard and intended to tell her he had to get back. "I just can't shake this feeling."
So much for getting back.
"What feeling?" Willow twisted around him, bringing them face to face once again.
"That something is wrong. That she isn't safe." He didn't want to confide in her, but there he was, spilling his deepest fears.
"One thing I've learned over the years is that you shouldn't try to ignore those kinds of feelings. Trust your instinct. Don't you two have some twin bond thing? Like reading each other's minds or knowing when the other is hurt?"
"I don't know about reading minds, but we have a close bond. You're a twin. You should know what it's like."
"Sure, but it's different for witches. Especially blood witches. I don't know about humans, or humans turned into vampires, or part nephilims, or whatever you two are. But you would know if something was wrong. What I'm trying to say is that you should trust yourself."
Chase didn't want to trust himself on that one. Trusting himself meant that something could happen to his sister, that he could lose her. And that wasn't something Chase wanted to consider. No matter how deep it pushed itself into his head.
"I should get back." Chase started off toward the house, but Willow followed.
"Want me to come with you? Just in case?"
Part of him wanted her to go the hell away and never bother him again. The rest of him never wanted her to leave his side. He hated that part, the part that made him weak, made him want her.
"No. I'm fine and Ari doesn't need a circus in there while she gives birth." He turned to leave, but stopped and took her chin into his hand. "But thank you." He wanted to kiss her again. Feel her soft lips on his for one more moment to shore up his defense, but it was too intimate. He dropped her chin and left her there without another word.
***
"I don't understand how you can all be so incompetent. How difficult is it to keep a small group of vamplings safe and contained?" Samuel paced the room with his hands balled up.