by Martha Woods
The kettle whistled, which Edna neglected as she proceeded to tie her tea grounds into a filter. The irritable and homesick Morgan let out a breath of relief as she finally removed it from the eye. “I’m sure you’ve drawn your own conclusions over time about the general things. Without a heartbeat, something has to keep your body moving, keep some form of humanity to it, or else you would be a zombie. The walking undead.” A slightly unnerving giggle sounded from her at the notion as steam danced in the air about her, pouring the water into her cup. “Keeps your muscles replenished, acting almost as a preservative for your body. After all, human blood is pretty salty.” With cup in hand, she waddled toward Morgan, plopping down in one of the creaky dining chairs a couple places down from him. A metal spoon clinked against the porcelain as she stirred in a couple heaps of sugar. “Vampires are desperately having to cling to humanity. If it weren’t for humanity, you’d be senseless beasts. No morals, no conscious… nothing at all but the thirst for blood. So, witches believe that vampires, when drinking blood, drink some of the soul, too. It’s also why vampires grow weaker when you only feed on animals. You’re not consuming human soul.”
A brunette brow couldn’t resist arching on Morgan’s face. Consuming souls? While he could, in a way, see what Edna was trying to say, it just seemed really absurd to him. The process of drinking blood had nothing special to it besides fangs, but it was just their natural way of easily being able to puncture their victims. So drinking blood was the same, in a sense, as a human donating blood. Was she trying to say that a person’s soul was attached to their blood? Wouldn’t that mean humans receiving blood transfusions would also be getting parts of other’s souls? It was utter rubbish to Morgan, but it was interesting rubbish to say the least. “Intriguing theory,” he commented before a yawn escaped him.
“Not theory, child. It’s simple fact.” Morgan’s face must have held every ounce of disbelief he felt, based on the cackle that sounded from the elderly witch. “Do you think that the witch clans haven’t done their research?”
Yet again, his brow raised in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Witches and vampires have been around as long as humans have worked tools and found religion. Clans dedicated many of their early days to research into potential enemies and dangers. Tell me, Morgan, how long have you ever gone without blood?”
He studied her face, searching the lines in her face and the gleam in her eyes to see if there was any sign of her being facetious. “A few days,” he answered flatly.
“And in those few hours before you had blood again, did you feel desperation? That if you didn’t get blood soon, you would attack the first human you crossed?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I’m in need of their soul. Haven’t you ever been hungry enough that you would eat the next food you saw, even if it wasn’t something you particularly liked?”
“Of course, however I wouldn’t murder for it. Even when starving, I still have enough humanity to realize that my life is no more important than the next. When vampires skip feedings, it’s incredibly dangerous to feed straight from a human because you may not have the control to stop. Even just a few gulps would be enough to curb your hunger, but something wild and selfish overcomes your bones. Because you’ve gone too long without humanity, so there’s nothing holding you back from being animalistic. It’s only in the minutes following, when you’re revitalized by the soul, that you realized the horrible thing that you have done. Think of it this way: vampires could technically survive on animal blood. You would never die from starvation… but you aren’t satisfied by it, and do grow weaker. The composition of mammal blood doesn’t differ too awfully much from one species to the other. What other explanation is there?”
Morgan still wasn’t convinced, thinking that perhaps she was reading too much into simple hunger and taste preference, but he was stumped as to how to reply to her. He didn’t have a solid alternative explanation. “You’ve given me something to think on,” Morgan said, scooting his chair back and standing. “I’m going to retire for the day.”
“Sleep well,” Edna called to him as he paced out of the room.
What a weird conversation. Why had he agreed to hear all that? He scratched the top of his head as he moved across the hall to the living room. The other vampire, Cody, had tried to give Morgan the room that he slept in, but Morgan simply wouldn’t have it. He didn’t trust any of the witches enough to lock himself away to sleep, he much preferred to stay out in the open. Just as he crossed through the threshold of the living room, he heard soft murmuring. Turning his head, Morgan held his breath and tried to focus on the voices. Very carefully stepping down the hallway, he followed the sound to the secondary bedroom, where Abigail slept. The door was barely cracked. Pressing his back against the wall, he inched closer to the opening, trying to hear what was being said.
“You’re just saying that. Do not flatter me,” Abigail grumbled.
“I do not just flatter. I’m speaking from the heart,” a low, deep voice purred. Benjamin. What were they doing up so early?
“I’m two decades your senior…”
“What does that have to do with anything? You’re gorgeous beyond compare. Like an ivory rose with unblemished, velvety petals. The epitome of a woman.”
Morgan grimaced. How nauseating. It wasn’t like he wanted to listen to it, he needed to, however. It was far too suspicious that Benjamin was hitting on Abigail. To be truthful, Morgan didn’t like any of the Calder interacting with one another under his watch. He much preferred it when they all stayed in their own corners, it gave him peace of mind. Thinking quickly, Morgan pushed the door open, and looked surprised to see them. They were both sat on the bed, Benjamin’s hand on Abigail’s thigh and knees touching. “Ah, there you are. Just seeing where you were, Benjamin. Didn’t see you in the den,” Morgan explained. Shifting his eyes between the two of them, he knew he needed to get them out of privacy. “Since you’re both already up, why don’t one of you go help Edna make breakfast?”
“I’ll go,” Abigail replied instantly, standing from the bed and letting Benjamin’s hand fall to the wayside.
She hastily passed by Morgan with her face turned to the ground in shame. Morgan didn’t have to look to Benjamin for his reaction, already feeling a cold glare on the side of his face. Turning on a heel, he called back over his shoulder, “You should head back into the den.” By the time he passed through the archway of the living room, he could hear the disheveled footsteps of an irritated Benjamin. There was no stopping the smug smirk from coming over Morgan’s features. He couldn’t help himself. Even if they were supposed allies, he still got a bit of satisfaction from getting under their skin—especially Benjamin. He had quite the attitude problem.
Finally allowing himself to sink down into the sofa, the lumpy stuffing remembering the dips in his oversized body. Sliding the phone from his pocket, he took one last reluctant look at his cellphone to see if there were any notifications from Veronica. There wasn’t. He couldn’t help the bitterness that he felt in his chest when he thought of the distance between him and his love. But, he knew that he had to do it. There were “only” three months left too. Letting out a deep sigh and tossing an arm over his eyes, he let himself give into exhaustion, listening to the clattering of pots and pans from the kitchen grow more and more distant as he drifted into a restless sleep.
* * *
Two Months Later
Calla was no longer racked with disabling nausea. In the later stages of her six-month pregnancy, she was ravenously hungry at all times. Her bladder never seemed to let her sit for longer than five minutes, and her swollen ankles kept her from being able to walk too long. It was a new kind of misery, one that she was surprisingly more comfortable with. Calla was doing her best to enjoy the pregnancy, wanting to get used to it and make notes for what to expect the next time she went through the process. She couldn’t believe that in just a few months she would repeating the entire process over again for h
erself and Jared.
She couldn’t have wiped the smile from her face even if she wanted to. As she sat, fishing the Brazilian nuts out of a bowl of trail mix, which rested on her rather massive stomach, Calla watched Jared attentively rub her feet. Creases formed between his brow as he concentrated intensely on massaging the arch of her foot. There weren’t words to accurately describe just how caring and supportive Jared had been. Without a doubt, Jared was born to be a husband and a father. His heart was so tender and nurturing, while his entire body was dedicated to protecting the ones he loved. There wasn’t a single person that she could think of that was better suited to head a family than him. “Do you think we will have a boy or a girl?” Calla suddenly asked him, his fingertips still fishing through the assorted nuts.
Of course, it broke his concentration, and his serious expression melted into a lopsided grin. “I don’t care what we have. As long as it’s a little bit of me and a little bit of you.”
“I know that, silly. I’m just curious for your guess.”
“You’re not even pregnant with our child yet.”
Her eyes rolled and nudged him with her foot. “Humor me.”
Letting out a breathy chuckle, Jared returned to the task of massaging as he thought of his answer. Her eyes gleamed in anticipation. It felt a little strange to ask, since they didn’t even know the gender of the child she was currently carrying. Jared tilted his head side to side, a dreamy smile conquering his lips and eyes alike. “I honestly don’t know. I could see a little girl, with reddish-brown curls. Caramel skin with freckles across her cheeks and nose. But… something in my gut says boy. With my cheeks and jaw, your chin and nose, and eyes a shade of blue right in the middle of ours.”
Oh, Jared knew just how to make her heart sing. She could picture just what he was, and it nearly brought tears to her eyes. The aura of sincerity and pure love radiating from him completely warmed her. “Strangely enough… I disagree with your gut. I think we’re going to have a girl.”
“Yeah? Well, we’ll have to figure out some sort of bet to base around it,” Jared chuckled.
“You’re on,” she giggled and set the glass bowl on the armrest of the couch, running her hand over her stomach as the baby began to stir and kick. Allowing herself to soak in the moment, silence fell over the two of them. As her mind moved through the clouds of warm, fuzzy thoughts of having a baby of their own, something gnawed at the very back of her mind. The thought had been there since the very beginning, but the two of them had yet to even mention it. They only wished for a happy and healthy baby—but they were bringing a child into the world that would almost definitely have something wrong with its heart. Did that make them cruel? Calla’s mind went to the argument she always had women have, whether or not they would keep their child if they found out in pregnancy they had a deformity. Only in their case, they knew it before they even conceived. Did it make them cruel? Was it right of them to have a child when they wouldn’t ever have the possibility to live a totally normal life? The thought was rather laughable, considering the child would have vampires and witches for parents and family. Still, it was a concern she had. “Hey Jared…” Calla meekly began.
“Yes, love?” he answered, finally finishing with her feet and standing from his spot on the coffee table.
“Do… do you…” A lump started to form in her throat just trying to get the words out. Shaking her head, Calla took a deep breath and rephrased. “What do you think about the baby having a heart condition?”
She could feel the air shift around him. It was hard to exactly pinpoint exact emotions, but Calla could sense no matter what, it was with a heavy heart. He sat down on the couch and wrapped his arm around her. “I know some people would view us wanting a child despite the inevitable health risks as selfish… And maybe in some ways it is. However, I don’t see what’s so selfish about bringing a child into the world where it’ll be surrounded by love and people willing to lie their lives on the line for it. And we will be right there with them every step of the way, to care for them and protect them. Edna said that the condition would be manageable, not entirely incapacitating. And once they are through childhood, and some of adulthood, we can change them if the condition gets bad. Everything will be just fine, I promise.”
Calla nodded, searching the depths of his blue eyes before leaning in and giving him a soft kiss on the lips. Of course, Jared gladly returned the peck. She knew he was right. It would be worth the trials, and hopefully they would give the baby a happy enough of a home for the child to understand their decision. She leaned into his side, finding even more comfort in his cold skin in the final weeks of her pregnancy. Jared enveloped her in his hold, rubbing up and down her arm. Even though she had been pretty miserable from the pregnancy, Calla savored the privacy they had, knowing in a few weeks, it would be gone. Not that she minded too much, she had grown to really love the vampires, once they acclimated with one another. There was just nothing like having that quality time with the man she was utterly crazy about.
As they cuddled and shared a blissful silence, a sudden pain tightened Calla’s stomach, causing her to jolt and wince. In a blur, Jared was sat straight up with a hand on Calla’s stomach and his other on the center of her back. “Are you alright?”
Unable to find the ability to speak at first, Calla focused her attention on drawing in full breaths. She could feel the little one tumbling around like crazy from the sudden tightening. After a few breaths, she nodded, “Y-yeah… Just more Braxton Hicks, I think.”
With a deep frown on his lips, Jared helps Calla stand slowly. “Let’s go on a walk. Hopefully they subside.”
Jared helped her waddle over to the door to their cabin, kneeling down to help her slide on her shoes before pulling on her jacket for her as well. Calla was utterly distracted by the pain in her stomach. She always worried that any little pain could be a sign for the worse. There was so much pressure on her to stay completely healthy and relaxed so that she had no negative impact on the pregnancy. Of course that within itself was stressful, but she did her best to keep those thoughts at bay.
The door opened and Calla breathed in the crisp mountain air with delight. Jared’s arm locked around her and guided her every step. She could feel his immense concern in the air, which never failed to warm her heart. Never did Calla think she would end up with a man that would dote over her so much. It made her feel utterly adored and loved. However, her thoughts didn’t stay with Jared’s adoration for her for long, another abrupt contraction. “Calla,” he gasped, making sure to catch her.
If it weren’t for his arms, she was certain she would have fallen to the ground, suddenly incredibly lightheaded. What was going on? Her immediate thought was perhaps her blood sugar was low too, but she had just been eating. Before she could give much thought to it, yet another pain took over her stomach. That time, a cry involuntarily sounded from her. She could feel Jared attempting to gently straighten her, but she refused to budge, clutching her stomach. “Something feels wrong…” she whispered. Her hands desperately searched her stomach, trying to feel the baby move at all. It had gone still.
Carefully, Jared helped her lower to the ground, kneeling to hover just above her. She could feel his eyes searching her before he sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh my god, Calla… You’re bleeding…”
Her eyes locked with his before they fell to her legs. Over the hump of her stomach, she could see thin dark red streaks on her pants, coming from her groin. Panic overcame them both, and in a flash, Jared scooped her up into his arms and raced her back into the house and to the bedroom, laying her on the bed. What in the hell just happened? Jared stood over her, eyes raking over every inch of her as he retrieved his phone from his pocket and pressed it to his ear. “Veronica. I need those witches out here immediately. I-I… I think Calla is going into early labor or something… I don’t know! All of the sudden she’s having pains and she’s bleeding… No, the bleeding doesn’t seem to be bad, but it’s still blood. You k
now I can’t take her to the hospital. They need to be on a plane out here, right now.”
Hanging up the phone, he moved to the bathroom and then returned with several towels and washcloths. “I’m going to take your pants off, okay?” he said, as calmly as he could, but she could feel the fear oozing out of his every pore. Shrugging her pants down, he discarded them and her panties, laying a towel down too. “Yeah, the bleeding doesn’t seem too bad… Just a little bit. It’s not all blood, either,” he noted. “You’re sure that witch pregnancies are six months, not five?”
“Positive,” Calla groaned.
“So if it were totally human, it would be… eight weeks early?”
“I can’t really do math right now, but that sounds about right,” Calla muttered.
“Right, I’m sorry… I’m just worried,” Jared muttered. As Calla rubbed her stomach, she finally felt the baby tumble, kicking into her ribs. A sigh of relief passed her lips. Jared grabbed one of her hands and cradled it in his grasp, brushing his lips to the back of her hand. “I’m right here, and hopefully the witches will be on the way soon…”
She only nodded, focusing once again on breathing. Rather soon, the contraction subsided and she prayed the next one wouldn’t hit for a long time, or maybe not at all. It could all be a fluke, right? It was too soon to be having the child. However, something deep inside her told her that was useless, wishful thinking. Calla only prayed that everyone got their in time.
* * *
Morgan had dozed off in an arm chair, the restless days catching up to him. He was in a hard sleep as well, drooling on his own shoulder. It wasn’t until his phone buzzed in his pocket that he jerked from the sleep. His eyes popped open and blinked rapidly, his hand instinctively going to his wet chin and wiping the drool from his face. Finally grabbing the buzzing phone from his lap, he smiled when he saw it was Veronica calling. “Hey, gorgeous,” he purred upon answering the phone.