Cherishing Destiny (A Dangerous Destiny)

by Blakely, Noelle

  Mother’s information told her that, at the time, there were four identified pregnant Vampires and that Gates had three of them in his own house in Syracuse. She dispatched the Chief to find the fourth and bring her to the compound. He rarely failed in his assignments, and Mother had her pregnant Vampire within the week. Lana’s Vampire mother did not die in childbirth as did the human mothers of the other children, but that did not stop Mother Zhukov from sacrificing her and making Lana as much an orphan as all the others.

  Mother knew that Gates was continuing to seek and gather any newly discovered Vampire mothers. It became apparent that the Vampire women had become fertile after the Solar Storm, and more cases were found every week. When the first of the Vampires was due to deliver—Lana’s mother was still a few weeks from due—Mother went to witness the birth in the guise of a midwife. Gates had protested her attendance.

  “You will be recognized. You risk someone finding out about our arrangements,” he complained.

  “I am the most powerful witch that you are ever likely to meet, Samuel. I will not be recognized if I choose not to be. And, if you would like our arrangements to continue, you will grant me access to observe this birth of a species,” she informed him. She did not tell him of the Vampire she had hidden away in her own compound, anxiously awaiting her delivery date. In the end, Gates relented, and she was present with several others at the birth. The delivery was no different from a typical human birthing, but the baby was large and had focused, crystal-clear, blue eyes. Information had been passed to them through a network of midwives that the babies would have Vampire fangs and would feed on milk or blood, but also on the Life Spark of others. No one had been able to trace back exactly where this information had originated from, but they were cautious and, therefore, not surprised by the needs of the baby. Mother had examined the little needle teeth and was fascinated when she witnessed the energy flowing from the human wet-nurse to the infant. She made sure she was well prepared for Lana’s birth.

  Two years later, Lana was a quiet little toddler with a sweet disposition, but Mother kept an eye on her anyway. She never let herself forget that Lana had fangs and was a Vampire at heart, even if it was Life Spark that she craved more than blood.

  Gates and the Vampire council had dubbed the infants Vampyrum, naming their species after a bat known as the false Vampire. The self-important elders believed firmly in their superiority, and the term became one of disdain. Mother was not impressed. Even though Gates continued to feed the council his potion, and he manipulated their decisions to suit himself, the council elders remain a bunch of pompous aristocrats, for the most part. They were governing most of the villages within four hundred miles, by proxy, and their influence spread further every day. They had declared the Solar Storm to be the beginning of a new era, and so it was now the year 2 PST. PST stood for Postea Solis Tempesta, Latin roughly translated as After the Solar Storm. Arrogant Men, Mother thought contemptuously. Mother and the other midwives had named that first baby a Vamphyr, affording more respect to a species that could absorb the Life Spark of another, and the new species became known by both names.

  These days, Mother had her own little Vamphyr to study in Lana, and she observed her closely. Lana sometimes watched the other children with a fascination and longing that made Mother believe that Lana could see their abundant Life Spark too, and Mother wanted to make sure that Lana did not accidentally harm one of the others by draining that Spark. So far, there had been no incidents. She watched the two very different children playing in her atrium and marveled that she was witnessing evolution.

  Thirty-seven

  Ryan strode down the snowy lane toward Elvis and Kate’s house. He heard a screech behind him and turned to see a two-year old Destiny trying to run after him in the snow, with Sara chasing after her, a hat and mittens in her hand.

  “Wait, Destiny, you need to wear your hat. It’s cold out,” Sara was lecturing, but Destiny only had eyes for Ryan.

  He walked back the way he had come and scooped up the stumbling girl. She fluttered her lashes at him. “I wanna go too” she said pretty clearly for a two-year old. She was exceptionally smart and articulate for her age.

  “You are a little devil.” Ryan grinned widely. “But, you can’t go anywhere unless you let Sara bundle you up.”

  Sara caught up to them and was already pulling the knit cap down over Destiny’s pink ears. She gave Destiny and then Ryan an exasperated look and tugged Destiny’s mittens over her little hands. “You know she doesn’t like to stay behind when you leave,” Sara said.

  “I thought she was napping. I didn’t know she would come running out here after me,” he defensively replied, but the smile never wavered. “I would have taken her otherwise. Kate loves to see her.”

  “Whatever,” Sara said, already trudging back to the house they shared with Aurora and Alex.

  Ryan looked at the little girl in his arms and said, “Are you trying to get me in trouble with Sara?”

  Destiny just grinned and said, “Ecks-imo kiss.”

  “Eskimo kisses?” Ryan asked with feigned surprise. It had been Destiny’s favorite request for a month, and she never got tired of it. “Well, it’s certainly cold enough for Eskimo kisses,” he said. “But… I think maybe we need some airplane rides first.” He said it loud and fast and started spinning around with Destiny at arm’s length flying through the air.

  She laughed and screamed, delighted, but when he stopped and pulled her back to him, she said, “Ecks-imo kiss”.

  He laughed, his breath coming out in white puffs. “You have a one-track mind, baby-cakes.” He leaned his face into hers and she turned her face from side to side, rubbing her little button nose on the tip of his grown-up one. His puffy breath was drifting between them. Suddenly he felt as if something was tugging that breath from him, except he realized it wasn’t actually his breath, but something else, flowing from inside of him and into Destiny. She’s feeding on my Life Force, he realized. He didn’t stop her because he knew as a full grown Were, she was not likely to harm him, and he was quite intrigued by the process. She didn’t want his blood. She held his face between her tiny, mitten-covered hands and pulled energy from him as if it flowed from his mouth to hers, just a couple of inches away. Their noses were still touching.

  She seemed surprised as well but didn’t pull away. It was the first time she had fed on anyone besides Sara or Lily, and even then she fed like a baby at the breast. Lily said it was time for her to be weaned, and they had been feeding her real food—for the most part she would only eat meat—for some time, but they hadn’t been able to work out how to get her to draw life force without nursing. She never seemed to know how or want to do it before today. The feeling was odd, but he wasn’t feeling weakened by it the way Sara sometimes did. If anything, he was feeling stronger, more alive. Lily! Holy Shit, I have to tell Lily. She’ll know what to make of it.

  As soon as he felt the flow of energy subside, he ran with Destiny to Lily’s place. Destiny was laughing, enjoying the ride. He hesitated when he got to the door. He had been kind of avoiding Lily for a couple of weeks because he knew she had weaned the twins and soon she would expect him to do his duty again. He had grown fond of Lily as a friend, but that only made it more obvious that there was nothing between them, and it was more awkward than ever to think about sleeping with her. He knocked on the door. After all, this was about Destiny, and that trumped all for him. The care and protection of the little girl in his arms was his one and only, all-encompassing purpose and priority in life. If that sounded obsessive or over-zealous, he would apologize, but he couldn’t help it. It was as Lily said, he and Destiny were connected, and he was closer to her than her own father in many ways.

  Lily answered the door and let them in immediately when she saw he had Destiny with him. “Is she okay? You look a little odd,” she said as they came through the door.

  “She’s fine, but I need you to see something,” Ryan said cryptically.
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br />   Lily led them to the living room, and Ryan sat on the couch while Destiny stood in front of him. He pulled off her mittens and held her little hands to his cheeks. He looked nervously over at Lily, who only seemed confused and curious. He turned back to Destiny and said, “Eskimo kiss.” Destiny smiled, delighted she rubbed her nose to his and after a moment he could feel the same pulling sensation. It felt as if a silky ribbon of air was flowing through his parted lips, but he was breathing fine and the flow was energy from his core. After a short while, he began to feel the shift in the flow, an exchange that involved acceptance as well as giving. He heard Lily, gasp as if from a distance and he knew she was able to see the flows as he hoped she would.

  Having fed twice in minutes, Destiny stopped the flow and asked, “Lily, can I play with Becky and Keef?” She still couldn’t say Keith.

  Lily purposely avoided looking at Ryan and said, “Keith and Becky are at the school with the other kids, Desi. I’m sorry, but the dollies are still in Becky’s room if you want to play.”

  “Okay,” Destiny said running off down the hall.

  The school was what they called the group setting that the children who were pack raised lived and learned in. Ryan already knew from Sara that Lily weaned the twins and sent them to the pack, and he didn’t want to talk about that right now. He pretended as if nothing was said, and he asked her, “So, did you see what she did? She was feeding on my life force, wasn’t she?”

  “She was, but it was more than that. It was like the time when I saw you talking to her before she was born. It was an exchange, not just a feeding. She takes from you, but she gives something back to you and you drink it in just like she does. The crazy thing is that neither of you are weakened by the exchange, and somehow, you both come out stronger. I could see the flow. It was incredible.” Lily shook her head barely believing what she’d seen.

  “I guess that means you and Sara can wean her now,” Ryan said and immediately regretted opening his mouth. Crap! Now she’ll want to try breeding again for sure.

  Lily ignored the comment. “I’ll want to keep an eye on her diet,” she said. “So far she seems a lot like a Were child, very carnivorous, the more rare the better. You said she’s been eating meat, right?”

  Ryan nodded. “She’ll eat meat and not much else, and she’ll grab it raw if you turn your back on her, but it’s clear that she doesn’t need human blood, like her parents do, to survive.”

  “Well then, we will wean her, stop feeding her human blood and try to find out if she can accomplish this exchange with anyone besides you.” Lily pronounced

  Thirty-eight

  Year 3 PST (Postea Solis Tempesta)

  Greta peered out of her door at the sunshine filling the clearing around her somewhat isolated home. She was situated comfortably between the settlement and the nearest human village. She still passed herself off as human in town to practice her herb-craft and midwifery. Only the local witch, Olina, knew Greta for what she was. Olina wasn’t an actual witch, and Greta knew that, but she was a practitioner and a devout follower of the witches. Olina had the gift of sight, and she could see Greta’s aura for what it was, which was different from a human. They made their pacts of secrecy long ago. Olina and Greta had been exchanging ingredients and medicinals for many long years, and Olina might have been the closest thing Greta had to a friend.

  As Greta looked out at the sunshine, she also listened to the deafening sound of water cascading from the thousands of trees in the forest as the warmth was melting the snow everywhere. This was the third warm, sunny day in a row, and the ground was rapidly becoming a marsh of wet mud, instead of the frozen, snow-covered tundra that she had grown accustomed to over the last three years. She was expecting Olina to arrive for a visit any day. They tried to take turns visiting each other for their exchanges. Speak of the devil, she thought as she heard a horse snorting in the trees and saw a bundled up old woman riding it out into the clearing.

  “Oy, Greta, you’re a sight for sore eyes. My horse nearly broke a leg in this wicked muck. I should have waited another day or two, maybe.” Olina grumped as she dismounted in front of the small house.

  “Well come in and have a cup of tea to warm ye up. Leave the animal. I have a boy comes by twice a week for chores, and it happens to be his day. He should be here within the hour, and he’ll take care of your beast,” Greta said, hobbling the horse and following Olina inside.

  “A wolf boy you mean?” Olina pushed, but Greta would never give away the location of the settlement, not even to Olina. Greta ignored her and went about fixing tea and humming.

  Olina began shedding her many layers of bundling. “My goodness, you’re fire is warm, and with the sun shining, I am roasting in these things. She had quite a pile going of various outerwear, scarves, and wraps.

  Greta waited patiently for her to finish. “Well, who would have known there was a skinny old woman under all that?” She chuckled as she set out a tray for tea.

  “Who you calling old, Greta? You gotta be three hunnert by now, you old she-wolf.” Olina chuckled too.

  “Oh, ye may be right about that, but I come by it natural-like. I didn’t go making myself younger with the potions and the spells, so I’d look seventy-five when I was a hundred and eight,” she quipped back.

  “a hunnert and nine,” Olina muttered into her tea cup.

  “Well, happy belated birthday,” Greta said dropping into her chair. There was nothing wrong with her wolf hearing.

  The old women chatted, and Olina poked around Greta’s many jars and bags and containers for herbs and other ingredients she could trade for. It was late in the afternoon when Olina made a startling discovery. She held up a glass jar of fine, brown powder, turning it back and forth in the light from a window. “Is this what it says it is?” she asked Greta. She read the label to herself again. Vampire Placenta was what was written on the tape stuck across the side of the jar in Greta’s spindly hand.

  Greta had dried the placenta she took after Destiny’s birth, crushing it to a fine powder with a pestle and mortar. She had used it sparingly and still had a good bit left. She usually didn’t leave it out when Olina was coming, but she had forgotten. “That’s all I have, and I’m not likely to ever get any more, so ye can have just a little if that’s what ye want.”

  “Where did you get it?” Olina narrowed her eyes at the old Were and didn’t let go of the jar.

  “I helped birth the baby, and I kept it, kind of like a payment, ye might say.” Greta justified.

  “You birthed a Vampire,” Olina said incredulously, opening the jar and sniffing the contents. Her eyes went wide and round. “Spirits bless me! This was an old Vampire!”

  Greta shrugged. “At least a thousand, I’d say,” she answered, not aware of the implications.

  “Greta, you don’t get it, do you?” Olina said moving to the table and sitting down. “Everyone is talking in the villages about all the Vampires that are getting pregnant, but also about the elders being upset or some such because only the young Vampires are having babies. The older Vampire women don’t conceive, and the older Vampire men can’t impregnate, not even with a young partner.” She shook her head. “No Vampire over two hunnert has caught pregnant, and you say this Vampire was over a thousand.”

  “I don’t know what to tell ye. It were a fluke I guess,” Greta said.

  Olina watched Greta suspiciously for a moment and changed her tack. “Why would an elder Vampire use a Were-wolf midwife anyway? Why wouldn’t she go to Syracuse like the rest of the elders and most of the pregnant women, for that matter?”

  “I don’t know what gets into the head of any Vampire, much less an elder!” Greta raised her voice angrily. “How should I know why she didn’t go to town, Olina? Do I look like a mind reader?” She was nearly shouting, and she looked up to see the young Were boy that did chores for her standing in the doorway.

  “Are you okay, Miss Greta?” he asked, looking from the red-faced Were to the old human
lady who was inexplicably smiling.

  “I’m fine,” Greta said with exaggerated calm. She brushed at imaginary wrinkles on her skirt, smoothing it with her sweating palms. “Excuse me for a moment,” she said and went down an adjoining hallway. They heard a door close softly.

  The boy of about eighteen or nineteen, looked at Olina and said, “I took care of your horse, Miss. I’m all done with Miss Greta’s chores too, so if you don’t need anything else, I’ll be heading home.”

  “ Many thanks,” Olina said, looking at the late afternoon sun slanting through the window. “Won’t you stay and start out fresh in the morning?” she asked slyly.

  “Oh, no, Miss. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be home before midnight,” he said smiling.

  “Of course, I understand,” she said smiling back. “I always like to sleep in my own bed too.”

  She watched out the window, stepping back from the glass into shadow, so she wouldn’t be seen. The boy went to the edge of the clearing and retrieved a small pack from under a tree. He stripped naked and put his clothes in the bag. Then he almost seemed to be praying when he squatted down, lowered his head and closed his eyes. She could see him taking deep calming breaths, and she watched, fascinated as he slowly transformed into a gray wolf over the course of about two minutes. The wolf looked strong and lean like the boy, and he looked around the clearing with glowing, yellow eyes. For a moment, he stared at the window, and she felt as if he could see her despite the dark shadow. She held her breath and didn’t move a muscle. After a moment, the wolf looked away, snatched up the pack in his jaws, and leapt off into the trees, disappearing in seconds. She let out the breath she was holding and sat down at the table to slow down her racing thoughts.

  Greta as much as said that the Vampire birth didn’t occur in a village, so that left the Were settlement or the wilderness, and Olina was betting on the settlement because Greta also said she helped birth the child, not that she did it herself. Also, the fact that a Vampire elder let a Were help birth her baby at all, said something about the relationship this Vampire had with Weres. It all added up, and the boy had told her that he would be home before midnight. So, six or seven hours of running as a wolf, put the settlement maybe a day or day and a half on horseback from Greta’s place. Olina had a sneaking suspicion that she knew who the Vampire mother was because a powerful Vampire, an elder by the name of Gates, was posting her name and her husband’s all over the villages as traitors, and there were allegations that the wanted Vampires were involved in a conspiracy with Weres of the wolf clan. There was a reward, but she was not interested in the money. She would be bringing this information to the Mother, and she was sure that Mother would be interested to know about the baby too. She put a small amount of the dark powder from the jar into an envelope and tucked it into a pocket. She stayed for one night with Greta and then made excuses to cut her visit short.