Ellida

by J. F. Kaufmann

  Her inner harmony that kept not only her but her entire surrounding balanced was disturbed. Her famous intuition, manifested through her ability to feel life through light and colors, was paralyzed by deep fear in the pit of her stomach for so many people she loved and cared about. Even for those of her mother’s clan, who’d been suffering for such a long time under Seth Withali’s iron fist. So much was at stake because Seth wanted her.

  How many lives would he try to destroy in his final acts of madness?

  JACK, JAMES and Ahmed didn’t look overly concerned about the upcoming war. Helping Darius to put an end to Seth’s reign was something that had to be done. There was no room for second thoughts and doubts, and certainly not for the horror that Astrid was wrestling with.

  Jack knew what was going on in Astrid’s head, no matter how hard she tried to hide her panic. He was gentle and tender, spending as much time at home as he could. He talked to her when she wanted reassurance, made her laugh when she was too tense, and made love to her when nothing else worked, which was quite often.

  “It will be over in no time,” he told her one sunny morning at the end of July, holding her tight. “I promise. Do I ever break my word?”

  “What if somebody dies?” she’d asked, not reassured. “You can’t control that.”

  “I can do everything to prevent it. That’s why I’m training my people, taking a small army of Tel-Urughs with me, plus several wizards and one Ellida. I’m not taking any chances. You must trust me.”

  She braced herself on her elbow, locking her moss-green gaze with his golden one. “I do. I just don’t understand why I must stay here.”

  “Out of the question, Astrid,” he cut her off, instantly irritated.

  “I’m the most powerful wizard around, you know that.”

  Jack cupped her head between his palms. His love, so clearly visible in his eyes, took her breath away. “I can’t risk anything happening to you, Astrid,” he said so slow, so quiet. “I’m not that strong.”

  “Oh, Jack,” she whispered as a sob ripped from her throat.

  “Shhh, don’t cry.” Jack kissed her lips tenderly, brushing her tears away with his thumbs. “If you really want to help me, promise to stay here. And don’t get pregnant in the next few months.”

  She sniffed and managed a tiny smile. “Well, I haven’t heard anything about a shortage of condoms, so we’ll be fine. You know, physical intimacy soothes my nerves.”

  Jack laughed. “Happy to oblige. Now, throw a few things into your suitcase, including the dress. We’re going to Las Vegas tonight.”

  He had finally succeeded in distracting her.

  “Vegas? Now?” Astrid asked, amused.

  “No better time than now. No one will know, except our family. I have tickets for a Cirque de la Lune show. By the way, your former Praetorians are coming with us. James wouldn’t hear of it otherwise.”

  Astrid laughed, “James wouldn’t hear of it? Who’s Einhamir here?”

  “Well, I’m smart enough to know when not to challenge my father. The alternative was to take Betty and him with us. He wholeheartedly proposed it, but my mother’s still mad at you.”

  “Oh, God! She is, isn’t she? She hasn’t phoned in days. Peyton’s angry, too, and Maggie tolerates me only because we have a freezer full of perch. She told me that. Peyton will get over it eventually, but how should I mend fences with your mother?”

  “I’ll leave that to you, Ellida. You’ll find a way.”

  Thirty-Seven

  Astrid

  AS JACK had summarized, my greatest contribution in the upcoming events would be not to get pregnant. It looked like an easy task.

  Our trip to Las Vegas was a welcomed distraction.

  When James’ blue-white Barron 55 took off from Red Cliffs, I decided to leave all my worries and fears at home and enjoy this incognito and unexpected getaway.

  Jack had booked a luxury suite at the Alhambra Hotel, next to the room where Livia and Tristan were staying. We’d checked in with false passports as Mr. and Mrs. Montesquieu, from Montreal, Canada. Tristan and Livia had registered as Mr. and Mrs. Whyte.

  They were waiting for us in our room.

  “Married life agrees with you, Princess!” Tristan said, pulling me into his arms. “Boy, I’ve missed you!”

  I winked at Jack. “As my step-brother correctly pointed out, I’m still technically single, but, yes, living with Jack does have its advantages.”

  “We’re in Vegas, baby. We can easily change your marital status,” Jack said.

  “Oh, let’s do it!” Liv said, pulling me from Tristan’s embrace. “I love weddings, especially without me in the main role… I’ve missed you, Astrid! It annoys me to no end that we live so close but can’t see each other.” She took a step back, examining me closely. “Let me see you. You look great! The mountain air, I suppose.”

  I was missing my friends dearly, too, and I was excited to have a chance to spend some time with them.

  As if he could read my mind, Jack said, “Don’t count on seeing much of Liv and Tristan, honey. This is our romantic holiday.”

  “Oh, don’t count on seeing too much at all,” Liv said, laughing. “Your Vegas experience is going to be limited mostly to this room. That’s what Jack’s trying to say. Let us know if he forgets to feed you.”

  IN SPITE of Liv’s prediction, we spent a good part of our first day with the Blakes. For people with our abilities, going to a casino was out of the question. Ignoring Jack’s grumbling, Liv and I decided first to catch up on all the news while relaxing in the spa. Later we explored the hotel’s shops and boutiques, leaving the men to themselves at the bar.

  “I love shopping in hotels! It’s so convenient,” Liv said happily. “Everything we need is in one place: Prada, Armani, Dior, Tiffany, Louis Vuitton…”

  I treated myself to a bottle of perfume, and bought an indigo-blue cashmere scarf for Peyton, silver pins for Ella and Anwen, and a bamboo bracelet for Maggie.

  I chose an elegant and rather expensive brown leather shoulder bag and paid for it without a blink.

  Livia gave me a puzzled look.

  “Betty’s furious with me. I have to make peace with her somehow. If a designer bag could help, I don’t care about the price,” I explained my sudden out-of-character shopping behavior to my friend.

  “You must’ve screwed it up colossally if you feel you need to make an eight hundred dollar amends,” Liv said. “I just hoped for a second you’d bought it for yourself.”

  “Are you insane? I’d never pay eight hundred dollars for a handbag. I mean, for myself.”

  Livia rolled her eyes. “You are a seriously shopping-challenged person, Astrid. Not to mention cheap.”

  “I certainly am not cheap! I have very expensive lingerie,” I said defensively.

  “Okay, you know lingerie, I’ll give you that. But that’s not enough,” Liv said. “You know what? When this is over, I’ll take you to Rome or Paris. Consider it as an educational trip, a learning experience, to widen your shopping horizons. No museums, no galleries, no operas. Just you and me, and the credit cards.”

  She put on the fifteenth pair of shoes. She turned around and glanced over her shoulder at a tall mirror. “What do you think?”

  “Very sexy!” I said, delighted with the black pumps with metal heels. “You know shoes, I’ll give you that.”

  “Hmm, I’m not sure about these ones. You try them, Astrid, and walk in front of me, will you?”

  I slipped on the shoes—we were both size eight—and they fit like a glove. I took a few steps.

  “You’re right, they are sexy,” Livia nodded approvingly. She paid for the shoes and pushed the box into my hands. “Here, consider it lesson number one.”

  Later we watched a Cirque de la Lune show together, two hours of my favorite human magic.

  “Not exclusively human,” Jack said when I mentioned it. He pointed at the tall young man high up on the metal straps. “The leading trapezis
t is your kind. His name is Etienne Pascal, and he’s from Winston. Most of the shows have one or more werewolves or wizards among their performers.”

  “Can you smell them? Is that how you know?” I asked, sniffing the air. My senses were much sharper now, but still not developed to perfection.

  “No. Nobody can smell them. They neutralize their scent. I happen to know Etienne, that’s all.”

  During the intermission Jack and I strolled through the Cirque gift shop. I asked him to buy me a keychain.

  “You want a keychain?”

  “I collect their key chains. I have one from every performance I’ve seen,” I said. “Over the years, Ingmar and I saw almost all the shows in North America. If it was safe, we often traveled to the opposite side of the continent to watch them. That’s how my Cirque de la Lune keychain collection started.”

  “In that case, I’m starting my own Cirque de la Lune collection,” Jack said and chose an elaborate mask and a CD with the music from the show.

  “I DON’T want to sound patronizing, but it’s time to say goodnight to your friends, Astrid,” Jack said later, while we were having a drink in our suite. “You’ll see them tomorrow.” He turned to the Blakes with a sly smile. “You two, take a hike.”

  Tristan laughed. “Did I mention that married life suits you, too, Jack? Remember, Livia, when you told him he’d like Astrid, and he accused you of matchmaking?”

  “Regarding how fiercely he resisted any chance of falling in love with her just a few months ago, he’s made a quantum leap,” Livia said.

  “I did not fiercely resist anything,” Jack said. “Astrid, don’t listen to them. I merely pointed out—”

  I clasped my hands in excitement. “So he didn’t like it, huh? How come I don’t know that story? Oh, please tell me!”

  “I’ll tell you, baby. Liv and Tristan are leaving now,” Jack said with a sweet smile, opened the door and escorted the Blakes out. “Have a good night. See you in the morning.”

  Jack closed his arms around me, pushing me gently toward the bedroom. “I’m surprised you didn’t know about Livia’s matchmaking streak,” he said.

  “She sure didn’t try to match me with anybody.”

  “That’s because she always had me in mind for you.”

  “I know who she didn’t like, though,” I started, but Jack interrupted me with a kiss.

  “You talk too much, Astrid. Not a word anymore,” he murmured against my lips.

  “Is that an order, Einhamir?” I whispered back.

  “Uh-huh. Now let me tell you what I’m going to do to you in the next few hours.”

  IN SPITE of his kinky words, Jack’s lovemaking was tender, his kisses and caresses so sweet that they made my heart ache. He moved inside me slowly, unhurriedly, hard and solid, and I felt safe and protected.

  “I love the way you give yourself to me, Astrid.”

  Jack’s hot whisper brushed over my neck, sending tremors down my spine. For a long moment I shuddered on the brink. “Come for me, baby… I have you…”

  He knew the exact way to take me to paradise.

  The knot swelled even more and I felt Jack’s semen filling my womb. Lost in a feverish, shattering response, it took me a while to realize it shouldn’t have been happening.

  Thirty-Eight

  Astrid

  EYES FILLED with sudden dread, Jack stiffened. His fingers pressed hard at the sensitive spot between my legs. The knot released immediately.

  “The damn thing broke!” he yelled and jerked me out of bed. “Into the washroom, Astrid, quickly!” he shouted, his voice filled with fear. He grabbed my wrist and hurtled me toward the bathroom. I stumbled behind him, shocked more by Jack’s response than by the condom accident.

  He pushed me inside the shower stall and turned on the faucet. Cold, prickly water sprayed over me.

  “Stop! Stop!” I screamed, hurt, humiliated and cold, trying to get out of the shower. My hand found the handle and turned it off.

  I stood in the tub, wet and shivering. In an instinctive movement my hands covered my breasts and pubis. I closed my eyes.

  “Get out, Jack.”

  He nodded quickly and left.

  I adjusted the water temperature and carefully cleaned myself. That wouldn’t make any difference, of course, if my body was ready to conceive tonight. Jack’s semen was planted deep inside my womb, where nothing could reach it, heading blindly toward its target. According to the timing of my last period, it might easily hit it as well.

  When I returned to the room, Jack was sitting on the bed, fully dressed.

  “I’m so sorry, Astrid…” He picked up the wrapper of the treacherous condom from the nightstand, examining it carefully. “It looks normal.”

  “I’m sure it’s sabotage,” I snapped. “I think Seth sent his little ghouls to poke a hole in your condom so that I get pregnant and helpless. Come on, Jack, these things happen.”

  “Yeah, then tell me some statistics to put my mind at rest.”

  I decided to disregard his exasperation. “Okay, then. According to the Federal Health Institute, condom breakage rate among men aged 20-40 is about 2.7 percent, which means 1.8 percent of all condoms break. Slippage appeared to be three to four times higher.”

  “And you just happen to know the latest statistics?”

  “Well, they are not the latest. I read them in one of the medical journals when I was a student.”

  Jack continued with his angry tirade. “You’d think the quality and safety would have improved by this time! Considering how many times we made love so far, we were way overdue. Remind me, why do we use condoms as protection in the first place? According to your statistics, they break. They slip. They aren’t a reliable method of contraception.”

  “Because, as a doctor, I’m a great supporter of condoms for all sorts of protection. They are a reliable and safe method of contraception and the best prevention against sexually transmitted diseases.”

  “We don’t have a damn sexually transmitted disease! We’re werewolves; we can neither get infected nor pass on any infection, including venereal! You know it!”

  “Of course I do. I was talking in general terms, but you’re upset and now you’re talking nonsense, Jack.”

  He closed his eyes and let out a sharp breath. “I know… I know… I was gentle, and the darn thing broke nevertheless,” he said, as if defending himself.

  “You were rough this morning and it didn’t break.”

  I’d finally managed to distract him.

  “That was rough? But you said you liked it! ”

  “I did, a lot. Don’t you see I’m trying to divert your attention?”

  He managed a small, crooked smile, and some of the tension broke. “Astrid, I’m sorry.”

  “For the condom malfunctioning or for that freezing shower that was somehow supposed to neutralize the possible consequences of the above mentioned malfunction, or for this anti-condom campaign?”

  “I have nothing against condoms, Astrid, generally speaking, you know that. What if you get pregnant?”

  “I may not.”

  He threw me a meaningful look. “It’s the right time of the month.”

  “And you know this how? You keep a record of my monthly periods?” Now I felt my anger coming back with a vengeance. Was there any segment of my life that somebody, at some point, hadn’t tried to control?

  He threw his arms into the air. “Of course I do,” he said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “You’re regular as clockwork, every twenty-seven days, which puts your ovulation between days ten and thirteen. Ahmed told me that. Today’s day ten,” he glanced at his watch, “or rather eleven. By the way, how come Liv and Tristan are not all over the place? We’ve made quite a commotion.”

  I was still fuming over Jack’s quietly accurate assessment of my monthly cycle and the fact that he’d been discussing it with Ahmed instead of me, so I ignored his question. I was glad the Blakes hadn’t heard anything.
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  “Astrid? Why are your guards not here?”

  Oh, well. He wasn’t going to like it. “I soundproofed the rooms, to give us all some privacy. Come on, Jack, give me a break. I’m here with you, I don’t need extra protection.”

  Well, apparently the storm wasn’t over yet. Jack’s face turned red and he started yelling again.

  “How can you be so careless and self-centered, Astrid!? Tristan and Liv are here because of you. Show some appreciation, for heaven’s sake!” He abruptly stood up and banged several times on the wall between our suites.

  He must have been scared to death, otherwise he would have never come out with such a bunch of absurdities.

  “They won’t hear you,” I said quietly, knowing that everything I said would get him even more worked up.

  “Then undo it! Now!”

  “If you promise to stop yelling. I don’t want to discuss condom-breakage with them. They wouldn’t believe it was such a gentle lovemaking.”

  I threw a glance at Jack. He sighed and pulled me into his arms. “Oh, God! Please forgive me, baby. God, did I actually call you careless and selfish?”

  I smiled. “And self-centered and unappreciative.”

  “I’m scared, Astrid, and when I’m scared I yell. You’ll be so vulnerable when you’re pregnant. The timing’s so wrong.”

  I pressed my forehead against his. “It takes time to conceive, Jack. It’s usually not that easy.”

  He kissed my lips and held me tight. The warm current flowed between us, soothing us both.

  Next time we argue, I decided, we should hold hands. That would bring every fight between us to a quick end.

  “Don’t underestimate Canagan’s little swimmers, baby. If there’s a slight chance for it, one of them will wiggle its way to its destination.”

  I locked my arms around his neck and smiled. “Think about this, then. If you got me pregnant tonight, I’m sure it would be a girl. It was so gentle and beautiful. I was over the moon.”