The growl that ripped from his throat shocked even him, but not nearly as much as the words that followed it. “That cretin will never touch Larissa again!”
Her evil grin morphed into a fully satisfied Cheshire smile. “Promise me one thing, Eleazar, for old times’ sake. When you announce your call to the others, let me be there. I think I would enjoy nothing more than watching our old bishop being brought to his knees by a female not even half a century old.”
He wanted to demand her silence. He wanted to wipe that smirk right off of her arrogant face. He wanted to not give her the satisfaction of seeing him caught so entirely off guard. Yet he did nothing. As if a dam had broken, his mind was suddenly awash with a million fragments he had somehow never noticed. He had dreamed. He had been clumsy as of late. He had been ignoring hunger pains that never ceased regardless of the blood he gorged himself on.
He thought back to the night he had seen Larissa dancing. He suddenly relived the rage he had felt at seeing the other males admiring her. As if experiencing the world for the first time in color, he remembered things he had somehow overlooked in real time. She had aroused him. He had not suffered a single sexual inclination since he was a youth, yet she had somehow awaken that part of him, stimulated it. He thought about how he enjoyed chasing her as if he were the mountain lion pouncing on his lioness. He had become the predator at some point, no longer on a task for another, but on a task to satisfy his own needs.
His body began to emit a low purr as he imagined what it would be like to finally possess Larissa, to actually hold her in his arms, feel her moist flesh clinging to his own as he took from her as fiercely as she took from him. She would be an incredible lover, passionate and insatiable. She exuded sexuality. He longed to feel her sharp claws digging into his thick muscles.
Adriel suddenly stood. “I can see that I am correct. Your lust is choking me.” She placed her cup on the table and collected her cape. As she reattached her bonnet, she asked, “I assume this means you are leaving immediately?”
He barely heard her question. He was too preoccupied with searching his memory for fragments of his dreams. It irritated him that he could not recall more than a glimpse leftover from his subconscious. “What? Yes, I will be leaving as soon as I change.”
She folded her hands under the front of her cloak. She was completely shrouded in black, making the intensity of her bright-green eyes all the more severe. “Remember one thing, Eleazar, for the girl’s sake. Silus Hostetler may be a male who comes from a long line of elders, but he is not the guiltless boy you all see him as. Females talk and when they do not, I listen. Larissa is a sweet girl. Why you jackasses decided to approve the union between she and Silus never did make sense to me. He can be cruel. I have seen it in his mind as well as Larissa’s. Be kind to her. Do not let your emotions get the better of you. Do not forget, I have abandoned my destiny. Any other female of worth could do the same. Do not underestimate the strength of a female. It is the quiet ones who usually surprise us most.”
He thought about the way Larissa had repelled his mental push and catapulted it back at him, not only dropping him, but also rendering him unconscious for God knew how long. “Oh, believe me. I will not underestimate her again.”
Chapter 8
Cain watched his brother shove another burnt biscuit into his mouth and frowned. “I don’t know how you can eat that,” he whispered to Adam while Annalise was busy basting a roast in the oven.
“What? I like my wife’s cooking.”
Cain reexamined his blackened roll and frowned. “I suppose that’s love.” He tossed the inedible briquette back into the basket with the others.
“The roast should be done in about five more minutes,” Annalise said as she returned to the table. She sat down and let out a long sigh and rubbed her slightly protruding belly. Her long, copper hair hung loose and glimmered in the glow from the lamp behind her.
“Greaaaat,” Cain commented with as much enthusiasm as he could muster for his sister-in-law’s cooking.
“Anna, why don’t you go find your bonnet while we have company,” Adam requested. His brother was so much more obedient and tolerant of Amish tradition than Cain himself was.
Anna’s hand went to her bare head as if just realizing she had been walking around with her hair uncovered. She slumped in her chair and whined, “I don’t feel like going upstairs to get it. It’s only Cain. He’s seen my hair before.”
Adam gave Annalise a look that said he did not approve of any man, even his brother, seeing his wife in such a state of undress, but Anna simply ignored him and picked up a biscuit. She sighed and began to pick off the blackened parts. “So tell me more about the meeting,” she suggested.
“There isn’t much more to tell. The bishop didn’t seem too concerned that one of our own may be running around murdering innocent civilians.”
“It could just be a bear or something, you know.”
“It wasn’t a bear.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“I could smell whatever it was. It was not the scent an animal leaves behind.”
The front door of Adam and Anna’s home opened and a small figure, cloaked in black, stepped in. Small hands reached out from below the heavy, dark fabric and pulled back the bonnet veiling their younger sister Gracie’s face. “Can you believe how chilly it is for November? I dread to see what this winter will be like,” Gracie said as she hung her cloak on a hook by the door and joined them in the kitchen. She briskly rubbed her fingers together as she walked.
She first greeted Adam and placed a kiss on his cheek and then went to kiss Anna’s cheek just before she placed a hand on Anna’s belly and felt for the baby. Gracie was able to overhear others’ thoughts, an ability that allowed her to also be able to check on a mother’s fetus. It had something to do with the brainwaves, but Cain wasn’t really sure how it worked.
His sister looked at him and gave her usual greeting. “Hello, toad.”
“Good evening, runt.”
She stuck out her tongue at him then turned and smiled at Anna. “He’s active tonight.”
“He?” Cain asked with a look of pure skepticism.
Gracie turned to him, “Yes, the baby is a boy. Did they not tell you?” She clucked her tongue and sarcastically said, “Aw, too bad. Well, that’s what you get for never being around.”
“You act as though I was off doing nothing of importance. I’ll have you know, if not for me, the council would be clueless of recent events that could greatly affect The Order.”
Gracie pulled out a chair and sat. “And how does you fornicating with mortals and soiling motel bed sheets affect The Order, brother?”
“Well, that was for my own personal study. What I am speaking of has to do with Uncle Isaiah.”
“Bite your tongue,” she said, suddenly serious.
“Cain thinks he is still alive and somewhere in the nearby woods,” Adam told their sister.
Gracie stood and naturally took over the cooking for Annalise. She removed the roast from the oven, and began slicing. Swirls of flavorful steam spiraled into the air with each cut, causing his mouth to water. Hopefully Anna’s roast was better than her biscuits.
“What brought you to that conclusion?” she asked.
“For one, there have been twelve or so murders in the woods surrounding us.”
Gracie gasped. “How do you know?”
“It was on the English news. There is this annoying little woman who is following the story, Destiny Santos. She reports on the cases almost every night. The most recent murder was a woman named Sharon Foster. It is really rather sad. She was a widow and she had two little kids.”
The girls each made a compassionate sound. “What will happen to the children I wonder.” Anna sighed.
“Oh, well you don’t think the reporter would be compassionate enough to not exploit their grief do you? Come now, Anna, you were English. You know how cutthroat the media is. That little witch went right up to
those children at the cemetery, before their mother had even been buried. Horrible! Sticking her microphone right in their little, sad faces asking about the beast that killed their mother.”
“That’s terrible!” Gracie agreed. “That woman should be ashamed of herself. They are children.”
“I know. I think the daughter, the younger one, Cindy or Cybil or something like that, I read somewhere that she has not spoken since her mother was killed. The papers say they saw whatever it was that murdered her, but the police won’t release a statement. As much as I think the reporter has no right bothering those kids, I would like to know what they saw.”
“Oh!” Gracie shouted. “Maybe I could get permission to leave the farm so that I could find these children and read their thoughts! They would never even know what I was doing—”
“That will never happen, Grace,” Adam interrupted, quickly stifling their sister’s excitement. “The English world is bigger than you think. You would never find them. Not to mention after the entire ruckus Larissa has caused, you are ferricked if you think the elders would allow another Hartzler woman to leave the farm.”
“This is different. Larissa is married. I am not. I wouldn’t be shrugging off any of my duties and I could perhaps help the investigation.”
“The fact that you are not mated makes it all the more dangerous. And I do not think there will be an investigation.”
She frowned at Adam. “But I thought that is what the meeting tonight was about.”
They began to pass around dishes and eat. Cain laughed and answered before his brother got the chance. “Ha! The council is a joke. They won’t listen to my claims any more than they would listen to a female.”
“Hey!” Anna chimed in indignantly. Gracie, who had lived on the farm all of her twenty-one years, did not take offense. There had always been segregation between the males and females of The Order, placing the females at a disadvantage.
“Sorry, Anna, but it’s true. They don’t care. Whatever is out there will most likely have to kill a dozen more females before those old farts do anything about it.”
“Surely grandfather will press the issue. Isaiah was his brother,” Gracie argued.
“He will be outnumbered. Sad to say, but Larissa’s absence has taken up more time than our uncle’s possible return.”
“Well, that is just ridiculous. They should just leave Larissa alone. Dumb old Silus just wants attention. He doesn’t care where she is really.”
“Grace,” Adam warned. “Do not involve yourself with their marriage.”
“And why not? He is a grumpy old toad who never smiles or laughs. I am not even sure he has teeth.”
“It is not your business and it is against family law to involve yourself in another’s marriage.”
“I hate that law,” Annalise commented as she cut her meat.
“That law protects you, ainsicht.”
“No, Adam, that law protects men who are bad husbands from having to answer for their actions. It is stupid and should be changed,” she argued.
“And how would you feel if the council was allowed to measure in on what we deem appropriate in our home? I assure you they would have something to say about the way I allow you to run around with your hair uncovered in our home and the music I allow you to enjoy on your radio.”
“Allow? Really, Adam?”
Cain laughed. “Now you’ve done it, brother. Good luck getting out of this one.”
“Yes, allow. I am your husband and therefore head of this family. My word is law. You agreed to that when you married me.”
“Let’s not talk about promises we have made. You are still on thin ice, Mister. Suffice it to say the authority you have, you have because I allow you to have it. Abuse that authority like Silus, and I will disappear faster than Larissa did.”
Cain continued to chuckle and his twin sent him a disapproving look. His brother, obviously not as smart as Cain had once assumed, turned back to his wife and in a reproving voice said, “Annalise—”
Gracie let her fork clatter to the table. “Goodness, Adam! Let it go. If you could hear your wife’s thoughts right now, you would know that is the wisest move. We all get it. You are the man of the house and we are merely women. Now can we please move on to a different topic and will someone please tell me what on earth happened to these biscuits?”
The kitchen grew silent and then they all suddenly burst into peals of laughter. The rest of supper carried on without issue. After the women had cleared the table, they followed the men into the den where a fire was lit to fight off the chill in the air. The conversation moved onto lighter topics, the calf Gracie had been tending to that was now ready to join the others, the kittens that were recently born. They all seemed to dance around the one topic that was on everyone’s mind.
When the conversation lulled and the four of them sat silently watching the fire crack and pop, Cain finally could take no more and broke the silence. “Why has Mother been staying at Aunt Rebecca’s?”
“She and Father had a fight,” Gracie quietly supplied.
In all of his thirty-seven years, Cain had never known his mother and father to fight. “About what? And, Adam, don’t you dare begin to lecture me on family law. They are our parents.”
“I don’t know. She left the other day after Father woke from a nap. She wouldn’t speak to me about what had happened. She has been very upset lately. Perhaps the healer has discovered more about Father’s illness. Perhaps it was bad news.”
“I don’t believe he is sick,” Annalise mumbled, not looking at any of the others.
“Of course he is sick. He’s lost a substantial amount of weight and has not had an appetite for some time,” Cain reminded her in return.
“You’re wrong,” she said. “I think you are all wrong and I think Abilene has figured out what the problem is.”
“Annnd do you plan on enlightening us?” he asked.
“Your father is sleeping, just not with your mother. He is becoming withdrawn because he knows time is running out. I didn’t realize it at first, but once it occurred to me I can’t seem to discard the possibility. I’ve gone over the evidence a million times in my head, how upset Abilene has been, how often Jonas has been absent from things that are normally a priority to him. Once it occurred to me I could not find a single argument against my assumption. I didn’t want to be the one to suggest such a thing. In all honesty, I can’t believe it didn’t occur to any of you first. When Adam first brought me here and explained the difference between a marriage and actual called mates, he explained your parents as if their entire marriage was a gamble they were willing to take. I never would have assumed Jonas and Abilene were not called to each other. I look at them and I see a love so pure, I would never suspect God did not ordain it. When Adam told me they were merely married I thought, how could they go through life always fearing that the other shoe could suddenly drop? Now I realize none of you fear that. You all just assume what is will always be.”
“You’re wrong,” Cain said in all seriousness. For the first time ever since he met Annalise he felt a twinge of dislike for her. How could she even suggest such a thing?
“Am I, Cain? You all don’t want to see the facts. Well, let me tell you. The day I found Abilene crying in her room, she told me Jonas knew she was upset and just left her there as if he didn’t care. Since when does your father not care about your mother? I think he is isolating himself because he is being pulled in two different directions. There is where his heart wants to be and then where his body is insisting he goes.”
“I think you should stop,” Cain warned.
Adam was considering his wife’s words while Gracie looked petrified. Anna did not seem concerned with Cain’s warning. “I saw your father stumble the other day over nothing—”
“I said stop!” Cain bellowed, jumping to his feet, causing a crack of thunder over the house.
Adam growled. “I think it is you who needs to stop, Cain. You may apologize to my
wife or get out.”
Cain breathed deeply through his nose. He looked at Anna and muttered a quick apology then returned to his chair.
“Dear God,” Gracie whispered. “Could she be right, Adam?”
“You tell us, Grace,” Adam requested calmly. “You are the only one still living under their roof. Has Father been displaying the symptoms of a called male?”
Gracie lowered her head as if she were thinking. When she looked back up at the others, a lone tear trickled past her eyelashes and down her cheek. “This will destroy Mother.”
Cain suddenly stood again. He needed to get out of there. “I have to go.”
Annalise stood as well. “Cain, please don’t leave angry.”
There was still some indescribable bond between him and Annalise. No matter how upset he was with her words, he could not be responsible for upsetting her. They shared some link he was unsure would ever completely go away. She may have been mated to his twin, but he also owned a part of her, same as she would always own a part of him.
He approached her. “I am not angry with you, beautiful Anna. I am merely overwhelmed. I must warn Larissa the bishop has found her and is coming for her tonight. For all I know he is already halfway there. Then there is this beast in the woods. On top of all that I must consider if what you said is true. If it is, it changes everything for all of us. Gracie is right. This will destroy Mother. Someone needs to address all of these things. Adam, you will need to question Father to see if Anna’s assumptions are accurate. Gracie, I suggest you go to Mother.”
“And where will you go, Cain?” Anna asked, looking as though she felt responsible for all of this.
“I must go to Larissa and warn her. Then I am going to hunt down whatever is in those woods and murder it. The elders may not be concerned with what is out there, but I am. If it is our uncle, we risk exposure. For all we know it may not be only one animal, but several. I know what I saw in the woods. The footprints I found belonged to more than one creature. That little witch of a reporter would likely be in her glory if she could uncover such a creature living alongside the human race. I need to stop what is out there before it attracts any more attention.”
Calling for a Miracle [The Order of Vampyres 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 10