The rumor was that Paloma Soleil died in battle almost five centuries earlier. Tahlia searched the world over for her best friend and found no indication or reason to believe that she had survived. She kept her presence cloaked and watched the two women engaged in battle.
Paloma was an exceptional fighter even after having been out of action for five centuries. She moved smoothly and with deadly precision. Tahlia almost felt sorry for Gillian, because she didn’t stand a chance against a warrior of Paloma’s caliber. The battle was moving farther and farther away from the tree where the child was hidden, giving Tahlia the chance to quickly move in, grab her, and leave the scene. She would’ve liked to meet with Paloma, but the time was not right. They would meet again soon—of that she was sure.
†
One week later…
When Jemima opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Tahlia leaning against the headboard of the bed, looking tenderly at her. Her sharp senses picked up a foreign scent. There was another presence in the room. She felt the faint heartbeat and warm blood scent which tickled her nose. Alarmed, her eyes bored into Tahlia’s.
“Easy, my love. I have a surprise for you.”
Jemima followed Tahlia’s gaze and jerked into a sitting position. There, nestled between them, was a little girl, her blue eyes staring at her in what could almost be a challenge. The child’s hand wrapped around Tahlia’s thumb and Jemima felt her heart tighten at the tender way Tahlia was smiling down at the girl.
“Rafina and James call her Inger. What do you think?”
Jemima got out of bed slowly, flexed her muscles, and walked around the bed to stand at Tahlia’s side of the bed. “Whose baby is this?”
Tahlia gathered the little girl in her arms and Jemima couldn’t help but smile when the chubby hands reached for Tahlia’s mouth and Tahlia playfully nipped at them making the baby gurgle. “She is an orphan. Her mother was killed by renegades.”
Jemima frowned. “Why haven’t you taken her to Child Welfare?”
“Her soon-to-be grandparents did and they were given temporary custody until all paperwork is processed.”
Tahlia reached out and put a little fist in her mouth to the joy of little Inger who squealed in delight. Tahlia lifted the girl into her lap and tenderly kissed the soft dark fuzz covering the child’s head. The toddler struggled to her feet, using Tahlia powerful shoulders for leverage. The blue eyes were sparkling with glee as she cradled Tahlia’s face in her small hands and planted a sloppy kiss on Tahlia’s nose.
While watching Tahlia and Inger, memories of her childhood flooded Jemima’s mind. She remembered at night when she was scared, how a tall woman would come to her room, pick her up, and sing her to sleep. Tahlia was there from the beginning. She reached out and gently stroked her lover’s dark hair.
“You used to come to my room when I was just a little older than Inger. You would play with me and sing me to sleep.”
Tahlia smiled. “Just for the record, you were a handful. Inger is a sweetheart.”
With a smile, Jemima reached out to Inger. The baby gave her an open-mouthed grin and grabbed her hand. The soft touch of the baby brought tears to her eyes, and she smiled when she felt Tahlia’s arm snaking around her waist.
“She truly is a sweetheart.” Jemima took a step back. “How long have I been out?”
“A week. Your father is on his way to get Inger. Please do not try to bite him this time. I can already sense his trepidation.”
Just at that exact moment, there was a knock on the door and Jemima went to open it for her father.
James smiled when he saw her. “If you so much as lick your lips at me this time, I swear I’ll bite you back.” James laughed and gathered Jemima in his arms. “I’m glad to see you’re back on your feet again, honey.”
Jemima kissed her father’s cheek. “I’m a die-hard, Daddy—literally."
She let James push past her and go to where Tahlia was sitting on the bed with the toddler. Jemima watched as Tahlia handed Inger to her father. She watched in stunned surprise as her father cradled the child against his chest and with a curt ‘see ya’, left the room.
Jemima shook her head and turned to Tahlia. “That little pixie seems to have taken over the household. What else happened in my absence?”
“I have been worried about you, my love. How do you feel?”
“I don’t know, Tahlia. I…I’ve never killed anyone before…and I…when I did, it was almost with detached abandon.” She rubbed her eyes. “What does it make me now?”
Tahlia shook her head. “Your survival instinct was triggered. Being part predator now, you acted on it the only way you knew best.”
“Am I now a monster, Tahlia?”
“No, my love, not in the least. You are a very powerful being, but not an evil one. You could never be a monster, not even if you tried.”
“But…”
Tahlia got off the bed and walked over to her and Jemima’s eyes darkened in appreciation at the fluid way the tall woman moved. Tahlia was smiling. “What you did that night was not gratuitous, Jemima. You put your life on the line to protect mankind from the brutality of what Gillian and her renegades had in mind. Being what you are now, you will find yourself in many such situations in the future, my love, and you will deal with it the only way you know best to guard and preserve your principles. Our lives are brutal, but ruled by selfless honor. We are the only ones who can stop monsters such as Gillian and her followers. We might never get any recognition for the role we play in saving the world, but that is what we were created for, after all.”
Jemima sighed as Tahlia pulled her into her arms. It would take her some time to get used to this new dark side to her personality. She listened to Tahlia’s heartbeat and smiled. Just like that first day she woke up after her conversion, she drew strength from Tahlia’s presence and power. Tahlia’s been doing this for two thousand years and she refused to believe that her noble lover was a monster. She lifted her head and pressed her lips against Tahlia’s. Too soon for her, Tahlia broke the kiss.
“First you need to feed, before we talk any further. I sense your hunger and it is making me edgy.” Tahlia pulled her into her arms and gave her a soft kiss before exposing her neck.
Without protesting, Jemima pulled Tahlia tighter to her and bit down deep into the vein in Tahlia’s neck. A soft gasp escaped Tahlia’s lips followed by a low hiss. After having taken a few pints, Jemima pulled back and found Tahlia staring at her with unbridled desire. Her arms tightened around Jemima.
“You seem to get turned on every time we do this.”
“It is a very intimate act and just the thought of doing anything intimate with you heats me up.”
Jemima grinned and gently pushed out of the embrace. “I promise to scratch your itch in a while, but first I need to know what else happened while I was recuperating.”
They went to lie down on the bed and Tahlia quickly filled in the blanks for Jemima. “We have another master vampire in town. We all thought she was killed in battle centuries ago, but I saw her that night we fought the renegades.”
“Is it good news for us or not?”
“I am not sure. I will have to contact her and talk to her.”
Jemima saw Tahlia’s faraway expression.
“But first I need to get you up and healthy again.”
“You are not telling me everything?” When Tahlia looked away, Jemima gently turned her head back. The wonder of loving someone. Whereas others trembled at the mere sound of Tahlia’s name or a quick steely glance from her dark eyes she couldn’t imagine never being able to look into those black beautiful eyes. “I trust you enough to know that you will tell me when the time is right.”
Tahlia gently kissed Jemima on the lips. “Thank you for understanding, my love.” Another deep kiss followed, before she reached for the buttons on Jemima’s silk pajamas. “I have missed you a lot, my love. I have missed your scent, your taste, your touch…”
“Ah, ba
by...” With a flick of her hand, Tahlia was naked and Jemima pushed her hands into Tahlia’s midnight black hair.
Epilogue
A few hours later, they were sitting on a bench in Central Park. Jemima was lying stretched out with her head resting in Tahlia’s lap, looking at the sky. They had made love for hours before deciding to come out for a walk. The last time they had been outside together was on that fateful night a week ago when they were attacked by Gillian and her gang.
“What happened to Gillian?”
In the thick darkness, Jemima could see Tahlia’s eyes harden. “She met her match. Hopefully we will never have to worry about her again.”
“Did you kill her?”
“No. When I went back to get Inger, I found her fighting with the other master vampire I told you about earlier.” She shifted her head and stared at Jemima. “Paloma would never have allowed Gillian to walk away from that battle alive.”
Jemima sensed Tahlia’s reluctance to talk about the subject and instead stroked a wayward curl of dark hair from the beautiful face. “Well, I can’t say I’m sorry. Gillian was out to destroy mankind as we know it.”
They sat in silence for a while. “Inger has grandparents, but what would you say about being her other mother.”
Jemima rubbed her eyes. “Are you suggesting that we should adopt her as our child?” Having seen Tahlia with Inger earlier, Jemima knew already what the answer would be. Tahlia adores the baby.
“Yes, but I will go with what you decide, my love. You are still young and I do not want to saddle you with such a big responsibility if you do not feel ready.”
With great stealth, Jemima entered Tahlia’s mind and was surprised when she found the Vampire Queen was actually hoping that she would say yes. Of course, she would say yes. Tahlia had never asked her for anything. Nor had she tried to take from her without her permission. But maybe I should make her steam in her own juices for a while. Jemima shut her mind to any possible probing from Tahlia and looked across the moonlit landscape.
“How will we explain to her that we cannot take her to school in the mornings and that we will not be there for her during the daylight hours?”
“I never really thought about that. Maybe we should just drop the idea.” Tahlia sat up slowly. “James and Rafina want to move back to the mansion, and I was thinking that maybe we could move back with them. I created a number of underground chambers there when you were a baby to be closer to you. Maybe we should not rush things and see how she adapts.”
Jemima gently pulled Tahlia’s ear. “I was just kidding. It would be an honor to be Inger’s mom. We will just have to find a way to work around our daylight schedule.” She got to her feet and pulled Tahlia into her arms. Let’s go back to the hotel and hear what my father and Rafina have to say.” A naughty twinkle came into her eyes. “Who knows, maybe I might develop another itch that you can scratch. First one to the hotel will have to change Inger’s diapers for a week.”
Within a second, Jemima disappeared.
†
Tahlia stared at the spot where Jemima had been a few moments ago, but she didn’t follow immediately. Instead, she turned her head slowly and peered into the night. Black eyes met silver ones, and for a few seconds, they stared at each other. Tahlia gave a curt nod before dissolving into thin air. The time for them to meet face-to-face would come soon enough. But for now, she had a stunning blonde to catch.
The End
About Stein Willard
Born and bred in Windhoek, Namibia, Stein has considerable experience in the media field and has worked as a journalist, TV producer, and PR consultant before starting her own small media production company. Her hobbies include writing, reading, cooking, travelling, photography, and watching soccer.
Stein started writing at the age of thirteen after feeling cheated by the ending of a novel she was reading. She took the novel and rewrote it from the ending back to the front, adding 200 more pages to it. Up until then she had only written in her native language, Afrikaans, a derivation of the Dutch language.
In 2007 she decided to experiment by writing a few short stories in English. By pure accident, she came across platforms on the internet to publish her work and was encouraged by a friend to try and post some of her stories.
Stein resides in Windhoek.
Connect with Stein online:
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: Stein Willard
BOOKS IN THE GUARDIAN SERIES
A Guardian's Love - Book 2
Her name is synonymous with death. Paloma. As the Assassin of the Royal Vampire Clan, Paloma had followed orders without question. But the killing became too much even for her. At the risk of losing the last sliver of humanity she still possessed, the deadly Enforcer went to ground only to resurface five centuries later. But in her absence the world had changed, as would her life.
Meanwhile, the daughter of two powerful vampires, twenty-year-old Inger Marsden was a free spirit who frequented pubs and nightclubs for two reasons: to hunt and destroy renegades hiding amongst humans and to find gorgeous women for no-strings attached liaisons. Life couldn’t get any better for the young slayer—or so she thought.
A Guardian’s Passion - Book Three
Converted four hundred years ago, Trinity O’Riordan went through the mechanics of life, carrying an extremely painful past with her. Then one night, while hunting renegades, she saved a beautiful girl from a band of vicious vampires and suddenly life didn't look so bleak any more. She wasn't alone any longer and for a while she was blissfully happy. But her past eventually caught up with her and this time Trinity knew she only had this one chance to finally lay it to rest.
Orphaned twice, Gabriella Talos had made the best of a bad situation. She'd risen above all odds to become a well-known and respected expert in her field. She had it made…or so she thought. One night in a dark alley, she was confronted by a past she'd thought she'd successfully buried eighteen years ago.
Other books from Desert Palm Press
Coming soon
Sunset Island by AJ Adaire
Awaiting My Assignment – Friends Book 1 by AJ Adaire
Anything Your Heart Desires – Friends Book 2 by AJ Adaire
Scarred for Life by SL Kassidy
A Guardian’s Salvation – Book 4 by Stein Willard
To be Unbroken - Stone Warrior Series Book 1 by Stein Willard
Desert Palm Press
Published by Desert Palm Entertainment (CC/2007/2385) trading as Desert Palm Press Swakopmund, Namibia
A Guardian's Touch Page 22