'Til Death (Conversion Trilogy # 3)

Chapter 10: The Death and Life of Emma Adams

Chapter 10: The Death and Life of Emma Adams

After dinner, I still had quite a few hours to kill before I died. Not really knowing how to spend the last moments of my life, I alternated between pacing, stressing and restlessly twitching. As the minutes marched on and on, each one bringing the sun just a fraction of an inch closer to rising again, my heart started accelerating. I wasn’t dying yet, just anxious. While I knew the actual act was going to be a bitch, the waiting around for it to happen was probably going to be the worst part. The mind was a cruel weapon at times, imaging every ache before the body even gets a chance to feel it.

Teren squatted in front of me when I started biting my fingernails. Smiling softly, he cupped my cheek. “Come with me?”

I looked around the room. All of the vampires were watching me, all with expressions of anticipation that matched the jumble of nerves in my belly.  “Where are we going?” My voice hitched nervously.

His cool thumb stroking my cheek, he soothingly said, “Just for a walk, just to get your mind off things.”

I looked back at him and raised an eyebrow, chuckling in a bubbly, anxious way. “You think that’s possible?”

He smiled sadly and shook his head. “No, but I’d like to try.”

I stood and nodded. Everyone in the room stood with me. It was almost like I’d suddenly become royalty and they were all following my every whim. It made me laugh inappropriately; none of this was funny.

Halina smiled at me but Alanna and Imogen only looked even more concerned. They all started to follow Teren and me as we headed towards the slider leading out back, but Teren shook his head at them. “I’d like a moment alone with my wife.”

They all nodded and only Teren and I stepped through the glass doors.

I shut my eyes as the cooler night air blew across my face. I could smell the awakening of life in the wind – new plant shoots, pollen, freshly cut grass, blossoming night flowers. It gave me a sense of renewal, grounded me with the power of nature.

Teren had told me once that he felt more connected to the world after his death. I already felt more in tune with it, with my enhanced senses. I wondered if that would change even more.

Grasping my hand, Teren led me to the edge of the flat rocked patio. I smiled over at the chorine filled pool as we walked by it. I had a lot of memories in that pool - diving in on a hot summer day, teaching the kids to hold their breaths, getting in a water fight with Teren, trying to race with him and losing miserably. But mostly, that softly lit water reminded me of getting married. We’d said “I do” over those shimmering-in-the-moonlight ripples. Dead or alive, it would always hold a special place in my heart.

Stepping off of the back end of the patio to a trail of granite steps that led down to where the equipment was kept, I felt the distance of the other vampires in my head. My children were the farthest, sleeping peacefully with my mother back in the city. Halina and the other girls were just where we’d left them, in the living room, probably watching me through the windows as I disappeared with my husband down the back of the hill. I knew they’d be able to find me once I gave out. Locating me was never a problem anymore, not since I gave off a GPS signal to them too.

Heading down a light trail in the tall, tan grass, Teren started swinging my hand like we were on a first date or something. I smiled over at him, grateful for his calming presence. “Thank you for doing this.”

He looked over at me, a light smile on his handsome face. “I only wish I could do more.” He shook his head, his eyes glowing brighter the farther away from the lights of the ranch that we got. “I wish I could take the…”