Finding Grace: The Guardian Chronicles Book One

Chapter 62. Sleepyhead*

Evan was able to get some rest and the pain did subside, allowing her to sleep. Her sleep was not the normal sleep of humans. It was more a suspended animation. Her mind was still somewhat alert, but all of her senses were muffled. She felt as if she were floating in a thick pool of honey. Evan let her mind go blank as she focused on feeling the little life inside her.

Nathan was immersed in his job, watching the monitors. Any time there was the slightest motion on a screen his attention was drawn to the screen. Often it was only a bird. Once it was a couple of humans who went onto a roof patio on an adjacent building. They did not pay any attention to anything but each other. Nathan became embarrassed as they kissed and he turned his attention to the other screens. Time moved on a different clock for Nathan now that he was a vampire. The passage of time was not palpable as it had been as a human. He could not figure it out. Looking at the clock at the bottom of one of the monitors, he was shocked to see that two hours had passed since he had left Evan to nap.

"Crap!" he exclaimed as he jumped from where he had been sitting. He hurried to the living room and into the kitchen to get another drink ready for Evan.

When he went to the blood warmer, he found the door open to it. Inside the blood was room temperature. When he picked a pack up, he found that it was separated into two layers, one a clear yellow and the other a dark thick layer.

"Oh no," he moaned. He had been too distracted by Xavier being near Evan that he hadn't made sure the door was closed to activate the mixer and warmer. The blood was ruined. "I'm so stupid!"

He flung the ruined unit of blood into the trash. Hurrying over to where Evan lay, he was relieved to see she still seemed to be asleep. Nathan needed to find Xavier. Evan would need more blood. He was sure of that.

Hurrying to the balcony door, he tried to open it and found it locked. Trying to turn the lock, he found a deadbolt was activated that required a key from either side of the door. Knocking at the door, he hoped Xavier would hear and come down from the roof. He knew where the other vampire was, because the video cameras occasionally had shown the roof of Emil's building.

Nathan started when Xavier suddenly appeared before him. He said through the glass, "Come in, we need to talk."

Xavier unlocked the door and came in. "What's up?"

"I screwed up," Nathan confessed.

"What do you mean? What happened?" Xavier said with a concerned frown, his eyes immediately searching out Evan.

"Evan's okay right now. I was supposed to wake her up an hour ago and give her more blood, but I lost track of time. Then when I went to get her blood for her, I found out I ruined all the blood," Nathan rushed to say.

"How?" Xavier asked.

"I forgot to latch the door on the warmer. The blood is ruined," Nathan explained.

"Oh, no," Xavier groaned. Hurrying into the kitchen, he pulled the remaining units from the warmer. Sure enough they were cool and separated. Not good enough for Evan. "I'll go to the freezer and bring some more to put in the warmer. It's going to take a few hours for them to thaw though. Evan will just have to make due. If it comes to the worst, I can feed her."

"No!" Nathan cried. "I mean, Emil wouldn't want that. He is the only one who should feed her."

Xavier understood Nathan's protective stance on Evan, but he also knew that if Evan was truly in trouble, Emil would want him to do whatever was in his power to help her. Wanting to ease the young male's mind, Xavier said, "We'll worry about that later if it comes to it. I'll be right back."

Xavier now was running scenarios in his mind. The blood freezer was on the main level near the garage. He would have to break protocol and leave the floor. Emil had left him a master key to use in case of emergency. This was an emergency in Xavier's mind. Evan needed sustenance.

Reaching into his pocket to get the key to unlock the door to the stairwell, Xavier came up empty handed. He patted his other hip pocket and then the shirt pocket on his left breast. No keys. Surely he had not left them in the kitchen. He rushed back to the apartment and looked around the kitchen.

"Nathan!" he called out. "Nathan, do you know where the keys are?"

When he did not get an answer, Xavier took a quick inventory of the apartment. Evan was still on the couch, but was now awake looking at him in confusion. Nathan was not in the office, nor was he in his room. The bedroom was dark and empty as well. Back in the living room, he went to the balcony door. It was ajar. He rushed onto the balcony, looking around at all the rooftops. Seeing nothing, he sped to the roof to look around.

He crossed to the other side of the roof and in the distance he caught the reflection of light off a blond head as it disappeared over the side of an adjoining building. Torn between chasing Nathan and staying to protect Evan, Xavier paced back and forth for a moment. He settled on staying with Evan. She was his leader's wife and was pregnant with their child. She took precedent over a rebellious teenager.

Descending to the balcony, Xavier entered the apartment, closing the door behind him and locking the tumbler lock. His attention was drawn to Evan when he heard a low moan.

Evan was lying on the floor on her side, clutching her belly. Xavier's eyes widened when he saw she was lying in a pool of blood.

Rushing to kneel next to Evan, he said in a whisper, "My God, Evan. What happened?"

"It's time, I think," she whimpered. Her face wrinkled into a panicked mask as she suppressed another moan and drew her body around her abdomen.

Xavier wasted only a moment before he lifted her in his arms and hurried to put her in bed. It was the only place he could think of to keep her comfortable. He had only attended a few births in his distant past. None of them had been pretty. He was sure he was the last one who should be called upon to deliver a baby.