Beyond the Dawn (Life and Death, Book II)

3. ECLIPSE

Lauren sighed. "Oh, Edythe, Beau..." she said in her French accent. "I cannot imagine what Joss put you through. I extend my sincerest apologies to both of you. Please know that I had begged her to let it go, but there was nothing I could do in the way of stopping her."

"It's really alright," I said, trying to sound convincing. "And I'm sorry you had to lose a friend."

"No, no... Joss finally got what was coming to her. I completely agree with you. You only did what you had to do. I was considering breaking off from her soon anyway. She was a little bit much for me. Besides, I've found a much better home. Thank you all for pointing me in his direction." She looked at Ivan now in a way I imagined I always looked at Edythe.

"I can see you've tried the new lifestyle," Edythe said, diverting from the awkward conversation.

Lauren smiled. "Yes, indeed. It was so strange at first, but I've managed to stay... sober for two months now." We all laughed. "I do enjoy the advantages; I've never stayed in one place for so long. The restrictions, however, are quite difficult. I don't know how any of you manage not to cheat every so often."

"We all owe it to Carine," Taran said. "She's changed all our lives for the better."

Lauren glanced across the expanse of the green lawn to Carine. "So Edythe, what made your mother decide to live like this anyway? It never would have crossed my mind, to think to feed on animals."

Edythe smiled. "Well, unlike the majority of us, Carine knew of our kind while she was human. She knew what she would become. I don't fully understand it myself, how she had the restraint to never feed... but I guess she's sort of circumvented the system in a way," she laughed.

"How so?" Lauren asked curiously.

"She likes to think of what we are as a sort of blessing with a curse. Everything is heightened, perfected in every way. But eternal life comes at the cost of taking life from others." She paused, then she laughed. "I guess she found a way to cheat the curse. It's her means of defying whatever force created this state of being."

I loved it when Edythe spoke about things like this. Her philosophies were always so intriguing. It reminded me of the time I'd asked her about the origin of vampires. Edythe had mentioned she believed that the force that created the human race was also likely responsible for creating our kind. It was the ultimate conundrum to me. And yet, the humans thought their origin was a mystery.

"Well, we've all been changed for the better. We owe it to Carine," Lauren said thankfully.

Then the question popped into my head. "Did Victor ever find you?"

Victor, who had hunted me with Joss and then disappeared, still felt like a threat to me. I couldn't be sure how strongly he had been attached to Joss, but I knew that he was surely unhappy with us.

"Yes," Lauren answered. "I actually came here as a favor to Victor, you see. He won't be happy about this..."

Edythe tensed.

Lauren was oblivious to her reaction. "In a way, I do feel sorry for dear Victor. He was so angry with you. He asked me to get the lay of the land for him, so to speak. He didn't imagine that you would be turned, that you wouldn't be so easy to get to, even without your protectors. Apparently, his plan is flawed. He won't get the revenge he imagined."

"I suppose he'll be angry all the same," Edythe said icily.

Taran attempted to change the awkward subject. "So Beau, I anticipate we'll be getting to know each other. We're going to have loads of time for that, after all." He laughed as he patted me on the shoulder. Then his family moved over to visit with Carine and Earnest.